Bring back the blight
An article in Monday's Washington Post has been annoying Marnie to the point where I have to write about it. Actually, Marnie hasn't even read it. But she's listened to me get worked up about it to the point that the article has begun to irritate her.
The story is about the slew of residential high-rise buildings that have begun to line Massachusetts Ave. between Dupont Circle and Union Station. The article describes the buildings as being "block-fillers and often very drab" with "bland exteriors" that "feel as if they could just as well be in Ballston or South Florida."
Author Philip Kennicott writes that "building fast has generally trumped building beautiful," adding that "many of the buildings pay a bare minimal homage to the residential style of old neighborhoods in Washington."
(Full disclosure: I live in one of these Massachusetts Ave. corridor buildings.)
(And this may be one of those no-one-beats-up-my-little-brother-but-me things, since I too have been known to call my building ugly.)
Kennicott's story makes me angry because it sets an impossible standard for these buildings. He says that they have an "inexorable thrust upward," as if that removes the residents from the neighborhood itself. But indeed it has the opposite effect; high-rise buildings bring so many residents to the neighborhood that their mere presence gives nearby streets a vibe not seen in years.
He wants Massachusetts Ave. to be lined with a few cute little row-houses instead? As if real estate prices aren't high enough, single-family homes would have to cost zillions of dollars to bring in the same income these high-rise buildings generate.
Okay, Marnie. We can talk about something else now.
5 comments:
You're distorting his point. Kennicot never mentions wanting Massachusetts Ave. lined with cute little rowhouses.
His point is this: "there is little emphasis on the avenue as its own architectural and aesthetic entity." He's arguing that the buildings up and down Massachusetts Ave. could have been architectural showpieces for the new century, instead of template condos constructed so quickly the builders failed to install the proper lips on vents to prevent flooding.
Touché. But other than build row-houses, how could developers have met his request for "baring homage to the residential style of old neighborhoods in Washington"?
Well, it doesn't have to be a literal homage. I'm no architect (your mom's an architect?), but they're clever people, and the best ones are adept at using modern materials and methods to evoke a bygone spirit.
funny that ed002d mentions proper lips on vents -- we had water after a very heavy, sideways-blowing rain in our new-construction condo in Chicago. hmmmm.
Certain Chicago neighborhoods require new buildings to try to fit into the neighborhood, while others have tons of the same 3 or 4-unit, red-brick condo buildings. Architects can do other things or give their buildings more detail, but of course that requires more time and money. The neighborhood would have to legislate a zone to require it.
A June rainstorm flooded my building due to the problem with the vent lip.
But come on -- you guys want a several-mile-long stretch of road to have 11-story buildings that evoke a bygone spirit? Maybe one or two could do that, but we're talking about a LOT of buildings!
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