"Is there any?" was Frank Gehry's response when queried by a reporter about the state of architecture in that fabled desert city. Here is a picture of the Gehry designed Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Studies--which is an apt metaphor for how are brains gradually dissolve when assaulted by incredible diseases like Alzheimer's.
I came across an recent article in the Las Vegas Sun http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/dec/19/cookie-cutter-buildings-scar-vegas-beauty/ about the dilapidated state of architecture and development there. Things are pretty bad, but given the resilience of cities, a lot of what was built will probably end up being occupied someday--maybe. A lot people are going to have take some big haircuts, and some of the buildings aren't going to be pleasant to live in or to use, but it's there. The recent real estate bubble seemed like a speculative arms race, and in places like Las Vegas, where the gambling industry makes a living off of making people forget about mathematical principles, it's only natural that things were taken to the extreme.
I wonder if the real estate bubble of 2000 through 2008 (when did it end exactly?) is the biggest in history? I'm not sure if you can measure it effectively so that a meaningful comparison can be drawn. I think that construction delivery reached its highest level of productivity in the past decade and architecture became a true commodity for a brief period of time. China's RE bubble hasn't burst yet, and I'm wondering what form that will take. I also wonder to what extent the most dramatic information I read about--anecdotes of empty neighborhoods in Spain and haunted skyscrapers in Dubai--truly reflects how bad, or not bad, things are.
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