Charlotte Van den Broeck's Bold Ventures Explores Architectural Tragedies and Suicides

Charlotte Van den Broeck's nonfiction book Bold Ventures: Thirteen Tales of Architectural Tragedy examines 13 failed building projects across America and Europe from 1607 to 2011, often linking them to the suicides of the architects involved. The work, translated by David McKay and published by Chatto & Windus in 2019, became a bestseller, delving into themes of creativity and self-destruction. It references Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau's 1995 book S,M,L,XL, quoting that architecture blends omnipotence with impotence. Stories include a near-drowning in a Turnhout swimming pool, the 1922 collapse of the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, DC, and the fates of designers like Reginald Geare, who died by suicide in 1927. The book also covers Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicardsburg, architects of the Vienna State Opera who faced harsh criticism before their deaths, and figures like Borromini, Bernini, and Stefano Ittar, highlighting artistic rivalries and mediocrity. Van den Broeck draws on Cyril Connolly's The Unquiet Grave from 1944, pondering how artists cope without masterpieces, while avoiding speculation on unclear details.