I'm definitely seeing some funny things on my travels, and architecture is a constant source of mirth and ridiculousness, unfortunately. Here are some of my favorite moments at the Olympic Village.
I hate those dumb giant light fixtures. Are they lily pads? Ugh. They were overwhelming and overbearing in person. At one point, I could look straight ahead and count 9 different outdoor lighting fixtures in view. The spaces surrounding and connecting these buildings were definitely their weakest points: a mish-mash agglomeration of weird site planning.
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| Giant lily pads at the National Stadium, Beijing. |
Design 101: miniaturizing your building is never a good inspiration for light fixtures or recycling containers.
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| Light fixture, National Stadium, Beijing. |
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| Trash and recycling containers, National Stadium, Beijing. Note the stylized "Bird's Nest" motif. Nice. |
And finally: is this the Architect’s triumph or tragedy: Whole themed gift shops on your building, featuring necklaces, socks, t-shirts, lunch boxes, paper weights, note paper, cut crystal replicas...?!
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| Gift shop at the National Aquatics Center ["Water Cube"], Beijing. |
And, I know it's been done before, but here are my favorite signs from the Olympic Village:
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| "The grass is smiling at you please detour." In the Olympic Village dragon-shaped lake park. |
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| "Beautiful art comes from your kind soul." Completely random location at the base of a wall. |
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