Battersea Power Station

This iconic London landmark is one of my favourite pieces of arhictecture in the city and I would not like to see it torn down in redevelopment plans the site. It was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and built between 1929-1935 and has become a grade 2 listed building. It was last used to generate electricity in 1983 and what to do with it next has been questioned for many years. It owes some of it's celebrated status to various cultural appearances such as the album art for Pink Floyds 1977 ablum Animals. Over the summer I worked at an event that was trying to promote the site as a future hub of trade in the south west of London. After hearing many proposed ideas for the site (theme park, giant retail park, flats etc ) their ideas seemed far more comprised in keeping the building as the main focul point and turning it in to the first zero carbon office space in London. It has recently been added to the Buildings at Risk Register by English Heritage so I would love to see something done soon to save it from destruction.

Clapham Manor Primary School

I walked past this school recently and was intrigued by why this sort of building was there and what was it for as it's located in a residential area so sticks out like sore thumb. When finding out it was a primary school I couldn't help but think why such a design had been chosen. I can see that an exciting looking building will appeal to the children but think that surely this will look dated in a number of years and will be looked at as a waste of money. I actually quite like the new buildings but think it's very impractical. Surely they should have opted for a more classic style of architecture that fits in with it's surroundings and is very unlikely to be thought of as dated in the not so distant future. I get the impression that the architect is trying to make a statement about his or hers style and skill but think that it is the wrong place to do so. In a different setting the building could look very aesthetically pleasing but in this one it looks almost ridiculous.