Poetry, pavilions and perfection
- Source: Global Times
- [09:47 August 13 2010]
- Comments
The cover of Echo in the desert Photos: Courtesy of Haim Dotan
In part, Echo in the Desert, battles against the concept of "visual noise," referring to the clumsy way in which cities are growing, with endless skyscrapers blocking each other out, creating colossal walls instead of skylines.
"We are building walls that block the sun, block the view and the breeze. What are we doing? We must change this," opined Dotan.
"In Shanghai there are beautiful buildings everywhere, but no music. Each building is like a musical note. But there is no balance. There is no symphony. There is no conductor. It's visual noise."
"Instead of looking at the form, I look at the space in between, the so-called 'negative space.' This idea changed my life."
The architect believes that the forms of a building and those of its neighboring structures should possess a collective harmony and logic. The second book features a number of architectural projects that reflect this idea, such as the million square meters of residential buildings he designed for a project in the United Arab Emirates.
"The forms are like the mountains. What do you see? Relationships between the buildings. And instead of having blocks you have a conductor; 12 different styled buildings. But all together they are like a sculpture; they are not just standing there."
"The two books talk about art, people and architecture and the importance of these things for Chinese people," said Dotan.
"The direction of Chinese development has been an obsessive focus on money and wealth-creation. We need to say stop; don't copy New York, don't copy London or Paris. You have so much in your history; go to it and revitalize it."
