mis en perspective

09:26 Mar 21, 2012 

That may well be the case, though I doubt it had much bearing on many stand-out buildings, such as The Shard, for instance. Nonetheless, is this a text written by a planner or for submission to a planner. There is nothing to tell us that. It reads more like a typical piece of journalism or descriptive piece for a website. I'm sorry, I don't really know why you mention this now.

09:10 Mar 21, 2012 

Personally, I like buildings to be interesting. From years of experience of planning submissions, albeit in the UK, I realise that planners are more interested in making uncontroversial decisions and harmony is one of their favourite words. This particular building might look better in a few years time when the wood has weathered to a greyish colour and that may well have been a factor its design and approval.

Architects always need to have an eye to their next planning application.

22:39 Mar 20, 2012 

Hmm, a quip in the box in response to your suggestion is not the same as my proffered translation, as you well know. I thought you had more of a sense of humour. I disagree with your understanding of the term in this particular context as evidenced by the images. It means - literally - placing in perspective - i.e. creating sight-lines. Think landscape gardening. This is not personal opinion; this is based on specialist knowledge acquired over a career, though hardly limited to those that bother. The idea that buildings should sit harmoniously within a landscape is, after all, only one tendency in architecture.

21:47 Mar 20, 2012 

"Mise en perspective" literally means "put into perspective" by its surroundings - in other words, it might be overwhelming on its own, but it's designed to blend in with the scenery. "Thrown into relief by" seems to be the opposite of what the French says.

21:42 Mar 20, 2012 

Sorry, that wasn't meant as a personal comment at all - I was just responding to your equally non-personal comment on my translation. You said "No, it sticks out like a quite nice sore thumb, though from the pics, the surroundings are not that glamorous anyway," which is your personal opinion. I feel we should be focusing on what the French says, rather than what we think of the building.

20:43 Mar 20, 2012 

I'm doing no such thing, or no more than any other translator is obliged to do when summing up the available context - a modicum of visual analysis being required here. You made a judgment, so did I, and my posted suggestion is not negatively laden (thrown into relief). Please don't make such personal comments.

20:37 Mar 20, 2012 

You can't impose your opinion on the translation. You may think it sticks out like a sore thumb, but that's not what the French says - it's obviously saying positive things about the project.

17:47 Mar 20, 2012 

This is the Centre designed by these particular architects: http://archiguide.free.fr/PH/FRA/Lyo/RillieuxCCNBouJu.jpg