This week’s comments update highlights reader reactions to a recently completed school in Canterbury, designed by Walters & Cohen. The project features a distinctive blend of flint, oak, and limestone materials.
Situated near the entrance to the historic Canterbury cathedral precincts, The Rausing Science Centre was created to harmonize a traditional material palette with a “crisp and contemporary” aesthetic.
“What a thoughtful and pleasant design”
Readers shared their admiration for the project. Jerry Dickman-Wilkes praised it as “beautiful execution and attention to detail – magnificent!”
The Truth echoed this sentiment, stating, “What a thoughtful and pleasant design.” They added, “This sort of respect for scale, context and materiality is not often seen in contemporary additions.”
Karl remarked, “Fancy that – a handsome, compact, efficient building, constructed of quality materials, with no arbitrary angles.” Souji was also supportive, describing it as “very nice, a step in the right direction.”
However, Chris offered a more reserved perspective, saying, “I dig the materiality, but it looks like a village building shoehorned into an academic campus – odd.”
What are your thoughts? Join the discussion ›
“Back to the essentials! Beautiful and simple details”
Another project that drew lively discussion this week is a skyscraper in Buenos Aires, Argentina, designed by local studio Adamo Faiden. The building features a green-pigmented concrete façade and bold cantilevers.
Johan described the structure as “quite elegant and a lovely shade of green,” noting that it “works very nicely with the historic warehouses.”
Matheus Seco commented, “Back to the essentials! Beautiful and simple details,” and called it “a superb building!”
Not all feedback was positive. Idracula said, “From a distance, graphically interesting… up close, pretty banal.”
Souji found it “oppressive and inelegant,” concluding, “meh, more of the same mediocre stuff we are used to.”
John-in-Melbourne also had reservations, stating, “Not sure it fits in with the landscape around it.”
Have you shared your opinion? Join the discussion ›
“Trying to please everyone and exciting no one”
Snøhetta’s new headquarters for Ford in Michigan, centered around an engineering-focused core, received a more lukewarm response from readers.
Rickboxer described it as “Clean! Bright! Umm and sterile,” and wondered, “How about even a dab of colour somewhere?”
Alfred Hitchcock was similarly critical, stating, “It’s nicely polished, but it’s like Ford’s cars – trying to please everyone and exciting no one.” He summed it up as “middle of the road stuff.”
Souji called it “a mess and a bore,” while JZ thought “it feels massively generic.”
Do you agree with these perspectives? Join the discussion ›
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