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I think architecture has always involved a little dishonesty; artfully done of course.
Heck, my 1954 house uses brick as a decorative skin to hide the actual structure which is a wood frame. I don't think it's much of a stretch to consider vinyl clapboard siding as being in the same vein.
consider vinyl clapboard siding as being in the same vein.
I agree vinyl as being in the same vein as a brick veneer, but it's 2013- they make fiber cement boards which look better than vinyl and are equally as durable. Vinyl was a good replacement for wood siding when we didn't have anything better.
As a privacy fence on the other hand, I still think vinyl is a fine material. Vinyl is more attractive than chainlink, offers more privacy than rail, and requires less maintenance than wood.
Short brick fences are ok too, but featureless, windowless brick walls are finally getting some of the guff they deserve for being plain and imposing, especially in downtown areas.
I agree that the fake is sometimes overdone, but I don't think it is necessary to be completely "honest" either. For example, if you are going to use vinyl sheeting to weatherproof the exterior of a house, it is okay to use vinyl sheeting that has been pressed to look like wood siding instead of flat vinyl sheets. If you are going to use asphalt to weatherproof your roof, it is okay to use ones that simulate wood shingles or slate instead of flat sheets of asphalt.
Architectural dishonesty is nothing new. Did you know that the dome of the US Capital is not really stone, but cast iron? Same for the facade of many of the Victorian buildings in Manhattan (SoHo district). As long as the substitute material is a good reproduction of the imitated material, I don't have a problem with it.
This house near where I'm from is pretty bad though, they used vinyl siding. If they weren't going to use stone cladding or concrete, they should at least have used stucco... Alexander Drive, Oakville, ON, Canada - Google Maps
Cast Iron actually looks good on a building, and not like some sterile cheesy stuff, like plastic and Styrofoam (two things that should never be on a building).
^^ I think by architectural honesty, they mean not using faux building techniques.
I'm surprised so many people apparently don't know what "architectural honesty" is.
Pantin is exactly right. It's not about making gargoyles out of stone instead of putting natural boulders up on churches, it's about making gargoyles out of plastic or foam and painting them to look like stone.
In real-lfe architecture it usually involves stuff like cultured "stone" molded from the same 5 or six form and mixed up to make a "rock wall" and vinyl with wavy lines molded into it that is supposed to make it look like wood... somehow.
I'm surprised so many people apparently don't know what "architectural honesty" is.
Pantin is exactly right. It's not about making gargoyles out of stone instead of putting natural boulders up on churches, it's about making gargoyles out of plastic or foam and painting them to look like stone.
In real-lfe architecture it usually involves stuff like cultured "stone" molded from the same 5 or six form and mixed up to make a "rock wall" and vinyl with wavy lines molded into it that is supposed to make it look like wood... somehow.
Now now, lets not be an architectural snob.....
There would be varying degrees, even a very well executed house would not be pure. For example:
Brick. - honest made material, but generally used as a veneer over wood framed walls. Just for looks.
Even real stone walls are just veneering the real structure, as opposed to solid masonry walls of yesterday.
Cast stone. - great material, solid historic look. Used for decoration, knock off from carved limestone.
Arch's. - Developed and used in the past for structural reasons to span long distances.
Divided light windows. - cannot use, only used because of limitations in glass size.
and on and on and on, I do hate faux wood grain.....
Your not fooling anyone when you make a gargoyle, they know its not a real monster, that its actually stone thats suppose to look like a monster being monsters convey something that plain stone does not. Just as your not fooling anyone when you cast a cement into stone shapes, your making the cement look like stone because stone conveys something that cement does not. Same principles. Architecture is about messaging and symbolism, its the effect that has value and not the process unto which the effect was achieved or arrived at. The process is important only to architecture students.
Your not fooling anyone when you make a gargoyle, they know its not a real monster, that its actually stone thats suppose to look like a monster being monsters convey something that plain stone does not. Just as your not fooling anyone when you cast a cement into stone shapes, your making the cement look like stone because stone conveys something that cement does not. Same principles. Architecture is about messaging and symbolism, its the effect that has value and not the process unto which the effect was achieved or arrived at. The process is important only to architecture students.
Again "architectural honesty" is not about symbolism or design, it's about substituting expensive/hard to acquire or work with and/or superior materials for other (usually inferior) materials.
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