GISTOK

You are probably right in your assertion that the Guardian is superior to the others in your list. One thing that fascinates me is how colorful and vivid the whole thing looks. It is unabashed in relation to a lot of the modernist and postmodernist architecture of the past 60 years. The sense of craft which is expressed in the tile design among others gives reign to the kind of beauty one finds in moorish architecture and elevates not only the viewer but the designer. I am not too impressed by the calculated sameness of the modern school. I used to be impressed by sleek skyscrapers when I was a teenager but am now touched by the older more involved stuff. There is the story of the BMO HQ building in Toronto requiring removal of 72 stories of marble panel sheathing in the news. The building was completed in 1975 and originally, the lead exterior designer decided on marble instead of aluminum or glass. The result is that they will replace the marble with 3-ply glass at a cost of 100 million. It still a massive white column with very little visual interest.

Even the postmodern stuff apart from very few buildings is usually caricatural rather than monumental. I do like Philip Johnson's AT&T [[now the SONY bldg in New York) because there is humor in it [[yes, caricatural). I dont mind the Comerica bldg in Detroit, I like the lacy feel to the gable roof. But nothing beats the great design ability that is present in the Guardian. This comes from a great knowledge of classical proportions that was lost in the postwar era. Designers and architects used to learn to draw from life as an essential part of their education and were constantly challenging themselves with geometric variation later in their career using an established vocabulary. I dont want to knock Le Corbusier or Van Der Rohe, but the need for craft and a certain intricacy is needed for people to feel connected to their environment. It is no wonder so many people need to deface the faceless with graffiti...