Dutch architects apologize for 9/11 blast look-alike design

[Don Vito Corleone]

From Reuters via Yahoo! - http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-architects-apologize-9-11-blast-look-alike-022518356.html

Dutch architects apologize for 9/11 blast look-alike design

SEOUL (Reuters) - A Dutch architectural firm has apologized for its design of twin skyscrapers in central Seoul which resemble the exploding World Trade Center towers in New York and have infuriated families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

The blueprint for the luxury apartment buildings was released last week and shows a structure which juts out at the middle to accommodate pools, restaurants, cafes and a gym.

Relatives of victims of al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States have expressed outrage, according to U.S. media reports, saying the designers have no respect for those that died and branding the design a cheap publicity stunt.

Designer MVRDV said it had not intended to create an image resembling the attacks, and it did not see the resemblance during the design process.

* * *

Here is the design in question:

This is SO strange. I am the last one to jump to paranoia about this kind of thing, but I simply don't believe this was an accident. If it's not, it's pretty breathtakingly disrespectful and exploitative. Honestly, what the hell were these architects thinking? It would be enough to prevent me hiring them for anything, since their judgment is so poor.

 

[spacejamz]

The architects envisioned the building in clouds, which is the look they were going for:

For people to claim they were replicating the 9/11 events is utterly ridiculous and is just another example of you can't make ALL the people happy ALL the time..

 

[OutHouse]

The architects envisioned the building in clouds, which is the look they were going for:

For people to claim they were replicating the 9/11 events is utterly ridiculous and is just another example of you can't make ALL the people happy ALL the time..

utterly ridiculous fail is utterly ridiculous fail.

 

[Throckmorton]

It looks like two buildings joined by a tumor...

 

[spacejamz]

utterly ridiculous fail is utterly ridiculous fail.

call me when the japanese stop eating mushrooms because it reminds them of hiroshima...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The architects envisioned the building in clouds, which is the look they were going for:

For people to claim they were replicating the 9/11 events is utterly ridiculous and is just another example of you can't make ALL the people happy ALL the time..

I don't think it's "utterly ridiculous" considering that the collapsing towers are such an iconic image and the buildings in this design resemble shape and placement of the WTC towers. It's certainly not a criticism that wasn't reasonably foreseeable considering the look of these buildings.

 

[monovillage]

I don't have a problem with the design.

 

[spacejamz]

I don't think it's "utterly ridiculous" considering that the collapsing towers are such an iconic image and the buildings in this design resemble shape and placement of the WTC towers. It's certainly not a criticism that wasn't reasonably foreseeable considering the look of these buildings.

maybe if they added a spire on the north tower and made the clouds black to resemble smoke, then you might have a point...

 

[OutHouse]

call me when the japanese stop eating mushrooms because it reminds them of hiroshima...

yea you are right. its no big deal.

 

[werepossum]

I don't think it's "utterly ridiculous" considering that the collapsing towers are such an iconic image and the buildings in this design resemble shape and placement of the WTC towers. It's certainly not a criticism that wasn't reasonably foreseeable considering the look of these buildings.

I tend to agree, but had I not heard that there was an uproar, I might not have seen the resemblance. Now I can't see anything but the resemblance. It's quite possible though that in South Korea and the Netherlands the Twin Towers aren't such a big deal. Then again, there have been plenty of intentionally equally offensive schemes in this country (the red crescent memorial in Pennsylvania comes to mind) so it's entirely possible that the architects did this intentionally and just don't want to take the heat.

Maybe this is supposed to give them an advantage in the big Istanbul project they're going after . . .

 

[Londo_Jowo]

After seeing these pictures above I can't see where it's any where close to resembling the twin tower attacks other than it's two towers. I also see no issue with the design.

 

[dank69]

I think this is the image it resembles the most:

It's too bad, too. The design is actually pretty cool if it wasn't for that.

 

[spacejamz]

I think this is the image it resembles the most:

It's too bad, too. The design is actually pretty cool if it wasn't for that.

When you crop out the smoke at the top of both buildings, then yes...But look at the towers with the smoke coming out of them and the similarity goes away....

 

[dank69]

When you crop out the smoke at the top of both buildings, then yes...But look at the towers with the smoke coming out of them and the similarity goes away....

It's called a soft troll. Want to keep the plausible deniablility of course.

 

[matt0611]

I really think people are looking to far into this and are just seeing what they are trying to see. I have no problem with the design other than I don't find it particularly interesting or attractive.

 

[cybrsage]

Personally, I think it is ugly. It fails to meet the look of clouds (for that they need to round the rooms, not keep they cubical).

 

[dank69]

I think it looks pretty bad ass:

Especially from above:

 

[cybrsage]

The view from above is rather striking. I like that one.

 

[CanOWorms]

It looks like a nice design. Hopefully they won't be pressured by the unreasonable whiners.

 

[werepossum]

It's called a soft troll. Want to keep the plausible deniablility of course.

The OP is one of the most level-headed forumites and is predominantly on the left - the side given to minimizing 9-11 rather than playing it up. In addition, many people of different political persuasions have brought up the point in various degrees of outrage.

Not everything with which you disagree is trolling.

 

[dank69]

The OP is one of the most level-headed forumites and is predominantly on the left - the side given to minimizing 9-11 rather than playing it up. In addition, many people of different political persuasions have brought up the point in various degrees of outrage.

Not everything with which you disagree is trolling.

I was talking about the architect. 😉

 

[Doppel]

It looks like two buildings joined by a tumor...

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I didn't immediately think "9/11" when I saw the design, and although it isn't a huge stretch to associate it with 9/11, it's still reaching a bit. That said, I think the design is incredibly ugly. The oblong windows that go between floors make the building look like it was designed during a marathon Tetris session and the "clouds" that connect the middle bit look like Borg cancer. People shouldn't be offended because of some tenuous connection to 9/11, they should be offended because it's an architectural abomination.

 

[Fern]

I think it looks pretty bad ass:

Especially from above:

Yeah, the view from above looks cool.

I think people who are complaining about this are excessively sensitive. I would be more sympathetic to their concern if it was built in NYC, but Seoul?

Fern

 

[dank69]

I didn't immediately think "9/11" when I saw the design, and although it isn't a huge stretch to associate it with 9/11, it's still reaching a bit. That said, I think the design is incredibly ugly. The oblong windows that go between floors make the building look like it was designed during a marathon Tetris session and the "clouds" that connect the middle bit look like Borg cancer. People shouldn't be offended because of some tenuous connection to 9/11, they should be offended because it's an architectural abomination.

I think the 'tetris' effect you are talking about is interesting, much better than if all the windows were the exact same little squares.