Architectural elements that elicit a visceral response... (Page 2)

The Colosseum was incredible too--thinking about everything that had happened there.  Crazy.

Yep.  Me too.  One of the few places I would consider being an ex-pat.

OH!  I forgot.  Another place that got me in the gut was Dachau.  Just the starkness of the place.  Granted it isn't truly due to architectural elements, but the chimney in the back of the grounds that was the crematorium just kills me.

Any time I see the Parthenon/Acropolis, or Roman Coliseum or temples in Japan that are 100's if not a 1000 years old.

For some reason, places of conflict impact me.  Old battlefields/forts/castles in Europe or Asia.  Even old battleships and such. I sort of got emotional at Pearl Harbor.  I haven't been to Germany yet, but when I do, I will of course need to see the camps, and can't imagine the emotions I may go through there. 

Yep.  When we got to Florence, it was via train.  I told my wife that she wouldn't believe the beauty of the Duomo.  And it was so close to the station.  She kept asking if we were going the right way, until we turned the last corner.  She stopped dead in her tracks, jaw slack and just stared.  It was awesome. 

I completely agree with this, Kido.  It's hard for me to go to those places and not get emotional. 

------------------

I thought of a couple more:

Old windows with wavy glass.

Barns and the light quality when the sun comes in through the cracks and hits all the particulate in the air.  I love the smell of old barns too. 

I truly loved seeing the Colosseum, Notre Dame, the Vatican, the Royal Palace of Madrid, etc. - and each and every one of them left me staring in wonder at the accomplishments of architecture of the time in which they were built.

However, the place that left me with the greatest emotional response was Point du Hoc, Normandy.  Seeing the broken remains of bunkers, the craters that still litter the ground and are 15 feet deep or more, the monument to the Rangers who scaled the cliff... Just standing there thinking of what those soldiers must have gone through before storming the shores.  There really are no words.  

I want to see that...

I get a little burned out looking at churches in Europe.  But they are impressive with the scale and ornateness of them - especially the Vatican.  I also don't think I would grow tired of Notre Dame...  Next time I'm in Paris I want to go up to the top AND see the catacombs.  

This is so going to sound like a copout but I find the beauty nearly everywhere I go. Maybe with the exception of large, inefficient sprawling suburban developments.  I take lots and lots and LOTS of photos on all of my runs.

Not necessarily architectural, but certainly of the built environment is the High Line in NYC. A place that really stole my heart.