Zaha Hadid In Brixton!

One of the world's best (and most futuristic) architects Zaha Hadid has built in Brixton.

When she was handed the commission for the Olympic Aquatic centre it was highly publicised. But not many people (myself included) realised her first building in Britain would actually be a secondary school in South London. It almost makes me wish I was still a a teenager and at the Evelyn Grace Academy- which opened this week.

Construction pics above are from Zaha Hadid's website. I'll try and take some newer ones when I can see the school. Probably on a weekend to avoid looking suspicious.

The Olympic Tower

I‘m excited by the 2012 tower commissioned for the Olympics and designed by artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond. (Info & news report here) Not sure about the artists’ impression but then a lot of Kapoor’s work is about how people physically interact with it.

I saw his show at the Royal Academy last year and it was really interesting- playful, funny and kinda mind-boggling. Balmond meanwhile is responsible for the below incredible piece of architecture. China’s CCTV building-

Rogers Vs Charles

I've been following Prince Charles and Richard Rogers' debate over the Chelsea Barracks site closely and am obviously inclined to side with the architect. He did design The Dome, Lloyds of London (pictured), The Pompidou and various other groundbreaking and just plain cool buildings. Plus i've been past Charles's creepy village Poundbury and it's horrible.

But as so often happens a better writer evaluates the arguments more succinctly. As Stephen Bayley points out in The Observer Rogers is hardly known for housing projects.
FULL ARTICLE HERE

EXTRACT: They have things in common. Each is an unworldly, ultramontane exotic, fiercely protective of his privileges. The grit and frustration of everyday survival are unknown to them... The fabulous absurdity of the media "debate" between Prince Charles and Richard Rogers is that each is a historical relic. The prince is a throwback to the 18th century and beyond, the architect is a suntanned survivor of the 20th.