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Good Architecture
Last Saturday the RIBA Stirling Prize went to Accordia, a multi-practice designed housing estate in Cambridge. At least it didn't go to the Brazil and They Live inspired academy nor the filing cabinet of the Manchester court building. I was interested to see that seeing footage of the buildings rather than just still photos didn't improve my judgement of what I thought weak, but it made me more fascinated by the two railway projects.
McCloud pointed out that all of the projects were public realm - there wasn't a office among them.
I still thought Accordia was toytown.
Bad Architecture
A while back we lost the latest in a range of Bamboo Furniture shops, whose lack of custom was perhaps a function of a) erratic opening hours b) a better bamboo furniture shop next to Churchill's and Netto and c) it's a sodding bamboo furniture shop. The shop was demolished to make way for a restaurant and what sounded like an unfeasible number of studio apartments. It seemed to go up fairly fast, with metal frames, and is situated between a pretty ugly brick Wilkinson's and a pretty ugly brick office building. It faces onto part of the city wall, about level with the (I'm not making this up) Strict and Particular Baptist Church.
It wouldn't take much to improve on what was there but - they didn't have much.
It feels a bit blocky to me: although until the wood is removed from what is presumably the restaurant, it's perhaps too early to tell. There's a glass block at the top, a white overhang (with windows), a series of brown squares (with windows) and wooden coverings, and five pillars apparently holding up the overhang. Three of these are round, two of them are oblong, and it just looks silly to alternate them. Why the solo window above what is supposed to be a doorway?
Last Saturday the RIBA Stirling Prize went to Accordia, a multi-practice designed housing estate in Cambridge. At least it didn't go to the Brazil and They Live inspired academy nor the filing cabinet of the Manchester court building. I was interested to see that seeing footage of the buildings rather than just still photos didn't improve my judgement of what I thought weak, but it made me more fascinated by the two railway projects.
McCloud pointed out that all of the projects were public realm - there wasn't a office among them.
I still thought Accordia was toytown.
Bad Architecture
A while back we lost the latest in a range of Bamboo Furniture shops, whose lack of custom was perhaps a function of a) erratic opening hours b) a better bamboo furniture shop next to Churchill's and Netto and c) it's a sodding bamboo furniture shop. The shop was demolished to make way for a restaurant and what sounded like an unfeasible number of studio apartments. It seemed to go up fairly fast, with metal frames, and is situated between a pretty ugly brick Wilkinson's and a pretty ugly brick office building. It faces onto part of the city wall, about level with the (I'm not making this up) Strict and Particular Baptist Church.
It wouldn't take much to improve on what was there but - they didn't have much.
It feels a bit blocky to me: although until the wood is removed from what is presumably the restaurant, it's perhaps too early to tell. There's a glass block at the top, a white overhang (with windows), a series of brown squares (with windows) and wooden coverings, and five pillars apparently holding up the overhang. Three of these are round, two of them are oblong, and it just looks silly to alternate them. Why the solo window above what is supposed to be a doorway?
By chance I came across a poster advertising the new building, which seems to have been designed for students (studio living above a restaurant? really?). I can't help but feel that the atmosphere of the picture has not been caught in the photo - which may of course be my fault.
Another factor is the workmanship: the dark brown squares don't seem quite aligned, the oblong columns are off-centre compared to the concrete footing, and on the circular columns the casings aren't quite flush. It just looks off. It presumably is only going to get worse. The columns are already dirty.
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