Royalty weighs in on London architecture

maxinewarwick — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:21:00 -0500

Even Prince Charles weighed in on the discussion about the London skyline. A notorious and colorful critic of modern architecture, his recent comments echoed his famous 1984 speech when he described a planned extension to the National Gallery as "a monstrous carbuncle" - shredding confidence in modern architecture.

He expressed concerns that the London skyscraper boom would result in "not just one carbuncle on the face of a much-loved friend, but a positive rash of them that will disfigure precious views and disinherit future generations of Londoners".

Going head to head with Lord Richard Rogers, the architect of numerous London towers and the chief architecture adviser to the London mayor, the prince complained that architects were indulging in a "free for all [that] will leave London and our other cities with a pockmarked skyline".

Leading architects rebutted the prince's claims and claimed Britain was leading the world in skyscraper design.

"He's wrong," said Ken Shuttleworth, lead designer of 30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Gherkin. "London is not a museum. It has to be renewed for the next generation, especially as it attempts to become the world's leading city. We can't leave it as it is in medieval times."

The prince's remarks generated sympathy among some architects who have grown quietly concerned that tower proposals have spread to the traditionally low-rise areas and even to suburbs, breaking the unwritten rule that towers should be built in clusters to limit their impact.

"There is no great clarity about where we build towers and where we don't," said Sunand Prasad, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. "What we need is a policy that supports principles like building towers in clusters and next to major transport interchanges."

Read the Prince's speech here