ivyology | cira centre

future of an illusion
Originally uploaded by lorrainemd.

Cira Centre, which finished construction about a year ago exactly and notably expands philadelphia's "skyline" across the schuylkill river, is not loved by everyone. (quotes added to emphasize relative irony of calling philadelphia's few skyscrapers a "skyline.") some people will hate any new tall building because of the alleged curse of billy penn. others just dislike any modern architecture - when my father visited, I couldn't get him to see appreciate the Cira Centre for anything.

Now I love old architecture and I hate cookie-cutter modern construction, but I don't hate modern architecture that was designed with thought and artistry. And I love the Cira Centre. It's a chameleon and an illusion; the mirrored facade reflects the light and the sky and never looks the same twice, and the odd slopes and angles are tantalizing in their seeming impossibility. Whenever I ride the train I try to sit on the side that will give me a view of the building as we approach/leave 30th street station; it never fails to make me happy.

This photo makes me happy too; it captures perfectly everything I love about the CC. Lovely.

I am also obsessed with Flickr lately; it's a sickness worse than ebay, I tell you!