Scottish Parliament building to be bulldozed?

[emad]

The buildings we hate most in Britain revealed
By Fiona Govan
(Filed: 08/08/2005)

The £431 million Scottish Parliament building could face demolition a year after opening its doors if the public get their way in a new television series.

Holyrood has been voted one of Britain's 12 most vile buildings by almost 8,000 viewers for a forthcoming Channel 4 series, Demolition, in which first place leads to a recommendation to send in the wrecking ball.

The others include Westgate House in Newcastle; the Bournemouth Imax Cinema; Gateshead car park; Northampton bus station and a cement works in Rugby.

The series, which turns the BBC's Restoration on its head, is the brainchild of George Ferguson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), who has inverted the concept of listed buildings by arguing that Britain's ugliest edifices should be given a Grade X-listing and not prolonged beyond their natural lives.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/08/ndemol08.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/08/08/ixhome.html

GETS my vote....

[non sociopath skin]

1. Westgate House is already for the chop ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4400905.stm

The Skin

[Taxloss]

2. That'll never happen.

20 years from now Miralles' parliament will be one of the best-loved buildings in Britain. People hate the expense and corruption attached to it, not the building itself. The Palace of Westminster had the same problem when it was first built.

Although a far lesser building, demolishing Gateshead carpark would be a terrible crime. After the loss of the Tricorn (which probably had to go, it's sad to say), that carpark is Owen Luder's last remaining building in the UK. It MUST be saved.

[moggie]

3. Buck House

If we must have palaces, can't they at least look nice? If we're going to bulldoze buildings, I vote for levelling Buckingham Palace. The site would make an excellent location for some low-cost social housing.

[fedsron2us]

4. Surprisingly you might find that the Royals agree with you

since its no secret the current monarch does not like Buckingham Palace.
She regards Windsor as her real home.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Queen-Elizabeth-II

[emad]

6. Spin.

Everything about the 'House of Windsor' is Thatcher-era cold war spin, re-invented by the House of Blair to whitewash over 9/11 war crimes.

[emad]

5. Can't be done. It's in the personal ownership of the Sovereign

and held in a special trust that is passed down to her heir.

The Victorian facade was added as a security measure but could easily be altered to blend in with the original building at the back which is elegant, Grade 1 listed and has some merit.

Although the front facade is also listed some planning applications have previously been put through offering a variety of potential changes.

Not all the later additions at Buck House are as bad as the facade though. The swimming pool is pretty neat and the 39 acres or gardens have acted as the capital's No1 conservation project into urban fauna and flora for the last 12 years.

[baby_mouse]

7. I have to say it's growing on me

Over the past few days driving around and near it, I've notived it melts in rather nicely with the surroundings. It's also apparently very nice inside, although I haven't been.

I really hope they don't knock it down, it would be an appalling waste of money...