Modern architecture likes to brag that it is able to design and build shapes that people never could before, but my response to that is usually “why would they want to?” And I think the inverse boast is also true: if modern architecture is only possible for modern architects and builders, the great buildings of history need to be recognized as uniquely possible for their ages. Looking at the Great Pyramid of Giza, a simple geometric shape that can easily be drawn on paper, I eventually realized that, while ancient, these primitive mysteries would be impossible to create in today’s world. Perhaps a bad imitation could be made, but consider all that went into their production. Think of the millions of carved stone blocks that would have to have been dragged through the desert and assembled with near-perfect precision. Think of all the laborers it would take to do something like that. And then, think of the time and cost. Who could afford all that? What company or government today could convince so many people to work and make such an expense for this great burial chamber?
It had to be paid for somehow. Maybe this is the ancient forebear of today’s pyramid schemes and timeshare-funded resorts.
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