But I can't help the infrequency of the posts here. The nature (as it were) of this blog is (supposedly!) limited to Environmentalism, Planning and the like, so I shouldn't just be posting short entries about any sort of thing that's crossing my mind. At least, that is the restriction I have forced upon myself here. And besides, (of late) I have tried to open up my less-developed thoughts into Twitter territory, rather than (perhaps more wisely) keeping them to myself - like most people do!
So, if you want to see more regular rants from me, and on a wider scale of topics (albeit not all my interests - I am a jack of all trades after all, and certainly master of none), then check out: https://twitter.com/akazeeox
***
Anyway, back to the subject of this post...
Cambridge, my home city, is the forefront battlefield in the overall 'war' that I fight in, and it significantly influences, tempers and nurtures the regular thoughts and considerations that fuel this blog overall. And the current pressure on housing nationally - both in terms of quality and quantity - is very much in the top 10 of these regular thoughts... a major concern that is omnipresent and likely to forever remain so.
And lo!, with the major issues around housing shortages (which I promise to return to for a later blog), I thought for this blog entry I would separate out one facet of it, and thus at the same time try and address the sin I confessed in the first paragraph above... by posting something shorter!
So, what's the particular problem here?
Well, it's architecture, or rather: "Architecture" and the way both the city council (seemingly) and developers continue to produce sloppy work and, to compound things, make it worse by - basically - lying about their presentations.
By presentations, I mean both the final 'look' of the buildings (whether residential or otherwise) and, before completion, the various publicly presented artists' impressions and (semantics around) the words used on the construction site billboards.
Put simply, the architecture is dull, unimaginative and, sometimes, intrusive. And the promotion of them is borderline lying, basically!
Of the latter, for example, check this billboard text for some housing currently being built:
"Beautifully landscaped grounds and surroundings" it says! Well, "rubbish" I says! [sic]
You might counter immediately by saying that it isn't even finished yet so I shouldn't even be commenting on that aspect ahead of time. But let me tell you:
(a) the "surroundings" are arguably Cambridge's most ugly road, Newmarket Road, which may or may not be gentrified by the help of this development, but otherwise consists of two, dull and new, hotels nearby, a (now closed) car retailer showroom, a furniture shop, some allotments (which are 'green' at least, but not what many would consider attractive landscaping) and other various retail and mixed-use developments. Yes, there is an old mediaeval church opposite the development, but it is a major highlight on an otherwise ugly dual-carriageway.
(b) the use of "beautifully landscaped grounds" is such a throw-away term that it is arguably undermined as soon as you (mis)use it. For it to be genuinely beautiful, we must assume something special is going on (don't you think?): either in terms of mature trees and special plants, or even unique or noteworthy hard landscaping or outdoor 'art'. And I will make a bet right now that none of this shall come to pass. It will have some medium height saplings, hedging and raised flowerbeds with brick surrounds at best. There may be a few modern art elements, such as reflective metal balls, or night-time lighting that provides both 'art' and (to a degree) security. And if there are any lawns or 'wild corners', they will be so insignificant and small-scale that their beauty will be skin deep at best.
So, if you can't lie on these billboard advertisements, should you say anything? Yes, by all means. Just don't use wishy-washy adjectives that are an insult to intelligence.
Not convinced?
How about the adjoining boards?
This board shows some plain, but informative, text (which is good!)... but we also see an artist's impression revealing the (proposed) rear view of the development.
Knowing the site (which is here by the way) I can already tell that it's going to be hard work for the aforementioned beautifully landscaped grounds and surroundings to tuck themselves in, or around the site. But the artificial render itself reveals the truth anyway! There is simply no space on the site for anything, but the building (and its basement) itself.
And this final board takes the (overpriced) biscuit in my opinion.
The new developments that are springing up all over Cambridge at the moment nearly all claim to be 'prestigious'. Now, I have no doubt their finishing (internally at least) might be quite tidy and expensive... but how many prestigious developments can you have before they then (all) become common? Or perhaps the right antonym is: modest?
And as for 'cultural' - do not make me laugh! It occupies the site of a long-closed (and mainly empty) Greene King Brewery (later owned by 'Eastern Gate Property Ltd'), and the featureless, window-less facade was long neglected and ignored. Indeed, it was only during a short-lived period where 'high brow' graffiti was sprayed on it where it genuinely entered into everyday public conversation.
But don't be fooled that this is the culture Aspen Build (the developers) are referring to. They are likely laying claim to the wider area, where some remnants of the former, dissolved Barnwell Priory still exist, and some nice period (residential) houses hide away in nearby back roads.
But that would be wrong as, like over-using the word 'prestigious', peppering 'culture' onto anything and everything undermines its power as a useful, applicable word.
Cambridge is a rich, old and famous place no matter where you compare it to (and is therefore considered a very lucky place to live in by many), but let's not lie that the site this particular building occupies is 'cultural'! (And 'PRIME cultural' at that!) If it's simply about History and 'Age' we're talking about, then it's all about context... to some Americans (for example) a house over 100 years old is ancient. But to most Europeans it is not. And in Cambridge, with an established history spanning back beyond even the formation of the University in the 13th century, some (arguably tatty) industrial sheds dating from the 1960s are not worthy of recognition. And if they were, they would probably not have been allowed to be demolished in the first place!
A quick Google search reveals that 'cultural' means 1: relating to the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a society. and also 2: relating to the arts and to intellectual achievements.
Now, just about anything, or practice, or place, etc. can justify formatting within the first category, so we must surely interpret the promoters here as meaning the latter, more exclusive (prestigious!), definition (otherwise, it's even more a throwaway word!).
Or maybe I'm wrong and one of the developers really does like Banksy?
***
Darn it, even this post has gone on too long!
In Part II of this post, therefore, I will explore some examples of Cambridge's recent (dull as ditchwater) 'nouveau' architecture, and the fact that, despite all the 'exclusivity' and 'prestigious' vocabulary, there's very little reason for the future Pevsners of the world to be getting their pens out to make notes.
As usual: thanks for reading... and feel free to disagree!
Pil-- Sorry, ZeeOx
