Comments on: Barking Town Square does not deserve a public open space award

By: Derry

Derry — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:43:34 +0000

Well what can i say about Barking square,hmm not impressed at all.Its not pretty or a place that i want to spend much time sitting around in.Not a tree or flower in site,apart from around the corner,away from the square itself.The square looks empty,bleak,and a throw back to the 1970’s,with its bright coloured buildings.The council have put benches all around the square,which are painted,hmm silly really as did the council not think that the paint would be scratched in no time at all?,why not leave them as wood in its natural form?Hey presto,looking at the benches which are new,are now scratched and always look dirty.This place is going to be a great hang out for the drunks at night,and rest assured it will end up being a troubled spot for trouble.How the hell it won any award beats me.Why do we have to put up with the constant awful buildings that the council are allowing developers to build?Tacky disgusting coloured buildings,did they not learn from the Flats near Castle green Dagenham?We have a beautiful church called St Magarets Church,i believe they are going to move the Arch a few feet back to allow for more development,what ever next?This is our History for goodness sake,there is not much of that left now in our Town,should not be allowed. 🙁

By: Public Art in Barking Town Square | Garden Design And Landscape Architecture Blog – Gardenvisit.com

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:24:25 +0000

[…] our criticism of the urban design of Barking Town Square, Muf deserve an award for an excellent piece of public art on the northeast side of the Square. Muf […]

By: Barking Town Square’s elder brother | Garden Design And Landscape Architecture Blog – Gardenvisit.com

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:23:18 +0000

[…] make the point that the ‘urban design theory’ underpinning the misguided design of Barking Town Square dates from the 1960s. It was wrong then and it is wrong now. Muf Architecture’s office is in […]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:21:44 +0000

I’ll be happy to go and look again when the scheme is complete – but European Prize for Public Open Space was surely given for the scheme as it is, not for the scheme promised for the future. So what we have to consider is a plain rectangle of granite with no obvious use. It could have been built in the 1960s.

By: peter

peter — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:45:48 +0000

Stefan, you are quite right in your observation. What has been built to date is only a small part of the finished scheme, and to pre judge any scheme in an unfinished state is a mistake and an injustice.The final product will be a new arboretum set in to the context of urban space with seating, performing art and entertainment space. There will be hard and soft landscaped areas imaginatively constructed to give a park like setting, complemented by retail shopping, hotel and restauarants. I would suggest that anyone wishing to comment further waits until the development finishes in 2010 before pre judging and condemning one of the Mayor of London’s top 100 spaces.

By: stefan

stefan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:59:52 +0000

some more research done. it looks like this second phase, which will feature commercial buildings, might be a more intimate social space, while the square itself, outside the town hall is meant as an open venue for public functions

By: stefan

stefan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:44:33 +0000

apparently the second phase of the project will include landscaping, woodland and benches in an adjacent area. have we spoken too soon?

By: Sara Doctors

Sara Doctors — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:41:37 +0000

What a shame you hadn’t been there on on the 26th and 27th September to see the place over flow with people enjoying the space as part of Molten Festival Launch weekend. Over 800 people in a town square on the friday night, watching aerial dancers on the walls and clocktower of the town hall and library, and a giant fire show complete with dragon. Then on the Saturday the square was full of kids playing musical instruments made of recycled rubbish, making models of volcanos, and learning circus skills. Perhaps the good people of Barking were having a well-deserved lie-in on Sunday.

This is a new space and we’re only just beginging to discover how we use it, animate it and inhabit it.

Photos of the weekend’s events and activities coming soon to http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/molten

By: John

John — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:38:17 +0000

I had a look for some other comments on the Muf scheme. I did not have much luck but Building Design (BD) has this gnomic observation: ‘Muf partner Liza Fior said: “Britain has never won one of these awards, so it’s fantastic for Barking.”’

By: Adam Hodge

Adam Hodge — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:56:22 +0000

I have just had a trawl through the muf website and ,quite frankly, have not read so much ‘guff’ in ages. Talk about twaddle !! It should get a prize for marketing bullsh*t No wonder they get commissions ..they must bamboozle their clients with the gobblegook that pervades the website. For example in the Reynold room at Tate Britain they say ‘

Each gallery is peopled by “Chippendale” chairs coloured and upholstered to match the walls of the gallery space. The subtly shifting arrangement of this furniture across the 7 rooms is carefully positioned to correspond to the theme of each room.

Oh darlings… the peopled room corresponding to the theme..per-lease !