The Old War Office in Whitehall, London
Readers are talking about a mirrored cafe pavilion and courtyard at the location of The Old War Office in Whitehall, London, in this week’s comments update.
The circular pavilion was created by DaeWha Kang Design and features mirrored stainless-steel roof panels.
There was disagreement among readers. A few expressed admiration for the design, with Ken Steffes characterizing it as a “beautiful structure placed in the perfect location”. JZ praised it as a “fantastic intervention” and agreed.
“This is fantastic, except for the startling interior furniture and carpet,” commented Gytis Bickus. They went on, “A contemporary addition to an age-old classic.” It was deemed a “beautiful little jewel box” by Design Junkie.
Souji said the contemporary architecture was “out of context” for the area.
Bob Richmond was much less kind in their evaluation. “Hideous – utterly hideous – and it will be dated upon completion, another example of tawdry bling come to town” .
This week’s news that Rafael Viñoly Architects announced proposals for an international terminal at Florence Airport in Italy, capped by a vineyard, also sparked debate in the comments section.
The reasoning did not convince some respondents. “Is it architecture to combine two things that have no relation to each other?” replied commenter Rd.
“Won’t the wine be dosed with aviation and vehicle fuel residue?” a worried reader asked.
Others were curious about the potential effects of the vineyard’s location. “Mmm, I detect notes of kerosine in this lovely Chianti…”.
Jean-Yves Rehby joked, “I can’t wait to pour myself a glass of Château-Control-Tower.” The Old War Office
This week, news of plans for the newest area of the Neom development caught readers’ attention. The Dutch firm OMA designed a wildlife park that is encircled by three hotels and a visitor center.
Most commenters weren’t impressed. “It’s disappointing to see that OMA is involved in this sham,” said Leo. Dixie Normous agreed, saying that it was “disappointing to see real offices do this nonsense”.
Incredulous by the project’s impossibility, Dac-attack wrote, “I can’t believe they think any of this is feasible”.
Architect Incognito remarked, “Wow, our best and brightest have now descended to the level of lazily building dystopian sci-fi sets.”
Finally, find out more on ArchUp:
