I seem to have fallen into a pattern of one post on a subject followed by a supplement. I had originally intended to use some pictures of the dormant days of the Commonwealth Institute building and a few of the recent redevelopment work in last week’s post but I found so many interesting pictures of the Institute in action that there wasn’t space. So this week there are some pictures of the days when the Institute was closed and waiting for its fate to be decided, and some of the building work progressing.
I took these photos. I don’t claim to be a great photographer but I can point and click which is sometimes all you need to do to catch the essence of a place.
As with this image of open water, the pond clogged with branches and covered with algae.
The bridge, or walkway. Note the photographer’s error focusing on the barrier rather than what was behind it. It makes an interesting image, but only by chance.
Here it is in focus. I took this picture in 2007, when you could get quite close to the building without encountering any barriers.
The main building with the concrete supports looking like they really are holding it up, and the administrative block beside it.
The flags, in 2009..
and 2012, with the green boards cutting most of them off from access.
Work begins, with digging and metal barriers.
Is that a theodolite?
Another picture taken through the barriers.
Work on the wall of the main building.
The last weeks of the admin block.
In close up.
Ten days later, the dust is rising over the perimeter boards.
The new buildings rise.
And begin to take shape.
You could only stand on the edge, looking for some action.
More of that dust, from the relatively tranquil Holland Park side.
Not quite finally, an image I’ve used before from the time when overgrown grass surrounded the main building. (The wilderness years, you might say.)
And finally, one more picture from the archives. Back in 1962:
The Queen, opening the Institute. Perhaps the visiting dignitaries thought it would last longer than it did.
Postscript
The earlier photos were taken with an Olympus compact camera, the later ones with a big Nikon which is very forgiving and nearly always gives a good picture. I’ve told the story before, in the early days of the blog but now that the Design Museum is up and running I wanted to present a few more pictures of the declining years. Hopefully, the new Museum will redeem the building and make us forget the days when it could almost have vanished for good.
