January 15, 2009

My Favorite Thing about Turkish Buildings
Bursa, Turkey

Turkey is host to the same saturation of concrete apartment buildings as her neighboring countries to the northwest, but with one big difference: Turkey paints their buildings.

I know, it sounds trivial, but please don't underestimate how terribly depressing it is to see a monochrome cityscape—block after block of cold, gray housing, totally devoid of color.

I've been saying for years now that one of the worse things these countries can do is leave their buildings unpainted—even washed out, flaking paint is better than raw concrete. Painted buildings have such a huge impact on the mental health of a neighborhood's inhabitants. Colorful buildings make for happier people.

Spiral Fire Escapes and Stairwells

Coming in second place and deserving an honorable mention are Turkey's curiously entertaining spiral stairwells. Such a quirky part of the building design—I really love these things

Recently in this country...

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