Sydney’s gateways
Gateways are important to a city. They are more than inlets and outlets. They frame the city. A well-designed and well-positioned gateway creates that uplifting buzz of excitement for those entering, and a pang of beautiful melancholy for those leaving. Take the Zhengyangmen (the southern, front gate) in Beijing, for example. In the olden days, the towering gatehouse would have risen far above the single-storey dwellings of the outer city. The gateway frames the first glimpse of the city. Just as importantly, the bulk of the gate blocks the travelor’s view, enticing him with that tantalising glimpse, and the snatches of sound that filter through the gate - here, the busy market places and restaurants of the Qianmen district, and beyond, the solemn magnificence of the Imperial City. Director Ang Lee used this relationship to great effect in the shots introducing Beijing in Crouching Tiger.
Few cities today have the benefit of these magnificent relics of the pre-gunpowder era. Those which do not, must create them. The Arc de Triomphe anchors the western end of the Axe Historique, and is a gateway to the historic centre of the city as much as it is a singular monument. Melbourne, as one might expect, uses big slabs of red and yellow…. things. (See some beautiful photos here.)
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