Things I Like

[ablarc]

THINGS I LIKE

I?m a sucker for nice photographs of what I think are beautiful things. I scoop them off the net and admire them in bunches. Here are some from the last couple of months, lightly arranged. Click them to enlarge; most are worth the trouble to see full size.

Castle on a rocky promontory.

Castle on a rocky promontory.

A scene in 21st Century Germany.

A scene in 21st Century Germany.

A scene in Pre-War Germany.

A scene in Pre-War Germany.

Detailing and workmanship in 21st Century America.

Detailing and workmanship in 21st Century America.

Detailing and workmanship in 21st Century America.

Detailing and workmanship in 21st Century America.

A Mad king?s folly.

A Mad king?s folly.

Apartments by a starchitect.

Apartments by a starchitect.

Rooftops.

Rooftops.

High above a city.

High above a city.

Flying over a city.

Flying over a city.

A cathedral city today.

A cathedral city in 1945.

Skyline with icon.

Skyline with icon.

Skyline with icon.

Skyline with icon.

Symbol of power.

Symbol of power.

An Italian-looking city in Germany.

A German-looking city in Germany.

A vaulted interior.

A vaulted interior.

A building on a bluff.

A building on a bluff.

Apartments reaching for the sky.

Apartments reaching for the sky.

Public building reaching for the sky.

Skyrocket.

Contextual modernism.

Contextual modernism.

Contextual modernism.

Contextual modernism.

Contextual modernism.

Thrill ride.

Thrill ride.

Thrill ride. Boston used to have these.

Thrill ride. Boston used to have these.

Panorama of a city.

Panorama of a city.

Gateway to a precinct.

Gateway to a precinct.

Urban fabric.

Suburban fabric, some of it mimicking the urban.

A typical American downtown: recovering from decades as an office park, it remains choked by a ring of parking lots.

Uniform street wall.

Variegated street wall.

Stylistic diversity.

Stylistic diversity.

Low-rise Hong Kong.

Low-rise Hong Kong.

Low meets high in Hong Kong.

Low-rise Germany.

Swiss viaduct with steam train.

Most of these photos first appeared on SSC, SSP, Wiki, Flickr, or Wired New York. Sorry I can?t identify the photographers, but if you want credit, step up to the plate.

 

[statler]

Hey ablarc, welcome back!

Question: why were red rooftops so common in European cities? Was is just the color of the local clay or purely aesthetic?

 

[ablarc]

^ Red clay. Most brick is also red.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

City porn. Sehr sch?n.

 

[Beton Brut]

Welcome back, ablarc. You've been missed.

That shot of Shinjuku is amazing. Wish mine came out better...

Mt. Fuji is sadly lost in the haze. My only glimpse was from the window of my return flight, and instant after takeoff from Narita.

A couple more:

Osaka at eye level. Why can't this be Downtown Crossing?

Urban waterway, Tokyo

Urban waterway, Osaka

Good models for Fort Point Channel?

 

[Beton Brut]

These last few weeks at work have been dispiriting. I hear that a lot from friends as well. When it comes to the state of things in Boston, I'm generally a cynical guy. My posts trend toward bitter and angry.

Then here comes our old pal ablarc to show us some things that are worth liking. It kinda cheered me up a bit.

So I got out the digital shovel and did some digging for some things that I like...

From the Winter of 2004, a few shots of Wright's Marin County Civic Center:

Through the trees, on the way up to the overlook.

The overlook, with garden below. The field to the right of the low, boxy office building in the distance would have been the site of the Fair Grounds and ExpoCenter.

The spire and the curved, ornamented fascia of the Library.

The spire (like Wright's "Mile-High" in miniature) that hides the power plant stack.

Another shot of the circular Library. Check out the brass fittings that connect the "obelisks" to the arches. Such a cool detail.

Looking south down the exterior gallery. The owl-house at the upper right is about the size of a USPS mailbox.

The building "bridges" three hills, like a modern interpretation of a Roman aqueduct. Wright understood ancient forms, and freely adapted them to his design palate.

Walking back down to the main entrance. You can see the interplay of curved, linear and angular forms so important throughout Wright's career.

So why not let's use this thread as a place to pin up things we enjoy and revere, things we'd do well to share, and when possible, advocate for and emulate.

 

[statler]

I?m a sucker for nice photographs of what I think are beautiful things.

So why not let's use this thread as a place to pin up things we enjoy and revere

Probably not what you guys meant, but it fits the bill for me.

Most of the architecture photos on my hard drive are of Boston, (I'm a homer) but I'll see what I can dig up.

Edit note to ablarc: I took down the picture originally because I didn't want to sully your nice thread with a silly joke. (FYI: Her name is Alyson Hannigan.)

 

[ablarc]

What happened to the picture, statler?

While I searched for words to express my admiration, she just vanished.

Hope she returns, coz she was tres sympa.

 

[statler]

More to the actual point:

I like Iran's Freedom Tower more than the one in progress in the ol' USofA

 

[ablarc]

She looks like her personality is as good as her looks.

 

[statler]

She looks like her personality is as good as her looks.

^ I've heard that about her. She is supposedly a true sweetheart. Just the all around perfect woman.

 

[Beton Brut]

She's cute, statler, but I prefer a bit more of an edge:

 

[Beton Brut]

And on the topic of the beautiful and austere, here are two other things I like:

Frank Lloyd Wright - Frederick C. Robie House, Chicago, 1909

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60PGX0RzUvU&feature=related
Jean Sibelius - Symphony No. 4 in A-minor, Op. 63, 1911

Both are about a hundred years old. A casual study of both may reveal them to be essentially the same thing.

 

[ablarc]

Click:

Extravagant beauty.

Extravagant beauty.

 

[statler]

I like the "Arts":

Art & Crafts

Art Nouveau

Did you say Extravagant beauty?

and of course Art Deco

 

[BarbaricManchurian]

1. A small part of the Shanghai skyline:

(beautiful, but unfortunately it's density without urbanity)

2. My favorite forum (gives development info about my hometown, unfortunately nothing stunning enough yet to put in this thread): bohaibbs.org

3. and of course skyscrapercity, the best online forum ever created (I'm being totally serious, it has the most unique visitors per day of any forum).

 

[statler]

I'm not sure if this is 'cheating' but I popped over to Pixdaus, clicked on the 'city' tag and pulled a few images I liked:

A picture worth at least a thousand words:

"For many people, but not for everyone"... Photo by Paolo Ordigoni

 

[TikiNYC]

Nice, was at one of those places today....

Going to some of those places next week....

 

[Beton Brut]

Extravagant beauty.

Very nice. The most apt thing about the linking of these two images is that both "sculptural objects" are assembled with the same basic materials and techniques.

Which is more successful at its intended purpose?

 

[ablarc]

In both cases, the form is wholly arbitrary. Each achieves beauty by zealous repudiation of the idea that form follows function.