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专业建筑英语文章
CITYCULTURES
SeeingManhattanfromthe110thflooroftheWorldTradeCenter.Beneaththe
hazestirredupbythewinds,theurbanisland,aseainthemiddleofthesea,
liftsuptheskyscrapersoverWallStreet,sinksdownatGreenwich,thenrises
againtothecrestofMidtown,quietlypassesoverCentralParkandfinally
undulatesoffintothedistancebeyondHarlem.Awaveofverticals.Itsagitation
ismomentarilyarrestedbyvision.Agiganticmassisimmobilizedbeforeour
eyes.
(deCerteau1988:
91)
Whobuiltit?
Anon,that'swho.NobodybuilttheNewYorkskyline.Nobody
bythethousands.
(HeleneHanff,AppleofMyEye,1984:
35)
Introduction:
acityimagined
On11September2001,graphicimagesofthedestructionoftwoofthe
world'stallestbuildings-thenorthandsouthtowersoftheWorldTrade
CenterinNewYorkCity-unfoldedontelevisionsetsaroundtheworld.
Theenormityandcomplexityofthistragedy,whilemanifest,were,nevertheless,
compoundedbythefactthatmostpeoplewitnesseditasamedia
spectacle.Thus,itwaswithinestablishedmediainterpretativeframes
(includingtheplotsandimagesofcountlessHollywoodmovies)thattheir
initialreactionswereformed.ButtheninmanyrespectsNewYorkisa
mediaconstruction-theskylineofManhattanisinstantlyandglobally
familiareventhoughthemajorityoftheworld'spopulationhasneverbeen
thereandwillnevergo.Indeed,Manhattanemergedasalandscapeof
towersatthesametimeasfilmtechnologyandthemovieindustrywere
developingintheUnitedStates.Itwaslargelyasaresultofthiscoincidence
thattheManhattanbackdropbecameoneofthemostsignificantanddefining
imagesnotjustofarchitecturalmodernism,butalsoofthevaluesand
achievementsofthetwentiethcentury.ManhattanequalsNeiyYorkand
NewYorkisperhapstheworld'sgreatestcity.Itwaswithinthissetofimaginings
thatintheearly1970sthe'twintowers'assumedtheirplacebothas
potentsymbolsoflatemodernityandtestimoniestotheglobaleconomic
powerofNewYorkandtheUnitedStates.Rising411metresaboveground
level,thetowersdominatedthecity'sskylineandprovidedsomeofthemost
sought-afterpostcardviewsandestablishingshotsofNewYork.The
destructionofthetowers,therefore,wasconsiderablymorethanapersonal
orlocaltragedy.Itwasimbuedwitharangeofnational,global,cultural,
urbanandsymbolicsignificances.Indeed,itwenttothecoreofwhatit
meanttobe'modern'.
Thosewhoareoldenoughcanrememberwhenthetwintowerspassed
theEmpireStatebuilding(alsoinNewYorkCity)astheworld'stallest
buildings.Eveninthe1970s,such'facts'werestillregardedasimportant
markersof'man's'abilityto'conquer'natureandnowherewasevidenceof
thissupremacymorevisibleandirrefutablethaninthegreatcitiesofthe
worldandtheirarchitecturalandengineeringtriumphs-inparticular,their
bridgesandskyscrapers.Themetropoliswastheantithesisofnatureandthe
symbolofitsdefeat.Inordertoappreciatethedepthofthissentimentand
theculturalsignificancesthattheNewYorkskylinecametoassume,itis
necessaryfirsttounderstandthesocialandeconomiccontextswithinwhich
itsearlyskyscraperswereconstructedandtheskyscraperbuildingfrenzy
thatgrippedNewYorkbetweentheFirstWorldWarandthegreatdepression
ofthe1930s.
RobertHughes(1997:
404ff)suggestsinhisbookAmericanVisions
aboutthehistoryofAmericanartthatitwasduringthisperiodthatthe
NewYorkskyscraperemergedbothasaculturaliconandartform.He
arguesthatfrom1926inparticular,thebuildingboominNewYorkwas
dominatedbya'racetothesky'-araceultimatelywonbytheEmpireState
buildingonitscompletionin1930.Skyscraperswereseenasheroicnotonly
becauseoftheirbreathtakingheight.Theentireprocessofbuildingthem
wasregardedwithfascinationandawe,whilespeculationaboundedregarding
howhighthesebuildingsmighteventuallygo.Inaddition,keymilestones
reachedduringtheconstructionofmanyskyscrapersbecamethe
focusofpubliccelebrationswhichoftenfeaturedsuchattractionsas'girl
dancers[being]hiredtoperformon...baregirders,hundredsoffeetupin
thedizzyingair,fortheavidmedia'(Hughes1997:
405).Needlesstosay,it
wasopportunisticlocalpoliticiansandthecommercialenterprisesresponsible
forbuildingthetowerswhostagedsuchpromotionalstunts.Untilthe
early1930s,theconstruction,completion,officialopeningandfinalform
ofeachnewskyscraperwereevents-centralelementsofthespectacleof
NewYorkCity.Whatdeveloped,accordingtoHughes(1997:
405)wasa
'romance'betweenNewYorkers,theirskyscrapersandtheircity.Although
allAmericans'weredazedbytheforceoftheirnewimagery'(Hughes1997:
405)tosuchanextentthat,Hughesgoesontoassert:
NoAmericanpaintingorsculpture...wasabletoaccumulate,atleast
intheordinarypublic'seyes,thekindofculturalpowerthattheskyscrapers
had.Norindeed,couldithavedoneso-mostAmericans
didn'tcareaboutart,especiallymodernart...Bigbuildingswere
alwaysbeforeyou;merepaintingswerenot.
(Hughes1997:
419)
Andcourtesyoffilm,artandphotographythe'bigbuildings'werealso
'before'therestoftheworld,andittoowasmesmerized.Thelandscapeof
NewYorklookedvastlydifferentfromthoseofEuropeancities:
InParis,onlymonumentalbuildingsdevotedtosacredorgovernmental
institutionswereallowedtoexceedtheheightlimit;inLondon,only
purelyornamentaltowerscouldriseabovetheroofscape.InNewYork,
however,thesoaringcommercialtowerhadalreadybecomethesalient
ornamentofthecity-scapeandtheinalienablerightofrealtors.
(Sternetal.1987:
508)
OnevisitsNewYorkfirstandforemosttoseeandexperienceitslandscape.
InthepassagequotedatthestartofthischapterculturaltheoristMichelde
Certeaudescribestheelationhefeltatseeing(fromtheobservationdeckof
theWorldTradeCenter)thecityofNewYorklaidoutand'immobilized'
beforehim.Similarly,PhilipKasinitz(1995),echoingdeCerteau,celebrates
theworld's'great'cities(andthesignificantstructureswegazeonthem
from)inthefollowingway:
Theexhilarationwefeelwhenweviewagreatcityfromoneofthose
rarevantagepointswhereonecan'takeitallin'-ParisfromtheEiffel
Tower,LowerManhattanfromtheBrooklynBridge-isthethrillof
seeinginonemomenttheenormityof...humanwork.
(Kasinitz1995:
3)
Despitethe'exhilaration'thatmightbefeltwhenviewinga'great'cityfrom
thetopofa'great'builtstructure,ourfeelingstowardsthecityanditsskyscrapers
arealsodeeplycontradictory,beingsimultaneouslysourcesof
exhilaration,fearandapprehension-'citiesaregreataswellasfearsome'
(Zukin1997:
vii).Theyalso'representthebasestinstinctsofhumansociety'
(Zukin1997:
1).Weareawareofthisambiguityevenaswecelebratethem
-wearebothattractedandrepelled.Viewingacityfromagreatheightis
awayoftamingit.However,theobserverisalsorenderedifolnerablebythe
experience.Inordertojourneytothetopofaskyscraperonemusttrustin
theknowledgeandskillsofcountlessfaceless'experts'-builders,engineers,
labourers,maintenanceworkersandarchitects.Thistrustingis,asAnthony
Giddens(1990)explains,acorefeatureoflatemodernity.Thehelplessness
feltwhenwatchingthewoundedtowersoftheWorldTradeCentercrumble
ontothestreetsoflowerManhattanrevealedtheambivalencewithwhich
weregardtheskyscraperandthefragilityofourtrustintheexpertknowledge
systemsonwhichwerely.
Inart,too,the'darkerside'ofourrelationshipwiththecityandtheskyscraper
hasalsobeenexplored/exposed.Thecity'sloomingshapesfrequently
havebeencompellingsymbolsofdangerandtheunknownevenas
theyspeakofprogress,modernityandthefuture.Forinstance,theplaysof
lightandshadefeaturedinHughFerriss's(1929,1953)architecturalrenderings
ofNewYorkinthe1920screatebroodinglandscapesthatcapture
theconflictingemotionsstimulatedbycityspaceandtheskyscraper.Inmany
ofFerriss'sdrawingsthetopsofskyscrapersareshroudedinshadowwhile
theirbottoms-thoseedgesencounteredonthestreet-areluminous.The
resultevokesnotionsoftheknownandtheunknown.Whatisknownis
whatcanbeseenatstreetlevel,whilewhatisunknownloomsinthetwilight
above.Inrepresentingtheideasandurbanimaginingsofthosearchitects
whowereattheforefrontofreshapingtheManhattanskyline,Ferriss's
workwasasmuchaboutthecityasitsfuturewasbeingimaginedduring
thisperiodofskyscraper-buildingasitwasaboutthecityatthetime.His
representationswereofanurbanandarchitecturalUtopiathatwasinspired
bythepresentandmadepossiblebycontemporarytechnologybutwhich
wasyettotakeshape.
Manykeythemesinthestudy,interpretationandexperienceofcities
coalescedaroundtheeventsof11Septemberand,thus,thismomentpoints
toahostofissuesthatunderpintheconcernsofthisbook-inparticular,
thenatureof(post)modernurbanism,theambivalentrelationshipthatexists
betweenpeopleandtheircities,andthevariouswaysinwhichthisrelationship
isshapedthroughexperience,imaginationandpower.Theacademic
studyofthecityisanendeavourthatcanbetracedbacktothenineteenth
centuryandtheworkofthe'foundingfathers'ofsociology,includingKarl
Marx,FriedrichEngelsandMaxWeber.Sociologywasconcernedwith
industrializationandmodernity-andascitiesweretheplaceswherethe