Austrian architect Wolf Prix, who designed a piece of The Line, hints on the hypocrisy of studios engaged on the Saudi mega-project and criticises the “primary thought of the entire thing” on this unique interview.
Talking to Dezeen from his workplace in Vienna, Prix praised the start line of rethinking the format of cities however questioned the linear idea of The Line, which is deliberate to be 170-kilometres lengthy and solely 200 metres extensive.
“They’ve the chances and the cash to do analysis and develop new supplies, new buildings, new mobility, however not in the best way they at the moment pursue it,” he advised Dezeen.
“What I criticise is the primary thought of the entire linear factor, however all of the critics ought to see the chances that are behind the thought.”
Prix is without doubt one of the first architects to have labored on The Line to talk publicly about it. He defined how his studio, Coop Himmelb(l)au, was certainly one of a number of worldwide practices invited to design a section of The Line following the preliminary linear idea being selected.
Coop Himmelb(l)au was named in a Riyadh exhibition as engaged on The Line megacity, however Prix stated that the scheme had “vanished” and he has “no thought what occurred” to the studio’s design.
“Neom will find yourself as a brand new lodge”
Though Prix is not engaged on The Line, he’s nonetheless hopeful that the linear idea of the town will likely be rethought.
He predicted that the undertaking will solely be realised partly, with one or two of the 800-metre-long modules accomplished and finally used as a big, high-end lodge.
“I’m nonetheless hoping that the foremost idea for The Line will likely be reorganised,” he stated. “What I’m afraid of is that Neom will find yourself as a brand new lodge – perhaps not the complete size, however one or two segments.”
Regardless of these criticisms, he believes the undertaking may act as an impetus to essentially rethink how cities work.
“I heard that criticism of the undertaking is heavy,” he stated. “Everybody says it is unimaginable, it is silly, due to local weather points, due to supplies and so forth and so forth.”
“However I can think about these persons are not desirous about the following step sooner or later – how cities should be reorganised,” he continued.
“In Europe, the town planners take into consideration reorganising our cities with the agricultural technique – every thing ought to be very modest and inexperienced. I don’t know whether or not this technique [The Line] will likely be profitable, however this [the European way of thinking] for certain will not be the purpose of departure for the long run.”
“I design what I wish to construct and take duty”
Prix additionally addressed the criticism directed at studios engaged on Neom, which has been criticised by human-rights organisations.
Coop Himmelb(l)au was one of many solely worldwide studios that selected to proceed working in Russia following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine, and Prix urged that some studios have been being hypocritical by engaged on the Saudi undertaking.
“Lots of people who stated ‘we is not going to work in Russia due to Putin’, at the moment are working in Saudi Arabia,” he stated. “It is a type of difficult argument.”
“I’ve no dangerous emotions. I design what I wish to construct and take duty for the constructing,” he continued.
“I did not construct our opera home it Sevastopol for Putin, I did it for the individuals of Sevastopol and that is my choice.”
“How will children go to highschool?”
Prix stated he agreed to design a section of The Line because the undertaking “sounded very attention-grabbing” and was a continuation of broader urbanism pondering being developed within the Nineteen Sixties.
“We have been very involved with a brand new type of metropolis planning,” he defined.
“So, after we obtained a name from Neom I used to be very as a result of I believed we will lastly develop our designs of vertical cities and complicated construction of the ’60s. I believed perhaps we will design a metropolis pondering extra detailed about computerised visitors and connections.”
Inside the design for its section of The Line, Coop Himmelb(l)au aimed to beat among the basic issues of connectivity created by the town being made from two parallel skyscrapers separated by a big void, Prix defined.
“How will children go to highschool? This is essential,” he stated. “What I am lacking is the complexity of buildings the place additionally the youngsters can journey by way of the entire metropolis with out being at risk.”
“Town as a part of our life is what we’re enthusiastic about,” he continued.
“A metropolis can not exist just for one type of individuals”
Nonetheless, he defined that the “shopper would not need this” and he would “want extra political energy” to implement his concepts for The Line.
He believes that the town is being designed just for younger individuals and won’t operate effectively as a result of homogenous nature of the inhabitants.
“Neom has to consider who will reside there,” he stated. “In case you have two 500-metre-high partitions with housing – I solely can think about that solely younger individuals will sit there with out daylight as a result of they’re engaged on the pc like loopy. And within the night, they are going all the way down to the canyon to have events.”
“However a metropolis will not be a metropolis just for one type of individuals, we have to consider everybody outdated or younger, center class, poor or wealthy,” he continued.
The Line is without doubt one of the world’s largest and most controversial initiatives. A latest documentary outlined the present plans for the town, which is being designed to an idea created by US studio Morphosis.
Whereas quite a few studios have been linked to the town, the documentary acknowledged that 5 studios are at the moment every designing a 800-metre module for The Line.
The undertaking has been criticised on sustainability and liveability grounds in addition to its human rights file with human rights organisation ALQST reporting that three individuals who have been evicted from the Neom website have been sentenced to dying.
Talking to Dezeen, Amnesty Worldwide’s Peter Frankental stated that firms engaged on Neom have been going through a “ethical dilemma” and will “assume twice” about their persevering with involvement within the undertaking.
The portrait is by Zwefo.
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