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Sir Nicholas Grimshaw warns of Edinburgh “fossilisation”

February 15 2010

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw warns of Edinburgh “fossilisation”
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has called on Edinburgh to embrace modernity and warned against “fossilisation” of its Old and New towns.

Speaking to the Sunday Herald Grimshaw stressed the importance of materials, light and rhythm in the city averring: “I don’t think there is any site that can’t take a contemporary building, as long as it’s good enough”.

Not all new builds met with the Grimshaw seal of approval however. Michael Laird Architects Royal Bank of Scotland HQ was lambasted as “the direct opposite of a humane building” that marked: “the end of an era”.

Grimshaw has a close affinity with Edinburgh having studied at Edinburgh College of Art and welcomes the recent merger of his old school with its University of Edinburgh equivalent.

Though yet to build in Scotland Grimshaw has submitted a competition entry for Dundee’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

1 Comment

Anon
#1 Posted by Anon on 15 Feb 2010 at 13:10 PM
The Haymarket Tower was refused after a public inquiry, not because of the architecture but for a number of planning issues, and the Caltongate scheme should have had one to explore all the issues (including the demolition of listed buildings) and didn't.

It's not 'fossilisation' and what attracted the 'ire' of UNESCO wasn't the architecture of proposed new buildings (it's UNESCO policy after all) but perhaps he didn't bother to study the details before 'riding to the defence' of both schemes?

Of course all places can take sensitive new architecture, there are a number of examples in the World Heritage Site. There are also examples of the insensitive sort also, of course.

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