Yesterday I went to London. For work reasons, not galavanting - there was a condition survey to be done at the Ranger's House in Greenwich Park. It took the best part of four hours each way - that includes the walk across the park - to get there and I was on site for for an hour and a half.
Anyway, what I wanted to blog about was actually the GLA building. Or Foster's Testicle as one of the building press once described (to match the phallic symbol on St Mary Axe). I saw it from the train as I returned to London Bridge from Blackheath. I was disappointed. Fleeting glimpses between other buildings is probably not the best way to go about architectural appreciation but that was all I had.
It's not a very impressive building. Brian has written about it before and included "gratuitous pictures" in some of which it looks considerably more impressive than it is. I agree with him in that the Porsche headlamp design phase was more striking. I think it also shows a better relationship to the river than it has now as well.
It isn't very big. I really thought it was quite a large building. But the in the view I had it looked rather stumpy. Perhaps it was just the angle of the view from the train.
On the other hand, I had been determined to dislike the St Mary Axe (Gherkin) building. On seeing it - from the same train - I found that it nearly so bad as I thought. In fact I think I might like it. It's growing on me. Though I still think it looks rather large.
I also went through the new part of St Pancras station. They appear to have moved the milling-about-not-knowing-where-your-train-is area into a new bit. So, now one can mill about staring at blank info boards under a shiny new glass roof.
And someone has let the clock stop.
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