The Guardian has featured a pictorial review of ‘How London might have looked’, a visioning strategy that could be used to inspire local groups to think about their own places, ‘how they might have looked’, or ‘how they might yet look’!
The Guardian writes:
The London skyline has been saved from some questionable designs over the years – including a massive stone pyramid in Trafalgar Square. Thankfully none of these grand schemes ever got off the drawing board, says Ian Mansfield.
For centuries mankind has built mighty monuments dedicated to their endeavours, and while today we may lean towards huge infrastructure projects as opposed to war memorials, the exuberance, and on occasions ridicule, they engender can still excite the public imagination.
Over the years, many grand schemes have been hatched that would have transformed the face of London. Engineers and architects planned to solve society’s ailments and built a new urban utopia.
Though we might shudder at what was planned by men with ideas as lofty as their finances were shaky, they were often motivated both by personal gain and a real vision for a better society.
From schemes to improve transport to grand monuments memorialising mighty deeds, these are some of the unbuilt plans that could have changed how we look at London today.
Features include:
- Straightening the River Thames
- Flying into the Isle of Dogs
- The Victorian skyscraper
- A cable car for North Greenwich
- Central London monorail
- High Paddington
- The democratic tower
- Trafalgar Square pyramid
- Britannia Triumphant
