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An 'abuse of metaphors': Rowan Moore on Thomas Heatherwick’s tree-inspired jubilee design (and other UK public monument debates)

2022-05-02T16:03:00-04:00

I’ll pass by the abuse of metaphors (do milestones have hearts?) but not of trees, this being another case of certain designers’ mania for picking them up, moving them around and putting them where they don’t want to be. Those words from the studio also take liberties with the idea of art. They call the Tree of Trees a “sculpture”. Boris Johnson may once have compared Heatherwick to Michelangelo, but David it is not.

The Observer critic joined a plethora of online commentators that picked apart Heatherwick Studio’s “Tree Of Trees” Earth Day announcement by comparing it to last year’s fiasco surrounding the MVRDV-designed Marble Arch Mound, which he described as a “cartoon version of nature is placed in a London ceremonial space by people who don’t seem to have thought much about what it is that makes trees lovely.”

Moore has been critical of Heatherwick’s design inspiration in the past, referring to The Vessel designer as a “pied piper [of the] very rich” in a 2017 missive and famously citing his work as an example of the migration away from “grown-up architecture” in a 2019 piece, in which he derided cloying gimmicks that offer “at most two-liners.”

Moore also touched on the controversial (and recently-rejected) UK Holocaust Memorial proposal, laying its failure on the decision to include a learning center and stating that the government should now “take the opportunity of its verdict to apply...

Henning Larsen's first London project bets big on the future of work in a changing city

2021-06-08T13:11:00-04:00

Henning Larsen is making its first foray into London with a mix-used project a few short steps from Buckingham Palace.

The new building will sit atop a reimagined foyer space tying the 470,000 square foot office development to a market, full-service gym, garden terrace and retail establishments through a web of interconnected bicycling and pedestrian tracks that the three-firm team hopes will turn 105 Victoria into a vital public square in the heart of the West End by the end of the decade.

Renders by DBOX.

With a hand from KPF and Adamson Associates, Henning Larsen were able to put forth a bold design that actively seeks to improve the work-life balance of the building’s workers through the many amenities available on-site in a full rejection of the exodus from cities prognosticators have forecasted as the start of the pandemic gave rise to a remote work revolution.

Renders by DBOX.

“Our ambition for the project is to create an active urban destination in the heart of London, a pocke...

Architect creates detailed floor plans of Buckingham Palace

2020-04-29T12:57:00-04:00

In a pursuit to create the most accurate floor plan of Buckingham Palace available on the internet, HomeAdvisor embarked on a research project to scour every available photo and video of the palace interiors to uncover the layout of every room. Researchers then collected additional information from the Royal Collection Trust and the official website of the British royal family, before passing all of their findings to architect Jelena Popovic, who created the drawings shown below.

With 775 total rooms, the palace includes 19 staterooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. However, many of the spaces within the palace still remain a mystery with many areas off-limits to everyone except palace staff.

The State Dining Room is located in the Central Block of the palace.

The research team tackled the challenge by dividing the palace into three sections: The Central Block, the Queen's Apartments, and the East Front. Upon entry of the Central Block,...