Irving Sellar Does A Guy De Maupassant
Prufrock in the Sunday Times reported that Irving Sellar, who developed the Shard, has his own table in the restaurant on floor 32.
He must only be following the reasoning of Guy de Maupassant, who often ate lunch in the Eiffel Tower. Wikipedia says this.
Maupassant was but one of a fair number of 19th-century Parisians who did not care for the Eiffel Tower; indeed, he often ate lunch in the restaurant at its base, not out of any preference for the food, but because it was only there that he could avoid seeing its otherwise unavoidable profile.
So does Irvine Sellar feel like that about the monstrous Shard?
The Best Free Camera Platform In London
I was on the top of One New Change, this morning in the sunshine.
You can also see the Shard all too clearly. But I didn’t take a picture, as it’s ruined enough of my pictures already.
It really is the best free camera platform in the centre of London.
More Appalling Architecture In Seville
I’m not totally against modern architecture, as after all, I used to live in one of London’s most modern brutalist tower blocks, but s0me examples like the Metropol Parasol are not to my taste. Here’s a couple more.
Does Spain have planning rules to stop the worst of these buildings getting constructed?
Call me a Philistine if you like, but I believe truly great buildings enhance the buildings around them, rather than obscure their features. That is why One New Change is a much better building than The Shard.
Demolition At London Bridge Station
Work has properly started on the new London Bridge station, as the pictures show.
The bus station is still closed, but according to a guy in the buses information booth, it might be open next Monday. I think he did mean the 11th and he blamed the weight of the Shard for the damage to the sewer that caused the need for closure. He didn’t like the building either, as I don’t!
For more details on the rebuilding of the station, look here on the Network Rail web site.
The Shard In The Afternoon Sun
I took these pictures deliberately this afternoon, with the sun directly behind The Shard from a DLR train on the way into Bank station.
It’s of course, breaking the rule of not shooting pictures looking directly into the sun.
A Real Winner From The Shard
The Shard is not my favourite building, but I do admire the skill of those who designed and built it, even if the overall shape and height are in my opinion not right for London.
But they have now announced that London-based Mace will team up with British firm EC Harris to create the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. There’s more here in this article on the BBC’s web site.
So we must be good at something!
The Shard Is Now On The Buses
A lot of the buses in London are now promoting The Shard.
The Shard Is Now On The Buses
The picture shows the advert on the side of a 277. I wouldn’t think this is that necessary as for the Leamouth end of the route, if you’re upstairs on the bus, you can actually see the building.
I wonder if advertising the view from a building on the side of a bus, is a bit like advertising a film? With films, they are usually not up to much, so is the view from The Shard, not the best view for the cost.
Are Bookings At The Shard Going As Well As Expected?
I ask the question, not because I want it to be unsuccessful, but this evening, I was browsing the on-line copy of The Times and an advert to visit the Shard was displayed.
I would have thought, that given the building’s prominence on the London skyline, it really wouldn’t have needed to advertise that it was open for business.
I did check The Shard’s web site and there did seem to be tickets available for the following two Sundays, although the Saturdays are sold out.
On the other hand with weather like we’ve been having, I might even pass a trip up the building. Even if it was a gift!
But articles like this one in the Daily Mail aren’t very helpful.
I shall probably go to the cable car this Sunday, but there is a slight problem in that the Docklands Light Railway isn’t running to the northern terminal.
I’m With Guy De Maupassant
Will Self has written an article about the Shard for the BBC web site. I liked this bit.
It was said of the French writer Guy de Maupassant that he ate dinner in the restaurant of the Eiffel Tower every night of the week, and when asked why, replied, “Because it’s the only place in Paris from where you can’t see the Eiffel Tower.”
I wonder if Guy De Maupassant would agree with me on Europe’s tallest building. It is just too easy to see, as I showed in this article.
On the other hand, I’ve no desire to eat dinner every night in the building, as it will only encourage someone to build something even more intrusive.
The Shard From Below
I don’t like it, but from below, it’s impressive.
I hope we don’t see too many more Shards.
The Anonymous Widower 