So, last night I went to a panel discussion with our Favorite Architect for Making Tragedies Popular … Mr. Daniel Libeskind! It was part of a series of events called “Berlin in Lights,” sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the Center for Architecture here in New York. The topic was memorials - in Berlin and here, specifically the World Trade Center site… *shudder* (Love the waterfalls and the exposed foundation of the now-absent buildings … hate that phallic aberration, the way-too-tall Freedom Tower — oh god, they actually named it the Freedom Tower.)

Also present at the talk was the aus-Stuttgart-kommende (alles kommt schliesslich aus Stuttgart, as we know!) HG Merz, who was in charge of remodeling such Berlin staples as the Alte Nationalgalerie, Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and is now doing the Staatsbibliothek on Unter den Linden. I wish he had felt more comfortable with English … or just spoken in German (most of the people at the talk spoke it anyway) … but he didn’t end up saying much. Lance Brown (architect/professor at CCNY) and Susan Szenasy (writer/professor at Pratt) rounded out the group - he was the most and she by far the least intelligent-sounding of the group.

They were supposed to be discussing how to integrate memorials into cities - a question only Lance Brown ever even attempted to tackle - and ended up pretty much just arguing over how to make an effective memorial. I think they touched on the main points of the problem, and certainly made their positions clear (especially Libeskind) … memorials should be emotional and hopeful, he says. Merz says they need to irritate and then educate … Lance Brown said they need to make you stop, think, try to understand, and then apply that to the rest of your life. Ms. Szenasy was pretty much incoherent but did say she liked the ueber-monumental Crazy Horse memorial and that it was by the same guy who designed … oh … what’s that big one with the four presidents?? She really couldn’t remember.

*Sigh*

Architects, especially Libeskind, really shouldn’t talk about their work. It’s depressing, because they seem so ignorant of the problematic nature of what they do.

His design for the “Freedom Tower” is really, really ugly.

Of the four panelists, the professor was the best speaker, the architects just okay, and the writer (and editor of a major architectural magazine!) by far the worst.

I love this topic and am so excited about dedicating my research to it. Despite stupid architects.