I love the internet. I am a ‘googleholic’. So I looked up the word vestigial on google and it gave 14 different definitions from different sites including: VESTIGIAL - a structure that no longer serves a useful purpose and - a degenerate part or organ more highly developed in previous generations. I also looked up the word FOSSIL which had 29 definitions including: the remains of a living thing that has been preserved over time.
I am looking for the right word to describe tower blocks. I think vestigial is probably best for the moment, but once they are really dead they will become fossils. This relates to a regular discussion I have with Fergus Nicol which hinges on the question: “are buildings machines or living organisms?” They obviously are not inanimate! If you took a time lapse photograph of almost any building over a year it would open and close (blinds, shutters, windows), change colour (lights) and hibernate with the seasons. We can’t think of the right word to describe a structure that is half inanimate and half animal; machinimal? Nah ! Any good ideas gratefully received ...
