Posts Tagged Regeneration
A Room for London – review
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on January 16, 2012
A small vessel perched on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall has become London's most coveted hotel room
The river Thames has a way of defeating plans for its jollification. For decades architects have looked on its great, tempting emptiness and felt an irresistible urge to propose beaches, inhabited bridges, lidos, zones for festivals fluttering with pennants and balloons, places to promenade as if it were the edge of the Mediterranean. In the 1980s Richard Rogers imagined an archipelago of pleasure, with the forms and construction methods of oil rigs remade into towers and pinnacles of fun. Most recently, the architects Gensler proposed the floating hospitality suite they called the London River Park.
Mostly these plans don't happen. The river flows on, lugubrious and imperturbable, which is possibly because, as Joseph Conrad observed, it is not really a fun sort of thing. "And this also," he wrote in Heart of Darkness, "has been one of the dark places of the earth," as he embarked on that book's journey into forms of savagery that lay beneath a veil of civilisation. For him it was the "sleepless river" of a "monstrous" and "brooding" city. "What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river," he also wrote, "into the mystery of an unknown earth!"
One Thames project that has happened is A Room for London, a boat-like object perched high on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth hall at the Southbank Centre, as if stranded there by a receding deluge. Where many Thames proposals want to put things of land on to water, this puts something riverine – a boat – on to land. It is a temporary structure, a cross between building and sculpture, by the architect David Kohn and the artist Fiona Banner. It contains a single hotel room which anyone can in theory book, if with rather more difficulty than Olympic tickets. When nights for the first six months were made available they sold out in 12 minutes; the next batch goes on sale on Thursday (at £120 a night).
This little space is the production of an impressive array of cultural impresarios: the Southbank Centre, Artangel, and Living Architecture, the organisation set up by the writer Alain de Botton to build beautiful new houses which can be rented for holidays. It comes, like many cultural projects in 2012, with an Olympic tag, being officially part of the cultural Olympiad. As well as paying guests, writers, artists and musicians have been invited to stay there, and be creative.
From the outside the jaunty vessel seems to fall within the "fun" category of Thames projects. It juts perkily into the void, and three little wind turbines, like displaced propellers, whirr on the top of a triangular rig. It is a toy, palpably and deliberately incongruous. It is a folly. But it turns out that its makers also had Conradian ambitions. The boat is called the Roi des Belges, after the vessel in which Conrad himself sailed up the river Congo, in the journey that would inspire Heart of Darkness. Inside there is a cabinet containing old maps of the Thames and the Congo, in reference to the parallels that Conrad made between the two rivers. An octagonal table and a box of dominos echo similar objects described in the master's novels.
There are other inspirations. The intricate house and museum of the architect Sir John Soane is cited by David Kohn as a help in designing the "episodic" sequence of small spaces that are inside the boat, as you progress from a little vestibule to a galley, to a bedroom that opens up to penthouse views of the river, bracketed by the Palace of Westminster to the left, and St Paul's Cathedral to the right. Alongside the river maps there is a copy of a drawing by Soane's collaborator JM Gandy that shows Soane's Bank of England as if it were a Roman ruin, and which might be taken as a comment, if desired, on financial calamity, or on the fragility of civilisation described by Conrad. Kohn also mentions the baroque architect Nicholas Hawksmoor as an influence, even though his heavy white stone churches would come top of most lists of Structures Least Likely to Float. The spire-like superstructure of A Room for London refers to these churches, and to the spires of London in general.
The main point, says Kohn, is to combine the intimate and the epic, in a way not unlike the relation of domesticity to vastness that you get in boats. "The interiors feel comfortable and you know what to do there, but it's not just an easy or twee kind of comfort. You are connected to the Thames, to a wider world, also to what one thinks of the world. You have a relationship to disputed, uncertain territory."
In all this the intention was to avoid kitsch and creating a one-line joke. The timber-lined interior, stained in places in rich pinkish-red, is not pushed to the point where it is literally boat-like in every detail, but rather seeks other architectural qualities, which is where the influence of Soane comes in. It was also important to Kohn and Banner that the structure was exactingly well made, by the specialist company Millimetre. "It is solid; it has a kind of earnestness," says Kohn, which keeps it away from being a stage set.
And so the lucky purchasers of nights in the hotel room, the intellectual aesthete's equivalent of Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket, will be able to contemplate the "venerable stream" much as Conrad's characters did in the cruising yawl Nellie. At sunset they will be able to watch the gloom "become more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun". They can, should they want to, think their thoughts about the world and their place in it.
A Room for London is small, and temporary, and will only be fully enjoyed by a few people. It is not a prototype for future Thames-side development, and offers no solutions to the problems of urban regeneration. It may, even, not quite match the fathomless profundity of its inspirations, being rather an enjoyable and well-made jeu d'esprit. But I have a feeling it will give satisfactions that other Olympic projects will not match: it is intelligent, witty, pleasurable, and is based on observing its surroundings as they actually are, rather than imposing a bombastic idea of what they should be.
Liverpool’s world heritage status threatened by dockside development
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on November 24, 2011
The £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme has reportedly been criticised by Unesco team
Unless radical changes are made to a plan to build a series of skyscrapers along Liverpool's famous waterfront, the city could lose its world heritage status, according to a delegation of inspectors from Unesco.
It is a fate that Liverpool is keen to avoid as the world heritage status places the city that spawned the Beatles alongside the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. It is crucial to marketing the city to visitors.
The three-day inspection last week, led by Ron van Oers, left Liverpool with the message that unless Peel Holdings's £5.5bn Liverpool Waters project is radically changed Unesco will recommend the city should be stripped of the status, according to the Liverpool Daily Post.
Peel Holdings' scheme, which will be considered by the council's planning committee in January, regenerates the deprived northern docklands by building shops, restaurants and offices. The company has already reduced the height of its controversial Shanghai Tower (which aims to replicate the Chinese city's dramatic waterfront) to 55 storeys.
But sources said the inspectors were unimpressed by the huge buildings. The Unesco inspectors will produce a report shortly before Christmas and it will be sent to Liverpool council and Peel Holdings.
The company, owner of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Trafford Centre, has previously said it will not compromise any further on the scheme.
Speaking during the inspection visit, Van Oers warned that Unesco's decision would have significant implications for cities around the world. "The way that the world heritage committee will eventually rule about this case is going to be part of case law that is going to be used by the …committee later on," he said.
The committee will vote on its findings in June 2012.
Liverpool's world heritage site officially stretches from Albert Dock, which has the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in the UK, along the Pier Head and up to Stanley Dock. It takes in the elegant Edwardian "three graces": the Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings, which have defined the view from the Mersey for almost a century.
Dresden lost its world heritage site status two years ago after building a bridge over the river Elbe.
Liverpool council's leader, Joe Anderson, said: "I think we can reach a compromise, but Peel have already compromised. I think the scheme is a game changer. It's a catalyst for regeneration for years to come, that is how important it is."
This year, an independent report commissioned by English Heritage warned the waterfront could lose its world heritage status because of the development plans. But Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool John Moores University said given a choice of no development in north Liverpool and losing the world heritage status, it was a no-brainer.
"Without doubt, it is a very good thing to have the world heritage status and I'm sure it's helpful in sharpening the city's image," he said. "But we cannot be preserved in aspic and we have to have development."
In the past decade, the city centre and waterfront have developed beyond recognition.
"It is good to have world heritage status, but we must also have development, and investment in north Liverpool is tremendously important. But it would be a pity if the plaque on the waterfront was taken away."
He praised the development on the waterfront with the Kings Dock, Arena and museum but said that north Liverpool "is the nut we still have to crack" in terms of development and economic growth.
Tourism is worth £3bn to the economy in Liverpool and 42,000 jobs depend on it. When visitors are asked why they come to Liverpool, many cite the world heritage and capital of culture designations.
A spokesperson for Unesco refused to confirm the delegation's finding during the visit: "We don't issue statements or discuss the finding of such missions as they are first presented to the world heritage committee."
Liverpool’s world heritage status threatened by dockside development
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on November 24, 2011
The £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme has reportedly been criticised by Unesco team
Unless radical changes are made to a plan to build a series of skyscrapers along Liverpool's famous waterfront, the city could lose its world heritage status, according to a delegation of inspectors from Unesco.
It is a fate that Liverpool is keen to avoid as the world heritage status places the city that spawned the Beatles alongside the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. It is crucial to marketing the city to visitors.
The three-day inspection last week, led by Ron van Oers, left Liverpool with the message that unless Peel Holdings's £5.5bn Liverpool Waters project is radically changed Unesco will recommend the city should be stripped of the status, according to the Liverpool Daily Post.
Peel Holdings' scheme, which will be considered by the council's planning committee in January, regenerates the deprived northern docklands by building shops, restaurants and offices. The company has already reduced the height of its controversial Shanghai Tower (which aims to replicate the Chinese city's dramatic waterfront) to 55 storeys.
But sources said the inspectors were unimpressed by the huge buildings. The Unesco inspectors will produce a report shortly before Christmas and it will be sent to Liverpool council and Peel Holdings.
The company, owner of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Trafford Centre, has previously said it will not compromise any further on the scheme.
Speaking during the inspection visit, Van Oers warned that Unesco's decision would have significant implications for cities around the world. "The way that the world heritage committee will eventually rule about this case is going to be part of case law that is going to be used by the …committee later on," he said.
The committee will vote on its findings in June 2012.
Liverpool's world heritage site officially stretches from Albert Dock, which has the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in the UK, along the Pier Head and up to Stanley Dock. It takes in the elegant Edwardian "three graces": the Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings, which have defined the view from the Mersey for almost a century.
Dresden lost its world heritage site status two years ago after building a bridge over the river Elbe.
Liverpool council's leader, Joe Anderson, said: "I think we can reach a compromise, but Peel have already compromised. I think the scheme is a game changer. It's a catalyst for regeneration for years to come, that is how important it is."
This year, an independent report commissioned by English Heritage warned the waterfront could lose its world heritage status because of the development plans. But Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool John Moores University said given a choice of no development in north Liverpool and losing the world heritage status, it was a no-brainer.
"Without doubt, it is a very good thing to have the world heritage status and I'm sure it's helpful in sharpening the city's image," he said. "But we cannot be preserved in aspic and we have to have development."
In the past decade, the city centre and waterfront have developed beyond recognition.
"It is good to have world heritage status, but we must also have development, and investment in north Liverpool is tremendously important. But it would be a pity if the plaque on the waterfront was taken away."
He praised the development on the waterfront with the Kings Dock, Arena and museum but said that north Liverpool "is the nut we still have to crack" in terms of development and economic growth.
Tourism is worth £3bn to the economy in Liverpool and 42,000 jobs depend on it. When visitors are asked why they come to Liverpool, many cite the world heritage and capital of culture designations.
A spokesperson for Unesco refused to confirm the delegation's finding during the visit: "We don't issue statements or discuss the finding of such missions as they are first presented to the world heritage committee."
Eco-home developer BioRegional Quintain to shut
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on November 11, 2011
Property developer behind environmentally sustainable schemes will halt work after Middlehaven first phase
The UK's highest-profile sustainable developer, BioRegional Quintain, is to be wound up after its parent company, the property developer Quintain, decided to focus on the London market.
BioRegional Quintain, originally set up as a joint venture by the influential environmental charity behind "One Planet Living" and Quintain in 2005, will finish the 80-home first phase of the Middlehaven scheme in Middlesbrough, and then wind itself up.
BioRegional Quintain's chief executive, Pete Halsall, told this week's Building magazine: "It is extremely sad but it is part of a wider decision of Quintain's board to focus on its core business. My understanding is that Quintain wants to be able to express sustainability in its developments in a different way."
Halsall confirmed that the venture would shut, with the loss of five jobs. It leaves the Homes and Communities Agency's (HCA) £200m, 750-home Middlehaven scheme without a residential developer for its later phases, raising fears for the project's green credentials.
BioRegional Quintain will also withdraw from the London Development Agency's prestigious One Gallions project in east London, where it was selected in 2007 with Crest Nicholson and Southern Housing Group to build a model 260-home environmentally sustainable development.
At its peak before the downturn, BioRegional had a £350m development pipeline on six sites. Its most successful scheme was the award-winning One Brighton joint venture with Crest Nicholson, which completed last year and included allotment spaces for residents to grow their own food on the roof of the development.
The joint venture was dedicated to the 10 principles espoused by BioRegional Quintain's "One Planet Living" philosophy, including the need for developments to be zero carbon and zero waste, to use local food, and promote residents' "health and happiness".
Wembley developer Quintain bought BioRegional's share in the joint venture last year. Halsall, who will leave the business, said the move did not mean that the kind of development promoted by BioRegional Quintain was a thing of the past, and that he would shortly be announcing a new venture dedicated to "deep green" developments. "There is still tremendous potential. Quintain has to focus on its primary portfolio right now but this kind of development is absolutely still the future."
The firm's demise was lamented by two Stirling prize-winning architects, both of whom have worked with the developer. Peckham Library architect Will Alsop, who was the master planner on Middlehaven, said: "It is very sad news. This was a company very committed to doing things in a more responsible way."
Peter Clegg, of Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects, which designed One Brighton, called the development a "great shame".
"It was a joint venture between some of the most conscientious sustainability thinkers of the past 10 years and one of the more significant developers, which had significant resources," he said.
David Curtis, HCA executive director, said: "While this is disappointing news, we remain firmly committed to Middlehaven. We are in discussions with BioRegional's parent company, Quintain Estates, to find the best way forward for their work at Middlehaven."
Park Hill estate, Sheffield’s notorious landmark, gets £100m revamp
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on September 27, 2011
Developers take gamble on formerly run-down housing estate, with first renovated apartments going on sale in October
For many people in Sheffield over recent decades, Park Hill was the last place you would want to end up living as a social tenant. It thus sounds little short of a miracle that around 1,000 people have expressed an interest in buying a flat in the vast postwar housing estate, a fortnight before the homes even go on sale.
It is, in fact, the first indication that a hugely ambitious £100m gamble on the rehabilitation of that most disparaged of architectural styles, postwar brutalism, might pay off. For more than 50 years Park Hill has been one of Sheffield's most famous – or, depending on your view, notorious – landmarks, looming vast and grey on a hill overlooking the city centre. It was designed in the late 1950s by Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn, a pair of idealistic young modernists, and replaced a badly bombed slum area.
While sticking to a tight budget, their blueprint incorporated a series of innovative ideas, including blocks which tapered down from 14 to four storeys as the site rose, giving a continuously level roofline, and a famous network of interlinked "streets in the sky" – ascending walkways wide enough for milk floats.
Park Hill was initially popular but its fortunes declined due both to design – the streets in the sky proved an ideal escape route for criminals – and poor maintenance, as well as the gradual replacement of original residents by short-term tenants and problem families.
By the 1980s Park Hill had a reputation, not completely deserved, as a decrepit no-go area. Probably the only thing which saved it was English Heritage's decision in 1998 to grant the estate a heavily protected Grade II* listing.
This in turn left Sheffield city council with a headache: not only was it forbidden from demolishing Park Hill, the listing meant scope for renovation was severely limited.
Eventually the council signed a deal with Urban Splash, a developer which made its name turning central Manchester's long-neglected Victorian warehouses into desirable homes.
After a tortuous and financially precarious seven-year project, on 8 October the first 52 apartments of an eventual 874 will go on sale, with another 26 available via a housing association. The developers also want cafes, shops and other businesses to occupy commercial units.
In a deliberate statement of intent, the first renovated block is that directly facing the city. While only a handful of show flats are completed, the exterior already presents an utterly transformed face – the crumbling concrete frame cleaned and repaired, window spaces expanded and grubby brick facings replaced by anodised metal panels in a cascade of vibrant colours.
Urban Splash says it has been "delighted" with the response, with about 1,000 people signing up for information ahead of the first sales, and strong interest from businesses.
If Park Hill is successfully reborn – far from a certainty for a project which has already required one public bailout – it will complete a 50-year full circle for the estate and indicate a possible wider shift in public opinion towards such postwar schemes.
While a handful have been adopted by private buyers, notably Trellick Tower in North Kensington and Keeling House in Bethnal Green, these are smaller in scale and, crucially, in fashionable parts of London.
Tom Bloxham, who runs Urban Splash, said he believed tastes have changed: "There was a time when they used to demolish lovely Victorian mansions just because they had a bit of damp and the windows were rotten. That seems crazy now, and it would have been crazy to demolish Park Hill. Park Hill is a quality building, and not just from a point of view of subjective taste.
"All the flats are duplex, they're all dual-facing, they're all full of glazing, they all have south-facing living rooms. It's a very, very clever piece of design and it will be a great place to live."
Some critics say the scale of redevelopment, which saw the block stripped back to its bare concrete frame, has been too significant.
"The project seemed to start with the premise that they had to fundamentally change Park Hill if people were going to love it and move back, rather than saying, 'This is incredibly interesting and a really good bit of design, and the problem with it is that it's been poorly maintained and run down,' " said Catherine Croft, director of the 20th Century Society.
"The cumulative total of all the decisions that have been made means there's not a lot of the historic building left."
The architects and developers, however, argue that such was Park Hill's reputation – its ubiquitous visibility from the city centre meant the crumbling facade became a shorthand for Sheffield's wider decline – a significant and visible makeover was vital.
But the estate's long and mixed history is celebrated in places, most visibly the retention of a famous piece of graffiti on a high concrete walkway, "I love you will u marry me", now etched in neon and illuminated at night.
The hope is that Park Hill will become simultaneously more accessible – new landscaping and the planned shops and cafes are intended so locals walk through the estate rather than around it – and more secure, with the "streets in the sky" sealed off by gates and concierges.
Bloxham sees a parallel with the origins of his company: "When we first started putting loft apartments in Manchester 20 years ago, people said we were stupid. 'Why would you want to live there?' they said. 'You can't even buy a loaf of bread.' Will it work this time? We'll find out soon."
How a 'palace' lost its lustre
Edith Bradbury and her husband, Ron, have lived at Park Hill long enough to experience its entire history of hope, decline and subsequent resurrection from a ringside sofa. They arrived in 1959, two years before the estate was finished, having come from a single room in a slum area.
"When we got here it felt like a palace," said Edith, 78. "In our old place we only had a Baby Belling cooker. You had to cook your chips on the fire."
At first, the estate functioned as well as the architects could have dreamed: "It was a lovely atmosphere and there was such a sense of community. The bingo was on at 7.30pm and you'd have to start queuing at 5.30pm to get in.
"There were two butchers, a Co-op, a dentist, sweet shop, chemist, even a bike shop. You were only a few minutes from town but you never had to go in."
Then came the gradual decline, as the shops and on-site pubs closed, long-term neighbours left and drug use escalated. Now, the couple are finally leaving, but only to move into a nearby retirement complex. "We'd stay forever but the stairs are getting tricky," said Ron.
Campaign to save historic hospital building
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on September 19, 2011
After exhausting all other avenues, developer Urban Splash is seeking permission to demolish Ancoats dispensary
A derelict dispensary that has long been a part of the industrial fabric of Manchester and was immortalised on canvas by LS Lowry could be demolished despite a campaign to save it.
Ancoats Dispensary, which was built in the late 19th century to treat patients who did not qualify for the poor law hospitals but who couldn't afford medical bills, is the only remaining building on the Ancoats Hospital site in Manchester. It is Grade 2 listed and requires permission to be demolished.
Developers Urban Splash is asking Manchester city council if it can to demolish the building after exhausting all other possibilities. It will be discussed at a council meeting next month. The dispensary is in a poor state and would require up to £3m to bring it up to modern standards according to the company.
But campaigners launched on an online petition to save it that is supported by the Victorian Society. A Facebook group has also been launched and, so far, it has 100 likes.
The Northwest Development Agency had planned to put money in to save the building's facade, but it fell by the wayside after the NWDA was scrapped by the government.
Heritage Works, a charity which specialises in finding new ways to preserve old buildings, carried out a study to see if it could find interest in the building.
But despite a number of organisations coming forward, the cost of maintaining the dispensary has deterred them.
LS Lowry famously painted it in 1952 in his work Ancoats Hospital Outpatients' Hall. The painting remained in the city and is now at the Whitworth art gallery.
The hospital has long been a source of community pride. When its casualty department was closed in 1987, residents staged a sit-in. The hospital finally closed fully in 1996 and the dispensary is the only remaining building.
But Chris Costelloe, conservation adviser for the Victorian Society, said: "Ancoats Dispensary must be saved. This last remaining fragment of Ancoats' heritage is an impressive survivor in an area that has already lost most of its historic buildings. It must not become the victim of short-term economic concerns."
The Society believes there is insufficient justification for the destruction of the Grade 2-listed building and is urging Manchester city council to refuse consent. In the application Urban Splash focuses on the current development climate, rather than taking a medium term view as required by Government planning policy, and it considers the building in isolation and not as a relatively small part of a much larger development site.
Costelloe added: "The dispensary needs some investment to be made safe and watertight, but one day it could and should be the heart of a regenerated Ancoats. The case for demolition has not been made."
An Urban Splash spokeswoman said: "Urban Splash made the regrettable decision to make an application to demolish Ancoats Dispensary following an exhaustive three years search for a viable use to save the building. The application to demolish the building will be heard on the 27th October by Manchester's planning committee.
"Over the last three years we have looked at a variety of options including conversion to apartments, conversion to offices and even conversion into an art gallery. We have invested over £1 million in the building. Unfortunately the wider economic conditions have meant that none of these options has been commercially viable.
"The greatest chance of saving the building came in late 2009 with a grant of £1m from the Regional Development Agency and work was started under the terms of that contract. Following the abolition of the RDA by the incoming government, this was one of the many contracts that was axed in an effort by the coalition to save public money, even though the contract works were 8 weeks underway.
"This was the last straw for the building and the reason the application to demolish has been made in order to ensure public safety as the building continues to deteriorate.
"On 1st September, Urban Splash were served with a s77(2) notice of the Building Act 1984 which obliges the company to undertake emergency repairs as 'the building has significantly deteriorated and urgent remedial repairs are required'. These works include the taking down of the central tower and the removal of the top floor arched windows and supporting coping stones.
"These works will be undertaken this week and weekend and the materials will be photographed, catalogued and stored in accordance with the requirements and full co-operation of Manchester city council's conservation officer. This is absolutely not the start of the demolition of the building which cannot be commenced until (and if) consent is received on the 27th."
The developer says it continues to work closely and are in talks with Manchester city council to exhaust any avenues that may still remain open to us in an attempt to find a solution that will mean that the building will still be saved.
Blackpool visitors to enjoy high life again as tower reopens
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on August 28, 2011
Tourism bosses hope to lure families to Lancashire resort with attractions including Blackpool Dungeon and tower-top skywalk
Above the garish buildings on Blackpool's promenade looms the grand old tower, a 117-year-old oxblood red metal beacon that is once again causing excitement in England's most famous seaside resort.
The 158 metre (518ft – and nine inches) tower, famously modelled on the Eiffel tower, reopens this week after a year-long £5m revamp. Inside, intricate metalwork is being uncovered as an old cafe becomes a gourmet burger restaurant – the flock red wallpaper replaced by a modern design.
On Thursday, the skywalk, complete with floor-to-ceiling glass observational panel, will be launched as part of the newly named Blackpool Tower Eye, giving views of the three Victorian piers, the Fylde coast and, on a good day, Manchester, the Lakes and Scotland.
The tower will be lit up on Friday, the day the illuminations are switched on, and will be visible for 30 miles up the coast.
An aquarium on ground level, meanwhile, has been turned into Blackpool Dungeon – a Lancashire version of the London Dungeon with actors performing 10 vignettes telling tales of smugglers, Pendle witches, the plague and Vikings.
Visitor numbers to Blackpool in 2010 were up by a million to 13m. Tourism is worth £1bn, supporting 20,000 jobs.
Blackpool council estimates the revamp will attract an extra 800,000 visitors a year to the tower, almost double the current total of about 458,000. This would also bring additional visitor spending of £36m.
Iain Hawkins, of Merlin Entertainments, which runs the tower and much of the resort, said the work would regenerate the town. "It is a building that is globally recognised," he said. "And it is like the heartbeat of Blackpool."
Hawkins believes it is possible for visitor numbers to grow to those of the 1950s and 60s.
"We need to attract families back to Blackpool. There are those who want to get rid of stag and hens completely, but there is a place for them," he added.
"There is a real genuine buzz about Blackpool that things are changing."
The visitors also seem to approve. Sue Mount from Lancaster said: "I think Blackpool had started to get run down and it is good to see all the work that is being done."
Demolition of London housing estate to begin
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on April 15, 2011
The Heygate estate in Walworth, which was the backdrop for the Michael Caine film Harry Brown, is being redeveloped
Demolition teams are to move in to one of Britain's best known housing estates on Friday.
The sprawling Heygate estate in Walworth, south-east London, is close to the Aylesbury estate, which Tony Blair visited hours after his 1997 election victory. In his first leadership speech he described the residents as the "forgotten people" and pledged to tackle social exclusion in the area.
More recently, Heygate was the backdrop for the 2009 Michael Caine film Harry Brown.
The destruction of the Heygate estate is part of a £1.5bn regeneration project in Elephant and Castle, an area widely considered as one of London's eyesores. It aims to transform it into "a brand-new town centre" over the next 15 years.
Southwark council said the 98 units on the Rodney Road side of the estate would be "carefully and meticulously" dismantled within hours. This will be followed by further demolition in the next few weeks before some of the larger blocks are brought down in May.
The entire estate, which is one of the largest in Europe, will be demolished in less than a year.
Rob Deck, Lend Lease project director for Elephant and Castle, said: "The demolition of the Heygate estate is a major milestone in the scheme to rejuvenate Elephant and Castle.
"This is one of the most significant regeneration projects in Europe and Lend Lease will be working in partnership with Southwark council to transform this area of London into a vibrant place for people from all backgrounds to live, work and recreate."
The estate comprises six concrete blocks which, alongside smaller groups of maisonettes, stretch along several roads in Elephant and Castle.
It was home to more than 3,000 people before residents were rehoused around the borough in 2008, leaving the site a virtual ghost town. Many residents were reported to be against the demolition, arguing that it was unnecessary as living conditions in the flats were still good.
Now only 11 dwellings are occupied, mainly by leaseholders who are still negotiating leaving terms with the council.
The enormous blocks were designed in the 1960s by the architect Tim Tinker and construction was completed in the early 1970s. At the time, the buildings were futuristic and were designed to offer a utopian ideal where communal living provided a social hub for those who were first to benefit from the postwar welfare state.
But Southwark council says the estate has become increasingly expensive to maintain and heat and, by today's standards, is "no longer an ideal place for people to live".
Councillor Fiona Colley, who is a cabinet member for regeneration, said: "It's hard to describe what a monumentally huge project the Heygate estate regeneration is. What comes next is what so many people in the borough are anticipating – the emergence of brand-new, warm, safe homes for all."
Turner Contemporary gallery – in pictures
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on April 7, 2011
Photographer Richard Bryant gives us a preview of David Chipperfield's new Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent
Letters: Diverse mix makes for real communities
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on March 8, 2011
I was disappointed to read the scepticism towards the potential for "pepperpotting" in plans for the redevelopment of the Heygate estate (Homes under the hammer, G2, 4 March). Having lived on a Southwark council estate for three years as a private tenant, and served as an active member of the Tenants and Residents Association, I experienced the richness that a diverse estate community can bring. With tenants both private and council as well as homeowners working together to improve their communities, a wide range of interests and expertise can be drawn on to tackle local issues, support neighbours and lobby the council for change. Without a mix of residents, an estate may risk perceived "ghettoism" and development of social stigmas towards council housing. I hope that once the regeneration project is complete, relocated people will return to Heygate and take a role in building a new community in the area.
Elle Perry
London
• The reason Utopia on Trial is, as Stephen Moss says, influential – it continues to sell 26 years after we first published it – is because its evidence-based recommendations for changes in the design of housing estates, when put into practice, have improved residents' living conditions. Demolition is avoidable. The polemical extract quoted in the article is from Professor Alice Coleman's summing up, but her conclusions are based on a survey of over 100,000 dwellings, mainly in Southwark and Tower Hamlets, and not on a political view.
Hilary Macaskill and Michael Shipman
Hilary Shipman Limited