I was walking home the other day past some office blocks, they were very modern and well lit but i didn't like them at all because they seemed so flat and lifeless, they were lacking a facade or some kind of feature to the outside of them (i think it's called a facade) and for the first time in my life i realised those buildings actually bothered me, in a rather comical way because i had never thought of building styles as mattering to me before, but there it is.

I like ornate buildings, be they new or old, i like to see pattern and plenty of design on the outside of them, yet to my distaste i'm seeing more and more of the flat, lifeless buildings i described everywhere, in fact if i had my way i'd make it illegal to make buildings so plain, :laugh: i remember some of the weird gargoyles on the huge buildings in bladerunner and i like those, buildings can be modern if need be by all means, but detailed.

Does architecture matter to you at all? maybe you like the buildings i don't, are you made happy or miserable by the buildings you live in or near? what kind of buildings or style of architecture most intrigues you?

It matters greatly to me. I'm a Classics student, and have taken a few Art History courses (including one when I lived in Italy for a year) so I've developed a deep appreciation for architecture. In general, I'm partial to anything simple and symmetrical (i.e. I'm not a fan of the Baroque) so I prefer the Romanesque style. When I lived in Italy, I walked past http://travel66.com/pics/PalPapiViterbo.JPG every day, and greatly enjoyed the architecture. I really appreciate simplicity on a grand scale.

But besides the Romanesque stuff, I (of course) love the ancient classical stuff, and enjoy the neo-classicism, of say, Washington DC (even though I'm not a fan of the city itself) or UVA. There's a reason why every architecture major in the world studies the Parthenon, more or less as 'the perfect building' (even if that's fallen out of vogue of late).

That really is an amazing building you linked, ever heard of "le corbusier"? i just read about him now and realise his idea's are responsible for the [censored] blocks of flats i've lived in most my life, apparently he is widely admired, but for me his style is an absolutel nightmare, i've never seen anything so oppressive as his work.

Edit* i never saw a city i found to be more beautiful than venice, even though i've only ever seen it in a documentary.

I love ancient greek architecture. I find it stunning personally.

I must admit i haven't seen any personally, apart from in books, but i did see some amazing greek statues at the british museum and if they are anything to go by, then the greek classical buildings must be a sight to behold.

He's a little too modern for me- a little too simple. I'm not in it for simplicity, I'm in it for not-overdoing it like I think many architects do nowadays. What I mean is something this like http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/drimi/drimi1010/drimi101000014/7977712-tibidabo-church-at-the-top-of-tibidabo-hill-barcelona--spain.jpg, on top of http://nextours.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/tibidabo.jpg. Those angles make it look more ornate than it really was, it really seemed more geometric, repetitive, and rigid, when you were there. Like http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb300/20090905/Tibidabo-Church-Barcelona-Spain-1314293.jpg

I like Gothics... Anything from the victorian era really.

I also have a belief that no attractive building has been errected since 1950; I could be wrong but modern architecture is horrible!

The architecture where I used to live was beautiful. Its been a world heritage site since 1987, the entire thing is a world heritage site, so architectural beauty is pretty widespread there. Heres and example http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Royal.crescent.aerial.bath.arp.jpg. Everything is made of stone and there are some Roman baths built around some hotsprings http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Roman_Baths_in_Bath_Spa%2C_England_-_July_2006.jpg. I lived there for about 10 years and took it all for granted. No when I visit I can't help but admire it all. It stands in stark contrast to the nearest city, Bristol which has towering grey buildings that look like they would fit in Half-Life 2 or Soviet Russia.

Well I am one for outer aesthetic, as some of the Fallout forumers may know.

I think square buildings are boring. I like modern, daring type buildings. Glass houses, minimalist, etc. They're all just gorgeous. This is what I like to see.

http://bit.ly/nO8Shu

It looks like a landmark! Gorgeous...
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http://bit.ly/onckFL
An example of minimalist architecture. It's modern, chic and flat out stunning.
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That's what I like to see....

I'm the same. Well, I do think some modern stuff looks impressive, but it's just not as ornate as the old stuff was. My library has stone dragons and gargolyes all over it, it's awesome.

I don't know much about architecture, I think modern buildings are fine as long as they don't ruin the surrounding landscape. For instance, one of the ugliest buildings in my city also happens to be the only skycraqer which means it's the tallest building...
The result is http://fr.hotels.com/images/122160/photos/city/510339_Nantes_France.jpg. It doesn't look too bad in that picture, but trust me this brown skyscraqer looks really stupid. It's just too tall. Too brown. And too ugly. It just doesn't fit in its landscape, in my opinion.

I wish they tore that building down :/


Wow these baths are very impressive

the bit on the left reminds me of the "Monsanto House of the future" that used to be at Disney Land
http://yesterland.com/futurehouse.html

I like art decor. Just something about it that speaks to me, I also like ultra modern as well.

To tell the truth I would say i'm a hypocrite cause it doesn't matter to me except in my own home. I like the plain simple design of a room with nothing super frilly nor overly extravagant. The house i'm living in is pretty simple with rounded corners with a blocky style design. There's no overly elaborate archways, entrances, doors, etc... things are just nice and simple. I like this style because it serves as both form and function while leaving room for improvement if it is desired.

Being a good ol FL boy here the doors open outward instead of inward to help with those nasty hurricane force winds.

I can't help but feel an amount of annoyance towards ornament. It is nothing but just that: ornament. It is not architecture but simply tacked on top. It muddies and detracts what architecture is about: form, light and the interaction between the two. The argument that modern architecture has no life in it because it is devoid of ornamentation is one that I feel is commonly put forward by those who've not taken the time to understand the architecture (although of course with all arts it is subjective and opinions are opinions). Look at Luis Barragán for example. His architecture is in the modern style. It is clean, geometric and devoid of ornamentation, yet has a tremendous amount of life in it. I'm having trouble finding images on one cohesive site (most I've seen are from books), but look up his Casa y Estudio de Luis Barragán.

Wow, you're right. That is awful. :shakehead:

My house has different themes for each room. My main room, when you come into the door is the first living room. White tile floor coupled with my living room being dubbed the 'white room' because of everything in there being well, white.

My dining room mixes in the white room with a splash of color because it has a poolside view through the sliding glass. Just a few hints of green and blue here and there, very clean and crisp.

My second living room is our home theater kept at a dark color, so we used hues of green coupled with white and beige. Great for watching a movie.

Our kitchen completely changes the pace with a dark theme with mahogany cabinets and chrome-everything.

That's just the main sections, trust me, it looks a lot better than what I've described. The different styles and themes all come together nicely, the way I described it is very linear, so it's not like the rooms are aligned in a row. They're sort of in a square formation.

I thought this would be about ARM, IA-32, PowerPC, SPARC, etc....

I guess I kinda all over the place about what I like. I like some characteristics of Art Nouveau and some of Deco. For example I prefer lines over curves, but asymmetrical over symmetrical. I like traditional/natural materials and colors, especially stone.

I like houses such as ranches that have sprawling, interesting floor plans over a rectangular colonial. I know a colonial could also have a complex floor plan but then I'd have some huge house I don't need. I also like architecture that stands out, but still looks like it belongs in that environment. For example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hartford_Seminary_-_Hartford,_CT_-_1.jpg is way too modern and standing out for me.

I can appreciate most stuff. I like the smoothness and clean orderly look of ultra-modern, but I love the classiness of Art Deco.

It doesn't REALLY matter to me, but I like old, classic type things like old fashioned theaters for plays and what not, as well as modern. I love the look of a modern kitchen, but I love walking into a massive intricately decorated theater.

Im into gothic things myself. Gargoyles and buildings like the ones in say.. Fable 2 or Gilneas. Something about them attracts me very much. The buildings seem to hold a personality, or story to it.

I hate modern city architecture. The way all these buildings look... dead, without personality. They remind me of cages. Cages covered in logos and advertisemants.

I love old-brick buildings, and barns. Especially Barns that are actually houses, those are the best. Something about them just feels down-homey to me.

I'm an architect. I do find quite a bit of that International Style architecture like someone mentioned earlier with Corbusier to be heartless and dull. I can find an element of beauty in most architecture, but I don't flaunt over the ornate when something direct and simple is beautiful, like Tadao Ando's http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_E-U7KDrvlEE/R6P_71jQixI/AAAAAAAAAF4/UMAHSSapQaA/s320/churchx2.gif I'm not shy though to state my support for overwhelming experiences like the http://monicaspitzer.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/p1030084.jpg or the http://www.thebraziltravelsite.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/saobentorio.gif.

The firm I work for does a lot of catholic churches, and they tend to like having towers and ornamentation. Below I included a link to some pictures of a church I was proud to work on that we built with the insurance money from the old church, which was destroyed by an arsonist.
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kspr-st-marys-church-reopens-12072010,0,3839121.photogallery

Art Deco. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GoldenGateBridge-001.jpg to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Los_Angeles_City_Hall_%28color%29_edit1.jpg it fits California so well. Represents a brief time when this was the promised land of the US.

One of my favorite Art Deco buildings is the old http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2007/08/no-56-bullocks-wilshire-building.html on Wilshire Boulevard in L.A.. It would have been cool to have seen it at its hey day full of shoppers (its apparently used by a law school now).