Reply To: ‘History is the best judge of quality’

I was thinking of that very point walking down Westmoreland St this morning, the fact that I grouped all of the older buildings on the street together in my mind, whether they be elaborate Victorian piles or the restrained facades of 1800.

It really isn’t subjective though, because most people consider anything prior to say 1930 as being ‘old’ and make a very clear distinction with these and more modern buildings.
It’s most evident on Grafton St where despite there being such a varied mixture of buildings, ranging from gothic in style to Georgian classicisim, and from 1800 to 1930, most consider the place to be, ordered, coherent and well matched, despite the fact that none of the buildings are regular in style or height.
Yet if the street was made up of a mishmash of post-1960 structures, people would have a very different opinion of the place.

We definitely see a uniformity in appearance because buildings are old.
And making a stark contrast with old and modern buildings has been very fashionable since the early 90s, with the emegence of better structural glass systems etc, so increasingly the city is becoming more defined with contrasting structures.

The late Georgian city must have been the most extraordinary place, with the same materials, strict styles and orders prevailing in vitually every building. I would give my right arm to go back in time to see it – albeit for half an hour…
Ah one day, just maybe….