Monday, February 2, 2009
Beginnings/ Order/ Proportion
In the article "The Geometry of Feeling," Pallasmaa poses the question 'why do so few modern buildings appeal to our feelings, when an anonymous house in an old town or... farm building gives us a sense of familiarity and pleasure?' How do the ideas of order and proportion relate to this statement, and why these more common buildings might give us more familiarity then modern buildings.
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i think that one reason why old buildings bring a sense of nostalgia to us is because of the familiarity. most people didn't grow up in a modern home, they grew up in traditional homes and neighborhoods. and the majority of architecture consists of traditionally styled buildings. so it's hard to create that sense of connection between most people and modern buildings. also, with much of the architecture that is being designed today, it's hard to diagram the building proportions in the way that buildings have been diagrammed in the past. if you try to diagram a simple house with a gabled roof, the method is pretty much the same as with the greek and roman temples. so, in short, the reason why i think that most people are drawn to traditionally styled buildings rather than modern buildings is because of the emotional and historical connection to the style.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I also think that it is hard for us to connect to the modern buildings on an emotional level. The idea of modern architecture to be exactly proportioned, clean cut, and minimal for the most part doesn't necessarily fit with our lifestyle. For some reason when I think of modern architecture the idea of minimalism comes to my mind, and I know that that style doesn't really connect to me. It wouldn't feel like home if it was a place I was to live in. I think that is another reason the more traditional style is more familiar because it fits our lifestyle of clutter and chaos and not necessarily the style of modern architecture.
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