3 ms·

While I also consider the fake shutters silly, when it comes to the broader fake = cheap feeling, I used to think the same way but recently got educated and it

by j_4 5y ago

While I also consider the fake shutters silly, when it comes to the broader fake = cheap feeling, I used to think the same way but recently got educated and it changed my outlook a lot. Please think of a Greek temple, something that probably evokes feelings of monumental, functional beauty to last the ages. But their structures are largely non-functional, and stone is ill-suited to their construction - consider their long, horizontal roof beams. This is widely considered to be a result of faking wood structures with their light frames, and the classical columns we all know were likely meant to imitate bundles of wooden poles that originally served this role. This theory is known as petrification.[1] Modern neoclassicist buildings are fakery all the way down. They usually have steel frames at their hearts and zero need for stone veneers, columns, and arches, but we still enjoy the traditional, trustworthy feel they evoke. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_architecture#Petrification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_architecture#Petrifi...

joshspankit 5y ago
I got educated on something new today. Thank you. It does shift my outlook, but not enough. Let’s say that the Greek structures were the “fake spoilers” of their day and we mistakenly took it as the pinnacle of engineering and craft. That doesn’t change the fact that marble lasts longer than wood, or that certain designs can objectively hold more weight from a heavy roof, or that some designs keep rain and snow out better than others. From that perspective, I argue that “fake shutters” are less like Greek columns and more like a fisher-price hammer (especially when a nail needs to be hammered).
crusty 5y ago
I think your description of modern buildings faking classical ones actually meshes with the author's. If the fake shutters were sized correctly such that we could picture them covering the windows when closed, they would be more palatable. And likewise, if a modern steel structure, clad in stone veneer put in false columns that only went up halfway to the roof above and then just left empty space above them, they probably would be irksome to no end.

by j_4 5y ago

joshspankit 5y ago

I got educated on something new today. Thank you. It does shift my outlook, but not enough. Let’s say that the Greek structures were the “fake spoilers” of their day and we mistakenly took it as the pinnacle of engineering and craft. That doesn’t change the fact that marble lasts longer than wood, or that certain designs can objectively hold more weight from a heavy roof, or that some designs keep rain and snow out better than others. From that perspective, I argue that “fake shutters” are less like Greek columns and more like a fisher-price hammer (especially when a nail needs to be hammered).

crusty 5y ago

I think your description of modern buildings faking classical ones actually meshes with the author's. If the fake shutters were sized correctly such that we could picture them covering the windows when closed, they would be more palatable. And likewise, if a modern steel structure, clad in stone veneer put in false columns that only went up halfway to the roof above and then just left empty space above them, they probably would be irksome to no end.