Controversial architecture projects! Does the term seem intriguing?

They say ‘Art is subjective’, yet some artists have created the greatest controversies of all time. With its share of controversial architectural projects, the architecture field has its critics just like any other art form. However, architecture is more restricted when exploring unconventional ideas, as it must cater to functionality. Some architects have pushed the boundaries, making their projects either masterpieces or sources of bizarre controversy. Today, we’ll examine the projects that have made it onto the list of debated architectural designs due to their wild concepts, lack of practicality, negative environmental impact, and other factors.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 controversial architectural projects of 2021:

1. Munger Hall, USA

A proposed 1.68 million-square-foot dormitory for the University of California, Santa Barbara, has stirred controversy due to its jail-like design by Charles Munger. Besides his amateur architectural skills, Munger, a billionaire investor, donated $200 million to the $1.5 billion project. If constructed, the dormitory would be the world’s largest, housing 4,500 students, 94% of whom would not have a window to the outside.

This became one of the most polarizing building projects when architect Dennis McFadden resigned from the committee overseeing the project, calling it “a social and psychological experiment” on students.

2. All Along the Watchtower, UK

All Along the Watchtower was a metal rooftop tensegrity structure created by the architecture collective Project Bunny Rabbit as part of an annual fundraising competition hosted by Antepavilion.

The project was involved in one of the most horrifying architecture-related incidents of the year when dozens of police invaded Antepavilion’s offices and arrested employees, allegedly in part to target the sculpture.

Police suspected the building was being used by the environmental pressure group Extinction Rebellion to prepare for protests, while All Along the Watchtower resembled constructions used by activists to form barricades. Antepavilion claimed there was no relationship between the installation and Extinction Rebellion. This led to a controversy and discussion about freedom of expression and artistic installations in public spaces.

3. The Tulip Tower by Foster+Partners

Foster+Partners proposed a 1,000-foot-tall, tulip-shaped skyscraper meant to be a tourist attraction and “a new icon of the city.” However, following much controversy, the UK government rejected the proposal, calling it “a muddle of architectural ideas.” The minister was concerned that the project was highly unsustainable and believed the tower’s negative impacts would outweigh its positive impacts in terms of surrounding historical buildings and towers, especially the White Tower.

The proposal was previously dismissed by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in 2019 for being poorly designed and having limited public benefit. Norman Foster and the team argued that it had the potential to become “a symbol beyond its host city” and declared that the city had lost a great opportunity.

4. Sky Pool by HAL

HAL studio has connected two identical buildings at the Embassy Gardens development in London with a 35-meter-high transparent swimming pool bridge?the Sky Pool. The “fun element” by HAL, spanning 15 meters between the 10th floor, is entirely made of large acrylic panels, allowing swimmers to have a seamless view. However, since the pool and other amenities are not accessible to the affordable housing residents within the development, it was considered one of the contentious architectural developments regarding inequity.

5. The Tower, France, Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry, known for his debated architectural designs, took up the project of the Luma Arles Arts Centre in France. The 56-meter-high tower, which is the centrepiece of the arts centre in the city of Arles, was meant to evoke Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting.

The tower includes artist studios, workshops, research facilities, and seminar rooms. The tower’s 11,000 aluminium panels are mounted on a concrete and steel structure, with a glass and stone cylinder base inspired by the city’s heritage Roman ruins. It will also hold exhibitions by some of the world’s most prominent artists.

However, a controversy stirred among the locals who found the tower to be gaudy and an odd addition to the cityscape.

6. Telosa

Billionaire Marc Lore proposed a plan for a metropolis designed by the Danish architecture studio BIG, situated in the deserts of the southwest US, called ‘Telosa’. The city would be sustainably built with renewable resources, a draught water system, and a 15-minute commute from home to work, schools, or any other amenities. It would have self-driving electric cars, banishing fuel-powered vehicles. This project, accommodating 50,000 people spanning 150,000 acres, was estimated to cost $400 billion.

The project, which would “carefully select” its residents but also claimed to be “sustainable and equitable,” attracted a lot of criticism and was described as a “greenwashed Las Vegas” and a typical Silicon Valley fantasy.

7. MSG Sphere, London

One of the top divisive constructions of 2021 was a 90-meter-high spherical music venue in the Olympic Park at Stratford in east London, proposed by Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) organization.?

Stadium specialist Populous designed the sphere, which will have a capacity of 21,500. The $2.3 billion sphere will contain the main auditorium with cafes, restaurants, and a club. The interior surface will be covered in an LED surface.

Critics, including neighbourhood residents, were alarmed by its negative impact on residents of more than 230 homes in the surrounding four blocks and also on the effect on the city’s aesthetics. Some campaigners described it as “a supersized fever dream.”

8. Extension of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

Frank Gehry’s long-delayed project, the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, was finally announced to be completed by 2025. The 320,000 sq ft museum will be the largest of the Guggenheim outposts and will rise on Saadiyat Island.

The Guggenheim project has been controversial since 2011 when work was suspended after a group of 130 artists, including prominent figures, threatened to boycott the $800 million museum due to the poor conditions of foreign labourers at the site. A range of abuses were reported, including a lack of fees and hazardous working conditions.

9. Vessel at Hudson Yards

One of the most buzzworthy 2021 architecture controversies was Vessel, a visitor attraction built as part of the Hudson Yards development project in New York City by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, which rises 16 stories with 154 flights of stairs. The structure, which cost up to $150 million, was a massive failure due to its poor design. In 2021, Vessel became a site for suicides, resulting in its closure.

When it briefly reopened the same year after initial closures, new rules required visitors to buy $10 tickets and be accompanied, but no physical modifications were made. For the upcoming reopening, the Vessel will be outfitted with floor-to-ceiling steel mesh netting on multiple staircases as a safety barrier.

10. Renovated La Samaritaine

Another debated architectural design of the year was the historic La Samaritaine, founded in 1870, which has reopened following an extensive renovation led by Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA for owners LVMH. The project involved restoring original Art Nouveau and Art Deco details while modernizing and refurbishing the buildings to current standards. There was controversy due to its glass curtain wall facade, which was criticized as resembling a “shower curtain.” Critics also argued that it catered more to wealthy tourists than ordinary Parisians.

Sources

• https://www.dezeen.com/2021/12/16/controversial-architecture-review-2021/
• https://archinect.com/news/article/150396683/charles-munger-makes-devaluing-comment-on-the-architecture-of-windowless-dorms
• https://www.dezeen.com/2021/07/12/footage-police-raid-antepavilion-tensegrity-structure-unveiling/
• https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/11/tulip-tower-rejected-foster-partners/
• https://www.domusweb.it/en/news/gallery/2021/11/25/rejected-foster–partners-tulip-tower.html
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gehry-tower-over-arles-180977697/
• https://www.dezeen.com/2023/12/13/msg-sphere-london-vegas-controversy/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/design/guggenheim-threatened-with-boycott-over-abu-dhabi-project.
• https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/16/thomas-heatherwicks-controversial-vessel-public-art-piece-to-reopen
• https://www.dezeen.com/2021/06/22/la-samaritaine-department-store-sanaa-opens-paris/