On Sunday I was watching Breakfast with the Arts on A&E (by the way, the new-ish host Karina Huber is no Elliott Forrest), and one of the guests was the chairman of the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. He was on the show to talk about the Shanghai World Financial Center, which when completed will be one of the tallest buildings in the world. Its main distinctive feature is a large circular opening near the top, 50 meters (164 feet) in diameter, intended to ease wind pressure on the structure.
However, all I could think was that it would be a perfect place for the Eye of Sauron.
What a cool building! I’m always fascinated by those shows that “tell all” about how it gets built, etc. And yes, it would be perfect as the Eye of Sauron!
“it would be a perfect place for the Eye of Sauron.” LOL. That’s such a classic Jeff observation…
Hah! You’re so right!
When Peter Jackson first literally had a giant eye at the top of Barad-dur, I was a little put off. Wasn’t this a bit… over the top? But, like some of the other bold things he did in the movies, it somehow worked.
Let’s see if they finish it. Construction is proceeding verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly. And while the Jin Mao tower utilizes indigenous Chinese architectural features (many erroneously think it is a modernist building but it is not), the Shanghai World Financial Center does not. Then there’s the problem of shadows…for the Jin Mao building will cast its shadow RIGHT ONTO the WFC!
Personally, I find the WFC to be a copycat of much of Philip Johnson’s work (Pennzoil Tower, AT&T, etc.) It even reminds me a bit of the Skybridge in Chicago, the Westin Hotel in New York City, or the Atlantis condos in Miami. Hell, the sheared-off look was old when Baltimore applied it to half to is downtown!
Ah, but there’s no accounting for taste. :)