Strasbourg

So yesterday we had a field trip to Strasbourg, to visit the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The former is not actually a body of the EU, but rather a separate organization which has been around since 1949 and has 47 members to the EU's 27. Also, its only real power is limited to the European Convention on Human Rights and running the European Court of Human Rights, which ensures compliance.

The Parliament, meanwhile, is one of the legislative arms of the EU. It has confirmation powers over commissioners and new members and is one of two bodies that must vote in laws. We sat in on an hour of a session and then had a brief lecture. Unfortunately the session was not debate on current proposed legislation, but instead a hearing of the interests of EUMPs. They had a dozen different translators running, to keep everyone up with the changing speakers. Some of these were legitimate - asking the EU to consider how to ensure border security on the edges of the Schengen area - but others seemed a little further outside the body's competencies - complaining about FIFA rulings regarding Northern Ireland's status within soccer leagues.

But the lesson here has nothing to do with European governance, it has to do with architecture. Strasbourg has best presented to me so far the enormous gap France seems to manage between its older buildings and its attempts at modern architecture. I had gotten a bit of this last Friday passing through the business center of La Defense and looking out at traditional Paris, but Strasbourg beat even that. The main part of the city is absolutely beautiful. Little cobblestone streets and buildings that give the look of some sort of German fairy tale. Brothers Grimm without all the gristly endings. Or maybe Santa’s village. And then you have the more recent additions. The train station is a strange, glass bubble. The Council of Europe headquarters is some sort of Japanese temple gone wrong. The Parliament looks like the dystopian future. And the Court of Human Rights looks like the Jetsons threw up. This problem was present in Brussels too, at the Commission. It was one of those glass and colorful piping playground buildings.

I have nothing against modern architecture, only the ugly and ridiculous variety. Maybe I’m just biased, but I like the more dignified Greek revival look of American government centers. The columns of the Supreme Court, the dome of the Capitol building. There’s a certain staid respectfulness these buildings force upon you. And perhaps that’s Europe’s problem. It’s hard to take the EU seriously when their buildings look like Isaac Asimov. Well, that and EUMPs who decide the Parliament is the best avenue to argue with FIFA.

See the difference:
Classic Strasbourg

The Train Station Bubble

I suppose what's really necessary, in a much more general sense, is to strike the balance between decently looking architecture and decently functional buildings. For though they fall too far into spheres and city-of-tomorrow with their new work, the older buildings show their age a great deal when it comes to facilities. So I'm not against new buildings (or even replacing the old ones), I just don't want to feel like I've wandered into Jules Verne's voyage to the moon.

The rest of the Strasbourg pictures.

And the last set of pictures from Italy, including the Vatican.