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

[randolph]

Like JDRS I am a little concerned that in it's original site on the south bank things might start looking a bit cluttered up. Lots of structures of the same type, the Wheel with the jetty, Hungeford bridge and the Skylon, all using a lot of painted steel and cables. The more I think about it the more I would like to see it somewhere like Hyde Park-it may look truely striking in a park setting - very sculptural on a monumental scale. If anyone agrees and facies doing a render I would love to see it!

[high_flyer]

I think it would be good in the park next to City Hall, or in the new square between St Pancras and Kings Cross. I agree that it could clutter South Bank a bit and lose its impact

[Bena Gyerek]

how tall would it be next to the wheel? maybe together they could create the number "10" on the embankment.

[RugBurn]

Its very lord of the rings-it would look good in the olympic park or somewhere other than jubillee gardens- Definately look cool on skyline esp. with wembley arch lit up in the west. can they make it bigger? wink

[golddex]

i think it's really cool but the money needs spending on something else - no rental income from this either so who would maintain it

[Langur]

I don't want the Skylon in its original location either.

[Octoman]

Originally Posted by randolph

Like JDRS I am a little concerned that in it's original site on the south bank things might start looking a bit cluttered up. Lots of structures of the same type, the Wheel with the jetty, Hungeford bridge and the Skylon, all using a lot of painted steel and cables. The more I think about it the more I would like to see it somewhere like Hyde Park-it may look truely striking in a park setting - very sculptural on a monumental scale. If anyone agrees and facies doing a render I would love to see it!

Totally agree. That part off the south bank is definitely in danger of looking cluttered.
A bit further down outside the tate moden would look quite cool. Perhaps as a centrepiece to the redevelopment of the new Leicester Sq would be brave. Part of the Kings Cross Scheme?
On top of the Shell building

[Officer Dibble]

I don't see that the Skylon was remarkable or attractive enough to be worth bringing back, wherever it might go - but wouldn't particularly object to it either.

On the South Bank, I think a far greater priority should be sorting out the existing buildings. Opinion usually seems to divide as to whether they're a) unredeemably ugly and in need of wholesale replacement, or b) the high point of concrete brutalism and in need of restoration and protection. Either way, though the reworking of the Festival Hall is certainly a success, I think the rest of the existing plans don't go nearly far enough. Personally I liked the look of the old Richard Rogers proposal.

[DarJoLe]

Outside Battersea as part of the redevelopment.

[BenL]

But the Festival Hall reworking was about a sympathetic refurbishment of the existing building. Go to Psycho Buildings at the Hayward and tell me we aren't lucky to have this amazing space in the centre of London.

Golddex - the money would largely (or all?) come from a private donor. I imagine it would be maintained by the local council but I doubt they'd cope with that given the additional draw this would provide to the south of the river or to whatever location it's placed at for that matter.

[delores]

So how much is the new Skylon going to cost? It's big but its a pretty minimal structure. Is the new Skylon going to be contructed in a different manner pehaps?

[MelbourneMaverick]

I like the skylon and it could create yet another landmark for London, maybe on the southbank if you could walk under it, or ooh I just got an idea! put it coming out of the water!

[Langur]

Originally Posted by BenL

But the Festival Hall reworking was about a sympathetic refurbishment of the existing building. Go to Psycho Buildings at the Hayward and tell me we aren't lucky to have this amazing space in the centre of London.

The end result is quite nice but it cost too much for what we got. The Festival Hall is a decent building but it's not a great building. Toronto built a better arts centre, brand new, and for less money than the cost of the RFH's refurb. I am also disappointed by the finish at the RFH. There was at least one place where I found shoddy workmanship. Perhaps it has been corrected now. I certainly hope so as it was certainly below any acceptable standards.

[Jim856796]

What was the purpose of the Skylon Tower?

[Octoman]

Purely aesthetic. Its basically a large sculpture.

[high_flyer]

Well you could get it sponsored by a large corperation, call it the "Skylon" possibly?

And why can't one of the numerous multimillionaire non-doms living in the city pay for it and set up a maintenance fund? Wouldn't hurt to give back for once, they "avoid" enough taxes as it is!!

[Pompey77]

BBC:

Bid to rebuild city's 'lost icon'



A campaign has begun to rebuild what has been called London's lost icon.

The Skylon was a 300ft tall, cigar-shaped structure that was suspended 40ft off the ground on the South Bank.

It was constructed in 1951 for the Festival of Britain but torn down a year later and sold for scrap.

Now leading architects want to re-create it in time for the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain in 2011.

An exhibition this month, part of the Festival of Architecture, showcased the history of the Skylon calling it "London's lost icon".

It kick-started a nationwide campaign, called Rebuild the Skylon, which is being backed by Royal Academy and led by ex-president of the Royal British Institute of Architects, Jack Pringle.

He said: "The Skylon was special - it took people's breath away.

"It captures people's imagination. Anyone who you speak to who saw it would just love to see it back there again."

The campaign said it has an open view on where it should be located.

If it was to be sited in its original location - what is now the Hungerford Car Park - it would be in competition from the London Eye and a number of tall buildings.

Potential locations include its original home on the Southbank, as well as Battersea Gardens, Battersea Power Station, City Hall, and out-of-town destinations such as Edinburgh, Newcastle and Cambridge.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7492913.stm

[Jamandell (d69)]

Here's the video story of it as well...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7492910.stm

[Pompey77]

Everywhere outside of London is now an 'out-of-town destination' is it?

I dont think the Skylon should be built anywhere outside London except perhapse in place of that moronic giant horse thats been planned for kent (apparently its art, which it isnt, its just a big statue of a horse with no meaning whatsoever)

Nice video of the shell center under construction there Jamandell and personally i think it compliments the eye as they show it.

[fitz44]

In 2001 a competition was held by the South Bank Centre to find an architect to master-plan the area. A number of firms submitted proposals which incorporated the Skylon as part of their plans.

Richard Roger's location would probably be the least satisfactory now given the new design for Hungerford Bridge as the Skylon would just "merge" with the bridge's frame;



Troughton Macaslan came up with quite a good idea of positioning it at the rear of the Royal Festival hall as a location marker for people arriving on foot from Waterloo etc.
This is still a part of the South Bank Center which lacks a focus and with improved pedestrian links to an upgraded Waterloo Station may be the best future location at the moment;



My favourite idea though was Michael Hopkins who proposed placing it in the Thames as part of the South Bank Pier - it would look great hovering over the river I think and also serve as a destination marker for river boat traffic;



What do you think?