TOWARD AND OLD ARCHITECTURE
Table 2. Comparition of Urban Sprawl with Megastructure
Urban Sprawl Megastructure
Ugly and ordinary Heroic and original
Depends on explicit symbolism Reject explicit symbolism
Symbols in space From in space
Image From
Mixed media Pure architecture
Big signs designed by commercial Little signs (and only if absolutely
artists necessary) designed by “graphic artists”
Auto environment Post-and pre-auto environment
Cars Public transportation
Takes the parking lot seriously and “Straight” architecture with serious but
pastiches the pedestrian ego centric aims for the pedestrian; it irresponsibly ignores or tries to “piazzafy” the parking lot
Disneyland Piazzas
Promote by sale staff Promote by expert
Feasible and being built Technologically feasible perhaps, but socially and economically unfeasible
Popular life-style “Correct” life-style
Historical style Modern style
Uses typological models Uses original creation
Process City Ville Radieus
Looks awful Makes a nice model
Architects don’t like Architects like
20th-century communication technology 19th-century industrial vision
Social realism Science fiction
Expedience Technological indulgence
Expedient Visionary
Ambiguous urban image Traditional urban image
Vital mess “Total Design” (and design review boards)
Building for markets Building for man
This year’s problem The old architectural revolution
Heterogeneous image The easy image
The difficult whole The easy whole