Pitfalls in paradise: why Palm Jumeirah is struggling to live up to the hype: 'Low-paid workers and villa gripes cast a cloud over 'eighth wonder of the world' in Dubai'. There's a lot of schadenfreude swilling about this
part of the world, a relentless and unquenchable
fascination with the process, but also the unspoken expectation that this new fantasia will eventually all come crumbling down. Nice comment
here on the
Ballardian potential of these man-made spaces: 'It can only be a matter of time before the bridge to the mainland is blown and the orgy of sex and pet-eating begins.'
Much of the uneasiness comes from the slow realisation that starchitecture is not necessarily compatible with democracy. See this piece on the
Saudi Construction boom, or this slideshow on
Design for Despots (via
archinect), both exploring how the glittering palaces of 'peace' and 'progress' are propped up by a combination of ill-gotten gains, population upheaval and, above all else, a desire to make a sizeable stamp on posterity using the increasingly dubious criteria of scale and ambition. It's also giving succour to some of the most
vocal critics of modern architecture ('Krier attacks 'idiot' architects"'), people who have been effectively marginalised for two decades following the perceived failure of the first wave of (largely classically-inspired) opposition to modernism.
*Semper Eadem, the slow pace of life in Leicester, via
Lucy Mangan / yet more referrer trawling.
The Spot /
Content Flavoured Trousers /
The Holy Bible /
The Tube, a handy little phone application for Londoners /
Triple Canopy, an online magazine /
Unflatpack, sorting out your
IKEA-sourced lifestyle / '
The vanishing personal site', Zeldman on the fashion for outsourcing personal content (links, photos, etc.), leaving homepages bare and unadorned.
Tech histories. A
history of early digital cameras / a history of
the VCR player / a history of the
Walkman / history of the
pocket calculator / all about the
Game and Watch / all about
Casio digital watches.
Labels: architecture, linkage
posted by things at 11:01 /
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