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About cosmopolitanscum

Journalist, writer, commentator, blogging about architecture, urbanism and design from a humanist perspective.

Live at the Aquatic

Posted on February 21, 2012

18th Fina Visa Diving World Cup, Monday 20 February 2012 at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park London. First competitive use of the Aquatics Centre diving boards.

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Price Was Right

Posted on February 20, 2012

Fantastic news that the Cedric Price Potteries Thinkbelt exhibition curated by Barnabas Calder and designed by Alan Pert of Nord has made it to London from the Lighthouse in Glasgow. This great exhibitions reinvigorates Price’s plans and drawings as a … Continue reading →

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UNESCO and its discontents

Posted on February 19, 2012

Reblogged from citythreepointzero: A question via twitter from ‘Feria Urbanism’ (hi there..): should Liverpool fear the loss of UNESCO World Heritage Site status? The question refers to Peel Holdings’ ‘Liverpool Waters’, 60 hectares of waterfront office and retail development. My … Continue reading →

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Welcome To The Velodrome

Posted on February 17, 2012

UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Thursday 16th February 2012, Men and Women’s Team Pursuit Qualification. First time the Olympic Park Velodrome in London is used for competition.

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All Your Base Are Built By Us.

Posted on February 8, 2012

As the BBC former Economic Editor Evan Davis pointed out in his recent TV series Made in Britain, not only is the UK still the 5th largest industrial nation, but it reached its peak industrial production not in 1890 or … Continue reading →

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What Did the Constructivists Ever Do For Us?

Posted on February 2, 2012

With the exhibition Building the Revolution now closed in London,  it is worth reflecting on the way in which the achievements of the Constructivists have been revisited and reinvented. Indeed, I would argue that this process rather than any slavish … Continue reading →

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Isi Metzstein 1928 – 2012

Posted on January 11, 2012

I didn’t know Isi Metzstein as well as those who worked with and studied under him nor, of course, his family. Two days after his death now, there will be individuals he worked alongside at the Glasgow School of Art … Continue reading →

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Las Vegas: Where Architecture Goes to Die.

Posted on December 16, 2011

What is unique about the casinos and hotels of Las Vegas is not their gaudiness of that they have stories attached to them. No, the unique thing about them is the huge difference between the story that was planned for … Continue reading →

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Taste And The Tower

Posted on November 10, 2011

I want to say something about the history of the relationship between towers and the Olympic Games, leading to a few comments on the outpourings of disgust around the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It is often forgotten that this began with the … Continue reading →

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A Very British Torch Relay.

Posted on November 7, 2011

As the organisers of the London Olympics propose ever more stupid stunts that the Olympic Torch must perform during the Olympic torch relay – zip-wire over the Tyne, abseiled down a tower in Grimbsy,  taken in a steamer across Lake Windemere, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Pageantry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment