Paternoster Square

Paternoster Square is immediately north of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The area was bombed in 1942 and re-built after 1961 to a plan by William Holford. It then became famous as an example of bad urban landscape design. Tenants began to leave and in 1996 the buildings were demolished and the area re-built to a design by William Whitfield. Extensive use of stone as a building material was welcome but the scheme has few other virtues.

The architecture is banal, if traditional, and the spaces unrelieved by water, vegetation or comfortable seating. In winter they are cold and hard. In summer they are hot and dazzling. It is disappointing that so much debate and so much design effort produced such a dull urban landscape. The graveyard of St Paul's Cathedral, and its entrance steps, are far more popular with local office workers.

>The Shepherd and Sheep sculpture by Elizabeth Frink looked as detached from the old Paternoster Square as it does from the new Paternoster Square.

HOMEPAGE - Landscape Architecture London List

• 7 months ago Peter Shep said

  From an iggorant visitor. After all the fuss in planning, I was disappointed architecturally when first seeing new Pater Noster Sq. However, I was well impressed with the recovery of Wren's Temple Bar. I made comment at the time, which you can find on flickr:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteshep/2422772230/
  Best regards, Peter Shep (NZ)

• almost 2 years ago Tom said

  I think the design idea WAS to create an Italian-style piazza. This might have worked if (1) the Paternoster space was avaialable for holding markets (2) the Paternoster space was at the hub of the urban circulation system so that it became a place of congregation.

• almost 2 years ago alanj said

  you mentioned the squares in italy but perhaps you haven't seen them? they generally have no vegetation but sometimes water because of their history and the architecture is frequently innocuous because a cathedral dominates. sounds like paternoster.....