Thursday, October 8, 2015

InkTober 7: Doctors Building

At first glance this building looks like yet another boxy boring office building. But take a closer look and you'll find it's a remarkable piece of architecture, sitting unnoticed (and mostly empty) in a heavy traffic area in urban Falls Church. It's at a notorious intersection called "Seven Corners." Built in 1965, it has that bleak and slightly futuristic look that characterizes Mid-Century Modern buildings. Note that the horizontal division of the windows on the sides is uneven, not just four blocks of glass. The large flat facade, in pale grey concrete, has a textured pattern of diagonals against horizontal strips. The lettering is a rather chilly squarish sans-serif, the descendant of that noble blocky Frank Lloyd Wright typeface.

On the right side which I haven't drawn in detail is another entrance which is angled out to form a triangle portico over the doorway. The building is actually quite long but you can't see it at this angle. At one point this building was said to be the tallest building in Falls Church but nowadays it is well-overshadowed by the new residential/commercial buildings going up quickly in the old historic center of the not-so-little-any-more "Little City." 

Pitt black tech pen on sketchbook page, about 5" x 5", InkTober 7, October 8, 2015.

No comments: