GLITTERBALL

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1970s sci-fi optimism in sheds

Looking at hotels from a certain age and the optimism with which they were designed

The history that they represent Looking at them, although they may be neglected, with a kind eye

The ski lift at Verdons in Courchevel 1850 was also from a certain time and displays all of that optimism Designed to hold cable cars, that hold tourists, that stay in rooms in hotels.

These remind me of the science fiction films of the 1970s. The shapes of Logan’s Run. With semi-circular windows reflecting the mountain. The landscape of summer, which is a mix between alpine meadow and quarry adds to the otherworldly feel.

I should be wearing white and silver.

When you look inside (or just press the phone up to the glass and hope the pictures turn out ok) it’s a shed. A tidy well ordered concrete shed, with a yellow floor, metal ladder and small wooden stool. Neatly stored. A testament to the work of lifties.

I love this combination of what I expect something to look like, and how it can be so different. When the aim wasn’t to just copy the old styles of barns but to imagine something looking to the future. However simple the intended use. I love the way where I live mixes both, and it reminds me to mix it up a little too in how I approach the everyday things and maybe ideas.

Thoughts that are a little more Logan’s run, and the irony that that is nostalgic.