Beautiful. My husband is an architect. I'm looking forward to having him read this! Thanks for the insight. I want to go and see it now myself.
My husband had one building on his bucket list that he told me about when we met 36 years ago. The Segrada Familia by Gaudi. We finally went to Barcelona in 2019 to see it. I was speechless. That's when I finally understood architecture as art. It was stunning. And they are still building it!
I took 3 terms of history of architecture when I was in university and loved it! This post reminded me of that, really interesting and I loved seeing the drawings.
Same! I don't know if you've heard of the graphic novel series "Cités Obscures" (I think the English title is Dark cities?) illustrated by François Schuiten? You'd love it, the (surreal and poetic) stories are basically just an excuse to draw endless impossible epic architecture.
Loved the post. Pulling off a transitional style like this is a feat; the iron, the classicism, the Greek motifs all come together seamlessly. Pretty great. Your drawings are lovely; it brought back memories of architectural theory.
So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Labrouste had quite a vision. It’s amazing that he got to do all of it. Guess they didn’t have “value engineers” back then. 🙃
Yes, it does. As a lay person, what would be a common style or structure I could point to and understand as an example of metaphor?
I’m thinking the metaphor could be vague (for eg soaring ceilings) or super specific. Thanks, Julie, this was fascinating! My obsession is with words, and the idea of using physical structure as metaphor seems both novel yet obvious.
These are more great questions! I may need to do a post to answer them. I’m not kidding. 😊 Meaning and symbol are less about specific styles and more to do with archetypal forms. Like a dome represents the world, for example.
What a great question! My sense is that it’s some of both. Guys like Labrouste were part of a circle of rebels. So, there’s some zeitgeist going on. But in my experience, individual architects can move the needle with their own strength of vision. Does that make sense?
You have an excellent imagination. Yes - it’s an eyeful! If you want to go down an image rabbit-hole, click on Barbara Smith’s Flickr stream (link in photo captions). She has some really cool shots of the ceiling.
Beautiful. My husband is an architect. I'm looking forward to having him read this! Thanks for the insight. I want to go and see it now myself.
My husband had one building on his bucket list that he told me about when we met 36 years ago. The Segrada Familia by Gaudi. We finally went to Barcelona in 2019 to see it. I was speechless. That's when I finally understood architecture as art. It was stunning. And they are still building it!
Yes, that’s an astounding place. All Gaudi’s work is amazing.
I took 3 terms of history of architecture when I was in university and loved it! This post reminded me of that, really interesting and I loved seeing the drawings.
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. I could gaze at architectural drawings for hours. It never gets old.
Same! I don't know if you've heard of the graphic novel series "Cités Obscures" (I think the English title is Dark cities?) illustrated by François Schuiten? You'd love it, the (surreal and poetic) stories are basically just an excuse to draw endless impossible epic architecture.
Oh wow!! That sounds amazing! Thanks for the tip.
Loved the post. Pulling off a transitional style like this is a feat; the iron, the classicism, the Greek motifs all come together seamlessly. Pretty great. Your drawings are lovely; it brought back memories of architectural theory.
So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Labrouste had quite a vision. It’s amazing that he got to do all of it. Guess they didn’t have “value engineers” back then. 🙃
Have no questions just really enjoyed reading this piece.
Thanks for reading. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. That makes my day.
I too have no knowledge of architecture and found this fascinating!
I love that he called this building a secular temple.
To think that he was ostracized for this amazing work of art is heartbreaking.
I would love nothing more than to see this library in my lifetime.
Thank you Julie.
I hope you can as well. It’s even better in person. 🥰
Yes, it does. As a lay person, what would be a common style or structure I could point to and understand as an example of metaphor?
I’m thinking the metaphor could be vague (for eg soaring ceilings) or super specific. Thanks, Julie, this was fascinating! My obsession is with words, and the idea of using physical structure as metaphor seems both novel yet obvious.
These are more great questions! I may need to do a post to answer them. I’m not kidding. 😊 Meaning and symbol are less about specific styles and more to do with archetypal forms. Like a dome represents the world, for example.
I’m curious if the structure of these metaphors were common to a group (or a style) of architects or did architects come up with something unique?
What a great question! My sense is that it’s some of both. Guys like Labrouste were part of a circle of rebels. So, there’s some zeitgeist going on. But in my experience, individual architects can move the needle with their own strength of vision. Does that make sense?
Can’t wait for everyone to see your essay on Mink River! So so good!
👏👏👏
You have an excellent imagination. Yes - it’s an eyeful! If you want to go down an image rabbit-hole, click on Barbara Smith’s Flickr stream (link in photo captions). She has some really cool shots of the ceiling.
Right?! They don’t build em like that anymore. 😥