February 2010 | Eyesore

Architectural Abortions from the USA and Around the World (And Sometimes Other Miscellany Infecting the Landscape)

Welcome to the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, designed by Los Angeles architetect Randall Stout. Odd, isn't it, how much it looks like dozens of other recent museums and museum additions by starchitects such as Frank Gehry. I guess the lesson here is that the most "innovative" buildings all express exactly the same design innovations. So many geniuses with the same exact thoughts! From a practical standpoint, what we get here is yet another effort to confound the public's expectations about city life and its civic furnishings -- all made possible by the wonders of computer-aided design (a.k.a CAD). Hence, what you also get is a demonstration of the diminishing returns of technology. The more deeply architects venture into the magical cave of techno-grandiosity, the more they fuck up our everyday world.

Here's the view from inside. Exactly what sort of exhibitions does this lend itself to. An article on the CBC News web page said: "CBC News spoke to Reed Clarke at an exhibit that allows visitors to experience being in an abandoned Japanese dentist's office during a storm. He said the exhibit was very realistic."

You can't make this shit up.