Public space & art , built environ champion & curator + likes bollards. Former Dir Illuminated River/ CABE Space. Creative Dir at Ealing MA (RCA) HonRIBAHonLI
If you like the Barbican please look away now ! This is the estates office idea of a repair to a lovely staircase in a grade II listed building
@HistoricEngland
. Wrong colour/finish/depth and cement has been applied in the dark with spade 😱Metwins are the contractor.
It's a gloomy day so thought I would cheer you up with the most beautiful marketing book ever. Marina City A City Within a City ( pub 1962) for Bertrand Goldberg's masterpiece. If you follow the thread to the end there is a musical surprise .....
Whenever I'm in Oxford St ( which isn't often!) I do like to say hello to Bab's Winged Figure one of the best pieces of public art in London. Thank you
@JohnLewisRetail
. Can't think of a retailer now commissioning such incredible work - unless you know differently..?
Part of the original facade of Blackfriars station from 1886, when it was a hub to take you to many great cities in Europe. Love the Cannes Deal Sheerness Vienna mash up . Now it's handy for Three Bridges ...
Just took a student doing a dissertation on the Barbican for a tour. Kept finding myself stopping to take photos of jaw dropping views. I've lived here over 20 years and it still wows me !
If any arch critic visiting the Barbican ( who loves it obvs ) fancies a glass of rose, a look at the original brochures & design guide in the comfort of an original flat Im happy to oblige - I know I'm v lucky to call this place home. May throw in a bowl of cheesy wotsits too.
Hey mid mid lovers - got these beauties this weekend and if you swoon at the sight of a nice 1950s handrail or window - please steady yourself for whats to come ! Many of which no longer exist 🥲
Whilst sweltering in the city , today is the perfect day for all developers to really look at their proposed public space projects and think -how will this work in 39 degrees ? Top tip, more water & green and less hard space.
@DaveHedgehog11
@HistoricEngland
True a very first world problem - but when it's in your home which is a listed building and you have to walk past it it's irksome and an indication of a terrible lack of care and respect (the tile as a metaphor for the current state of our society maybe !)
I was the only state school kid at The Courtauld ( all 3 undergraduates years ) & I'm guessing (!) the only one first gen at Uni & born in council house. One particularly vile student called me ' the girl from the comp ' 😳 A student was bought a Merc for passing EOY exams 🙄
First gen uni student (History of Art), solid working class, state school ed. Amongst intake of 40, I was one of a maybe 2 from same background. Many studied art history at school. Wasn't an option at mine. Now Senior Curator of Art in my home town, working to make a difference.
Be still my beating heart ! Does anyone know if these ' pleasantly shaped cucumber-like bollards' 😳are still in situ in Whitehaven Cumbria?
@WorldBollard
have you spotted them?
Received the freedom of the City of London today. So now if I am found drunk in the City the police cannot arrest me but must call me a Hanson Cab to get me home. Can also now wear my sword unsheathed in the City. Think the first privilege is the one I am most likely to test !
@GrimArtGroup
Thought you might enjoy this architectural illustration of Sizewell (A) power station painted in 1961 - from my collection which also includes a few office blocks 😳. Great sky !
Putting together my placard for tomorrow’s march - is it too niche? Rather a lot of Barbican neighbours going - residents of Trellick, Alexandra Road Estate et al are welcome to join us!
Today the City of London planning committee approved the application that will allow a developer to cantilever over the Bishopsgate Bathhouse. Our caseworker spoke at the meeting. We are very, very sad. We will keep you informed if there is further news.
#cityoflondon
#heritage
For all you bollard lovers out there , lots of new additions in the new pedestrianised space ourside Somerset House to admire. All wearing rather a lot of bronzer ...
@WorldBollard
Perfect way to spend Sunday morning, having a rummage in the Barbican Salvage Store ! Managed to find the bathroom tiles and glass cupboard door we needed. And so much else …
#barbican
🙄Most post war architects were trying to build better homes for ordinary people away from the slums with indoor loos, green space , community centres, schools & in many cases great public art. Neither reckless nor arrogant . Don't blame them for others choice of cheap materials.
At 6am 16 May 1968, a 56-year-old cake decorator, Mrs Ivy Hodge, went to make a cup of tea in her 18th-floor tower block flat, Ronan Point, in East London. She turned on the gas. The resulting explosion destroyed 4 flats above her, ripped out walls & killed four of her
Haven’t seen my husband and son for 10 weeks as moved in with my Mum to look after her for lockdown. Came back home last night to this lovely sign + a G&T , wotsits and a home made carbonara. 🥰
Taking photos at Parkleys estate in Ham (staying on pavement) I was challenged by resident dubious I was there because I liked the architecture. To placate her I said “I live in the Barbican & like mid mod design” She replied in disgust “ you look like you live there “😳😂
My incredibly talented architect husband's practice designed this . He spent decades working in The Netherlands where high quality yet high density social and mixed tenure housing is the norm.
‘Walking these decks feels like a fresh and vital new way of experiencing this part of London’ – Dockley Road shows how good deck access housing can be, writes
@RoryOlcayto
#ribajreview
Wrapped husband’s wedding anniversary present this morning, which I was v excited about when I bought it .Prototype door handles for the Barbican owed by Christoph Bon. Now wondering if this is a good pressie ?? 🤔( he’s also getting a CPB book of Leeds Uni plan & fudge btw) ...
The only good thing about the systematic destruction of the Broadgate complex is that for a brief interlude Richard Serra’s Fulcrum is silhouetted against the sky. Still one of the best pieces of public art in London.
Delighted to say I've joined Ealing Council as interim Creative Director for six months , leading bid for London Borough of Culture but also to turbo charge the aims developed in their Cultural Manifesto . Great colleagues & inspiring cultural organisations here! Get in touch !
Wow ! saw Jodie Comer’s incredible performance tonight . An interrupted monologue that lasted 100 minutes full of energy and humour which turns into a compelling gut wrenching drama. Magnificent.
@HPinterTheatre
My mum, a single working parent in 1960s one of the 1st women to win a Churchill Fellowship in 70s to US studying recruitment & training of women
@wcmtuk
.Took employer to court for sexual discrimination after her promotion went to boss’s Rotary Club mate. Feminist
#IWD
So the only thing vaguely distinctive about the bland More London public realm was the nice linear water feature/gully so sad to see it filled in. Suppose it was too high maintenance or a H&S risk, the go to excuses for those who prefer dull public spaces.
Met a lady in the queue for the clockroom for a do tonight who had cycled there in her fabulous shoes ( apparently it is easy to cycle in heels ) V impressed and then found out when she isn’t be fabulous she is running OFSTED. Respect .
The Gordon Cullen murals are fantastic but ( as I’m learning fast) like much public art in Coventry has been resited and some of the map murals were destroyed in the 70s.
Last autumn my dear mum died unexpectedly & horribly. In the months following I've learnt about death, grief & a profound new word - sadmin. A journey that's been exhausting, frustrating sometimes surreal but oddly life affirming. One thing learnt is our society doesn't get death
Just met my team non virtually 1st time in six months, outside The Swan. The young ones had never heard of The Communards !
@RevRichardColes
so treated them to rendition of ‘don’t leave me this way’, carried on singing walking home & got a few set me frees on Mill Bridge
Where there is water you always find a very happy child splashing in it . Wish there were more rills in our public spaces . I still mourn the loss of the one at More ( Aka Less ) London
Son 13 berates me for not letting him travel home from friend’s house. I think of tip from
@Philippa_Perry
book & say ‘ I get worried & scared so not ready to let you travel alone at night’ He stops moaning & says ‘ Ok but Mum do get over it as when I’m 16 I’ll be out A LOT’ 👍
Lovely to chat with Cathy Ross author of Bollardology - a visual history of City of London's bollards . Available at Waterstones, it would make a great Christmas present for someone very special who has been extra good all year- guess you already own it !
@WorldBollard
A fab friend offered to make me a mask & then offered to make a top to coordinate ( out of lovely Liberty silk) . I asked if she could add a button hole over the mouth so I can drink a G&T through a straw whilst remaining alert. So here is the result & yes she will take orders !
Am v lucky to own a copy of this gorgeous book published in 1951 (and designed by Henrion) to celebrate the RFH. Will be posting some of its contents this week so if you have had enough of mid mod loveliness (!) , (inc drawings by Cullen) do look away now...
Thanks to
@vcky_rchrdsn
for the top tip to check out Barbara Hepworth’s Theme & Variations 1969-72 on the former Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Soc HQ.
So you wait nearly 70yrs to find a lost sculpture from the Fest of Britain & then two turn up ( almost at once !) . I curated an exhibition for
@HistoricEngland
in 2016 on post war public art in it was a room of 'lost' posters of work that had disappeared inc The Sunbathers ....
Hmmm 🤔 can't think why this hedging is dying on the right hand side ..🌧️. On the edge of a Foster & Partners designed building on corner of Moor Lane EC2 . See thread
Baby grand pianos & spinet pianos of course ! Essential to 1960s urban living (thanks to all that concrete !) See you feel less gloomy now right ? Fabulously designed books give me joy on a rainy day .Sorry can't do anything about weather but I do have more interesting books....
Took an original Bestlite table lamp designed by Robert Dudley Best in 1930, to be repaired in this fabulous shop in Ealing Broadway that has been open since 1929. Felt apt and yes they had the components (and only charged me £13 ( & four shillings) to repair it !
City of Tirana in Albania wanted to plant more trees but didn’t have any money. So they suggested every child might like to plant a tree on their birthday - parents chose a tree ( depending on their budget ) & they now have 300,000 more trees, cared for & visited by the children.
This is my new favourite building typology - lido & fabulous restaurant . The brilliantly restored Reading Lido where you can nibble on tapas or tuck into burnt Catalan cheesecake whilst watching others take exercise ! We need more of these please .
At Historic England’s v nice party I met a charming women who was horrified when she discovered I lived in the Barbican.Her: “ how can you be interested in conservation and heritage & live in that monstrosity”.
Me: “ it’s grade II listed”😀😂🖕
I’ve lived in the City of London for over 20 years and I barely recognise any of my local street scapes now. So many very good and distinctive early and mid 20th century buildings have disappeared.
Another one bites the dust. Despite objections from
@hbap1924
and
@C20Society
,
@cityoflondon
has approved the demolition of a fine pair of Portland stone buildings b.1921 on Farringdon Street. The new building also obliterates Turnagain Lane, which has existed since C13.
Da dah ! A coloured plan and those little white shapes at the bottom are self adhesive labels so you remove them and place on the apartment plan ! Selection includes stuffed and occasional chairs , love seats, day beds , footstools and ... ( next and final image )
The parched Barbican garden - revealing either the site of a exceedingly small Neolithic enclosure or where the sprinkler system is leaking out. Prefer the former idea..
@IlluminatedRiv
bridges including London Bridge were part of a NYE light show tonight . Was lovely to see, and hopefully a taste of a brighter future !
Ok professed bollard lovers, now is the time to prove your love
@WorldBollard
. How many of you have an artwork in your living room that features a bollard?! I raise you Edward Bawden’s poster for the City of London .....
Latest purchase, published in 1958. From intro ‘ hardly a street could not be improved , if someone would give thought to planting the right trees in the right place. Wherever new development is replacing old slums, there will a chance for growing trees in areas almost treeless”
@MrTimDunn
I think I’ve found your perfect weekend retreat. Whilst waiting on Godamling station I chatted to the staff about how unusual it was to see a three storey station. Apparently top floors were station master’s flat and it is currently vacant! Sunsets are free ..
Did a double take in M&S today. Nice store manager spotted me taking a photo & said ‘great slogan isn’t it ? I suggested he view it from food dept exit where I was standing 😳. He gasped, giggled & is now sending a photo to management 😂...
Went for a wander around the 55 Broadway , built for TfL and full of bronze, brass and marble, but now being turned into a luxury hotel . Here are some nice details. Water fountain .
RIBA Honorary Fellow Sarah Gaventa
@sgaventa
is an expert in public space and Director of the
@IlluminatedRiv
Foundation, a long-term art commission incorporating fifteen bridges from Albert to Tower Bridge
#InternationalWomensDay
@0to100Walkies
@jessbrammar
Y ou obviously have siblings I don’t . I’ve never had a Christmas without my mum in 56 years and she is old sick and lives on her own . So yes this year is very different actually .
@WorldBollard
For all you bollard lovers stuck in a city and now over familiar with your local bollards . This is what their country cousin bollard looks like, warm hamstone covered in lichen. The only bollard in the village.
This is the play space in the social housing at Wren Mews - in press re vile segregated gardens by Henley Homes. Looks more like a prison yard for little felons - it’s mean & utterly depressing. How anyone could create this with children in mind astounds me. Shameful.
Now 1 Broadgate has been destroyed you get a full on vista of both the horrendous Make massing model and that gold foil pointless pavilion. 😱if the Borg designed a building it would look like this …
Ok I promise to move on - but have to add a couple of more images of Coventry Cathedral before I do (forgive me) . This time the Graham Sutherland tapestry and the Hans Coper candlesticks.
Spotted in a bathroom shop in the West End - if there is a worse designed toilet out there then show me . Also think her boobs would dig into your back but maybe that is the point !