Good luck with trying to prevent architects from convincing their clients that their project needs to outdo the ones built before it.
Just like the recent comments by others, that the heart of London is being overwhelmed by sky scrapers, with the most notorious being the one that has blighted the wider view of St Paul’s Cathedral.
I believe somebody in the London planning system actually offered a sort of apology, for not considering the impact on a world heritage asset from the wider perspective. Too little, too late.
Super shiny vanity projects seem to be the order of the day for those wishing to squeeze the maximum floor space into their high priced piece of inner London.
So whilst the well-heeled residents of London are busy digging down to get more space from their investment – being a home seems to be secondary, most have several across the world – the commercial sector are feverishly wrecking the historic London skyline, all in the name of maximum profit.
Although we should be justifiably worried about destroying the environment and the planet with it, for future generations, we also need to protect our own heritage for future generations.
Personally, I’m not particularly optimistic, given our appetite for eventually adopting every bad habit the USA has. The market always wins.
Carolyn Dwyer says the corporation will tend towards more ‘harmonious architecture’ in future
The head of planning at the City of London Corporation has said she wants to see less glitzy buildings go up in the Square Mile in future.
Carolyn Dwyer (pictured) was appointed two years ago as director of the built environment at the Corporation of London, the City’s local authority. She took the job after Peter Rees stepped down as the City’s chief planning officer three years ago. He had backed Rafael Viñoly’s controversial Walkie Talkie skyscraper built by Canary Wharf Contractors.
Dwyer said the corporation wants to see “slightly calmer and more harmonious architecture” in future.
She added: “We have to have architecture of the best possible quality that delivers for 21st-century needs, but every piece doesn’t need to be a stand-out landmark building. We are not developing individual tower blocks that stand alone on…
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Roger Gambba-Jones 