Britain’s decades-long planning “chaos” has left London a city of great individual buildings, such as the Gherkin and the Shard, standing in a sea of “woeful” architecture, the Government’s design czar said today.
Marylebone-based architect Sir Terry Farrell called for a “revolution” in the planning system, to end the culture of Nimbyism and put the creation of well designed places to live, work and shop at the heart of policymaking.
— London Evening Standard
Farrell 's remarks certainly aren't limited to contemporary architecture in London: “If you dump yourself in any town centre and look at what the end of the 20th century and start of the 21st century has brought, it is woeful.”
5 Comments
TOO LATE SORRY
The fact that the London planning czar sees the Gherkin and the Shard as "great individual buildings" is actually a big part of the problem.
“If you dump yourself in any town centre and look at what the end of the 20th century and start of the 21st century has brought, it is woeful.”
Sad, but unfortunately true.
Actually London has not had a planning system of chaos..it has had a system of (mostly) small pieces, mostly making up a dynamic whole. However it has no plan for the big stuff..hence the Gherkin & the Shard, which are not bad, but it needs to stop being afraid of tall buildings, admit they exist, they are coming and make a plan for them. That's what it needs, if you must know.
Why does London need tall buildings?
I suppose it's a good question. People want to build them certainly & some will. There is also a housing shortage & it's a very successful, desirable, city. For me I feel its an opportunity but needs to be planned for. If there's a demand, why not embrace it & build some true "vertical city" projects? That said, there's plenty of mileage in mansion/courtyard blocks too. London has no European tradition though & mansion blocks are a bit odd.
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