Eddy Rhead's Comments
Comment on: Critics hit out at Ian Simpson's St Peters Square office plans
The English Heritage statement is baffling. They are correct that St Peter's Square was envisaged as a grand civic space but that was a plan devised back in the 1930's and it included a large City Hall building - a public amenity. To use a unrealised idea from 80 years ago to justify a decision is just bonkers. Beside that - this isnt creating a civic space and 'realising that ambition'. This is just another unnecessary commercial development and i think English Heritage, MCC and Simpson really dont understand what is meant by 'civic space'. I also fail to see what 'public benefits' there are to yet another commercial development in a city which has acres of unlet office space - much of it just yards from St Peters Square.
Comment on: Class war breaks out in Accordia as wealthy seek ban on alterations
Have the private tenants perhaps thought about building a high wall between themselves and the social housing aka 'the proles' so they dont have to look at their tasteless alterations? Perhaps one of the many resident architects could design the wall. A very tasteful wall. Obviously.
Comment on: No call-in for Liverpool Waters as Pickles approves £5.5bn scheme
How depressing
Comment on: Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium faces uncertain future
Olympic legacy?
Comment on: Pawson reveals £80m Commonwealth Institute rebirth
Last week my city, Manchester, announced huge cuts to vital services across all aspects of council departments. By coincidence they are having to make £80m of cuts. But i suppose London is getting *another* new swanky museum for us all to enjoy eh? So that makes it all alright. I stand by my thoughtless thoughts as much now as i did a year ago. If you dont mind - can i have my 1p back please?
Comment on: Revealed: the six finalists in George Square contest
Water features? Always *such* a good idea.
Comment on: RMJM's controversial Sheffield Uni scheme approved
Is there really any point having a system of listing anymore when there is no organisation that enforces it and when councils treat the system with such contempt? Our local councils are inhabited by people who have no understanding of architecture, architectural history or town planning but make very important decisions on those very things. We saw it recently with decisions in Manchester relating to the Grade II* Lutyens Cenotaph, The Grade II* Library and Town hall extension, the depressing situation regarding Preston Bus Station and now this. I fear we are entering a new dark age of municipal vandalism.
Comment on: Oscar Niemeyer: 1907-2012
The greatest of them all.
Comment on: Chipperfield's profits boom 54%
Are we seeing a 'Premier League' situation developing where some firms (based in the south of England) are getting lots of work and making big profits where smaller firms outside the capital (im thinking of MBLA for example) are struggling and going to the wall? I dont claim to have any answers - its just an observation.
Comment on: Bad debt sinks MBLA as tough trading conditions continue
Very sad. MBLA have made Manchester a better place with architecture that was humane and always done with flair. One of the best (if not the best) practise in Manchester.
Comment on: Pathfinder outrage: revamp funds unlawfully used for demolition
A deeply flawed 'idea' from top to bottom. Always was - always will be.
Comment on: RIBA president pay debate heats up
Did anyone think to ask Stephen Hodder his opinion?
Comment on: Government moots planning free-for-all
Slum landlords across the land must be rubbing their hands with glee.
Comment on: Campaigners seek lawyer to challenge Ancoats Dispensary demolition
‘We take the preservation of the city’s heritage incredibly seriously and no decision is taken without extreme care.' With all respect to Cllr Battle - this is the council that is planning to move the Grade II* listed Cenotaph by Lutyens to make way for a tram track, wants to destroy the space between the Grade II* listed Library and Town Hall extension by gating it off and has been responsible for the continuing neglect of the Grade II* Unitarian Chapel by Charles Barry. Manchester City Council make take decisions with extreme care but they are rarely the correct ones when it comes to our city's heritage.
Comment on: Moylan hopes Olympic legacy housing could win Stirling Prize
"Managed space"?
Comment on: Listed: 1950s bombshell in Burnley
Groovy
Comment on: Exclusive images from Europe's tallest residential tower
Owen is our leader.
Comment on: Developers asked to find Hyde Park Barracks a new home
Someone should get this listed and be quick about it.
Comment on: Winner in St Peter's Square contest revealed
If the lovely watercolours above are to believed all the extra trams that will be coming through the square have been magically removed and the assorted (over engineered) infrastructure that will clutter up the square seems to fade into the background too. The extra trams are coming through the square because the much more logical second city crossing down Deansgate was rejected. Another distasteful by product is the moving of the Cenotaph - but that argument is seemingly ignored and lost and one must move on. Leaving that aside, it is worrying news that a plan to cover over Library Walk seems to have reared its ugly head again. Despite being aesthetically crass - Library Walk is one of the most enchanting and thrilling vistas in the city - there is wider implication regarding the insidious privatisation of public space and the prospect this lovely public space will become commercialised and ultimately have restricted access. This isnt place making - its undemocratic and autocratic and totally unnecessary.
Comment on: Shock as RIAS snubs Hadid's Glasgow museum
I am, to say the least, not a fan of Hadid's style but the Riverside MoT is a wonderfully detailed and beautifully finished building - the exhibition spaces are well thought out and intriguing and perhaps most importantly has become a very popular attraction (despite its awful location). I can understand the sentiment that 'Scottish' architecture should take precedent but to ignore this very good building seems slightly pernicious.
Comment on: Cultural bonanza as Arts Council funding victors named
My maths isnt great but it seems £54m of the £114m available is being spent in London. Places like the Royal Opera House already receive huge subsidies from Government and it would be fair to say the huge majority of the British population have never and will never cross its threshold. Isnt it about time we set free such places into the cold hard world of market forces and spend the money in a more meaningful and fairer way?
Comment on: EPR’s Coronation Street redevelopment steps forward
The blandification of Manchester is seemingly unstoppable Charlie. Whilst there is 'exciting opportunity' for 'mixed use' to be had Manchester will surely take it. I fail to see how this scheme "draws on the rich history and character of the site" if i'm honest but its early days i suppose!
Comment on: Shapero completes Manchester youth mental health centre
Refreshingly bold.
Comment on: Peel not afraid to 'walk away' from Liverpool Waters
The arrogance of Peel and Lindsey Ashworth in particular holds no bounds. The fact they are prepared to take their ball home with them if they dont get to win is typical and shows their lack of commitment to sustainable development. Ashworth is the one, when faced with criticism from English Heritage and UNESCO that LIverpool Waters would threaten Pier Head's World Heritage Site status claimed "We are right and they are completely wrong".
Comment on: Grimshaw to design secret airport in Russia
What next? Grimshaw wins competition to build rocket launch site inside extinct volcano ?
Comment on: Battersea Power Station worth £470m more if flattened
Just think of the value of the land that that useless eyesore St Paul's Cathedral is sitting on?
Comment on: UK's £131bn PFI bill 'four times the value of assets'
I would say 'It seemed like a good idea at the time' but ....................... it didnt.
Comment on: RPS submits plans for enormous Sheerness wind turbine plant
"A Grade II-listed building on the site and other buildings associated with statutorily listed structures would be removed to make way for the facility." Removed? To somewhere else? To landfill?
Comment on: Government considers scrapping BREEAM requirements for schools
Greenest government ever?
Comment on: Pawson reveals £80m Commonwealth Institute rebirth
It may be an impertinent question but where on earth is the £80m coming from? Its surely an obscene amount of money to be spending at the best of times?
Comment on: Trump freezes £750 million golf resort over wind farm threat
Oh the irony.
Comment on: Ian Simpson and Mecanoo's First Street plans approved
Oh dear. Thats not very good is it?
Comment on: HS2 Euston revamp threatens AHMM scheme
So a double decked solution would be too expensive and 'difficult to navigate' eh? Can i suggest the DoT take a visit to the 5 level Berlin Central Station to see how it should be done in that case?
Comment on: Top 10: World's most spectacular modern churches
All these beautiful new churches around the world but in the UK we are not only not building any new churches but demolishing them left, right and centre.
Comment on: Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff, by FAT and Holder Mathias Architects
Whats the Welsh for "Are you having a laugh?"
Comment on: 'Incredibly disappointed' Wilkinson Eyre dropped by Tesco
Isnt there a theme developing here? Tesco, faced with a tricky route through planning, engage a decent architect to hoodwink planners and then drop them like a Buy One Get One Free hot potato once planning is secured. Every Little Helps i suppose!
Comment on: Quadrant 3, London, by Dixon Jones with Donald Insall Associates
Great article and an equally good building but to describe Darwen as being in a 'remote part of Lancashire' is both untrue and ever so slightly patronising. I do hope this comment reaches you - i shall put it on the next stagecoach that passes through. Now you'll have to excuse me - my whippet needs walking and i need to go and scrounge some coal off the slag heaps.
Comment on: UNESCO: Liverpool at risk of losing World Heritage Status
Does anyone seriously think this development is going to happen anyway?
Comment on: Heatherwick completes Worth Abbey revival
Stunning.
Comment on: Austin-Smith:Lord files for insolvency
But the Peoples History Museum extension, very prominent in the foreground, is by AS:L
Comment on: BDP's £700m Tithebarn scheme canned as John Lewis pulls out
John Lewis clearly didnt think it was a good idea.
Comment on: 'Massive missed opportunity': Government slashes solar panel funding
"I want the coalition to be the greenest government ever" David Cameron May 2010
Comment on: It's a wrap: FAT finishes 260m-long facade for the BBC
Emperor's New Clothes
Comment on: D5 completes £2.4m Milton Keynes rugby pavilion
Lovely stuff. Restrained and classy. Nice palette of materials.
Comment on: Aedas latest practice to take on Euston station
‘self-funding, quick-win packages’ Translation: 'cheap and ill thought out'
Comment on: Donald Trump clubhouse scheme by Acanthus revealed
£750m on the scheme. £3.75 on the render.
Comment on: 'I'm looking for an architect,' says Tesco chief
Cynical attempt to get a troublesome scheme through planning as opposed to a real commitment to decent architecture.
Comment on: Danish practice wins 'Next generation of pylon' contest
Each design has its own merits so wouldnt it be a nice idea to perhaps have a range of designs which reflect the landscape that they go in? Or different geographical regions having their own designs?
Comment on: Allies and Morrison's contentious Winchester plans resurrected
‘It is a good scheme and Allies and Morrison has done a pretty good job.' Hardly a ringing endorsement of both the scheme or the architecture is it? If the developer cant even be bothered to talk it up then it doesn't bode well does it?
Comment on: Lego unveils Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House
What are these people trying to do to me!?!
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