The ways that Rem Koolhaas describes the “generic city” in S,M,L,XL seem a bit vague and subjective – and yet, in a good sense, open to interpretation. When thinking about the ways that modern cities are becoming less individualistic, as the claim states, comparing the indicators of this process to the recent developments in Beijing reveal some different conditions that have perhaps slipped between the cracks.

As Anne-Marie Broudehoux lists in “Delirious Beijing: Euphoria and Despair in the Olympic Metropolis,” Beijing underwent a major overhaul as a result of having won the bid for hosting the Olympic games of 2008. The changes were explicitly designed to project Beijing as an iconic, memorable, unique, and powerful representation of China to the multitudes of visitors that would be faced with a first and perhaps only firsthand impression of China. Examples of the icons built include the National Theater designed by Paul Andreu, the National Stadium by Herzog and de Meuron, and the CCTV tower by Koolhaas. Iconic buildings designed by iconic architects tend to make for a more iconic city. But the argument presented by Koolhaas regarding the generic city conditions propose the question: is Beijing less “generic” for creating these icons, or do they simply work to turn Beijing into a modernized construct that can be created anywhere?

In theory, any city on earth, provided the cash was available, could hire the most well-known architects to design unique icons that make their city different or more recognizable. However, as reported by Broudehoux, the creation of the huge exclusive structures came at the expense of the urban fabric of Beijing, where the locals live and work and participate in their communities. By commercializing the skyline and newsfeed of Beijing with recognizable projects, the local, everyday, pure fabric of Beijing is destroyed. This is not to say that this fabric is what makes a city purely non-generic, but for those who are familiar with the city and its history and its communities, the new and alien constructs built by famous and wealthy people for more famous and wealthy people are not what they know as “Beijingian.” If the trajectory of this thinking continues, we might one day have a multitude of cities that are all iconic, all recognizable, and all fun to look at; and yet, that in itself will be generic, as the new language of extravagance and “look at me” syndrome becomes the ultimate goal for urban life.