Don’t stick an ugly skyscraper in the middle of Paris

 

The discussion of the envelope brings to mind the importance of context to a site. A building that fails to take into account the context of its environment, no matter how beautiful, innovative, or interesting, has rejected the notion of place and experience in a self centred design. You often see buildings that have been built ‘out of context’ like this, a modern skyscraper among a network of classical buildings, heavily criticised by the public. While sometimes the context eventually adjusts and embraces the addition like with Paris and the Eiffel Tower, we also see the opposite such as with Montparnasse Tower, almost universally disliked since its opening in 1973. In fact, there is a common joke that the best view in Paris is from the top of Montparnasse Tower because it’s the only place you can’t see the tower itself. The envelope is important as communication and cooperation between a building and its context.