Letter: Why can’t we build properly?
Friday 11th September 2009, 7:34AM BST.
How the Quantum Leap structure will look
Letter: I have, like a great many people in Shrewsbury, not been in favour of the waste of money sculpture being erected in Mardol Gardens and wondered how the builders, with all the modern technology at their finger tips, got the final alignment so wrong.
These thoughts came to me again whilst on a recent holiday in Gran Canaria.
I was sat in the cathedral in Las Palmas looking up at the massive columns and arches that were started in 1500, and could not help wondering how, in those far off days, the builders managed to bring everything together and in line with the limited tools available to them.
This building is 100 times the size of our sculpture and I know it took a long time to complete with all the various additions by different people, but they got it right.
It does make you wonder doesn’t it!
This story has some familiarity with other recent undertakings around our once beautiful town, namely the road resurfacing in Dogpole and the sports village in Sundorne Road to name a couple where completion dates and budgets did not seem to matter.
Will people look at Darwin¹s sculpture in hundreds of years time and ponder over the intricacies of building it, or will it be a pile of rubble long before then I wonder?
Terry Wilkinson
Shrewsbury
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
“could not help wondering how, in those far off days, the builders managed to bring everything together and in line with the limited tools available to them”
I’m sure an almost limitless supply of expendable labour helped.
Report abuse
Opinion is always good but misinformation is never justifiable. The Structure had a misalignment in the rotation of the axis of just over 5 degrees.. The main alignment of the structure always did line up to a tolerance of 5mm. Taking that most who looked at the structure said it was unbuildable because of its complexity I think 5mm is not bad at all.
The simple problem of the rotation has been rectified. Shame the Star did not give this the same coverage as the problem but hey ho why let the facts get in the way of a good story and a lurid head line.
As a lover of good architecture from any time I know that if you look at any structure closely you can find fault. The alignment of Westminster Abby would never get past building control these days and as for the build quality of the Elizabethans and the Old Market Hall it is a miracle it survived for so long, ( the facts are that not all of it did. The eastern side collapsed and had to be rebuilt and the walls even today bow out by an alarming amount in places hence why it costed so much to repair in 2002/03.
Quantum Leap will be finished soon and then you can judge for yourself and rightly have your own opinion. To keep the likes of Terry happy there is a very simple way of doing this, Do nothing and then all people would have to moan about is people doing nothing and we can go back to being Standing Stillbury. This is my opinion but the difference is I get off my back side and try to make things happen to, again in my opinion, make a difference. If you are not happy with what is going on in your area simply get involved, try to make your opinion a reality, get elected, become a volunteer or help out your local art group give a little time or even a little money try to make a difference. Being involved in your community is very rewarding if not a little frustrating at times.
Report abuse
Forget the engineering difficulties for a moment. It’s patently obvious to anyone other than a halfwit that what is being constructed bears virtually no resemblance to the promotional artwork. Either in shape scale or colour. What the town has actually been sold is a much diminished very expensive wheel of concrete coloured ‘flippers’. But then if it’s a pertinent comment on Mans constant evolution from the truth then it’s a genuine masterpiece.
Report abuse
It is my job to “set out” large building projects,on a recent national distribution site in Runcorn the tolerance i was working to was 15-20mm in alignment over a building length of 115m.That would equate to a tolerance on the sculpture of say 4mm being easy to achieve with basic equipment.
Report abuse
In the words of Basil Fawlty “I’m just off to see Mr O’Reilly dear”
Report abuse
Thank you for your excellent comments Charles!
Report abuse
Onlookers sat on the side lines taking misinformed nit picks at things really is one of the reasons Shrewsbury struggles to get into the 21st century i’m sure. The Shropshire Star certainly doesn’t help either, particularly when it is the catalyst for most peoples views and opinions who then make no research or investigations of their own to develop their arguments before churning out letters of objection.
I would advise Mr Wilkinson to channel his time, thoughts and energy into getting involved with developing the town with inventive and forward thinking schemes rather than having a pop at those who are trying to make a nice place to live. I am sure that huge amounts of money could be saved on these projects if so much time and resources didn’t have to be allocated to dealing with misinformed objections, negative press and constant head banging justification of the scheme to the negative public.
Report abuse
Charles if you are right about “The alignment of Westminster Abby would never get past building control these days and as for the build quality of the Elizabethans and the Old Market Hall it is a miracle it survived for so long”
Explain…
I lived in a house about 5 years ago that at the time was only 9 years old…it was falling apart, and sliding down a hill…
I now live in a house the is in excess of 200 years old…and the structure is still fine…
be it the odd out brick has been impacted by the weather!
Why is it you don’t see newer buildings stand the test of time?
Me, i prefer the older methods, they withstand mothernature!
Report abuse
I personally think the Quantum Leap is brilliant and I think it is hilarious that people are STILL writing in to complain about it. I wonder what people will moan about next? It’s got to be the new museum/art gallery on the Music Hall site or maybe they will go back to complaining about the Theatre, or The Darwin Gate, or The Quarry Concerts, or maybe even The Old Market Hall…blah blah blah.
Long live culture and public art!!
Report abuse
i travel past this costruction regularly,every time i go past,i see the crane driver sitting, eating or reading……. the only people who seem to be benifiting from this job are the companies involved……maybe it will attract the pigeons away from the square,and make that a cleaner place…….!the council should be made to pay for this from thier own pockets….. it will not give me value for money from my taxes…
Report abuse
Charles getting involved also means negative as well as positive comments. As for the structure like the other at the top of mardol i have yet to meet any one who thinks it is lovely and money well spent . As far as i am concerned it is like many things for shrewsbury they are chosen for by the select few who have the misguided view they no what art is or indeed what they know what is good news for shrewsbury and i honestly believe they think they and there views are always correct, all a little spookey.
Report abuse
Andrew belive me I know that getting involved means taking the good with the bad and I can happly live with that but you miss my point. Opiniom is always good and if I ever got involved in a art project that everyone liked I would be worried. What really gets my goat is pepole who claim to know what is going on but obviously do not. It is simply a matter of opinion hence why I always put “in my opinion”. The best thing is that by being involved you get to leave a record of that opinion. Is this misguided? well yet again this is a matter of opinion and not a fact as your comment would claim. Stating that it is an opinion and not a fact is good manners and not as you would claim spookey for claiming that those of us who get involved are wrong must make you right and that is the same guilt of arrogance you accuse others of is it not ??
Report abuse
CA is correct regarding the Old Market Hall it was built on a bog and despite the large butressess intended to accommodate this has had structural problems.
Many new buildings have stood the test of time, prefabricated houses quickly put up after WW11 intened to last 30 years are still providing good housing over 60 years later. It is difficult to judge houses by age when obviously more successful houses survive. Many Victorian houses were built as poorly as some of our present day developments.
It is important that we stop developers hiding behind appeasing the few who are obsessed with houses representing a sentimental and often rose -tinted view of the past and start to give us good design that addresses the way people live today and lessens the impact on the environment.
We have developments just completed that I have seen people having to duck when they enter the front door!!!
Ok, if you live in a Grade 11 listed timber framed gem you are probably aware that people were pretty stunted when your house was built and you were old at forty and built houses to suit present needs.
Why are we today allowing house to be built with low ceilings,windows too high to look out of, rooms too small to get furniture in,and not as energy efficient as they could be?
So long as they have fake chimneys, some sort of link to a past era they are accepted by our councillors. If they have grass roofs and a modern design they are slammed as not in keeping and designs from the 1960 and 70s are seen as blots on the landscape.
These poorly thought out pastiche type boxy developments are going to be the embarrassing legacy we leave to future generations.
Report abuse
In alignment or out of alignment, it still looks like a woodlouse.
Report abuse