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Governing Magazine - Placemaker Profile: Allan Jacobs
ABN AMRO Headquarters
250 Bishopsgate
London, United Kingdom
Contributed by Project for Public Spaces
The brutal design of this building is indifferent to the interesting neighborhood that is next to it.
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Why It Doesn't Work
This building should not be in London or any city, not even Houston or Atlanta. It would not add anything anywhere. We don't even think it should be a stand-alone building in a suburban office park. But to locate next to one of the most vital and interesting neighborhoods in London is a travesty of the highest order. One can only think that people who work in this building must be from another planet that must be placed on this earth to stamp out anything of interest around it. To even think of putting such a building in the city is amazing. It reminds us of the Bonaventure Hotels in Atlanta and Los Angeles, which Holly Whyte labeled the "most brutal" buildings imaginable. We thought we would never see another building like this in any city after exposing those disasters.
The design of these buildings, like the Canary Wharf complex, is driven by fear. They are designed to be separate and apart, aloof and indifferent to the world that they have removed themselves from. It is scary to think what the people are like inside these building, what decisions they make and what impact they have on the rest of the world. The contrast between ABN Amro and Spittlefields Market and the Whitechapel and Aldgate Neighborhoods is probably the starkest anywhere. This new development imposes a way of life that is so contrary to, alien to, and so inferior to what is already there. Build on what is there. Don’t destroy centuries of growth and impose something so superficial and empty in its place.
Related Links:
- www.abnamro.com
- The World's Best and Worst Parks - ABN AMRO Headquarters is on PPS's list of the worst squares and plazas in the world
User Comments:
> Add your own comment about ABN AMRO Headquarters
> Add your own commentabout ABN AMRO Headquarters
The building was the first glass block east of Bishopsgate (a street). It fronts a preceding, much larger (and architecturally better) complex. It stands on a very old site which was, however, derelict by the time construction began.
The architecture is banal to say the least though I can tell you that a lot of people find it 'impressive'.... You have to understand that something like 70-80% of people in London think the Gherkin looks great… It did seem to open the floodgates to several buildings on adjacent (and I mean RIGHT NEXT TO) sites also developed as glass boxes, including a rather infamous development which crushed one half of historic Spitalfields market. Overall, they could have done a much better job but some of the photos are mis-informative, as those 'soulless' spaces are often rather crowded with people smoking/eating/chatting/walking (weather permitting). Our building sits at a crossroads between the City (world's largest financial center) and the East End (in both its trendy/faux bohemian and actual 'urban grit' forms). If you are interested I can post some somewhat more representative pictures. :)