This is the view looking north from the rear of our house. Note the BP car wash, bottom right, and the Ark building on the left as they will appear again. The trees will not appear again so give them a clap now.
Between the Ark and the car wash is the site of the Magistrates’ Court, a 1980s building demolished at the beginning of this year. Planning permission was granted to build two hotels on the site. Here is what the developer envisaged in 2018.
A tribute to a slim cigarette packet; a humble product; the inspiration of many modern architects.
Here is a more realistic vision of the development.
The central tower that looked almost elegant in 2018 turns out to be a bulky building of no architectural merit. The developer had every reason to portray the project through a rose-tinted lens in 2018. Now, not only is there any need for subterfuge, but it is advantageous to make it look as bad as possible. The 2018 plan could not be realised through lack of funding for the up-market hotel envisaged for the 73 metre tower. Hardly surprising as Hammersmith has already exceeded the Council’s hotel room target supposed to be reached in 2030.
This set-back allowed local pressure groups, principally Save Our Hammersmith, to get a foot in the developer’s door. When a project gets into trouble sadly you do not ring for Jeeves; you ring for Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to sprinkle a little something to turn a frog into a prince; et voilà!
Nice, if you are a model train enthusiast, to see the same District line carriages and our old friends the Ark and the car wash, both looking insignificant on the margins of Talgarth Towers. The new design pays tribute to our Norman architectural heritage, not to be expected from RSH&P who relentlessly look forward. They have created a Keep in the centre of their development to satisfy demands for a “public realm and public space”. The south block, adjacent to the tube lines, will be student accommodation and it’s likely this sunless, dank, slippery, urine-soaked Keep will be an attractive location, recreating a medieval market where buyers and sellers may trade whatever students buy and dealers sell. It will be like one of Pieter Breugel’s (the elder) finest pictures.
Oh, you old synic and there I was thinking when you mentioned “Norman”, I thought you meant Foster!