1 of 1- HC
- One of Them
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Auld Reekie
I'm always amazed at how quickly buildings go up, and when I come back down the road, I love seeing how different the place looks to previous visits.
Looking at the pictures here, there are many buildings I don't recognise.
- anders
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Re: Auld Reekie
Three of those are around the St James centre. I remember that from before when it was like a sort of shabby (or Leithers 😉) version of Victoria Street. The one that's surprised me most is the Haymarket one - seems to have gone up in no time. It was a near derelict site for years, just some clearing & levelling and pile driving, then while I've been stuck down here it's suddenly gone up.
Personally I'd have a planning rule that insisted on the outward appearance of any development having to be more like the older buildings around them, and have shoveled all with more a contemporary look into a 1 or 2 ring-fenced areas away from the centre. But I'm sure it's not as easy as that. The other side would be talking about investment, employment, long-term commitment etc.
- Forrest
- Run Forrest Run
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Re: Auld Reekie
It's amazing. I'd been in and out of Edinburgh pretty much every day on the train since 1997 until last year - I've only been there once in the last year.
- IJ
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Re: Auld Reekie
I've no been home since I left in October 2017. I can't imagine all the wee things I've missed. 
"The open society is one in which men have learned to be to some extent critical of taboos, and to base decisions on the authority of Neil MacFarlane"
- HC
- One of Them
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Re: Auld Reekie
anders wrote:
Personally I'd have a planning rule that insisted on the outward appearance of any development having to be more like the older buildings around them, and have shoveled all with more a contemporary look into a 1 or 2 ring-fenced areas away from the centre. But I'm sure it's not as easy as that. The other side would be talking about investment, employment, long-term commitment etc.
Â
I know what you mean and I pretty much feel that way too.
However, how does architecture develop if that rule is in place?
Still, I can't help but think that a lot of architects design building to be clever rather than aesthetically pleasing.
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Thread Starter- anders
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Re: Auld Reekie
Personally I'd have a planning rule that insisted on the outward appearance of any development having to be more like the older buildings around them, and have shoveled all with more a contemporary look into a 1 or 2 ring-fenced areas away from the centre. But I'm sure it's not as easy as that. The other side would be talking about investment, employment, long-term commitment etc.
Â
I know what you mean and I pretty much feel that way too.
However, how does architecture develop if that rule is in place?
Still, I can't help but think that a lot of architects design building to be clever rather than aesthetically pleasing.
Hi HC. That was the thinking around the 'more like' rather than 'identical to'. Glass & chrome but with some infill with a bit of honey-coloured facing slapped over the top that would last only about 20 years, ie some of the current methods, wouldn't cut the similarity rule for me. But in some places I think 'near identical to' would be appropriate and in some less so.