The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

http://irritatedtulsan.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/more/

Not necessarily my opinion, but an interesting list to start a conversation.   

Apparently, the person that put up this web site has absolutely zero appreciation for mid-twentieth century architecture.  I find about 85% of the structures on this list to be Tulsa landmarks, great architecture, and worthy of preservation.

There is no accounting for taste.  I bet the author of this "awesomely bad" site lives in some fake stucco "tuscan" monstrosity of a home, in a gated community, with no appreciation whatsoever for architectural history. 

A really bad list of bad architecture. There's some really great buildings on that list.

Or better yet, dude probably lives in a mobile home in the middle of Elba Terrace....

 ;D

That's sorta gated....if you consider foot-tall speed bumps a deterrent.

I vaguely remember that sort of thing being humorous or satirical when I was 30. I see neither of those things on that blog as an old fart. I missed any parody altogether. Frankly, its hard to be humorous, relevant and cool between the age of 30 and 50. That's just the truth. :) Tulsa needs some humor, but I don't think that's what we have in mind.

I liked almost all of those buildings for different reasons.

Hey now, I know three people that live in Elba Terrace, and I actually like two of them.

A good friend of mine lives there now, and an inlaw used to live there.  That's the only reason I dropped the name, because it was the only name of a trailer park I could think of!

I agree,  when I read the list I was thinking, what is this guy missing.  ORU is an outstanding piece of architectural design. 

The one thing that stands out about most of these buildings is that they're unique.  Love 'em or hate 'em, they stand out for a reason.  Most of them add a sort of quirky uniqueness or character to the city.  Having something to love or hate is not necessarily a bad thing.

My personal list of awesomely bad "architecture" would be filled with the bland, essentially identical commercial buildings and homes that define new construction.  Do these buildings even HAVE architects?  Or are they simply "engineered?"  (Or was the very first one designed by an architecture school dropout...and the next several thousand were essentially duplicates?)

I laugh when I see the photos of homes for sale in the real estate section.  Each one appears to be a garage with living quarters in the rear.  So it's funny when realtors try to describe the design.  The blank garage door IS the design.  (Dominating the front of the house, it's the "focal point.")  Fancy garage doors are referred to as "French Provencial" or "Tuscan Villa."  Plain garage doors mark the home as a "charming cottage."

I hate the fact that we line our arterial streets with such half-a$sed, inane commercial "design" that the buildings are essentially fungible.  The only distinction is the corporate logo on the side.  99% of them will have a "design detail" I think of as the "barn vent" or "guard tower."  It's the little bit that sticks up with the triangular rooftop.  These are everywhere.  A ubiquitous design cliche.   (In a barn, they actually allow the hot air to rise up out of the hay loft and prevent fires.  In a prison, it's where the guards hang out with rifles, ready to shoot escapees.

In Tulsa, when a developer is getting ready to paste another of these boxes with barn vents on our landscape, they call it "prairie style."  And nobody laughs at them.  That's how little we know about architecture.  Sigh.

Here's an interesting one in Phoenix......

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/Pyramid.jpg)


I happen to like alot of the architecture in Tulsa because it is an interesting and eclectic mix. You can see the time line of Tulsa's growth with the different styles. My wife has only been to Tulsa a few times and the one thing she always talks about is the different styles of buildings.

Here's an example of what passes for "architecture" on modern commercial buildings:  "pointy heads" on every building!

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3524/3724036982_024b59e826.jpg?v=0)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3723227099_a8d4f9f2a4.jpg?v=0)

Good grief y'all, it's just an opinion about some buildings. Pity he/she is not as enlightened as those in this thread when it comes to architecture.

This is what came after Modernism.  It's the current rage and it's called Post-Modernism.  It started around 1980 with Philip Johnson's AT&T Tower in NYC.  That’s the one with a broken Pediment roof. 

I see all these recent big a** roofs as a reaction to the flat roofs of Modernism.  They are kind of like the architectural equivalent of "Big Hair." 

You think you are tired of these roofs now, wait another 10 years and you'll be totally revolted.  Wait 100 years and you'll be charmed.  That's how fashion works.

p.s.  The example here is typical of Tulsa's more recent architecture.  It's an engineer designed knock off repeated thousands of time.  "Cheap" is the defining principal.  Old Tulsa would have hired an architect and had a unique product.  Old Tulsa had class.  New Tulsa is cheap.

 

Makes sense on a barn...

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/2916311761_1e9578ae10.jpg?v=1223340753)

There appears to be some deferred maintenance on this structure.  Local codes will probably require the owner to tear it down and put in surface parking. (for cows)

I prefer to think of this as character. 

I'm afraid that structure has an illegal second story added to it.  Also, since it is a place of food preparation the wooden materials will have to go.    Additionally, it has come to my attention that food was served in this establishment (albeit to animals) and it appears it can serve at least 35 at one time.  Thus, we will need at least 73.2 parking places.  This structure has none.

A developer recently offered to buy this structure and turn it into a $1.2 Billion high density mixed used development, with 2 levels of retail/restaurant, a 14 story hotel, a 26 story office tower, and a complex of 4 story LEED certified condos all attached to subterranean parking,  with rail service to downtown and 100% private funds.  The developer has even talked Google into moving 1,000 employees to the complex and the new Governmental Motors will build a new manufacturing facility employing 1,500 on adjacent property. 

However, the historical society wants to preserve the original structure, the neighborhood has rallied against the zoning ordinance, the city counsel wants to add a new assessment tax on mixed use properties, the fire department has demanded the structure be able to submerge itself in a moat, INCOG has questioned the need for so many new jobs, neighboring communities don't want the additional traffic, the property owner has decided the property is worth no less than $1.3 Billion, and State government has decided only pro-sports franchises qualify as Quality Jobs.

None of that really matters though, the Tulsa Development Authority has purchased the land and decided it should hold the property for a few more years to see what comes around.

Uhhh. I just see uhh....a barn.  ???

good one cannon!...I chuckled at Governmental Motors.