London will soon be next door to us
From the middle of the eighteenth century London expanded in a fitful and almost feverish manner according to a cycle
of profit and profiteering. The metaphor of fever was taken up by Henry Kett who, in 1787, suggested that
`The contagion of the building influenza ... has extended its virulence to the country
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where it rages with unabating
violence ... The metropolis is manifestly the centre of the disease ... Mansions daily arise upon the marshes of Lambeth,
the roads of Kensington, and the hills of Hampstead ... The chain of buildings so closely unites the country with the
town that the distinction is lost between Cheapside and St George's Fields. This idea
struck the mind of a child, who lived at Clapham, with so much force, that
he observed, "If they go on building at such a rate, London will soon be next
door to us."' By the time he grew to be a man, his words had come to pass.
The `hills of Hampstead' were in part threatened by the `New Road' from Paddington to Islington, upon which work
began in 1756; it acted as a bypass, avoiding the congerie of narrow and unpaved roads which led to the centre of
the city, and for a while was considered to be a northern perimeter road, acting as a barrier between the city and
the country - or, rather, between the city and the assortment of brick-fields, tea gardens, orchard gardens, cow-yards,
tenter-grounds, allotments and sodden marsh-like fields which were always a feature of the land immediately surrounding
the capital. But then the city, almost in a bound, travelled to its other side with the erection of Somers Town and
Pentonville, Camden Town and Kentish Town. The new road became a road within, rather than outside, the city; and as
such it remains.
The `marshes of Lambeth' were invaded by a more deliberate act of policy, designed to increase the speed of
business within the city and to open up the capital to its outer regions. Until 1750 only London Bridge acted as a
conduit between the northern and southern areas of the Thames; the river itself was at the centre of all traffic.
But the construction of Westminster Bridge over a period of twelve years entirely changed the relationship between
the northern and southern sections; instead of being isolated and apart, almost like different countries sharing the
same border, they became interrelated. A new road was built from the bridge into Lambeth for some half a mile, where
it then -touched existing roads which were in turn extended and widened ::-order to create a free-flowing route
`for promoting the intercourse and commerce' between both parts of the city. In the process both Kent and -Surrey
became so accessible that much open country disappeared beneath streets and squares.
The experiment was so profitable that four other bridges followed at Blackfriars, Vauxhall, Waterloo and Southwark.
London Bridge itself was stripped of its houses and shops in order to render it suitable for the faster movement of
a new age. Everyone was going faster. Everything was going faster. The city was growing faster, too, and the traffic
within its bounds was moving ever more rapidly, starting a momentum which has never stopped. By the latter half of the
eighteenth century the evidence of London's commercial power, and future imperial status, was already present. It was
about to burst its bounds completely, and become the first metropolis of the world. So almost by instinct the old
boundaries and gateways were destroyed; in a symbolic act of relinquishment, London prepared for its future.
The `roads of Kensington' then found the city to be advancing upon them. In the early eighteenth century the
area of Mayfair, south of Oxford Street and east of Hyde Park, was established in a series of streets and squares; in its immediate vicinity the Portland estate laid out the territory north of Oxford Street. Cavendish Square, Fitzroy Square and Portman Square arose. Grosvenor Square was completed in 1737 and, at a size of six acres, remains London's largest residential square. It was followed by the building of Berkeley Square only three streets away, so that the entire area was given a uniform discipline and appearance. The idea of the square and its surrounding streets took possession of London. The Bedford estate in Bloomsbury moved beyond its origin in Covent Garden to establish Bedford Square in 1774, and twenty-five years later this was succeeded by Russell Square, Tavistock Square, Gordon Square, Woburn Square and their network of interconnecting terraced streets. In its turn the Portman estate established Dorset Square, Portman Square and Bryanston Square. Square upon square, giving London its now familiar appearance.
But the city did not stop there. The districts of Shoreditch, Whitechapel and Bethnal Green in the east continued
their steady growth, while south of the river areas such as Southwark, Walworth, Kennington and St George's Fields
grew up beside the new thorough-fares. Fields were filled with terraced streets rather than corn. The population
itself expanded to meet London's demands, so that a figure of 650,000 in 1750 had reached over a million fifty years
later. It was not until 1790 that baptisms exceeded burials, but from that time forward the momentum could not be
stopped. In each of the five succeeding decades, after 1800, the population would rise by 20 per cent.
Extract from “LONDON The Biography”, by Peter Ackroyd. Published by Vintage, 2001.
Amazon: Copper: helping London’s architecture to shine!
Some of London’s most prestigious contemporary buildings have been entered for the
2007 “Copper in Architecture Awards” taking place on the 25th September in London.
Nominated architects include one of those who has also been shortlisted to design the
Olympic Village for the London Olympics in 2012.
The 2007 Copper in Architecture Awards; winners to be unveiled on September 25
The 74 entries for the 2007 awards have revealed an exceptional diversity of important
buildings both within and outside London, as well as from around Europe. The team of
leading architect judges, joined this year by Make’s Ken Shuttleworth, was clearly focused on
architectural design and has shortlisted five projects from the UK: Peter Harrison Planetarium,
Royal Observatory, London (Allies and Morrison); The Unicorn Theatre, London (Keith
Williams Architects); The Collection, Lincoln (Panter Hudspith Architects); Formby Pool,
Merseyside (Feilden Clegg Bradley) and Roland Levinsky Building, University of Plymouth
(Henning Larsens Tegnestue with BDP).
Contemporary architecture is increasingly making use of copper: “We choose copper for its
exemplary environmental credentials: a natural material, with low embodied energy in
production, with a high percentage from recycled sources, and the potential for future
recycling. Its longevity and ability to age gracefully, with a changing patina through time, make
it a truly sustainable and beautiful material”, said Keith Bradley, from Feilden Clegg Bradley.
The UK market for copper in architecture has seen a 25% year on year growth in recent
years, especially in facade applications, not just because of its aesthetic qualities but also for
its physical and environmental properties.
Environmental benefits of copper
An essential benefit resulting from the use of copper is its sustainability.
Recycling
Extremely durable, and 100% recyclable without any loss of performance, copper can be
used, recycled and reused over and over again. In 2005, 41% of Europe’s copper usage was
met from recycling.
Fluid forms
Malleable, ductile and highly resistant to corrosion, copper is also valued for its physical
properties. As profiles or mesh, in sheets or slabs, copper is used by many interior architects
and designers in a variety of ways to create true works of art.
A wide palette of colours
Flaming orange-red, warm brown or almond green, copper offers a broad array of colours to
inspire architects. This broad range of colours stems from the fact that copper develops a
protective brown then almond-green film over time - it is this ‘patina’ that protects the copper
and makes it so resistant to corrosion. Thanks to innovation in the copper industry, architects
now have improved access to pre-patinated products offering a range of colours.
About the European Copper Institute and Copper Development Association:
The European Copper Institute is a joint venture between the world’s mining companies and
the European copper industry. Its mission is to promote copper’s benefits to modern life
through its Brussels based headquarters and a network of eleven Copper Development
Associations such as CDA UK in England.
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