More Ghastly Facades
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Despite everything, the relentless advance of facadism continues across London as illustrated by these most recent examples. THE CREEPING PLAGUE OF GHASTLY FACADISM is included in the sale.
In Newell St next to Nicholas Hawksmoor’s St Anne, Limehouse
Nineteenth century warehouse in Norton Folgate facaded by British Land
Former Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel
Corner of Half Moon St and Piccadilly
Former American Embassy, Grosvenor Sq, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1960
All that remains of the Kings Rd Odeon. Originally named the Gaumont Palace, it was designed by cinema architect William Edward Trent and opened in 1934.
Eighteenth Century Weaver’s House in Norton Folgate facaded by British Land
All that remains of Kensington Odeon. Originally built in as 1926 as The Kensington in 1926, designed by Julian Randolph Leathart & W.F Grainger.
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“As if I were being poked repeatedly in the eye with a blunt stick, I cannot avoid becoming increasingly aware of a painfully cynical trend in London architecture which threatens to turn the city into the backlot of an abandoned movie studio.”
The Gentle Author presents a humorous analysis of facadism – the unfortunate practice of destroying an old building apart from the front wall and constructing a new building behind it – revealing why it is happening and what it means.
As this bizarre architectural fad has spread across the capital, The Gentle Author has photographed the most notorious examples, collecting an astonishing gallery of images guaranteed to inspire both laughter and horror in equal measure.
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O horrible! Most horrible! And as you say, it’s continuing its relentless progress even during the pandemic, when so many other things have ground to a halt. If only….
Not so much a plague – more like a pandemic!!
I wish there was a vaccine on the horizon to stop all this ghastliness….
The criminal and wanton destruction of historical buildings in London makes me very cross. I think a facade is worse than total destruction as it is a constant reminder of what has been lost forever.
I hope somebody sees sense soon.
I don’t like facadism, but better than totally eradicating the original. During my married life I lived in Maidenhead Berkshire for 34 years which used to be an attractive market town, on the old London to Bath/A4 Road. Maidenhead has/had a rich past history, but sadly, current town planners have had most of it recently demolished to replace with a high rise centre, mainly consisting of blocks of flats. All visible signs of history eradicated – due to expected planned cross-rail which I believe is no longer going to run through Maidenhead Station. A disgraceful state of affairs, but will those Planners be held to account? I very much doubt it!
The corner of Half Moon St and Picadilly could be a case of life imitating art. The facade gives us a gap which is an eyesore more than a builder’s bum in an aptly named street One cannot resist a crack when faced with such sights.
[The Developer parasite] “attacks a host [building], replaces its [inner being, soul, and] tissue, and sprouts ominous [additional floors, so-called-“amenities,” reflective glass windows, and] stems that grow outside of its body. These [amenity] stems eventually release spores into the air, [attracting more investors, governmental planners, and developers, and ultimately] infecting other host [building]s.”
The same is happening in our neck of the woods in northern New Mexico…no understanding/appreciation of our unique historic legacy… frankly, it smacks of cultural genocide…unfortunately, it appears to be a world wide trend…positively soul sucking
They have ruined my beautiful city and its memories.