Saudi Arabian outfit Stealth Architects are proposing an interesting alternative to the controversial Muslim Cultural Center - a Terrorist Motel! The "building" is actually a 16 story underground labyrinth of man-made caves.
Saudi Arabian outfit Stealth Architects are proposing an interesting alternative to the controversial Muslim Cultural Center - a Terrorist Motel! The "building" is actually a 16 story underground labyrinth of man-made caves.
click to enlarge
Terrorist Motel to Replace Controversial Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque
An international architectural firm is proposing a Terrorist Motel to replace the highly contested Muslim Cultural Center and Mosque at 51 Park Place. The current plans call for a sixteen story building designed with an Islamic patterned design for the façade. The site has been at the center of controversy because of its proximity to Ground Zero. Many feel it's too close for comfort.
click to enlarge
Underground Skyscraper
Stealth Architects headquartered in Saudi Arabia have proposed a radical solution - a motel for terrorists in the form of a negative building. Their underground skyscraper is essentially a sixteen story, two hundred foot hole-in-the-ground filled with caves.
The entrance will be in the form of a dramatic mountain cave with a thirty foot high opening, loosely fashioned on the Tora Bora outpost of Osama Bin Laden.
click to enlarge
Labyrinth of Man-Made Caves
The underground skyscraper will contain a labyrinth of man-made caves, a state-of-the-art training facility, a library of clandestine training manuals, designated storage areas for ammunition, and dirt cheap accommodations for international terrorists and drug smugglers.
The motel will be non-denominational, with no preferences given to religion, race or creed.
Cheaper than an Endless War
Mr. Muhammad Imam, the spokesperson for Stealth Architects, said "rather than spending three trillion dollars on an 'endless war' which cannot be won, we can put the terrorists up here; at the motel, at the International community's expense and it will be much cheaper."
Terrorists don't need Five-Star Accommodations
"Terrorists don't need five-star accommodations; they're used to sleeping on straw beds or directly on the dirt ground, so it will be a relatively inexpensive project to build, they don't need a fancy restaurant, swimming pool, or a health club, they're pretty hard core types. We've included some perks like free Wi-Fi internet connections, and a shooting range. Still, it's not going to be something to write home about." Mr. Imam elaborated.
Construction Schedule
When asked about a construction time-table and adherence to NYC Building Codes, Mr. Imam was gruffly dismissive "we will fast track this project, and have it built in eighteen months, much sooner than the building proceeding at Ground Zero – they're years out, we will work at night when the building department is closed." When asked about the possibility of hitting water with a building so deep, he replied "they would go horizontally under the adjacent buildings if need be. These are non-issues for us."
Mr. Iman concluded by stating that "The Terrorist Motel will provide a remarkable refuge in a city known for its high cost of living. At the very least we'll know where they're hiding this time."
Height: (-200')
Floors: 3 Above ground, 13 below
Building Footprint: To be determined
Usable square footage: To be determined
Design Team: Mohammed Borges, Ali Lewis and Abdul Clark
16 Comments
Surely, the proposal of the decade!
Brilliant madness!
Maybe they should have just proposed a gigantic bridge under which could sit their fellow trolls.
If this was an anonymous individual or a student I could enjoy its daftness. As it is, it's just a cynical publicity stunt with its tongue so firmly in its cheek that it seems to have cut of the blood supply to the brain.
Or maybe I'm just being grumpy. It just seems a little tabloid to me. For all I know, it is a student's work and stealth architects are all part of the narrative.
Not bad idea maybe... LOL
Here's an original "architectural investigation" on this hot topic:
"Ground Zero Mosque: nothing political – strictly Architecture"
http://bit.ly/c0doHN
brilliant!
borges (the labyrinth), lewis and clark. brilliant team!
There's nothing brilliant about this. It's trash, and makes us (as a society) look ignorant.
I honestly can't believe some people find this funny.
Exactly. Society is ignorant. That's the point - and the humor.
I just wish they had written more about the 'affordable housing' benefits... :-)
Comedy helps society learn and heal. While we continue to live and laugh, the tragedy and the losses will not be forgotten. Maybe if we laughed more, we would fight less.
yes, ignorant is the right word ;-)
This is work by a NYC office called Axis Mundi.
Their other non-works include re-envisioning a bunch of other NYC projects like MoMa and Whitney museum.
I find this one to be a wee bit crass. If they stayed away from the word terrorist, they might have had a stronger joke on their hands.
Provocative, smart-ass projects like this give me hope for the ability of architects and designers to stand up to, or at least to mock the token platforms of the 'Tea Party' and its Newscorp handlers.
When I was in Mississippi in August, nearly everyone i spoke to (geographically predisposed to being Republican) seized upon the 'Ground Zero Mosque' topic after learning that i live in New York. Considering that most people i know here either agree with my opinions (being 'anti-mosque' is abhorrently xenophobic, religious groups are all equally accorded the constitutional right to build whatever they wish with their own private funding, and the likelihood of any major project to navigate the byzantine process of being constructed in Lower Manhattan being slim anyway, etc.) or don't really care, I was confused about how much misinformation and irately verbatim repetition there was on the subject. That is, until I saw the coverage on Fox unfiltered by the sanity-equalizers used by the Daily Show.
The same people who usually, on previous encounters, have expressed little other than distaste, distrust, and revulsion at the idea of New York City were (again) using it as a martyr to validate the sames fears of 'the Other' that are usually directed at the city itself. Using the technique of taking the joke 'one step too far' typically seems to be the only way to get through to the wacky Right even a little, so I applaud Stealth (if it really is Axis Mundi, even better) for their contribution to the dialogue.
Good students joke against the political opportunist ... ;-)
Interesting minds on this project, but as a project i think it will take another turn if built. I think the hidden aim is to make it a tourist attraction by building hype about it being a terrorist motel. Am sure architecture students will put this on their list of places to visit when i get my first pay cheque, [if it gets built] but then again, its going to be cheap, so with school savings they will get a tour and maybe a night on the straw beds. Am sure i will visit, and so will all other non-terrorists, so go ahead and build this TOURIST motel, but make sure its habitable, don't make deliberate cave-in sections.
Out of the Box thinking, and speaking with a grand eloquence of the futility of the continued funding and fighting for the corporate 'Flag' wars.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.