Archinect - News

For sale in LA: a building with a Banksy OR a Banksy with a building?

2022-09-05T09:00:00-04:00

In 2010, while in town for the Los Angeles premiere of his documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” the British street artist Banksy left a gift for fans: a mural of a girl on a swing, dangling beneath the five-foot red “A” of the word “PARKING” on a gritty downtown lot. Now that girl — as well as the historic building in the downtown fashion district that serves as her canvas — is for sale to the highest bidder.

The historic 26,000-square-foot Downtown Los Angeles building was purchased for $4 million three years prior to the popular documentary's premiere and underwent a $1.8 million renovation before its then-owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April this year.

Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch says the 12- by 33-foot mural’s intrinsic value merits a different kind of appraisal. (“This is free public art. It is not meant to have a commercial value and be resold. That’s not the intention of the artist.”) The best estimate from the previous owners was reportedly $16 million without the girl, which Sotheby’s placed at a minimum of $10 million standing alone. A resolution will come when the building goes to auction on October 6th.

Rome's Colosseum is worth a cool $79 billion, according to Deloitte

2022-07-28T12:23:00-04:00

The real value of one of the world’s most well-recognized historic sites is now officially set after the global financial consultancy Deloitte published their assessment of Rome’s ancient Colosseum on Monday.

According to Deloitte, the nearly 2,000-year-old Flavian amphitheater is worth exactly $79 billion. Its estimate is derived principally from responses to a survey that begged Italians a variety of questions pertaining to the perception of the Colosseum, of which the overwhelming majority — $75 billion — was ascribed to “social value.”

Romans in the survey placed an outsize value ($91 over $57) compared to their countrymen when asked about the monetary amount they would contribute per year to ensure the preservation of the first-century relic. Around 87% said it was the most important monument in Italy. Some 70% think the entire world should be tasked with financing its ongoing upkeep, wh...

Grenfell-style cladding causes value of upscale London apartments to drop by 90%

2018-04-16T16:21:00-04:00

A homeowner in a housing complex in London with Grenfell-type cladding has been told the value of her £475,000 home has collapsed and is now just £50,000. Galliard Homes, the developer of the 11-block complex in New Capital Quay in south-east London, is facing a £30m-£40m bill to replace the cladding and is locked in a legal dispute over who should pay.

The New Capital Quay development—home to about 2,000 residents—is believed to be the largest private development to have flammable cladding after the 2017 Grenfell fire tragedy that killed 71 people, The Guardian reports. The apartments are now considered unsellable.