Trump Talks City Planning
I won't bother to demolish Donald Trump's insane account of both Napoleon's and Hitler's invasion of Russia, from yesterday's interview; there are plenty of people handling that. I will, as an architect, comment on his account of Napoleon's work in the city of Paris:
Donald, that was done by Baron Haussmann, who was commissioned by Napoleon III, who was the nephew of the Napoleon you are talking about.
Why don't you keep your damned mouth shut about things that you know nothing about? Of course, that would pretty well stop you from talking about anything, wouldn't it? Hey, not a bad idea, really.
"What he did was incredible. He designed Paris.” [garbled] The street grid, the way they work, you know, the spokes."
Donald, that was done by Baron Haussmann, who was commissioned by Napoleon III, who was the nephew of the Napoleon you are talking about.
One of Haussmann's boulevards in Paris
Why don't you keep your damned mouth shut about things that you know nothing about? Of course, that would pretty well stop you from talking about anything, wouldn't it? Hey, not a bad idea, really.
Comments
Sad to say, the competition for ugliest building is much more crowded with entries. I won't name a single building, but will just mention the godawful mess that American architects have made of so much of our urban fabric all over the country. It's no wonder that architecture does not enjoy the same respect here that it does in Europe.