However, it's not all Roman ruins and medieval lanes

Of course, I'm not claiming that Norwich is perfect. In fact, the past five years have seen the erection of some of the most ghastly buildings imaginable. In two cases, it's not the buildings themselves so much as the locations in which they're positioned. For example:



Ah yes, Norwich's "Forum" -- the replacement for the old library, which burned down quite spectacularly . This example of early 21st century brick and glass monumentalism might work if it were positioned in the middle of a large plot, surrounded by imaginative landscaping and space -- as at the Sainsbury Centre up at UEA, which is just gorgeous. However, the Forum, clearly more exciting than a mere library, is crammed into a tiny area between City Hall, the Theatre Royal, and St Peter Mancroft. The glass front and "piazza" look out over nothing more exciting than the back of Next and the BBC shop, and function solely as a cut-through between the market and Chapelfield Mall and as a place for Norwich's new generation of teen goths to hang out on. The expansiveness that it needs to make it work simply doesn't -- indeed cannot -- exist in this location. It also suffers by comparison with City Hall, its vast expanse of similar brick relieved by many windows and graceful carved figures. When did the decoration of building become an unpopular concept?

My next example: the aforementioned Chapelfield Mall. This is built on the site of the old Rowntree's chocolate factory. Again, this is a building that doesn't work with its environment; rather, it imposes itself onto it. Take a look at one of the main paths leading to it:



That's right: It cuts straight through a churchyard, past the graves of people who've lain there in peace for years -- only to now act as the repository for fast food detritus. Was this really necessary? In fact, was the mall really necesary? Norwich already had the Castle Mall, which now looks like a model of sympathetically restrained design. As expected, units there are now empty as retailers shifted to the new mall, and St Stephen's, previously Norwich's main shopping street, is full of temporary, bargain basement shops advertising permanent sales. It's a mess and it makes my blood boil when I think what could have been done with this site, such as a concert hall, something that Norwich desperately needs. I simply don't understand how a city council with 9 Green councillors and just Tory ones could have approved this. (If it had been Norfolk County Council, that would be a different matter. That Tory-dominated council has always been stuffed full of builders, concrete-happy idiots who dish out contracts and permits to each other with gay abandon.) But these are the same twits intent on reclassifying the quaint medieval streets as The Lanes, no doubt hoping that people will suddenly confuse Norwich with Brighton. Morons.

Gah! It makes me so mad!!! Must go and do some ironing to cool off.