Zoomscape: Architecture in Motion and Media by: Mitchell Schwarzer (p1)

"I have never set foot in scores of buildings, in scores of towns, but they are familiar to me."

"Zoomscape explores the impact of mechanized transportation and camera reproduction on the perception of architecture" (Schwarzer, 12)

"...driving encourages a nonchalant way of looking. Most sights are off to the side, constantly slipping away; the view ahead is dictated less by urban form than roadway roadway space. The aesthetics of the automobile view are shaped by the brief encounter, a quick and potent mix of vision with form that almost instantaneously evaporates. Seen quickly buildings and other urban features metamorphose into supple shapes and receding outlines. The excitement of viewing architecture from an automobile lies in such metamorphoses, which can seem like the transformation of mass into energy." (Schwarzer, 72)

"Changing direction at driver's will, cars navigate the city as far as the roadside goes, showing us architecture from multiple angles and individual perspectives. In cars, trucks, or on motorcycles, people construct an expansive sense of place. Whether on highways, arterials, or collector streets, the vehincular experience encompasses the whole of the metropolis. Automobile encourages an understanding of architecture as landscape instead of landmark; and although they greatly facilitate access to individual landmarks, cars are impatient with stasis and singularity." (Schwarzer, 72)

"The automobile crafts knowledge of architecture on the go, promting a dance-like interplay between observer and building, where buildings continually change and infrastructure usually cuts in." (Schwarzer, 72)

"...any freedom to be gained from the automobile will be achieved only when the motor is turned off. Here the ultimate urban edge, the earth, fromes the edge of both architecture and life. Architecture is made from earth and must return to earth." (Schwarzer, 74)

"...seeing the city from the lanes of the freeway has become the vital option. Leaving your car, you see the urban detritus, the city that the car has made obsolete. And leaving your car, you may lose your life." (Schwarzer, 76)

"For many critics, the automobile symbolizes much that is wrong with cities and especially suburbs... The view from automobiles... is a view onto the world created by the automobile- hence a narcissistic view. For many critics, the automobile isolates its occupants and turns the built environment into a zone of alienating passage through nuetral architectural infill.... the simple act of driving might one day efface the city- at which point, it is possible that no one will mind." (Schwarzer, 78)