Its sale, for £275m, by BT to a hotel group, if it gives the tower a secure future, is welcome. I’m more troubled by the reports that the designer Thomas Heatherwick is to “repurpose” the building. His past work shows that he’s not one to leave well alone, but rather festoon structures with over-sized flower-pots and look-at-me swirling shapes. One can only hope that he discovers some restraint. The BT Tower is already an icon. It’s perfect. Let it be. — The Guardian
Readers will remember the critic's jabs at Heatherwick last fall after the publication of his new treatise on architecture and mental health, wherein Moore declared “an outbreak of shallow wannabe Gaudís” will follow in tow should the call-to-action be adopted.
That provocation isn't the first or even second time Moore has harshed the Vessel designer's creative schemes for the capital. In its defense, Heatherwick Studio has yet to detail any of the architectural extravagances Moore is lamenting after the project's February 22nd announcement.
The conservation group C20 Society has offered its support for the £275 million project. If history is any guide, MCR's previous re-use of the TWA Hotel at JFK should steer the project away from any gauche gesturing and towards the Swinging London era anachronisms Moore champions nostalgically as "hopeful futurism."
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