pretty or pretty horrific?

[robgil]

thought we might have a pretty or pretty horrific thread , because im bored,

white painted pointing , pink painted bricks , aluminium windows and plastic doors. i think we all know which category this one falls into...

 

[Tom]

This is seriously pretty horrific!! What were they thinking?? :shock:

Jaqy

 

[DaveBrigg]

That first image doesn't sit too easily on the eye. How about this fairly recent Art Deco Tesco construction?

 

[Nigel Watts]

There was a tradition I believe of painting bricks to look like, well, bricks. I think I heard Simon Thurley say on the telly that the exterior of Hampton Court would have been treated in this way in Henry VIII's time.

If one is trying to decorate a brick house which the previous owner has liberally coated with Sandtex what is one supposed to do? My stucco house has been similarly treated in the past but I just painted over it. My neighbour tried to sandblast the sandtex off. The result is marginally worse than before they started.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh god. I like this thread.

 

[Flyfisher]

The first photo is such a shame; there's a really pretty house underneath. Lovely detailing that is sadly lacking in most new builds these days. But I think the windows did the real damage. Is that a bird box just above the satellite dish?

Is the Tesco photo a completely new build or a conversion of an existing building?

 

[Nigel Watts]

The tesco pic looks like the converted Hoover factory building on the A40. The other great british art deco factory, the Firestone building, was shockingly demolished on the eve of its listing a few decades ago.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/204298

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Re: the bricks - surely there's a product that can replicate an authentic brick (or stone) appearance over the top of any substrate. I seem to recall a very helpful poster mentioning it here a few times, oh, what was it called? Deco something... :twisted:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Monsieur Pierre! Where's he gone? I miss him.

 

[Pford75]

Can I offer the controversial view that (minus the huge sign) the Tesco building is actually not that bad. Certainly an improvement on the orange boxes which normally predominate.

On the other building, I suspect that the 'bird box' is an alarm...although I can't be certain. I agree with FF that with some original windows, it would be a huge improvement.

Nigel - I sympathise, the front elevation of our house was sandtexed by the previous owners and small test patches show that any form of blasting removal would be a disaster (aside from that, the front elevation is a mixture of flint, two types of brick and clay lump as the building grew over the years). I suspect that they painted the elevation to provide some uniformity. If time and money allowed, we would like to strip (chemical stripping) and then lime render (if allowed) and then limewash.

It's a seriously large elevation though...does anyone know of professional strippers (no giggling at the back)?

 

[Moo]

Our lovely house-before-last had a bad attack of sandtex too, dating from (I gather from locals) the 1920s.
The only thing that got it off was a poultice system - a nice firm, that may well have come from Sudbury, came and did a couple of test patches, one of which left the soft red bricks looking as good as new. Unfortunately the cost of doing it proved prohibitive.




nb I may have mentioned this before, but the description in that buildings of England site still describes it as being rendered, so don't believe everything it says there.

 

[BMcD]

A few more images of the hoover building.

Tesco's entrance is round the back

And at night all lit up

 

[JoceAndChris]

OK- well, now I understand the context of that Tesco building, I think it was a pretty sensible choice of design.

Though a pity they got in in the first place!

 

[Michelle73]

I used to live near to that Tesco 'Hoover' building...deep within the concrete jungle.....Ughghgh
Am now having horrible flashbacks of overcrowding, smog and endless traffic....think I need to get out and take the dog for a walk in the open fields

 

[JoceAndChris]

Well done you for escaping to the fine fresh country air- me too. I love the Hoover building but that part of London is hard to live with!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Perivale is leafy suburbia compared to Islington.

I went to school in the countryside. Too much compulsory team sports, cross countrry runs and general outdoor heartiness for my taste, not to mention the isolation. And its all so untidy and asymmetrical.

 

[Michelle73]

Council buildings..... ( Most photos seem to have copyright so daren't post one) why are they without exception the most ugly buildings in every town?
Surely they could design something more traditional or pleasing to look at. They always make me feel sad and miserable

Has anyone ever come across a council office block that they liked to look at?

 

[chuckey]

when I was a kid en-route to Wandsworth common there was a victorian semi painted sky blue bricks with metalic silver pointing. Very unusual!
Frank

 

[Michelle73]

Does anyone else see handguns and spears all over this building or is it just me???

 

[JoceAndChris]

Mmmm, it's all spikes and sharp corners. Keep out! it seems to say - an absolutely bleak building, to my eye.