top: Arc de la Défense, Paris, France (1990 CE), bottom: Regtisan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan (circa 1400 CE)
Nearly five hundred years and several cultures apart, it’s amazing how similair the ideas behind these structures are. There’s a very obvious need for the negative space, the long and wide flat area is probably the most important thing for the designs to succeed. But not only does the large empty square allow the arc and the Registan to feel monumental, it also provides a breezeway through both structures.
What makes the impression is not the enormous stature of the buildings, but their apparent depth and the sense of solidity that is created from that depth.
February 06, 2009, 4:03pm
