manorpark Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 Opened 4th March 1976 and saved our City Centre. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 15 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: Haha aye fair enough. I think architecture can be awe-inspiring and impressive - but beauty is something else altogether. Maybe I’ve been a QS too long - I’ve heard too many architects talking about their ‘vision’ and been irritated by listening to that shite But beauty is not really definable as it will always be a point of subjectivity, despite what the currently in-vogue traditionalist think tanks would have you believe. It's why the attempts to enshrine it into planning legislation have been so ham fisted. I always think good placemaking comes more from building heights/street width, use and quality of the space in between the buildings, the quality of landscaping and the mix of uses - more than it does the type of material used to clad a building or any specific architectural detailing. This is has been the biggest failing in UK cities over last 70 years, moreso than you lot value engineering everything Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groundhog63 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 5 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: For clarity I live in Sydney these days, and the shimmering towers are stunning at night - either in Darling Harbour or the Rocks. It’s an awesome sight But it is context that counts - Newcastle will never have those shimmering towers. But it has one of the outstanding city centres in the UK (and fuck yes I’m biased - but it’s also true!). Again, NUFC should be a city centre club. But that involves an element of sacrifice to the city’s aesthetics. Other opinions exist Not football stadium related but on the subject of big cities, skyscrapers, the general hustle and bustle and Sydney. MrsG dragged me down to Darling Harbour, passed Jack Black as it happens, for the usual stuff. She's heavily into gardening so, on her list, we ventured into The Chinese Garden of Friendship. Beautiful, little oasis of tranquility. The city disappeared. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 3 minutes ago, manorpark said: Opened 4th March 1976 and saved our City Centre. Cities also have to adapt move with the times. It's easy to look at Eldon Square in hindsight as architectural vandalism (and I'm certainly sympathetic to this viewpoint) but it satiated the type of retail demand that existed at the time and for the next 40 or so years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 19 minutes ago, manorpark said: The marvellous Eldon Square Shopping Centre has nothing to do with T Dan Smith. Neither has most of the other stuff you mention. Apologies, it is a thing of beauty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 13 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said: Not football stadium related but on the subject of big cities, skyscrapers, the general hustle and bustle and Sydney. MrsG dragged me down to Darling Harbour, passed Jack Black as it happens, for the usual stuff. She's heavily into gardening so, on her list, we ventured into The Chinese Garden of Friendship. Beautiful, little oasis of tranquility. The city disappeared. The Garden of Friendship was just outside my first flat over here in Darling Harbour Ex-Mrs BB got a job out west, so out west we went. I don’t miss living there. Honestly. Seriously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 20 minutes ago, ponsaelius said: But beauty is not really definable as it will always be a point of subjectivity, despite what the currently in-vogue traditionalist think tanks would have you believe. It's why the attempts to enshrine it into planning legislation have been so ham fisted. I always think good placemaking comes more from building heights/street width, use and quality of the space in between the buildings, the quality of landscaping and the mix of uses - more than it does the type of material used to clad a building or any specific architectural detailing. This is has been the biggest failing in UK cities over last 70 years, moreso than you lot value engineering everything Everything you’ve said I agree with 100% - including VE (the QS blight on modern cities) ‘Here’s your three pricing options’ I hear myself saying like the dodgy architect in Aug Wiedersehen, Pet Actually I don’t anymore because I’m now a civils QS - so those calls no longer matter. But the old BB - definitely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 23 minutes ago, manorpark said: Opened 4th March 1976 and saved our City Centre. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbydazzla Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 49 minutes ago, manorpark said: The "Newcastle Skyscraper City Forum" (despite the title) is not really about skyscrapers. It is about general urban life, developments and architecture. https://www.skyscrapercity.com/forums/newcastle-metro-area.2258/ It's basically like PornHub but for concrete and steel nonces And that makes it a valuable sauce of planning and heritage knowledge, I'll peruse whenever I'm curious about buildings or land on Tyneside and beyond Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbydazzla Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 (edited) 42 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said: Not football stadium related but on the subject of big cities, skyscrapers, the general hustle and bustle and Sydney. MrsG dragged me down to Darling Harbour, passed Jack Black as it happens, for the usual stuff. She's heavily into gardening so, on her list, we ventured into The Chinese Garden of Friendship. Beautiful, little oasis of tranquility. The city disappeared. Me and the missus had one of our incredibly rare blazing rows in Sydney, next morning we got up both still in the huff but begrudgingly went for a mooch round the Chinese Garden. Bad vibes were instantly forgotten and we emerged from the garden as bestays again Edited October 16 by bobbydazzla Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 @manorpark is a legend amongst men with what he’s done in the skyscraper city forum and his historical knowledge. Super educational. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groundhog63 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 37 minutes ago, bobbydazzla said: Me and the missus had one of our incredibly rare blazing rows in Sydney, next morning we got up both still in the huff but begrudgingly went for a mooch round the Chinese Garden. Bad vibes were instantly forgotten and we emerged from the garden as bestays again Aye, it is a lovely place. Very calming. As it happens we had a right one on Bondi Beach. She definitely lost her blob like, the fucking hoon 😉 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 The Gate saved Newcastle. Everyone knows that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggys First Goal Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 Quote If the list of members is deemed as the new potential waiting list for season tickets, it currently stretches beyond 50,000 people on top of the club's capacity. We're going to need a 100,000 seat stadium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiddyLevine Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 6 hours ago, ponsaelius said: But beauty is not really definable as it will always be a point of subjectivity, despite what the currently in-vogue traditionalist think tanks would have you believe. It's why the attempts to enshrine it into planning legislation have been so ham fisted. I always think good placemaking comes more from building heights/street width, use and quality of the space in between the buildings, the quality of landscaping and the mix of uses - more than it does the type of material used to clad a building or any specific architectural detailing. This is has been the biggest failing in UK cities over last 70 years, moreso than you lot value engineering everything There is no true beauty without decay ... Montague H Withnail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hovagod Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 (edited) Without being soppy, after years away I now walk into work over the Tyne Bridge and as a skyline and a city, Newcastle is fucking mint. I love the golden hue that seems to centre on SJP. Edited October 16 by Hovagod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danh1 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 1 hour ago, Hovagod said: Without being soppy, after years away I now walk into work over the Tyne Bridge and as a skyline and a city, Newcastle is fucking mint. I love the golden hue that seems to centre on SJP. I work in Byker and love driving down Shields Road and over Byker Bridge, skyline looks class. SJP might not be aesthetically pleasing the way Greys Monument or the Theatre Royal is, but I love the way it is visible for miles. Can even see it from the flyover where Testos roundabout was when it’s lit up on a night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuv Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 8 hours ago, manorpark said: Opened 4th March 1976 and saved our City Centre. It probably did. I still think it’s an outdated monstrosity now. I can’t imagine it will last another 50 years - what will replace it is anyone’s guess. Eldon Gardens is even worse. I was born before the Handyside Arcade was knocked down - I’m sure if that was still there it would be amazing. I did used to go the Kard Bar that moved onto Westgate Road as a very young teenager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manorpark Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 1 hour ago, TheGuv said: It probably did. I still think it’s an outdated monstrosity now. I can’t imagine it will last another 50 years - what will replace it is anyone’s guess. Eldon Gardens is even worse. I was born before the Handyside Arcade was knocked down - I’m sure if that was still there it would be amazing. I did used to go the Kard Bar that moved onto Westgate Road as a very young teenager. Eldon Garden was a very different animal, a poor design and a deserved failure. The Eldon Square Shopping Centre will expand/contract/change/develop (etc) over future years as requirements change. A 'monstrosity' it is not, though it is quite fashionable to say that it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomYam Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 10 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said: We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one I think you're both right. Eldon Square was hugely important to Newcastle and was a real shot in the arm for the local economy. On the other hand, it could have been designed more sympathetically - particularly with regard to retaining all 3 sides of Old Eldon Square. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 44 minutes ago, TomYam said: I think you're both right. Eldon Square was hugely important to Newcastle and was a real shot in the arm for the local economy. On the other hand, it could have been designed more sympathetically - particularly with regard to retaining all 3 sides of Old Eldon Square. Was it built around the green market or did that come after Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenC Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 I think SJP looks amazing approached from the north and west and that Level 7 looks great wherever you see it from. Feels to me like you can't really see the Gallowgate any more, except from St James Boulevard, as the rest of town has got taller and narrower. East stand is virtually invisible (probably for the best). It's in the eye of the beholder as ever, just like that dogshit library in Birmingham, or literally dozens of buildings in the middle of London. I love seeing it standing above everything else. A modern cathedral for the initiated, in most of the senses that matter anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stifler Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 6 hours ago, Ben said: Was it built around the green market or did that come after The Greenmarket was part of the original bits of Eldon Square built in the 70’s. It was demolished in the late 00’s, with the replacement (where the Apple Store is) opened at about 2010. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenC Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 Still miss the Greenmarket, massive escalators and Charlie's Games up in the top corner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 5 minutes ago, OpenC said: Still miss the Greenmarket, massive escalators and Charlie's Games up in the top corner Was the first Grainger Games up there as well ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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