(I am placing this new thought in this thread for lack of a better idea... I hope it's in an acceptable place.)
In an article this week entitled, "In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China," by Nicolai Ouroussoff, we are told that Westerners have every right to feel dazzled at the new international air terminal in Beijing. Not only is the space grand, but it feels like one is "passing through a portal to another world," which "leaves Western nations in the dust." The suggestion is that Europe, and presumably America as well, are now culturally obsolete.
Designed by Norman Foster, the airport is one of a number of remarkable new buildings, including Paul Andreu’s egg-shaped National Theater; Herzog & de Meuron’s National Stadium, known as the bird’s nest; PTW’s National Aquatics Center; and Rem Koolhaas’s headquarters for the CCTV television authority.
These buildings are not just expressions of might. This new architecture communicates a feeling of INTELLECTUAL as well as economic strength. The giant has not only woken up, she appears to be in top form!
rueben gordon
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