London’s skyline is now a “jarring profusion of odd skyscrapers with funny names”, because planning officials are too easily dazzled by star architects, according to a lament for the capital.
“The world’s most famous architects have used London as a playground, with cacophonous results,” New York Times columnist Peter Coy told his readers, citing research suggesting that the British planning process allows for larger and more extravagant projects by “trophy architects”.
He described the skyscraper known as the Walkie Talkie as “a bulbous cartoon of a building”.
“It’s a bit rich coming from New York,” said Peter Rees, a professor at the Bartlett School of Planning, who was the City of London’s head of planning when the Walkie Talkie and many other modern London landmarks were approved.
