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"Art Deco style was of the moment with Control Room A boasting teak parquet flooring laid in a herringbone pattern and walls tiled in grey Italian marble offset

"Art Deco style was of the moment with Control Room A boasting teak parquet flooring laid in a herringbone pattern and walls tiled in grey Italian marble offset by black Belgian marble detailing through the room, matched by a gold painted coffered glass ceiling." this was a power station what happened

semi-extrinsic 4y ago
There is a (IMO quite funny) conspiracy theory that there was a massive disaster at a leading architecture and design conference some time in the 1930s, such that almost everyone who knew how to make beautiful things died, and nowadays we actually can't design and build beautiful buildings anymore, it's all ugly modernist stuff.
- mortenjorck 4y ago
  The funny thing is, there are still plenty of beautiful modernist buildings from the 1940s and beyond (look at some of Mies' 1960s office towers, for instance), and yet the idea that a power plant could or should have that level of care and quality put into it somehow fell (far) out of favor. Imagine a modern power plant control room with a look somewhere between an Apple store and the Parks' home in Parasite. This is what they took from you!
  - myself248 4y ago
    I've been watching a lot of Proper People urbex videos on YouTube, and they go out of their way to recognize the design that went into ordinary places, back when those places were somewhat extraordinary. You see, in the 1930s, electric power _was_ glamorous, even its generation. The idea of a municipal utility _serving the public_ was a big deal. All the modern miracles that enabled dense cities to grow upward, electric water pumps and elevators and inter-office telephones, were shiny and new and worth celebrating. So, celebrate they did. Telephone central offices built in the 1920s and 30s are cathedrals to the tamed electron, with ornate Art-Deco carvings and stone arches and tile inlay adorning their entrances. I've had the privilege (yes!) of working in quite a number of them, and while the asbestos precautions are a hassle sometimes, there is a palpable feeling, even a century later, of showing up to work somewhere respectable. Proud. Exalted.
ceejayoz 4y ago
We realized that the 99.999% of the population would never visit the plant, and thus prefer a dollar or two savings on their bill.
- recursivedoubts 4y ago
  libraries don't look like this anymore either
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    Similar scenario, really; more books, computers, programs, and librarians trumps a fancy building in my book.
    - quacked 4y ago
      Your book is why people now hate their small towns and are completely apathetic to communal life. Saving a dollar or six hundred thousand lasts about five years; an ugly, plain building that no one cares about continues damaging public pride in society for thirty to sixty years.
FabHK 4y ago
Zeche Zollverein is an industrial complex in Essen, Germany. Shaft 12, built in the 1930s in the Bauhaus style, has been called the "most beautiful coal mine in the world": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industrial_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industrial_Complex#/media/File:Essen_-_Zeche-Zollverein_-_Eingangstor_-_2013.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria...

semi-extrinsic 4y ago

There is a (IMO quite funny) conspiracy theory that there was a massive disaster at a leading architecture and design conference some time in the 1930s, such that almost everyone who knew how to make beautiful things died, and nowadays we actually can't design and build beautiful buildings anymore, it's all ugly modernist stuff.

mortenjorck 4y ago
The funny thing is, there are still plenty of beautiful modernist buildings from the 1940s and beyond (look at some of Mies' 1960s office towers, for instance), and yet the idea that a power plant could or should have that level of care and quality put into it somehow fell (far) out of favor. Imagine a modern power plant control room with a look somewhere between an Apple store and the Parks' home in Parasite. This is what they took from you!
- myself248 4y ago
  I've been watching a lot of Proper People urbex videos on YouTube, and they go out of their way to recognize the design that went into ordinary places, back when those places were somewhat extraordinary. You see, in the 1930s, electric power _was_ glamorous, even its generation. The idea of a municipal utility _serving the public_ was a big deal. All the modern miracles that enabled dense cities to grow upward, electric water pumps and elevators and inter-office telephones, were shiny and new and worth celebrating. So, celebrate they did. Telephone central offices built in the 1920s and 30s are cathedrals to the tamed electron, with ornate Art-Deco carvings and stone arches and tile inlay adorning their entrances. I've had the privilege (yes!) of working in quite a number of them, and while the asbestos precautions are a hassle sometimes, there is a palpable feeling, even a century later, of showing up to work somewhere respectable. Proud. Exalted.

ceejayoz 4y ago

We realized that the 99.999% of the population would never visit the plant, and thus prefer a dollar or two savings on their bill.

recursivedoubts 4y ago
libraries don't look like this anymore either
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  Similar scenario, really; more books, computers, programs, and librarians trumps a fancy building in my book.
  - quacked 4y ago
    Your book is why people now hate their small towns and are completely apathetic to communal life. Saving a dollar or six hundred thousand lasts about five years; an ugly, plain building that no one cares about continues damaging public pride in society for thirty to sixty years.

FabHK 4y ago

Zeche Zollverein is an industrial complex in Essen, Germany. Shaft 12, built in the 1930s in the Bauhaus style, has been called the "most beautiful coal mine in the world": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industrial_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industrial_Complex#/media/File:Essen_-_Zeche-Zollverein_-_Eingangstor_-_2013.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria...