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That reminds me. Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's what Douglas Adams would be like if he wrote about the Apocalypse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringo Flinthammer
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Originally Posted by Ringo Flinthammer, on Dmitry hating Good Omens
Yes he used the machine as a metaphor for building but i would NOT call his building "soulless blocks of concrete" and they certainly don't masquerad as anything. I don't see how you could call buildings such as the Convent of La Tourette a product of lifeless vision or Notre Dame Du Haut as a soulless block of concrete. Corbu's vision was incredible and while the people who followed him did create buildings deviod of life, he always brought the narrative to his buildings and if you ask anyone who's been to his buildings, or if you get the chance to see them, your misconception about his intentions would be erased.Quote:
Originally Posted by PPatty
So if Corbu isn't the "greatest" architect of the 20th century (and i probably should not have proclaimed him that but he is regarded as you stated as the most influential but believe me ALOT of architects regard him as the greatest of his time) then who is? FLW, Kahn, Mies, Pie, who do you feel is? And who is shaking off his ideas now days and doing amazing buildings, because honestly most of the architecture today is shit and while the modernist or international style is gone and past i would say contemporary architects can learn alot from them.
His other 2 books were good too. However, I dont remember which it was that I read last, but due to his style it was a bit to predictable at that point. Still worth the read however.Quote:
Originally Posted by Savanna
I'm reading Xenocide by Orson Scott Card currently. I'm near the end and gotta say I'm not sure if I will bother to continue the series. I was enjoying it but the ending is getting wierd.
I plan to read Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlen. I've only read one book by him so figured I should give it a shot.
I have to say that the Da Vinci Code was probably the most poorly written book i have ever read and full of errors left and write, which i cannot escuse because at the beginning of the book he makes a statement about all the descriptions of architecture and art and history etc are fact or something like that. But i guess as long as people are enjoying them and reading is better than not read so whatever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Savanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rooster
I WANT TO BITE YOUR NUTS OFF
http://www.pritzkerprize.com/IMG0096.jpg
I just like the idea of a guy named IM Pei biting nuts off. Also, I live near Boston where he did one of his greatest buildings. Seriously though, isn't Frank Lloyd Wright considered the greatest architect of the twentieth century?
I find a degree of irony in your spelling of right. (And really, there is no excuse for escuse).Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rooster
You need to read some Weiss/Hickman if you want some bad books that are still widely read.
While a four year old retarded monkey on acid. THat book bites. How dare you refer to it in the same breath as the author of Hitchiker's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taedirk
Well, I guess that pretty much summarizes my weakness in a single sentence doesn't it. I have failed utterly. I am a gay openness loving anti tank prude.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringo Flinthammer
It's soft core porn scratched out by a pervert at the weakest part of his career?Quote:
Originally Posted by Melcar
IM Pei looks like a WoW gnome.
I see no life at all in something like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rooster
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/i...id_2345761.jpg
Or this:
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/i...er_maw_001.jpg
Or this:
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/i...id_2464522.jpg
Or your beloved convent:
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/i...id_2463890.jpg
Others may see genius, but I look at that building above, and I see a dungeon.
Other architects practiced the International and Modernist architecture better than Corbu. Even Frank Lloyd Wright, who professed to hate the International style, could build a much better building in that fashion (Fallingwater) than anything Corbu put his name on.
The thing with Le Corbusier is that people are taken with the humanist philosophy he expressed; he was a well-meaning guy. But his actual buildings look hideous, devoid of elegance. The only building of his that appeals to me at all is the UN Headquarters, and even that one now reeks of dated utilitarianism.
In my view, these are among the ones who deserve to be remembered:Quote:
So if Corbu isn't the "greatest" architect of the 20th century. ... then who is?
Louis Sullivan, as revered as he is, still doesn't get the credit he deserves. But when you consider the time in which he worked, structures such as the Schlesinger and Meyer Department Store and National Farmers' Bank are phenomenal. Just remember that without Sullivan, there is no Frank Lloyd Wright.
Speaking of Frank Lloyd Wright, he deserves his monumental reputation. Because he was so idiosyncratic, his influence is not as far-reaching as Corbu's, but Wright's individual buildings -- Fallingwater, Johnson Wax, the Marin County Civic Center and the Guggenheim Museum, to name a few -- have far more aesthetic value.
Eero Saarinen built some magnificent structures, such as the TWA Terminal.
Kenzo Tange's most notable buildings, such as the National Gymnasium and the
Tokyo City Hall, leave a striking, unique impression.
I'm sure I'm missing a few, and there are certainly some very good architects out there (Pei, Calatrava, Gehry sometimes), but the ones above come to mind immediately.
You mean besides almost every architect under the age of 60?Quote:
And who is shaking off his ideas now days and doing amazing buildings
The quality of post-modern architecture varies widely, but one of the nice things about contemporary architecture is that it simply is not as rigid as the previous iteration. Yes, some post-modern architecture is so abtruse and self-indulgent that it's irrelevant, and quite a lot of it consists of unimaginative knockoffs of previous work -- but some of it is creative, free-flowing and memorable.Quote:
because honestly most of the architecture today is shit and while the modernist or international style is gone and past i would say contemporary architects can learn alot from them.
Only by Americans, and not by all American architects. The International style, which Wright often criticized, was by far the dominant style of architecture (at least for public buildings) in the 20th century.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry
Neat stuff PP. As an American I am definately staying with my Frank Lloyd Wright vote though mostly cause of how beautiful I think the Prairie homes are:
http://www.delmars.com/flwtrip/images/heurt1.jpg
http://www.delmars.com/flwtrip/images/roberts3.jpg
http://www.oprf.com/flw/Thomas2.JPG
P.s. Those Corbu buildings look suspiciously like Bauhaus.
I enjoyed those, though I haven't read the last couple of them yet. They get repetitive after a while, but I liked the whole order/chaos thing. Each book tends to be a self contained story too, so you aren't committing yourself for the long haul. (That is in contrast with Eddings books, which I thought had a promising backstory but awful execution. I wound up forcing myself to read the whole series and resenting it.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry the Wizzy
As for architecture, after seeing Le Corbusier's work I think I would classify his style as "blighted industrial park", except for Notre Dame du Haut, http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bi...id_2399158.gbi
which lokks a bit like a Smurf's mushroom house.
I found myself on the campus of Florida Southern University a few years ago. I noted that several of the outdoor walkways, and even many indoor hallways, had very low ceilings. Low enough that I felt I had to duck pretty often. (I'm taller than average, but hardly a giant.) I commented that I thought that was poor design and I got some funny looks from people. I was soon told that the whole place was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Several of the rooms I was in were really well done, but I still think having tunnel-like hallways that people feel uncomfortable in is not great design.
Well, so long as we are praising architects...
I really like the Geisel Library at University of California, San Diego. The architect was William Pereira, who also designed some of the Hotels around Disneyland, other Universities in Orange County, Master Planned communities, and more. His work at University of California, Irvine was used for the setting of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.
http://www.deskpicture.com/DPs/Schoo...eiselLib_2.jpg
Uh yeh, Xenocide and Children of Mind are... weird. Not really in a good way. I'd say you should read Ender's Shadow - it's basically Ender's Game from Bean's perspective and is much more enjoyable, as are the sequels in that line.Quote:
I'm reading Xenocide by Orson Scott Card currently. I'm near the end and gotta say I'm not sure if I will bother to continue the series. I was enjoying it but the ending is getting wierd.
Finished the last book in Gemmell's Drenai Saga ( Quest for Lost Heroes ), I was going to keep fantasy but now Im switching up to cyberpunk.
Just started Effinger's When Gravity Fails. Budayeen is such a vibrant setting, postmodern Arabia really works. I think he hit the culture right, and how it would be impacted by technological change.
Lecorbusier's buildings are often seens as nightmares, especially by those who happen to live inside or nearbyQuote:
Originally Posted by Ppatty
See? Even his own country now rejects him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Belarkan
Yeah, the International style stemmed from Bauhaus influences of guys like Walter Gropius.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry
EDIT: Sorry, had it backwards, Bauhaus influenced International, rather than the other way around.
Are we talking about the same "Friday"? Sure he mentions sex - but the descriptions aren't there to classify it as "soft core Porn". Unless of course you have a Much loser description of "porn" then I do.Quote:
It's soft core porn scratched out by a pervert at the weakest part of his career?
No excuse except that i was in a big rush and really made a couple dumb mistakes, forgive me :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry the Wizzy