July 2016 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Behold the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Observe the interesting relationship between the incoherent building and the freeway on-ramp, with the mediating embellishment of chain-link fence. A better visual metaphor for the mechanized brutality of the mid-20th century would be hard to find. Yet, one might ask: does it make the city a more appealing place? Do you really want to be there? Or is it something to run shrieking from? Let it serve as a warning to all those surfing the tides of techno-narcissism as to where that ethos is taking us. Happy Independence Day everybody! And thanks to Stephen Truslow for nominating this humdinger.