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From the December issue of Apollo: preview and subscribe here In the years since the Neues Museum reopened in 2009, the reconstruction job overseen by David Chipperfield Architects has become a reliable symbol for the continuing task of Vergangenheitsbewältigung – the coming to terms with the past that has been a keynote of post-war German […] More
From the February 2015 issue of Apollo: preview and subscribe here If Paul Scheerbart (1863–1915) is known outside the German-speaking world, it’s as an architectural prophet. The Gdansk-born writer’s reputation stands on Glass Architecture (1914), a series of surreal, optimistic and apparently ingenuous aphorisms about the benefits of a future environment made entirely of iron, concrete and… […] More
From the May 2015 issue of Apollo: preview and subscribe here European architects of the fin de siècle often looked back to national traditions of building as they sought to forge novel styles. But the Hungarian Ödön Lechner looked further afield, finding inspiration in the Indo-Saracenic buildings of British India The Museum of Applied Arts in […] More
From the October issue of Apollo: preview and subscribe here The human race is, and always has been, ruin-minded,’ wrote Rose Macaulay in Pleasure of Ruins (1953). Ruins can evoke feelings of awe, of melancholy, of outrage. The English have long taken pleasure in the picturesque ivy-clad ruins of the monastic buildings despoiled by Henry […] More
London has seen its fair share of strange development projects over the years. In recent months, Anish Kapoor finally confirmed what we all suspected about the Orbit structure at the Olympic Park – that it is really an oversized Helter Skelter – and the judges of this year’s Carbuncle Cup awarded architecture’s least coveted prize to the Walkie Talkie, the only office […] More
The UK’s architectural heritage is rich, varied, and widely celebrated. Historic buildings of all types – from churches and cathedrals, to local pubs, housing estates, tube stations and industrial buildings – have their champions, and many are listed to protect them from unsympathetic development, destruction or neglect. But every year some extraordinary buildings are lost to the public, too… Source More
Much has been said and written about Robin Hood Gardens, and the latest news – that a review of the decision not to list the buildings was declined – will ignite more discussion yet. However, debates around the estate’s perceived architectural successes and social failures have often focused only on the buildings – on the […] More
Robin Hood Gardens, a post-war housing estate in east London, looks set for demolition despite a vocal public campaign to save it. Heritage minister Tracey Crouch confirmed on Tuesday – in line with Historic England’s recommendations – that the building would not be listed. She also granted a certificate of immunity that prevents it being considered for government […] More
