tailieunhanh - GIVING NEW FUNCTIONS TO OLD FORMS: THE AESTHETICS OF REASSIGNED ARCHITECTURE

The commercial consists of approximately 50 shots; the product is depicted in only four of them, with shallow depth-of-field showing no more than a frac- tion of the typical LV logo and pattern. As will be shown, this aesthetic forms part of the overall strategy. In contrast to the brand’s luxurious image, the commercial accounts for a simple life in nature or secluded from the stressful urban ambience behind win- dows and layers of haze or mist or rain. It breaks with the strategies formulated by marketing trainers such as Albert Heiser (2001), namely: attracting attention, telling a story,. | Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics Vol. 3 No. 2 August 2006 Giving New Functions to Old Forms The Aesthetics of reassigned Architecture Kenneth Boyd university of Alberta In modern cities many old or abandoned buildings occupy valuable land without providing a comparably valuable service. in the past they have often met with the fate of being demolished and replaced but modern day sentiment be it foolhardy nostalgia or legitimate concern for architectural heritage often leads to a building s refurbishment. As a result buildings save themselves from the wrecking ball by providing a service that satiates modern day demand. This process however has been challenged on aesthetic grounds specifically the sometimes heartbreaking trendy boutique-izing and subsequent lack of fit between function and form that occurs to many proud landmarks and mundane buildings alike. in terms of utility we are tempted to save historic buildings in any way in which we are able but the aesthetic consequences of doing so have not been thoroughly examined. This paper will survey both the negative and positive consequences of reassignment and suggest that in order to avoid the former and accentuate the latter we need to make sure that old form and new function fit together as well as possible. I. Thick Thin and Getting Fit To view architecture exclusively in classically artistic terms is according to contemporary theory to miss vital aspects of the work. More recently the distinction has been made between thin-type and thick-type aesthetics in architecture thin-type involves the recognition and contemplation of superficial features while thick-type considers context and meaning taking into account the function of a building its role in 66 KENNETH Boyd society its physical placement and its existence simpliciter Carlson 49 . Thick-type considerations have led to what Allen Carlson has called the different types of fit of a building. A building can fit in several different ways to name a few in .