a city of mirrors

  I don’t remember when I first started reading buildings. In many ways, it was similar to learning to read words, a hidden language of symbols and patterns that gave me a deeper understanding of the world. It was an understanding that I craved. I had been poring over books about architecture for a while before I began to see the words I had read in them spread across the facades of apartment complexes. I began picking out patterns, staring at buildings until I puzzled out why the architect had made them that way. And then, I started writing about what I saw. Architecture is my primary career goal because I have begun to notice, over the last few years, that the built world both reflects and creates the society we live in. The library next to my friend’s house is all warm toned wood and strong horizontal lines because it reflects the Usonian influence of Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in this way by an architect who perhaps admired the democratic values the style represented, the

     There is a question that has the power to change the world. The question is:  What status quo does this design maintain ?      The fact is, a society where certain groups are marginalized and oppressed will always result in architecture that reinforces and perpetuates these prejudices. Physical walls divide suburban blocks, separating historically Black and historically white neighborhoods. Hostile architecture forces homeless people out of wealthier areas, where they are viewed as an eyesore. Lack of bathroom access has historically been used as a tool to exclude any group deemed undesirable.       In some ways, exclusive design maintains societal power structures more effectively than laws can. Laws require verbal or written acknowledgment of their injustice. They are inherently confrontational; they say “you can’t do that” or “you don’t belong here.”       Exclusive architecture, on the other hand, says all of these things without saying them at all. If you are homeless and a p

      Recently, I visited Barcelona. What I saw there completely changed my view on the value of Art Nouveau as an architectural style. Before, Art Nouveau seemed like a strange and lovely historical oddity, beautiful but impractical for the modern world. Now, after seeing Art Nouveau bloom and vine its way across facades and banisters, I believe that Art Nouveau, or rather a new  form of it, is the future of architecture. I am working on a longer post on this topic, but in the meantime,  here  is a collection of some of the details that caught my eye.  Facade, Palau de la Música Catalana Metalwork detail Ceiling detail, Casa Batll ó Stairwell,  Casa Batll ó Attic Hallway,Casa Batll ó Glass panel detail, Casa Batll ó  Skylight detail, Casa Batll ó  Rooftop view, Casa Milá   Roof detail,Casa Milá  Gate Detail, Casa Milá  Ceiling painting, Casa Milá Facade, CosmoCaixa Science Museum  Outer wall, Parc Güell