THE POLITICAL, FINANCIAL GAME

 

In 2008, the non-partisan Olympic Games seemingly became a venue for political and financial flex. Beijing dazzled the world with non-sport related performances and architectural extravaganza. Perhaps what made the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) conceivable - beyond the talents of Herzog & De Meuron - was the will of the Chinese government, the strength of its economy, and the labour resources of Chinese workers.

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Finance and politics in architecture is the highest order of complexity; with proper considerations, its reward is an unparallel degree of permanence. It can affect style, craft, and typologies for years to come. For instance, the balcony elements of Toronto's high-rise residential towers compromises energy performance and arguably a unified aesthetics; however, it exists as valuable marketable space outside of the regulated Gross Floor Area. Today, we can't imagine a condominium without them. Architects ought to be aware of the finance and politics of their place and time; the realization of their design aspirations depend on it.

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9:00 PM EDT, September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush addressed to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, “Freedom and Free are at war”. The two towers became the symbol of consumerism and national pride. Safety protocols are changed in every industry around the world. It provoked 10 years of war and many more years of economic hardship. These are only a few of the complexity and sustenance that disseminates from a design that exists in the fifth dimension.