Hasta La Ideas

With Richard Rogers losing a major project thanks Prince Charles‘ interference, Frank Gehry finally getting an axe on Atlantic Yards, and the list going on and on for buildings that never shall be, it’s been a tough couple of months to be a starchitect lately. And so you don’t fall into believing that these captains of industry have seen the worst come and go, here’s another bit of news: Norman Foster has officially seen his Russia Tower project completely shut down. What was once planned to be “the highest naturally ventilated skyscraper in the world,” topping out at 118 stories, will now become a parking structure. Even though the project’s falling through has been rumored almost from the start, it still must be difficult to see that final nail enter the coffin. But such are these dire times of ours. Here’s a bit:

The construction of a multistory car park is a far cry from the ambitious plans that would have seen the Foster + Partners designed Russia Tower as one of the great high rise constructions of the modern era. The 610 m tall naturally ventilated tower was meant to represent the economic and social vitality of Moscow. The car park will instead serve existing buildings in the Moscow City complex.

So don’t let yourselves get cocky, okay starchitects? Not even on your smaller projects like Santiago Calatrava‘s recent hire at the University of South Florida Polytechnic to build a quickie $45 million educational building. You never know how things are going to play out.