A New Architecture Style?

A few weeks ago, I was out for a drive with my sons, doing a little "Santa List" shopping. We happened to drive past a newly-renovated Chinese restaurant with an unusual architectural motif. I happened to have a camera on me that I had planned on using to take photos of the presents the boys wanted from Santa, so I pulled over into the parking lot and took the picture seen here.

What struck me was the thought that perhaps this is representative of a new wave of architectural style that has its base in the new sense of national pride that is sweeping China. With their economic dominance over world markets, the fears of the 2008 Summer Olympics safely behind them, and a growing internal economy that is set to surpass that of the United States, could it be that the wave of this pride is trickling down to persons of Chinese descent who have settled outside their native country?

The design that I observed at this restaurant was clearly inspired by the Beijing National Stadium, used in the 2008 Summer Olympics and more well known as "The Bird's Nest".


What is ironic about this sentiment is that The Bird's Nest was designed by a Swiss architectural firm, Herzog & de Meuron. Herzog & de Meuron is a firm known for taking chances in their architectural designs and for showing a penchant for using bleeding-edge materials.

So while it may seem unusual for a Swiss architectural firm to be the purveyors of new Chinese national pride, I think it's downright shocking to see the results of that pride nestled between the trees off a New Jersey highway. Perhaps this will not be the exception in a few years but the norm, right alongside the traditional gold-and-red tapestries and jade statues that are so prevalent in your average, everyday Chinese restaurant today.