Architecture: Why Give a Toot?

I was walking home tonight, and for some reason, the Duomo caught me off guard. I've walked by it probably hundreds of times now, but sometimes I just have to stop and look at it. It's absolutely breathtaking. It is so weighty, so powerful, and when you look up at that dome, you cannot help but see its absolute beauty. Walking by it tonight, I felt like part of it belongs to me. I've been living in Florence for two months now, but the Duomo has already become a point of civic pride for me.

This is why the Duomo, and architecture, matters. Good architecture should evoke these thoughts and make you proud that you are somehow part of it. Good architecture makes you think about why it is so magnficent. Good architecture is hard to attain, yet so obvious when you see it.

So next time you pass by a building that catches your eye, do not keep going. Stop and look at it. Think about why you stopped and why that building matters.