C O N T E X T 1 7 2 : J U N E 2 0 2 2 5 ‘A COWARDLY and wasteful decision has been announced to demolish Cumbernauld Town Centre in its entirety. It has had a hard life, but it’s enormously important as an urban experiment. Retrofitting imaginatively and well is the right thing for carbon and heritage.’ Barnabus Calder on Twitter @barnabuscalder ‘CUMBERNAULD town centre. The building breathes awkwardness from every pore, so recalcitrant that adaptation seems futile. ‘At the very least, though, thoughtfulness and evidence are called for. In which case, it would help if cases like this were removed from the conflict zones of the culture wars. Fans of brutalism should for their part refrain from accusations of outrage when local authorities propose what looks to most like common sense. ‘When almost everyone in Cumbernauld tells them that they want the old town centre gone, they should pay attention. To do otherwise is a gift to the Nadine Dorrieses of this world.’ Rowan Moore in the Observer ‘HARDLINE modern architecture is now something of a cult. There is a mini-industry of modern architecture tat – go into the shops of the Barbican or Southbank Centre in London, the Baltic in Gateshead, the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry or the Modernist Society’s specialist corner shop in Manchester, and you can buy an armful of tea towels, badges and mugs with British modernist buildings on them, as you could with Victorian buildings at their moment of rediscovery in the 1970s and 80s. ‘No doubt brutalism will eventually have its own Beamishstyle “living museum”, too – the 1974 Camden town hall annexe opposite St Pancras was recently restored as a hotel that looks far more “70s” than the original building ever did. ‘But there’s more here than just fashion: this rediscovery is also the result of a melancholic ‘RUSSIA is a signatory of the Unesco 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, that sets out legal obligations to protect culture and heritage in the event of armed conflict. This international agreement must be upheld. ‘Russia is only too aware of the great losses incurred to its own historic palaces and churches during fighting in the second world war.We urge Russia to halt the shelling of Ukrainian cities, and to end the inevitable loss of human life and architectural heritage that it is incurring.’ From an open letter from the Georgian Group to the minister of culture of the Russian Federation ‘AT A TIME of climate emergency, using natural, sustainable materials rather than manufactured and processed products is a base principle which should be upheld. ‘The Duchy appreciates that specific uPVC products can now demonstrate stronger environmental credentials than their forebears, but it remains a material with significant embodied carbon. ‘On this basis, the original specification of timber remains as justifiable today as it did 30 years ago, accepting that the manufacture and maintenance of timber windows naturally involves an element of carbon debt.’ A spokesperson for the Duchy of Cornwall quoted in the Mailonline, responding to 200 residents of Poundbury who want to be allowed to replace their rotting window frames with uPVC ones, which are forbidden under the town’s code. sense of lost civic purpose. In Birmingham, you can buy all kinds of merch featuring John Madin’s monumental brutalist library, but the building itself has been replaced with bland, private glass office blocks.’ Owen Hatherley in the Guardian ‘THE CHANNEL 4 headquarters counts as one of Richard Rogers most significant public commissions in the UK, one that absolutely should be listed. It was purpose built for the broadcaster and reflects the values of a publicly owned institution. ‘While the building itself could doubtless suit other occupants, it would be sad to see a landmark building stripped of its purpose and threatened with a quick sale.’ Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft on the C20 website
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=