Just cycled past the new development on Brick Lane and they've somehow managed to create a pedestrian thoroughfare with absolutely zero seating or shelter. Genuinely impressive in its hostility. It's like they looked at every principle of good public space design and methodically did the opposite.
Just finished "The Eyes of the Skin" by Pallasmaa. It's one of those books that makes you realize why you've been muttering angrily at glass curtain walls for years. The bit about how modern architecture has stripped away texture and tactility really landed. Now I can't stop running my hands along brick when I cycle past buildings, like some kind of architectural weirdo.
Rachel GreenHaha yes! This is exactly why I can't do those sterile modern office buildings — give me a crumbly old stone cottage any day. Now you'll appreciate why I'm always dragging people to touch tree bark on our hikes 😄
Just watched someone navigate around a badly placed bollard for the fifth time this morning. It's doing exactly what it was designed to do—prevent cars—while simultaneously making the pavement narrower for everyone else. Genuinely curious who looked at that corner and thought "yes, this is the solution."
Rachel GreenHaha, some urban planner's fever dream that looked great on a PowerPoint slide 😅 Have you considered just moving it yourself, or is that the kind of thing that gets you on a council watchlist?
Cycled past the old Brutalist car park on Whitmore Street this morning and realised I've never actually looked up at it properly. Built in 1972, completely unlisted, and honestly rather magnificent in that uncompromising way—raw concrete, honest proportions, not trying to be anything other than what it is. The city council's apparently considering demolishing it for flats. Seems a shame to erase something so deliberately made just because nobody's bothered to notice it yet.
Rachel GreenGod, I hate how we just demolish the interesting stuff to make room for more beige boxes. That car park's probably got better bones than half the new builds going up 🤦♀️
Just finished this fascinating book about the history of London's street lighting, of all things. Never thought I'd be gripped by gas lamps and their gradual replacement, but it's essentially a book about how invisible infrastructure shapes the way we actually use our cities. Makes you notice the lampposts on your commute in a whole different way.
Rachel GreenThat actually sounds brilliant — I'm obsessed with how infrastructure quietly dictates everything about how we move through space, and most people never think about it 🤔 What's the book called? I feel like I need to appreciate Edinburgh's street lighting with more intention now.
Walked past the old Carreras factory on Mornington Crescent today and properly noticed it for the first time—those art deco details on the upper floors are genuinely brilliant. Apparently it's been empty for years but the brickwork and the geometric tilework are still immaculate. Seems mad that something so well-crafted just sits there while everyone's obsessed with whatever glass cube goes up next door. Emma would probably say I need a hobby that doesn't involve mourning dead buildings.
Rachel GreenHonestly the craftsmanship on those old buildings puts modern stuff to shame—there's something depressing about how we've just accepted that everything new is disposable? And Emma's wrong, this IS a hobby and it's a good one 😄
Walked past the old Carreras factory on Great Eastern Street this morning—you know, that massive art deco monstrosity that looks like it's been slowly strangled by ivy. Turns out it was once the tallest building in the Commonwealth when it was built in 1928. Now it's just... there. A beautiful relic that nobody seems to notice. Emma pointed out the cigarette brand cat above the entrance is still intact if you look closely enough. Makes you wonder how many genuinely important things we pass every day without actually seeing them.
Rachel GreenGod, I love that building—the ivy makes it look like nature's slowly reclaiming what's rightfully hers 😄 But you're right, it's mad how something that was basically the architectural flex of its time just becomes invisible, yeah? Next time I'm down there I'm definitely looking up for that cat.
Just finished "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs - written in 1961 and it's infuriating how much of her criticism still applies. She'd have absolutely hated what we've done to London's high streets. The woman understood that cities need friction and unpredictability, not sanitised shopping centres designed by committee.
Rachel GreenHonestly that book should be required reading before anyone's allowed to approve a new development—the fact that we're still building the exact soulless boxes she was raging about 60 years ago is absolutely mad.
Just finished reading "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" and I'm irritated all over again at how many planners ignored everything Jacobs wrote. Watching a high street die because someone decided a single-use shopping center was "progress" hits differently when you've actually read the evidence against it.
Rachel GreenGod, that book is maddening in the best way — like watching people ignore obvious solutions for decades. Did you read it because Edinburgh's high streets have been getting properly gutted, or just general fury? 👀
Just noticed they've finally installed proper cycle parking outside King's Cross and it's genuinely made the whole corner feel less chaotic. Small thing but it's wild how much a bit of thoughtful infrastructure changes the way people actually use a space. Wish more planners understood this.
Rachel Greenhonestly this is everything — proper bike parking is like the unsexy infrastructure that actually gets people cycling instead of just talking about it. Edinburgh could learn a thing or two from this 🚴
