COMMENT - TURNER - OBSERVER ARTICLE

From today's national Observer article on David Chipperfield - architect.

Referring to KCC the article says:

"The client was shell-shocked, literally," says Chipperfield, "and had less money than they'd started with," so he has responded with "a very secure and wholesome building". It is simple, studio-like, almost shed-like, but still with a robust presence on the waterfront. Most of the designers' energy went into capturing the exceptional daylight on the Kent coast, which Turner described as "the loveliest in all Europe," and taking it indoors. "The light inside is fantastic" says Chipperfield, "it is the best we've done and the best I've seen anywhere for a long time."

"This is exactly what I have said from the very first day I saw Mr Chipperfield's plans at the Winter Gardens. The interior will be great, not so sure about the exterior, and so much time, money and energy was wasted on that first design by the administration at Kent County Council.

The people of Thanet, and paricularly the residents of Margate and Cliftonville, have the Tory administration at County Hall to blame for any shortcomings in the design of the exterior that they will have to live with.

Mr Chipperfield did the very best he could with the funding made available after the collapse of the first project and in that respect he really has done a brilliant job. But Margate has paid a very heavy price through the lack of regeneration over several wasted years, whilst waiting for local Tory administrations to finally got their act together".

Cllr Clive Hart - Leader of the Opposition TDC.