Post by Steven Dale
Bonistöck Aerial Tram. Image by Steven Dale.
I saw this a few days ago and it got me thinking. . .
The above picture is of the 25 year old Bonistock Aerial Tram. Nothing impressive, nothing interesting. Or is there?
I don’t know about you, but when I look at this system I see something almost sculptural and artistic. It almost reminds me of some of artist Jean Tinguely’s work:
Jean Tinguely's Heureka in Zürich. CC image via Wikipedia.
Notwithstanding the clear subjectivity of the aesthetics of the work, we have an interesting situation. The aerial tram station and the Tinguely cleary have similar elements in common. And yet in the former case, we tend to suggest a policy of hiding the infrastructure as much as possible, whereas in the latter situation we put it on display for all to see.
There’s no shortage of examples of moving infrastructure that’s “put on display” in ways that are aesthetically pleasing, indeed, stunning sometimes. Consider the Mole Antonelliana in Turin:
Turin's Mole Antonelliana. Image by flickr user tristam sparks.
Now consider it’s lift:
The base of the lift. Image by flickr user poluz.
The top of the lift. Image by flickr user loungerie
Mole Antonelliana lift from floor to ceiling. Image by flickr user poluz.
One would expect that such a dramatic and historic space wouldn’t benefit from such an imposition. And yet the opposite is true. Here a piece of moving infrastructure (that also happens to be cable-propelled) is given the star treatment. In a way, the elevator becomes the defining element of this space.
Perhaps we’ve been looking at gondolas the wrong way. If they’re to be in the public line of sight, maybe veiling the infrastructure (as suggested here) is the wrong way to go. Maybe we should be putting the system and all its parts on display.
My gut says that it’s not a question of one or the other; to hide or to expose. It’s probably more a question of context. But the idea certainly has interesting implications for designers, planners and architects alike.
After all, sometimes some people actually like to bear witness to the inner workings of a piece of complicated equipment.
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