May 2008 | Eyesore
Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.
The Troy, New York, city hall, designed in the vintage 1970s "Brutalist" style. The point was to be brutally honest about the materials involved: poured reinforced concrete. But it begs the question: so what? Were we supposed to be impressed that architects and builders possessed the skill to pour concrete in the 1970s -- several decades after other technicians in the same society split the atom? Of special interest here is the pathological absence of any female semiotics in the design -- no curves, no ornaments. Was Brutalism mysoginstic? We do know that it was widely loathed by the public. Below see the context of the Troy city hall, Monument Square, which to this day retains an impressive ensemble of handsome 19th century buildings and attractive streets.
