London skyscrapers

boomnoise · Post by **boomnoise** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 12:52 pm

Excellent, an architecture thread.

So which is your favourite?

Hard to beat the Swiss Re tower imho, despite it being widely heralded as the architectural equivalent of Coldplay. I can see it out of my bedroom window and have dreamt about it. These buildings can utterly change London living so i reckon the skyline needs to be give some consideration - I wouldn’t want all of these going up.

The 20 Fenchurch Street building is my favourite out of the none realised projects. Something about its bulbous post-ipod design.

A couple of them are just asking for trouble.

boomnoise · Post by **boomnoise** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 1:03 pm

That said, i can see things getting a lot denser and darker. Like Deckard's 2012 LA. Canary Wharf maxed out with smog deadened lights; the purpose of buildings obscured by neon, their slickness eroded by constant rain. This is the stuff of the future London i dream of, a one Burial soundtracked so well for me.

pk- · Post by **pk-** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:43 pm

too much steel & glass and not enough actual character in my opinion

every new building looks the same these days

boomnoise · Post by **boomnoise** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:09 pm

Surely that's the equivalent of architectural racism, isn't it?

The current trends are using a lot of steel and glass granted, and perhaps that will be the concrete of the near future but all new buildings hardly look the same.

Architecture seems to operate within very clear cut paradigms with regards to materials used, what do you prefer? I love lots of buildings across all styles and London for me is the best city in the world for this.

Steel and glass can be clinical if executed that way but there are numerous buildings which employ them well, resulting in great buildings, rich in character.

Modern no longer equates to monstrosity anymore like it did in the past few decades.

I want my cities to look like they could be featured in William Gibson books. I have to admit that.

joseph-j · Post by **joseph-j** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:16 pm

pk- wrote:too much steel & glass and not enough actual character in my opinion

every new building looks the same these days

Its economics more than anything else.

But yeah, theres a lot planned for London. I work at an architectural consultancy, and its an exciting time for sure.

Be wary of those 3D modelling images of what "london might look like" - they've usually photoshopped all the other buildings to make the towers look more prominent.

alan · Post by **alan** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:52 pm

the southbank concrete thing is a gem

london has some really nice arcutecture

that link has some ruff buildings, there already look dated imo

boomnoise · Post by **boomnoise** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:13 pm

deviating totally from skyscrapers now but i love the brunswick centre in it's original unrealised socail housing project form before they starting 'revitalising' with injections of consumerism and self cleaning glass.

joseph-j · Post by **joseph-j** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:14 am

alan wrote:the southbank concrete thing is a gem

One of my favourites, I work opposite it.

So pissed off it made the shortlist of most hated buildings in the capital.

mr. messer · Post by **mr. messer** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:50 am

bollocks to skyscrapers....

im movin to tuscany i swear

kidabra · Post by **kidabra** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:30 am

it means that spiderman will be able to get about a bit easier now !...should he wish to visit of course.

ifp · Post by **ifp** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:02 pm

all about that wierd thing on holloway road...

http://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/photos/ar ... london.jpg

pk- · Post by **pk-** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:24 am

The current trends are using a lot of steel and glass granted, and perhaps that will be the concrete of the near future but all new buildings hardly look the same.

yeah, it was a bit of a wild generalisation but i just doesn't seem to be much individualism most of the new buildings i've seen put up recently.

for example round the corner from my parents flat they've been building like mad in the last 6 or 7 years all down the euston road, what with the new UCH, welcome trust building and various other places, and to me they all look very samey

these aren't great photos, but i couldn't find anything better;

welcome trust + UCH, left to right

abbey national's offices (i think, at least that's who used to be there) and some nondescript offices to the left, along with the old euston tower

they're not identical per se but they're pretty unoriginal and not particularly..er...inspiring to look at, i suppose is what i mean. all down high holborn you'll find similar sort of places, to me they just seem like interchangeable characterless glass boxes

this is from a purely aesthetic viewpoint though, i'm sure they're works of engineering genius and all that

marsyas · Post by **marsyas** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:29 am

no need to americanize.

i seriously dislike being above say 20 floors...

ifp · Post by **ifp** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:43 am

yeah, i hate what theyre doing to the docklands. was alright when it was just canary wharf but now theres tons of huge skyscrapers and its just turned into some yuppie suit hell

joseph-j · Post by **joseph-j** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:47 am

As long as all the yuppie suits stay in one place, its ok. At least you know where to avoid them.... "don't go near the towers!"

sybian · Post by **sybian** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 8:43 pm

I loved london for its old-and-new style crossing..

razer-wire · Post by **razer-wire** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:13 pm

All about james and the Giant oringe..............................................
anyway i rekon ther should be more speric buldings not just cubeic
or simple buldings Well I shouldnt know ive never set foot in london

digital · Post by **digital** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:34 pm

MI:5 building is next....you know you is getting spitfired if u try anything there.

London skyscrapers

i guess

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