Starchitecture Seduces

Aug 17, 2003

Starchitecture Seduces

One Man & His Blog ask this question (I gather in print!):

"Why do the really interesting buildings always start going up just as the market turns?"

and BRIAN's Culture Blog responds:

"Which is an interesting question to ask about interesting buildings. The relationship between spectacularly fine buildings and spectacularly bad management decisionmaking has long attracted comment, especially when it comes to custom built headquarters, which have the knack of being built on the ruins of the enterprise that was supposedly about to occupy them, and at the very least of doing severe damage by diverting top management attention away from the job they are supposed to be doing, and towards their lovely new building."

The answer is astute. My only question is whether the initial question is based on an accurate statement of facts.

Aug 17, 2003 4:49:01 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

Comment on Comment from Transport Blog I am endlessly fascinated by my libertarian friends at superb Transport Blog and their wrestling with mega-scale questions about the proper role of government in the development/management of transportation systems. A common theme is removing restrictions on the use of the road system. My knee-jerk response usually focuses on the central role of eminent domain in creating a state monopoly in the first place. For example, take this Comment offered by Patrick Crozier in the recent Segway thread : "I...

Another myth debunked Excellent article by Mark Hinshaw on how Seattle's Fifth Avenue is flourishing beneath the monorail tracks: "One of the enduring bits of Seattle folklore is that the monorail ruined Fifth Avenue. Those opposed to the new monorail are particularly prone to cite the condition of Fifth as a dire warning about the future of streets in the construction zone, such as Second Avenue. Fifth Avenue is, in fact, increasingly lively, livable and getting more diverse and intriguing all the time....