"Studio Egret West (SEW) has been named on a four-strong shortlist to replace Ian Simpson on the doomed Brunswick Quay scheme in Liverpool, the AJ can exclusively reveal. The frustrated developer behind the project, Maro, has approached the former Will Alsop duo as well as BDP, Broadway Malyan and Liverpool-based DTR Ormrod to come up with fresh designs for the waterfront plot"
Potentially great news, but lets wait and see. (Thanks for the update Paul)Originally Posted by Paul D
No problem matey,if you're expecting anything like the last proposal though I think you should prepare to be disappointed,I can't see anything above 25 stories.They may even have a couple of towers of that size just to keep everyone sweet like they did with Central Village.
To be honest I wouldn't mind if it was a low rise development as long as it's still iconic and unique. I don't think a building has to be tall for it to be great, it's the design and uniqueness that makes a building iconic.
Yeah I agree,I'd settle for a couple of nice towers to be honest,as long as they make a decent impression on the skyline because it's a bit flat to the South of the Waterfront.I hope they don't approve something bland though because the original Maro effort was special.
It would certainly be unique (for today's Liverpool) if it was really tall.
A reminder perhaps that Liverpool had the tallest office building in Europe for about 50 years!
icon; recognizable symbol: a picture or symbol that is universally recognized to be representative of something
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
It is neither design nor 'uniqueness' that makes any thing iconic. The worst deisgned hospital on the planet can represent the health system whic operates it and is therefore iconic.
I don't understand how iconic and unique can be used in the same sentence. This is not simple pedantics. I am trying to understand what it is you want.
ponder this, for something to be iconic, it would have to be uneque, one of a kind, or another way the best in the field. Icon a symbol, a symbol of
something could be deemed as iconic due to its unequeness. Doesnt matter what discapline you apply this too, ** except my spelling which is far from it! *g*
kat
Far too often (especially tall) buildings are described as iconic where they are merely impressive in size.
They represent nothing and mean nothing, vide this Ian Simpson's Brunswick Quay proposal which looks remarkably like the Beetham Tower in Manchester, remarkably like his South Bank Tower and remarkably like three new towers in Piccadilly yet to grace this remarkably un-iconic 'skyline'
There are to intents and purpose identical; in no sense unique and really if they are iconic, what on earth do they represent?
Do we really want this meaningless rubbish in Liverpool which has a giant aspiration way beyond this lilliputian, one idea no hoper?
Being tall is no good enough; not good enough for Liverpool in any event.
Tall buildings in Liverpool have something to be iconic about, look for example at the views towards the welsh countryside, look at the fact that Liverpool over looks the River Mersey, what do the tall iconic buildings offer in Manchester? perhaps a look out over the city! but, then, how can this compare, if it was to be compared with the views of our natural geographic location, is that not unique?, to be fair with some of the Manchester scrapers, I think they got the status because they were the first in the area, but by no means architecturally the best. icon generally means a symbol.
kat
Building tall has a lot to offer in Liverpool and I look forward to what will be a fantastic (high-rise) skyline that represents the bold and adventurous spirit and a new prosperity for the city that is significant on a global scale.
The Brunswick Quay proposals are just not good enough to match this aspiration. A truly mediocre building and in the wrong place.
I agree that the building wasn't original enough, and it was also in the wrong place... It's a city centre design placed too far out of the centre it would look bizzare. But the argument was never about design and people should stop bashing the planners as though this was a heritage lobby, anti-tall building argument. Toxteth is a poor area, what it needs is jobs, not a load of yuppies moving in causing all the local shops and bars to go upmarket so that locals can no longer afford it.
But regeneration tends to have a knock on effect,I see you point with the yuppies but this development would also have created jobs and probably would have kickstarted further developments.
But there was nothing happening at ground level; No shops, no pubs, no places to meet; nothing civic - one of the original 'wind-swept' plazas.
I agree a good development here would kick start further developments and an extended community but this design just wasn't it.
I disagree. It was totally in the right place.
The idea is to get the city onto the dock waterways - people living and enjoying themselves there. Liverpool city centre is like an inland city centre with nothing to indicate that there is a massive port adjacent. Only a small secvtion of the centre - the Pier Head and then the Albert Dock recently touched the river. Move the centre onto the water - make it more linear.It's a city centre design placed too far out of the centre it would look bizzare.
Oh no!!! Not this working class stuff again. Liverpool over the past 25-30 years was highjacked by a certain type of person of a certain class, accent and dress, who think their ways are the only way and the city should acomodate their sub-culture.But the argument was never about design and people should stop bashing the planners as though this was a heritage lobby, anti-tall building argument. Toxteth is a poor area, what it needs is jobs, not a load of yuppies moving in causing all the local shops and bars to go upmarket so that locals can no longer afford it.
The working class community adjacent to Brunswick Dock is sparse indeed. Not many live around there. Their pubs would remain their own and they would not want to sit in a wine bar sipping Pims anyway. How many of them drop into the Chinese restaurant for a quick meal on the Herculaneum locks? Err, er, er...few indeed.
BTW, I was born within yards of Brunswick Dock.
Last edited by Waterways; 09-29-2007 at 11:25 AM.
The new Amsterdam at Liverpool?
Save Liverpool Docks and Waterways - Click
Deprived of its unique dockland waters Liverpool
becomes a Venice without canals, just another city, no
longer of special interest to anyone, least of all the
tourist. Would we visit a modernised Venice of filled in
canals to view its modern museum describing
how it once was?
Giving Liverpool a full Metro - CLICK
Rapid-transit rail: Everton, Liverpool & Arena - CLICK
Save Royal Iris - Sign Petition
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks