Liverpools World Heritage Site-A Total Eclipse of the Heart.

I noticed today that Correspondent  http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/ had picked up on piece that came from a website called Seven Streets http://www.sevenstreets.com/ and in particular a article called A total Eclipse of the Heart, meaning the world heritage site. They say;

 Imagine this. You were the custodian of a city viewpoint that adorned a thousand calendars, had snappers from Toronto to Tokyo ooh-ing and ah-ing behind their Fuji Finepix, and sharing their holiday photos with friends across the globe. That, through a thousand Flikr updates, our city went viral.

http://www.sevenstreets.com/features/total-eclipse-of-the-heart-mann-island/ I hope they dont mind me borrowing the pic I wish I could have photoshoped it that well.

They go on; And then try to figure out what thought process (if any) it would need to arrive at the decision to black it out.

Not only that, but to obscure this with a graceless, leaden hulk that wouldn’t get past first base on a RIBA Correspondence Course.

There is, among architects, a raging debate about context. Zaha Hadid says it’s bollocks – that buildings don’t have a duty to ‘blend in’ but to ‘respond’ to their immediate urban condition. We tend to agree. But even she wouldn’t be arrogant enough to block out the competition. But, then, she is a world class architect. Not a school boy who got lucky with a design competition. Liverpool is a complex city. This is not a complex debate. Mann Island is not a complex building. It’s a jagged little pill. And we’re all going to have to swallow it. At least, until it the next one comes along.

Still, Steven Gerrard loves it. He’s snapped up two luxury apartments. Good to know that, for some, that view will remain – if only from their bedroom window.

Ironic, isn’t it, that even through the fires of Blitz, the ‘Geermans’ didn’t obliterate the Three Graces. It was our friendly fire what did for ‘em.

So, in response to the outrage, Sevenstreets postulates what damage this implanted cell would create, should other city councils be quite so myopic. Reminds us of that scene at the end of 2010, a Space Odyssey… appropriately enough.

http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/liverpool-wins-carbuncle-cup.html

They have not mentioned the Carbuncle Cup winning Terminal Ferry Carbuncle, but well done to those of the Seven Streets for speaking the truth. We should add the site to our blog roll.

http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/10/liverpools-pier-head-and-its-new.html

http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/02/mann-island-you-know-youve-arrived.html