The Denver International "Apocalyptic" Airport ( Article)

The message is that art can be ugly and still be art.

Could be gay soldier = bad times

Very Well could be trut... =)

I will assume by your reply that you did not click on the link and read the full article.
I find it insidious when people simply right things off as conspiratorial.
To me it's reflection upon their fears, of having the World as they know it turned upside down.If they were to consider another point of view outside of their own.
I dont simply buy into things and I also don't simply write off things either.
I have learned to question things and weigh out all possibilities.
If you can't do the same, then you are no better then ones you label as conspiratorial.
I will say in the end, I do appreciate your opinion and your willingness to share it.

I will assume by your reply that you have not looked into the method of public art procurement for this project. Money is allocated, and the artists are contracted. There is very little oversight from the contracting authorities on the content of the art created.

Also, you state that multiple contractors were used in the building, but that they were each "fired" after their job was done. A contract of this type would almost invariably be performed in phases. Each phase would be bid separately, with the low bid contractor performing the work. Just because a contractor is working on a phase does not mean they will be awarded the next phase. That's the nature of public works.

As to the massive amount of earth moved from the site - do you have a soils report? If so, have you studied the recommendations of the civil engineering firm regarding the bearing capacity of the native soil? Consider that a "typical" building project only needs to have soil capable of supporting large loads inside the footprint of the building. However, if you plan to pour runways feet thick in concrete and steel and then land airplanes on them, a massive area will need to have soils capable of bearing weight. From a quick use of google maps, that seems to be about 10 feet of excavation spread out over the site. That is not unusual.

I don't know of a modern airport that is constructed that doesn't have underground tunnels in it. They allow you to move people, equipment, and materials across the airport without adding congestion to the tarmac. I do find it unusual that they aren't in widespread use. However, it is possible that they were not finished due to the budget constraints you spoke of.

Granite is an architectural feature. Once a particular stone source is selected and used in the project, you can't change it. Otherwise your building looks like ass. I have never met an architect that would let that happen to a building with their name on it. Especially one with such a high profile.

The "swastika" shape is an unfortunate result of a good design decision. It allows for simultaneous take off and landing to occur in either a north south direction, or an east west direction depending on the prevailing wind. The approach and takeoff patterns would not interfere with each other at all in this design. Also, the planes need not cross an active runway in order to take off or land, which is an improvement over many airports. This design would offer much improved runway capacity over the "x" shape seen in other airports.

So, yes. There is no conspiracy. It's an airport with bad art, and a funny shaped runway system.

I did not say that you had no right to critique the art, simply that the artists were free to create whatever ugliness they chose as part of their artistic license.

Our government can make stupid decisions. It is run by people after all. Connecting all those stupid decisions into one big nefarious plot is also a stupid decision. People can and do make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are errors in judgement, sometimes they are poor decisions made with malice and greed as motivation. Often, they were just not thought through. But this is not an overarching conspiracy. It's just a collection of mistakes made by unconnected people. Sometimes the very disconnectedness of our government IS the mistake.