Is less really a bore?
An interesting topic mentioned in class Tuesday is the impact of the decorated shed on the American landscape. While most of us are familiar with this type of architecture in the context of Las Vegas buildings, we tend to overlook the fact that the decorated shed surrounds us daily. In contrast, the “duck” is a building type we rarely see in our daily life. In my opinion, the idea of the “duck” tends to draw a fine line between architecture that can be perceived as a joke, vs. architecture that can studied in years to come. While the debate between the duck vs. decorated shed undoubtedly influenced architecture in the postmodern era, it brings up the question…when is it too much?
I think your point that the decorated shed is an architecture that has the potential to be studied in years to come compared to the "duck". The decorated shed surrounds us but in a way is an ignored architecture. In school it is not really discussed or studied in any depth. I think we have a tendency to lean towards the "duck" and the dramatic rather than what actually inhabits our world.
ReplyDeleteSo bringing this to modern day and some starchitects, are their projects what we might consider "ducks?" I think back to a Zaha project in Hong Kong I visited: it was beautiful but nonfunctional for the students that used it. Are decorated sheds, though distasteful in some regard, more user-friendly than "ducks?" I think we should study decorated sheds and the surrounding suburbia so that we can make that architecture more appealing. A cross between ducks and decorated sheds. Is that possible?
ReplyDelete^ this is Libby. Apparently the website logged me out mid-post
DeleteCharlotte, to answer your question: when is it too much? (a duck building). In my opinion, as long as the building still has something for us to study, or to add to the discourse - it is more than just a joke. For example, the new Apple store in Chicago who’s roof resembles a MacBook pro is a good example of a duck building that has more to offer than just it’s look.
ReplyDeleteLea, please forgive me for twisting your words, but if "decorated sheds" are boring, are "ducks" boorish?
ReplyDeleteBoth Lea and Gray pointed out that decorated sheds have become so common that many of us ignore them. In a consumer-driven society, decorated sheds are cheap, throwaway structures that builders can either refit or tear down with little fuss after the buildings serve their initial purposes.
On the other hand, while a "duck" might be considered garish, unlike the decorated shed, it is not practical. A duck will not change to serve new people or new purposes. The donut shop in Lea's image will not convert easily to an insurance agency or florist. Like a bad party guest, the duck might seem fun at first, but he is likely to wear out his welcome. Overtime, the duck will become useless and even offensive.
Both building types seem to be products of American culture--born from capitalism, cheap land, and dependence on the automobile. I suspect that these conditions--combined with emerging towns with limited architectural identity--fueled the building of both the ubiquitous decorated shed and the occasional duck.