Bonus Blog 3: Sean Coulter Lecture

The lecture on Tuesday was quite enjoyable.  Coulter's entire presentation dealt with the "ethereal connections" to context - people to the building, people to each other, people to the environment, buildings to each other ... every possible interlocking connection created by the built environment.  It reminded me of the issues addressed in the readings about site.  Coulter showed a few comparisons of Gehry buildings (I wonder if he has the same disdain for Gehry that Caldwell does?) - a pair of similar buildings, one in Las Vegas and one in Amsterdam, and another pair of which I can't remember the locations.  Suffice it to say, Gehry (and other architects) sometimes designs buildings that could really be dropped in any location anywhere in the world, and they'd be okay, but not as excellent as they could be.  

My favorite design from the presentation was the UNLV Lied Library. I love the tectonic qualities of the space, with the repetition of the curved planes inside and out, and the materiality.  Pretty much, it's awesome.