Yes, it is a building. Selfridges new store in Birmingham, to be precise. But of course, you keen students of modern architecture knew that.
Ever wondered how architects such as these design their magnum opus? I have a feeling their inspiration comes from this
I may be wrong. If so, forgive me, o great Starchitects! I only wish my own work was so up to the minute!
Seriously folks, this building was feted in the press (the architectural press, at any rate) as a wonderful innovation in the latest style of 'blob' architecture.
In a about 20 years, it will be vilified as an eyesore, an expensive gimmick that costs a fortune to maintain. In 60 years (if it lasts that long) a newspaper will report that this wonderful landmark is about to be demolished by its desperate owners, who cannot find any commercial reason to keep repairing it and want to be rid of it before they go bankrupt. To the background music of protest groups and ernest BBC reporters, the local council will list it grade 2 star, as an important contribution to the history of architecture. Its owners sell up anyway, getting far less than they would have done if the site had been ready for redevelopment. The new owners are a pension fund, who are quite happy to leave the land gathering value for the forseeable future and don't give a damn about the place, even if they knew where it was.
It will sit empty for another 20 years until Griff Rhys Jones Junior starts a new series of 'Restoration' and raises a million quid.
Ten years after that, and it will still be empty, the million quid sitting gathering dust in a trust account, no-one wanting to take any responsibility at all for deciding which bit of it to repair first.
Ten more years, and it is no longer feasible to repair it, so it is demolished as a dangerous structure.
The End
6 comments:
Thank you,I made some very nice spots and squiggles; a welcome distraction from what I was supposed to be doing!
Brilliant commentary, and sadly so true. Is it just me, or are some of these "amazing designs" the bricks and mortar (or more usually plastic and glass) equivalent of a "Pop Idol" winner? Shiny next big thing one minute, but talentless waste when compared to a real legend!
Ian, you are right. It is common for buildings like this to be given all sorts of awards and attract many people to see them, then in common with such ephemera, they go out of fashion. It isn't just a modern phenomenon - many of our most famous buildings were out of favour as soon as the next generation came along. I believe (although I have not researched it) St Paul's Cathedral was one.
'blob' architecture! Love the terminology, I'll have to remember that one.
I've got a couple of sticks and a canvas in my shed.... Its called tent architecture.... and will last longer than that big sponge!
'Sponge Architecture'.... now there's a thought for my next project...
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