The Eiffel Tower Excuse
Lately, everyone has been referencing the Eiffel Tower whenever a new project is criticized. From Calatrava to the new Herzog & de Meuron project, supporters claim that over time these structures will be appreciated for the brilliance that they actually are, just like the Eiffel Tower. I say, not true.
When first built for the World’s Fair, people hated the Eiffel Tower. Somehow, though, the building survived demolition and is now one of the most recognizable in the world. Yes, people thought that the Eiffel Tower was ugly, but most of that stemmed from a desire to preserve the current architecture of Paris. The Eiffel Tower was tall when everything else was short, and it was made of iron when everything else was made of masonry.
Some of these new projects, however, are just plain bad. Take the just opened Calatrava bridge in Jerusalem. It’s like all of Calatrava’s other bridges, but instead of spanning some river, it’s located in the middle of the city, bridging a busy street. Now by itself, it’s fine. But in the middle of Jerusalem, it’s horribly out of place. There’s no room for it to breath, as all of the surrounding structures crowd the bridge. It also feels completely unnecessary for the task required, bridging a simple street. It’s obvious, then, that Calatrava designed not based on the project’s unique conditions, but rather on extending his own trademark. Ego first, it would seem.
From ArcSpace: Calatrava's bridge. It thinks it's so important.
Then there’s the new tower Herzog & de Meuron just announced for the La Défence district of Paris. It’s basically a giant steel and glass pyramid. Again, this project, named the Triangle Project, has its detractors, and for good reason. Why a pyramid? It’s way too commanding, way to authoritative a form. In fact, it reminds me of the pyramids in George Orwell’s 1984. In the book, the government used the pyramid to assert their dominance over the population. And with the criticism comes the defense: “Look at the Eiffel Tower and how we used to hate it so much. Now we love it, and we’ll learn to love this pyramid too.” Only La Défence is not reacting to an attempt to preserve current architectural styles. It’s a district known for architectural innovation, both good and bad. If even this ruffles La Défence, maybe it really is that bad.
From Building.co.uk: Herzog & de Meuron's pyramid. If they hated I.M. Pei, wait until this monstrosity is built.
Really, the Eiffel Tower should not be used to excuse bad, self centered design. Too many buildings are built today that are obviously extensions of their architects’ egos and disrespect their clients, neighbors, and purposes. When built, the Eiffel Tower was meant to represent France, as it successfully does today. They say that Calatrava’s bridge will be a spectacular new entrance to Jerusalem, but all I see is Calatrava, and nothing of Jerusalem. The same goes for the Triangle Project. Sure it’s a different form, but why use it?
