Unbelievable! This just in from our friend, Nick Karakas. . .
By Nicholas Karakas
The heading of this article could have been OXI St. Nicholas Shrine, SI St. Calatrava Shrine.
Welcome to the modern version of Medea by Euripides, where the hiring of Calatrava to complete the shrine murders off any opportunity for a Greek Orthodox authentic architectural involvement in its completion. Of all the worldwide productions of Medea in numerous languages, it is ironic that this atrocity should fall to us, the Greeks.
Where to begin? Time and again our media have excoriated Santiago Calatrava for outstripping budgets while creating structures blemished with technical lapses, built in his ostentatious pattern of design and almost always behind schedule.
To be sure his guileful innovative architectural structures are awesome to behold. Yet the construction and completion process of his designs leave in many cases seemingly serious engineering design flaws, with spiraling out of control costs.
In the 208 projects, Calatrava has worked on since 1979, at least 30 have been cited as over budget, abandoned or involved in lawsuits. Fellow Greek Orthodox followers, please digest this for a moment.
In Spain alone, 8 projects were saddled with cost overruns amounting in the 100’s of millions of dollars. Most notably, he has been called “a high-risk” architect. It seems deservedly so.
Most of his abandoned and silently disappearing projects, plus the horrendous financial costs associated with them, have left cities, universities and entrepreneurs struggling to recover from insolvency.
In what you have read thus far, you might ask, so what? You might say I read all of this stuff in the NY Times, the NY Post, NY Magazine and other media. What’s it to you? Why should I care?
As a member of the Orthodox faith, I care a great deal in the fact that Santiago Calatrava is once again going to be involved in the St. Nicholas Shrine at the World Trade Center. ENOUGH! It is with full measure that he designed the shrine and his name will always be associated with it. It is not enough that hard-working Greek Americans who have contributed generously in support of its construction are being further taken advantage of for the completion of this shrine? What’s next?
What! Don’t we have any reputable Greek Orthodox Architects? It’s a shame that we have to endure the pomposity and arrogance and yet alone possible errors and omissions in the work Calatrava has already completed.
Then too, the Port Authority (PA), the monster which controls all bridges, rail and highways in NYC, NY State and NJ, has had and is having, a heyday in scandals, subpoenas and various exposes related to its budget and the World Trade Center. The PA appears to be the refuge of worn out politicians and their favorite old boy comrades, gathering big salaries, huge retirement pensions and bonuses. It is typical that this kind of organization would hire an architect the likes of Santiago Calatrava. The PA says to hell with you drivers, passengers and working class who have to shell out $32 plus to travel to and from work to use their infrastructure. I only mention this as background in what follows. Now comes the esteemed, innocent newbie Archbishop Elpidophoros, I fully expected, please forgive my naivety, that once his spiritual mission would begin, there would be a “house cleaning” at the Archdiocesan and Diocesan levels. None of which has yet happened.
What we have so far is a couple of new people at HCHC and zero at the Archdiocese revenue office, plus apparently, we are enveloped with a surprising lack of interest in cleaning the 25 years of disorder. So far, the Greek Orthodox Church in the 21st Century in America in this new age of the spiritual reign of the Archbishop has thus far allowed the church to remain a matter of personal convenience, no waves, no progress.
So, in spite of all of the media coverage on Santiago Calatrava, we are presented with a new agreement by the PA and the Archdiocese to finalize the shrine. Where is the Greek American press? They are an important source of news and provide salient comments benefiting their Greek American readers. So why are they so quiet in accepting the employment of an over budget, beyond fixed completion dates Calatrava to be re-involved.
Just ponder you wonderful Guarantors, at a projected finish cost of $80 million, the shrine will have a price of $22,000 per square foot. Take away all the glamor, the aesthetic feelings in your involvement in this Calatrava shrine, why would you not only endorse but put your children and inheritance in this awkward position just to puff your chest and collective pride?
You know we Greeks have a lot of pride and we have a lot to be thankful for, but with the word getting out that we have invested in the shrine at $22,000/ sq. ft, we Orthodox will become the laughingstock of all time. Imagine laying this onus on our children and grandchildren. Remember dear faithful, the Shrine was scheduled to be completed at $30 million. I suspect with Calatrava back in the saddle, that the final cost will not be $80 million, but closer to $100 million.
The work of the Lord who has brought brains, talent and wealth to you should not be wasted on Calatrava’s services. The humble point here is that we Orthodox worshippers want the participation of new Orthodox talent, hardworking folk, smart, career successful people who would love and relish the opportunity to be a part of the Archdiocese goal to bring Greek Orthodoxy to the faithful, the lapsed, and fallen away and those who are studying to become one of us.
So now ladies and gentlemen of the Guarantor Committee, the ball is in your court.
https://www.helleniscope.com/2020/01/14/no-more-st-nicholas-shrine-its-now-st-calatrava-shrine/
Prince Charles once described an extension to the National Gallery as like
‘a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved friend’.
It seems the infection is spreading…
A Y F K M is abbreviated “You fakiri me?”
They should have got Chris Kamages of SF to design it. Just ask Ascension Cathedral I’m Oakland how their chapel project went.
Please, let us be serious now. There is no hope for this failure of a so called Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It seems this organization is beyond any hope. How sad, shameful and disgusting!
Please, let us be serious now. There is no hope for this failure of a so called Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It seems this organization is beyond any hope. How sad, shameful and disgusting!
Why not Andrew Gould? It would have been beautiful, Orthodox and on budget.
lxc
Gould is in fact one of the architects I had in mind. The other one was Chris Kamages. (Forgive me, but I cannot remember the name of the 3rd architectural firm but I was impressed with their brochures and their devotion to the Orthodox architectural aesthetic.)
Let’s not get too far afield with anguish and hand wringing over Senor Calatrava. He’s done some exquisite, work class projects and we might have had ourselves something that would have made a real statement–properly executed.
PUT THE PROBLEM squarely where it belongs– with senile and egotistical Demetrios, with slippery double-dealing Alex, with crooked Jerry and his crooked deputy with an incompetent, irresponsible, deal-dealing sycophanic archdiocesan council, and with silly and laughable Archons, and hierarchs and priests with no courage to speak the truth and rally the few remaining faithful who care anymore.
Whether Pete’s Pizza of Brooklyn or Calatrava finishes the deal, it will sink of it own accord. ElpiDoody and his Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight cannot maintain and manage the property once it’s completed–a far bigger project than building it. Thus, we face further scandals when the building code violations start appearing tacked to the door or when Tasso. the future building manager, runs off with the petty cash, as is predictable. It’s all such a huge and tragic joke (on us).
The ruling self-appointed oligarchs are disbursed around the country, aged, and many are in bad health. Don’t expect careful supervisor from them.
I fully expect that Michael Karloutsos will be named the Executive Director and General Manager.
Here we go again, Katie bar the door !
My complaints are many (as I’m sure everybody else’s is as well). However for me it all boils down to one major complaint: there are many accomplished Orthodox Christian architects living and practicing right here in the United States. I can think of three right off the top of my head who are quite good at making traditional Orthodox architectural motifs (i.e. Byzantine, Slavic, Basilica, etc.) work very well within an American setting. Indeed, they are able to infuse the right amount of regional Americana into their designs so that no one gets the impression that these aren’t aesthetically pleasing Orthodox edifices, just engineered in the right way to “fit” within a particular American locale.
The Shrine designed by Calatrava (who is, it must be said, a world-famous architect) is loyal to the New Brutalism school of architecture and looks like a bunker.
George it looks like one of those Christmas globes with a snow scene in, that you shake and watch the snow fall. He may be a world class architect in a world where the emperor ‘ s new clothes are admired, but when the little lad sees him we will know the naked truth.
I really liked those Christmas globes as a young lad. Still do, in fact.
Not so much, though, when magnified by 10,000x. Who will be able shake it to reveal its visual pleasure?
Prediction: It will be competed…someday. And no one will care except the vanguard of Hellenist glory. Other folks will walk by it and say, “That’s really pretty. I wonder what it is.” A few may even venture inside with all the reverence of the average Western tourist at the Great Meteora. “Oh…I think it may be a church…or is it a monument?”
Brian I keep a Christmas globe on my desk as a paper weight on all the bills I need to pay in the month!!! ? and yes the typical busy reaction will be as u say. And will the folks who worshipped in that little St Nicks own or feel anything in that mauseleum? I doubt it. And who will pay the running costs that will go on just running? That has never been mentioned. Or will NY state or city, take it over as a national monument? In which case the original parishioners go better find another church.
World class? Who says? The worldly who are slaves to novelty—not the Faith we have received and are called to hand on.
lxc+
Obviously, Calatrava is hooked up with the ‘network’ that the new-calendar Greeks have been lusting after for, oh, 100 years. Everything I’ve seen of the so-called shrine (not a church, by the way), shows an empty shell, devoid of Orthodoxy, very similar to mosques and modern bare-walled Roman Catholic edifices. Wouldn’t want to offend anyone with overt Jesus stuff. It’s sad that any Orthodox would want to give $$ for a monument to the new-age everybody’s-groovy religion. Personally, I’m glad Calatrava is the architect–just makes it that much more likely the abomination will collapse.
The only silver lining to this architectural monstrosity is that when the GOA defaults, the Moslems can swoop in and buy it for themselves.
LOL the literal Ground Zero Mosque. That would be a trophy approaching par with the Hagia Sophia.
Lusting? Enrico Dandolo and his henchmen are alive and prosperous at the Ceres Marine Club in Monaco. Shippers are Koinobarabric Uniates (Comnene Genoan, Paleologue Venetian, Kulukundis Hampshire, Coumantaros McKee, Niarchos Nazi Ford, Embricos Hayworth Khan, Livanos Jagelonian Radziwill, Onasis Napoleonic Bouvier) John Sfakianakis and Chris Catsambas distribute Saudi Yesil Sermaye that planted all the canards Greeks believe against those who brought down the Ottomans in 1919. Greek shipping moves Arab oil and drugs (and formerly slaves) and Greek banking launders muslim money.
I’m curious if the reason the powers-that-be went on this particular course is because there’s something on the back end for some of them?
Makam Muezin and crawling holes, worthy viewing of the Fener:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ2SuQr-ZEM
Calatrava was not separated from the project just because construction stopped. He was and is the architect. The Port Authority didn’t choose the design, Archbishop Demetrios chose the design/architect with input from a committee of people supposedly knowledgeable about Orthodox architecture. As usual, it is probable the Archbishop went for flash and not substance, as was his wont with so many other things he was involved in. The structure looks like an atomic energy plant. As for other Orthodox architects in the US, yes, there are, but some of them also take liberties, some of which are not for the best. Supposedly, the iconography was to be done (although how much was to be put in the church has never been disclosed, to my knowledge) by the fathers at Xenophontos Monastery on Mt. Athos. You can’t get better than they are. It remains to be seen what happens with the iconography.
The best possible choice that could/should have been made from the very beginning, was to reproduce Holy Cross Chapel at Hellenic College Holy Cross, which would have cost a fraction of Calatrava’s design. It is an authentic reproduction of the 12th century Church of the Holy Apostles in Athens, by W. Stuart Thompson and for which the plans still exist at Holy Cross. The chapel is easily the best example in the US of an historically correct Greek Orthodox church (no intent to insult any parish, architect, etc). Let’s see who is assigned as the parish priest there.
Alitheia 1875. Yes. U hit it. A atomic energy plant. Perhaps it’s brimming over with spiritual energy?
ST SOPHIA LOS ANGELES, ALL IS FORGIVEN.!!!! ? Even yr mega bucks organ!!
As a contrast one should visit the Russian church St Bishop John of San Francisco had built in said city. And ponder!! We went with non Orthodox USA marine friend who still today after 7 yrs talks of his feelings entering it ( just as they brought the Cross out for Veneration in the Holy Cross feast vigil old style)
Yes the Holy Cross chapel would have made an ideal simple and Orthodox witness and functional Parish with maybe a memorial garden and memorial to the dead ( who were from every and no faith I imagine)
OT: New evidence indicates kidnapped bishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) and Archbishop John (Ibrahim) were executed in December 2016.
https://orthochristian.com/127123.html
I suspected this. Still hurts. So many of us prayed that they would be returned.
Αιωνία μνήμη. God grant these new martyrs eternal peace and to pray for us to remain steadfast . And we ro them in thankfulness for their witness.
Lord have mercy.
I hope that it is not so, though I suppose, at the same time, that it is.
The ‘report’ itself, though, is pretty much an unintelligible mishmash; in turn, not surprising.
How sad. May they rest in peace and may their memories be eternal.
Below please find an article from today in The National Herald.
No More St. Nicholas Shrine; It’s Now St. Calatrava Shrine
By Nicholas Karakas
January 22, 2020
https://www.thenationalherald.com/281552/no-more-st-nicholas-shrine-its-now-st-calatrava-shrine/