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From the New York Times

There is a global boom in design and construction of artistic spaces. Some people including myself are cynical about this, likening it to the current boom in stadium construction here in the states: a way for cities to bring in more tourist dollars. However, there is no denying the architectural innovation that has occured as a result in the imagining of new museums and concert halls, and New York Times explores the latter in a piece published this morning looking at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the newly rendered images of the upcoming Elble Concert Hall in Hamburg.

The Hamburg construction seems breathtaking. It also strikes me as similar to some of the interiors imagined for the 1969 version of Planet of the Apes, but I mean that in the most endearing way possible. The article is lengthy, but certainly worth reading since it explores the area from which most of the current architectural innovations come from.

Here’s something LA related that also touches on my archtecture jones. The architect Michael Maltzan, who loves to design things for poor people in his spare time, is getting set to break ground on a boldly designed housing project on Skid Row. LA is really trying to clean this area up and I think this kind of project demonstrates a level of seriousness for the assisting the homeless not commonly seen by a major city.

I always feel kind of cheap when I basically rip off a story from the New York Times, but that’s what I’m going to do. I just came across this article in today’s Arts section about a proposed skyscaper in St. Petersburg that is causing controversy because it’s going to be like 800 ft taller than any other building in town. The building is going to be the headquarters of Russia’s largest corporation and will anchor a new business district right on the Neva River. Said the company’s CEO of the plans:

“This new, modern project will give birth to a new mentality for St. Petersburg, which lives in a new, modern civilization,” said Mr. Miller, appearing with the city’s governor, Valentina I. Matviyenko. “And its citizens will feel the pulse of the new economy, the pulse of the contemporary world.”

So I’m all for progress. And looking at this rendering, it’s not a bad looking building. But, like. Come on. I think an important part of designing a beautiful structure is taking into account the surrounding area. And height isn’t everything. A building this high will be able to be seen from everywhere in the city when in point of fact, it’s probably not that important to the culture of St. Petersburg. So why make it a focal point for the entire city?

That’s a stupid question to ask, so let me point out that it’s rhetorical. They obviously want everyone looking at them. They’re this building so that everyone will who sees it, everyone in St. Petersburg, will have Gazprom on their mind. It’s all marketing, which is stupid.

The new China Central Television Building in Beijing will be one of the largest buildings ever constructed. It is, however, only 57 stories tall. It is not a typical skyscraper; it’s donut-shaped design has made it a marvel since it was chosen by the Chinese government in 2002. The building, which will occupy a space as large as 37 football fields, will be completed in 2008 and is currently the subject of the exhibition, “OMA in Beijing” at MoMA. The Exhibition was reviewed today by the New York Times.

I don’t really know anything about architecture beyond what was discussed in an art history course my sophomore year of college, but this building does seem to inspire awe, just as its designer says it does in the Times review. Before this building, it would seem to me that a skyscraper was a skyscraper, extending upward like a monolith, taking on whatever modern or post-modern affects its designer envisioned. But we’re basically talking about one shape here. This building (you can’t call it a tower) is powerfully innovative because it has eliminated the skyscrapers phallic nature, something that those of us without architectural vision thought impossible to circumvent.

So Kudos on this really rad building. And keep up the good work.