The "Unité d'habitation" from Le Corbusier in Marseille is also called "la maison du fada" (the crazy man's house), "Le Corbusier" and "la cité radieuse" (the radiant city) depending on the people you're speaking with.
Integratron. It's an absolutely quirky building in the middle of the desert in California, where the name is linked to its metaphysical/spiritual purpose.
I'm reminded of the joke about the sculpture "Cloud Gate" in Chicago's Millennium Park, better known as "The Bean." "People who don't know anything about art call it 'The Bean' because they don't know how much doing so upsets the artist, Anish Kapoor. People who do know something about art call it "The Bean" because they know how much doing so upsets the artist, Anish Kapoor."
We have a new public library here in Edmonton, Alberta, it looks a bit like a battleship or a space fighter. Most people don't seem to like it much, but many have been calling it the Bibliotank, a play on bibliothèque, french for library. I really love this nickname and I hope it becomes widespread.
Weird, I've lived in Edmonton my whole life and this is the first time I've heard about it. But also I avoid downtown like the plague so that might be the reason.
There is a Jazz standard called A Night in Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie. The title is evocative and the piece is lovely. You can almost imagine being in an exotic location when listening to it. Someone asked Gillespie how he came up with the title. He said I didn’t, some guy at the record company came up with it. I don’t care what they call it as long as they play it.
Reminds me of Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group. It didn't really have a name initially it seems, it was just a long instrumental they played in many variations. The difficulty in editing it down from multiple versions to one that would be released caused the groups drummer to give it the name Frankenstein, and Edgar Winter noted it was also appropriate given the song's somewhat lumbering beat. Also, speaking of Beethoven, there's Piano Concerto #5 in E-flat Major, Op.73 - commonly known as "The Emperor" but it wasn't Beethoven who named it that.
In my experience, original names or nicknames have the most staying power, no matter what the "official" name of a structure might be. I'm a born-and-bred New Yorker, and we are known to sticking with the original names. The "Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge" will always be called the "59th Street Bridge" by most New Yorkers. I still think of "David Geffen Hall" (which for many years was referred to as "Avery Fisher Hall") as "Philharmonic Hall", despite its recent name change. The "Pan Am Building" will never be the "MetLife Building" in my mind. Even street name changes usually don't take. "Sixth Avenue" was renamed "Avenue of the Americas" in 1945, but no New Yorker I know ever refers to it by that name. It is Sixth Avenue, with Fifth Avenue to the east and Seventh Avenue to the west.
This was a really good video, but I'm kind of surprised you didn't take longer to talk about the skyscrapers in the City of London. The Gherkin (famously not known by its official name, 30 St. Mary Axe) was the first, yes, but it was soon joined by others, and for each one the Londoners came up with a new nickname. The Cheesegrater, the Walkie-Talkie, The Scalpel, and so on. It seems like a few of the towers have escaped nicknames so far, but I guess it's just a matter of time.
And with the Shard, the building's management gave up entirely on the original name (London Bridge Tower, which was a perfectly fine name but not nearly as fun) and began using the Shard name, which had been coined by those opposed to the design of the building.
One of my favourite nicknames for a building is one that became the official name. It's a library in my home city of Leicester, in the UK. It originally opened in 1939, was named Southfields Library after the road it's on, and it's pretty unique looking since it's circular and made of brown bricks. Naturally everyone who saw it decided it looked like a pork pie, and just referred to it as Pork Pie Library. At some point the name officially changed to Pork Pie Library
I've heard it said that Frank Lloyd Wright settled on the name Fallingwater because it contained his initials and the Kaufmanns didn't want a plaque bearing the architect's name on their house.
Glad you mentioned sponsorship stadium names. They're extremely stupid. While my affinity for baseball itself has waned, my favorite building name has to be Fenway Park. Named for it's location, hasn't changed, and hasn't given in to renaming for money's sake.
Upon its construction, the team’s owner also owned one ‘Fenway Realty Company’ which is speculated to also have played into the name, rather than just for the neighborhood. Of course, the owner claimed it was entirely the neighborhood, but it almost certainly was useful to promote his other company
The first time I saw the Gherkin I was in an Aston Martin dealership and it was in an image on the wall. I stood staring at it and ignoring the cars. It’s an elongated Faberge Egg. A real jewel in the London skyline. I’ll add that this was before I started studying architecture too.
The simplicity of something like “The Space Needle” really sticks since its all in the name. The architecture really perfectly captures a futuristic outer space look even after almost 60 years of it standing. So many places have tried copying the concept of having an observation tower that’s narrow with a wider disk of an observation deck up top, but none have really captured the elegance of the original.
@@hifijohn well, it’s been the Sears Tower almost all my life, and twenty years or so from now I might be used to the Willis name. I have no particular emotional attachment either way. If they change it again now, it’ll be Sears forever. But imagine the Lakenhal changing its name because cloth is no longer traded there. Or Windsor Castle renaming to Windsor Palace because function has changed.
I have been corrected twice by Chicagoans to say Willis Tower. No one outside of Chicago recognizes "the WIllis" Tower. People outside of Chicago also still refer to the John Hancock Building.
@@TheRealBrook1968 I asked my Chicago friends and the replies were all along the lines of “Nobody uses the W word, it will be Sears forever, motherfuckers!”.
I will say as a New Yorker no one calls it One World Trade Center because it is a mouthful of a name and impossible to abbreviate. If you say you were going to One World trade Center or the World Trade Center people will always assume you're going to ground zero. I still call it freedom tower but honestly I just don't talk about it because I don't know anyone who likes that building.
Remember that Rolling Stones song “(I can't get no) Satisfaction”? No you don't because it's from now on named “(I can't get no) Corner Liston” since I pay them a monthly fee to change the name.
A curious building rename is the Burj Khalifa, which was originally called the Burj Dubai. The rename came as a part of a deal where Abu Dhabi payed off some of Dubai's debt following the financial crash.
The Denver Broncos' home field switches sponsors so often, that we just call it the Mile High Stadium. Much better than remembering that Sports Authority Field is now Invesco Field.
Chicago is Toronto's sister city. I find architecture on both sides of the border, especially in these two cities are as unique and almost similar (perhaps identical) in terms of vision and ideology. I love your videos Stewart. I am almost nearing my end for mathematics, I hope to study this during my masters, and if not at least continue to be educated as such through your videos :)
That's because both cities have to deal with similar climate challenges: constant freeze thaw cycles, lake effect snow and storms, high winds, etc. In Toronto: ice sometimes accumulates on the sides of glass fronted buildings during certain winter conditions; large sheets of ice then plummet onto sidewalks below when the sun warms the glass. Closing sidewalks to pedestrians due to the danger. Does this also happen in Chicago?
@@melissaharris3389 We don't close sidewalks in winter in Chicago, although there are warning signs placed in case icicles might fall and hurt someone.
I’m an architecture grad of the University of Oregon and this is my new favorite channel. This made me look up “Lady Lawrence” on TH-cam and reminisce the all nighters I pulled in Lawrence hall
In Nashville where I live rn there’s only two that come to mind. First is the affectionately named “Batman” building or tower. It’s an AT&T office skyscraper whose sides converge from a square to a very narrow rectangular shape with two pointy spikes on either side that look like the ears in Batman’s mask. The other one is local to my college but we added a giant 13 story dormitory to our campus that towers over the greater area which garnered the not so creative name of Tall Hall. And the nickname became so integral to its identity that it’s now official name and the only dorm (and quite possibly only building) on campus that isn’t named after donor.
Stewart, I really enjoy your videos, especially since you connect seemingly unrelated forces, inspiration, and context. My boyfriend is an architect and I like talking to him all about his projects, experience-a lot of influences, etc. Thanks for the content-rich information, and your own explication on design!
Despite having corporate names, fans will develop nicknames for their team’s arena. For example, the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers’ current arena was called the First Union Center (now called the Wells Fargo Center) back in the 2000’s. Fans would call the arena the “F U Center”, which is just so Philly. In Boston, the Bruins and Celtics play at the TD Garden, but locals simply call it “the Garden”. The “TD” stands for Toronto Dominion, which makes it odd since the Bruins’ rivals are the Toronto Maple Leafs
There's a building in downtown Buffalo, NY called the William J Mahoney Building. My office was doing a project in it a few years ago, when a contractor provided us some preliminary data, but called the building "Manhoney" on the form. It's been the "William J Manhoney" building for me ever since. My coworkers are less enthused about the name.
Buildings also get the names archaeologically such as Hadrian’s Villa, Caracalla Baths, or The House of the Faun. We may never know the real names given to those buildings during their respective eras. Then we have buildings that are (re)named after religious figures such as Castel Sant’Angelo, when during pagan times it was known as Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Although both names are still used to day, the former is more popular due to its visual and current connection with the Vatican despite the obviously Roman architecture. My favourite is the Barbican because despite the ever changing political, social, and architectural climate that is associated to it, the name remains.
Thank you for great videos! We actually have one good example here in Israel, to buildings that are named differently by the public as you said. The official name of the building is "Government Complex" located in Haifa (northern Israel), but it is best known for "Missile Tower" or "Sail Tower" due to its shape (the shape mimic a sail, as it is Haifa is a port city) 😉
When it comes to nick names there's a building in Warsaw, Poland which is officially named Atlas Tower (Millennium Plaza before that) that people always referred to as Toi Toi (brand of portable toilets) because of its resemblance to said establishment as well as the name of the architectural company (Vahap Toy).
I like the name "One Woodward Avenue", which Minoru Yamasaki used elements of when designing the original Twin Towers. It's the address of the building. BUT, there's two others in Detroit that I like the names of slightly better... "Guardian Building" and "Fisher Building". Both are visually attractive and have some really neat history in and around them.
Can you do a video series that follows the progression of a single architect, looking at each of their works in detail? Idk if this would be a good topic for your style, but it would be super interesting to me if it works. I was really interested in the Peter Eisenman houses and feel like there was more to them than the 2 minutes they were touched on in this vide. Would love to see more about them!
Surprised that 20 Fenchurch Street (the Walkie-Talkie) in London wasn’t mentioned. Don’t know how anyone can dislike The Gherkin. It’s iconic in my opinion.
Good video, you had an image of Kroger Field at the University of Kentucky at the beginning, I pass by there every day, really rare for me to see something on youtube that I've also see IRL so frequently.
Hello Stewart, I'm physicist who has a thing for architecture. I find your content particularly engaging, for me is the way you complement architecture topics in an integral way. The one on liminal spaces is particularly good. Some times I find the music of your videos awesomely chosen as well. I'd like to now the name of the song you use at the beginning of this video. Thank you and keep up with the awesome work.
The football stadium at UCF is now officially called Bounce House, as it had long been nicknamed the bounce house for the way the stands bounce when the crowd jumps
I went to the Illinois Institute of Technology fifteen years ago, such is just a few blocks away from Comiskey Park. The CTA Green Line runs right through campus, and just before I got there they opened a few new buildings - new dorms designed by Helmut Jahn, now called Rowe Village, and a new student center designed by Rem Koolhaas, called the McCormick Tribune Campus Center. The dorms have a glass wall that faces the train tracks meant to dampen noise, but due to their distinctive shape we called them the Toasters. The student center is right beneath the Green Line and uses a long metal tube around the tracks to deflect noise upwards, so we called it the Building Under The Tube, or The BUTT for short.
It seems to be most comments here are about pretty big or important buildings in their communities. In the city where I live, there is a whole street where above the doorway of each building there is a name for the building, regardless of their stature. Upon this street there is a building called the "Unicorn" which is neat...until you realize not even two buildings further (though a different street name) there is another building called the 'Unicorn". Both of them have a unicorn sculpture included in the facade. Just across the street more or less, there was a building called the "Kleine Winst" (the small profit), which this year was changed to "Huis van Bosch" (The house of Bosch) for the famous painter that use to live there. But when he lived there the building was probably called "Sint Anthonis" (Saint Anthony) and had at least one other name in the last 400 years, "de Rozenkrans" (The Rosary?). Ahh, the joys of naming buildings.
I love your videos and I've always loved architecture. Could you do a video on how to find, hire, and work with an architect for someone looking to build a modest but unique home? I'm planning on building a house soon and I'm incredibly discouraged by the building industry that seems more interesting in shoehorning generic house-plans to fit my needs and the environment rather than a house that is designed to suit those things from the ground up.
I don't know of any greater ergonomic complications created by the Gherkin, but at a glance I think its looks great. Its like if you took the top of the towers in Moscow and stretched them all the way down.
The students at the university I attend used to call our main building complex "the cookie boxes" because frankly, thats what the hexagonal conglomerate of shapes looks like. I hope this comes back again
Not sure if this counts, but here in my local area a sculpture was recently erected on the median of a highway. It takes the form of a giant, golden ring. I don't even remember what the official name is, but everyone calls it 'The Golden Butthole', much to the chagrin of the city. Suffice to say, most people think it's an ugly waste of valuable resources.
In Mexico City there is a very tall monument named “Estela de Luz” (light trail). It was built as commemoration towards Mexico’s independence bicentennial but wasn’t opened until a year delay after the celebrations. Due to exceeding its budget and public funding (with hints that it was used to launder money), the structure is known as “The Monument to Corruption”, or as “The Great Wafer” for its resemblance to wafer bars.
I’ve taken to giving all my projects names of songs by my favorite musician. Thankfully the catalog runs pretty deep so that I can choose something appropriate without being too obvious (or likely running out!).
In St. Louis, we have a large outdoor concert venue that was originally called "Riverport". It is now named "Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre", but if you're from St. Louis you still call it "Riverport". Its address is still 14141 Riverport Dr...
here in chesterfield we have the crooked spire. it’s not it’s official name but it’s so important to the town that ‘spire’ is used in a lot of local businesses and other things to identify ot with chesterfield . our football club is even nicknamed the spireites because of it.
Rotterdam has lots of nicknames for its architecture, from the swan (Erasmusbridge) to the pencil (Blaaktoren), and sometimes several for one thing. The beurstraverse is known both as 'koopgoot' (purchase gutter) or 'beursgleuf' (exchange slit). Meanwhile in Dublin they give their statues rhyming names. Molly Malone is the tart with the cart, James Joyce is the prick with the stick, etc.
This all made me remember the 'Lego Building' at Reading University (UK) where my dad once worked and he and I used to play and cycle. It was always just "the Lego Building" and I realised I never knew its real name. Turns out it's a 1970s brutalist icon by Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis officially named the URS Building, and I'm pleased to learn that nowadays it's a Grade II listed building (i.e. it's protected from demolition or substantial modification because of its importance as a piece of architecture).
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the biggest football (soccer) team's stadium is called "La Bombonera" or the Chocolate Box/ Bonbons Case since the bulk of the seats are in one side. That nickname is so engrained I bet only the most hardcore fans must know the real name!
There is a building here in Brisbane, Australia that is officially named 1 William Street because that's its address. The building is used to house bureaucrats and public servants and because of how it came about and how big it is has the unofficial name of "tower of power". There is also the State Law building that (due to the shape that the top of the building has) is nicknamed the Batman building.
I'm in San Antonio Texas. Here one of the most famous examples would be The Enchilada Library. Officially named the Central Library, when it opened in 1995. It is painted enchilada red and gold, so locals call it what it looks like, an enchilada.
Mexico City has a bunch of popular names for buildings. The Washing Machine (La lavadora) for the Kalakmul Building by Agustin Hernandez, the Blender (la licuadora) for the Former Mexicana Headquarters, La Suavicrema for the Estela de Luz monument, the Trousers (el pantalón) for the two main buildings in the Arcos Bosques Center, The Dorito for the Virreyes Tower, and many many more, these are the ones I remember off the top of my head.
In Brussels the football stadium was called the Heysel Stadium, named after the area it's in. However after a disaster in 1985 where several people died by trampling, after that it was renamed 'King Baudouin Stadium' after the fifth king of Belgium
Hey Stewart, your vids are fabulous. Well researched, scripted, recorded and edited. I love the channel and all that you are doing. Please keep it up! REQUEST: Would you consider doing a video on Pruitt-Igoe? I would especially love to hear your perspective on Pruitt-Igoe's importance for modernism and the impact of its failure. Thank you for all you do!
@@stewarthicks REQUEST: Would you consider doing a video on Pruitt-Igoe? I would especially love to hear your perspective on Pruitt-Igoe's importance for modernism and the impact of its failure.
Beethoven's 3rd symphony also called "Eroica" was going to be named "Bonaparte" by Beethoven in order to honor Napoleon, and was written in the first page of the score. But when Beethoven heard the news in late 1804 that Napoleon had crowned himself Emperor of France, he was disgusted, and changed the title of the symphony Thank you for your videos! I've heard people call the Walter Neitsch Tower at UIC the "waffle building", I found it a very amusing and accurate name ! haha
I always loved the way Peter Eisenman named his house series. House IV, House V, etc. (Edit) I commented before you actually talked about this at 4:00 lol but I stand by my original comment
Here are some ones you forgot: Frank Lloyd Wright's "Wingspread" built in 1939, in San Francisco there is an office tower located at 345 California Street that is nicknamed the "Tweezer Building" or "Roach Clip" since there are two prongs that stick out from the top. I used to work in that building.
Here in Sacramento we have "The Ziggurat", which is the original and current name of the building, and of course calls back to ancient ziggurats, while the building itself is memorable simply because it resembles a pyramid in general. It sits right on the waterfront across from the historic district, with bridges that are local favorites to either side, giving it real staying power as an identity.
Bjarke Ingels’ Shenzhen Opera House name “The Rhythm of the Sea” is quite moving. However it looks a lot like big tents used in the Arab world. The videos are great and I hope you keep going strong. This is some of the best content I’ve seen related to architecture and how important it is to think about the most specific details. Great job!
Due to power of Property Developers are too strong in Hong Kong, Buildings and Complex in Hong Kong are very rare to hear change the name, only like Sears Tower does, a company that rent the building almost the floor of the building as the main renter will have the Naming right of the building, such as AIA Tower in Fortress Hill and PCCW Tower in Tai Koo Place.
This video had me laughing. I live in a city that is obsessed the finishing a building name with PLACE!!! We have so many places to go, but nowhere to go.
‘Jeff’s Shed’ in Melbourne. Nobody refers to it as ‘Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’. The nickname is after the Premier who commissioned it and the uninspired shed-like architecture.
Speaking of buildings with nicknames, here’s one for you…. In Hong Kong 🇭🇰 there’s a tall building with all round windows. Locals refer to it as the building with a thousand… (spoiler alert, they don’t call it the building with 1000 windows)! 🤣 Great vid Stewert. I love your channel.
In Florida we have a building everyone just calls the 'I-4 Eyesore' because it was bare concrete for over a decade. Its one of those things everyone loves to hate.
I grew up not far from the Big Chicken. It's a KFC with a large structure on it that looks like a rather abstract chicken. Back when you got your driving directions from locals rather than your phone, any directions that took you past it would include which way to go at the Big Chicken.
Chicagoans specifically just don't like name changes. As soon as you call it the "Willis tower" or "cloud gate," you're immediately outing yourself as not being from Chicago. And I have literally never heard anyone call White Sox Stadium "guaranteed rate stadium," or whatever. The name the public uses is the important one, which isn't necessarily the one given to it by the architect or owner
Nicknames: the walkie talkie (20 Fenchurch Street), el rulero (Torre Prourban), el panal (Centro Cívico del Bicentenario). Stadiums would need a very long list, at least in Argentina, where 99% of them get nicknames (never a brand).
I remember 'The Gherkin' was originally nicknamed 'The Erotic Gherkin' by some cheeky fellow Londoner's 😂. I worked at the London Eye for a few years and it was the one many people wanted to see. It also set a precedent for the nicknames and it's interesting how the challenge of building skyscrapers in the city of London with the need to respect sight lines of St Paul's if you build in certain locations has lead to some very unique forms. In tern some of these towers have garnered further nicknames.
A friend of mine had told me that one of the nicknames for Soldier Field after the widely panned 2003 renovation was "the muffin-top" due to it's resemblance to the muffin-top body shape.
The Shard is a pretty powerful name; recognizable, elegant, exclusive. Turning Torso is linked so much unconsciously to a very stylized human form turning vertically, that it just can't be changed.
We have apartment buildings in Cape Town we call the Tampon towers. They are obnoxiously built on the foot of one of the most prominent mountains. It's very difficult to not see them, no matter where you are in the city.
I don’t think that would happen. Sears (the company) is unlikely to pay for their name to be on the building again, they are not doing too good financially speaking. My suggestion, if they wanted something similar to Sears but not a trademark, would be to name it either Sirius Tower or Cirrus Tower after the North Star or Cirrus clouds, which are thin, wispy clouds that form high up, respectively. We can just say the Chicago accent makes it sound like “Sears” ;)
@@stewarthicks I was born in Chicago. If the name on the building is Willis then I will refer to it as Willis. I do not live in the past. I am happy to embrace new names. Many people today don't even know what 'Sears' is.
in Berlin, several buildings have been giving nicknames (by tourist guides, local newspaers, sometimes the locals) "Telespargel" - tele asparagus, the TV tower at Alexanderplatz "Schwangere Auster" - pregnant oyster, house of the cultures of the world, responding to the shape of the building "Elefantenklo" / "Waschmaschine" - elefant loo / washing machine, the federal chancelary "Mäusebunker" - mice bunker, a brutalist style building which formerly housed the animal testing labs of the Free University of Berlin "Erichs Lampenladen" - Erichs Lamp Shop, the former Palace of the Republic, seat of the GDR Parliament and entertainment center, Erich = surname of Erich Honecker, longtime Head of State; lamp shop = outstanding lamp artwork inside etc. etc.
What are some of your favorite building names?
The Wrigley Building. When I was younger, it sounded like "wiggly" to me and it just stuck.
The walkei talkie building in London, on top of the wacky name it also had some controversy because of the way it pushes air down into the street
The "Unité d'habitation" from Le Corbusier in Marseille is also called "la maison du fada" (the crazy man's house), "Le Corbusier" and "la cité radieuse" (the radiant city) depending on the people you're speaking with.
Flat Iron, Batman tower…I have a lot of my own “names” that help me describe location like “the trapper John Md” building or “grape jelly” apartments!
Integratron. It's an absolutely quirky building in the middle of the desert in California, where the name is linked to its metaphysical/spiritual purpose.
I'm reminded of the joke about the sculpture "Cloud Gate" in Chicago's Millennium Park, better known as "The Bean."
"People who don't know anything about art call it 'The Bean' because they don't know how much doing so upsets the artist, Anish Kapoor. People who do know something about art call it "The Bean" because they know how much doing so upsets the artist, Anish Kapoor."
It amazed me learning how awful of a person he was growing up in Chicago with The Bean
Actually It looks like a bean, not a cloud.
@@thevikingbear2343 it does but they called it that because it reflects the clouds in the sky
chicago is the home of not giving a fuck about the “actual” names of things and just calling them whatever they want
@@joannasthings I kinda love that. I also believe naming things is usually best when it 'just happens' rather than careful design of a word.
We have a new public library here in Edmonton, Alberta, it looks a bit like a battleship or a space fighter. Most people don't seem to like it much, but many have been calling it the Bibliotank, a play on bibliothèque, french for library. I really love this nickname and I hope it becomes widespread.
Love it
LOL! "Bibliotank" is such a cool and funny name that I hope it sticks as well!
BIBLIOTECA
@@marcoconuts Une Bibliothèque
Weird, I've lived in Edmonton my whole life and this is the first time I've heard about it.
But also I avoid downtown like the plague so that might be the reason.
There is a Jazz standard called A Night in Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie. The title is evocative and the piece is lovely. You can almost imagine being in an exotic location when listening to it. Someone asked Gillespie how he came up with the title. He said I didn’t, some guy at the record company came up with it. I don’t care what they call it as long as they play it.
Thank you for introducing me to a great song!
Reminds me of Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group. It didn't really have a name initially it seems, it was just a long instrumental they played in many variations. The difficulty in editing it down from multiple versions to one that would be released caused the groups drummer to give it the name Frankenstein, and Edgar Winter noted it was also appropriate given the song's somewhat lumbering beat. Also, speaking of Beethoven, there's Piano Concerto #5 in E-flat Major, Op.73 - commonly known as "The Emperor" but it wasn't Beethoven who named it that.
@@frankrypa8208 thanks Frank, appreciate the comment, glad to make the case for Jazz…on an architecture page😁
@@frankrypa8208 listen to Chaka Khan’s remake
@@duanevp “Frankenstein” does indeed seem to fit that song very well
In my experience, original names or nicknames have the most staying power, no matter what the "official" name of a structure might be. I'm a born-and-bred New Yorker, and we are known to sticking with the original names. The "Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge" will always be called the "59th Street Bridge" by most New Yorkers. I still think of "David Geffen Hall" (which for many years was referred to as "Avery Fisher Hall") as "Philharmonic Hall", despite its recent name change. The "Pan Am Building" will never be the "MetLife Building" in my mind. Even street name changes usually don't take. "Sixth Avenue" was renamed "Avenue of the Americas" in 1945, but no New Yorker I know ever refers to it by that name. It is Sixth Avenue, with Fifth Avenue to the east and Seventh Avenue to the west.
After this past week, I'd love to see just how long the "Mario Cuomo Bridge" stays the "Cuomo Bridge."
@@AmericasComic I came looking for this.
Did not leave disappointed.
didn't realize it wasn't Avery Fisher Hall anymore. weird!
Even the Spider-Man movie called it Sixth Avenue.
This was a really good video, but I'm kind of surprised you didn't take longer to talk about the skyscrapers in the City of London. The Gherkin (famously not known by its official name, 30 St. Mary Axe) was the first, yes, but it was soon joined by others, and for each one the Londoners came up with a new nickname. The Cheesegrater, the Walkie-Talkie, The Scalpel, and so on. It seems like a few of the towers have escaped nicknames so far, but I guess it's just a matter of time.
And with the Shard, the building's management gave up entirely on the original name (London Bridge Tower, which was a perfectly fine name but not nearly as fun) and began using the Shard name, which had been coined by those opposed to the design of the building.
The shard London.
One of my favourite nicknames for a building is one that became the official name. It's a library in my home city of Leicester, in the UK. It originally opened in 1939, was named Southfields Library after the road it's on, and it's pretty unique looking since it's circular and made of brown bricks. Naturally everyone who saw it decided it looked like a pork pie, and just referred to it as Pork Pie Library. At some point the name officially changed to Pork Pie Library
That story is pure gold
I've heard it said that Frank Lloyd Wright settled on the name Fallingwater because it contained his initials and the Kaufmanns didn't want a plaque bearing the architect's name on their house.
Glad you mentioned sponsorship stadium names. They're extremely stupid.
While my affinity for baseball itself has waned, my favorite building name has to be Fenway Park. Named for it's location, hasn't changed, and hasn't given in to renaming for money's sake.
Upon its construction, the team’s owner also owned one ‘Fenway Realty Company’ which is speculated to also have played into the name, rather than just for the neighborhood. Of course, the owner claimed it was entirely the neighborhood, but it almost certainly was useful to promote his other company
Great American Ballpark is the exception. They could have called it Great American Insurance Park, but they went with an actually good name instead.
The VAG................The Vancouver Art Gallery. No joke. Thats what they call it on the advertisement. Makes me smile every time.
I use Latin Nomenclature because people think it sounds epic. Something like Residential Complex 1 can become Conclavia Privatis Prima
Trueee! Foreign and ancient sounding names tend to give that effect. In Indonesia we use sanskrit instead of latin for the same reason.
@@MrRoboticeyes nothing says class more than using ancient, pretty-much extinct language.
The first time I saw the Gherkin I was in an Aston Martin dealership and it was in an image on the wall. I stood staring at it and ignoring the cars. It’s an elongated Faberge Egg. A real jewel in the London skyline.
I’ll add that this was before I started studying architecture too.
The simplicity of something like “The Space Needle” really sticks since its all in the name. The architecture really perfectly captures a futuristic outer space look even after almost 60 years of it standing. So many places have tried copying the concept of having an observation tower that’s narrow with a wider disk of an observation deck up top, but none have really captured the elegance of the original.
I'm pretty sure I've heard most people still calling the Sears tower the Sears tower lol
It will always be sears tower, never that "w" word.
@@hifijohn well, it’s been the Sears Tower almost all my life, and twenty years or so from now I might be used to the Willis name. I have no particular emotional attachment either way. If they change it again now, it’ll be Sears forever.
But imagine the Lakenhal changing its name because cloth is no longer traded there. Or Windsor Castle renaming to Windsor Palace because function has changed.
I have been corrected twice by Chicagoans to say Willis Tower. No one outside of Chicago recognizes "the WIllis" Tower. People outside of Chicago also still refer to the John Hancock Building.
@@TheRealBrook1968 I asked my Chicago friends and the replies were all along the lines of “Nobody uses the W word, it will be Sears forever, motherfuckers!”.
@@TheRealBrook1968 John Hancock? It's Herbie Hancock!
Sears Tower will forever stand in my mind.
I will say as a New Yorker no one calls it One World Trade Center because it is a mouthful of a name and impossible to abbreviate. If you say you were going to One World trade Center or the World Trade Center people will always assume you're going to ground zero. I still call it freedom tower but honestly I just don't talk about it because I don't know anyone who likes that building.
Remember that Rolling Stones song “(I can't get no) Satisfaction”?
No you don't because it's from now on named “(I can't get no) Corner Liston” since I pay them a monthly fee to change the name.
A curious building rename is the Burj Khalifa, which was originally called the Burj Dubai. The rename came as a part of a deal where Abu Dhabi payed off some of Dubai's debt following the financial crash.
The Denver Broncos' home field switches sponsors so often, that we just call it the Mile High Stadium. Much better than remembering that Sports Authority Field is now Invesco Field.
And now Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
Chicago is Toronto's sister city. I find architecture on both sides of the border, especially in these two cities are as unique and almost similar (perhaps identical) in terms of vision and ideology. I love your videos Stewart. I am almost nearing my end for mathematics, I hope to study this during my masters, and if not at least continue to be educated as such through your videos :)
That's because both cities have to deal with similar climate challenges: constant freeze thaw cycles, lake effect snow and storms, high winds, etc.
In Toronto: ice sometimes accumulates on the sides of glass fronted buildings during certain winter conditions; large sheets of ice then plummet onto sidewalks below when the sun warms the glass. Closing sidewalks to pedestrians due to the danger.
Does this also happen in Chicago?
@@melissaharris3389 We don't close sidewalks in winter in Chicago, although there are warning signs placed in case icicles might fall and hurt someone.
I’m an architecture grad of the University of Oregon and this is my new favorite channel. This made me look up “Lady Lawrence” on TH-cam and reminisce the all nighters I pulled in Lawrence hall
In Nashville where I live rn there’s only two that come to mind. First is the affectionately named “Batman” building or tower. It’s an AT&T office skyscraper whose sides converge from a square to a very narrow rectangular shape with two pointy spikes on either side that look like the ears in Batman’s mask. The other one is local to my college but we added a giant 13 story dormitory to our campus that towers over the greater area which garnered the not so creative name of Tall Hall. And the nickname became so integral to its identity that it’s now official name and the only dorm (and quite possibly only building) on campus that isn’t named after donor.
I Love the Cheesegrater (Leadenhall Building). Makes me wonder what would happen If someone decides to slide his way down. 😅
In Northern VA we have "The Candelabra and "The Toilet Bowl" buildings.
tbh i've always really liked the name of the shard in london. it just fits it really well.
Stewart, I really enjoy your videos, especially since you connect seemingly unrelated forces, inspiration, and context. My boyfriend is an architect and I like talking to him all about his projects, experience-a lot of influences, etc. Thanks for the content-rich information, and your own explication on design!
love how you included silicon valley, man love that show
Despite having corporate names, fans will develop nicknames for their team’s arena. For example, the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers’ current arena was called the First Union Center (now called the Wells Fargo Center) back in the 2000’s. Fans would call the arena the “F U Center”, which is just so Philly. In Boston, the Bruins and Celtics play at the TD Garden, but locals simply call it “the Garden”. The “TD” stands for Toronto Dominion, which makes it odd since the Bruins’ rivals are the Toronto Maple Leafs
Haha!
Hey Stewart, thanks for more great content. You should update your channel logo to include that glorious mustache, makes it easier to recognize you.
YESSSS
Will do!
Loll yes
honestly, this is probably the best architecture channel on TH-cam.
Thank you for the kind words!
On the North Wales coast there is a concrete monstrosity all local people call "the skip" cus it looks like a skip
There's a building in downtown Buffalo, NY called the William J Mahoney Building. My office was doing a project in it a few years ago, when a contractor provided us some preliminary data, but called the building "Manhoney" on the form. It's been the "William J Manhoney" building for me ever since. My coworkers are less enthused about the name.
Buildings also get the names archaeologically such as Hadrian’s Villa, Caracalla Baths, or The House of the Faun. We may never know the real names given to those buildings during their respective eras.
Then we have buildings that are (re)named after religious figures such as Castel Sant’Angelo, when during pagan times it was known as Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Although both names are still used to day, the former is more popular due to its visual and current connection with the Vatican despite the obviously Roman architecture.
My favourite is the Barbican because despite the ever changing political, social, and architectural climate that is associated to it, the name remains.
Isn't "barbican" an architectural term? Maybe that's why it stayed?
Thank you for great videos!
We actually have one good example here in Israel, to buildings that are named differently by the public as you said.
The official name of the building is "Government Complex" located in Haifa (northern Israel), but it is best known for "Missile Tower" or "Sail Tower" due to its shape (the shape mimic a sail, as it is Haifa is a port city) 😉
When it comes to nick names there's a building in Warsaw, Poland which is officially named Atlas Tower (Millennium Plaza before that) that people always referred to as Toi Toi (brand of portable toilets) because of its resemblance to said establishment as well as the name of the architectural company (Vahap Toy).
WE love to give buildings nick names in London: The Walkie Talkie, The Scalpel, The Cheesegrater, The Gherkin. Even Big Ben is a nick name!
Only Big Ben technically isn't a building, it's a bell inside a building
@@crusader9576 But we say Big Ben to mean the Elizabeth Tower, so that's a nick name. Lol
@@mdhazeldine Yeah, yeah, ruin my pedantry.... ; )
I like the name "One Woodward Avenue", which Minoru Yamasaki used elements of when designing the original Twin Towers. It's the address of the building.
BUT, there's two others in Detroit that I like the names of slightly better...
"Guardian Building"
and
"Fisher Building".
Both are visually attractive and have some really neat history in and around them.
Can you do a video series that follows the progression of a single architect, looking at each of their works in detail?
Idk if this would be a good topic for your style, but it would be super interesting to me if it works. I was really interested in the Peter Eisenman houses and feel like there was more to them than the 2 minutes they were touched on in this vide. Would love to see more about them!
Surprised that 20 Fenchurch Street (the Walkie-Talkie) in London wasn’t mentioned. Don’t know how anyone can dislike The Gherkin. It’s iconic in my opinion.
The Walkie-Talkie aka the 'fry scraper' after the curved glass reflected sunlight onto the street below causing cars to melt!
@@oltedders then you probably wouldn't like Jean Nouvel's Torre Agbar
Good video, you had an image of Kroger Field at the University of Kentucky at the beginning, I pass by there every day, really rare for me to see something on youtube that I've also see IRL so frequently.
Hello Stewart,
I'm physicist who has a thing for architecture. I find your content particularly engaging, for me is the way you complement architecture topics in an integral way. The one on liminal spaces is particularly good.
Some times I find the music of your videos awesomely chosen as well. I'd like to now the name of the song you use at the beginning of this video.
Thank you and keep up with the awesome work.
The football stadium at UCF is now officially called Bounce House, as it had long been nicknamed the bounce house for the way the stands bounce when the crowd jumps
I went to the Illinois Institute of Technology fifteen years ago, such is just a few blocks away from Comiskey Park. The CTA Green Line runs right through campus, and just before I got there they opened a few new buildings - new dorms designed by Helmut Jahn, now called Rowe Village, and a new student center designed by Rem Koolhaas, called the McCormick Tribune Campus Center. The dorms have a glass wall that faces the train tracks meant to dampen noise, but due to their distinctive shape we called them the Toasters. The student center is right beneath the Green Line and uses a long metal tube around the tracks to deflect noise upwards, so we called it the Building Under The Tube, or The BUTT for short.
It seems to be most comments here are about pretty big or important buildings in their communities. In the city where I live, there is a whole street where above the doorway of each building there is a name for the building, regardless of their stature. Upon this street there is a building called the "Unicorn" which is neat...until you realize not even two buildings further (though a different street name) there is another building called the 'Unicorn". Both of them have a unicorn sculpture included in the facade. Just across the street more or less, there was a building called the "Kleine Winst" (the small profit), which this year was changed to "Huis van Bosch" (The house of Bosch) for the famous painter that use to live there. But when he lived there the building was probably called "Sint Anthonis" (Saint Anthony) and had at least one other name in the last 400 years, "de Rozenkrans" (The Rosary?).
Ahh, the joys of naming buildings.
I love your videos and I've always loved architecture.
Could you do a video on how to find, hire, and work with an architect for someone looking to build a modest but unique home?
I'm planning on building a house soon and I'm incredibly discouraged by the building industry that seems more interesting in shoehorning generic house-plans to fit my needs and the environment rather than a house that is designed to suit those things from the ground up.
I don't know of any greater ergonomic complications created by the Gherkin, but at a glance I think its looks great. Its like if you took the top of the towers in Moscow and stretched them all the way down.
Very interesting. Thanks for making this! 🤓
The students at the university I attend used to call our main building complex "the cookie boxes" because frankly, thats what the hexagonal conglomerate of shapes looks like. I hope this comes back again
Guangzhou Tower is sometimes called by the locals 小蛮腰 which is a colloquial term for thin waists as in a person's body.
"The Mighty Black Stump"
Not sure if this counts, but here in my local area a sculpture was recently erected on the median of a highway. It takes the form of a giant, golden ring. I don't even remember what the official name is, but everyone calls it 'The Golden Butthole', much to the chagrin of the city. Suffice to say, most people think it's an ugly waste of valuable resources.
Your channel rocks. Good work!
In Mexico City there is a very tall monument named “Estela de Luz” (light trail). It was built as commemoration towards Mexico’s independence bicentennial but wasn’t opened until a year delay after the celebrations. Due to exceeding its budget and public funding (with hints that it was used to launder money), the structure is known as “The Monument to Corruption”, or as “The Great Wafer” for its resemblance to wafer bars.
I’ve taken to giving all my projects names of songs by my favorite musician. Thankfully the catalog runs pretty deep so that I can choose something appropriate without being too obvious (or likely running out!).
In St. Louis, we have a large outdoor concert venue that was originally called "Riverport". It is now named "Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre", but if you're from St. Louis you still call it "Riverport". Its address is still 14141 Riverport Dr...
here in chesterfield we have the crooked spire. it’s not it’s official name but it’s so important to the town that ‘spire’ is used in a lot of local businesses and other things to identify ot with chesterfield . our football club is even nicknamed the spireites because of it.
That's a great example!
Many architects have ”case study houses“ with consecutive numbers. It started with the Eames’ and goes on to Shigeru Ban.
Rotterdam has lots of nicknames for its architecture, from the swan (Erasmusbridge) to the pencil (Blaaktoren), and sometimes several for one thing. The beurstraverse is known both as 'koopgoot' (purchase gutter) or 'beursgleuf' (exchange slit). Meanwhile in Dublin they give their statues rhyming names. Molly Malone is the tart with the cart, James Joyce is the prick with the stick, etc.
I wonder how many times the ancient Romans changed the name of the Colosseum… “Caesar Colosseum”, “Jupiter alpha Stadium”, who can say? 😂
This all made me remember the 'Lego Building' at Reading University (UK) where my dad once worked and he and I used to play and cycle. It was always just "the Lego Building" and I realised I never knew its real name. Turns out it's a 1970s brutalist icon by Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis officially named the URS Building, and I'm pleased to learn that nowadays it's a Grade II listed building (i.e. it's protected from demolition or substantial modification because of its importance as a piece of architecture).
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the biggest football (soccer) team's stadium is called "La Bombonera" or the Chocolate Box/ Bonbons Case since the bulk of the seats are in one side.
That nickname is so engrained I bet only the most hardcore fans must know the real name!
There is a building here in Brisbane, Australia that is officially named 1 William Street because that's its address. The building is used to house bureaucrats and public servants and because of how it came about and how big it is has the unofficial name of "tower of power".
There is also the State Law building that (due to the shape that the top of the building has) is nicknamed the Batman building.
I'm in San Antonio Texas. Here one of the most famous examples would be The Enchilada Library. Officially named the Central Library, when it opened in 1995. It is painted enchilada red and gold, so locals call it what it looks like, an enchilada.
Mexico City has a bunch of popular names for buildings. The Washing Machine (La lavadora) for the Kalakmul Building by Agustin Hernandez, the Blender (la licuadora) for the Former Mexicana Headquarters, La Suavicrema for the Estela de Luz monument, the Trousers (el pantalón) for the two main buildings in the Arcos Bosques Center, The Dorito for the Virreyes Tower, and many many more, these are the ones I remember off the top of my head.
Good ones!
Love the first page of the xylophone part for the Copland. Really makes it.
In Brussels the football stadium was called the Heysel Stadium, named after the area it's in. However after a disaster in 1985 where several people died by trampling, after that it was renamed 'King Baudouin Stadium' after the fifth king of Belgium
A historic 1809 windmill in my hometown is called Fool’s Mill (“Narrenmühle”).
Hey Stewart, your vids are fabulous. Well researched, scripted, recorded and edited. I love the channel and all that you are doing. Please keep it up!
REQUEST: Would you consider doing a video on Pruitt-Igoe? I would especially love to hear your perspective on Pruitt-Igoe's importance for modernism and the impact of its failure.
Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for the suggestion and kind words.
@@stewarthicks REQUEST: Would you consider doing a video on Pruitt-Igoe? I would especially love to hear your perspective on Pruitt-Igoe's importance for modernism and the impact of its failure.
In Montreal we have the Cheese Grater (Château Champlain Hotel) - that too, for obvious reasons
13:04 this building was also used as cover art for Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002, great indie folk rock album
Beethoven's 3rd symphony also called "Eroica" was going to be named "Bonaparte" by Beethoven in order to honor Napoleon, and was written in the first page of the score. But when Beethoven heard the news in late 1804 that Napoleon had crowned himself Emperor of France, he was disgusted, and changed the title of the symphony
Thank you for your videos! I've heard people call the Walter Neitsch Tower at UIC the "waffle building", I found it a very amusing and accurate name ! haha
I like Rialto Towers in my home city of Melbourne, very fitting for our city.
I always loved the way Peter Eisenman named his house series. House IV, House V, etc.
(Edit) I commented before you actually talked about this at 4:00 lol but I stand by my original comment
Here are some ones you forgot: Frank Lloyd Wright's "Wingspread" built in 1939, in San Francisco there is an office tower located at 345 California Street that is nicknamed the "Tweezer Building" or "Roach Clip" since there are two prongs that stick out from the top. I used to work in that building.
Good one!
Here in Sacramento we have "The Ziggurat", which is the original and current name of the building, and of course calls back to ancient ziggurats, while the building itself is memorable simply because it resembles a pyramid in general. It sits right on the waterfront across from the historic district, with bridges that are local favorites to either side, giving it real staying power as an identity.
My favorite is “The Golden Turd” which is the nickname given to the Asahi Beer Hall in Tokyo, Japan. It was designed by Philippe Starck.
Bjarke Ingels’ Shenzhen Opera House name “The Rhythm of the Sea” is quite moving. However it looks a lot like big tents used in the Arab world.
The videos are great and I hope you keep going strong. This is some of the best content I’ve seen related to architecture and how important it is to think about the most specific details. Great job!
10:35 also known as the Wilco towers
Due to power of Property Developers are too strong in Hong Kong, Buildings and Complex in Hong Kong are very rare to hear change the name, only like Sears Tower does, a company that rent the building almost the floor of the building as the main renter will have the Naming right of the building, such as AIA Tower in Fortress Hill and PCCW Tower in Tai Koo Place.
Interesting!
Not a favorite but the Comcast Center known as the Comcast Tower reminds me of a giant USB stick connecting to the sky.
11:24 i thought this building was known as the *nal plug
that title would have to go to 'the tulip', another foster and partners building not yet built
I've heard the brutalist building at the University of Toronto, the Robarts Library, be called "the Turkey".
This video had me laughing. I live in a city that is obsessed the finishing a building name with PLACE!!!
We have so many places to go, but nowhere to go.
Falling Water is a great name for that house. I don’t know if it’s the official name but that’s how it’s universally known.
‘Jeff’s Shed’ in Melbourne. Nobody refers to it as ‘Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’. The nickname is after the Premier who commissioned it and the uninspired shed-like architecture.
Speaking of buildings with nicknames, here’s one for you…. In Hong Kong 🇭🇰 there’s a tall building with all round windows. Locals refer to it as the building with a thousand… (spoiler alert, they don’t call it the building with 1000 windows)! 🤣 Great vid Stewert. I love your channel.
In Florida we have a building everyone just calls the 'I-4 Eyesore' because it was bare concrete for over a decade. Its one of those things everyone loves to hate.
I grew up not far from the Big Chicken.
It's a KFC with a large structure on it that looks like a rather abstract chicken. Back when you got your driving directions from locals rather than your phone, any directions that took you past it would include which way to go at the Big Chicken.
The Sears tower is probably the longest sticking old name for a building in Chicago. People still regularly use it to this day.
When someone talks about the World Trade Center, I think of the Twin Towers, and I am a young millennial.
I think what you touched on relates to the differences between rebranding and renaming.
Great American Ballpark is possibly the greatest naming rights deal
Chicagoans specifically just don't like name changes. As soon as you call it the "Willis tower" or "cloud gate," you're immediately outing yourself as not being from Chicago.
And I have literally never heard anyone call White Sox Stadium "guaranteed rate stadium," or whatever. The name the public uses is the important one, which isn't necessarily the one given to it by the architect or owner
Nicknames: the walkie talkie (20 Fenchurch Street), el rulero (Torre Prourban), el panal (Centro Cívico del Bicentenario).
Stadiums would need a very long list, at least in Argentina, where 99% of them get nicknames (never a brand).
I remember 'The Gherkin' was originally nicknamed 'The Erotic Gherkin' by some cheeky fellow Londoner's 😂. I worked at the London Eye for a few years and it was the one many people wanted to see.
It also set a precedent for the nicknames and it's interesting how the challenge of building skyscrapers in the city of London with the need to respect sight lines of St Paul's if you build in certain locations has lead to some very unique forms. In tern some of these towers have garnered further nicknames.
At Arizona State we have the Nipple of Knowledge. It’s a skylight structure on top of the underground entrance to the library.
A friend of mine had told me that one of the nicknames for Soldier Field after the widely panned 2003 renovation was "the muffin-top" due to it's resemblance to the muffin-top body shape.
The Shard is a pretty powerful name; recognizable, elegant, exclusive. Turning Torso is linked so much unconsciously to a very stylized human form turning vertically, that it just can't be changed.
We have apartment buildings in Cape Town we call the Tampon towers. They are obnoxiously built on the foot of one of the most prominent mountains. It's very difficult to not see them, no matter where you are in the city.
The new owner of the Sears Tower should just rename it the Sears tower because it will always BE the Sears Tower.
Great idea!
I don’t think that would happen. Sears (the company) is unlikely to pay for their name to be on the building again, they are not doing too good financially speaking.
My suggestion, if they wanted something similar to Sears but not a trademark, would be to name it either Sirius Tower or Cirrus Tower after the North Star or Cirrus clouds, which are thin, wispy clouds that form high up, respectively.
We can just say the Chicago accent makes it sound like “Sears” ;)
@@stewarthicks I was born in Chicago. If the name on the building is Willis then I will refer to it as Willis. I do not live in the past. I am happy to embrace new names. Many people today don't even know what 'Sears' is.
in Berlin, several buildings have been giving nicknames (by tourist guides, local newspaers, sometimes the locals)
"Telespargel" - tele asparagus, the TV tower at Alexanderplatz
"Schwangere Auster" - pregnant oyster, house of the cultures of the world, responding to the shape of the building
"Elefantenklo" / "Waschmaschine" - elefant loo / washing machine, the federal chancelary
"Mäusebunker" - mice bunker, a brutalist style building which formerly housed the animal testing labs of the Free University of Berlin
"Erichs Lampenladen" - Erichs Lamp Shop, the former Palace of the Republic, seat of the GDR Parliament and entertainment center, Erich = surname of Erich Honecker, longtime Head of State; lamp shop = outstanding lamp artwork inside
etc. etc.
These are great!