Mein Leiblingsgebäude in Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT.

As mentioned in the previous posts, I've been taking the Boston to New York train frequently this Spring. Passing through cities every half hour or so, I've come to admire one building in particular. It's located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at the corner of Helen and Arctic Streets, just east of that city's faded, half-occupied downtown.

Top image ©Google, Above images ©2011 Bauzeitgeist

Its the original 1873 Remington Arms Factory, a former munitions plant, which became in 1915 the southern portion of a 73-acre General Electric campus, but has stood vacant and disused for decades in the marginalized, depressed district, the fourth largest city in America's wealthiest state.

Buildings like this tower aren't made any more, although one of the reasons I also like it is that, in form and translucence, it is similar to the Hejduk Towers in the City of Culture Galicia, Spain. Given that passengers from New York to New Haven pass by this complex, inspiration for Hejduk's design, and Eisenman's realization, is not out of the question.

Image of Hejduk Towers in Spain courtesy this website

Aside from being unused, the factory suffered from arson in August of 2010, possibly due to squatters. Under pressure from government, which views the historic complex as a hazard (and is owed back taxes), the assembly halls have already been partially raised, acts which are in evidence from the passing train. It is also said to be occupied by spirits.

Image courtesy this website

I can't find anything specific plans of the tower or its use. Although chimney-like, I imagine it might have been the administrative offices of the plant. There is also no detail at hand about saving or reusing the tower. Maybe it will be pulled down in the last phase of the demolition. I wonder if anything will go in its place.

Schmücken mit Arkitektur

I've never shopped at a mall-brand or big box furniture chain in order to stock up on knick-knacks. I have usually been someone in real need of more bookshelf space, rather than things to go on bookshelves. I think there is something unadventurous in shopping for "accessories" to make one's home look more coordinated. Glazed pottery, full of nothing, chosen to match the area rug. "Wall-art" from Ikea. "Home Accents." "Décor." Uninspired inspiration.

Despite this, I don't have anything against Crate & Barrel or Habitat. I enjoy owning stuff too much to be an anti-consumer but don't can't afford to be a design snob. What's worth considering in all of this is the pervasive architectural vogue, a popular currency of fashion and consumption to convey the urbane aspirations of upmarket retailers. Budget nesters can buy a piece of architecture. No need to frame the degree: just shop. Tchotkes convey intellect.

For example, here is a collection of Stone Buildings from the young, hip, less-expensive undermarque of Crate & Barrel: CB2. Little model houses, perhaps created at the direction of an individual with a formal architectural education. Or at least someone flipped through a monograph or two.

At first, I thought I knew the genesis of the pitched-roof item at right, but I can't figure it out now. Is a simple house with oversized stairs really an original idea? I had thought surely it stood in the corner of some Rossi drawing or was shown in colored-pencil perspective in Ungers. Such a folly of High PoMo, I can see it in a Graves watercolor, standing on a green hill. Perhaps its just the models' toy-block essence that makes me think of the bright crayon and pastel-shadowed geometry of the postmodern drawings of my childhood.

In the foreground, a conical crown of a hut's roof has been faceted, resulting in a sort of truncated Torre Hejduk.

Torre Hejduk. Courtesy of Flickr User José Camba.

At left, the iconic "saw-toothed" roofline designates an assembly plant, recalling the industrial inspiration of the Bauhaus, (though the Bauhaus campus was generally flat-roofed).

Courtesy Flickr User Explorer Björn.

Lest I think too deeply into the potential references to architectural history in all of this, the trio are labeled, respectively: House, Temple, Condo.

That's right: the factory has become the condo. How au courant.

On Special now at CB2. Buy them alone, or get the whole set at discount.