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Legion. An amalgamated journal.

The red brick blues

Years ago, I wrote an op-ed begging for the end of red brick in Harvard architecture:

To many, the elegant lines of the Holyoke Center or the giant concrete triangle of Gund Hall just don’t make sense within the iconography of Harvard. Every time you hear somebody complain about Mather House or snidely contrast the Science Center to Memorial Hall, you’re hearing the words of somebody who’s still getting played around by red brick.

I meant it vertically, but it applies horizontally too: I saw an awful lot of people literally getting “played around by red brick” this evening attempting to stay upright. Matt Yglesias and Rob Goodspeed have previously questioned the utility of brick as a public works tool in sidewalks, and for good reason. They’re ugly, they’re expensive, they’re easily-destroyed by the elements, and, most of all, they’re miserable to walk on.

Garrett Dash Nelson

January 28th, 2009 at 10:10 pm