Do you agree with designer/architect Santiago Calatrava that the new $4B World Trade Center transportation hub tells a New Yorker who "has to go to work maybe in a cellar and do a very simple work" that he "an important guy" for the brief moments he takes in the majesty?

sounds like an architect trying to blow his own horn.

Wasn’t that the argument churches gave for building ornate facilities with elaborate statues and stained glass windows while the peasants slaved in the fields for a pittance?
Maybe it works for the gullible.

I think probably there is a better happy medium. Still grand, but ¼ of the price.

“The word decadence, which at first meant simply “decline” in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, or skill at governing among the members of the elite of a very large social structure, such as an empire or nation state. By extension, it may refer to a decline in art, literature, science, technology, and work ethics, or (very loosely) to self-indulgent behaviour.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decadence

Tis nonsense.

That was 4 billion spent om a transportation hub, @Jaxk.

I think you’re onto something, there, @LuckyGuy. At least the cellar dweller will see it more than once a week.

A billion still seems a bit excessive for a transportation hub, to me, @JLeslie?

Excellent answer, @Zyx. I didn’t open the link to see if there was a picture of DOnald Trump included.

Indeed, @MollyMcGuire.

That’s a really fucking expensive train station.

Yes, @Seek, from the cited story, “That’s roughly the same price as the nation’s tallest skyscraper, next door — the 104-story One World Trade Center.”

But, it will remind the peons that they’re important, so, money well spent, eh?

@ibstubro I have no idea how much those things cost, but I’m going to assume it’s a lot, and argue for something special that isn’t too crazy of a price, whatever that price is. Maybe it’s just a few million? I really don’t know.

I agree with the statement. I’m often surrounded by beautiful and architecturally significant buildings and it does make me feel part of something bigger. I appreciate all the thought and effort and expense previous generations expended creating that legacy, and it does inspire me a bit to do my little part in helping make the city something people love.

4 billion also leaves a lot of wiggle room for graft, corruption, political kickbacks, favoritism, fraud, and abuse.
But maybe I’ve just become cynical in my old age.