I have been watching a series of lectures that go by the name of TED. Some of you are probably familiar with them. It stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. I watched some architects give talks on some of their projects. People from all over the world. Pretty beautiful stuff. Great ideas about urban development.
It got me thinking about what we got for just under $8 million. Brook McIlroy was supposed to be a leader in their field. World class. Maybe they are. The company seems to think they are. That is what we were told when they were announced as the design people for this project way back in ….I can’t remember …2008? Sounds close enough.
But were they really that good? Is the development the best it could have been? Remember, we paid $60 million for a strip of land that is only around 500 m long and less than 100 m wide. Not a huge area. Four buildings were included in this. Actually, one building, an addition to a building and two sheds.
The buildings we got are less than spectacular. In fact, the whole development is pretty conventional. Nothing that I would describe as world class. Nothing that I would describe as an interesting design at all. Really. Nothing that justified the destruction of the existing Marina Park. If you see what is going on elsewhere in the world by other companies, then you would agree with me that it is very likely that we got taken like a bunch of country rubes at the fair. Plain and simple. Remember, we paid $8 million for someone to design these.
Architects must remember that buildings have four walls. All four walls deserve equal attention. Not the Water Garden Pavilion or the Baggage Building evidently. Not much imagination in a giant blank wall.
Then there are the grey twins, Pumping Station and Electrical Building. Disgusting. Embarrassing actually.
The Pond Pavilion…stained plywood. Sigh. The inside isn’t even finished.
