I went this morning to have another look at the Great Eastern Hotel and to consider the particular and peculiar insanity of what Herzog and de Meuron have proposed.

If you were looking for a site for a new office block, would you seriously consider placing it in the air space above the Dutch revival gables of a Grade II* listed building designed by the son of the architect who designed the Palace of Westminster ? No. You would be certified. But that is precisely what Herzog and de Meuron have proposed with no regard for history or construction logic – a 20-storey office block on top of this:-