Environment Award 2010: Burlington Danes School

Environment Award

New buildings at Burlington Danes School, Wood Lane, W12. Sally Coates, Head teacher, and John Cahill and Matt Weyham of Barnsley Hewett and Mallinson, the school’s architects, received the Award. The Society’s committee were highly impressed by the quality of the design of the two new buildings, and the attention to detail, which means they fit very well with the original 1930s buildings (designed by Sir John Burnet, architect of the Royal Masonic Hospital).

Conservation Award 2010: St Paul’s church

Conservation Award

St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith.   The Rev Simon Downham and his architect, Malcolm Fryer of Richard Griffiths Architects received the Award.  After years of concealment under shrouds and the scaffolding, at the end of last year a beautifully clean and restored church was revealed. The committee praised the exceptional quality of the restoration work, and said it was like having an old friend returned to the community.  They did regret that there is still an irritating advertising hoarding facing the Broadway, and new construction hoardings have gone up around St Paul’s Green to allow the building of the new extension at the western end, but these are both temporary drawbacks.

The now feared Wooden Spoon Awards

Wooden Spoon Award 2010 – Advertising Hoardings

For the ones that got it all wrong. The first Wooden Spoon went again this year to the Council for its policy on Advertising Hoardings.  Last year the Society awarded a Wooden Spoon to the Council for its advertising hoarding beside the A4 which obliterates the view of the Ark from the flyover, and for allowing the extended advertising on St Paul’s Church and to the Apollo, not to mention the introduction of street banners.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse. The real new horrors are the two Towers beside the flyover which appeared over the last winter. These towers are not only enormous, but they grow out of the ground below and these digital images are so appallingly bright as to be not only offensive to passers-by and a possible distraction to motorists, but the light pollution also causes distress to nearby local residents. The Committee asked whether this is really the way we want to introduce people to the Borough of Hammersmith? The second Wooden Spoon also went to the Council for allowing the use of a large area on Shepherds Bush Green  as a compound in connection with the renewal of Gas Pipes in the adjoining streets, which is ugly and unsightly and ignores the fact that Shepherds Bush is ‘Common Land’.