IB Essay: America’s changing architecture
News that Gov. Kathleen Blanco plans to spend thousands renovating the Louisiana State Capitol reminds me of an older post of mine discussing the architecture of such projects.
Courthouses and state capitols have both a practical and symbolic impact on all Americans and American communities. Traditionally they’re important meeting places – for celebrations, town meetings, religious services, etc. Before the last few decades, the courthouse was the largest and most prominent building in a town/county and was stationed on a square at the city’s center. Its most important role, of course, has been as a house of justice. Therefore the building, both because of its practical and symbolic purposes, demands an architectural design worthy of such a role.
The design of a state capitol and courthouse is a balancing act between local character and the architectural vocabulary of ancient Greece as a way to connect the principles and virtues of the world’s first democracy with our own American ideals. In many ways “the Greek temple became the model for American ‘temples of Justice’ and a visual metaphor for democracy,” as author Blair Kauffman put it. These Greek and Roman flavors were important to a young republic, yet so was diversity of styles as a way of distinguishing a county from its neighbors.
Sadly, most of these guiding forces have vanished from modern designs. As caseloads grew and government expanded, so too did building needs. Some cities, such as Indianapolis, were able to incorporate the older, traditional-style statehouse into a new collection of modern government buildings. But others, such as my own Evansville, abandoned the smaller, flavorful building in favor of a bigger, boring, drab complex. Is this move a reflection of our young republic’s changing view of its practical purpose, its symbolic role as Justice, or both? Or is it simply tight budgets and unimaginative public officials? I’m not sure, but I think it’s high time we bring the traditional state capitol and courthouse back into prominence.
