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CARBUNCLE RUNDOWN
Five shabby Scottish towns have been selected to go concrete head to asbestos toe in the competition no-one wants to win, the annual ‘razzies’ of the built environment. Stretching the competitions geographical reach beyond traditional Lanarkshire trouble spots this year’s inglorious campaign unearths some surprising dismal contenders.
Now in their fifth year the Carbuncle Awards expose what others would seek to sweep under the carpet and this year’s ‘Plook on the Plinth’ shortlist throws up some genuine surprises for as our five chosen towns this year illustrate, post war New Towns are not solely to blame for all our built ills.
In alphabetical order our shortlist is presented below, each town was selected by the Urban Realm editorial team from a longlist submitted by readers of this website.
Denny
Denny emerged as a Carbuncle contender with news that £11m plans by Henry Boot PLC and Keppie Design to redevelop a series of three putrid yellow and pink slab blocks along the town’s high street had stalled. Perhaps the financial toll of delay on local business, tourism and residents will prove higher in the final reckoning.
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a New Town relation to last year’s Carbuncle winner, Glenrothes. Sharing many of the same ills, including a run down town centre badly in need of a make-over and an array of modernist buildings that do not conform to prevailing notions of beauty, the town bears all the hallmarks of post war overspill.
Inverness
Inverness, which could well be one of the most beautiful places in the Highlands is all too often a depressing and dismal place typical of others throughout the UK. Development and progress In Inverness has gone hand in hand with drive in retail, business parks and disjointed housing developments. Far from focusing on its unique Highland identity an identikit sprawl of nowhere spaces are being built.
John o’ Groats
A plan of last resort is planned for Britain’s most northerly mainland outpost, notorious for being so desolate that the majority of tourists turn tail and return southward minutes after arriving in the bleak outpost. Plans are afoot however to transform the Highland ghost town into a coast town, sadly these plans depict a diabolical semi circular ring of asphalt around the village circumference.
Lochgelly
Keen to head off concern that it could become the latest Carbuncle town Lochgelly has enlisted the services of American new urbanist Andres Duany who said when visiting the town: “The developers want traditional architecture, the architects want modern architecture and do you know what you’re getting? Junk. The blend can never achieve excellence, it just can’t make it. Not even James Stirling could do it.”
A panel of experts including Wayne Hemingway of Hemingway Design, Peter Wilson of Napier University, Neil De Prez of 3dReid architects will convene over the summer to decide our “winner” but you too can have your say at www.urbanrealm.co.uk
The website includes an archive of former contenders for the award. Click here if you want to read past nominations.
The Carbuncle Awards in the Media:
The Results
Behind The Carbuncle Awards
Carbuncles Candidates - see the judging in action
For more on Architecture and the built environment visit www.urbanrealm.co.uk
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