in some relevance to alexandria rd. yet utterly different, just to the right as one pops out of russell sq. station. unexpectedly the whole depth of this wide and clear open space is revealed.
the high volume of the buildings on both sides set back diagonally to allow more of the sky in. with planning starting in the '60, kahn's salk institute comes to mind, makes a good reference that may have travelled through hodgkinson's head (scales?). same, but without the sea, with london's bloomsbury around.
re-opened recently after a face lifting operation a waitrose was established in the far end of the plaza to mark commercial quality. shops upgraded and cctv lamp-posted, the ground is now prepared for the middle class purchasing power to take over.
thoughts on the not so surprising coherence between late modernism with its clear space and strong messages (MIXED USE!) and upcoming commercial heaven of our time (well, if you live upstairs why not tag yourself with fancy brand accessories from the boutique at street level)
lefebre would have rest his case standing next to the stainless water feature, unable to escape the gazes. all is seen, shown talked and gossiped about, an urban catwalk with some corners heavily influenced by sant'elia's vision of the new city. outer face as dark as the fascio, inner face as illuminated as the smile of the underpaid diary department deputy manager.
big brutalist projects can do just fine when it gets the right real estate value (location, location, location), see prices on corbu's Unite. the east facing flats probably cost a fortune with such a view to the park. an X layout implies of the old st. george gardens burial ground made a public park in 1885. the rest of the squares around (bedford, fitzroy, gordon, mecklenburgh ,woburn) are all old-money private.
Virginia would have had something witty to say about dead Georgians' souls reflecting in the industrial detailed window, smiling to themselves for escaping the horror of self consuming regime on time.
where
about the project
about the new project
who did the refurb
the developer
more about
some more about
AR
la citta nouva
