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Tag Archives: London
Sir Roger Scruton, RIP
Death took Roger Scruton today. He was the world’s deepest thinker on architecture and aesthetics, which were embedded in the conservatism of his broader philosophy. Scruton embraced tradition, holding that “the tried and true” are a stronger foundation than novelty … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture
Tagged art, classicism, David Watkin, London, Obit, Roger Scruton, The Classical Vernacular
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Modern architecture as spin
An article in the Guardian on the rise and fall of London’s Millennium Dome sums up much of what ails modern architecture. “20 years on, revisiting a very British fiasco,” by Rowan Moore, describes the pitfalls of treating architecture not … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
Tagged Labour Party, London, Millennium Dome, Modern Architecture, modernism, Richard Rogers, Rowan Moore, Simon Jenkins, The Guardian, Tony Blair
8 Comments
They fought to save London
I wonder what inspired Simon Jenkins, one of the few sensible architecture critics in Britain, to pen his recent lengthy essay in The Guardian, “Concrete Bungle,” subtitled “How public fury stopped the 1970s plan to turn London into a motorway.” … Continue reading
Mayor nips Foster’s Tulip
On July 15, London Mayor Sadiq Khan nipped Lord Foster’s proposed Tulip in the bud. Fine. But why? It does not “represent world-class architecture,” quoth the mayor. “Mayor rejects ‘unwelcoming, poorly designed’ Tulip,” stated Architects’ Journal. One study declared it … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Development
Tagged Architects Journal, Carbuncle, Gherkin, London, Mayor Sadiq Khan, Norman Foster, Prince Charles, Pritzker Prize, Skyline, Tulip
3 Comments
Assassin’s Creed does Athens
Here is an eight-minute video on the reconstruction of ancient Athens by game-maker Ubisoft for the latest episode (if that’s what it’s called) of Assassin’s Creed. Previous episodes have invited us into highly realistic reconstructions of Renaissance Venice and Florence … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Video
Tagged Acropolis, Assassin's Creed, Athens, London, Renaissance Italy, Ubisoft, Video, Video Games
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Moore’s attack on Scruton
One of the Scepter’d Isle’s leading architecture critics, Rowan Moore of the Observer, has crafted an utterly despicable if entirely predictable attack on Sir Roger Scruton. Sir Roger is the British government’s choice to head a panel to bring beauty … Continue reading
Scruton’s first beauty volley
As I mentioned in “Sir Roger’s hunt for beauty,” Roger Scruton has been appointed chairman of a commission to promote beauty in British housing policy. Naturally, all those who are opposed to beauty in architecture are on the warpath against … Continue reading
Wee wow for Bauwauhauses
“Mutts-have: Architects create luxury kennels for charity auction” is the headline of this story by Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright. “Mutts-have”? … I’m sorry, that really does not cut the mustard. Mutts-have ≠ must-have. And if you glide down the complement of … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
Tagged Bauhaus, Bow Wow Haus Auction, Dogs, Kennels, London, St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, Zaha Hadid
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Battering Battersea Station
Owen Hatherley has denounced a large development around the historic Battersea Power Station, in London. I cannot read his piece because it is behind the paywall of The Architects’ Journal. But I do have the next best thing – its … Continue reading
London perceived, tortured
By torture, we’re not talking pins under fingernails, the Iron Maiden or Philip Glass, but how else to describe what the leadership of London has done to the city of London in the last several decades? If a city is … Continue reading
