Architecture

I firmly believe that architecture should have been banned during the 1960s and 1970s. I have two very good examples to support my hypothesis.

Case #1: My high school, built in 1974, originally an "open concept" design to facilitate learning, until they realized not having walls in classrooms is actually disruptive to learning:
Source: Bayridge Secondary School

Is this not an uninspiring school? To my recollection, no classrooms had windows (though virtually every hallway did), the haphazardous walls erected to eliminate the open concept areas meant the HVAC system (ducts) weren't necessarily providing adequate airflow, and the gym had abnormally low ceilings (the gym was going to be a pool until the school ran out of funding, and instead of building a gym, they converted what was to be a pool into a gym). Is that not random? Hey, at least it was air-conditioned in the warm months. And I do remember some amazing teachers!


Case #2: Where I spent most of my time at University - Botterell Hall, building of which was completed in 1979:
Source: Queen's University

Okay, there are many other buildings at Queen's Universtiy. Botterell Hall is the home of the medical and life sciences. My major was life scienes; where do you think I spent a lot of my time? I also spent lots of time in the Biosciences Complex, Stauffer Library, Kingston Hall, and a few other spots, most of which were gorgeous buildings. But at least half my classes were based out of Botterell, which was almost as uninspiring (from the outside) as my high school was.


Thanks, Architects from the '60s and '70s, for making my high school years so ... interesting.


Let me further prove that architecture both before and after the 60's and '70s is good.












L-R: Summerhill (1839), Chernoff Hall (2002), and an aerial of the campus.

See, isn't most of the campus pretty? Weren't the buildings NOT built in the 1960s and 1970s actually nice looking buildings?

Tomorrow, I'll discuss how architecture from the '60s and '70s will affect decorating my reception hall.