June 2011 | Eyesore

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

Presenting "The Shard," London's new world-class skyscraper – "a city in the sky!" – by the ever cutting-edge maestro Renzo Piano. Now, I happen to hold the view that an epidemic of skyscraper construction is an excellent predictor of financial catastrophe – not necessarily just for the developer, but for an entire society – in this case for the global economy. The world has seen a spate of super-gigantic skyscrapers go up in the past decade, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (world's tallest building) and a score of competitors. It is one of the best earmarks of irrational exuberance, now primed for an epic depressionary unwind. Don't overlook the tragic essence of these buildings, which is that they have no future. They will never be renovated in the capital-and-resource scarce era that we are about to enter. The Shard itself – which, by the way, is now its official name – may not even get through one generation of use, since England is absolutely broke on its ass, with few remaining energy resources, living on the table-scraps of empire.

Stiff upper lip, chaps! And gird your loins.

Thanks to correspondent "Scylla in London!"