Walkie Talkie tower, Fenchurch St crackles into life

[editor]

As I said on another thread it reminds me of the monster in bugs bunny looming menacingly, but not comedically unfortunately.

I like that comparison and have added it to my article!

 

[Diamond]

It's 'orrible.

 

[scifisam]

I've changed my mind after seeing those pictures too - and I was alsl thinking that it looked like it was sulking.

To me it looks like Marvin the Martian:

 

[bromley]

I love the shape of the walkie talkie, but it's too big and wide, a slimmer & lower version will look decent IMO.

 

[bi0boy]

I like the building but not it's location. Should be at Canary Wharf or somewhere rather than overshodowing the Tower of London.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Nah, Empire state, Rockerfeller, Chrysler towers are all still open to the public. The Shard (and Pinnacle, which will actually be at a higher level) viewing areas will be paid tourist attractions, and aren't the right size for useful lets, so they'll be open for ever IMO. The public garden though, that's supposed to be free access (although there's private dining and a restaurant up there too, so it's not exactly profitless floor space). Future looks a bit darker for that. I'll go and look up the planning conditions and see how onerous they are.

Not sure if New York is such a good comparison, the skyscrapers are a big reason that many people visit. I understand that the Shard's upper floors will be small, but as soon as some scum-fucker comes up with a commercially viable plan for them the public will be booted out. Tis the way of stuff in London.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

but a lot of Georgian/Victorian stuff didn't last long; remember you are generally seeing the better old buildings, the bad ones were demolished or fell down a long time ago

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Fucking minging. Hideous. The worst skyscraper in london. I wish death on its designer.

Might I ask for a return to civility in architectural discourse.....next thing some deranged person will try killing poor Rafael Vinoly in the head....and it will be your fault!

 

[kyser_soze]

Architectural Palinism.

 

[Dan U]

but a lot of Georgian/Victorian stuff didn't last long; remember you are generally seeing the better old buildings, the bad ones were demolished or fell down a long time ago

or bombed to fuck, in many urban centres at any rate.

 

[Streathamite]

e2a: just got nickname and piccies. apols.

 

[El Sueno]

As I said on another thread it reminds me of the monster in bugs bunny looming menacingly, but not comedically unfortunately.

Bang on

 

[Streathamite]

I'll add my vote to the 'I hate that building' - brutal, ugly, graceless, worse than every council housing highrise ever built

 

[editor]

but a lot of Georgian/Victorian stuff didn't last long; remember you are generally seeing the better old buildings, the bad ones were demolished or fell down a long time ago

But that's the point: these are supposed to be the high prestige buildings of today.

 

[Echo Base]

Oh fuck off you dumpy, overbearing twat.

Blade Runner.

 

[kyser_soze]

Yes, London looks exactly like LA in 2019:

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Oh fuck off you dumpy, overbearing twat.

Oh, that looks even worse. Amazing how when put alongside the other buildings you see it in a completely different light. It's fat and dumpy. Didn't look like that in Editor's original picture

 

[Crispy]

In the future, there will be one or two slightly taller buildings between it and the main cluster, which will help it blend in a bit, but won't stop it being butt ugly.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

In the future, there will be one or two slightly taller buildings between it and the main cluster, which will help it blend in a bit, but won't stop it being butt ugly.

Yeah, I think I probably thought it was initially ok as I remember when the original pictures were leaked years ago and it was horrendous then, but that picture made it look better than the picture years ago

 

[Crispy]

Also, the shape has been tweaked since the intial design. It used to be taller, with more of a 'waist' to it. Now it's shorter and fatter.

Here's how it used to look:

Blame the planners for the change.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Also, the shape has been tweaked since the intial design. It used to be taller, with more of a 'waist' to it. Now it's shorter and fatter.

Here's how it used to look:

Blame the planners for the change.

Glad I didn't just imagine it looked different then

There were some other views though that were published which made it look a lot worse than that

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I'm starting to think the original looked better

 

[bromley]

I think the planners have improved it, it doesn't look like a can of spam anymore!

The squashed disco ball by Blackfriars looks good.

The pinnacle is still head and shoulders above anything else in the city.

 

[kyser_soze]

Well, the original looked like that old-skool nokia phone with the slidey case, and the new one looks like mushroom that's gone badly wrong. Neither are especially pretty.

 

[hipipol]

Fenchurch st, always been awful
Full of idiots from Essex and insurance types, rushing about with armloads of paper
Whats happening to the Broadgate site where all the firms are having to leave round the Ice Rink?

 

[Crispy]

Ah that's the horrible new HQ for UBS. It ruins the one good bit of urban planning in The City from the 80s.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/02/5-broadgate-london-review-make-ken-shuttleworth

By the same man who did the gherkin would you believe

 

[Cid]

Not sure if New York is such a good comparison, the skyscrapers are a big reason that many people visit. I understand that the Shard's upper floors will be small, but as soon as some scum-fucker comes up with a commercially viable plan for them the public will be booted out. Tis the way of stuff in London.

It makes very good commercial sense to have the viewing area though... It is the only place in London you'll be able to get those views from, so if it's public it will draw in a fuckload of people. With the Gherkin that wasn't an issue as it's basically just office space, but the shard needs to get people into its restaurants and hotel rooms (I imagine the apartments will be snaffled up anyway). You'll also get growth in retail with the development of the station, so from a planning point of view any change of use is probably going to be looked on pretty harshly.

 

[London_Calling]

In combination, the new new towers make London look like a non-descrpit mid-western State capital.

 

[editor]

Ah that's the horrible new HQ for UBS. It ruins the one good bit of urban planning in The City from the 80s.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/02/5-broadgate-london-review-make-ken-shuttleworth

By the same man who did the gherkin would you believe

The fuckers:

A pedestrian route across the site will be closed, forcing people to squeeze round the edges of the new building's bulk. A covered arcade through the block might have been possible, but this is banned for security reasons, as are shops or cafes at the building's base. The ban is a deal-breaker, apparently: if the City's planners insisted on these humanising touches, UBS would up and go – to Canary Wharf or, worse,*Frankfurt.

 

[Cid]

Ah that's the horrible new HQ for UBS. It ruins the one good bit of urban planning in The City from the 80s.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/02/5-broadgate-london-review-make-ken-shuttleworth

By the same man who did the gherkin would you believe

'make' has so much promise as a practice too (employee owned, proper working hours, limited hierarchy), how did they end up doing something like that?

Tbh though, large architecture practice in the middle of a recession, UBS offers you a project like that - probably stop you laying off 10 people.

Doesn't actually appear to be on their site mind you...