LONDON metropolitan university, Holloway Road, N7

Image: © Mike Quinn Taken: 18 Jan 2017

The casual observer will no doubt be impressed by the harmonious blend of architectural styles on display: the pleasingly proportioned three-storey brick building with interesting clock tower and cupola, the Image beyond, and the rectilinear concrete and glass high rise neo-brutal monument to the triumph of Soviet realism looming malignantly over both (and over large stretches of Holloway Road in both directions). Just be grateful that I have spared you the full horror of the utterly depressing four-storey monstrosity that has been tacked on to the south end of the brick building with no respect for its window lines (part of which intrudes on the right hand side of the photo) - if you really want to see it, here's the Streetview image https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5512585,-0.1105225,3a,75y,49.64h,100.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYToKmyJx7Q5b6ph7TuvHOw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 . As if this were not enough, part of yet another monstrosity can be seen poking out from beyond the high rise block - this can be seen in (most of) its full glory in N Chadwick's photo Image in which you can fully appreciate the care that was lavished on the design to ensure that the overall height, the curved front, the height of each floor, the very pale coloured stone cladding, and the height, lack of glazing bars and the green reflective glass of the windows made absolutely sure that the building was not only hideous in itself, but also would bear no relationship whatsoever to the adjacent high rise block – or to any other building in the vicinity. How reassuring that out esteemed centres of higher learning obviously care so deeply about the built environment.

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