Society for Architectural Insignificance: Frank Gehry

After decades of mediocre projects such as the mall at the 3rd street Promenade and his private residence in Santa Monica, Frank Gehry finally has his breakthrough "success" at Bilbao, Spain in 1997. It seems we are stuck with this iteration of his work from here to the end of his career as his work since 1997 has essentially been a re-gurgitation of Bilbao.

The EMP in Seattle is a poster child for the Society for Architectural Insignificance. Situated at the base of the mighty Seattle Space Needle, EMP embodies all that is wrong with modern architecture.

1. It looks just like all of Gehry's other crumpled up metal buildings.
2. Somebody thought it would be cool to take a torch to it to change the color of the metal skin.
3. By most accounts, the EMP is a financial failure

Wikipedia points out the following criticisms of Gehry's work:

• The buildings waste structural resources by creating functionless forms
• The buildings are apparently designed without researching the local climate
• The spectacle of a building often overwhelms its intended use (especially in the case of museums and arenas)
• The buildings do not seem to belong in their surroundings "organically"

Gehry admitted during a TED Talk interview that Bilbao was his first design that did not leak. He isn't pushing construction techniques for any purpose other than being avant garde. Enough!


I have to admit I do like:
The Dancing House in Prague
Gehry Tower in Hannover
Der Neue Zollhof


Photo Source

12/1/08 UPDATE: I am not the only person that is not impressed by Gehry's mediocrity!

It's What I Like: Ricola

This is another new series I thought up during my recent trip to Europe. Instead of complaining about things, I am going to dig really deep to unearth things I enjoy. The first in this series is Ricola cough drops. I have tried several brands of cough drops and syrup over the years and Ricola are the only things that work, EVERY time. I would have probably tried them sooner if they weren't always featured on The Price is Right. Who would have known a product struggling so much for attention that they would stoop to be on TPIR would be any good?

After visiting Switzerland, two things become apparent:

1. It is no surprise the drops work, as everything in CH seems to work as advertised and the trains are never late.
2. The Swiss would obviously be attracted to The Price is Right as a serious marketing outlet.

If you haven't given Ricola a try, I encourage you to do so. Don't stray from their original flavor though, the other flavors are not great and I am not sure that they work as well as original.

Society for Architectural Insignificance: The Space Needle

I am starting a new feature on my blog, the Society for Architectural Insignificance. I will feature insignificant eyesores, public boondoggles and other annoying architecture. To start this series, I will focus on a structure that I am very passionate about, the Seattle Space Needle.



Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle rocketed on to the world architectural scene at a dizzying height of 605 feet. This pales in comparison to the free standing tour-de-force, the Eiffel Tower, which stands 1,063 feet, built in 1889.

The Needle's short stature combined with it's "The Future is Now" design make me question why it is arguably the most recognizable feature of Seattle.



The Seattle Space Needle is Insignificant Because:

• It is an eyesore standing slightly taller than half the height of a French structure that was built 73 years earlier

• The Needle's marketing crew created this retro-futuristic logo:

• It has a rotating restaurant (It used to have TWO rotating restaurants)
  
  

United et al. Please Listen!

1. Since we now live in a day and age where we have to pay for meals in Economy Class, please place the description of the meals on either the front or back cover OR on page 10 in EVERY magazine. I am so tired of the clown who has never set foot on a plane asking the flight attendant what is in each snack box or if they carry Mountain Dew only to have them rifle through the latest issue of Hemispheres magazine to determine what page this semi-literate traveler needs to read.

2. While we are talking about snack boxes, PLEASE adopt a numbering system. Some people are color blind, but you don't even refer to the meals by color, you have applied cutesy Marketing-speak. Right Bite, Easy Rider, Etc... NUMBERS PLEASE!

3. Baggage Carousels- A two parter
A. Please place a simple arrow on the conveyor belt to indicate which way the luggage will travel. This helps position those in line that like to pounce on their luggage immediately.

B. Install simple posts or other impediments on the floor to prevent every jackal with a luggage cart from pulling right up to the carousel. These people need to chill out and leave the cart 7 feet away from the carousel to allow travel savvy passengers to quickly grab their bags and leave the airport. European airports seem to have this down. You would think their inhabitants would be smarter than to crowd the area, alas, many Americans travel, so the anti- cart barriers have been erected and they do their job well.

And Finally, the elitest in me that has been forced to travel to Dallas on numerous occasions would like United to mark the frequent flier line in LAX! I am tired of getting the stink eye from other passengers when I stand in the line off to the left. Also, fill in the crack security guards about the line too. They like to heckle you when you stand there. (TSA is on board and recognizes the line.)

WTF? North Carolina Cracking down on Creative Plates

I could not believe it when I saw this plate in front of me on my commute to work. It brought a smile to my face and made the drive more enjoyable. My mom couldn't figure out its meaning but apparently North Carolina has caught on.

Microsoft=#@&!!, How does this make Steve Ballmer Feel?

Mini uses the Microsoft Windows logo as a curse! This is fantastic and I don't know why it hasn't gotten more play. Thanks to kremer.com for finding this jewel. The logo is still on the Mini site, press the pic for the link.

Congratulations BMW Sauber F1! BMW Wins Montreal

BMW Returned to the top step of the pinnacle of motor racing today at the Canadian GP. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld scored an impressive 1-2 for the team in an eventful race.

Lewis Hamilton handed his friend from GP2 the win when he speared Kimi Raikkonen at the pit out when the lights were still red. Lewis showed Schumacher-esque car control and cunning by maintaining just enough control of his car to avoid hitting Kubica, but keenly eliminating his main Championship rival from the race.

The Canadian racetrack literally came apart during qualification and the running of the race. It seems only one running of the 3500 lb NASCAR series in 2007 was enough to severely damage it.