I was recently sickened to hear of the threat of complete destruction of the ancient ruins of Palmyra at the hands of the Islamic State. That threat is very real and has been publicized. However, over much of the past century and up to today, a much greater threat has successfully destroyed perhaps thousands of times more irreplaceable cultural treasures than ISIS ever will. And even when some architectural treasures have been protected, Modernists have ruined the neighborhood atmospheres by inserting their horrid ugly boxes into nearly every historic area they can find.
Here is one of the more recent examples. In New York, the Drake Hotel (left) was built in 1926 and demolished in 2007 to make way for 432 Park Avenue (right). (Even in the picture on the left, you can see that the Drake's neighbors have long since been replaced by uninspiring Modernism.) In a shocking display of audacity, the stark 432 Park Avenue was even made taller than the Empire State Building. A major criminal behind this is Harry B. Macklowe, a Jewish real estate investor who "became known for developing sleek modernistic buildings like the Metropolitan Tower and for his starkly white minimalist offices." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_B._Macklowe) Here is some other information about him. "In 1985, Macklowe was fined $2 million for ordering the late-night demolition, without a permit, of four buildings, including a welfare hotel, in Times Square."
Criminals often need accomplices, and he found such a man in Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. Rafael had a 'unique vision' for this one. He said he designed 432 Park Avenue around what he described as "the purest geometric form: the square." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/432_Park_Avenue)
Never mind that the simplest (if that is what is meant by "purest") geometrical form is a triangle, and that the square is such a dated Modernist trope which is known as the laziest of building shapes. Rafael Viñoly made the archetypal boring boxy building. But of course, the basic square design is cheap to build and generates more money than triangular design, so maybe that is what he meant by "purest". Perhaps "most profitable" is a better term...but it doesn't sound as nice as "purest". What I hate is that these idiot Modernist architects think that they are enlightened philosophers while they pull done-to-death Modernist tropes out of a hat and call it brilliance. What is worse is that society lets them get away with it. I'm sure these types of people existed in the 1880s, but back then, they were rightly shunned and called the frauds that they were. Something is very wrong with our modern society when we can't see something so glaringly obvious.
I know that some people have helped to protect traditional structures, but the majority of people just don't care, so we lose more and more treasures, which are more often than not replaced by pure garbage. The silent ISIS is alive and well in every nation of the world, but the treasures that they demolish will not make the news.
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