October 2013 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Behold the conceptual rendering for this year’s official Flint, Michigan, public art project. Titled Mark’s House, this exercise in techno-narcissistic stunt-craft was the winner of a $25,000 competition prize administered by the Flint chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The winners were a London, UK, team calling itself Two Islands.

Got that? Now, below, behold the finished project on-site. Notice, no people there. The official website explains the metaphysical “back-story” of the stunt thusly: “The winning proposal, Mark’s House, tells the story of an imagined Flint resident, Mark Hamilton, whose family loses a home to foreclosure.” They might have said it tells the story of a city named Flint, Michigan, getting hosed by self-important art scamsters.