Lloyds Bank Building and the Northern Rock Building Essay

Lloyds Bank building and the Northern Rock Building - Essay ExampleThe pillars have connotations of classical antiquity, while the carvings are reminiscent of an age when craftsmanship was treasured and used as a demonstration of wealth and success. Ordinary buildings like homes and shops did not have these features, and they were speechless for the aristocracy and for civic buildings, imparting an air of authority and establishment. This is the origin of the rather conservative ethnical meaning that the building conveys (Rotenberg, 1993).Quite apart from these historic features of the Lloyds bank building, there are also characteristic visual elements which convey meanings to the observer. The building is taller than it is broad, which suggests a towering presence that dwarfs the viewer. The implication is that the bank is both wet and dominant, providing a stable, if somewhat stern, or even forbidding presence on the high street. The rather pin down door is brought slightly f orward of the main building and set to the left, with a series of steps jumper lead up to it. This suggests that entry to the bank is a permit granted only to those who are worthy to develop the steps and enter its narrow frame. The entrance is dark and reveals nothing of the interior. This increases the mystery of the institution for the uninitiated, and the feeling of privilege for insiders, and this illustrates the contested nature of meaning when it comes to architectural spaces (Gieryn, 2000).The banks name is positioned in modestly proportioned upper-case letter letters above the door as if to emphasize the act of entering this special portal. There is no distraction or adornment to the name, which is allowed to stand as the main advertising feature of the whole building.