
'A tortured heap of towers': the London skyline of tomorrow - Patient0
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/dec/11/city-of-london-skyline-of-tomorrow-interactive
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d_theorist
I don't understand what these people are complaining about. I walk across
Waterloo Bridge twice a day, and it's the highlight of my commute. The view
east down the river is stunning, and there are always people admiring it. I
don't think London has ever looked better.

~~~
Zach_the_Lizard
People hate change, no matter how good or bad. For instance, Arlington, VA has
transformed massively since they ran the DC Metro through it. To someone who
was alive in the 1960s the parts near the Metro lines would be almost
unrecognizable.

Here's a letter to the editor complaining of all the changes in Arlington
written a few days ago:

[https://www.arlnow.com/2015/12/09/letter-to-the-editor-
arlin...](https://www.arlnow.com/2015/12/09/letter-to-the-editor-arlington-
was-better-without-high-rises/)

TL;DR old woman complains of change, wishes there were still cows in land
immediately adjacent to the nation's capital city.

~~~
rm_-rf_slash
Arlington is a Jane Jacobs nightmare. With the exception of places like
Clarendon, it's all tall buildings with enormous lawns surrounding them at
every angle. It makes walking almost worthless, even in a huge metropolitan
area.

Contrast with Manhattan: much taller, much denser, with a greater
concentration of shops and services per area.

It's not that change or densification is bad by any means, but there are ways
to do it very, very wrong, and fixing those changes takes decades, if it is
ever even done.

~~~
Zach_the_Lizard
>With the exception of places like Clarendon, it's all tall buildings with
enormous lawns surrounding them at every angle. It makes walking almost
worthless, even in a huge metropolitan area.

When were you last in Arlington? I live in Arlington and I walk everywhere and
bike to work. Arlington is actually used as a model in urban planning
textbooks to show a transformation from a car centric area into a walkable
one. The states are clear; traffic has fallen and it is almost at the point
where a majority of people don't drive alone to work.

The Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Rosslyn (to a much lesser extent) areas
have lots of work to be done, but N. Arlington along Wilson and Clarendon are
very walkable from Rosslyn to Ballston.

I can't think of too many 'tall buildings surrounded by lawns' along Wilson or
Clarendon Blvds. Look at it from the air. I know of one in Rosslyn that meets
the description near the Safeway; it has a lawn. Other than that, there's not
too much green space other than a small handful of parks.

Areas away from the Metro are mostly single family housing with a handful of
places, like some spots on Columbia Pike, that have some slight walkability to
them.

>Contrast with Manhattan: much taller, much denser, with a greater
concentration of shops and services per area.

Of course, it's Manhattan. Anywhere in the greater DC metro area compares
unfavorably given that nowhere in the area is nearly as dense, even in DC.
Few, if any, places in the US could be compared favorably.

EDIT:

Here are some streetview links illustrating the built environment in Arlington
for those outside of the area.

View on Clarendon Blvd. facing away from DC on western end of Rosslyn:

[https://goo.gl/maps/X96A2w9spsJ2](https://goo.gl/maps/X96A2w9spsJ2)

Wilson Blvd. near the Rosslyn Metro station:

[https://goo.gl/maps/owGGWu4ZyP32](https://goo.gl/maps/owGGWu4ZyP32)

Near the actual Courthouse

[https://goo.gl/maps/8dRAzVzEHf92](https://goo.gl/maps/8dRAzVzEHf92)

Another view near the Court House Metro station:

[https://goo.gl/maps/mz5Z7uE9JVs](https://goo.gl/maps/mz5Z7uE9JVs)

One of the remnant suburban style buildings on the Court House / Claredon
border:

[https://goo.gl/maps/L295anQZ46H2](https://goo.gl/maps/L295anQZ46H2)

Clarendon:

[https://goo.gl/maps/9XfPUP76k4r](https://goo.gl/maps/9XfPUP76k4r)

Another view of Clarendon:

[https://goo.gl/maps/gHSk93EBfcD2](https://goo.gl/maps/gHSk93EBfcD2)

Ballston:

[https://goo.gl/maps/fo7hfint9qj](https://goo.gl/maps/fo7hfint9qj)

Another view from Wilson:

[https://goo.gl/maps/m2Jtt42uMnM2](https://goo.gl/maps/m2Jtt42uMnM2)

Virginia Square:

[https://goo.gl/maps/yCQHcv21CGm](https://goo.gl/maps/yCQHcv21CGm)

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david-given
Surprisingly interesting and really well presented --- the animations are
inspired.

Personally, I love big, ugly skyscrapers (I've been trying to get myself onto
a tour of the Gherkin for Open Doors Day for years). I do agree with the
decision to limit them to one particular district, though. London's got a lot
of fantastic buildings which don't want to be overwhelmed, and besides,
skyscrapers look best from a distance.

(I didn't know that views of St. Pauls are protected by law! And I'm
embarrassed to say that I never even knew about the Great Fire of London
memorial...)

~~~
mstade
You haven't missed much. The Gherkin is as deprived of a soul as the other
towers in the city; and the bar at the top is just a place to bring clients so
they can say "I've been to the top of the Gherkin." It's just a really sad
place, and I don't miss working there. (If you have to go though, I can
recommend Association – a coffee shop around the corner which is really nice.
Despite all the cheap suits.)

~~~
david-given
I'm not surprised. There's a strange talent in modern architecture for
buildings which on the outside are these amazing, breathtaking shapes, and
then to completely waste those shapes when designing the interior.

Case in point: the Millennium Dome. This awe-inspiringly huge enclosed
space... which was then partitioned up so that visitors couldn't see it.

~~~
mstade
Well, no one cares what goes on _inside_ the building I suppose. Most people –
even clients – never enter them anyway. The most impressive office I've ever
seen was an office in Chicago. Non-descript building, really couldn't point it
out in a line up, but the interior was just amazing. Not the Google Disneyland
oh-look-there's-cotton-candy kind of amazing; i.e. not so much novelty as it
was just.. Classy I guess.

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raverbashing
Typical complaint about tall buildings

The other option is to follow Dublin's model where height is severely limited
and companies can't find office space?

~~~
cjrp
As opposed to London where companies just can't _afford_ office space ;)

~~~
elthran
In a sensible world, building loads of office space should decrease the price
of it.

But welcome to London...

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venomsnake
> These rigid rules first appeared in the 1930s, when the surveyor of St
> Paul’s came up with a precise grid of heights around the cathedral to
> safeguard the panorama from the South Bank. “We’ve been able to calculate
> where he took his views from, and most of them end up outside pubs,” says
> Rees.

The more times change. But it is interesting how some minor vices can have
more than their fair share of consequences.

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hacker_9
Really enjoying the graphics on this page!

~~~
elthran
Agreed - what wonderful animations, especially the one travelling down fleet
street.

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peteretep
My personal fantasy is that they'll turn the Isle of Dogs in to an area that
looks like Hong Kong.

~~~
bjornsteffanson
Kowloon Dog City.

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DanBC
> “We’ve been able to calculate where he took his views from, and most of them
> end up outside pubs,” says Rees.

That might be just because England has so many pubs. There are currently over
60,000, and this is after the closing of 28,000 pubs.

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ctdonath
When will city buildings stop being delineated by ground-level roads, and
start extending thru the space over roads - making single vast structures
instead of individual spires?

~~~
scrumper
It'll be more acceptable to do that once there's a majority of electric or
hydrogen cars on the roads. Otherwise those enclosed roads are air handling
nightmares.

