Detrimental Building

Examples of inappropriate and harmful development in our conservation areas

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A number of recent buildings have shown scant regard for their immediate context or for the character of the Conservation Area in which they are situated. This is usually for two simple reasons - their scale and their use of materials. The matter of their 'style' is relatively much less important.

New Oxford Street - Over-scaled glass faced crashes into the listed rendered building on Bloomsbury Way.
New Oxford Street - Over-scaled glass faced crashes into the listed rendered building on Bloomsbury Way.
The over-scaled metal and glass facade of the new British Museum Northwest Extension strikes a jarring note from Bedford Square, one of the finest and best preserved Georgian Squares in London.
The over-scaled metal and glass facade of the new British Museum Northwest Extension strikes a jarring note from Bedford Square, one of the finest and best preserved Georgian Squares in London.
The scale and materials of this enormous development on St. Giles High Street are entirely alien to the surrounding buildings.
The scale and materials of this enormous development on St. Giles High Street are entirely alien to the surrounding buildings.
By using a 'veil' of terracotta fins this building on Tavistock Place achieves a monolithic scale completely lacking the intermediate level of articulation (window openings, balconies etc.) characteristic of the Conservation Area. It fails to adequately acknowledge its neighbours.
By using a 'veil' of terracotta fins this building on Tavistock Place achieves a monolithic scale completely lacking the intermediate level of articulation (window openings, balconies etc.) characteristic of the Conservation Area. It fails to adequately acknowledge its neighbours.
The rear extension of the Dickens Museum on Doughty Street is both over bulky and uses completely inappropriate materials. The effort to 'make a statement' has over-ridden the need to be neighbourly.
The rear extension of the Dickens Museum on Doughty Street is both over bulky and uses completely inappropriate materials. The effort to 'make a statement' has over-ridden the need to be neighbourly.
The unfortunate confrontation of the elegant bow windows of the listed buildings on Bedford Square with the glass and metal facade of the British Museum Northwest Extension.
The unfortunate confrontation of the elegant bow windows of the listed buildings on Bedford Square with the glass and metal facade of the British Museum Northwest Extension.