Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Architect: Crunch Will Topple 'Wow Factor' Buildings

Architect believes financial meltdown will cause building 'mood shift'

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 4, 2008 9:09 AM CST

(Newser) – Attention-seeking skyscraper projects are likely to be early victims of the financial crisis, architect David Chipperfield predicts in a Bloomberg interview. "Wow-factor" buildings like London's "Shard of Glass" have proliferated during years when there's been plenty of money around, but a shift in mood is likely to see new projects taking a turn for the sensible, the architect argues.

The competition to create iconic buildings has been "liberating for the profession," but it also "produces a lot of rubbish," said Chipperfield, whose own work, including the recent transformation of Berlin's bombed-out Neues Museum, is often more low-key. At the Neues he's attracted some controversy by keeping some WWII damage visible rather than re-creating the original.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

General view of the newly constructed staircase of the 'Neues Museum' in Berlin prior to the topping-out ceremony last year. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

This computer-generated image released earlier this year by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron reveals their "Project Triangle" building. (AP Photo/Herzog and de Meuron, HO)

David Chipperfield poses in the newly constructed staircase of the Neues Museum in Berlin prior to the topping-out ceremony of the building's reconstruction last year. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

David Chipperfield poses in Berlin's 'Neues Museum' prior to the topping-out ceremony of the museum's reconstruction. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

It's an architecture of excess, a consequence of there being too much money around.
At a time when people are worried about other things, those things become really irritating. - British architect David Chipperfield

I am highly suspicious of doing the extraneous and the superficial, of doing things for effect, of doing things that look silly after a few years. - David Chipperfield

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Too Many Skyscrapers Often Spells Doom: Barclays

So look out India and China

(NEWSER) - Barclays Capital fears impending financial crises in China and India, based on ... skyscrapers. The tall buildings are linked to such crises, and China and India are building a lot of them, the investment bank explains in its annual Skyscraper Index. A "skyscraper building boom" often reflects "a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction," the company says in its report. More»

Irish Bank Sues to Foreclose on Chicago Spire

Ireland could own under-construction skyscraper

(NEWSER) - It's supposed to be one of America's iconic skyscrapers, but Chicago's problem-plagued Spire is a step closer to being Irish-owned today after a lender filed to take possession of the under-construction project, the AP reports. Anglo Irish Bank has filed a $77 million foreclosure lawsuit against Irish developer Garrett Kelleher, claiming default on loans that matured a year ago. More»

Gehry Gambles Big in Las Vegas

Swirling, crumpled new clinic building is certainly unique

(NEWSER) - Designing a building that outdoes the already delirious Las Vegas skyline is no easy trick, but Frank Gehry is the man for it. Gehry tells the AP he wanted the nearly complete swirling stainless steel structure he built for the Cleveland Clinic's brain center to stand out from what he called "the cacophony" of high-rise casinos and condos forming the spine of Sin City's sprawl. And he declares himself pleased with the results. "It took my breath away," he says, adding, "I mean, some people may think it's over the top. I don't think so." More»

Dubai Preps for Opening of World's Tallest Building

160-story Dubai Burj stands 2,683 feet tall

(NEWSER) - Six years in the making, the Burj Dubai skyscraper opens Monday with the United Arab Emirates' fortunes in flux and the boom times that launched the world's tallest building a distant memory. Designed by American Adrian Smith, the Burj Dubai—the name means simply "Dubai Tower"—is 2,683 feet and 160 stories tall, with a nightclub on the 143rd floor and residences as high as the 108th. More»

Modernist Architect Gwathmey Dies at 71

(NEWSER) - Charles Gwathmey, who died of esophageal cancer at 71 this week, began his architectural career as a steely, pared-down Modernist and never wavered from his style over decades of work, writes the New York Times. His larger buildings, such as an extension to Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark Guggenheim Museum, were often controversial. But it was in residential architecture that he most excelled—one 1,200-square foot house, designed for his parents while still in his 20s, became an instant classic. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Architect: Crunch Will Topple 'Wow Factor' Buildings