05.06.06
Skyscrapers and Such
After almost five years, they’ve finally begun pouring the foundation for Freedom Tower. The final design doesn’t look half as bad as it did, but I still wish they would have gone with the Twin Towers 2 concept. [Insert Donald Trump quote here.]
The symbolic power of the original WTC towers was obvious. Why do you think the terrorists attacked them twice? By replacing two big towers with a single smaller tower, we’ve essentially said: “We give up! If we rebuild them they’ll just knock them down again.”
Much more troubling to me than the Freedom Tower, is the design and content of the proposed World Trade Center Memorial. Some of the planned exhibits could even be interpreted as justifying the attacks. Back to skyscrapers though.
The recent burst of activity on the Chicago skyscraper front is encouraging. The current emphasis is on hotels and residential units rather than business structures.
The construction of Trump International Tower in Chicago is proceeding nicely. I tend to prefer square corners in skyscrapers designed for offices, but I think the rounded corners of Trump’s building are somehow more appropriate for its residential nature. Don’t ask me why. (How much do you think the condos on the top floor will cost?)
Also under construction in Chicago is the Waterview Tower, a Shangri-La luxury hotel. It won’t be quite as tall as the Trump International Tower, but it’s website promises traditional Asian hospitality. Sounds good to me. The building isn’t unattractive either.
On the other hand, Fordham Spire, a proposed residential skyscraper for Chicago looks like it’s been heated by a blowtorch and twisted with a pair of pliers. I don’t think it’s ugly per se; I just don’t like it. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the deal will fall through.
Whatever the case, this trend of residential skyscrapers will make some Bryan Larsen paintings a little more realistic. (How cool it would be to live in a place like that!)
More on this later. I’m looking for submissions for a “World’s Ugliest Skyscrapers” list. Let me know what you think. (I’m pretty sure the top prize will go to the Taipei 101. )
capitalist_pig said,
May 6, 2006 at 8:24 pm
My Picks for the 10 Ugliest Skyscrapers
Although this is not a definitive list, it is the best I could come up with in 5 minutes. Feel free to argue any of these…
1. Taipei 101, Taipei_Taiwan (I don’t know how the world’s tallest building can be so ugly)
2. Kingdom Centre, Riyadh_Saudi Arabia (Could somebody tell me what this is?)
3. Tuntex Sky Tower, Kaohsiung_PRC
4. Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang_North Korea (Looks like a giant hive)
5. Republic Plaza, Singapore
6. Two International Finance Center, Hong Kong SAR_PRC (This one really ruins HK’s otherwise picturesque skyline)
7. Tomorrow Square, Shanghai_PRC
8. Freedom Tower, NYC_USA (Very, very ugly)
9. Yokohama Landmark Tower, Yokohama_Japan
10. Citigroup Center, NYC_USA (What were they thinking?)
For some reason, I just really don’t like many of the Asian towers. There are, however, a few exceptions…such as Hong Kong’s Bank of China tower and the majority of Shanghai’s new towers. I really like how both Shanghai and Hong Kong (minus Two International Finance Center) look right now.
If they’re not going to rebuild the WTC towers as they were originally (or according to Trump’s genius plan)…I wish they would at least make it look a little more like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mubarak_al-Kabir_Tower
Mr_Right said,
May 7, 2006 at 1:38 pm
One building I would like to add to Capitalist Pig’s list is Swiss Re’s headquarters, London. I don’t know how you could take a company seriously whose headquarters look like this. It would, however, be appropriate for a condom company.
http://www.urbandesign.it/immagini/Torre_Swiss_Re_Norman_Foster.jpg