JHK’s Three-Act Play
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Behold the Court of Justice (Provincial Offenses Office, no kidding), Brantford, Ontario, in Canada, our neighbor to the north. Kind of looks like a water-boarding salon. Or maybe try a relaxing session in the Iron Maiden sensory deprivation casket! Tired of manicures? Have your fingernails removed altogether up in the second floor confessional spa. Ever notice that our buildings “speak” to us. Well, not like pals at the brew-pub, of course, but they do get their point across. Has the Western world ever seen a building as brutal, cold, and tyrannical as this doozie? I sure wouldn’t want to break the new personal gender pronoun law they passed a few years ago, with its rather severe penalties. By the way, notice the little gray door just off the ground floor corner? My Gawd, what comes in-and-out of there at two-thirty in the morning? Demetrius Kappos, who nominated this humdinger, points out that Brantford, Ont, is the hometown of Alexander Graham Bell and Wayne Gretzky. All honor to them… I guess.
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Ah, Brutalism. The Tweed courthouse might have been expensive, but that NYc built things that remain beautiful today, like the Tweed Courthouse.
The reformed governments? Not so much.
I’m assuming that if someone ever wants to film a remake of Orwell’s book “1984”, since the last version was in 1984, that they could make the movie in Ontario and use this building for the “Ministy of Justice”. I’ll bet there is an area in there somewhere that would be perfect for using as “Room 101” where Winston Smith has a terrifying encounter with rats.
Hi from the UK
I used to find brutalism disgusting until seeing the Barbican estate in London changed my mind. The tall apartments mostly. The texture of the concrete is splendid, and some of the curves and angles
That courthouse is like the Queen Elizabeth hall which seems grim as a theatre, the 50s Royal Festival Hall being charming in comparison
But as a courthouse I feel intimidated by this ‘eyesore’ example
Is that not a good thing for representing a court? Heavy and serious
James chose an interesting angle attacking it for representing itself honestly
I looked at the Tweed Courthouse. It’s a splendid building equally intimidating… But if you lived in west London half the buildings look like that and you’d be glad for some cement 🙂
Rob
Well, it’s a good thing that justice is blind so that it doesn’t have to see this spiritless sarcophagus. Yes Doc, while justice must not be bashful, it should not be brutal and bleak. These structures are a reminder however, that it can often be quite severe.
Has the Maginot Line been disassembled and moved here in part to fabricate this folly of a fortress? Is its fierce façade meant to frighten the felons?
The edifice seems to explore a new style, a style one might call ‘Pall Bearer Pillbox.’ The curved container flanking the Pillboxes is a soothing reminder that if one has done something nefarious, it’s not too late to reach into that hip pocket and take a bracing, nurturing nip.
But then, on a more positive note, the buildings can remind you of the stolidity of justice, its stoicism needed for society’s success.
“Revenge? Nah, I’m too lazy. I’m gonna sit here and let karma fuck you up.”
The Yale Art and Architecture building of 1963 has better overwatch.
I think that door is an afterthought to allow the killbots therein to step outside for a smoke between rendition sessions. And perhaps the courtyard fountain(?) symbolizes the Fabian incrementalism of the TPSTS – the Total Police Surveillance Terror State.
The police station at the corner of 22nd St and Alvernon in Tucson (no pic) is of a different brutal era and even more sinister looking. Funny how architects can inadvertently(?) express societies subconscious zeitgeist.
Stark, menacing, full of “police brutality”. Mace to the face, nightstick to the skull.
https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+of+police+station+at+22nd+and+alvernon+tucson+az&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq8qPe9b7nAhVF_J4KHdjoAEMQ420oCnoECAkQGA&biw=1920&bih=967#imgrc=k_LPQQBjEPFNIM
Welcome to the First Annual Hunger Games!
Actually, Jim, we HAVE seen a few buildings even colder, more brutal, and more tyrannical, right here on your site. I’m thinking of your August 2019 Eyesore of the Month, the library in Edmonton, Alberta public library.
I guess I’ve seen so many buildings of this ilk and worse, that I’ve become desensitized.
Wish i could edit my comment above,Sorry for the repetition.
Rejoice! Trump attacks ugly building:
https://dcist.com/story/20/02/06/trump-order-would-require-classical-style-for-new-federal-buildings-architects-arent-happy-about-it/
More on stopping ugly:
https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/07/behind-the-white-house-move-to-stop-ugly-federal-buildings-and-the-architects-who-stand-in-the-way/
Unfortunately, the knee-jerk, mindless Trump-haters will oppose this even though it is clearly in the best interests of society.
Is this the building where they developed the corona virus, only to be stolen by a Chinese spy? It sure looks like it could be such a place.
Obviously built with an eye to bomb-resistance in this age of car bombs. But it looks like one of those WW-2 concrete pillboxes for coastal defense uses, such as this one:
https://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Atlantic-Wall-5.jpg
Brutalism would seem a more appropriate style for a prison aka a”correctional facility”, than a courthouse. Oppressive and depressing would at least have some historic precedents such as The Bastille, and The Tombs. I don’t know if they have the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” in Canada. They do in the U.S. though, and traditionally courthouses were often built in an uplifting style that celebrated such a noble ideal. It seems that’s what Trump’s pending executive order mandating classical federal buildings is trying to get back to. I doubt that most architects working today can pull that off, and would instead produce cartoonish, kitschy or sterile versions of federal buildings.
JMG is discussing this topic at Ecosophia.org this week, and several of the commentariat there mentioned your work. I posted a link to here but found to my great sadness that several early years are missing. Is there any way to restore all the EotM posts? I’d be glad to help if possible.
That thing looks like it belongs on a U.S. Navy ship as the superstructure.
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Perhaps it look’s just a bit harsh for a gov. building.
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