Thursday 25 February 2010

Liverpool Museums-How Much Have They Paid Off 3XN.

After yesterdays bombshell about the Liverpool Museums wasting £750,000,000 of our cash. I was asked to give my opinion on BBC Northwest Tonight.
They only wanted a soundbite of course to which I duly did. I had, congratulated Ben Schofield on his reporting. I had said before this museum if it was to go ahead should have been in the Littlewoods Building on Edge Lane. http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/search/label/Littlewoods which we saved from demolition under the ownership of the North "Vested Interest" Development Agency,(NWDA). It was perfect and would have stimulated the whole area and left the world heritage site alone.
The Daily Post recieved a full and lengthy letter from David "Fuzzy Felt" Fleming complaining how he got some things, as he said, wrong. He would say that. He never, it was consise, but it is with intimidation that Tin Pot Director of NML, "Fuzzy" functions. Well Done Ben and shock horror a true headline in the Echo. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news//2010/02/24/revealed-tax-payer-funded-national-museums-liverpool-paid-out-750k-for-spoiling-a-waterfront-view-100252-25901760/
David Phleming is an avid reader of this blog and it is here we are to announce that a letter has gone off to the audit commission asking for a full and frank investigation into the covenants matter and how such huge amounts of public money are being wasted. We understand that it was not just a covenant but a act of Parliament dating back to 1872 that may have been breached and a Private Act (Mersey Docks & Harbour Board River Approaches)Act may have been breached. We are looking into this.
http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/02/national-museums-liverpool-paid-out.html
I gave Ben some further gossip and today Ben Schofield writes;
THE sacked architect behind the new Museum of Liverpool has forged a peace deal with their former employers.

Danish designer 3XN came up with the distinctive X-wing shape of the new waterfront museum.
But it was acrimoniously dropped from the project in November, 2007, and Manchester firm AEW hired to deliver the designs.
In mid-2008, 3XN’s principal architect, Kim Nielsen, said his firm was considering suing National Museums Liverpool (NML) for breach of copyright.
He also claimed NML still owned 3XN “a lot of money”.
Now, following a meeting with museums director Dr David Fleming last month, Mr Nielsen and NML have agreed to bury the hatchet.
3XN will now be officially credited as the “creative architects” on the project, which opens next year.
Mr Nielsen told the Daily Post: “It is a big issue. We had a positive meeting – we agreed about the promotion of the museum together.
“We are the designers – that is what we agreed with the museum.” Asked if the agreement was to be followed up with any cash, Mr Nielsen said: “I have no comment on that.”
He did confirm there would be no copyright lawsuit.
An NML spokesman said: “We had a very amiable and positive meeting with 3XN, and agreed to refer to the company as ‘creative architects’ on the Museum of Liverpool project.”
THE sacked architect behind the new Museum of Liverpool has forged a peace deal with their former employers.  http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2010/02/25/harmony-breaks-out-in-liverpool-museums-spat-with-architect-92534-25910055/ It is interesting to note the comment left by a member of the public.
ABBY1 wrote:

Its all greased palms and big brown envelopes in the pub to me ?
25/2/2010 10:10 AM GMT on liverpooldailypost.co.uk


http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/astragal/a-liverpudlian-olive-branch/5214377.article#

  Which is subscription so here is the text.

Back in 2007, Danish practice 3XN vowed to take legal action – reportedly for breach of copyright and lost fees – following its departure from the £68 million scheme.
The firm was replaced following a headline-grabbing switch involving Manchester-based AEW. After a couple of years of low-key grumbling, it seems the Danes have been appeased. 3XN will now be recognised as ‘creative architect’ and will no doubt be happy to pose with museum bosses outside the building when it finally opens. That, by the way, is now not expected until 2011.

http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/02/calculating-cost-of-cracked-covenant.html Correspondent writes his local take on the matter.

1 comment:

  1. There is still a question to be answered - what was the reason for the dismissal of 3XN in the first place? Did the insistence of NML to use cheap and inferior Jura limestone cladding have something to do with it? I seem to remember that Kim Neilsen specified high grade Travertine marble, and this was endorsed by the Planning Committee as a major attraction of the scheme. The museum was meant to "glisten in the light" because of it's oddly shaped panels.
    I guess there were other reasons and that a cosy accomodation has been reached to keep the public from knowing. After all, it's only our money isn't it?

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