Alleyways
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Among my favorite places to be, the urban alleyway has fascinated me
since childhood. Perhaps because of growing up in Las Vegas, a largely
sub-urban city, my appreciation of gritty urban settings was heightened.
In any case, these overlooked passages teeming with garbage, the
homeless, stray animals and so forth convey something of desolation and
hopelessness. It also shows how architecture can be completely reduced
to function; the backs of buildings are rarely paid attention to, as
they only function as service entries for trash collection and
deliveries (and the occasional covert entry of VIPs). In a sense, the
back of a building is the only honesty in architecture. A windowless
wall with a heavy metal door and a host of utility connections is
usually all there is to greet one, even at the fanciest of
establishments.
I enjoy these secluded and overlooked parts of the urban environment and there are few places I'd rather be. |
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| 04/26/2007 00:00:00 -0700 | ||
