Tradition for Sale: On University Architecture

Re:Tradition for Sale: On University Architecture by michaelt on Friday December 01, 2017 @12:31PM (#15825495)

  Do you want a building to be beautiful or functional?

Seems like a false dichotomy to me.

I mean, you can choose which elements of old buildings to copy and which not to copy; you can copy brickwork, window design and courtyard layouts without copying poor disabled access, ineffective climate control or impractical staircase layout.

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Re:Tradition for Sale: On University Architecture by mirceal on Friday December 01, 2017 @12:51PM (#15825682)

is it? I'm not saying you need one or the other. I'm saying that it's a spectrum and you have to chose what you optimize for. The most functional building is not going to be the most beautiful one and vice-versa.

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Re:Tradition for Sale: On University Architecture by njarboe on Friday December 01, 2017 @01:05PM (#15825780)

That is why one should hire a great architect. To try and get as much as possible of both with a given location and budget. With a bad one you can easliy get neither. See sites on bad McMansions.

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Re:Tradition for Sale: On University Architecture by mirceal on Friday December 01, 2017 @01:21PM (#15825918)

Agree. And you can definitely get some of both. My original badly made point was that you cannot prioritize form over function and get away with it. Now that I think about it I guess the reverse is true (ie you cannot prioritize function over form and call it a day).

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