Contrary to what I say in the post below I don't think I did previously blog about the building (one of the buildings) knocked down to make way for the American Embassy in Nine Elms so...here it - or it's ghost, courtesy of out-of-date Streetview - is...
I think this building really deserves an architecturally literate critique, which I am not up to providing - although I feel it might have something to do with Jim Sterling...
FYI
ReplyDeleteRival powers. The new HMSO complex at Nine Elms, looks like an architectural alternative to Battersea Power Station; Architects: Great Britain. Department of the Environment. Property Services Agency, landscape architect: John Kelsay
Building design
Title: Rival powers. The new HMSO complex at Nine Elms, looks like an architectural alternative to Battersea Power Station; Architects: Great Britain. Department of the Environment. Property Services Agency, landscape architect: John Kelsay.
Author statement: Article by Deyan Sudjic
Journal title: Building design
Citation: no. 577, 1982 Jan 15, p. 14-15.
Illustrations: Includes photos
Language/summaries: Text in English.
Subject: Office buildings: government: Great Britain: England: London: Wandsworth: HMSO
Designer/Person subj: Kelsay, John
Designer/Corp. subj: Great Britain. Department of the Environment. Property Services Agency
Author: Sudjic, Deyan, 1952-
Thanks very much Merlin - I'm trying to track the article down and will include in a later post if I can turn it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat is lacking is a concept of the whole that is more than a diagram of development sites and reasonably good planning ideas, and the means by which individual projects can contribute to it rather than detract from it. Other cities – Berlin, Amsterdam, New York – manage this better but in Britain public bodies lack the confidence to lead. It is left to developers to act as surrogate mayors and city planners. Some, like Ballymore, might do it better than others, like Treasury Holdings, but in the end it's not their job.
ReplyDelete