Centre Point, London (7240) October 2006
Reality Central
Centre Point sits overlooking Charing Cross Road. Inside it's hard to imagine what people do in this place all day. How do we make sense of spending most of our waking lives at a desk, looking at a computer screen, talking on a phone, and wondering, 'Is it time to go home?'.
Centre Point info at wiki
Comments (TA)
1. Posted by twig on 10/25/2006 12:44:17 AM
But tony, that describes what it's like AT home surely ... j/k
Is this now used as offices? I seem to remember it being empty for years.
Hasn't it just become a Listed building or something similar?
Not quite Gaudi!
Have a Wonderful Wet Wednesday!
2. Posted by (Roel) on 10/25/2006 5:13:39 AM
These bldg are devised for that live, BTW great picture
3. Posted by tony on 10/25/2006 1:04:04 PM
... and when we get home we look at screens, strange ol' life.
The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) are in this building .. and it could be that some people have pulled strings to make it a Grade II listed building!
More info on Centre Point at wiki
- http://tinyurl.com/yga7xu -
Gaudi is a whole diferent world .. and Wednesday was wet, and I'm still wondering about the wonderful.
4. Posted by tony on 10/25/2006 1:12:24 PM
Roel, hi and thanks .. yep, the office block has been a key element in generating efficient and effective businesses
5. Posted by twig on 10/25/2006 1:29:28 PM
Okay, 'Wonderful' could be a problematic word but it fitted in with 'Wet Wednesday' as initially it makes up 'WWW'
Perhaps I shoulda said 'Wistful'?
Grade II is nothing really ~ whaddya reckon Buckingham Palace is on the grading scale?
And anyway, I thought you liked tall buildings!
6. Posted by tony on 10/25/2006 3:45:28 PM
.. I like wistful .. looking at old photos in the evening with Jude.
Tall Buildings .. no, can't think of any I like from the 20th century.
In the 21st century we have the beginnings of new technolgies and thinking being used in tall buildings, which has made me interested in them. The Gherkin got the ball rolling for me. The Garden Tower, being built in Istanbul, also sounds interesting , and The Flower Tower or SkyZED is a concept building which has potential - the concept of a Sky Village is what really interests me though - none built, yet.
7. Posted by twig on 10/26/2006 1:28:44 AM
You mentioned elsewhere Jean Nouvel's Agbar Tower which we saw from the top of Sagrada Familia and several other places but not close enough for a decent picture ~ 'tis a bit like the Gherkin though ...
http://tinyurl.com/takod
8. Posted by twig on 10/26/2006 1:32:00 AM
http://tinyurl.com/takod
9. Posted by tony on 10/26/2006 2:45:35 PM
The (Torre) Agbar Tower (£91m ) .. this is Barcelona trying to do a Canary Wharf - re-invent (or depending on how you see it, 'colonise') a run-down district as a financial/business centre or cluster. The Agbar is a fascinating looking office block with some 'eco' attributes, but doesn't quite get to grips with the idea of being a sustainable and mixed use tower. The Shard in London, by Renzo Piano, being built over the next 4 years could be more interesting, with shops, offices, hotel and apartments being built over London Bridge station.
These buildings, and the Gherkin, are setting agendas that may begin to influence the way we can imagine buildings being used in the future - and maybe we can begin to re-think how we deal with housing and living in towers - the Flower Tower, the spiral street and the Sky Village may soon become another reality.
10. Posted by robertm on 10/28/2006 2:11:25 AM
great pic, but is it great archirecture? Isn't it an egg box for getting a job done, rather than being something that looks good from a mile away? I like the dark tree and lamp-post. robert
11. Posted by twig on 10/28/2006 3:13:10 PM
This is a Fawlty Tower Richard...
12. Posted by twig on 10/28/2006 3:14:14 PM
Sorry Robert, Faulty it seems...
13. Posted by mojo on 10/28/2006 3:40:41 PM
cool shot!
14. Posted by tony on 10/29/2006 10:19:58 AM
Hi Robert, good question, 'Is It Great Architecture?', which leads to another question, What Is Great Architecture? Is it just a good looking or pretty building from the outside, or is it a building that works well for the people using it?
And, does it matter if it is "Great Architecture' or not?
In some ways the tree is symbolic, it's the only one in this part of the street.
15. Posted by tony on 10/29/2006 12:52:39 PM
Mojo, hi and thanks
16. Posted by twig on 10/29/2006 1:31:19 PM
Street or Road?
What's the difference?
17. Posted by tony on 10/29/2006 3:06:54 PM
Hi Twig, interesting question - on the surface the street and road are similar .. maybe the street is more to do with people, walking, talking - which usually includes the road (way) .. and the road is more to do with traffic, moving and parking ..... maybe the city is more to do with streets and the suburbs or rural areas are more about roads.
18. Posted by Douglas on 11/2/2006 6:15:28 AM
This building occurred because of a desire by transport planners to create a large roundabout to speed up car traffic in the area. The tower is something that grows on you, the traffic plan is still awful. Interesting to compare how buildings come about - financial - regeneration - traffic planning - housing a growing population.
19. Posted by tony on 11/3/2006 11:58:16 AM
Hi Douglas, good to have you stop by, and thanks for the extra info .. and it is still a mess around the base of this building.
20. Posted by Douglas on 11/5/2006 2:41:13 PM
Our comments on this building are based on knowing it is an office building. If it was a building with apartments for a diverse range of people and the services they need, I think my comments would be very different.
Comments (Flickr)
Black Dust a.k.a. odonbd says: It's curious when someone do the same tasks, day after day, and still think that's living a different day. Is it time to go home? Or is it time to have some freedom?
Nice shot in a beautiful place. But I was wondering about the text.
Another Tony says: Hi Odon, Centre Point has stood out from the London skyline since the mid 60s. As I photographed this place a few people did look up at the building, but most people would just get on with their everyday life and walk on by. In the 60s this building symbolised the greed of capitalism, and the systematisation of everyday life, now it seems to have become an accepted part of everyday reality.
another twig says: You make this building look much better than I ever remember it.
Were you East or West when you took this?
Another Tony says: Hi Twig, yes, this is the late afternoon sun .. Charing Cross Road side.
stewpic says: Nice shot Tony there is another sister building of this one near London Bridge station but I don't know if it occupied yet but it must be.
Another Tony says : Hi Stewart, thank. I'm not sure about the London Bridge building .. had a quick look - is it New London Bridge House? Also built in the 1960s .. and .. the story continues
New London Bridge House info
'New London Bridge House, a 20-storey block occupied by five tenants including Standard Chartered Bank, has been sold for £39.5m.
The removal of this building will provide more space at the base of the proposed 60-storey 'shard of glass' which would remove Canary Wharf from Britain's record books and also be the world's sixth tallest building.'
The Shard info
Robert-O-Rama says: Sweet shot!
Another Tony says: Hi Robert, thank you.
i.euphoria says: it only takes one person to make the rest see this in a different way. :-) love the angle tony :-)
Another Tony says: Euphoria, hi and thanks. Good point - looking at something (or someone) from different points of view at different times can influence and maybe stir our settled perceptions!
clifsnap10 says: Looks like one hell of a prison.......looks as if you are standing in the middle of a very busy Totenham court road.....I expect you would risk your own life for a good shot!
Another Tony says: Cliff hi ..
the tall concrete building foreboding in its empty glory
imposing a footprint of authority on the chaos below.
looking up at this encrusted structure is the risk
looking out is another point of view
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