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Obviously its a shame that the green light for this oil rig meant the death
knell for its poor predecessor, of which little remains. But this story only
hits me after the deeds are done, and as long as they only build one of these
in London, it will almost be worth the loss of the former. And presently, the
status remains that, like its sister effigy in Paris, we only have the one
collective of exterior pipes haunting the city. But with its Stainless steel
pronouncements, exterior turbo lifts, and glitteringly great floorspace, this
is a work of art in anyones eyes. Out on its own (hopefully).
Opened around 1984, I was so lucky to be around on business, so I made my excuses, and went up the turbolift to the top floor. There, I took in the all round beauty of the place, and took this view into my memory banks forever. It was then I decided that, though this place might be Roger's regrettable mistake, it seemed to be a good artistic statement, and great fun. I know that I hate modernistic mania, but this building is so sci-fi, it is so much more than that. I suppose novelties like this are most welcomc if done correctly 
I actually like this building, and it's more interesting than the doppler bland buildings they have put up all around it. Theres an olde room taken from the olde Lloyds building that they have reconstituted on the top floor: It's an original Robert Adam masterpiece from 1763 that they continue to use as the board room, and it's entirely splendid. They have left part of the old building intact, that being the facade of the old entrance, visible on the main road. This is so badly held up by a concrete mound, but it does show how wonderful the olde building must have been, if this is anything to go by. This portal is richly designed with excellent decoration, and makes you wish that the rest of the olde building was still attached to it. One becomes aware that they could have easily built this steel drainpipe elsewhere, and left the old building for us to enjoy. Ah well. Charles (of London Town)
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The London Destruction Website. |
