2008-12-31

Peristyle: Capital Mistake

(Cont.)

Capital: (in this context) distinctively treated upper end of a column.

Capital mistake: (in this context) the mistreating of the distinctive geometry of the capitals of the columns that (used to) constitute the imposing peristyle of the Östermalmstorg subway station ticket hall in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ending the year 2008 on a sour note, by watching good architecture disappear: the remodeling of the ticket hall (underground peristyle) of subway stop Östermalmstorg in my native Stockholm is almost finished. And almost everything about the end result is most irritating. And the most irritating detail of all is what they did to the capitals (distinctively designed upper ends) of the peristyle’s columns. The diamond cut geometry with distinctively cut and angled planes used to end in a perfect square at the column’s top, where the column “hits” the ceiling. Not anymore. This is most irritating because it is all so unnecessary: ruining the distinctive geometry of the capitals (by lowering parts of the ceiling; but only parts), to achieve what exactly?!