Of course, 6 [...]]]> I looked down at the calendar to check the date and, lo and behold, it’s September 11th, the 34th anniversary of the US-backed coup that toppled President Salvador Allende and brought Pinochet to power in Chile. That act of terrorism resulted in thousands of deaths and made political prisoners of thousands more.

Of course, 6 years ago a more famous act of terrorism had worse results: tens of thousands dead in New York, Afghanistan, and Iraq and hundreds of political prisoners at Guantanamo. The toll of the attack didn’t have to be this severe, but we let it get out of control — we let a horrible tragedy become a coup.

6 years ago we had a moderate, incompetent president who couldn’t move conservative legislation and compromised with liberal institutions like Ted Kennedy to pass education ‘reform.’ Then: the September 11th attacks, and everything changed. Ever since, our country has been ruled by an extremist, incompetent president who steamrolls bills past weak, assenting legislators.

Maybe this will change now that Democrats are starting to put the “fuck you” back in “opposition party” with their wonderful investigations. Maybe they’re ready to end the coup. But first they have to realize that this man is just as much a hack as this man turned out to be, and call him on it. Military uniforms are not inoculations against becoming Bush cronies; this war remains past its sell-by date, no matter who is trotted out to ask for another six months.

Bring the troops home now.

…as Mr. Stern has suggested, the architecture will serve as subdued backdrop to what the ideas and themes the President has championed during the [...]]]> Acceptable neologism? No? Architectural + Morality has a detailed profile of the architect chosen for Bush’s Library at Dallas. Parsing statements by Robert Stern, the chosen ‘tech, Corbusier concludes:

…as Mr. Stern has suggested, the architecture will serve as subdued backdrop to what the ideas and themes the President has championed during the last eight years:

“The president, if he were here, he’d say, ‘Eventually people will not be so interested in George W. Bush but they will be interested in the ideas, the forums and debates and things that can occur,’ ” Mr. Stern said. “So I think he and I are on the absolute same wavelength in that respect.”

It seems the president would rather emphasize library’s diverse program, which include archives, a learning center and a think-tank, rather than merely generate a uniquely moving impression of grandeur and power.

I’m going to pass on the opportunity to say something snarky about what an architectural manifestation of the “ideas and themes the President has championed” would really look like.  But it does seem incredibly appropriate for the library of a president who sought to vastly expand executive power to be in neo-Georgian style, a style named for the British monarchs named George.  Despite my general hostility to the project, I hope that Corbusier’s interpretations of the intended design are correct, because they would lead to a better building and institution.

Mostly, I’m curious about what goes into the decision to take this commission.  Clearly there are Republican, Democratic, Commie, etc. architects of varying degrees of political vehemence, and it would not be difficult to find a firm that would take the project.  But at what point as an architect do you decline a commission based on your view of the client?  Bush in particular provokes very strong feelings from people, and I suspect many lefty architects would refuse to do the project.  Which is probably better for everyone, because I can’t imagine a good building being produced when the client and architect loath each other.

Anyway, just because someone was going to take the project, doesn’t mean that person isn’t a tool; they are.  My only hope is the Stern will take Raggatt’s approach to the National Museum of Australia, though I am not optimistic.

To autograph or not to autograph.

When that happens, there will [...]]]> What I don’t understand about Bush’s strategy of indefinate detainment in Guantanamo for political reasons (as outlined by Brian Beutler) is that at some point, there will be a Democratic administration that will release people. Possibly not in 2008, but certainly by 2040s when detainees start dying of natural causes.

When that happens, there will be lots of stories of unjust imprisonment and torture, and there will be nasty political fallout. Unless Bush’s secret plan is to disappear the whole prison, the stories will eventually be told. So what’s the gain in procrastination?

Bush’s popularity is already down to the Republican base that has decided it’s fine with torture. How could the actual stories of torture hurt him?

A memorial for Hurricane Katrina was one of the first projects assigned in my architecture design labs. Wanting to differentiate myself, I decided to try for a memorial in the tradition of the Holocaust museum (i.e. not soothing).

My memorial was an aquarium. The water was [...]]]> So this is a little embarrassing:

A memorial for Hurricane Katrina was one of the first projects assigned in my architecture design labs. Wanting to differentiate myself, I decided to try for a memorial in the tradition of the Holocaust museum (i.e. not soothing).

My memorial was an aquarium. The water was black and polluted. Bodies, industrial waste, and debris floated through the murk, which had a strong current created mechanically. The sound from the pumps and motors was piped into the coffin-shaped, glass tunnels which wound through the aquarium, ever downwards, making it impossible to talk. These tunnels were of obviously shoddy construction with leaks every few feet, making each step through ankle-deep water precarious. Simulated smells of rot and decay wafted upwards from the bottom of the passage. Backtracking was not an option, as the passage had been accessed via a greased fireman’s pole. So you’re forced to keep heading downwards into a damp, pungent abyss.

I hoped that all this would create a fully horrifying experience that visitors would never forget. Not wanting to waste such induced disgust/fear/anger I also ran plaques down the walls of the tunnels. The plaques were covered with names. The names of everyone who forewarned of the catastrophe. Not the victims. That way the connection would be made that this was a preventable tragedy.

The passage eventually led to the bottom of a latter that rose vertically 300 feet to the surface. Visitors emerged in a boring, symmetrical park that bordered an immense statue of George W. Bush riding a white horse. Complete with plaque-copy lauding the “Savior of New Orleans.”

Over the top? Shrill? Yes and Yes. However, it did cause/encourage a few other students to incorporate political messages into their memorials, albeit in a less flamethrower way. I guess if you’re going to be the far left point of Daou’s triangle, you might as well go all the way…