A political speech takes a few minutes. A newspaper article takes a little while. Even a great book still occupies a small part of the reader's life. Buildings work differently. The street outside our house affects us every day. The square where we meet with friends affects us silently. The city itself becomes part of our mental landscape, where it unconsciously shapes our perceptions of beauty, order, belonging, and community.
Architecture is known for its unique ability to convey to the public the intentions of those in positions of authority.
The cornerstone of the ancient Greek way of life was the belief that beauty and social order were inseparable. They equated moral superiority with beauty in all its forms. Centuries later, the conquering Romans, while heavily influenced by the Greeks, used architecture more as an expression of lineage and iron-fisted imperial power. The expression of this vision was seen everywhere, but perhaps nowhere more clearly than in the luxury and grandeur of their public architecture. These structures were intended to impress, deepening, among other things, the gap between the ruling elite and the common people under their control.
Just as German, Russian and Italian fascist design from the 1930s onwards had more in common with the emperors of Imperial Rome and the monarchs of dynastic Europe, than with the more egalitarian or utopian ideals of modernist ideas of development at the time.
So the parallels between government power and architectural aesthetics are nothing new. Therefore, we can see more emphasis on architecture in more autocratic countries and periods, where decision-makers exercise discretionary power with weak checks and balances.
"Albanian Files," the book that Prime Minister Rama waved in front of the CNN journalist as evidence of development, is a collection of accounts of the world's best architects chosen without competition by the Prime Minister; paid as much as they asked by investors who also benefited from public land and administrative and fiscal facilities without competition, but again from the Prime Minister, that book is nothing more than evidence that the Prime Minister seeks to dress up his approach to development as Roman Emperor.
That book is nothing more than a celebration of one man's supposed power, rather than an indicator of the development of the country he was elected to serve.
That book is proof that architecture has been used as a tool to secure support for the status quo by using aesthetics instead of development. Meanwhile, according to investigations and published SPAK files, it appears that among the investors that the Prime Minister chose to implement his vision, there was no shortage of drug money launderers.
While this money flow has increased the money supply 2.5 times faster than economic growth and low inflation seems sustainable, this economic situation creates structural weaknesses over time as excess liquidity finds its way into real estate markets instead of consumer goods. This causes inflation (rise in building prices) instead of traditional inflation, creating a false sense of stability in the real economy.
Qualis artifex pereo!”
"What an artist the world is losing with me" - said Nero before committing suicide
Our artist prime minister has forgotten that he is only a temporary administrator, and his penchant for pomp and imperial stature does not make him Nero. Although his actions are the actions of a man who has forgotten, or does not care, why, how, and for whom he is in that position, he is still not an Emperor.
There is a saying that there are leaders who prefer to apologize more than to get permission.
Our loud, impulsive, reckless Prime Minister can do neither of these two. He hardly deserves the title of politician, patriot, or even leader. He is a gangster playing the savior who has decided to live up to his name with high-rise buildings built with drug money, (for some even beautiful) but with irreparable economic and psychological damage to our society. /Taken from the author's Facebook page
