Great Britain will soon lose the only building built there by the Pritzker Prize winner Tadao Ando. This is a 140-meter pavilion located on a small green area in the center of Manchester called Piccadilly Gardens. The pavilion appeared in 2002 as part of a plan to rebuild the city following a 1996 bombing by the Irish Republican Army. The decision to demolish the city council was made after a public hearing; Residents of Manchester have repeatedly awarded the building with unflattering epithets (like "concrete ugliness"), some compared it to the Berlin Wall, and TripAdvisor recognized the creation of a Japanese architect as the worst attraction in the city.
Among the reasons why the construction of Tadao Ando did not take root in northwest England, critics say the architectural conservatism of the British. They stubbornly resist the emergence of new buildings that stand out in any way against the background of post-war development. On the other hand, some of the blame is being blamed on the city council, whose neglect of Ando's pavilion has led to a decline in its cultural significance. After a crack appeared on its concrete wall, the pavilion stood for more than 10 years in the open air without repair. As a result, the smooth, laconic concrete surface (a kind of trademark of Tadao Ando) became stained, which negated all the advantages of a minimalist construction. With the deterioration of the material, the magic of architectural skill began to fade. The problem was aggravated by the presence of chaotic street furniture (there was a small cafe in the pavilion), advertising banners and bright blue fences that “swallowed” the structure.
At the same time, the author himself admitted that the Manchester pavilion lacked green space, and suggested covering the wall with living plants - as, for example, was done in another Ando project, an apartment building in New York. But his idea was not taken into account.
Now on the site of the concrete building there will be two others, more familiar to the eye of an ordinary Briton, with new bars and restaurants. City councilors and site tenants, Legal & General, believe that such a solution will improve the quality and safety of the urban environment, making it "more attractive and family-friendly" (which can be seen as a hint of the unfriendliness of Ando's pavilion for children). Designed by Urban Edge Architecture, the new concept will cost £ 10 million to renovate the Garden.
