Tag Archives: Libeskind

Feb 22 2011

New York – Part five – the last chapter

The time has come to head back to Blighty. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone – we need to plan to come back soon.

I have been thinking about what draws me to this place. Clearly if you have an interest in architecture this helps – there are some brilliant buildings here, new ones from Gehry to Libeskind – but some great works of art like at Guggenheim (Frank Lloyd Wright) and The Chrysler Building – by William Van Alen. Wherever you look you can find great architecture.

If I am honest I am not a fan of midtown Manhattan – The bright lights of Times Square are not the real New York – they are just the glossy veneer of a place which is much more interesting below the surface.

My favourite parts of the City run around Bleeker Street – Soho, The Village and the Meatpacking District. These places have a more human scale. They are more quirky – although Soho is more commercialised now – with the big names having moved in. But you can still find some gems around the areas if you look hard enough. But you do need to explore and be prepared to go off the beaten track.

The independents survive here somehow, they have learned to differentiate their products. Some have even learned some manners! I am sure they have to work very hard to make a living as rents in the City are eye-watering. You can rent a window space!

So I think that is it – what draws me is exploring the myriad of grid-iron streets – and finding new things. They don’t have to be designer shops – just different. And each time I come I find something new…

Dec 24 2009

Robin Hood – an update on Nottingham’s World Class Attraction

I blogged before about the findings of our trip to the USA when I attempted to distill what made a world class attraction into 17 words. I chose the theme on the back of a Daniel Libeskind talk. This was always going to be a challenge – and my colleague Nick Hammond has been speaking to many of the stakeholders on the Sheriff’s Commission.

The High Line New York - a world class attraction


I was delighted last week when he told me we had some more words to add to the list! And these are:

Memorable
Engaging
Friendly
Theatrical
Stimulating

I agree with the inclusion of all of these words – they should help inform the Commission and the shape of a new attraction. We are trying to keep the message simple for the specification of the new attraction – whatever it might be!

With the news last week that Nottingham had won the right to hold some of the qualifying matches for the World Cup 2018 (assuming England win their bid!) this gives us some real focus. It was always assumed that the attraction would take a number of years – but 2018 is within sight and is probably realistic.

In the meantime though, there are some things we would like to try and achieve – these might include a Medieval Market, a Mayflower project, A Robin Hood Trail (we are aware that one already exists) and possibly a Volunteer bureau. We also need to capitalise on the new Ridley Scott directed Robin Hood film – due for a release in May 2010. This will certainly reinvigorate the story of Robin Hood…

I look forward to the Commission Advisory Panel meetings in 2010!

Oct 17 2009

USA Trip Slideshow

This is the slideshow I gave at the Sheriff’s Commission yesterday. The 17 words show what I thought were the differentiation in a world class attraction – and this is explored in photographs. The show finishes with some ideas about how we might transfer some of the ideas to Nottingham We are welcoming comments!

17 words which differentiate a world class attraction
Oct 16 2009

The Sheriff’s Commission 16th October

We had the second meeting of the Sheriff’s Commission today at the Council House.

I was asked to present the findings of the USA trip – 10 days condensed into 10 minutes. I failed! It took me about 20 minutes…

My methodology was to steal Daniel Libeskinds ideas about his 17 words he uses to describe his architecture on TED. I produced my own 17 words which I felt had a theme across the attractions we saw.

They are:

17 words

If Nottingham is to have a world class attraction it needs to get some of these features into the offer.

The presentation does have some images and I will get these converted so that the whole presentation can be seen, but the words should be self-explanatory.

The formal report is now to be written by Nick Hammond from Castle College and myself. But our conclusion is that:

1. There is an economic case for an attraction – and we should be able to get 1m visitors a year
2. The attraction needs to take in a Shire based offer – but be centred on the Castle, ideally
3. The benchmark for a world class attraction can usefully be drawn from the words above

We really do need to aim high!

Sep 28 2009

Can Buildings Inspire People?

Last month I found myself in front of a group of Sudanese college principals, vice principals and senior staff. My task –to explain what I do for my College clients. But also to impart something for them to take back home.

When I thought through what I do for a day job (valuation, landlord and tenant, dilapidations claims and asset management ) i realised it wasn’t going to transfer well. In fact, I quickly realised that much of what I do was just not done in Sudan.

My ‘class’ was incredibly polite and compliant. They listened intently, but were clearly lost – our western world was poles apart from what they do. Trying to explain the complexities of valuing buildings that have no real value in a true market sense was not a great title to start with!

It had been suggested to me that they enjoyed workshop sessions. It took me some time to try and come up with something that I thought I could ‘control’, but also that might give them something to take away!

One of my ‘hobby-horses’ is good architecture. Or at least a dislike of ‘average’ architecture. I think architecture should inspire – always, but particularly in the education sector. I should set the record straight here – I am not a ‘Poundbury’ person!

My question was ‘can a building inspire people’ – and if so, how. Simple really!

There is no doubt that a building can be inspirational. What emerged from the workshop was that you don’t always need to have a Libeskind or Gehry building (that would be great though).

EMP Seattle - Frank Gehry

EMP Seattle - Frank Gehry

Some of the messages that emerged from the discussion was that some simple things could help. The most obvious perhaps is that of ‘colour’. It is well documented that colour can affect mood. It can ‘uplift’ or ‘relax’. This is not an expensive solution and can be incorporated in a building easily. But, we also explored ‘detail’ – concentrating on details can have great payback. Obvious areas including signage and branding – making sure there is a simple consistency can make a difference to a building. And finally, ‘quality’ scored highly. The quality of a finish makes a building user proud.

Paul Smith Store - Los Angeles

Paul Smith Store - Los Angeles

Whilst you cannot always get 100% buy-in from building users (there will always be a disenfranchised group) – constructing or altering a building so that users notice it will generally make them feel good.

And perhaps that is the answer. Great architecture is where the users or occupiers feel good about their surroundings. And that in itself should inspire?

And three simple messages from my Sudanese students – colour, detail and quality. They can make a difference we believed collectively – and they were going to take those things home.