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After a brief weather delay in Orange County (which roughly translates to there being a cloud in the otherwise endlessly blue sky), we squared off against the newly opened John Wayne Airport Terminal C.

As the existing terminals, designed by Gensler in 1990’s, were exceeding capacity, the firm was again commissioned to create an addition in keeping with the original. Six new commercial passenger gates, security screening checkpoints, three baggage carousels and two commuter passenger hold rooms were incorporated into the project. While keeping outward appearances consistent, David Loyola, Design Director at Gensler’s Newport Beach office, introduced new, more efficient lighting systems, daylight-filled connector links and a cleaner color palette, serving to contrast against  the new airport concessions.

An unseasonal storm front crossing through Southern California had delayed my showdown with John Wayne, so with a few hours to fill I turned off the Interstate in Garden Grove to visit the famed Crystal Cathedral and Tower of Hope. I’d driven past them many times en route to other jobs and despite the rain, was happy to get this opportunity to stop awhile.

Due to it’s rather grand scale, the 1980 Johnson-designed Crystal Cathedral somewhat overshadows the earlier and more statuesque Tower of Hope. Finished in 1968, the 13 story tower was designed by Richard  Neutra. Topped with a 90 foot neon-lit cross, the tower was the tallest structure in Orange County for more than a decade.

The staircase on the south-west corner is classic Neutra with the mass of the concrete treads playing off the slim steel rods as they cascade skyward.

Back over at the Crystal Cathedral, the darkening skies, perhaps echoing the recent financial challenges the Ministry has faced, provided a dramatic backdrop to the sleek, reflective forms of the carillion.

In their December 2011 issue, San Francisco Magazine ran a ten page profile on the work of our client Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects. The article included images of the much awarded Gallery House, honighaus, 100foot House and Sonoma Skyspace projects.

When it opened in 2005, Dongguan’s New South China Mall was the biggest shopping mall in the world.  Seven years later it still holds that title though is probably a contender for the loneliest place on Earth as well. In the massive 7.1 million sq ft of lettable space there are slots for 1,500 stores. Of the 386 stores that opened in 2005,  a recent count revealed a total of 30 that were actually operating.

The mall has seven wings, themed on different parts of the world. These include a full size replica of the bell tower of Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, an Arc de Triomphe and various Egyptian motifs. An amusement park buried from view in the center of the mall is called Amazing World and features huge indoor roller coaster (still sitting idle), a multiplex cinema and the essential canals with Venetian gondolas.

The original St Mark’s Square Tower in Venice.

The replica St Mark’s Square Tower at New South China Mall

The full size Arc de Triomphe replica in Dongguan, complete with decorative wreaths commemorating the cities which fell under Napoleon.

Looking closely at the  wreath, one can see the city MOSCOW has been placed upside down by a hapless construction worker. Easy mistake when you think about it.

Elsewhere, the seven year old Egyptian statuary is falling victim to the ravages of time.

The more I looked around the city, the more curious connections to Western icons seemed to pop up. Of course we’ve all read about the volume of cheap Chinese knock-offs when it comes to items like fashion labels and movie titles. But seeing the Haiyatt Hotel I thought, moved things into a much grander scale.

Despite my general distrust of advance meteorological knowledge, the forecast low cloud for Shanghai was indeed coming true. Still, it made for some impressive views from the hotel room while waiting for more favorable conditions. Here, the Jin Mao Building and Shanghai World Financial Center dance majestically in and out of the passing clouds.

In Shanghai, the taller towers of Pudong are quickly stacking up to form canyons of the once empty boulevards. Narrowing down one’s viewpoint provides some interesting comparisons in the skin details employed by different firms.

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Kohn Pederson Fox / Skidmore Owings & Merrill / Pelli Clarke Pelli

“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” sang the prescient Joni Mitchell in 1970.

Much of the same has been happening in the rapid transformation of Asian cities such as Beijing. What were once smaller clusters of multi-dwelling residential blocks have been razed to make way for exclusive and expensive condominiums.

Until relatively recently, with a few hangers on in residence, this zig-zag design block reminiscent of the 1930’s, sat opposite the sprawling CCTV site in central Beijing. It was demolished during 2008 in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

Any social infrastructure holding the fabric of the community together was dismantled and hauled away, to be replaced by a new vision of paradise.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Xanadu. Life Beyond Imagination.

Or as the locals would no doubt have figured out, Life Beyond Affordability.

Thirty minutes by fast train south-east of Beijing is the rapidly expanding city of Tianjin. The tallest building in that city, for the moment at least, is the recently opened Jinta Tower, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Arriving into the city, the tower looms over the lower scale buildings along the river front.

Also known as The Tianjin World Financial Center, the 75 story tower  is situated in the heart of the city’s historic district.

Clad in a pleated glass exterior wall that recalls the structure and lightness of Chinese paper arts, the tower’s uniquely folded surface catches light and maximizes views for occupants. Given that Tianjin is a center for the production of sheet steel materials, the structure of this super-tall building was based on the use of steel plates. The core was designed as a steel-plated wall system, the columns were designed with steel plate “sections,” and the floor framing was designed with steel beam sections.

The structure is the tallest steel plated shear wall building in the world.

It’s just a construction mark, right?

At this year’s American Photographic Artists awards, I was pleased to have been presented with both First and Second prizes in the Architecture category. The winning image was part of our documentation of the University of Minnesota Science Teaching and Student Services building.