Dear friends,
My apologies for some delay here, as you guessed Poland via Tokyo took a few days to settle into, further to this I had to move straight into the project here, a kind of extension on my brick work around the Polish Uprising, which has been a bit of a distraction from direct work on No China Town but a wonderful context to think of it all in. Thank you for your patience meanwhile and all the work done to keep things moving along.
On the first leg of the journey over I watched two inflight documentaries which had fantastic resonance, one on the architecture for the forthcoming Beijing Olympics and the other on the history of the Great Wall. I have included an attachment of dialogue from the former which I thought could be usefully detourned as rhetoric (radio / script?) for our project.
Beijing Olympic Make-Over
(NB where China or Beijing were mentioned by name they have been replaced by China Town or Auckland respectively)
It¡¯s every nations dream come true!
Our Game-face will astound the world.
The capital is about to get history¡¯s ultimate urban make-over.
China Town is a free-for-all, it¡¯s a place where architects can go from all round the world and get their fantasies paid for.
It¡¯s not just a game anymore for the Chinese¡ But time is running out.
The most important thing is that we know we are accepted ¨C that the world accepts us.
Reshape China Town in the world¡¯s eyes.
If China Town is to succeed it must be transformed into a vision of the future that¡¯s already making history!
The consequences of failure are unthinkable.
The biggest question of all is; will the building actually work?
(The Birds Nest)
Auckland goes into Sticker Shock, but the building goes on.
Either you love it or you hate it!
(The Egg)
The biggest logistical nightmare is that it must be lower than the Hall of the People.
This fantastic structure is unlike anything else on Earth.
An engineering triumph based on the mysterious magic of bubbles.
(The Water Cube)
Space without gaps in between.
A team of computor wizards.
Every member is attached to every other member ¨C one change effects them all.
A mind-boggling feat that without cutting edge computor technology we would still be doing after we retired.
A futuristic material called E.T.F.C
Lighter and stronger than glass and letting in more sunlight.
If you have a building that lets in more energy than leaves you have a problem.
Smart bubbles.
The worlds biggest TV.
(Wukesan)
CCTV has the most astonishing building of them all ¨C a mind-bending, back bending behemoth that takes the skyscraper and twists it beyond recognition.
The most expensive building in the world with a gravity defying brdge.
The centre of mass does not coincide with the centre of gravity creating an inherent overturning moment.
The neighbouring TV Cultural Centre, or The Termites Nest, with over 200 hotel units couldn¡¯t be built anywhere else.
A city determined to redefine the limits of the possible. |
