Tuesday, 24 July 2007

The Greatness of Man's Mind in His Buildings

Man's mind, when put to use, can be a marvelous thing. We witnessed this today with the Burj Dubai overtaking Taipei 101 as the World's Tallest Building. Although it is now officially the tallest, it still has around 200-300 metres left before topping out, at about 800 metres (the official height is being kept a secret).

The greatness of the mind when put to use can produce incredible feats of engineering. This has been seen throughout the ages, from the Pyramids and the Sphinx of Ancient Egypt, to the Colosseum during Rome's heyday, the great Cathedrals of the Middle Ages, the bridges and tunnels of the Victorians and recently skyscrapers soaring several hundred metres into the air.

But these aren't just "big box" buildings, or brutalist 1960's commercial commieblocks; man's great buildings are also feats of engineering and aesthetics. They are designed to be look good and feel the same way. They are true feats of man's mind. (to the point, I think we all know why Howard Roark's career was an architect!)

Keep up the good work, architects of the future-and don't return to the 1960s!

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