HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/6/2019 Item 4, Ayral
Goodwin, Heather
From:Odile Ayral <oayral@calpoly.edu>
Sent:Monday, May
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Item 4 1185 Monterey
Dear Commissioners,
When I see a building like the one proposed for 1185 Monterey Street, I see two very important problems:
1) The clash with everything that surrounds it, and the fast transformation of a "quaint" small city into any city
USA. This building is similar to the various boxes that have been dumped on the city, from 22 Chorro to the
one on Higuera St to the new SLO hotel and to the ugliest of all, the bulky dark grey building
downtown. Under the claim of modernism (and let's admit it, the not-so-hidden expression of narcissism) some
architects are creating soulless buildings that are in conflict with their environment. It is possible that people
who spend most of their lives staring at their phones would not mind living in one of these buildings, but those
of us who have retained a sense of joy and nature recoil in front of such offering.
2) Is the fight against climate change a mere posture adopted by the City or is it real? Dark buildings are not
what we should build if we are fighting climate change, instead we need to move to the least impacting
materials and colors. The ARC had previously rejected the dark grey building--only to be overturned by the
Council--and I hope the ARC will again stand against anything that aggravates climate change.
Finally, I would like to add that a sense of esthetics is not a trait that has been granted only to architects. One
does not need to have practiced architecture to be able to differentiate between beauty and ugliness, style or no
style, good or bad modernism. I can only deplore the pettiness of the comments that are attacking Allan
Cooper. The ARC is not a place where former deans should berate former colleagues.
Sincerely,
Odile Ayral
San Luis Obispo
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