Skylon | The South Bank? | 90m | Pre-planning

[DarJoLe]

Donor waits in the wings for Skylon revival
Published: 12 June 2008 10:34
AJPlus.co.uk

An anonymous donor has pledged to cough up the £1.2 million needed to rebuild Skylon, the symbol of the 1951 Festival of Britain, the AJ can reveal.



It has also emerged the team fighting for the revival – led by former RIBA president Jack Pringle – is considering other sites for the return of Powell & Moya's iconic tower.

Although the preferred location for the permanent 90m-tall replica of the mast remains its former home on the South Bank, the team has also looked at potential sites in King's Cross, Battersea Power Station and in the London 2012 Olympics park.

Campaigners intend to project a full-scale image of Skylon on to the side of Shell Centre, close to where the structure once stood, on 10-11 July as part of this year's London Festival of Architecture.

[wjfox]

^ Hope you don't mind, but I split your post into its own thread - this would be quite a significant addition to the skyline.

[wjfox]

Here's how it looked in 1951:







and how it might look today:

[The Sage]

Now that would be awesome.

[Newcastle Guy]

Fantastic, another icon. Hope it goes ahead.

I don't know whether a copy, or a bigger and better version would be best. What do you guys think?

[DarJoLe]

It should be the Olympic Flame.

[Zenith]

It has to be built on the South Bank otherwise I think it loses its resonance.

[Black Cat]

Originally Posted by Zenith

It has to be built on the South Bank otherwise I think it loses its resonance.

I fully concur, might even be worth considering reconstructing the Dome of Discovery and a couple of other festival pavilions (or their early 50s elements) if that is feasible on the grass site next to the former city hall.

[Bena Gyerek]

I found this on google:



I think the Skylon must have been located where that crappy pointless carpark is now - the one that interrupts the highwalk between Waterloo and Hungerford Bridge.

Wasn't there a plan to redevelop that carpark into a shopping arcade and reinsert the missing section of the highwalk?

[Manuel]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

It should be the Olympic Flame.

NO WAY

It should be rerected where it was. It makes a lot of sense.

[DarJoLe]

I've always said the V-shaped structural supports of the Dome Of Discovery are very similar to what is being proposed for the Olympic Stadium, so having a modern day skylon next to it with an Olympic flame at the top would look quite fantastic.

[wjfox]

Churchill demolished the original as he feared it would be a symbol of Socialism.

[potto]

Originally Posted by wjfox

Churchill demolished the original as he feared it would be a symbol of Socialism.

bloody Tories and architecture! Ugh.

It should go where it was originally. Both it and the London Eye use a similar engineering solution to trick the eye into thinking it is an impossible structure. Would make a lot of sense.

[DarJoLe]

Originally Posted by potto

bloody Tories and architecture! Ugh.

William Hague's manifesto in 2001 included a promise on the day after the election if he was elected PM was to send the bulldozers to the Millennium Dome and sell the resulting open land off for private development.

[Comdot]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

William Hague's manifesto in 2001 included a promise on the day after the election if he was elected PM was to send the bulldozers to the Millennium Dome and sell the resulting open land off for private development.

with the plans for that area, some might say the dome is now an inefficient use of land.

[randolph]

I would love to see the Skylon rebuilt. The South bank would be the best site, as it would be the most meaningful. ( Although perhaps a little cluttered with the London Eye) However it may also work well in one of London's parks, Standing alone away from other structures it would look truely iconic.

[Pompey77]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

I've always said the V-shaped structural supports of the Dome Of Discovery are very similar to what is being proposed for the Olympic Stadium, so having a modern day skylon next to it with an Olympic flame at the top would look quite fantastic.

I agree this could make be a fantastic part of the olympic park although i would prefer to see a new design for the olympic flame rather than using the Skylon.

Kings Cross is an interesting option it would look great in front of KC on the new square that is planned there.

[DarJoLe]

I doubt it will be placed on the South Bank, as I'm sure Westminster Council will say it is too tall and spoils the view of St James Park.

[wjfox]

Stratford maybe? Or Greenwich Peninsula?

[DarJoLe]

By the O2 would work. Sort of. I'm trying to think of somewhere it could be used as a marker for a bit of regeneration that isn't too isolated yet has a bit of potential.