In this week’s comments update, readers are discussing a coastal home in Dungeness designed by Hollaway Studio.
With the seaside location being a Site of Special Scientific Interest, construction was required to stick to strict guidelines, which echoed the footprint and mass of the site’s previous building.
“What a great site”
The cottage’s wood and metal material palette left the readers split as they discussed the structure’s durability for its coastal location.
“Looks like a stiff breeze could blow it all away,” said Clarus.
“Material palette is well chosen, but is it just me who thinks that being a ‘cottage’, it should not look like some auxiliary building?” added Milton Welch.
“What a great site,” said Dwg. “It’s a shame the architects came up with such an arbitrary jumble of forms with awkward looking interior spaces. A missed opportunity.”
Other readers, were more enthusiastic about the building.
“It’s nice and all, but surely incorporating PV into the roofscape would have been beneficial,” wrote Chris D.
“White-stained timber cladding works well in this setting, and the massing and roofline are spot on,” added Chewie.
What do you think? Join the discussion ›
“Thank God it is expensive to build”
Also stoking plenty of debate in the comments this week was the launch of Dezeen’s new series on parametricism.
Frank Lloyd Wrong expressed his appreciation for the 21st century’s defining architectural style. “In my opinion, anything mathematically derived is beautiful and sublime, and we have barely scratched the surface,” he wrote.
Others were less supportive. “Parametricism was always an un-human, scaleless, and paradoxical attempt to claim ‘land’ it was always incapable of occupying,” said David Chase Martin.
“Thank God it is expensive to build,” Milton Welch added. “The overall structure I can live with, but to have the entire building as a mindless and arbitrary swirl, it is becoming tiresome.”
Some commenters chose to focus on the introduction’s discussion of neoliberalism.
“While I appreciate the energy and the critical spirit of this one, I found the assimilation between parametricism and neoliberalism, which is what drew me to read the article, an interesting one but an incomplete one,” said Muhammad Ejle.
“The vast majority of buildings designed by architects are parametric by their very nature, and always have been,” argued Alfred Hitchcock.
Frank agreed. “Architects find patterns and direct them, whether they come from curved splines in software or a deformed entablature in Baroque Rome…” he said. “It has always been this way.”
Have you had your say yet? Join the discussion ›
“The Trump sign should be at least three times bigger”
Also in the comments section this week, readers were discussing the designs for a Trump Tower in Tbilisi by Gensler.
Some commenters were encouraging of the venture.
“I like the social spaces mid-tower and rooftop,” said Frank Lloyd Wrong. “Nice corner conditions and lacy lingerie facade articulation and prom queen tiara cantilevered curtain wall.”
The Institute of Urban Technology seconded this sentiment. “I’m intrigued by the rooftop greenspace and the proximity to Central Park,” they said. “I hope this project integrates well with the park rather than overshadowing it.”
Other readers gave more humorous suggestions for the designs.
“I love such a delicate and graceful design but I think the TRUMP sign should be at least three times bigger,” said The Truth.
“It should either be rotated 90 degrees and be the full height, or perhaps span between buildings,” said Archiballs.
What’s your take? Join the discussion ›
Comments update
Dezeen is the world’s most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page and subscribe to our weekly Debate newsletter, where we feature the best reader comments from stories in the last seven days.
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