Optional Listening 3 Modern buildings: we love them, we hate them

   The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris is almost 500 years old, and it faced a very modern problem: There simply wasn’t enough space for 6 million visitors each year. In 1989, American architect I.M. Pei designed a striking glass pyramid in the building’s center to be a visitor entrance and shopping arcade. But he also started an angry debate. Some people felt his glass building was a piece of art, like the ones inside the museum. Others said it was just an ugly, modern mistake.

Kyoto, Japan, is the country’s ancient capital, and the heart of its culture. Its railroad station was too small for the millions of visitors. In 1997, the city completed a new station in a huge shopping center, right in the oldest part of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the building also contains a hotel and department store. Before it was built, critics said that high, wide, modern building would destroy the city’s traditional look. On the other hand, supporters said it would bring new life into the city center.