Architectural rumors: unrealized megaprojects in Baku, Azerbaijan and their politico-economic uses

Abstract

This article examines the agency of unrealized megaprojects in bolstering economic activity, legitimizing political regimes, and expanding designer’s portfolios. It argues that such proposals serve as a form of “Architectural Rumor,” providing politico-economic agency despite ultimate project infeasibility. Specifically, it looks at two case studies of proposed yet unrealized island megaprojects in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan: the 2009 Zira Island Master Plan and the 2010 Khazar Islands Plan. Spectacular urban design and architecture have long served as catalysts for development, investment attraction, and real estate speculation. As cities compete with one another to lure capital and boost their global status, many design proposals have become increasingly expensive, ostentatious, and technologically sophisticated. The high-risk financial nature of grand urban design proposals and their frequent associations with displacement or environmental destruction suggests that the megaproject model is becoming flawed. At the same time, there remain advantages for clients and politicians to proposing designs that are more spectacular than feasible. Using a mixed-methods approach, four key arenas in which unrealized proposals circulate are described. The various benefits and detriments of such an approach to architectural commodification are also discussed, foregrounding the broader societal costs.

Keywords:

• Megaproject
• Baku
• Azerbaijan
• spectacle
• city branding
• growth machine

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Bruce Grant and Anar Valiyev, as well as the journal editors and reviewers, for their thoughtful comments and support toward this article.

Notes

1. All interviews have been left anonymous due to personal privacy concerns for the interviewees. Those interviewed were primarily members of the country’s intellectual class, including architects, engineers, journalists and academics, ranging from 26 to 55 years of age. They are all lifetime residents of Baku and are actively interested in events linked to its ongoing politics and urban development.

2. For example, see, The Guardian, “Unbuilt Moscow: The ‘New Soviet’ City that Never Was” (Rogers 2017).

3. Images of the project proposal are available online at www.ziraisland.com/

4. Here, it is particularly the use of images of the world’s tallest building and Formula One race track that serve as rumors on the project.

5. For example, such is the case with the posts on ArchDaily, http://www.archdaily.com/12956/zira-island-carbon-neutral-master-plan-big-architects; Arthitectural, https://www.arthitectural.com/big-zira-island-masterplan/; and Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/2009/01/30/zira-island-masterplan-by-big/.

6. http://www.ziraisland.com/; http://khazarislands.com/

7. For example, Athens and Rio have been struggling with underused mega-event related infrastructure (Mangan 2008; Boukas, Ziakas, and Boustras 2013; Kaiser 2017), while Chinese cities are facing the new problem of ghost towns with empty residential complexes or gigantic shopping malls (Banerji and Jackson 2012; Wang et al. 2015).