Proposed mosaic outside the Naborhood Centre

Robin Orton · Post by **Robin Orton** » 5 Jun 2009 10:57

I gather this is to be discussed at the Sydenham ward assembly next Thursday - see http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres ... _04_09.pdf.
Valerie Kelly has shown me some (purely illustrative) design mock-ups, and they look great. In view of the concerns expressed on another thread about the tatty appearance of the Centre(and, more generally, the, in my view, regrettable absence of public art in Sydenham) I hope this project gets serious consideration.

mummycat · Post by **mummycat** » 5 Jun 2009 11:22

So do I, Robin.

Sydenham needs a Town Centre focal point and it makes sense to be around the Post Office area. Introducing a colourful permanent piece of Artwork, high enough not to be vandalised will be a positive addition to Sydenham Road. (I would also welcome a clock which actually works, too!)

I hope many people will come to the Assembly on Thursday to vote for this option.

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 5 Jun 2009 11:43

I'd love to see a visual.

I have some initial concerns.

1. Without doing up the Nabourhood centre and fixing the curtains, putting any decorative elements on the building would be like planting flowers without taking out the weeds.

2. £50,000 is a LOT of money. I'm totally for public art, it can be a great thing, but it can be a waste.

3. Without being wowed by visuals it's difficult to make a judgement, but I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of mosaics overall as they can looks very dated (Tottenham court road tube is one example) and they can look dirty very quickly. They also remind me of toilets, but I have an aversion to any tiles on the outsides of buildings,one thing that, unfortunately, lots of shops in the high street seem to done at some point and it always look horrible.

Hmm, now I feel awful as it looks like I'm killing the idea. I'm not trying to at all, but I hope that my concerns can quickly be dismissed! I'm sure it will look great and I will be proved completely wrong!

tulip1 · Post by **tulip1** » 5 Jun 2009 12:17

Mosiacs can look effective and different and break up the monotony of grey slabs of pavement on the average high street, i.e. go down Green street in East London. Also further afield the gorgeous Park Guelle in Barcelona is made almost wholly of mosiac tiling and glass and looks different, outstanding if a tiny bit bonkers in the Spanish sun! Public loos are the last thing that come to mind when I see this kind of tiling/mosiac Lee (!). Come on lets do something a little zany and different in the high street - enough with the grey paving.

I do agree 50K is a lot of money though and it's a hard decision to make. I certianly liked Lee's suggestions for an interior makeover. Decisions, decisions.

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 5 Jun 2009 14:39

Well, maybe it's a little unfair with my toilet analysis, for every Tottenham Court Road Station, 70's shopping centre or Old Kent Road church there is always a Park Guell (Gaudi).

Hopefully we will get the quality of the latter and not the former.

And hopefully the nabourhood centre will be done up first.

Like I said, 100% in favour of good public art, but I think there are lots of other things in the high street that need solving first.

P.S. Tulip, are you talking about wall mosaics (which I presume the proposal is for the Nabourhood centre) or the decorative paving in Green street?

Another option is to go green (which may lend itself to the nabourhood centre rather well):

You could even write the name in flowers on the wall (this sign has since bloomed into beautiful flowers)!

Or it could have different plats that flower throughout the year saying different things. Mcdonalds created a fantastic ad with salad leaves doing something similar to this AND they are eco-friendly (and they help insulate the building!)

simon · Post by **simon** » 6 Jun 2009 00:50

Got to say that £10k for a mosaic looks a bit excessive out of a £17k budget. The mosaic is one of five projects and the other four projects are asking for between £2,000 and £3,700. Total asked for is £21,700 so if the mosaic people were given £4,700 (out of total of £50k they estimate it will cost) then everyone could go home happy.

mummycat · Post by **mummycat** » 6 Jun 2009 07:07

Well, let's all wait and see the proposal at the Assembly....

You can only vote at the Assembly, so it's the only effective way to make your voice heard and improve Sydenham - not just through posting on forums like this!

Eagle · Post by **Eagle** » 6 Jun 2009 11:19

May I suggest the Mosiac be of the all day drinkers who seem to frequent the area even though their seat has gone.

Cheese Wotsits · Post by **Cheese Wotsits** » 6 Jun 2009 13:48

Eagle... that's exactly the type of attitude that doesn't help.

I like the green wall idea, like Lee I have my reservations about the mosaic hope to see it on Thursday?). Love it in the Gaudi park but I don't think that will be right for Sydenham. Before any mosaic or green wall is done the actual building needs to be done up, blinds, windows, etc.

I think that the Naborhood Centre would be a great opportunity to show that Sydenham is proud of itself. Couldn't we have a green wall with the symbol for Sydenham in it in a different shade of green?

coll · Post by **coll** » 6 Jun 2009 15:19

Personally I don’t think a mosaic is what the building needs – I’ve seen them in other areas – they usually end up looking like a exactly what they are – an after thought. I love lee’s suggested facelift. I use to live near Swiss cottage. They had an awful library built in the same style as that centre. They did an unbelievable job ‘fixing’ the old brutalist 1950’s facade and gave the building a while new life.

http://www.gustafson-porter.com/project ... wiss_8.htm

Robin Orton · Post by **Robin Orton** » 6 Jun 2009 15:26

One of the things which attracts me to the idea of the mural is the intention that it should depict the past as well as the present of Sydenham. I hope it might evoke a sense of historical depth, which I suspect can be helpful in fostering a sense of place and therefore of community - particularly for people (like me) who weren't born and brought up here.

Wispy Wonder · Post by **Wispy Wonder** » 15 Jun 2009 21:23

Stick a bow on a pig and it's still a pig. Only demolision would improve that eyesore.

W Wonder

Rebelmc · Post by **Rebelmc** » 15 Jun 2009 23:12

One wonders if the people behind this proposition ever did any market research, in order to ascertain whether, or not, the public thought it was a good idea in the first place; I would suggest they didn't, because the general consensus on this forum seems to be, not many people like it, it's a colossal waste of money (public or otherwise) and a similar, or indeed, better result could be achieved by spending far less.

I suspect the only reason this proposition was given permission to ascend to the public meeting, was that it was brought to the attention of LBC that there was an opportunity to ponce up this eyesore, without it costing them a copper coin.

MiniFox · Post by **MiniFox** » 16 Jun 2009 06:45

I dont think a mural is right for the architecture of that building
It could look quite good spruced up - minimal buildings of that design need to be sharp and clean. Everything the nabourhood buildng presently isnt.

poppy · Post by **poppy** » 16 Jun 2009 08:35

Robin, are you involved in running the assembly and came up with this idea by any chance?

I would also like to add to the other comments that the first time I heard about it was on this forum about one of two days before the last assembly meeting.

lbere · Post by **lbere** » 16 Jun 2009 11:40

If this goes ahead, wont the surrounding area and the whole of Sydenham High Street look worse than ever?? A bright brand new sparkly thing in the mist of Sydenham. The money could be spent alot better.

leenewham · Post by **leenewham** » 16 Jun 2009 12:09

Doing up the nabourhood centre would be a good thing. The fact that it does look clean and well maintained may just be another domino knocked over which may inspire others to do the same.

I'm sure the people behind the mosaic meant the best for the area, although, I, like many others in here don't think it's right for the nabourhood centre.

This forum is a great tool for feedback on things of this nature, anyone thinking of opening a business here and anyone who is thinking of changing their signage/shop front. It also gets them some free publicity!

The Clown · Post by **The Clown** » 16 Jun 2009 13:11

As per my post on the last thread, I love the idea of updating the centre but a mosaic is just so last decade. I actually thought Leenewhams idea with the blinds was genius (v cost effective) but it would rely upon a general improvement to the front facade.

Would love some art for Sydenham but this should come secondary to improving the building fabric maintenance and the signage throughout the High Street and the planning office / town centre manager should take the signage much more into hand and prevent the eyesores we see now. Less is so much more.

Robin Orton · Post by **Robin Orton** » 16 Jun 2009 14:52

Poppy wrote:

Robin, are you involved in running the assembly and came up with this idea by any chance?

I would also like to add to the other comments that the first time I heard about it was on this forum about one of two days before the last assembly meeting.

No, I'm nothing to do with the assembly. I got involved in this issue only because the sponsor of the mosaic idea, whom I know quite well, told me about it and I thought it was interesting. I asked her permission to mention it on this forum (she's not a member) in order to give the discussion at the ward assembly a bit of advance publicity and in the hope of provoking a sensible and constructive on-line discussion.

I agree it would have been better to have given people a bit more advance notice of the proposals to be discussed at the ward assembly. I don't know whether the council have considered regularly using this forum to provide updates on the ward assembly business - for example, by posting a link to the coordinating group minutes as soon as they are available on the council website?

adrian · Post by **adrian** » 17 Jun 2009 13:19

I would like to point out that the building already has an applied art 'feature' consisting of a slightly interesting brick relief pattern on the first floor.

Applying more art without dealing with the maintenance of the existing building is pure folly. Can anyone confirm whether a holistic or even vaguely practical approach is being considered by those holding the purse strings?

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Proposed mosaic outside the Naborhood Centre

Proposed mosaic outside the Naborhood Centre