Last year I had the pleasure to be one of the examiners of a PhD thesis submitted to the University of Girona in Catalunya (Spain). A German architect turned tourism expert, Jan Specht, defended in the 800-year-old rooms of the university his insights into the role of contemporary architecture as an attraction for international visitors, comparing my hometown Berlin and my "second home" Beijing.
Little did I know or expect that President Xi Jinping would join the debate about contemporary architecture.
Prince Charles 30 years ago made his (in)famous remark about a planned extension for the National Gallery in London, stating:“What is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.” Earlier this year the Royal Institute for British Architecture organised a discussion to discuss the influence of the remarks of HRH, called “Triumphs, carbuncles and hopeful monsters – the British vs modern architecture". Prince Charles was accused that he "impoverished the level of architectural discourse in the UK". The architect and TV presenter Charles Luxton added that “He turned the debate from one of quality to one of style – and architecture suffered. The debate became simply, ‘What does it look like?’ not, ‘Is it any good?’.”
Last week President Xi was reported to offer his views on art, including also remarks about "weird" buildings in Beijing like the CCTV headquarters, designed by Koolhaas, which has been likened by many Beijingers to a pair of giant trousers or even underpants. Such building should, according to Xi, no longer pop up in the city.
Chinese outbound tourists used to be impressed by futuristic buildings they encountered in places like Dubai and recently also London, but with more and more of such projects realised in Beijing, including the Galaxy SOHO by the world's most famous female architect Zaha Hadid who avoids right angles in her designs, the pull factor of contemporary architecture for them is diminishing.
As Jan Specht, by now Prof. Dr. Specht, writes in his new book "Architectural Tourism": "Where modesty might be suitable for one destination, spectacular architecture could be a transformation catalyst or unique selling proposition for another. Destination developer have to be aware of the local requirements as well as the reciprocal relationship between the modern practice of tourism and the build environment."
With the number of foreign leisure visitors to Beijing continuing to decrease, maybe this argument will help to sustain future projects by world-class architects like Koolhaas and Hadid in Beijing. But then again maybe this debate turns out to be truly academic if the buildings in Beijing continue to vanish from sight behind layers of smog.
So let's wait for what the workshop by the Institute for Chinese Architecture on the 30th anniversary of Xi's "weird architecture" remark in 2044 will have to say. As Chairman Mao is reported to have wisely answered when asked how he would judge the historical importance of the French Revolution of 1789: "It is too early to say."
