‘Decorated Boxes’ Dominate Cityscape
Re “You Call This Architecture?” (Oct. 8): Leon Whiteson must surely realize that architecture reflects the culture it was created for, so it should not come as a shock that the majority of buildings in Southern California exhibit image over substance.
Buckminster Fuller said many years ago that the developer arranges financing, does market research, plans for maximum parking, establishes allowable density, investigates cost and structural options and, finally, hires an architect to decorate the box.
Perhaps that’s not completely accurate, but it seems we are getting more than our share of decorated boxes. “Form follows function” has been replaced by “decor follows image.”
RICHARD A. HALES
Laguna Hills
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