December 10, 2011 7:19 AM

Today's "WTF??" moment: Korea to US- "9/11?? Fuhgeddaboudit!!!"

“AAAAAGH! YOU HAVE ERECTED A TERRIFYING MONUMENT TO THE NIGHTMARES OF 9/11!!!” was probably not the reaction that Seoul-based Yongsan Dream Hub corporation had in mind when they unveiled their plans today for an ambitious new construction project: Two high-rises connected by a “pixelated cloud” structure that, tragically, calls to mind the kinds of images you don’t really want to call to mind when looking at a new set of twin towers.

I believe it was Georges Santayana who once wrote that those who don’t know history are condemned to repeat it. Welcome to the latest proof of that theorem. Clearly, the architects at the Dutch firm MVRDV thought they were designing something on the cutting edge, something distinctive that would attract attention while being functional. That it would be reminiscent of the Twin Towers collapsing on 9.11 was probably…an unfortunate and unforeseen side effect.

The more I look at the artist’s rendering of the Yongsan Dreamhub project, the more difficult it is for me to imagine that someone could design something so evocative of…whatever it is the architects are trying to evoke, and NOT recognize the similarities and the symbolism. It’s not as if 9.11 was an isolated event that received press attention only in the US…right??

What I truly love is the architecture blog that describes the Yongsan Dreamhub project in glowing, reverential terms, complete and totally oblivious to the similarities most Americans would immediately see in it.

The two towers are positioned at the entrance of the Yongsan Dreamhub project, a master plan designed by Studio Libeskind, extending the business district of the South Korean capital Seoul. The southern tower reaches a height of 260 meters with 54 floors, the northern tower 300 meters with 60 floors. Halfway, at the level of the 27th floor the cloud is positioned, a 10 floor tall pixelated volume, connecting the two towers. The cloud differentiates the project from other luxury developments, it moves the plinth upwards and makes space on ground floor level for public gardens, designed by Martha Schwartz.

No mention at all of the striking, impossible to miss similarity between the Yongsan Dreamhub project and the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9.11. None. Nada. Zip

Don’t these people have cable??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 10, 2011 7:19 AM.

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