Where are you on the transport network?
- Thread starter danny la rouge
- Start date
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
I’ve never been to Southampton whether by train or other means, but the images you’ve posted of its train station are unlikely to be an encouraging sign to first-time visitors
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
I was on that very ferry boat last summer. Lovely part of the world, and even more so during bright sunny weather.
I love the rope system used by the boatspeople to make the crossing, unchanged for centuries. It didn’t look easy to master either.
Plumdaff
joy in people
It's a great spot isn't it, and I like the fact that the two pubs have the right to run the ferries (the only two left, funny that) since time immemorial
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
We were having dinner at the Saracens Inn, and even though the last crossing was at something like 6 pm, our ferryman happily agreed to meet us at at 8.30 pm and take us back to our side for a small tipIt's a great spot isn't it, and I like the fact that the two pubs have the right to run the ferries (the only two left, funny that) since time immemorial
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
The maritime aspect of it is certainly appealing. But as it’s an easy ride from London I’ll probably go in the bike on a sunny day.
not-bono-ever
meh
Jura
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
I’ve never been to Southampton whether by train or other means, but the images you’ve posted of its train station are unlikely to be an encouraging sign to first-time visitors
The south part of the station is actually a rather attractive 1930s, art deco style building. I hope they're not gonna muck it up in the upgrade.
And a lot of improvements have been made to the North side, and the station approach is quite a nice pedestrianised area, with some nice public art. And a brutalist block of flats which I'm very much a fan of, although it's not popular locally.
There you go, more pics of Southampton Central than you could ever want
And the history, for anyone interested Southampton Central railway station - Wikipedia
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Southampton, I’m common with many South Coast cities had a design impetus given to it via Germany in the 1940’s…
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Though it’s not unfair to point out that it needn’t have been so. Plenty of German cities that suffered similar devastation were rebuilt in a far more agreeable and sympathetic fashion to their historical buildings than what was done in most British towns.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Post war, british town planning was more engaged with the ideals of modernism than other countries in Europe. Part of that was the view that the motor car, and road transport, was the future. So, many British cities were quite radically rebuilt, with wider streets, motorways, ring roads etc and the larger scale buildings that tend to go with them. Big shopping centres with big car parks. We tore up stuff like tram systems where many European cities rebuilt those transport systems as well as the old buildings and compact patterns of narrow streets they fitted in between.
There's lots about modernism and modern architecture I like - but unfortunately at that period the town planning that went along with it had very misconcieved ideas about transport, and it's those ideas that really screwed up so many town centres in the uk. The transport related decisons don't tend to get so much of the blame - instead people note the style of architecture, and associate that with some of the environments, horrible for pedestrians, that were created.
Southampton is a pretty good example of this.
It's true that many german cities rebuilt some of the war damage as historical replica of what was there before, although that mostly happened in the centres only. There are also plenty of german cities that did some rebuilding a bit like what happened in the UK, and they made some of the same mistakes in places. What's not uncommon to see in german towns though, are areas which were quite comprehensively rebuilt, with new buildings, but fairly much following the old street patterns. These areas don't feel so "post-war" in the british sense, because the basic form and scale of the older, more human friendly streets is still there. But the buildings themselves are largely built in a very plain and often functional style; they aren't all built in a psuedo historical style.
There's lots about modernism and modern architecture I like - but unfortunately at that period the town planning that went along with it had very misconcieved ideas about transport, and it's those ideas that really screwed up so many town centres in the uk. The transport related decisons don't tend to get so much of the blame - instead people note the style of architecture, and associate that with some of the environments, horrible for pedestrians, that were created.
Southampton is a pretty good example of this.
It's true that many german cities rebuilt some of the war damage as historical replica of what was there before, although that mostly happened in the centres only. There are also plenty of german cities that did some rebuilding a bit like what happened in the UK, and they made some of the same mistakes in places. What's not uncommon to see in german towns though, are areas which were quite comprehensively rebuilt, with new buildings, but fairly much following the old street patterns. These areas don't feel so "post-war" in the british sense, because the basic form and scale of the older, more human friendly streets is still there. But the buildings themselves are largely built in a very plain and often functional style; they aren't all built in a psuedo historical style.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
This is worth a read, especially for those who might think it's just me going off on yet another monomaniacal anti car rant.
municipaldreams.wordpress.com
The Peculiarity of British Post-war Reconstruction? Part II
I’m honoured today to feature the second post of Catherine’s Flinn’s analysis of post-war European reconstruction. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Dr Catherine Flinn is …
municipaldreams.wordpress.com
Boris Sprinkler
Dont be scared
I just heard I walked to France today.
I mean I know I’m drinking again but duck me. It’s not that bad.
Just goes to show, no one is listening when you talk. Might as well as say anything
I mean I know I’m drinking again but duck me. It’s not that bad.
Just goes to show, no one is listening when you talk. Might as well as say anything
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
I haven’t read the article yet, but apart from any valid points there might be about post-war city planning favouring car culture, the design of the rebuilt buildings themselves could still have been different.This is worth a read, especially for those who might think it's just me going off on yet another monomaniacal anti car rant.
The Peculiarity of British Post-war Reconstruction? Part II
I’m honoured today to feature the second post of Catherine’s Flinn’s analysis of post-war European reconstruction. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Dr Catherine Flinn is …
Coventry is a case in point. The current city centre is an atrocity, with those elevated overpasses and all. But they could have still replaced all the buildings destroyed in WWII with sympathetic new builds, as opposed to the fucking atrocious concrete monstrosities that became all too common in post war Britain.
I’ve been to a few German city centres that were razed in the war, and whereas you can tell the buildings around you aren’t hundreds of years old, they’ve been built in a sympathetic and professional enough way to blend in with the surviving historical buildings around them.
Compare that with the hideous and utterly mismatching 1950s concrete atrocities that mushroomed up all over city centres here.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
I think the idea was to look to the future rather than recreate the past. Clearly they made a mess of it, but the principle is sound enough.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Didn't know that had been a station, cheers.
Southampton Central, you perhaps know, was originally called Southampton West and replaced the nearby Blechynden Station (which probably no-one could spell!), and before all the land reclaim there, the waters of the Solent came right up to it.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
The point is that once you've decided to fundamentally change the street plan and the way transport works, it's no longer possible to build in a historical style in a way that makes sense.
What would be a "sympathetic new build" is subjective and an aesthetic preference. Much of post war architecture became unpopular with the general population, it's true. Some of that will be to do with how radically it departed from styles that people were comfortable with and familiar with. But I believe it's also because it became associated with horrible town planning which made the environment at ground level very unpleasant for anyone not in a vehicle. Damp underpasses, wind-blasted pavements, traffic noise, illegible street frontages, indirect walking routes are all consequences of the town planning approach rather than the aesthetic style of the buildings.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Yes.
We've already seen, relatively recently, a certain type of post-war architecture/design come somewhat back into fashion under the "mid-century modern" brand.
Also, "brutalism" was not long ago seen (outside of a relatively small group of people) as an essentially negative term, but that is now changing. A little too late to prevent certain demolitions, however.
And the Victorian Society was initially set up to protect Victorian buildings at a time when they were seen as old-fashioned and fusty by many people. Now, the same housing stock is generally regarded as desirable.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Train to Lymington Harbour.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
On a no. 6 bus.
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
I think I might have posted it before, but it’s great!
