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SCALE In a downtown area a uniformity of architecture simi lar to a shopping center would be impractical, undesirable and gene rally impossi ble. Buildings need not be id en tical or even similar. but th ey should relate to each other and to the i r env i ronmen tin some con sc i ou sway. Sto res in a sho pping center derive th e i r uniform appearance because the y are bu i lt using a limited numbe r of mate rial s, completedin a short period of time, have an overall ultimate desi gn plan and, most important, only a few peopl e make th e dec i sions. In contrast the downtown area has taken many years to develop. ha s a great many different building materials, has countless individuals making the decision s and has fo l lowed no plan. A downtown area has infinitely mo r e character than a shopping center, but few cities take advan t age or exploit the opportunities available Downtown must not on l y supply th e necessities for shoppers, it must provide th e amenities which SI-lOPPING CENT'EO. I~ WI I I change a shopping trip into a pleasant ex perience - enjoyable not only because of the merchandise bought , but because th e trip itself was conducted within an agreeable and visually stimulating environment. I f an architect has been faithful to one particular style. when designing a building downtown, the chances are very strong that his building will be unre lated and con tr ast wi th most of its neighboring buildings. A successf ul building on the drawing board may wei 1 fail when it is constructed amon g bu i ldings which have also come from isolated drawing boards o r grown from uti 1 itarian motives with little r ega rd to any form of aesthetics. In a g reat many instances a business street will g ive the appearance of an architectural menagerie of styles wedging baroque in between Victor ian and contemporary bu i 1 dings but most often creat i ng bl ocks of nond esc ript building styles which are th e result of an inb r eeding of styles. In downtown Wilson , the app ea rance and relationship of existing st reets and buildings have become s uch an integral part of an individual's daily habits and environment so that he is not able to eva lu ate it. If the width of Na sh St r eet was suddenly doubled or reduced by one - half the effec ts would be a total change i n both the scale and the cha racter. The same pr inci ple would apply if the height of th e present buildings was reduced by half . If all of the signs were r emoved or twice as many added the effect would be totally different. These examples point out the presence of an existing balance between all elements of the business district which will be affected by any change which the c i ty or an individual store owner mi ght choose to make. Each change with i n the central bus iness d i str ict, must be v iewed not as an individual change affecting only one particular building or street. but as an act that possibly affects the enti re balance or sca l e of the downt o wn .
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Title | Page 24 |
Full Text | SCALE In a downtown area a uniformity of architecture simi lar to a shopping center would be impractical, undesirable and gene rally impossi ble. Buildings need not be id en tical or even similar. but th ey should relate to each other and to the i r env i ronmen tin some con sc i ou sway. Sto res in a sho pping center derive th e i r uniform appearance because the y are bu i lt using a limited numbe r of mate rial s, completedin a short period of time, have an overall ultimate desi gn plan and, most important, only a few peopl e make th e dec i sions. In contrast the downtown area has taken many years to develop. ha s a great many different building materials, has countless individuals making the decision s and has fo l lowed no plan. A downtown area has infinitely mo r e character than a shopping center, but few cities take advan t age or exploit the opportunities available Downtown must not on l y supply th e necessities for shoppers, it must provide th e amenities which SI-lOPPING CENT'EO. I~ WI I I change a shopping trip into a pleasant ex perience - enjoyable not only because of the merchandise bought , but because th e trip itself was conducted within an agreeable and visually stimulating environment. I f an architect has been faithful to one particular style. when designing a building downtown, the chances are very strong that his building will be unre lated and con tr ast wi th most of its neighboring buildings. A successf ul building on the drawing board may wei 1 fail when it is constructed amon g bu i ldings which have also come from isolated drawing boards o r grown from uti 1 itarian motives with little r ega rd to any form of aesthetics. In a g reat many instances a business street will g ive the appearance of an architectural menagerie of styles wedging baroque in between Victor ian and contemporary bu i 1 dings but most often creat i ng bl ocks of nond esc ript building styles which are th e result of an inb r eeding of styles. In downtown Wilson , the app ea rance and relationship of existing st reets and buildings have become s uch an integral part of an individual's daily habits and environment so that he is not able to eva lu ate it. If the width of Na sh St r eet was suddenly doubled or reduced by one - half the effec ts would be a total change i n both the scale and the cha racter. The same pr inci ple would apply if the height of th e present buildings was reduced by half . If all of the signs were r emoved or twice as many added the effect would be totally different. These examples point out the presence of an existing balance between all elements of the business district which will be affected by any change which the c i ty or an individual store owner mi ght choose to make. Each change with i n the central bus iness d i str ict, must be v iewed not as an individual change affecting only one particular building or street. but as an act that possibly affects the enti re balance or sca l e of the downt o wn . |