Buildings of Disaster

August 11, 2003 8:50 AM

"Buildings of Disasterare miniature replicas of famous structures where some tragic or terrible events happened to take place. The images of burning or exploded buildings make a different, populist history of architecture, one based on emotional involvement rather than scholarly appreciation."
posted by MrMoonPie (27 comments total)

surreal - the juxtaposition of the oj car chase with the WTC makes this seem very exploitative indeed.
posted by jonson at 8:54 AM on August 11, 2003

It's the attention to detail on these replicas that really brings it all together. Beautifully rendered. Almost as if I was actually there.
posted by mathis23 at 9:00 AM on August 11, 2003

Those look really crappy, especially this one.

I wouldn't mind this in my lounge though.
posted by davehat at 9:07 AM on August 11, 2003

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has an exhibition right now called Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday life that features the entire series of these little sculptures. They are actually quite stunning in person. In fact, I almost purchased "Three Mile Island" from their gift shop. A beautifully crafted object and social commentary all in one!
posted by ScottUltra at 9:13 AM on August 11, 2003

davehat, I'd think that wouldn't be terribly difficult to make yourself, certainly for less than $2,460. I've see it elsewhere, and have thought about building one.

That, plus the linked building, reminds me of my July 4th experiment this year--wiring together a gross of sparklers, then watching them all flame up in about 2 seconds. Very nice (if off topic).
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:13 AM on August 11, 2003

I predict this will upset many people.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:28 AM on August 11, 2003

MrMoonPie: I don't think I could even install a single new light, let alone wire together 80.....

..... with that in mind, I think this one is a lot better (though still waaaayyy outta my price range).

gottabefunky: Almost certainly

Having looked at the rest of the site (Moss initially means nothing to me as a retailer) they seem to specialise in expensive arty furniture/fixtures/fittings for homes.

These "disaster" items just don't seem to fit in with the rest of the stuff on sale. They are truly vulgar.
posted by davehat at 9:37 AM on August 11, 2003

Lame. Why are some buildings in their destroyed state, others not, and still others in the process of being destroyed...? And, OJ as architecture? Please.
posted by holycola at 10:07 AM on August 11, 2003

"Disaster" seems rather loosely-used in this case. The Dakota? I'd like to see these instead:

1. The Great Library of Alexandria
2. The Asch Building
3. The Auschwitz gas chamber
posted by drinkcoffee at 10:07 AM on August 11, 2003

How about the Colossus of Rhodes?

Meanwhile, wasn't there a Monty Python sketch along these lines, where an architects' scale model bursts into flames and explodes?

I used to play with Legos as a kid. During one period, under the thrall of "The Towering Inferno", I would make scale models of skyscrapers and act out "Towering Inferno" scenarios ( I used to do "The Poseidon Adventure" too, with model Lego ships ).....I think I even made a Lego model of the WTC. It all seems much less charming now, in retrospect.
posted by troutfishing at 10:28 AM on August 11, 2003

I just can't imagine wanting any of the miniatures as souvenirs of the building. It's a very odd sort of idea. This would somehow be more mainstream if it attempted to make the event heroic -- showing firemen at the trade centers or rescue workers at Oklahoma City. (I'm not saying I'd want to buy them, then, but that's the sort of thing you see advertised all the time in Parade magazine, etc.) But having a replica of the Dakota where Lennon was shot, or the Unabomber's house -- it glorifies the crazy people more than I'm used to seeing. It's just an odd thing to do. Interesting find, MrMoonPie. (*waving to fellow DCer*)

And holy crap! This sofa from this site costs $22 thousand dollars! And it also seems to encourage you to put your feet in the lap of the person next to you. Also, you will need to live in a warehouse to be able to fit it in your living room.
posted by onlyconnect at 10:37 AM on August 11, 2003

Strange, the WTC doesn't look like it has any damage to it.

Oh, and what drinkcoffee and trout said.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:46 AM on August 11, 2003

Am I in the wrong universe? These buildings are sculpted entirely without artistry, intelligence, or anything that would motivate me to spend money on them. They certainly exhibit nothing in the way of craftsmanship. They add no informational value to my knowledge of the disaster. They do not shock me. They are not tasteless enough to motivate me to rethink my everyday values and aesthetics. They are flat, faceless and indifferent, but not so much so that I am forced to project or be aware that I am projecting my own or the media's interpretations, biases or psychological narratives upon them. If you are moved or stimulated by them in any way, you must have a very tame imagination.
posted by Faze at 11:00 AM on August 11, 2003

""Disaster" seems rather loosely-used in this case."

There are disasters, and then there are disasters.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:18 AM on August 11, 2003

Nice one, crash!
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:24 AM on August 11, 2003

Before I saw the size dimensions (not on every item's page, shame on them), I was envisioning these as tokens for some new "wacky" Monopoly spinoff.
posted by Sangre Azul at 11:43 AM on August 11, 2003

onlyconnect: This sofa from this site costs $22 thousand dollars!

Did you click on the thumbnail that shows the sections extended? That thing's about two recline adjustments away from being a Swasticouch...
posted by crumbly at 12:51 PM on August 11, 2003

"swasticouch": nice coinage, though it unfortunately has very little use outside the present discussion. Pity, that.

Doesn't it seem that inexpert metal sculpture gains no value from second-year art-student "redefining the meaning of architecture" copy? I guess we should give them bonus points for not using the word "decontextualize", though. :)
posted by Vetinari at 2:08 PM on August 11, 2003

I used to play with Legos as a kid. During one period, under the thrall of "The Towering Inferno", I would make scale models of skyscrapers and act out "Towering Inferno" scenarios

I played with them too. I built a guillotine (the french revolution inspired me...) and executed my littlesister's Barbie dolls. Not very healthy behaviour for a ten year old, is it?
posted by hoskala at 2:24 PM on August 11, 2003

I don't know. Barbie is such a bourgeois exploiter of working class, maybe she had it coming.
posted by Bonzai at 2:40 PM on August 11, 2003

Those lifeless "sculptures" have less charm and detail than the Mold-a-Rama wax souvenirs at the zoo.
posted by Tubes at 2:54 PM on August 11, 2003

Tubes, the mold-a-rama link made my day, thanks!
posted by jonson at 3:05 PM on August 11, 2003

Wow. I'm completely taken with this stuff. Check out the soap dispenser! And I'd buy one of those weird little sculptural fetishes of building disasters in a minute...
posted by jokeefe at 3:18 PM on August 11, 2003

Strange, the WTC doesn't look like it has any damage to it.

Since that piece was designed in 1998 as a memorial to the 1993 WTC bombing, I'd say that's about right.

Am I in the wrong universe? These buildings are sculpted entirely without artistry, intelligence, or anything that would motivate me to spend money on them. They certainly exhibit nothing in the way of craftsmanship.

Short answer: yes, you are in the wrong universe.

Long answer: these are very beautiful and beautifully-made objects which a lot of people find inspiring or upsetting or both, as well they should. Constantin and Laurene do amazing work, and most of it plays with established visual languages and materials to subvert the way they usually work. See their site for lots of other goodies, like the telephone table with the notepad built in, the sex rugs and the tin can cans. I love it all.
posted by notclosed at 5:47 PM on August 11, 2003

Reminds me a little of these.
posted by Mid at 6:06 PM on August 11, 2003

Should've included the West L.A. IRS office (with the neighboring Executive Life building) that was targeted by a disgruntled taxpayer in 1988 with a pickup truckload of explosives more powerful than the famous Oklahoma City bombing. Of course, thanks to some incompetent electronic fuse design, the bomb never went off and the bomber was traced by some parts manufactured by the company he worked for. (If brains were dynamite...)
I mention this because, if it had gone off, most of you would've heard of it, and I wouldn't be here to tell you about it. (It was the LAST time in my life I went in to work an hour early...)
posted by wendell at 6:34 PM on August 11, 2003

hoskala - "I played with them too. I built a guillotine (the french revolution inspired me...) and executed my littlesister's Barbie dolls. Not very healthy behavior for a ten year old, is it?" - I'm not inclined to judge, but how did you manage to get Lego blocks to chop off Barbie doll heads? They're so blocky, those Legos. But then - as a kid, I would have just imagined the gory part, I suppose.
posted by troutfishing at 10:41 PM on August 11, 2003