A Bold and Imposing Cliché

"A BOLD and imposing development will be 'wonderful' for Portelet's headland, according to the Environment Minister Freddie Cohen. One of Jersey's most beautiful bays is soon to be dominated by a large-scale scheme of 50 residential properties on the former Portelet Holiday Village site. Dandara, who got permission to build on the site more than two years ago, employed UK architect Sir Richard MacCormac to design the 45 flats and five houses." (JEP, 30.04.2008)

In fact, despite the blurb about "bold" and "imposing", the photo shows a very large set of buildings, which in no way blend any way with the scenery of Portelet, but stand out like a sore thumb. In fact, I can't find any pictures of anything designed by MacCormac in a rural coastal setting; all his stuff seems centered on cities and suburbs, which is hardly promising. Fine designs if you are building there, but not really suitable for a scenic Island coast.

It will certainly be "wonderful" for someone - Sir Richard, who will have another example of his buildings to lecture upon, Dandara, who appear to have managed to get this plan past Freddie by the captivating glamour of a big name in architecture, and Freddie, who will have made a name for himself in the record books with his planning decisions alongside the late John Le Sueur of St John, and his impressive attempts to enter the ranks of Private Eye's Pseud's Corner for jargon.

When words like "bold" and "imposing" are mentioned, I know I am entering clichéland, where the words are used for propaganda to bolster a counter-intuitive (and large-scale) style of architecture that clashes horribly with the granite surrounds of Portelet Bay. Whereas a nice granite facing might cost more, but would respect the Jersey coastline, and be in keeping with Jersey styles of architecture. Smaller scale buildings in Ouasne, for example, have had a requirement of granite facing to blend in with their surroundings, while up on a cliff-top, beneath a bay, in full sight from Noirmont, all these requirements have been waived.

Who said: "Planning - respecting Jersey's architecture. In recent years we have failed to respect Jersey's traditional architecture. We must ensure that our Island heritage is reflected in new buildings constructed. It costs no more to design and build well. "?

Methinks it was the last Cohen election manifesto.