So it looks like the New York Times has finally realized that Albert Speer Jr Designed the Beijing Olympics Urban Plan:
On the other hand we have people drawing dark conclusions about the realization that Albert Speer Jr. designed the grand boulevard that leads to the Bird’s Nest Stadium. (The basic information about the 74-year-old son of Hitler’s architect is found here, as well as in The L.A. Times and The Economist, but is put in a more sinister light in this article by New School professor Nina Khrushcheva. The sins of the father do not carry unto the son, so if the child of the 1930s British fascist leader can run Formula 1 racing, albeit with the occasional German-themed bondage-and-discipline session, then certainly Albert Speer Jr. has every right to do design work. And, it must be pointed out, Khrushcheva is the granddaughter of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.)
Give. Me. A. Break.
First, Let’s take a look at a map of Beijing, noting that the red items mark buildings which are between 50 and 750 years old and the blue denote the Olympic Green and National buildings:
Chicago and New York are always cited as classic gridiron cities, but Beijing was gridiron before the English could say grid. Beijing is organized along two primary axis: north-south and east-west. Even today, major areas of development in Beijing follow these two axis.
The emperor’s most favored buildings aligned on the north-south axis including what is now called the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square (enlarged by the PRC in the 1950’s), Jingshan Park (Jingshan Gongyuan) the Imperial garden, and the Drum and Bell Towers (Gulou and Zhonglou) which announced the time using the eponymous tools. The east-west axis contained the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon which altars stood for imperial sacrifices.
Quite simply every single important building in Beijing is contained in the north-south axis. The major impetus for the People’s Republic of China in extending the Central Axis and placing the Olympic National buildings along this axis is to extend history’s continuum, claiming the Olympics as a logical extension of China’s greatness. Positioning the Olympic Green along this axis is a design decision that frankly would be foolish not to do.
As Michael Hammond noted in 2003:
The national and international press have been in a frenzy this week over the new north-south axis reshaping central Beijing. Much play has been made of its inherent Imperial connotations, and the involvement of German architect Albert Speer, son of Hitler’s architect and close confidant of the same name.
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The historical roots and layout of Beijing are clearly a natural and obvious basis for the development the ancient city grid within its new urban masterplan, however what seems to be an enigma, given the connections, is the Chinese Government’s selection of architect. Were they deliberately courting controversy? In an amazing statement, Shao Zi Qian said, “We know about Mr Speer’s Nazi family but don’t see its relevance to what is happening in Beijing.”
No doubt it is ironic that two Speers designed massive infrastructure for Olympic games, but just because it is easy to write a lazy article, doesn’t mean you should.