I am convinced that style has very little to do with the real success of buildings. Although we as architects spend a lot of time and energy screaming about “modernism” or “regionalism” or “post-structuralism,” in the end, design genre does not make any guarantee about design quality or the ability of a building to make a difference in its culture.
This summer I had the opportunity to see two iconic works of postmodern architecture within a couple of weeks—the town of Seaside in Florida by Duany Plater-Zyberk and the Portland Building in Oregon by Michael Graves. Both were deemed revolutionary in their era and provoked extraordinary discussion and controversy. They are both about 30 years old now—plenty of time to really judge their success.
I made the trek to Seaside because Marlon Blackwell, who was speaking at a conference with me in nearby Destin, commented that he had rented a cottage there with his family for a week. I am interested in where really good designers go to make their own lives richer and more enjoyable when they have choices to make.
Seaside did not disappoint! The little streets and lanes have a wonderful, intimate scale that makes the town operate beautifully for pedestrians. Even on a hot summer day, the mature trees made the pathways shady and cool. The gentle cottages hid modestly behind the trees, also happy to be in the shade. Porches and verandas abound, and people were out on them relaxing and even offering greetings when I walked by.
The Portland Building provoked the opposite reaction. The exterior has not weathered well and its flashy “look at me” color and patterning just drew attention to how hollow and meaningless it all seemed. The huge, extravagant statue of Portlandia at the entry contrasted sharply with the dark, parsimonious places where people have to work inside.
It seems irresponsible to write off certain genres because of the failure of some iconic projects, and it seems equally ill advised to somehow think that working in a “cool” genre is any assurance projects will have a better chance of success.
