Archinect - News

Archaeologists unearth 'lost' 8th-century monastery ruled by prominent Anglo-Saxon queen

2021-08-19T17:11:00-04:00

Archaeologists at the University of Reading and local volunteers have discovered a long-lost 8th-century Anglo-Saxon monastery in the historic village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. The finding provides unique insight into one of the most prominent women of the early middle ages and potentially her final resting place.

The location of the site has been a long-debated mystery until now. Written records indicate that it was once under the rule of Queen Cynethryth, the widow of the powerful King Offa of Mercia, one of the main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. She is the only Anglo-Saxon queen known to have been depicted on a coin.

Excavating the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, one of the rumored locations of the monastery, the team uncovered the remnants of timber buildings, which would have housed the inhabitants of the space. They also unearthed a collection of artifacts including food remains, pottery vessels used for cooking and eating, a delicate bronze bracelet, and a dress pin, presum...

Boris Johnson faces continuing pressure over canceled London garden bridge

2018-03-19T13:40:00-04:00

Gwynne demanded Johnson provide evidence for his allegation against Will Hurst, the managing editor of Architects’ Journal who has won several awards for his coverage of the garden bridge, or withdraw them and apologise. The letter adds to the pressure on Johnson over his role in the troubled story of the planned pedestrian link across the river Thames, which he commissioned and championed as mayor of London, a job he held until May 2016.

During his term in the London mayoral chair, British foreign secretary Boris Johnson advocated passionately for the £46m Heatherwick-designed London garden bridge proposal, which ultimately lost public support and was scrapped by incoming mayor Sadiq Khan—while the financial burden for the controversial project remains on the public.

A new Labour initiative pressures Johnson to shed light on his allegations that Architects’ Journal managing editor Will Hurst essentially killed the project because of a "dislike that the Architects’ Journal journalist concerned had for Thomas Heatherwick". Hurst and the AJ categorically deny this claim.

The Garden Bridge: a sign of our "post-truth" times?

2017-04-17T12:29:00-04:00

The garden bridge, proposed to cross the Thames from the South Bank to Temple, is nothing if not a landmark of the post-truth era. It has wrung tens of millions out of the public purse on the basis of deceptions, distortions and facts that proved to be fake. First sold as “a gift to the people of London”, entirely paid for by private sector donations, it is now due to cost a minimum of £60m in public money. Its estimated total cost has gone from £60m to “north of £200 million”.

Its claims to fundraising prowess are exaggerated, its promised transport benefits minimal. Its backers assert overwhelming public support on the basis of a poll that told those polled nothing of the costs and drawbacks of the project.

London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks extra funds for garden bridge

2016-07-11T03:34:00-04:00

The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent. The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge.

Read more about London's Garden Bridge on architnect:

London's garden bridge, the saga continues

Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London?

Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project

Infrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor the Garden Bridge

2016-01-14T04:00:00-05:00

Hey London, how do you feel about a major span across the Thames being corporately sponsored? Because that's what's going to happen with the Garden Bridge. It's just been announced that Sky, the media behemoth owned by Rupert Murdoch, has given an undisclosed amount to the Garden Bridge Trust. But this is no altruistic gesture: one of the gardens on the bridge "will be named by Sky".

As the article notes, there are a slew of issues – besides aesthetic ones – plaguing the newest Thames crossing. First, Sky is set to sponsor the bridge. Second, attendance projections suggest that queues will be necessary and South Bank will get even more crowded (so much for expediting travel). Third, your cell phone will be tracked while on the bridge.

Yikes.

Related:

Has London finally found a Thames bridge that everyone can get behind?

2015-11-25T04:39:00-05:00

You wait years for a new bridge across the Thames then three come along at once. Joining the controversial garden bridge and a plan for a crossing between Nine Elms and Pimlico, both of which have fierce opponents, comes a proposal unveiled today for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge between Rotherhithe and the Isle of Dogs in east London that hasn’t aroused a single objection – yet. There’s a good reason why: of the three plans, it makes by far the most sense.

London Garden Bridge will track visitors' phone signals, submitted plan says

2015-11-11T04:00:00-05:00

Visitors to the garden bridge in London will be tracked by their mobile phone signals and supervised by staff with powers to take people’s names and addresses and confiscate and destroy banned items, including kites and musical instruments, according to a planning document. [...] Caroline Pidgeon [...] said she feared the bridge was following “a worrying trend of the privatisation of public places, where the rights of private owners trump those of ordinary people”.

Previously on Archinect:

Zaha Hadid, Piers Gough, other leading cultural figures criticize Heatherwick's London Garden Bridge

2015-06-02T16:29:00-04:00

'Architecturally, the ends of the bridge are abysmal: they are sort of hacked off. It’s not a good termination of the bridge – it’s inelegant – and the views of the ends of the bridge are particularly poor and ungraceful. It doesn’t look good. It isn’t a nice piece of work.' — Piers Gough

As the cherry on top for the widely dreaded Thames Garden Bridge, The Guardian rounds up a somewhat entertaining mix of critical reactions from prominent British architects, novelists, and artists on the proposed project, which faces an imminent judicial review.

Previously:

Further legal setbacks for London Garden Bridge

2015-04-22T17:37:00-04:00

Campaigners opposed to the planned Garden Bridge over the River Thames in London have won the right to challenge a council's approval for it. The judicial review of Lambeth Council's decision to give planning permission for the £175m bridge will be heard in June. Questions were raised about bridge's funding and its impact on views across the river of St Paul's Cathedral.

Previously: Let the fighting begin: London Garden Bridge faces legal challenge

Let the fighting begin: London Garden Bridge faces legal challenge

2015-02-17T13:57:00-05:00

A legal challenge is being launched in the High Court against plans to build a garden bridge over the River Thames in central London. A south London resident claims Lambeth Council unlawfully granted planning permission for the £175m bridge. Michael Ball, from Tulse Hill in Lambeth, fears its impact will be "devastating". Lambeth Council said the bridge would potentially benefit "both the local and wider London economy".

Previously

London's Garden Bridge: not so public after all

2014-11-19T14:30:00-05:00

[...] the bridge will be closed at night, won't allow entry to cyclists or groups of 8 or more without prior booking, and will ocassionally be closed off for fundraising events. Right. So less a public bridge than a privately-managed tourist attraction, then. [...] The east of London, on the other hand, could actually use another crossing, with or without limits to access

Previously: London's Garden bridge: 'It feels like we're trying to pull off a crime'

London's Garden bridge: 'It feels like we're trying to pull off a crime'

2014-06-24T13:11:00-04:00

Take one voguish designer, one national treasure and one icon-hungry mayor and what do you get? A floating forest across the Thames. But can anyone actually say what the £175m garden bridge is for?