A new wonder of the world to be built in London

mayonnaise

chewmylegoff wrote: »

.... whereas this bridge appears to serve no purpose other than to be decorative as it takes less than 10 minutes to walk between the two existing bridges which it is going to bisect.
If there was a pressing economic need for another foot crossing over the Thames in that location then by all means tart it up a bit rather than slapping a steel girder across the river. But there isn't.

What was the economic need for the millenium bridge? it also takes minutes to walk between blackfriars and southwark bridge.

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Why, pray, does London need another amazing landmark at a time of austerity?

Because we can.
You have a very doomy and gloomy outlook on life and society, grizzly.
The Eiffel Tower, the space needle in Seattle, the angel of the north....would not exist if we all had a mindset like yours. None of them have economical sense.
In your world the Sidney opera house would be a concrete cube, the Lloyds building would be another dire tower block.

grizzly1911

mayonnaise wrote: »

What was the economic need for the millenium bridge?

.

As a backdrop to the BBC news channel trailer?

There is a difference between making things aesthetically pleasing planting a garden centre in the middle of the Thames.

kabayiri

I think my idea of a 'wonder footbridge' is more a wonder of the world than this current plan

- it is enclosed and sealed, thus allowing more exotic trees, plants, parrots, monkeys, whatever

- it will occasionally spin around very smoothly and slowly by 180 degrees. The look on the faces of people crossing only to realise they are back where they started will be priceless

-electronic hop-scotch-style illuminated flags will make the walk much more enjoyable

Admittedly, my version is probably more like £5bn, but hey...show some ambition right?

[even my version is better than that stoooopid Angel of the North thing].

mayonnaise

kabayiri wrote: »

I think my idea of a 'wonder footbridge' is more a wonder of the world than this current plan

- it is enclosed and sealed, thus allowing more exotic trees, plants, parrots, monkeys, whatever

- it will occasionally spin around very smoothly and slowly by 180 degrees. The look on the faces of people crossing only to realise they are back where they started will be priceless

-electronic hop-scotch-style illuminated flags will make the walk much more enjoyable

Admittedly, my version is probably more like £5bn, but hey...show some ambition right?

[even my version is better than that stoooopid Angel of the North thing].

That's the spirit.
And as nobody goes to see the Angel of the North anyway (because it's in the North), it should be moved and put in the middle of the Hanging Gardens of London.
Billions would flock to London to see it.

kabayiri

mayonnaise wrote: »

That's the spirit.
And as nobody goes to see the Angel of the North anyway (because it's in the North), it should be moved and put in the middle of the Hanging Gardens of London.
Billions would flock to London to see it.

I can think of a few hundred thousand Geordies who will help carry it down for you

Conrad

I like this idea, as with many a treasured monument it will one day be viewed as an essential part of Britain.

Many things we now treasure were once someone's fairly useless wet dream, The Statue Of Liberty for example.

doughnutmachine

It annoys me how there is a London bias for these things. It's about time the regions got more money.

kabayiri

doughnutmachine wrote: »

It annoys me how there is a London bias for these things. It's about time the regions got more money.

I dunno. Vanity-esque projects annoy me in general, wherever they are.

There's a town East of Manchester with a dual carriageway. Along this carriageway there are all these statues. I'm sure they are well made; cost a fair bit; etc. But they really don't get much footfall on the pavement, and you don't have much time to admire them from your car.

We seem to have plenty of people only too happy to spend public money on frippery.

Some things do work though. I think the London Eye was good VFM really. It has spawned a lot of similar Big Wheels around the country.

lostinrates

I think its beautiful.

However, I'm not convinced of the necessity and don't understand why its 'now or never' because of the super sewer. Surely it could be done after the super sewer? I also think if half the money has been privately pledged in a comparatively short period of time then the rest could be raised in the intervening years. Its a beautiful thing, I'm sure people would put a few quid in a box if the plans were put on display as a small display in one of the free museums or galleries and that wealthier people would pledge big amounts given time. They could buy trees for the thing too....the biggest donor gets the biggest tree named after them or something.

In terms of need I can understand that London probably does need the super sewer upgrade now.

GlynD

doughnutmachine wrote: »

It annoys me how there is a London bias for these things. It's about time the regions got more money.

There's always been a London bias because that's where the bulk of the population is. You're forgetting however that there are many, many, many similar projects already completed in various parts of the UK. For example: The Peace Bridge in Londonderry, The Angel of the North, The Crosby Beach Installation, The Millenium Bridge in Newcastle, The Millenium Bridge in Glasgow; I could go on and on and on but I can't be bothered. Other people will chip in with their favourites.

I'd actually go as far as to say that the number of installations out side London are greater pro rata than those going up in the capital.