Wednesday 22 April 2009

Peter de Figueiredo-English Heretic

Peter de Figueiredo…. English Heretic.
Who polices the Heritage Police
As Historic buildings advisor for English Heritage in Liverpool it is my opinion that you have to consider that his advice must have helped to create the mess that is Liverpool’s Pier Head as we see it today.
He carried out at public expense a full survey of the Pier Head and Albert Dock. John Hinchliffe Liverpool's World Heritage Site Officer thanked him for his assistance and advice in compiling his reports, mainly because he is not from Liverpool originally and in my opinion he obviously hadn’t had a clue what he was doing.
If I had have been historic building advisor what would my advice have been now let me see.
1. Don’t build a Oscar Niemeyer rip off museum on the site of Manchester Docks which pre-dated the Albert by 60 years and don’t pull the original dock gates off with a bulldozer arm in a act of civic vandalism that destroyed them.
2. Do not under any circumstances ruin your best world heritage views with three grotesque black monsters on Mann Island that block out the majesty of the Pier Head trio and its companion of Herbert Rowse's Ventilating Shaft at Georges Dock.
3. Under no circumstances allow the Cesar Pelli building on Chavasse Park, as it will dominate the skyline to the edge of the Pier Head?
4. Under no circumstances allow on a tiny site the awful Unity building, the one with the carport on its roof that now dominates the skyline and waters down the trio of our wonderful Pier Head trio.
5. Don’t make Princes dock look like Milton Keynes-on-Sea there is no future in this.
6. Advise all the way that Liverpool’s best asset is its historic waterfront and celebrate the fact that it is now a World Heritage Site and protect it at all costs.

Mr De Figeurido's partner is Julian Treuhertz the ex curator of National Museums Liverpool who have decimated the WHS site with the museum currntly being built at the Pier Head.
For bad architecture to triumph it does' require people who should know what they are looking at, to do nothing.

Look at his website http://www.defigueiredo.co.uk/Building_Owners_and_Developers.html showing as if with pride Mann Island decimated by the Three Grotesques. He claims "I am a member of the North West Design Review Panel" As is the architect of the Mann Island Monsters Matt Brooks of Broadway Malyan and Jim Gill the top honch of Liverpool (lack of)Vision. http://www.renew.co.uk/Pages/Article.aspx?id=177 . All in my opinion are also members of the whole backscratchers anonymous club that have done so much damage.
I am now advised on good authority that he is allegedly acting as “consultant” for a major property developer with big assets in the WHS.
I hope he is ashamed of his record and he can sleep at night, as I have to live with it.

Wayne Colquhoun

3 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree more about the mess, especially the egg box museum and the black lumps.

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  2. Very interesting - who does Peter de Figueiredo work for ? Is it Peel Holdings by any chance ?

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  3. http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/09/peter-de-figueiredo-opinion-for-hire.html

    updated 16.9.10

    ReplyDelete