Watching BIG get into this stylized worldbuilding urbanism is really embarrassing. They should stay as a cute Danish dumb design group that makes nice smooth things and not get into this localized superproject development stuff cause its offensive and distasteful at this point. Also the overhead shots of this "city" that are just distributions of identical blocks based on use types allocated around shows how shallow their thoughts on "urbanism" are but also show the facade of development and planning altogether
This "design" is abysmal, thoughtless and is everything that Bhutan is not. BIG's formulaic approach does not work here.
On a political level, if this project harkens to the "china-ization" of Bhutan, then the country is done for. The criticism is directed towards chinese cities, not chinese architects.
Y'all are missing the point of PR exercises like these. In all likelihood, the client presented BIG with a brief and a bunch of moodboards, with the mandate to churn out something as pleasantly generic and friendly as possible for PR purposes. That means minimal work on BIG's end and copious references (rip-offs) of existing projects. The goal is not architecture, as nauseating as that might seem, but a rendering and messaging exercise.
These could've been done by a PR agency without an architect's services, IMO. And for BIG, this has been a lucrative business. Sometimes they do lead to actual projects down the line. But its a decent hustle that an associate and a team of interns can produce in a couple of weeks.
There is a skill in churning out something that has all the sheen of mainstream "innovation" without actually doing anything new - and that is a cache BIG has built up over the years. They have mastered their audience and language. Think Don Draper rather than FLW - though FLW certainly had a lot of Draper in him too!
Sure, I feel I have made my "career" as it were based on pie-in-the-sky type projects, but we usually try to not superimpose a bunch of recycled doo-doo from years past...but yes this is probably intern work, and the main aim may be to get a couple of architectural projects from this...
BIG Bhutan
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/12...
Watching BIG get into this stylized worldbuilding urbanism is really embarrassing. They should stay as a cute Danish dumb design group that makes nice smooth things and not get into this localized superproject development stuff cause its offensive and distasteful at this point. Also the overhead shots of this "city" that are just distributions of identical blocks based on use types allocated around shows how shallow their thoughts on "urbanism" are but also show the facade of development and planning altogether
court is open for dunking
On Archinect: BIG's ‘Mindfulness City’ concept seeks to deliver new forms of prosperity to southern Bhutan
https://archinect.com/news/art...
BIG is hired to produce a press release - messaging, renders, headlines. That's it. There is no Architecture at this point.
I'd argue that an AI greybox can do a similar job.
This "design" is abysmal, thoughtless and is everything that Bhutan is not. BIG's formulaic approach does not work here.
On a political level, if this project harkens to the "china-ization" of Bhutan, then the country is done for. The criticism is directed towards chinese cities, not chinese architects.
BIG is the wet fart of architecture.
Nothing more says " yeah, we know what we're doing" than a a massive damn in a pristine forest with hanging temples.
Stefano Boeri's proposal looks like a "Buddhified" apple campus. Not as bad as BIG but rather sterile.
Stefano Boeri mindfulness
he got to con the king of Bhutan? I need that pr team.
and this is a rip-off of ando in seville 92
Y'all are missing the point of PR exercises like these. In all likelihood, the client presented BIG with a brief and a bunch of moodboards, with the mandate to churn out something as pleasantly generic and friendly as possible for PR purposes. That means minimal work on BIG's end and copious references (rip-offs) of existing projects. The goal is not architecture, as nauseating as that might seem, but a rendering and messaging exercise.
These could've been done by a PR agency without an architect's services, IMO. And for BIG, this has been a lucrative business. Sometimes they do lead to actual projects down the line. But its a decent hustle that an associate and a team of interns can produce in a couple of weeks.
There is a skill in churning out something that has all the sheen of mainstream "innovation" without actually doing anything new - and that is a cache BIG has built up over the years. They have mastered their audience and language. Think Don Draper rather than FLW - though FLW certainly had a lot of Draper in him too!
yeah, this is the same logic NEOM participants use to justify their involvement...
Sure, I feel I have made my "career" as it were based on pie-in-the-sky type projects, but we usually try to not superimpose a bunch of recycled doo-doo from years past...but yes this is probably intern work, and the main aim may be to get a couple of architectural projects from this...
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.