ROM Crystal - Architectural Wonder of the World?

March 25, 2008 - Talk about some free publicity for the ROM. Conde Nast Traveler's April issue has picked the ROM's Michael Lee-Chin Crystal as one of the "new seven wonders of the architecture world." The other six new wonders are (click links for pictures):

- Cumulus, an exhibit hall at Danfoss Universe, a science and technology museum in Nordborg, Denmark. The building has an irregular roof, all curves and angles, like a bite taken out of a cloud. More pictures here.

- Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, which is under construction in the Middle East and is already more than 1,700 feet tall. The final height is a secret but its developer, Emaar Properties, has previously said it will stop somewhere above 2,275 feet and will exceed 160 floors.

- London's new Wembley Stadium, which seats 90,000 with no obstructed sight lines. A massive 436-foot-tall, 1,000-foot-long single arch braces the retractable roof. The stadium will be a centerpiece of the 2012 Olympics.

- New Museum of Contemporary Art, designed to resemble an off-kilter stack of silvery rectangles, located on the Bowery on Manhattan's once-seedy, now-trendy Lower East Side.

- Kogod Courtyard, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., a curved roof made from a patterned grid of glass and steel above shallow pools in the courtyard of the Old Patent Office Building, also known as the Reynolds Center and home to the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

- Red Ribbon, Tanghe River Park, in Qinhuangdao, China, about 180 miles east of Beijing, a steel bench that resembles a red ribbon and runs a third of a mile through a riverbank garden and ecological oasis.

I'm not sure how these projects were selected (are these new "wonders" that were completed in the past year?). I'm also surprised that none of the Beijing Olympics buildings made the list (i.e. The Bird Nest? The Swimming Cube?). I personally love the Red Ribbon, which not only unifies the vast stretch of parklands along the lush (and heavily polluted) Tanghe River, it also serves as active recreational space for park visitors. Who needs boring park benches and uniform playgrounds when you could have a red ribbon through your park? I also like how the entire bench lights up at night too.

As for whether I think the ROM deserves to make the list - hey any publicity for the ROM is good. Maybe this will encourage more people to visit, so the ROM can finally lower its admission prices!