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Architectural Judgement
Book by Collins, Peter
220 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1971
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 2, 2007
For those of you that don't know what "OMG" is in email argot, that means "Holy F'n crap this is a horrible - and shocking - waste of my time!!!". Mr. Collins was a reputable architectural critic, historian and so-on. For instance, Camillo Sitte's City Planning According to Artistic Principles was re-released in the mid-sixties with a Collins companion Camillo Sitte and the Birth of Modern City Planning. I must admit that, whereas I checked out both publications simultaneously from the local library, I could only bring myself to reread Sitte, forgoing Peter. Poor Peter - always the Bridesmaid... So, as some sort of badly misguided repentance, I decided to read his take on the subject you are all gathered here to find out about - the Toronto City Hall Competition of 1966-ish - of which I was introduced to by this book 12 or so years ago and haven't heard or read about again...except about four times within the last month (40th anniversary I suppose).
If you've read this far you might be a candidate for this book. However I doubt it. But if you are still with me, I will lodge my complaint. It goes like this – Collins, fresh off a Yale Law degree, sought to fuse his new-found knowledge/information/point-of-departure to the most recent "whiz-bang" competition around [my adjective...but I'm not feeling it]. If you've ever read The Devil in the White City where the scenario oscillates between Daniel Burnham and Co. procuring and realizing the 1892 (err...1893) Columbian Exposition and some psycho hotelier enticing young ladies into his evil lair, you will definitely find yourself enraptured by the seedy murderous plot and will wish away all the comparatively prosaic Exposition planning issues that Mr. Larson digs up. So if you think the Expo 93 stuff seemed boring, then wait until you delve into the logistics regarding the Toronto City Hall Competition! But keep in mind, if I recall correctly, the architectural stuff consumes less than a quarter of Collin’s book. The other 78-ish% consists of an in-depth analysis of...I dunno...16th century British Law. I seem to remember a stated purpose of knitting the two topics together but in actuality it came off as nothing more than wig-bedecked inanity. It was absolutely mind-numbing. So much so that I could never remember the name of the Finnish firm that won the competition – and I never will because in my now-contorted mind they will always be linked to this most egregious misuse of printing mechanisms and deceased trees.
Bad read.
If you've read this far you might be a candidate for this book. However I doubt it. But if you are still with me, I will lodge my complaint. It goes like this – Collins, fresh off a Yale Law degree, sought to fuse his new-found knowledge/information/point-of-departure to the most recent "whiz-bang" competition around [my adjective...but I'm not feeling it]. If you've ever read The Devil in the White City where the scenario oscillates between Daniel Burnham and Co. procuring and realizing the 1892 (err...1893) Columbian Exposition and some psycho hotelier enticing young ladies into his evil lair, you will definitely find yourself enraptured by the seedy murderous plot and will wish away all the comparatively prosaic Exposition planning issues that Mr. Larson digs up. So if you think the Expo 93 stuff seemed boring, then wait until you delve into the logistics regarding the Toronto City Hall Competition! But keep in mind, if I recall correctly, the architectural stuff consumes less than a quarter of Collin’s book. The other 78-ish% consists of an in-depth analysis of...I dunno...16th century British Law. I seem to remember a stated purpose of knitting the two topics together but in actuality it came off as nothing more than wig-bedecked inanity. It was absolutely mind-numbing. So much so that I could never remember the name of the Finnish firm that won the competition – and I never will because in my now-contorted mind they will always be linked to this most egregious misuse of printing mechanisms and deceased trees.
Bad read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review