Let's talk tall buildings for a moment. The Emirate of Dubai has just completed the tallest building in the world, which they initially named Burj Dubai. The next four tallest buildings can be found in Taipei, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, and Chicago. If you were not paying attention to "tall building" development, it might come as a surprise to see so many being built, and not in the United States. If not here, you would assume that it would be a European nation with the technical prowess to complete such an engineering feat, except Europeans lack the ego and sense of childlike adventure to be impressed by tall buildings. They are the grandparents who cherish the old and longevity over the new and ridiculously unnecessary.
We suspect that the desire to rebuild the Twin Towers in New York City, an act of partial grandiosity we fully endorse, is a desire to reclaim the crown and say, "Look at us! We were first with the tallest buildings, and we can still do it!" We would be disappointed if such constructions around the world were merely tall, and without a desire to eclipse the previous tower. If you are gonna do it, do it right, and outdo the last guy.
In this day and age these towers sit almost like terrorist bait, with tongue stuck in childlike disregard daring to be slapped. But these buildings are also the stuff of hope and adventure. It's the type of construction that makes small boys the world over decide to grow up to build things, or do something they might not normally do. Like airplanes, they stop and make you pause and think of the potential of humanity. It is hard to look up at a plane in the air without pausing to realize that people are sitting in the sky, eating, drinking, annoying their fellow passenger, or pooping as they head west to east. It amazes, and these building too amaze.
In a lot of the commentary after the different articles reporting the building's completion, we've noticed a certain dismissive tone regarding Dubai's achievement. They are a nation caught in the economic downdraft, dedicated to real estate development and lacking a diverse economy. The Arizona of the world. Imagine such a building coming on line in Arizona, which has been decimated by falling home prices and halted construction. Some people's thoughts on the matter have not been pleasant. Stephen Bayley at the Telegraph (U.K.) calls it all vanity, while giving us some nice background on the builders and building design, as though vanity was invented by Dubai or that is serves no purpose.
The comments regarding Dubai have mocked their timing, made light of the achievement or displayed a certain dismissive quality, as in, how dare they use valuable resources to build such a building in the middle of recession and economic woe, and in the middle of a stupid desert. I've heard statements like that about buildings in downtown Phoenix, with the outraged never managing to think that most buildings are years in the planning and funding, and one cannot merely stop on a dime. Nor do you assume, when completing one during a recession, that that recession is etched in stone, perpetual and terminal. You plan a building and hope the good times keep up, and like the World Trade Center in New York which was constructed in tough times, eventually the world changes and catches up with the vision.
Dubai has gotten its own comuppance from its neighbors in Abu Dhabi. They had to rely on them for a financial bailout and in a kind of public punishment, the leader of Abu Dhabi found it appropriate to rename the building. Nobody told Dubai that the bailout included naming rights on their crowning achievement. So like the Sears Tower answering to the name Willis, the Burj Duba will now answer to the name Khalifa.
That's kind of what happens when you don't handle your business. Other people get to control you, and define you. In the long run though, we think the building will be considered "worth it" and we suspect that terrorists will focus on the OTHER tall buildings around the world, and preserve their own little jewel in the dessert. It is no small achievement to make something so grand, and we should pause in a moment of awe and let them have their moment to shine. For tomorrow we all die.
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