Evelyn Grace Academy, London, UK (2008)
‘Kids treated to fantastic architecture’: michaelsherif
I would have liked to have seen Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton included – school kids for once treated to fantastic architecture. Haven’t seen that since Pimlico School (sob).
DLR Lexicon, Dublin, Ireland (2014)
‘A brave juggernaut like structure’: noledgeishienouf
Carr Cotter & Naessens’ library in Dublin trumps the Peckham library by Alsop by a distance. Though stigmatised initially, it has become a real nexus of learning, and it is a brave juggernaut-like structure, with all its reading rooms projecting into the harbour.
The Shard, London, UK (2013)
‘Post apocalyptic’: FarmyardManure
The Shard – it looks post apocalyptic and I always expect to see a huge Chris Foss-style spaceship looming over it whenever I see it.
Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany (2009)
‘It reminds us how thin the veneer of culture is’: nilpferd
The Neues Museum is indeed a masterpiece and an object lesson in how to deal with existing spaces. Practically every single exhibition space involves a blend of historical and new surfaces. The use of innovative new volumetric forms – a brick dome in one corner to replace a damaged roof, a series of tent-like overhead swoops in another – as well as the fantastically subtle introduction of new mosaic flooring or wall frieze patterns, maintains a clear distinction between new and old, yet creates a coherent whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Long after the “new” additions have become part of the furniture of the Museumsinsel, these subtle interactions will continue to shine. Just as the Neues Museum’s exhibits speak of humankind’s endless potential for war and conquest, so does the building remind us how thin the veneer of culture is, yet how resilient it can still be.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK (2019)
‘Takes the enjoyment of spectacle to new heights’: Kimmie4553
The new Tottenham stadium should be included here. Sport/entertainment is a central part of modern lives and this building takes the enjoyment of spectacle to new heights. It has reimagined what the world’s premier sport can be and how it can be viewed. The Bird’s Nest is not really a building used on a specific, regular basis. It might look pretty, but the Spurs stadium is all about how it feels and the user experience.
Tate Modern, London, UK (2000)
‘A great building’: michaelsherif
Tate – yes! I remember sleeping out on its planters when it was decommissioned in the 1980s (in the days of Cardboard City), and it was so obviously a great building, but heading for the knacker’s yard … except, for once, someone sufficiently imaginative allowed it to be recycled.
