As we can't vote for "none of the above", I tried voting without ticking any of the boxes. But that didn't appear to register. Could we maybe have another separate poll please Admin for a "none of the above"? Thanks.
And such an option is valid and useful assessment, along with “too early to know”.
Not sure I follow the link about Westfield, as the sole use of the Palace is not to be retail. However, Earls Court One is a very good match (at 41,811m2, capacity 20,000 visitors), that could easily fit within part a floor of the 60,000sqm original Palace footprint (as noted in the latest emerging design principles). Or, the whole of Croydon's Whithgift Centre could fit comfortably in a basement area (approx 54,000m2), of the originally proposed ZRG building "6" stories. Interestingly, the original Palace was technically a "5" levels (from the Parade side up), with narrower garden basement on Park side (with a service type tunnel behind it, running the length of the building).
By “illustration”, the building could fit over 250 units of an average delux size hotel suite (estimated at 210sqm, similar to a four/five bedroom house) on one level in a 6* hotel in the building with a footprint of 60,000sqm.
But size has impact. Putting that size into perspective, in the London Plan, it notes Crystal Palace is a currently considered a “district” (like: Sydenham, West Norwood, Purley). The next size up after a “district” is a “Major Centre” (like: Brixton, Orpington), which normally have “50,000 sqm of retail floor space” and “also have some entertainment and leisure functions”. So, could this ZRG scheme move Crystal Palace from being a “district” to become a “Major Centre” per floor depending on it use.
A key design function will the type of “culture” function needed within the building. The Outer London Commission (OLC) noted the types of viable economic developments "of cultural importance": "There is scope for taking a more proactive approach to management of areas of cultural importance, and we commend the concept of “cultural quarters” places able to accommodate new arts, cultural and leisure activities and which can be managed so they contribute more effectively to regeneration – identified in the London Plan. This could be used as the basis for exploring the potential for very large scale commercial leisure facilities able to provide a regional, national or international scale offer (as has been done at Wembley, or at North Greenwich with the 02 Centre)."
Also different architects have very different approaches to tackling social and sustainability issues. These need to be understood as part of the assessing the outer image.
The Velodrome in the olympic park, surely one of the finest examples of modern architecture in recent memory, was built with a purpose and it works and it is beautiful.
The Eden centre is designed specifically with it's 'Biomes' structure to solve a problem, the architecture looks the way it does because of the purpose of the building. It's world renown and successful, visitor numbers far exceed forecasts (over 13 million visitors, over £1 billion generated for the local economy).
The Crystal Palace was built with a single purpose and had to be large enough to cover trees in Hyde park without them being cut down, it had to be removable and impressive. The solution was one of the most important buildings ever created and the proceeds from it paid for the a large part of many of the museums we see in London today.
The Millennium Dome was built on budget and on time. The building had a clear brief and is befitting of the area it sits in. The issue was with what went in it, which was muddled and with a clear single idea.
What is the purpose of this new building? What is it's purpose? How on earth can anyone design anything without a clear brief? What is the problem the architects need to solve?
Without this, I don't see how we will either get a decent bit of architecture or something that will help regenerate the local economy, so the architectural competition is deeply flawed.
It's like running a competition and just saying 'answers on a postcard please'. What's the question?