“They say nothing comes easy,” murmurs the protagonist in the opening sequence of the single most ridiculous promotional video for a building ever made, shooting to the top of the list of 11 other contenders.
Indeed: Making a sensible advertisement for a luxury high-rise is almost impossible these days, it seems. British developer Redrow has pulled the latest video from its website, after sparking something of a Twitterstorm with its sinister portrayal of corporate elitism and scenes all too reminiscent of Mary Harron’s 2000 classic horror American Psycho.
The spot plays like a trailer for Fight Club, with sound bites befitting those disturbing commercials for Calvin Klein’s Obsession For Men. “The missed opportunities,” he moans. “The doubts. The need to be different; to define yourself; to be more than individual. To stay true to what you believe.” You get the feeling he’s either about to whip out a bottle of Obsession for your consideration… or murder someone in cold blood. To watch it is a truly unnerving experience.
The Guardian’s architecture critic Oliver Wainwright was as mortified as anyone, summarizing the chilling narrative as follows:
“The whole thing is beyond parody; as if JG Ballard had been put in charge of the opening titles to The Apprentice. It portrays a world of hyper-luxurious emptiness and alienation, achieved by a relentless ambition to be the best and defeat everyone and everything else in the process.”
Wainwright’s articulate lament pinpoints the heart of the issue: The property market in London has long been spiraling out of control, and a vast amount of private investment is now being plowed into increasingly high-end condominiums, a trend parallel to that of Manhattan — see 432 Park Avenue, One57 et al.
This is coupled with a culture of consumerism beyond anything we have previously witnessed: Restless, stressed souls stalk the streets of the Capital, unable to quench their thirst for financial success and ultimate material satisfaction.
Bizarrely, this fevered state of mind now appears to be part of a marketing ploy: We are led to believe that people actually crave this unrelenting lifestyle, indulging in a perpetual cycle of acquisition, no matter what the cost to our bank balances… or our souls. We are sold into an eternal race, with mounting pressure to climb ever upwards — both figuratively, in terms of social hierarchy, and literally, in the form of a penthouse amongst the clouds.
Architect Sam Jacob took the next logical step following the Internet uproar, producing ‘Redrow Psycho,’ a simple but effective mash-up of the developer’s video with one of Patrick Bateman’s classic narcissistic monologues.
“It is a totally clear expression of the psychotic nature of housing in London at the moment,” commented Jacob upon the release of his Vimeo ‘premiere.’ “It plunges us back into the ultimate yuppie fantasy – the fact that the individual only exists in relation to the brands that they own, the things that they’ve bought. That property and housing is just about individual success, investment, money, achievement.”
As Wainwright points out, the most terrifying fact of all is that this kind of video is becoming evermore common. Take the trailer for One Blackfriars, the bulging glass monolith set to rise alongside the Thames next year. Designed by Ian Simpson Architects, the penthouses in this luxurious high-rise are marketed at a cool £23 million, and the accompanying movie combines the same idyllic vision with subtly menacing undertones.
A woman approaches the full height window of her apartment in a sparkling evening dress — made from pure gold, most likely — and places her hand wistfully upon the glass. As she surveys the city far below, she comes to the startling realization that she has made it. She has reached the promised land of beautiful isolation, cleansed from all that lies beneath her; the segregation of rich and poor is now complete.
She seems lonely though.
Perhaps she can go for a drink with Patrick Bateman at the rooftop bar…
Yours hauntingly,
The Angry Architect