2004-05-02

Today I went to visit a friend who lives nearly-on-the-Hill, so I decided to park my car on the beach and walk up there. You know, for some exercise.

THe waves had calmed down. A couple of days ago I came down and the waves were massive and chaotic, as they can be this time of year. I walked up the promenade and up the road. Going this way, I was going past the Newcastle Police Station. Fuck its a horrible building. And so begins my rant about architecture.

When designing a new station, it was obviously a time where grand, cement, obtrusive buildings were all the go. I suspect it was built in the eighties. Its a double story, cement, round sort of building. At the front is a big cement flourish, obscuring the front of the building, like a big block to easy access. The door sits meekly to the back and on the right. Its a tiny door to this huge building, ensuring that those daring to enter have considered the enormity of doing so. No one is encouraged to enter. It is not welcoming.

In the past, why has architecture been so user UN-friendly? Grandeur, enormity, imposition have ruled. Grey, steel, square have prevailed. There have always been architects with vision I am sure, but their visions have not been realised on the same scale as mediocre, mass-trained, run-of-the-mill architects. Even now, we are building this crap - look at the apartments and townhouses being built in your nearest metropolitan centre.

One could be naive and think that perhaps in this modern time, we may be having more insightful buildings being erected. But even if they were, its very late in the game, and we are increasingly using technologies that create a more isolated lifestyle. So will we have the ability to use these buildings. Aren't we approaching a time where and it won't matter about our buildings, cuz we never leave them anyhow? And we increasingly want to keep 'people' out of our personal spaces?