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05.09.2024, 22:57 Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book Classroom Presentation

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obsolescence, a modern term which refers on today, is the lowly office building, where perhaps a topic for the watercooler, but I
wonder what you think of this. Do you think
to the idea of forcing customers to buy many of us spend our days. As we will see,
its novelty value will wear off in the future?
replacements by making products which are this is an area where architects have really
bound to fall to pieces after a short time, and blazed a new trail. The eye-watering costs Is it liable to date quickly and require a
which are difficult to repair. The rise of large of these buildings are clearly beyond all but revamp or replacement?
factories and the rapid growth of corporations the most ambitious or wealthy organisations
9.2
competing for a share of the market drove and therefore it is no surprise that many are
1 At some level architecture has an aim that
companies to sell things at cheaper rates located in financial districts in capital cities.
diverges from art.
too, thereby making it far less important for
It is worth noting that these have been met
people to maintain their possessions as they 2 so, instead of showcasing a building that
with mixed reviews.
could easily afford to go out and get a new might earn its designers both money and
Take Lloyd’s of London – considered by some
one. This trend became especially prevalent a good reputation, it could be deemed a
to be the first step into innovative workplace
in small consumer electronics and led us to waste of money.
architecture. Opened in 1986, its pioneering
the state we are in with e-waste.
high-tech architecture can be seen in the
9.4
Planned obsolescence is not a new
fact that the building’s services – including
phenomenon, but over the last couple of
lifts, water pipes and staircases, are actually O = Olga E = Edward
decades it has become more widespread,
located on the building’s exterior, opening
O: So, the working life of a reproduction
so much so that in France there is now a
up the interior and creating a space of
artist must be quite rewarding? I mean,
law which states that manufacturers must breath-taking proportions. It reimagined what
having a studio chock full of masterpieces
provide clear information on how to repair
an office space could look like. However,
from throughout the ages – is it like being
products. This is mostly due to the success of
with the plans having been drawn up with
immersed in the sum of all western art day
a company that started publishing free online
attention to function rather than form, it is
in day out?
instructions for repairing household products perhaps unsurprising that the initial reception
E: At times you could say so, and while I know
such as laptops and washing machines and
could be described as lukewarm at best.
it does sound fantastically creative and a bit
who put pressure on governments to amend
It was variously nicknamed an oil rig and a
risqué, it’s driven by the tastes of my clients
laws to remove planned obsolescence.
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motorbike engine with some even going so
who mostly tend to commission typically
The future of electronic waste may well be far as to call it an eyesore. However, over the
populist things, which essentially can be
based on a wholesale change in materials years the building has been embraced, being
quite dull. You know, those paintings which
and processes. Using completely different seen as iconic and a game changer of its
despite having been lauded by critics over
materials is as attractive as upping the time. In fact, it was granted Grade I building
the years are actually not that difficult to
amount we recycle. For instance, rather than protection, affording it the same elite status
do – between you and me I can knock
investing in ways of dealing with hazardous as other key buildings and monuments in
out a Klimt or a Monet in no time, but I’d
byproducts from devices, scientists and England, such as Buckingham Palace, the
far rather be presented with something
engineers are exploring ways to make some Royal Albert Hall and Nelson’s Column.
that I could get my teeth into a bit more,
components from natural materials so that
Another fascinating example for us to look at
something very technically demanding that
they either biodegrade or can be dismantled
is the F&F building, in Panama City, completed
needs some real thought put into it.
easily via a method known as e-processing.
in 2011. And look, it is in the shape of a
O: Yes, I can totally see where you’re coming
This means that materials could be artificially
corkscrew. What is particularly intriguing to
from. Essentially, it’s like when people ask
grown and that destruction of natural
note, is that the spiral design actually started
me to stick a vase back together that’s
habitats in order to extract metals could https://english0905.com/private/
out as merely a theoretical project by the
just some old family heirloom with only
become a thing of the past. Currently the
architect company, but despite not having
sentimental value. It’s hardly a ringing
list of viable options for more sustainable
been intended as an actual building, it caught
endorsement of my finely honed technical
manufacturing includes plants such as hemp, the eye of one the company’s clients and
skills. What I really want is to have someone
bamboo and seaweed all of which have a
the decision was taken to go ahead with
bring me something which entails getting
range of advantages over mined materials.
this design. The building is covered in glass
out my microscope and chemical testing
Researchers are really excited about the
and so appears to shimmer in the sunlight and
kit, not a tube of super glue.
future – they are convinced that the materials
is really eye-catching. It is also remarkable
E: For me, the bottom line is people just want
science and engineering are the key to
insofar as its budget was relatively low for
to look at a painted version of their favourite
improving the e-waste situation and bringing
a building of this magnitude – $50 million.
painting, because of the kudos of having
in a new era.
Again, opinions are divided on its appeal,
an actual piece of art in the house, even if
although this could be down to the fact that
there were no way it could be an original.
9.1
a considerable amount of the space has not
The whole technical prowess part of my job
Architecture has an aim that diverges from
been able to be rented out, so for some, it
doesn’t interest the average buyer either.
art at some level because it involves pushing
might be deemed a waste of money.
Then it all becomes more of a chore than a
the boundaries of what it is physically
These buildings seem to have been more
pleasure since, like you, I don’t feel like I’m
possible to make when something has to be
controversial than their cultural counterparts
being stretched – it’s more like a paint by
functional as well as aesthetically pleasing
that I mentioned earlier like the Guggenheim,
numbers gig and now and again I feel like
on such a vast scale. As such it presents far
and these could also be described as not
telling them to get a print offline.
greater opportunities to shock and surprise,
fitting everyone’s ideas of great design,
O: I can imagine! My situation is slightly
at times being a real eye opener into the
although it’s not altogether clear why this
different in that I’m more embedded
creativity of the human mind. A quick glance
should be. Anyway, both these buildings are
within large organisations. They can be
around the world’s most renowned buildings
definitely imposing, intended to communicate
pedantic in their requirements, but a
– be they ancient or modern – will confirm
the expertise of their designers in addition
that the architects of these kinds of landmark technical challenge is almost always there.
to the success and dominance of the
Especially when working with pigments
buildings are extremely single-minded
companies that are located in them.
people, dead set on leaving behind some that have a complex, historical and lengthy
Let’s now compare those with this one which
production process or certain types of
kind of legacy project or grand statement that
I’d say is much more whimsical – the office
canvas.
might earn them a reputation for all eternity.
of the National Fisheries Board of India in
E: And how do you go about the research for
If I were to ask you to illustrate this point, no
the city of Hyderabad, which was based on
something like that? How much leeway are
doubt you’d come up with some classics –
Frank Gehry’s Golden Fish in Barcelona,
you given in terms of time allocated and
the Colosseum in Rome, the Guggenheim
although it possesses none of his trademark
where do you even start?
in Bilbao, the Sydney Opera House, the list
flowing design and is instead an altogether
goes on. But these buildings all have one
more simple representation of a fish. Motives
common function in that they’re designed for
for a design like this? Well, I suppose it
pleasure and entertainment and, as a genre,
offers employees who would otherwise be
have been reimagined and reworked over and
stuck working in some bland, nondescript
over. However, what we’re going to home in
government building an element of fun, or
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