Time Magazine Hearts Beijing Architecture, Disses Water Cube

Alex Pasternack | Dec 19, 2007 11:00 am | Add a comment | 2743 reads

The final bridge of the Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl Architects was raised earlier this month. Located just northeast of Dongzhimen, the residential/commercial building (also known as the Modern Moma) will be completed in 2008.

Three of Beijing's buildings eek out spots on Time magazine's roundup of the world's Ten Best architectural marvels: Herzog and de Meuron's Olympic Stadium, OMA's CCTV Headquarters, and Steven Holl's Linked Hybrid. No surprises about the nod – of course, we already know that after years of awfulness we've got the market cornered on hot architecture. But what we want to know is, where in Mies van der Rohe's name is the Water Cube? Also known as the National Aquatics Center, the building by PTW, Arup and CSCEC is not just (speaking objectively here) Beijing's most elegant swimming pool ever (not a lot of competition there admittedly), but it's been voted the favorite of the laobaixing, and of at least four architecture award juries, including the Venice Biennale. Someone needs to throw Richard Lacayo into the pool. If you want to know more about any of these projects, videos after the jump.