Second Verse, Same as the First

[akirlu]

I want to thank smofbabe for the pointer to this one. I'm blogging it so I can find the link later. Apparently the Tour Eiffel is getting a facelift for its 120th birthday. And Parisians are some of them up in arms because the new viewing platform being added will mess up the familiar silhouette, and with it, the Paris skyline.

Ah, every thing old is new again. After all, when the old girl first got built, Parisians deprecated her as an eyesore. Guy de Maupassant said he ate daily in the restaurant, because it was the one place in Paris where he couldn't see the tower.

Me, I think the lacy, curving structures of the proposed platform expansion are quite pretty. And being beautiful by dint of being structurally necessary, very much in keeping with the spirit of the original. And hey, the Tower was only supposed to be temporary, anyway. I think 120 years is a pretty good temporary run.

Update: Whoops. Apparently the redesigns weren't officially sanctioned, and no changes are scheduled. Back to the salt mines people, nothing to see here.

Comments

[fastfwd.livejournal.com]

I always get a kick out of the judgment of the ages. I've often wondered what the Londoners of 2100 will say about the Gherkin:

"What in God's name were they thinking?

or

"Obviously the product of a visionary mind. All buildings should look like this!"

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I expect there will be quite a bit of both. As Post-Modern office blocks go, the Gherkin looks kind of fun, to me. (I've only seen pictures, as it went up after my last visit. Sigh.) On the other hand, I do wonder about the practicality of the shape in terms of usable interior spaces. On the gripping hand, it's hard to imagine that it's any worse, practicality-wise, than the Eero Saarinen TWA terminal at JFK, though. And London being London, we can hope that it will still have antidotes like the Blackfriars Pub to retreat to, even 100 years hence, if one gets an overdose of Gherkin.

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

It's the Paris Space Needle!

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Yes, isn't it? Only more frilly around the hem.

[urlgirl.livejournal.com]

Although I'm not sure what they could have done except build outward at the top, I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the petal-like design. It's... flowery! It's like sticking a Christmas bow on top. So I'd complain too, I think.

But I'm with you in the sense that once the dust settles, people tend to get used to and eventually prefer whatever's become familiar. So I'm sure it'll do fine! :-)

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

It is flowery. But when you're working in a building that's a tribute to the depressing power of concrete, as realized in aptly-named Brutalist style, there are worse things for architecture to be than flowery. I think it would cheer me up to see those swoopy curves on the skyline. Architecture that cheers people up is good.

[urlgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, cheery architecture is definitely good, I agree :-) And I'm sorry about your Brutalist surroundings. Oh dear :( I don't think that people realize, sometimes, how much of a job perk it can be to work in a good building. It helps so much to have an environment that works for you.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Oh, hmmmm. I'm going to have to show this to Nicole. She's halfway up the tower in beads, self-supporting, so far and I don't think she knows about the new part.

People always complain when something is changed -- the folks in San Francisco don't want suicide barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge because it would look different. I have a friend whose son jumped off less than a year ago and I would like them.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

DC is making a church retain the Brutalist architecture for historic purposes. I like the way the bell peal swings out (or looks like), but the rest is not so nice.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Not a hoax, perhaps, but yes, it seems the redesign isn't really in the offing.

I thought the pics were cool

[u-must-b-joking.livejournal.com]

I also thought the Parisiens were cool to let it happen. O well.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I don't think that people realize, sometimes, how much of a job perk it can be to work in a good building.

Many people don't. I'm one of those who do. I first noticed how much of a difference architecture I enjoy makes to the quality of my days when I was an undergraduate at UCLA. The Romanesque revival architecture of the main quad put a smile on my face every morning, even when those mornings were horrifically early. The play of sun and shadow among the arched collonades, and the scent of lemon eucalyptus in the brick and terra cotta courtyards have power to this day. Arguably I didn't finish my art degree in part because (ironically) LBSU, which is so much better for art than UCLA, is a demoralizingly ugly campus.

In fact, I took the current job in part because it was based in Savery Hall, on the UW quad. But Savery is undergoing a 2-year seismic upgrade and general renovation, and so we are all in purgatory for the duration. I do miss having the cherry trees bloom right outside my (gothic, arched) window.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sucker is fugly. It looks like it fell off an Imperial walker from Empire Strikes Back, or something. Or an observation tower from one of the Maginot Line gun emplacements. Definitely a stray piece of war machinery, anyhow.