Progress of sorts, I guess. We're about to see our local Technical School Building demolished. It's quite a Big Thing in Coleraine, as it taught a whole lot of folks who found work in the area - generations of the same family, probably. Hairdressers, welders, brickies, electricians, plumbers, mechanics...any trade you could mention, I reckon. The original, red-brick building dates from 1930 and is architecturally interesting but there's an adjoining 1960s high-rise block which has no real aesthetic qualities at all and won't I suspect, be missed. I took a walk around it the other day and I was glad I did, as there were one or two (only, mind you) parts that caught my eye. Like this one, for example
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| A bit of Coleraine Technical College, 2020. On Ilford MGV paper. The jury is still out with MGV - I'm not sure I'm really warming to this paper. It's not very subtle, from my initial experience of it. |
Strictly speaking this doorway wasn't part of the original College, but an adjoining Church Hall which was acquired by the College quite recently. However, it is all, I am led to believe, about to be demolished and a new build started on the site. It will certainly be a talking point in Coleraine for some time, as it occupies a pretty central location and one which most people drive past every day - sometimes several times a day if like me, you are doing school runs. The School Run is a funny thing - I've only about 6 more months to do - and maybe less if Missy passes her driving test in the meantime. I wonder if I'll miss it when I am no longer called to do it. I doubt I will - there will be other aspects to home life that I'll miss more when that time comes...
Buildings are pulled down here all the time. No great loss, since most of them were built after the war when everything was rebuilt in a hurry and cheaply. That sort of ugly architecture (concrete boxes) is understandable when the country is poor after a war, but, sadly, many buildings put up these days are still ugly. It's a shame elements of traditional Korean buildings are not included somehow. The cityscape would be much nicer.
ReplyDeleteFew buildings built here in the last 70 years are worthy of attention. The original part of the Technical College was built from rather nice red brick - the later addition was a different red brick and just looks nondescript.
DeleteFrom your photographs of places like Seongyojang traditional Korean architecture has some very strong visual aspects to it - it is indeed a shame that new builds can't incorporate some aspects of traditional Korean design. Even a token nod of the head to one's past is better than nothing.
There is one quite good building in Gangneung. The Korea Electric Corporation. They built their Gangneung offices like a traditional Korean fortress. It's very impressive. On the one hand you think, "Is this why the electric rates are so high?", and on the other hand you think, "I'm glad they are putting their money to good use." It's a state corporation, so at least their profit isn't going to fund some rich arseh*le's BMW collection.
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