Rather, it’s another piece of roadside junk masquerading as a source of inspiration, and which might be nicknamed ‘Collapse of Smokestack Industry‘ in the fine Brummie tradition of giving crude nicknames to major structures.
This unintentional bit of self-deprecation is set just east of what was once a major railway works and a copper smelter, so the tumbling tubes are an appropriate metaphor. Tis a pity that the advert isn’t of a Rover, which would complete the display as an evocation of industrial collapse. (Though a BMW isn’t far off the mark in the regional context.)
The BBC NEWS report that caught my eye is very much like the Flash-based architect’s press release, (under the title Sandwell Gateway) which in turn prompted a visit to the read-it-and-weep project webpage in the hope that there’d be more details of the entire project. But no, I’ll have to look somewhere else to see what they do with the River Tame and immediate landscape context.
It’s of interest because the confluence of the Tame’s two source streams (from Willenhall and Oldbury) occurs between the ’sculpture’ and the motorway. The photo below is taken from a footpath at the site’s eastern edge, looking west and north. Note the concrete stairway in the distance. That’s one of the other interesting features of the place. Where else on the motorway network can a pedestrian stand in mid-air alongside vehicular traffic?
A better view, perhaps, is this aerial showing the several points of confluence, greenspace and structures.
Quite the place for a little landscape intervention, no? But from what little I can see of the site plan, the river is ignored, along with the other landscape features.
The developer’s result? (And ours, for that matter.) A big box next to a motorway. How very forgettable. The addition of a tumbling tower will serve only to accentuate the banality that accompanies it, while the river and its curiosities will remain an open secret. So I have to say that this project looks very much like a missed opportunity to do something memorable, contextually-sensitive and interesting. They’ve settled for one out of three.
Technorati Tags: development, landscape, Wednesbury, Walsall, WestMidlands, travesties
Tagged development, landscape, travesties, Walsall, Wednesbury, WestMids
Another Roadside Abstraction
Rather, it’s another piece of roadside junk masquerading as a source of inspiration, and which might be nicknamed ‘Collapse of Smokestack Industry‘ in the fine Brummie tradition of giving crude nicknames to major structures.
This unintentional bit of self-deprecation is set just east of what was once a major railway works and a copper smelter, so the tumbling tubes are an appropriate metaphor. Tis a pity that the advert isn’t of a Rover, which would complete the display as an evocation of industrial collapse. (Though a BMW isn’t far off the mark in the regional context.)
The BBC NEWS report that caught my eye is very much like the Flash-based architect’s press release, (under the title Sandwell Gateway) which in turn prompted a visit to the read-it-and-weep project webpage in the hope that there’d be more details of the entire project. But no, I’ll have to look somewhere else to see what they do with the River Tame and immediate landscape context.
It’s of interest because the confluence of the Tame’s two source streams (from Willenhall and Oldbury) occurs between the ’sculpture’ and the motorway. The photo below is taken from a footpath at the site’s eastern edge, looking west and north. Note the concrete stairway in the distance. That’s one of the other interesting features of the place. Where else on the motorway network can a pedestrian stand in mid-air alongside vehicular traffic?
A better view, perhaps, is this aerial showing the several points of confluence, greenspace and structures.
Quite the place for a little landscape intervention, no? But from what little I can see of the site plan, the river is ignored, along with the other landscape features.
The developer’s result? (And ours, for that matter.) A big box next to a motorway. How very forgettable. The addition of a tumbling tower will serve only to accentuate the banality that accompanies it, while the river and its curiosities will remain an open secret. So I have to say that this project looks very much like a missed opportunity to do something memorable, contextually-sensitive and interesting. They’ve settled for one out of three.
Technorati Tags: development, landscape, Wednesbury, Walsall, WestMidlands, travesties
Tagged development, landscape, travesties, Walsall, Wednesbury, WestMidscommentary
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