Thursday, June 11, 2009

Australia - Sydney - An Open Letter to the City of Sydney Concerning Its Architecture

Dear Sydney,

You are renown for one of the most famous buildings in the world. This would lead one to believe that you are at the forefront of attractive architecture. Mistakenly.

You have so much potential. Where did you go wrong? You have a stunning natural setting of harbour front, beautiful beaches, ocean galore, scenic cliffsides and more. And obviously for many years, the majesty of the region was duly reflected in the construction of city buildings when the colony was first founded, as evident by the number of really beautiful old buildings sprinkled throughout the city centre.

And yet... sometime in the later half of the 1900's, you thought it'd be a great idea to throw up the world's ugliest skyscrapers and apartment buildings to fill the gaps and overwhelm the space between the extensive public gardens and the colonial edifices. What might have been a truly amazing skyline on the harbour front is plagued with company logos tacked atop monstrous utilitarian concrete blocks (think the Dunn building on Carleton campus, but taller) and apartment towers that look like the construction companies forgot to put the outside wall on the building frame.

Such a waste.

Regards,

Us

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