In this week's comments update, readers are not impressed with Frank Gehry's Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi.
Trash talk: readers think the Frank Gehry-designed art museum in the United Arab Emirates, which is finally set to begin, has a jumbled design.
"A cacophonic heap of trash," said HeywoodFloyd.
To which Chris H added: "I'm picturing the model on a table. A collection of cardboard tubes saved from used toilet rolls, twirls of Bacofoil and whatever could be found in a quick litter-pick of the neighbourhood. What a hotchpotch."
"Is this designing from the outside in, or what?" asked Colin MacGillivray.
"It looks like a cumulative collection of Gehry's work thrown together as an epitaph to the man himself," said Chris. "The whole precinct feels somewhat absurd, if water levels rise what will happen to the art?"
There was one reader who shared a positive note:
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Uninspiring: architect Vincent Callebaut's Notre-Dame proposal, which features a roof that will generate energy and food, has received mixed reviews.
"Leave Notre-Dame alone," said Nikola.
"From the aesthetic point of view this project is very bad because the roof in this design becomes more important than the rest of the building," agreed Małgorzata Bogusław. "This roof screams and dominates the cathedral."
To which dl77sea responded: "Isn't a dominating roof almost a defining feature of many churches? If you mean it will distract from the rest of the building, the transparency of the glass lets it fade more into the background from the rest of the building."
"Wonderfully ambitious scheme with great intricacy. You can imagine the space to be inspiring and spiritual in equal measure," says James G.
This reader was very impressed:
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Another one bites the dust: the demolition of the Welbeck Street car park has both architects and our readers lamenting.
"A building not even 50 years old is being demolished... we live in such a disposable age," said L A.
"Everybody is talking about sustainability and this structure could have been repurposed so easily it's almost a crime from a sustainability viewpoint that this perfectly reusable building has to go," agreed Zea Newland. "We need buildings that can be repurposed several times."
"Cultural vandalism powered by greed, no more and no less. Sad," grieved Cezary Marek.
"Are the precast facade elements going to be repurposed in any way?" asked Sebastian hopefully.
One reader had no sympathy:
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Safety net: EFFEKT's spiralling Camp Adventure tower set in the midst of a Danish forest had readers working about health and safety.
Too bad they didn't include a zip line as a way down from the top level, entered from inside the radius, departing through one of those diamonds'" said Rob."But then again, you'd have to staff that attraction and I'm guessing this is open to the public as a venue without staffing."
Eric D. Hilbrandie was also worried: "What if someone gets a heart attack at the top? There's no way rescue services could reach or retrieve in time. It would not hurt [the design] to have a simple staircase built, like a straw in a cup."
To which Spadestick joked: "In case of fire... jump?"
Rd is a fan though:
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