This is a controversial opinion but personally, I quite like Japanese architect Tadao Ando’s concrete walls in Piccadilly Gardens. I know that most people hate them but I actually really like them – and they’re certainly the least of the ‘gardens’ problems at the moment.
I think a lot of people have attributed the descent of Piccadilly Gardens into a manky slime hole to the walls – which I feel is rather unfair considering they’re just a mix of concrete and steel and nothing more.
Well, there are many, many people who hate them and it seems that the Council have finally realised the error of their ways and have decided to have the stand-alone wall demolished. They’ve managed to secure themselves £1.8m to give the gardens a revamp and the wall seems to be a major part in that.
The demolition looks set to be the start of a major redesign to the gardens, with landscape architect, LDA Design being given the unenviable task of coming up with the new look. They’ve apparently submitted 3 potential designs that the Council are discussing as we speak.
The main focus of each option is likely the demolition of the wall to improve sight lines through the gardens, as well as making them a “place to have fun” with improved lighting, wi-fi, and introducing flexible events space throughout.
This will likely be music to the ears of the gardens’ many critics over the years – but will the new plans be any better and more importantly – will they improve the area and reduce the amount of anti-social behaviour that goes on? We’ll see.
