Celebrating the Arch's Triumphs
& Base, Her Friend Dave via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
Washington University in St. Louis is holding an exhibition and symposium from
January 30th to March 9th called, On the Waterfront: St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. The Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts is sponsoring the event which explores the competition that led to architect Eero Saarinen's winning design, and the trials and tribulations of getting the thing built. When I was a kid we drove past the arch year after year on our summer trips from our home in Chicago, to my grandparent's farm in Kansas. It is truly monumental, and - at 630 feet - happens to be the tallest monument in the country, which serves as the gateway to the West. Saarinen took a simple arc and gave it majestic beauty.
Artwork: designslinger]
The Romans set the standard for monumental arch building. The Arch of Constantine
is just one of three surviving ceremonial arches from Roman antiquity. Erected to celebrate military victory, commemorate the Emperor and exalt the power of Rome, these behemoths were built to last. Marble Arch was designed by architect John Nash in 1824. Originally built as the entrance to Buckingham Palace, the arch was moved to its present location in London's Hyde Park in 1851. I'm not sure if Nash ever visited Rome, or had just seen engravings of the Constantinian arch, but he certainly found inspiration in the 1,513 year old Roman structure.
Artwork: designslinger]
And now from bulky marble and soaring steel, to the more whimsical. According to legend,
one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes, straddled the mouth of the harbor in Alexandria. The statue had disappeared long before artists and engravers began creating depictions of the Colossus as the archway greeting ships entering the city.
I couldn't write a post about arches without mentioning modern history's most famous pair.
Let's face it, these yellow curves are more recognizable than any of the other structures I've mentioned, and have had more of an impact on the populace than Constantine or Saarinen. Question is: will they still be around 1500 years from now?
Posted by designslinger at 1/23/2009 11:04 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Events and Premieres, Architects
Categories: Architecture, Events and Premieres, Architects
I love that you are posting about my alma mater Washington University! Have you ever ridden the tram to the top of the Arch? Not for the claustrophobic or those afraid of heights (both me) Plus when you get to the very top, on a windy day you can feel the arch swaying. Yikes!