QUESTIONS?

Does making a structure look old create "old world charm", or is there something deeper involved? Is it the "look" of old we desire, or is it a meaningful interaction with our environment? The issue is similar, in some respects, to the redevelopment of Berlin. Berlin is a "real" old city that is in the process of being rebuilt. Should it be rebuilt the "old fashioned" way? Is that appropriate in a world which has dramatically changed? What about the meanings attached to structures in this context? Do we try to recreate a past or do we accept the world today and let the nature of now lead us? Are the building forms of the past appropriate for any reason other than nostalgia? Are we willing to accept the nature of the world around us and create a world which mirrors our honest desires? Does it matter what meaning is contained in the objects around us? If we decide that we value meaning, might it lead us to address the underlying functionality of our society?

Purse Building
Home

Critique
Cleft Palette

Cleft Palette
Metropolis-June'98
Heroes/Disclaimer
Context/Disclaimer
Architecture/Art
Questions/Future

Email
If you would like to be
notified when Cleft
Palette is updated, click
HERE and type-subscribe
Cleft Palette-in the
subject area.

Credits
This issue of Cleft Palette is made possible by a Creative Artist Grant funded by the City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.

...FUTURE

We all acknowledge the importance the past plays in the present, but Metropolis elucidates the way meaning is lost and misconstrued. In fact, this is the beauty of it. The building embodies our weakness, our superficiality, and our yearning for meaning. If our memories are so fleeting anyway, why won't we accept this and strive for something which more honestly reflects our needs and desires?

Despite Davis' references to historical architecture, the more exciting thing about his building is the ironic comic book reference. Metropolis accurately reflects a societies escape from reality into the world of fantasy. The idea that a home can represent something fantastical is nothing new - witness just about any suburban residential development. Whether the architects or developer understood this, they have tapped into the content of our immediate culture as opposed to a past which we really don't understand anyway.

One thing that would make this project better, would be if the historical references where played down, and the Superman references were more overt. Maybe if the gargoyles were replaced with supermen, or maybe a few Superman medallions. Of course, the public would be challenged by a building such as this. It is easier to trade on the past. Savvy marketers can attest to the commercial value of nostalgia. After all, the United States has always attempted to validate its existence by wearing the clothes of the Old World, but now, maybe we are headed in a direction we can call our own. Disney is us, Las Vegas is us, malls are us, and Metropolis hints at this. Granted, it hasn't completely broken the chains of respectability, but in a few generations, when we've forgotten a little more....

Sorry this is such a bad picture,
but those lumps on the edge of
the roof are huge cast gargoyle statues!

F
U
T
U
R
E

BACK