> -----Original Message-----
> From: Met History [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2004 2:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [BP] carnegie Opus
> 
> 
> Whereas, a ground-up aluminum siding building - or even, DARE 
> I SAY IT, VINYL SIDING BUILDING - has the potential to 
> provoke, amuse, entertain, enliven, particularly if it is not 
> phony-something else, e.g. aluminum "clapboards".

Well, hell, you need to learn to write more clearly! I had to read this
several times before I realized you weren't talking about hamburger, you
were talking about new construction. When it is the authentic, original
material, I don't have a problem with folks using aluminum siding, or
even vinyl siding (though I'm pretty sure Ralph would put everyone of
them through the grinder, but he's a Clem Labine classicism purist),
even though I would never use it because I think it's cheesy cheap crap.
I don't disagree with you that it is indeed amusing in a laughable way.
But I (and I think the corporal BP "we," or at least me and Ralph) have
been disagreeing with you in its use on an existing historic building,
especially Carnegie libraries in NYC.

> Hence the observations that:
> 
> 1.  Palladio would have thought aluminum as a facade material 
> was pretty cool 

Perhaps in the hands of a master. But I would vouchsafe that most of
your contemporary siding materials are not handled today with a
reverence for Palladio's touchstones.

> 2.  And we might agree with him if we could 
> see it in a "ground up" situation, where it was not imitating 
> something else.

We might. Show me.

Mr. Impure Thoughts

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