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Horror storeys: the 10 worst
From St Pauls to
the Gherkin, London
Oliver
Wainwright
The
Guardian, Monday 28 April 2014 / http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/apr/29/top-10-worst-london-skyscrapers-quill-odalisk-walkie-talkie
Sprouting
over every corner of the city, most are of an architectural quality that
recalls the outskirts of Dubai
The
Planning Decisions Unit of the Greater London Authority, the body responsible
for greenlighting these schemes, begs to differ. "It is simply not true to
say these towers haven't been planned," says director Colin Wilson.
"They have been very carefully planned. But we prefer to use a flexible
framework, rather than a rigid masterplan. This liberty is what makes London
The London
Plan, the mayor's rulebook for development across the capital, supports tall
buildings where they "create attractive landmarks enhancing London
So how are
these rules shaping up in reality? Here, we give our verdict on 10 new towers,
built and imminent, counting down to the very worst offender
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10.
Location:
Already
home to a motley collection of brash waterside blocks, all competing for
attention with their jazzy cladding,
The GLA
planners said: "An attractive form and a high-quality finish, and the
impact of the building would be positive
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9.
Canaletto
Location:
"Designed
by genius", proclaim the billboards on
The GLA
planners said: "The materials used provide a homely feel to the building,
reflecting its residential use as well as responding positively to the
surrounding conservation areas."
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8. Helix
Location:
Standing on
top of a drive-through McDonald's like two oversized air ducts conjoined by a
knotted tangle of wiring, the Helix towers will be a bizarre addition to Canary
Wharf – a place increasingly choked by plans for silly silhouettes, each trying
to stand out among the forest of corporate slabs. Designed by Make – no
strangers to dressing up mindless buildings in novelty outfits – the two
cylindrical towers will be connected at certain floors by sinuous metallic
bands, supporting a series of "sky gardens" for a chosen few flats.
Described by its developer, the real-estate arm of McDonald's, as "an
intricate landmark project", you can't help feeling they've missed a
trick: wouldn't a giant pair of golden arches be better?
The GLA
planners said: "The images and elevation detail indicate a design that is
unique and high quality."
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7. Imperial
West
Location:
Terracotta
wedge … Imperial West tower
The
lumbering west-London cousin of Richard Rogers' Cheesegrater, the Imperial West
will stand as an angular wedge on the skyline, a terracotta Dalek looming above
the terraced streets of north Kensington. It is intended to be a
"gateway" to
The GLA
planners said: "[It will] provide a striking skyline feature and
distinctive focal point that could contribute to local legibility."
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6.
Location:
Vauxhall | Floors: 50 | Height: 181m | Architect: Broadway Malyan | Status:
built | Use: residential.
Like a
cigarette stubbed out by the
The GLA
planners said: "The new tower is likely to result in an improvement in
visual terms … it would be a welcome addition to the riverside and skyline."
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5.
Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian
Location:
Like flies
to a compost heap, developers swarmed to
What the
GLA planners said: "It has the potential to contribute towards the consolidation
of a cluster of tall buildings at
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4. Strata
Location:
Elephant and Castle | Floors: 43 | Height: 147m | Architect: BFLS | Status:
built | Use: residential.
Strata
Photograph:
View Pictures/UIG via Getty Images
If south
London had always felt a bit like Mordor to some, then that reputation was
firmly cemented by the arrival of its very own Dark Tower in 2010, topped with
no fewer than three Eyes of Sauron in the form of wind turbines – which have
remained stationary ever since. Variously compared to a knuckleduster
aggressively punching at the skies, or an electric razor waiting to give the
clouds a quick trim, the Strata, with its sinisterly sculpted peak, has
certainly put Elephant and Castle on the map. Dressed in a sporty livery of black
and white stripes, it was the deserved winner of the Carbuncle Cup for the
worst building of the year, "for services to greenwash [those three wind
turbines have never moved], urban impropriety and sheer breakfast-extracting
ugliness".
What the
GLA planners said: "The proposal is welcome, as it will initiate the
regeneration of Elephant and Castle … the scheme should provide a positive
addition to the
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3.
Walkie-Talkie
Location:
City of
The
Walkie-Talkie
Photograph:
Stuart Forster/REX
Trumpeted
as "the building with more up top", the Walkie-Talkie swells as it
rises to pack in more office space at the upper levels, where rents can be
higher, giving it the shape of a bulging pint glass. As a literal diagram of
developers' greed, it provides the painful proof that form follows not function
but finance. An aberration of the planning system, the building stands alone
outside the planned City cluster, like the school bully expelled from the
classroom, poking its unwelcome bulk into the skyline from almost every
possible vista. Not content with looming aggressively above its neighbours and
blocking out their light, the Walkie-Talkie has even scorched them with its own
death ray – channeling the sun in its concave facade to temperatures capable of
melting cars.
The GLA
planners said: "The quality of the design would make a significant
contribution to
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2. The
Odalisk
Location:
Croydon | Floors: 55 | Height: 199m | Architect: CZWG | Status: approved | Use:
residential and hotel
"The
days of drab grey buildings are at an end," pronounced Piers Gough when he
unveiled his design for the Odalisk, a self-consciously whacky totem pole for
Croydon, planned to house a four-star Intercontinental Hotel and luxury serviced
apartments within in its lumpen shell. Looking as if it has suffered a severe
mauling from a Rottweiler, the tower appears to have been ripped to pieces and
stitched back together in the wrong way, standing as a monstrous Frankenstein
concoction. A looping bronzed band swoops and swirls up and down the building,
gouging out great gashes here and there, cutting slippery fissures into the
facade, before flaring out in a graceless canopy above the street.
The GLA
planners said: "The projecting and recessing features are strong elements
that help add depth and character."
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1. The
Quill
Location:
Southwark | Floors: 31 | Height: 109m | Architect: SPARRC | Status: approved |
Use: student accommodation
What would
a building look like if it had a fight with a gigantic porcupine, and the
porcupine won? You can get some idea by looking at plans for the Quill, a great
silver cliff-face of a thing that will sport a broken assortment of spines on
its top. This ungainly hulk was miraculously granted permission by Southwark
council's planning committee, who described it as "dynamic" and
"dramatic", no doubt wooed by the architect's claims that the form
was "inspired by the literary heritage" of the borough. The spines,
you see, are supposed to look like the top of a feathered quill pen, of the
kind local lad Shakespeare might have used. But there the cultural connection
ends: this spiny monster will house high-end accommodation for 500 students,
mostly international, who will be able to peek out from their luxury lair
through mean, arrow-slit windows.
The GLA
planners said: "A building with a unique composition, with a striking roof
form and an architectural appearance of the highest order, consistent with the
aspirations of the London Plan."
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