Architecture of Influence
Thursday August 28, 2008
Critics are having a field day with the decor Democrats gave INVESCO Field at Mile High. To prepare the stadium for the nomination acceptance speech by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Democrats created a dramatic set that mimicked the look of a Greek temple. A stage was constructed at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of INVESCO Field. Along the rear of the stage, designers constructed neoclassical columns made of plywood.
Sounds a bit Disneyesque, but lavish decoration has become a long established tradition at political conventions for both Democrats and Republicans. Too much? Or inspiring?


Comments
Disgustingly ostentatious.
Think how many hungry Americans that money could feed!
The stage set for the Invesco Field democratic presidential nomination acceptance speech most resembles the King Vittorio Emanuele II Monument in Rome, built between 1895-1911. Take a look and you’ll see what i mean.
Interesting! For a photo, see Vittorio Emanuele Monument.
I think the designers of the stage set for Obama’s speech used Neoclassical architecture to evoke the feeling of Washington DC, which is filled with Neoclassical buildings like the US Capitol Building. In the American mind, neoclassicism is associated with democratic government.