The Art of Architecture on Sky Arts - Series 2

 Episode 1     Bee'ah Headquarters, Sharja, UAE

From the photo on the Sky Arts website, it looks like something alien has landed in the desert. Actually I guess the form does replicate the waves of the desert. This is an extraordinary expensive building, only a rich Arab state would commission a Zaha Hadid design. There are complex geometric patterns, a nightmare for the structural engineers. Typical Hadid curves and modernly impressive. There were said to be "so many layers". It was completed in 2020.

Unfortunately we see little of it's concept, drawings or construction. In fact the programme features more on the legacy of Zaha Hadid (she died in 2016) than on this particular building. Here were 30 of her designs that were incomplete at her death. So we were very soon onto many of Hadid's other projects that I will not bother to list. All we really found out was that extremely high tech design is pushing the boundaries of architecture, if this is what you want. You need plenty of money to do that. All this is way beyond my understanding. I just wish we learnt more about the building in Sharja.

Episode 2     Cambridge Central Mosque

Architect Julia Barfield, a partner of the renowned practice Marks Barfield, takes us through the research they carried out to win the competition to design the £23 Million new mosque in Cambridge. We learnt that the congregation had grown hugely over the years and the building had to have space for 1000 at prayer. She tells us that mosques are so different all over the world, so this time she wanted to find what a British mosque should be in the 21st Century. She found fan vaulting in Kings College Chapel in Cambridge, an English conception of a glade of trees. 

The whole building is a timber structure with lots of light. The structure and complex geometrical repeating  pattern of the timber trees was eloquently described, and shown in detail. The Glulam tree pillars bend into an octagonal canopy that hold up the roof. (see woodawards.com about Glulam). The wood is sustainable German spruce.

It was described as "a new architectural language for contemporary mosque architecture". Surrounding the space are structural timber walls in cross-laminated timber (CLT) clad in masonry tiles, again inspired by Cambridge buildings. We were told about the inclusion of Islamic art, about the layout of the building, and the gardens. 

Unfortunately, again there was hardly anything about the construction. All we had was a time lapse section over in a minute. Instead we were told about other buildings by this practice, the conception and development of the Millennial Wheel (The London Eye), the Brighton i360 viewing pod that rises into the sky, walkways in Kew Gardens and lots of other buildings, all very different. So much too much about the practice, Julia's husband who died in 2017 and her partner in the practice David Marks. 

They have good ecological credentials, this is "the very first eco friendly mosque in Europe" (solar panels on the roof and lots more). Lots of natural light, natural ventilation and natural materials. It is a critically acclaimed building by "one of the most remarkable architectural  double acts of modern times". We are then left at the end with a tear jerking bit of  co-incidental family history from Julia. 

Episode 3         Lambeth Palace Library and Archives

See separate post of 25th February 2021.

Episode 4     New Music School, King's College School, Wimbledon

This episode started with a look at the office of Hopkins Architects, who have been in practice for 45 years. Sir Michael Hopkins and his wife Lady Patricia Hopkins have been the subject of numerous documentaries and have won the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. We were taken to familiar Hopkins designed buildings such as Portcullis House, the Mound Stand at Lords Cricket Ground, the Velodrome for the 2012 Olympics, the Opera House at Glyndbourne and the Eveline Children's Hospital that actually stands opposite Lambeth Palace Library (see above). So not only high tech modern architecture but traditional too. 

I was glad when the programme actually looked at the building of the title. It was Principal Mike Taylor (just look at his CV on the net! ) that described everything to do with design of the building. The combination of brickwork, traditional clay roof tiles and oak is absolutely splendid. I loved how Mike took us through the early hand drawn sketches and the different early layouts. I would have been an architect if only I could draw and have been good at art, rather than being atrocious. We were then shown the development of the design through 3D computer modelling. 

More about the materials. The English cross bond brickwork was gorgeous. The contractor was Lee Marley Brickwork (no mention on the programme). 

Mike described the pattern of the roof tiles for that huge roof above the concert hall. Like the brickwork, the workmanship is supreme. Everything was done to make the roof look smaller.

We saw the mock-up of the pattern in the studio, along side the interior timber panels so that the exterior reflected the interior as below.

The 200 seat auditorium has this advanced acoustic design, working with acoustic engineers  that was superbly explained by Mike.

There are also rehearsal rooms, classrooms etc.

The exterior materials of brick and oak then continue into the fabulous interiors as the two  photos below.

It was such a shame that, yet again there was nothing about the construction. Which was disappointing as the workmanship was so good.  I had to go on the net to even find this photo.

So we ended with more about the practice when we could really instead have watched the components of the building being put together. What a shame.

Episode 5         Concert Hall, Andermatt, Switzerland

It seemed to me this programme was more about architect Christiana Seilern than this wonderful building. It was built within the structure of an underground conference centre, so this was all about transforming a box into a world class concert hall. We were told that the brief was faced with the following challenges:  (1) the space existed (2) there are very strict planning laws in Switzerland (3) how far could the building go up to suit the acoustic requirements (4) it needed natural light and be visually attractive (5) there was to be space for a full symphony orchestra and the 600 seat audience.

Because the foundations to the original box could not be improved, there was apparently a necessity to hang things on the existing structure. It was a great shame, like many other aspects of the programme, that THIS WAS NOT SHOWN HOW. We were also told about the the complicated finishes, and that nothing is straight, but everything was at an angle. BUT ONLY IN GENERAL TERMS. A flashing image of the triple glazing to prevent outside sound coming in and anything amplified within from getting out. The woodwork is extraordinary, but hardly gets a mention. We hear about the eliptical panels for the acoustics, but little else.

Unfortunatly, like the other episodes in this series, we have far too much about the history of Christina Seilern, who is the only contributor. I wrote down a huge amount about some of her previous buildings, her influences and her work in other countries, but I'm not going to bother here. She is obviously hugely talented, but maybe not a team player. The programme should have been called "this is Christina Seilern".

One of the most visually amazing aspects was the view from the full height windows onto the slopes of the surrounding mountains. Now that was brilliant. But there was nothing about the choice of materials, how they were put together and absolute zero about the construction, not a single photograph. I couldn't even find one on the web. How disappointing. 

Episode 6          Island Rest, Hampshire

An episode to advertise the Swedish architect Magnus Strom who specialises in modern houses for the rich in fabulous settings. Who cares? I laughed when the narrator explained they were a "typical Swedish scene". Not in the Scandi series I watch. So we had an extended interview with the man, something about his mid-century influences and and expensive 3D computer modelling to show his, yes, very rich clients. I just hope his flat roofs don't leak in our variable climate. I would only even go for a pitched roof!

Episode 7        Holy Trinity Church, Paris

A Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the middle of Paris next to The Seine and close to the Eifel Tower. A Russian symbol plonked down in the middle of the city, a church, a school and a cultural centre all for 100 million euros. To me, this is brutalist architecture at it's worst, described usually as "massive, monolithic and blocky" according to the internet. This building seems overpowering with it's great slabs of stone, the programme called it "confident". The finish to the domes was at first rejected as they were too shiny, but they still look shiny to me. 

Of course we heard a lot about the work of architect Jean Michael-Wilmotte, but no shots of his team, perhaps he works alone! There were only tiny shots of the construction whilst there were long hovering shots of the finished  interior. Sky Arts even put the wrong photo on their website.

Episode 8    Southern Cross Station, Melbourne

I should have skipped this episode and instead watched the five minute Grimshaw review "Southern Cross Station" on YouTube. At least here we see some of the construction, when there is none here, again. These programmes should be titled  with name of the architect, not just one of the buildings that are featured. However, immediately you know this is a Nicholas Grimshaw (he of those trademark spectacles) industrial art. Actually this episode should come under the banner The Art of Engineering. 

The station was completed in 2007 (so not at all recent) and took ten years in the making. It was Andrew Whalley (Chairman of Grimshaw Global) who told us about the reasons for the extraordinary roof. The wave formation is all to do with the natural ventilation for the fumes from the diesel engines instead of huge extractors. 

They look even more amazing from above. At least credit was given to architect Mark Middleton who came up with the idea.

And then, of course, we are off to look at many of Grimshaw's earlier projects. London Bridge Station was a kind of template for Southern Cross and it did win an RIBA prize. Also Waterloo Station was a precursor for Southern Cross and which Grimshaw said was his "most important project". We were shown the Eden Project and the enclosure for the Cutty Sark among many other triumphs. Too many.

Episode 9    Paris Law Courts

This series becomes more and more tiresome. Just three or four minutes on the Palais de Justice and the rest on the architect Renzo Piano. Why not just give the episode his name? There was ten times as much on the Genoa St George Bridge, the replacement for the Ponte Morandi that collapsed in 2018.

But this is a wonderful feat of engineering art rather than architecture so couldn't be the title. There is even some great video and photos of the construction that I watched twice. So rare in this series. Called a "graceful" design and a lamp for all the 43 who died in the collapse.

I was just not interested in a catalogue of his iconic buildings from the Pompidou Centre to The Shard. 

Episode 10      Expo 2020

A programme about the 192 national pavilions at Expo 2020 in Dubai was of absolutely no interest whatsoever. The producers will have to do better to get me to watch another series.