*Ha ha ha! It's great stuff.
http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20101203/austin-now-what
(...)
"Austin isn’t a beautiful city. Not in the way that I meant. It’s not a showcase of the best 21st-century architecture and urban design. The cityscape is still dominated by the state capitol, an 1888 model of Beaux Arts splendor. The red-granite Renaissance Revival temple, topped with a 310-foot-tall dome, serves as the city’s official wayfinding device, protected by view corridors. It’s a spectacular object. But overall, the city is the antithesis of my thesis.
"Since my last swing through Austin, nearly a decade ago, a collection of high-rise condos has cropped up along the stretch of the Colorado River that runs through the heart of the city. Intended to inject some actual residents into the city center and built at odd intervals, those towers are not particularly distinguished (although the new W Hotel–condo complex, by Andersson-Wise, with its handsome matte-black facade, is easily the best of the bunch).
"But the building that truly upended my thesis both impinged on the primacy of the capitol dome and hogged the skyline. Frost Bank, a 33-story green-glass tower built in 2004 and topped with a sort of origami flower, was designed by Duda/Paine Architects, of Durham, North Carolina, and conceived to revitalize downtown in the wake of the first dot-com bust and 9/11. But it looks like a delayed echo of the post-modern moment and a study in the ways that attempted architectural beauty can go wrong.
"I wound up wandering around Austin trying to reconcile the city in which I found myself with the lecture I planned to give. I did find beauty in Austin—the running trail along the river is a glorious piece of urban infrastructure—but decided that most of what the city brings to the table is its native scrappiness. Austin is an endearing mess. Its slacker reputation has made it a magnet for musicians, techies, film-makers, and artisanal-cocktail mixers...."
