Turner Contemporary by Chipperfield

Growing up i regularly visited the beach town Margate and over the years i have seen the town progressively deteriorate. So i was very excited to hear a new contemporary art gallery considered to be 'one of the largest and most important spaces for art outside London' was going to be built...and then even more excited to hear it was Chipperfield who was going to be designing it!

When Dezeen posted the design for it last year (above) i was a little disappointed...it felt a little to imposing and unconsidered. The local paper/community heavily opposed and criticized the design. Subsequently Chipperfield had to change the designs considerably, evolving the gallaery into a more site considerate design. And here it is....

 

The design still seems slightly uncomfortable in the characteristic town of Margate, but on the other hand seems to conclude the end of the shoreline successfully...this is again on my list of places to visit this summer!

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

After years of devoted restoration, the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel has finally opened today. The photo's show how delicately the building has been restored to it's former extravagant interiors.  This is on my list of places to visit this summer!