Big profile projects in China have a lot in common. Their scale is always shocking. The pollution that shrouds them is always equally impressive and plays up their bulk by making them seem farther afield. The sheer number of workers, a dearth of large machinery, the rows of temporary housing to bunk them all.
They all are closely guarded as well. Our adventure was unique in my experience of China. You can’t take a photograph in a shopping mall without getting shouted at (in fact, this very thing happened to me the previous day). We began our march through the fog of construction making furtive glances, expecting our camera to be confiscated at any moment. But despite our best efforts to be kicked out (Julia stepping knee deep into a trench of wet concrete and nearly breaking her leg/the camera) it never happened.
JieJie, ever aggressive, with a move that hadn’t even occurred to me, asked some workers if we could borrow two of their hard hats. JieJie then gave her security pass to Julia, we donned the headgear, and into the natatorium we went, playing a visiting archiphotojournalist, and his guide.
The pollution issue is a big one in China. It’s especially sensitive in Beijing right now because of the coming Olympics. We’ve heard the stories of shutting down construction, cloud seeding, etc. in a race to blue the skies for the big event. It’s as bad as ever though. Athletes with black lungs is my prediction. The problem is ruinous to the grandeur of the architecture as well. Dust buildup on the bubble skin of the natatorium was evident.
The grey steel of the bird’s nest stadium was camouflaged by the particulate.
The real power of the place is going to be its nighttime glow, the bird’s nest, the administrative building, the natatorium, and others all transform.
If I’d caught these guys earlier in the raising of this lamppost I could’ve had a Pulitzer.
4 comments:
post more and more and more. merry xmas, have fun, dont forget about the little people back home. met T's new girl, she's great. best to you both try not to breathe too deeply it looks irreversible.
nice iwo jima reference, f. this is the fucking coolest thing ever. the bird's nest looks like a cocoon rising out of the ground, and the final towers remind me of those huge supercomputers casinos and datacenters have. these buildings are probably holding just as many secrets!
i shall write an ode to juju's pant leg. such tragedy. but sacrifices must be made, eh?
Nice architectuure stuff Frazier - great idea to grab a construction hat - looking forward to seeing more.
love the photos and commentary.
cold, rainy and foggy in P-town today.
love your blog, great idea.
keep it coming, fun to read.
Post a Comment