Thursday 24 September 2009

BSKYB HEADQUARTERS, OSTERLEY, LONDON BY ARUP ASSOCIATES FOR STANHOPE

Oh, this one's shaping up really nicely, isn't it?
Surprisingly, the cranes in this picture are actually not demolishing this giant slab of greeny-blue glazing, they're building it, putting the finishing touches to a building that will contribute as much character and joy to the city as it will carbon to the atmosphere - almost none.
Arup Associates say that this will be one of the most sustainable broadcasting facilities in Europe (I wonder how much competition there is for that title?), and that 'the architecture of the building dramatically expresses the integrated and world-leading sustainable technology'. Those big white things that look like lift cores are actually natural ventilation chimneys. Why couldn't they make the architecture of the building 'dramatically express' something that actually means something to someone, rather than cladding some big chimneys in white steel to make us aware of how much Mr Murdoch loves polar bears?
Lovely work boys, an absolute picture. Hey, Stanhope! Just because it's sustainable, doesn't mean we can't see it's a piece of shit.

8 comments:

  1. The Sky campus is a repository of some of the worst architecture I have ever seen. There's some cheap-pomo there that would make Charles Moore blush...

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  2. The Sky campus is a repository of some of the worst architecture I've ever seen, including some cheap pomo that would make Charles Moore blush.

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  3. Isn't it interesting how you always find rhetoric like 'world leading' or 'world class' in press releases for utterly appawling buildings. It's like a get-out-of-jail-free card for shit buildings. What does 'world leading' even mean!? How do you measure it?? Check out the building on Arup's website, they're so proud of their 'world leading' project they neglected to provide an image of it.

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  4. Sustainable? Who wants to sustain that thing? I want it to rot and fall down and be forgotten as soon as possible! Mind you, at least it accurately reflects its purpose...

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  5. take away the building and you have 2 beautiful cranes, poor Stanhope

    skreeworld blog

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  6. I like it, and think they should be applauded for making an incredible building.

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