Hounslow's head up its ass
The recent threads on budget hotel design and window replacement in Bedford Park caught my eye. For the record, to me the former is what it is while the latter is, as some have said, a chance for the gate keepers to hold sway over something they know little of while desperately clinging to the past. There are plenty of ways to replace windows with energy-efficient replicas suitable for any period conversion in a preservation area. Happens all the time.But the recent article about the LB housing on Wilton Avenue takes the cake. If we try to follow the bouncing ball of LBH lunacy, they are attempting to establish the Glebe Estate as a conservation area yet, on the very grounds they wish to preserve, they propose putting an egress stair tower as the focal point at the end of a lovely street. If the uninspired design of a budget hotel puts your knickers in a twist, take a look at the ugly amalgam of literal boxes plunked together as housing. It doesn't get more uninspired than this. Pure dread. Also interesting is the High Road Conservation area that seems to require a second round of assessment. Not to mention the second attempt to remove street clutter. What do we get? More clutter in the form of the new horrendous big black plastic containers for business waste now landing on a pavement near you. For this Guy Lambert should be removed. It is a wholly inept response on every level. Completely disjointed from the entire scope of activity on and evolution of the pavement. Reduce the pavement for a bike lane, then reduce it further by adding clutter simultaneous to the intent to remove it. Anyone who tries to sell all of this as a pedestrian improvement is a fool. A bench would be nice, Guy. Maybe even several. And what about those "heritage-style" LED lamps approved by LBH? Where are they? Why aren't they lining each side of Chiswick High Road along the Conservation Area?Good design is an integral part of building an inspiring streetscape and healthy community. Pity there exists no such agenda in Chiswick.
David Lesniak ● 886d7 Comments