October 2022 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Behold: Zaha Hadid’s addition to Antwerp’s Port House, some kind of giant techno-mutant insect from another world either devouring, having sex with, or taking a shit on a 1922 Beaux Arts administrative building designed to express truth, beauty, and order in a human realm that needs to be constantly reminded of the existence of these qualities because life is difficult for everyone. Alas, Ms. Hadid passed away in 2016, so she did not get to witness the climactic battle between psychopathic technocracy and traditional humanism now ongoing and vectoring toward a massive economic and social collapse. One thing this means: the end of Star Trek type techno-grandiose fantasies of which this horror is an exemplar.

Thanks to Mark Sofman for the nomination.