‘The Cloud’ by MVRDV. Image: MVRDV

Despite the outrage provoked by MVRDV’s ‘The Cloud,’ which saw the world-renowned architectural firm lambasted with complaints and calls for design revisions, the South Korean developer financing the project will not make any changes to the scheme. According to Australia’s News.com, a spokesman for the Yongsan Development Corporation today stated that ”allegations that it [The Cloud] was inspired by the 9/11 attacks are groundless,” adding that the project will continue unchanged onto construction phases, which are set to begin in January 2013 as scheduled. MVRDV’s inflammatory design features twin luxury residential towers, one 60 stories high and the other 54, bridged by a ‘pixelated cluster of additional amenities’–the formal impression of which greatly recalls images of the imploding World Trade Center (if you don’t see it, Gawker‘s got your back). The architects issued a rather clumsy apology, assuring the offended they meant no harm and citing the dubious claim that not once in the presumably weeks-to-months-long design process had they realized the resemblance between their project and the most iconic architectural statement of the last century. In the span of a week, media attention surrounding The Cloud, which could be branded as this year’s Park 51, has grown to become the biggest architectural news of 2011. Well, aside from Zaha, maybe…

The Cloud will begin construction in January 2013, with an expected completion date of 2016

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged 9/11, Architecture, mvrdv, News, uproar, wtc

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