Ghost town

Ghost town: London's 'lost' buildings

by Ink on May 14, 2009

Just imagine it: a bridge across the Thames, from Tate Modern to the approach to St Paul's, covered in lush undulating grass taken from Althorp Park. Families picnic under its trees; a child's balloon bobbles in lucent air. Etched into the balustrades of the bridge are the words "Goodbye England's Rose", and the rest of the lyrics of Elton John's Candle in the Wind 98. What if the architectural practice known as FAT had been allowed to build their Diana Memorial Bridge here instead of Lord Foster's briefly wobbly high tech Blade of Light?

London is full of extraordinary buildings and structures. But it might have contained many more if finances, or nerve, hadn't collapsed – for example, Richard Rogers' steel and glass dance- -of-the-veils makeover for the South Bank will now never rise; nor will KPF's archictecturally steroidal scheme on the edge of Smithfield. We take the city's skyline for granted. We see St Paul's from the top of Fleet Street, framed by a...Read More >>