Comments on: An Abomination In Bethnal Green

By: Olly K

Olly K — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 11:06:39 +0000

And atleast the glass cladding is not flamable.

By: YVONNE GABELL

YVONNE GABELL — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 20:12:03 +0000

Thank you for the article. I could not believe my eyes! My Huguenot ancestry was affronted.

Are there no planning constraints in Shoreditch.?

By: G.E. Stinson

G.E. Stinson — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 20:35:25 +0000

i live in LA where there is no architectural heritage so i see quite a bit of self indulgent “artistic” expression in the design and construction of the buildings here. but it’s utterly horrifying to see this taking place in a city that has a deep and beautiful history of astonishing buildings. to deface a building like this is criminal. if graffiti artists had done it, they would be in jail. but capitalists have free reign to trash the city. awful… just awful.

By: Sue Mayer

Sue Mayer — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 10:49:51 +0000

I am sad and furious that this got planning permission. The metal box dropped on to this old building looks awful. It looks ugly and does not blend with the old building. To quote Prince Charles “it is a carbuncle”. Not much thought went into this as a metal box does not require an architect.

We are destroying our heritage. Are we ashamed of our lovely buildings? Do we want to look like any modern city in the world? We have history that other other countries envy so why destroy it.

By: Steve Hanscomb

Steve Hanscomb — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 08:42:40 +0000

I agree with what you say and I do like some modern architecture. But this isn’t architecture. It is an ugly fudge.
I felt the same way when the ‘Cutty Sark’ was ‘restored’. The ship would look fantastic if it weren’t for the massive glass bubble that Grimshaw’s saw fit to sit the ship in. No longer can you see the elegant lines of this wonderful survivor, just a great hovercraft hybrid. I cannot understand why there are people with such a lack of respect for our history in positions of great power, signing off this sort of thing.
It’s hard not to get angry about some of the things that are shown so scant respect.

By: Robin Ballance

Robin Ballance — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 00:27:20 +0000

It doesn’t get uglier than this. What possessed the architect to create such a hideous building from a simple public amenity into an ill-conceived cacophony of mismatched materials? A lazy architect who thinks UPVC windows are all right? And then to top it off with a gargantuan dump of a design? Blame the council for allowing it. Dear God, Gavin Stamp and Colin Amery would be spinning in their respective graves at this approved building.

By: Craig Atkinson

Craig Atkinson — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:44:44 +0000

That should be listed, grade I, only to remind us never to do it again.

By: Di Corry

Di Corry — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 15:29:50 +0000

Great idea to get HRH The Prince of Wales to write a foreword to your book.!
As Jill says it’s an affront to that lovely, old building bearing his son’s title…. The Duke of Cambridge.
I’m sure Prince Charles would agree with everything you have said and without doubt would share your anger, that of your readers and that of those of us who remember the pub before that monstrosity was plonked on top.

By: Pam

Pam — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 15:19:21 +0000

When I lived in England in 1995 an MP had to undo the electrical work on her listed home because it was a listed building. That electrical fiasco although unseen by the public caused far more news print than the ‘shed’ on top of the once beautiful Duke of Cambridge.
Cheap but certainly not cheerful. The shed should be removed and a mansard style topper should be installed. The construction and designers of this ‘shed’ should be publicly shamed. An assault on the mind!
Shame on them.

By: Jennifer Newbold

Jennifer Newbold — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:45:05 +0000

You describe this monstrosity far more eloquently than I would have done. I’d have said it looks like someone parked two shipping containers on top of the Duke of Cambridge and punched some holes in them, then called it architecture.