Bunker mentality
Urban & Civic General Manager Nigel Hugill shows reporters one of his favorite buildings in Alconbury Weald, its development on an old RAF airfield in Cambridgeshire. This is not a smart new building from Urban & Civic. This is the Magic Mountain, a Cold War nuclear bunker that has a detonator cap made of rubble and a bottom layer of gravel that would absorb a nuclear explosion. Completed in 1988, it was never used out of anger because almost as soon as it was opened the iron curtain began to fall. It cost £ 58 million to build. “That is more than we paid for the location,” says Hugill dryly. Since the concrete walls were built to withstand a nuclear explosion, plans to turn the listed bunker into an educational or cultural heritage attraction, for example, could be difficult.
The limits of lockdown
A guide brought by the developer indicated that the bunker was of course intended to protect the site’s military personnel at the time, rather than the local community. But in the case of Armageddon, the vaporized locals might have better cards. The bunker would only have been provided with enough food and water for a month, after which the “lucky” survivors would have to venture into everything that awaited them. “After four weeks you have probably won or lost,” explained the guide.
So now you know
I’m sure the HS2 Ltd staff thanked Railroad Secretary Andrew Stephenson for spilling the beans on how much they all make. It found that the 1,600 or so employees make an average of £ 60,000 a year. The news reminded me of the billboards that surround the site of the proposed train station on Curzon Street in the middle of Birmingham. The legend is emblazoned on them: “The advantages of HS2”.
Here’s a plug for Margate
To Margate, and to be more precise to Turner Contemporary, for Building’s summer away day. Designed by David Chipperfield, the gallery has been the catalyst for the revitalization of the seaside town of Kent since it opened in 2011, leading to a phase where it has been dubbed Shoreditch-by-the-Sea given the many hipsters that have appeared. That’s all well and good, but trying to find a plug in one of the rented rooms turned out to be an almost Herculean task for the construction gang. Tables and chairs were moved, doors to alarm systems opened, but no joy in this adult game of hide-and-seek. “What about those things on the floor?” someone finally said. It’s obvious when you know the answer I guess.
A conversation with a local taxi driver turned to the concrete tower, which greets everyone who comes to Margate by train. “Those who first arrive at Margate Station often stare in disbelief,” admitted the 20th Century Society
Brutal dejection
A conversation with a local taxi driver turned to the concrete tower, which greets everyone who comes to Margate by train. “Those who first arrive at Margate Station often stare [at it] with disbelief, ”admitted the 20th Century Society when it was awarded its Building of the Month two years ago. With 18 floors, the 1964 block called Arlington House is considered a brutalist landmark. It’s seen better days but the wavy design on the sides intrigued one of my staff who told the driver that he liked it more. “It’s one of those buildings that looks better in the dark,” was the reply.
You had to be there
The architects Norman Foster and Frank Gehry celebrated, among other things, the opening of Gehry’s latest project in the Luma cultural complex in southern France. Last month, the country eased coronavirus restrictions, allowing Luma founder Maja Hoffmann to send out 600 invitations to a gala dinner in Arles attended by dozens of luminaries in the art world. It was one of those events that Vanity Fair was there and I wasn’t.
Everything is Greek to me
Where could that be now? Appearance can be deceptive and what looks like a Greek temple is actually the old A14, which once “flew” over Huntingdon station and is being dismantled because, thanks to the improvement work elsewhere on the road, it is no longer needed. I like it more, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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