Doodads

Dr. Jay knows me so well.  He sent me this link to a story from a local news site about the liberties taken with architectural elements in Arlington, the town next door.  These pointless tiaras are the kinds of things that make most architects shudder.  Or giggle. And yet they are rampant in Arlington, and across the country really.  Take a look at these photos and tell me you haven’t noticed something like this on a building near you and wondered, “What the heck is that for?”  It doesn’t provide shade or protect anyone from the elements.  Is it protecting the building from predators, from other buildings?

This next one looks like it was slapped on at the last minute, when the designers realized they might have some extra metal laying around the construction site.  It’s as if they finished and said, “Shoot, we forgot to add the flair!”

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Clearly there’s a form-following-function rule being broken, and poor Louis Sullivan is rolling in his grave.

For a laugh, take a look at the full gallery of photos here.  Like I said, Dr. Jay knows me so well.  He knew I needed a laugh and he delivered.

Speaking of laughs, architecture geeks like me would love one of these:

[source]

And that’s it for me. 

I’ll be here all week.