Architecture Here and There

The new Liverpool River Mersey ferry terminal was just one of very many candidates BD considered for the Carbuncle Cup award. This is run annually to highlight NEW structures which, basically, are ugly or out of place. The ferry terminal won on both counts. Maybe what a casual reader may miss is the location - a UNESCO World Heritage site with some glorious listed buildings. This thing not only sticks out like a sore thumb, it also blocks views of the current architecture (the so-called Three Graces which are listed by English Heritage). Worryingly, there are more carbuncles on the way to spoil this world famous waterfront.

Mr. Swift - The fire station in Poundbury was neither ugly nor out of place. So why was it included along with the ferry station on the Mersey? The question answers itself. It was a slap at Prince Charles, nothing more.

At least the ferry station did deserve to win the Carbuncle, though how judges decided in its favor among all the others that seemed to be both ugly and out of place, I don't know.

In 2005 RISD and the Royal Society for the Arts sponsored a symposium in which Liverpool and Providence were compared. I wrote about it. One of the panelists was Will Alsop, who then had a carbuncle in planning to become a fourth grace. What bunk! You mention further spoliation putting the waterfront at risk. Has Alsop's carbuncle been built by now?

Thanks very much for your comment. Here is a link to my old 2005 column: http://scc/scripts/SCCMGCGI.dll?Command=GetDetail&Library=TEXT%202005-OCT%202007&RecID=23937&Filename=COMMENTARY%20-%20Can%20civic%20rena.txt&SearchHandle=122264&ColumnNameWidth=15&ObjectDefinitions=definitions/text_att_column.def

Hi David, you are right about HRH and this is very interesting. There is a general dislike of Prince Charles by architects (although he generally captures the public mood by criticising overly weird designs). So that explains Poundbury, which is seen as being somewhat of a pastiche. It should not, in my opinion, have been considered as a carbuncle. Conservative maybe. BD Magazine made the final choice of the ferry terminal because of its location, as you say there were some real horrors elsewhere.
As for Will Alsop's Cloud design, it was accepted, then for some reason was not carried forward. Maybe money came into it. In 2006 plans were passed to build some ugly (and I mean UGLY!) blocks of apartments and offices on the site where the Cloud would have gone. These are nearly finished and I will send you a "before and after" picture by email (can you send me your address?)
Best regards to Providence, I must pay a visit !
p.s. I am having trouble connecting to your link from 2005 but will keep trying