I am very in favour of the Museum of London’s move to Smithfield. The existing building is, as the accompanying article makes clear, tricky to access, sited on a roundabout, and essentially a big, deep, two-story box, once you have navigated your way into it. But this doesn’t mean that it should necessarily be demolished as the City currently plans.
It’s a tricky and very sensitive site on the edge of the Barbican and anything that is done there is likely to affect views from and to the Barbican. From what I have seen of the plans by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, they look over-scaled and out of character, as presented in CGIs. It’s surely a pity that the building can’t find an alternative cultural use, either under the wing of the Barbican or independently. Could it not be added to the plans by Allies and Morrison for what happens to the Barbican, so that there is an integrated approach to the cultural development of the City ? It belongs to the Barbican both culturally and architecturally.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 