建筑专业英语文章.docx
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建筑专业英语文章.docx
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建筑专业英语文章
CITYCULTURESSeeingManhattanfromthe110thflooroftheWorldTradeCenter.Beneaththehazestirredupbythewinds,theurbanisland,aseainthemiddleofthesea,liftsuptheskyscrapersoverWallStreet,sinksdownatGreenwich,thenrisesagaintothecrestofMidtown,quietlypassesoverCentralParkandfinallyundulatesoffintothedistancebeyondHarlem.Awaveofverticals.Itsagitationismomentarilyarrestedbyvision.Agiganticmassisimmobilizedbeforeoureyes.(deCerteau1988:
91)Whobuiltit?
Anon,that'swho.NobodybuilttheNewYorkskyline.Nobodybythethousands.(HeleneHanff,AppleofMyEye,1984:
35)Introduction:
acityimaginedOn11September2001,graphicimagesofthedestructionoftwooftheworld'stallestbuildings-thenorthandsouthtowersoftheWorldTradeCenterinNewYorkCity-unfoldedontelevisionsetsaroundtheworld.Theenormityandcomplexityofthistragedy,whilemanifest,were,nevertheless,compoundedbythefactthatmostpeoplewitnesseditasamediaspectacle.Thus,itwaswithinestablishedmediainterpretativeframes(includingtheplotsandimagesofcountlessHollywoodmovies)thattheirinitialreactionswereformed.ButtheninmanyrespectsNewYorkisamediaconstruction-theskylineofManhattanisinstantlyandgloballyfamiliareventhoughthemajorityoftheworld'spopulationhasneverbeenthereandwillnevergo.Indeed,ManhattanemergedasalandscapeoftowersatthesametimeasfilmtechnologyandthemovieindustryweredevelopingintheUnitedStates.ItwaslargelyasaresultofthiscoincidencethattheManhattanbackdropbecameoneofthemostsignificantanddefiningimagesnotjustofarchitecturalmodernism,butalsoofthevaluesandachievementsofthetwentiethcentury.ManhattanequalsNeiyYorkandNewYorkisperhapstheworld'sgreatestcity.Itwaswithinthissetofimaginingsthatintheearly1970sthe'twintowers'assumedtheirplacebothaspotentsymbolsoflatemodernityandtestimoniestotheglobaleconomicpowerofNewYorkandtheUnitedStates.Rising411metresabovegroundlevel,thetowersdominatedthecity'sskylineandprovidedsomeofthemostsought-afterpostcardviewsandestablishingshotsofNewYork.Thedestructionofthetowers,therefore,wasconsiderablymorethanapersonalorlocaltragedy.Itwasimbuedwitharangeofnational,global,cultural,urbanandsymbolicsignificances.Indeed,itwenttothecoreofwhatitmeanttobe'modern'.ThosewhoareoldenoughcanrememberwhenthetwintowerspassedtheEmpireStatebuilding(alsoinNewYorkCity)astheworld'stallestbuildings.Eveninthe1970s,such'facts'werestillregardedasimportantmarkersof'man's'abilityto'conquer'natureandnowherewasevidenceofthissupremacymorevisibleandirrefutablethaninthegreatcitiesoftheworldandtheirarchitecturalandengineeringtriumphs-inparticular,theirbridgesandskyscrapers.Themetropoliswastheantithesisofnatureandthesymbolofitsdefeat.InordertoappreciatethedepthofthissentimentandtheculturalsignificancesthattheNewYorkskylinecametoassume,itisnecessaryfirsttounderstandthesocialandeconomiccontextswithinwhichitsearlyskyscraperswereconstructedandtheskyscraperbuildingfrenzythatgrippedNewYorkbetweentheFirstWorldWarandthegreatdepressionofthe1930s.RobertHughes(1997:
404ff)suggestsinhisbookAmericanVisionsaboutthehistoryofAmericanartthatitwasduringthisperiodthattheNewYorkskyscraperemergedbothasaculturaliconandartform.Hearguesthatfrom1926inparticular,thebuildingboominNewYorkwasdominatedbya'racetothesky'-araceultimatelywonbytheEmpireStatebuildingonitscompletionin1930.Skyscraperswereseenasheroicnotonlybecauseoftheirbreathtakingheight.Theentireprocessofbuildingthemwasregardedwithfascinationandawe,whilespeculationaboundedregardinghowhighthesebuildingsmighteventuallygo.Inaddition,keymilestonesreachedduringtheconstructionofmanyskyscrapersbecamethefocusofpubliccelebrationswhichoftenfeaturedsuchattractionsas'girldancers[being]hiredtoperformon...baregirders,hundredsoffeetupinthedizzyingair,fortheavidmedia'(Hughes1997:
405).Needlesstosay,itwasopportunisticlocalpoliticiansandthecommercialenterprisesresponsibleforbuildingthetowerswhostagedsuchpromotionalstunts.Untiltheearly1930s,theconstruction,completion,officialopeningandfinalformofeachnewskyscraperwereevents-centralelementsofthespectacleofNewYorkCity.Whatdeveloped,accordingtoHughes(1997:
405)wasa'romance'betweenNewYorkers,theirskyscrapersandtheircity.AlthoughallAmericans'weredazedbytheforceoftheirnewimagery'(Hughes1997:
405)tosuchanextentthat,Hughesgoesontoassert:
NoAmericanpaintingorsculpture...wasabletoaccumulate,atleastintheordinarypublic'seyes,thekindofculturalpowerthattheskyscrapershad.Norindeed,couldithavedoneso-mostAmericansdidn'tcareaboutart,especiallymodernart...Bigbuildingswerealwaysbeforeyou;merepaintingswerenot.(Hughes1997:
419)Andcourtesyoffilm,artandphotographythe'bigbuildings'werealso'before'therestoftheworld,andittoowasmesmerized.ThelandscapeofNewYorklookedvastlydifferentfromthoseofEuropeancities:
InParis,onlymonumentalbuildingsdevotedtosacredorgovernmentalinstitutionswereallowedtoexceedtheheightlimit;inLondon,onlypurelyornamentaltowerscouldriseabovetheroofscape.InNewYork,however,thesoaringcommercialtowerhadalreadybecomethesalientornamentofthecity-scapeandtheinalienablerightofrealtors.(Sternetal.1987:
508)OnevisitsNewYorkfirstandforemosttoseeandexperienceitslandscape.InthepassagequotedatthestartofthischapterculturaltheoristMicheldeCerteaudescribestheelationhefeltatseeing(fromtheobservationdeckoftheWorldTradeCenter)thecityofNewYorklaidoutand'immobilized'beforehim.Similarly,PhilipKasinitz(1995),echoingdeCerteau,celebratestheworld's'great'cities(andthesignificantstructureswegazeonthemfrom)inthefollowingway:
Theexhilarationwefeelwhenweviewagreatcityfromoneofthoserarevantagepointswhereonecan'takeitallin'-ParisfromtheEiffelTower,LowerManhattanfromtheBrooklynBridge-isthethrillofseeinginonemomenttheenormityof...humanwork.(Kasinitz1995:
3)Despitethe'exhilaration'thatmightbefeltwhenviewinga'great'cityfromthetopofa'great'builtstructure,ourfeelingstowardsthecityanditsskyscrapersarealsodeeplycontradictory,beingsimultaneouslysourcesofexhilaration,fearandapprehension-'citiesaregreataswellasfearsome'(Zukin1997:
vii).Theyalso'representthebasestinstinctsofhumansociety'(Zukin1997:
1).Weareawareofthisambiguityevenaswecelebratethem-wearebothattractedandrepelled.Viewingacityfromagreatheightisawayoftamingit.However,theobserverisalsorenderedifolnerablebytheexperience.Inordertojourneytothetopofaskyscraperonemusttrustintheknowledgeandskillsofcountlessfaceless'experts'-builders,engineers,labourers,maintenanceworkersandarchitects.Thistrustingis,asAnthonyGiddens(1990)explains,acorefeatureoflatemodernity.ThehelplessnessfeltwhenwatchingthewoundedtowersoftheWorldTradeCentercrumbleontothestreetsoflowerManhattanrevealedtheambivalencewithwhichweregardtheskyscraperandthefragilityofourtrustintheexpertknowledgesystemsonwhichwerely.Inart,too,the'darkerside'ofourrelationshipwiththecityandtheskyscraperhasalsobeenexplored/exposed.Thecity'sloomingshapesfrequentlyhavebeencompellingsymbolsofdangerandtheunknownevenastheyspeakofprogress,modernityandthefuture.Forinstance,theplaysoflightandshadefeaturedinHughFerriss's(1929,1953)architecturalrenderingsofNewYorkinthe1920screatebroodinglandscapesthatcapturetheconflictingemotionsstimulatedbycityspaceandtheskyscraper.InmanyofFerriss'sdrawingsthetopsofskyscrapersareshroudedinshadowwhiletheirbottoms-thoseedgesencounteredonthestreet-areluminous.Theresultevokesnotionsoftheknownandtheunknown.Whatisknowniswhatcanbeseenatstreetlevel,whilewhatisunknownloomsinthetwilightabove.InrepresentingtheideasandurbanimaginingsofthosearchitectswhowereattheforefrontofreshapingtheManhattanskyline,Ferriss'sworkwasasmuchaboutthecityasitsfuturewasbeingimaginedduringthisperiodofskyscraper-buildingasitwasaboutthecityatthetime.HisrepresentationswereofanurbanandarchitecturalUtopiathatwasinspiredbythepresentandmadepossiblebycontemporarytechnologybutwhichwasyettotakeshape.Manykeythemesinthestudy,interpretationandexperienceofcitiescoalescedaroundtheeventsof11Septemberand,thus,thismomentpointstoahostofissuesthatunderpintheconcernsofthisbook-inparticular,thenatureof(post)modernurbanism,theambivalentrelationshipthatexistsbetweenpeopleandtheircities,andthevariouswaysinwhichthisrelationshipisshapedthroughexperience,imaginationandpower.Theacademicstudyofthecityisanendeavourthatcanbetracedbacktothenineteenthcenturyandtheworkofthe'foundingfathers'ofsociology,includingKarlMarx,FriedrichEngelsandMaxWeber.Sociologywasconcernedwithindustrializationandmodernity-andascitiesweretheplaceswheretheconsequencesandcontradictionsofbothweremostevidentandmostprofoundlyexperienced,theybecamethealmostaccidentalobjectsoftheira
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