If Archilogic believe their postings are doing a valuable service in their egregiously contorted forms, all they have to do is advise viewers that they should not take what they post seriously, that it is not meant to be an accurate representation. Given the amount of published information on the buildings they have done, "Oops!" doesn't qualify as an explanation or excuse.
Banff is one of those designs that may look elegantly simple, but which, upon close examination, is considerably more complex than it appears at first glance. If the forces behind the rebuilding effort were to have the building scrutinized by a qualified expert, like Eifler or Vinci, I suspect the required budget would be greatly in excess of what they imagine. But anything less than an excellent reproduction would be a waste of time and money.
Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative
From the response letter, I'm getting the sense Archilogic is not doing this as a public service or as a scholarly endeavor, it is business development/marketing for their CGI business. They are probably giving a newer hire (or an independent contractor from some continent) an assignment to flesh out a building from a book for marketing purposes and to be quick about it. The use of Wright's work catches the eyes of their potential CGI clients: architects, as it is fascinating for an architect to see an unbuilt or lost work by a well known architect in color and in 3D.
SKYLINE INK, the group that recreated some lost and unbuilt Bruce Goff works for an exhibition at OU seemed to be more accurate....I'd rather steer work their way.
SKYLINE INK, the group that recreated some lost and unbuilt Bruce Goff works for an exhibition at OU seemed to be more accurate....I'd rather steer work their way.
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Roderick Grant
- Posts: 11815
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
"Eric's own father, John Lloyd Wright, was also an architect."
Would that make Eric his own cousin?
I doubt anyone here would disagree with Eric's stand on this issue. However, there are concerns about replicating the building. Siting was apparently a big problem for the original. Changes in code restrictions could have an impact on the design and scale. What are access for disabled laws in Canada? Availability of materials is very likely either to affect appearance or greatly increase cost if the original was made with materials that are hard to come by today.
If all the concerns can be met satisfactorily, there should be no problem. I am not optimistic.
Would that make Eric his own cousin?
I doubt anyone here would disagree with Eric's stand on this issue. However, there are concerns about replicating the building. Siting was apparently a big problem for the original. Changes in code restrictions could have an impact on the design and scale. What are access for disabled laws in Canada? Availability of materials is very likely either to affect appearance or greatly increase cost if the original was made with materials that are hard to come by today.
If all the concerns can be met satisfactorily, there should be no problem. I am not optimistic.
Sydney's point is well taken:
"...But if the initiative succeeds and tackles other never-built structures, the challenge grows, notes Sidney Robinson, an emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and the author of numerous books on Wright. “As any architect knows, the completed building incorporates information that is never drawn, so when the architect is involved in the construction, his or her pattern of choices or selections is incorporated in the building,� Robinson says. “And when someone builds based on the drawings, there is a gap, and that gap can be serious—or not.�..."
"...But if the initiative succeeds and tackles other never-built structures, the challenge grows, notes Sidney Robinson, an emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and the author of numerous books on Wright. “As any architect knows, the completed building incorporates information that is never drawn, so when the architect is involved in the construction, his or her pattern of choices or selections is incorporated in the building,� Robinson says. “And when someone builds based on the drawings, there is a gap, and that gap can be serious—or not.�..."
Unless the architect is a Rudolf Schindler -- someone who intends to do at least some of the construction himself, giving him ample opportunity to revise and improvise -- the drawings should contain all the information necessary to complete the building. Only the subtleties of finish materials and methods might be missing -- important though these can be to the final effect. We recall that Wright wrote of making "whole sheets of drawings just to tell the carpenters what to leave off."
That said, a Wright recreation could be expected to exhibit only what he was able to commit to paper -- presumably including vital instructions contained in the specifications. So, the building will be like any brand-new construction: cool, reserved, lacking soul, lacking patina. Mr Wright's footsteps won't echo in the rooms, somewhere just around a corner. But what's seen will be all his, and no one else's; his spaces and forms and material choices will be present in all their unique glory. That would be enough for me -- infinitely more than can be gleaned from drawings and photographs (if any) ?
SDR
That said, a Wright recreation could be expected to exhibit only what he was able to commit to paper -- presumably including vital instructions contained in the specifications. So, the building will be like any brand-new construction: cool, reserved, lacking soul, lacking patina. Mr Wright's footsteps won't echo in the rooms, somewhere just around a corner. But what's seen will be all his, and no one else's; his spaces and forms and material choices will be present in all their unique glory. That would be enough for me -- infinitely more than can be gleaned from drawings and photographs (if any) ?
SDR
Architect David Romero's realistic digital renderings (David here at Wright Chat) are mentioned in both pieces:
https://www.dezeen.com/2017/03/02/frank ... -pavilion/
And:
https://www.dezeen.com/2017/03/09/opini ... n-station/
"...I would only venture that I think that, like in science fiction films, the dead arise again as monsters, not as familiar friends, and as undead that suck the life out of the world around us..."
Betsky weighs in...
https://www.dezeen.com/2017/03/02/frank ... -pavilion/
And:
https://www.dezeen.com/2017/03/09/opini ... n-station/
"...I would only venture that I think that, like in science fiction films, the dead arise again as monsters, not as familiar friends, and as undead that suck the life out of the world around us..."
Betsky weighs in...
Was it a mistake to rebuild much of what one sees in European towns and cities in the image of what had been destroyed by war? Was it a mistake to rebuild Mies' German Pavilion in Barcelona, now itself 30 years old? Was it a mistake to rebuild demolished elements of the D. D. Martin opus?
The building of the unbuilt Redding church could become a monster for a small congregation not equipped to maintain it over the long term. Think of needy families receiving the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" McMansions only to discover a few years later they cannot afford to heat, cool, or maintain them.
The building of the unbuilt Redding church could become a monster for a small congregation not equipped to maintain it over the long term. Think of needy families receiving the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" McMansions only to discover a few years later they cannot afford to heat, cool, or maintain them.