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BBC Eyesores

Posted by Paul Miller at 12:34pm on Thursday, 13th November 2003

I love those message board things you get on BBC News Online. There's a brilliant one today inspired by a Country Life poll about Britain's worst eyesores, which apparently include wind farms (I quite like them). My favourite responses so far... "Birmingham" and "Conjunctivitis".

Comments

1
i know, i was gutted that wind farms were number 1. a bit ominous for our sustainable future i think. Also horrified that battersea power station was high on the list. i thought it was much loved by londoners and was a listed building (good listed that is) etc. etc. i can only assume that they had a very small and small minded pollster sample
Posted by gillian gillian  at 5:34pm on Thursday, 13th November 2003
2
There are so many postings on that sort of site that sometimes little gems can get over-looked so I bring your attention to Mark H's point that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I too fall into the category of person who finds elegance and grace in wind farms but where one person sees elegance and grace (let alone a sustainable energy source), another sees their view/countryside besmirched. I think, however, that we can all agree on "conjunctivitis".
Posted by David Bruce  at 8:49am on Friday, 14th November 2003
3
It always amazes me how conservative our view of architecture is, as demonstrated by posts wishing that people would build in 'old-fashioned' styles. Buildings seem to have a shelf-life of about ten years as 'exciting and new', then become 'drab monstrosities' and finally - if they last long enough - are finally re-classified as much-loved heritage. What does this mean for urban development? Is it possible to plan taking this pattern into account? Personally, I think Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace are two of the ugliest buildings in London while I've surprised myself by starting to like Centre Point...
Posted by Bobby Webster  at 10:41am on Tuesday, 18th November 2003
4
http://www.tellmeabout.co.uk/tellmeabout/docklands/visiting/royaldocks/royalvictoriadocks.htm At the weekend I was moseying around docklands when I came across this recently constructed beast. Unfortunately the picture doesn't quite do it justice as you can only just see it in the background. Basically it's a bridge over the Royal Vic Dock, linking conversion type houses with the DLR. Sounds reasonable, but here's the clincher; in order to cross the bridge you have to climb 15 flights of stairs on one side and descend 15 on the other. There seems to be no obvious precedent for this; the bridge doesn't link in to high-rise flats and I can?t imagine tall ships drifting in and out. The view was rubbish as well. Not one to be crossing at 6 O clock on a dark winters evening with your shopping bags. A true monster. Then again, despite it's affront to practicality and aesthetic beauty and for the same reason that Hugh Grant manages to pack ?em in at the cinema, this will do nothing to stop this type of construction slipping into our affections. If culture is our collective narrative, then it?s hapless neutered expressiveness that we identify with ? not beauty. So I suppose nobody should be surprised that prices have rocketed at the Trellick Tower since Notting Hill. Believe me.
Posted by Charlie Tims  at 5:21pm on Tuesday, 18th November 2003

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