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Friday, September 21, 2007
Open the pod bay door, Rem.
More news on the stela from 2007 A Space Odyssey here.
September 21, 2007 in Architecture, Culture, Jokes, Religion & Metaphysics, Urbanism | Permalink
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Doesn't look like a building I'd want to be in when the next massive earthquake hits Mexico City.
Posted by: Gizler at Sep 21, 2007 12:29:57 PM
Dear John;
I was struck not so much by Rem's new design for the proposed skyscraper for Mexico City, but rather by the enthusiastic statements of its local supporters. To show off my linguistic skills, and also considering the possibility that they may originally have been mistranslated from the Spanish by whoever reported them, I have pulled some of them and translated them (admittedly subjectively) into our language. Here are original statements, followed by their translation.
"The tower will catapult Mexico City into the ranks of the world’s great cities, alongside emergent Asian capitals where skyscrapers grow ever taller."
"The tower will choke Mexico City, just as similar monstrous towers have choked the emergent Asian capitals where skyscrapers grow even taller."
***
"No other city in Latin America will have a tower of this size now, we’re ahead of everybody else."
"No other city in Latin America will have a cancerous tumor of this size, so our city is going to be sicker than everybody else's."
***
"The 70-story tower will be called the Bicentennial Tower, ready to celebrate Mexico's 200 years of independence from Spain."
"The 70-story tower will celebrate Mexico's ideological and economic subjugation to the city-destroying forces of globalized capital."
***
"Alluding to Mexico’s pre-Columbian past, Mr. Koolhaas’s design joins two pyramidal forms."
"Let's find some superficial geometrical element of their own heritage, to cloak this abomination."
Best wishes.
Posted by: nikos salingaros at Sep 23, 2007 8:59:59 AM
Original research always pays off!
Posted by: john at Sep 23, 2007 11:52:17 PM
Hi John. So what is precocious, playful, naughty little Rem up to this time? A lava lamp in Darth Vader drag? If he had any respect for language he'd learn the difference between a pyramid and an obelisk. Ten to one this design was originally developed for a project in Egypt. Tough to be a world-renowned architect with limited talent, and even less hope of genius, thus the repetitive sophomoric stunts. Too bad he never found his true fulfillment, as a director of splatter movies.
The more interesting parts of the story are the sociopaths who use clowns like Mr. Rem for their nefarious purposes. The dudes in Mexico City are positively reeking with the stink of ambition, ditto the Russian power company guy in St. Petersburg. I'm sure none of these psychos think coherently about why they are drawn to abominable designs like this. There is clearly some non-verbal gut-level sympatico with anything that unbalances people and tries to undermine their dignity and self esteem. Power without responsibility.
Thanks for speaking up against this. And you too, Mr. Salingaros.
Posted by: Thomask at Sep 24, 2007 4:31:08 AM
I wonder where those who appreciate the merits of the historic center of the city are. Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata are of interest also. If a spot in the environment is damaged then it calls for repair not an apotheosis of damage.
Posted by: anonymous at Sep 25, 2007 9:01:05 PM
UPDATE FROM MEXICO CITY
Dear John;
I just received word from one of my PhD students who works as an architect and planner in Mexico City. I had asked him about this project, and this is what he replied:
"The project of the Koolhaas tower has apparently already been aborted. There was a great deal of citizen opposition and much controversy on all sides. As for me, I am working on proposals for urban projects of more human dimensions for Mexico City."
Best regards.
Posted by: nikos salingaros at Oct 1, 2007 6:55:29 PM
