Posted: May 21, 2010 11:40 pm
My memory of seeing this for the first time is probably one of my strongest architectural experiences. I am not sure why. Often, one's expectations are set so high beforehand that it is difficult for the building to meet them, and I normally strongly prefer modern buildings to old ones, but in this case I was stopped in my tracks. Obviously there is the symmetry, the paleness and order (all of which are a huge contrast to what goes on in the urban vicinity) but most of all I think it is the approach, which is via (if I recall correctly) rather dark archway of an ante-building some distance away from the Taj itself. Interestingly, the level of the floor of the ante-building appears to be similar to the elevated floor level of the Taj, with the open landscaped space in between dropping down, which I think creates the effect in the mind, as one emerges to see it for the first time, that the building is in some way 'floating' slightly.
Here's an idea of what I'm saying:
This is a building to 'look at' rather than 'be in' (I found the interior to be fairly forgettable) which I find is often true of older buildings (gothic cathedrals notwithstanding). I suppose it could be argued that 'superficiality' was one of the qualities which modern architecture endeavoured to do away with.