Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts

Tuesday 30 March 2021

Thatcher’s Deregulations and the dangerous cladding


Thatcher stopped independent "Building safety" and "Material certification" as she believed in a reckless free for all capitalism for businesses. This de-regulation left a harmful legacy. A recent horror has been the disaster of Grenfell tower, when 72 people lost their lives. So who is to blame?

 

The main flaw was cladding that created a fire trap around the tower block. It now turns out that 11m people are trapped and unable to sell in modern buildings that are surrounded with this cladding. The construction firms of this cladding were left to do their own inspections – rather than an independent inspection firm. So who is liable and who should pay to remove all this cladding?

 

On Newsnight they spoke of the tax payer footing the bill, just as the tax payer had to pay for the banking collapse of 2008 – rather than the banks. The Tories plan is even further de-regulation. 

The Tories unregulated capitalism means we all pay a price.

 

Sunday 17 June 2018

The 'Mack' and Mackintosh 150 years, Glasgow's most famous landmark

The "Mack" Glasgow's much loved Art School
This year Glasgow celebrates 150 years since the birth of its most famous artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 
150 years major Exhibition Charles Rennie Mackintosh, ‘Making th Glasgow Style’ (1890 – 1920)
at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and museum – until 14 August. 2018 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of celebrated Glasgow architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928). 

At the core of this style is the work of The Four: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his future wife Margaret Macdonald, her younger sister Frances Macdonald and Frances’s future husband, James Herbert McNair. Glasgow was the birthplace of the only Art Nouveau ‘movement’ in the UK and its style had an impact internationally – with Mackintosh and Macdonald exhibiting to great acclaim in Vienna. Around 250 objects are on display across the full spectrum of media, including stained glass, ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, furniture, stencilling, embroidery, graphics, books, interiors and architecture. 

Willow tea rooms

It is wonderful to hear that the Willow Tearoomshave been refurbished and restored. On 7 June, art enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the launch of Mackintosh at the Willow, a £10m restoration of his iconic tearooms. Only a block away from the Mack, there was lots of excitement about the establishment of a Mackintosh quarter and the impact it could have. Heartbreaking that it could happened in the final stages of restoration.

Beautiful Glasgow art school library
The high street needs more unique experiences today. 
Glasgow boasts many unique art treasures; not least the impressive Kelvingrove museums, its university cloisters, the marbled stair cased town hall,  the Merchant City streets and the fine, delicate style of Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s art nouveau buildings which were heavily influenced by the clean lines of Japanese buildings.
At any one time there are exhibitions of Mackintosh’s work on in Glasgow, from walking tours to  visiting his well loved buildings – School for an Art lover, Scotland street school, Willow tea rooms, The Lighthouse, 
LAUCHLAN GOUDIE – Mackintosh: Glasgow’s Neglected Genius

Margaret MacDonald


Sadly though not his renowned art school…
Saturday 16thJune
Devastated of the news of the fire in Mackintosh’s Art school – unbelievable. Channel Four reports that a passing policeman raised the alarm. Was no one on site for fire protection – that is someone there guarding the site day and night to deal with this kind of event, which is predictable on an insecure building site. What were they thinking and who was the site manager?  
Another report the fire was sudden and spread through flammable materials - all seems very very strange - on the day the students were graduating and almost exactly four years since the original fire.
Thinking today of all the artists who studied there and how badly they must be feeling today. My thought was four years ago – this historic building was never made to house these ridiculous structures art students make today - AND THEY MUST BE MADE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Mackintosh’s art school should be only for an art museum and library – and not put at such risk ever again. 
Firefighters battle the horrendous blaze Friday night
"The rooms may smell of smoke, the hallways piled high with debris, but it's heartening to see how much of the Mackintosh and its contents survived."
"Whole rooms and their contents are left intact. The Mackintosh Room - used for board meetings - looks as if its occupants have just stepped out for a breath of air. The fireplace, light fittings, panelled bureau and distinctive windows show no trace of the devastating fire which swept through the building last Friday

“The Art School is, at the end of the day, one of the very best buildings of the early 20th century anywhere in the world.’ Appollo magazine

Friday 16 June 2017

Grenfell Tower Fire!


This burnt out blackened building is a ‘metaphor’ for the Tories failed policies.

This disaster is beyond comprehension. Unforgivable.
That those in authority have such disregard for those who are just starting out - the young, the students, the refugees coming here for a better life…
 what is London offering them?

Any inquiry will take years. Action needs to happen much quicker to have safety inspections on other tower blocks across the country.

Any fire should be contained on each floor, this did not happen. The other story is that the cladding outside was put there recently for cosmetic reasons.
 And all this in the richest burgh in the UK. Totally shocking. Any country that doesn’t value all its citizens and looses sight of humanity or that puts fast profits before human life is bound to fail.


Our PM Theresa May went to visit the people caught up in this disaster – but she never spoke to any of them… 
This is what happens when its all about a few rich elite, and a society neglects its citizens. Trickle down economics is dead and does NOT work!!
The Grenfell Renovation cost 10m - £4,750 for fire-resistant cladding is a drop in the ocean. Cutting corners will cost them many millions... Now we have to wonder, what is the value of human life?

Monday 5 January 2015

Glasgow School of Art Restoration


The famed and beautiful Macintosh building was badly destroyed by fire in 2014. On the BBCs Scotland 2014 program recently 3 options were discussed.
(1) to restore the art school to its former glory as all the designs are still here and were kept safe. (2) To build a totally new building. (3) To design a new building around the fire with some of Mackintosh's work included. 

I've asked friends and most reactions I've heard are to restore the Mackintosh building.
I was rather aghast - to me it looks like opportunism by a present day architect to redesign the school. Innovation and creativity such as Rennie MacKintosh and Margaret MacDonald showed us, come along rarely in a life time.

I believe this great historic building should be an Art Library and Research centre and a place for exhibitions and visitors. I don't care whether the school is a workable place for art students and concept instillations. Art students doing risky instillations can do so in another place in my view.    
 http://www.e-architect.co.uk/architects/rennie-mackintosh

President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Stephen Hodder, said: “The most important work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an architect of international significance, Glasgow School of Art, is held in the highest regard by architects and the public alike.“It was rightly judged to be the best building of the past 175 years, in a nationwide poll run by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
“Damage to  building of such immense significance and uniqueness is an international tragedy. It is irreplaceable.