Jaipur: The Latest Architecture and News

Time magazine has released the World’s Greatest Places Of 2021, selecting 100 destinations from around the globe. With revitalized riverfronts, affordable artistic incubators, and superlative city-states, the list is a tribute to the built and natural environment that found a way “to adapt, build and innovate”, amidst the challenges of the past year.

Encompassing the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge, London’s Design District, new repurposed spaces in Helsinki, Historic gems in South Korea, and Hanoi’s renewed life in the old quarter, the World’s Greatest Places Of 2021 has a considerable selection of architectural destinations.

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Not every piece of architecture can be an economic and social success. But there is one dreaded term reserved for only the mot wasteful of projects: "white elephants." The term comes from a story of the kings of Siam, now Thailand, who would reportedly gift sacred albino elephants to courtiers they didn't like. Refusing the gift from the king would have been unacceptable, but being sacred, these animals were forbidden from work, leading the courtier to financial ruin—a fact the kings knew all too well.

Of course, in architecture the term "white elephant" is used frequently to disparage certain projects, and whether a project is deserving of such infamy is usually a matter of perspective. Often eyesores or reminders of poorly spent funds, these projects refuse to be forgotten despite few wanting to remember them. Dotted around the world and across history, they all have the same thing in common: although they may (or may not) have once looked good on paper, they probably should have just stayed on paper.