Big New Idea : Less Choice

One of the many things that irritate me about Britain's high streets is the seemingly inexorable move towards homogeneity. The same old shops selling the same old crap. We've lost so many independent shops that give a place distinctiveness and variety. But somewhat bizarrely it's happened at the very same time as that other great irritation of mine, the growth in choice. 

I first noticed this with pubs and food. There was a halcyon period when eating in a pub was restricted to crisps or peanuts and if something more substantial was required, a pork pie or pickled egg were invariably available. The exception was Friday and Saturday nights when the local prawn and shrimp seller would visit, usually shortly after the Salvation Army in their bonnets distributing the 'War Cry'. Some pubs did provide the odd sandwich which lived on the bar under a plastic dome, but then the revolution started. I remember it began with chicken in a basket or scampi and chips. This evolved into the home-cooked servery and carvery concept and now replaced with the ubiquitous microwave multi-choice fayre.

In pubs it's now basically impossible to just get a simple sandwich without endless questions about type of bread, with or without nachos, hot or cold etc etc. And why does it come with a side salad and coleslaw and why the need for a table mat, knife, fork, condiments, and napkin just to eat a bloody sandwich? And why does it cost £6.95 FFS?

I'm pleased to say that I've recently visited two pubs where the only food on offer was contained in a plastic dome on the bar and cost £1.50 a throw. Ham, beef or vegetarian alternative; cheese. I'm beginning to get the feeling there might be a counter-revolution starting and it's been confirmed by a recent visit to the charming North Yorkshire port of Whitby. In amongst all the usual hot food takeaways that thrive during the holiday season, there's a novel new and distinctive fast food concept, the 'Humble Pie 'n Mash' shop. It's really simple. You go in, sit down, choose from six different freshly baked pies and it's served up within minutes complete with mash, peas and gravy on an enamel dish. There's a vegetarian alternative and it all costs £4.99.

I love everything about this new business. All the ingredients, including flour, are sourced locally, even the eggs coming from the family chickens. They bake and are open every day and do 'carryouts.' The 1940's theme makes it feel just like wartime, only with meat. There's gingham, union flags and I'm sure I heard strains of Glen Miller on the wireless. Yorkshire tea is served in mugs and the only thing missing is Woolton Pie on the menu. This couple really deserve to do well and I think are spearheading a massive change in direction for fast food. This could be the fish and chip shop of the future and it's British through and through.   

The Wrong Solution

The news that Sir Terence Conran has once more dipped into his pocket and given the Design Museum on London's South Bank £17.5million has not surprisingly been greeted with much jubilation. It's a most generous gift, especially when he's already endowed the Museum with £50million which pretty much paid for setting it up in the first place some 20 years ago in its current riverside location. This additional gift will go a long way in helping to fund the Museum's move to larger premises. 

Despite having a prestige location, the converted banana warehouse near Tower Bridge has not proved large enough for the Museum's aspirations and the Trustees have been looking for an alternative site for some time. It had been hoped there would be room to locate next to Tate Modern, but such has been the success of the former power station conversion that the Tate felt that they couldn't spare any space in their modern extension. So the search continued and eventually it was suggested that the iconic but empty former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington would be a suitable home. But I'm not at all sure.    

Finding new uses for old buildings, especially when they are 'listed' is never easy and inevitably involves a degree of compromise between the integrity of the original and the requirements of the new. If economics and politics get involved the cause of conservation can be made that much more difficult. Built in 1962, this stunning building with parabolic copper-clad roof welcomed many a school trip over its lifetime and until changing tastes and circumstances supposedly rendered it surplus to requirements, it closed for good in 2002.

The ungrateful Commonealth owners of this by now unloved but grade II* listed building then proceeded to try and bully Tony Blair's government into passing a special Act of Parliament the sole purpose of which would have been the 'delisting' of the building. This would have allowed demolition and thus sale of the cleared site for lucrative residential development. Happily Mr Blair felt able to resist the Australian Prime Minister's threats and eventually a property company bought the site from the owners.

As is quite common in such cases, they almost certainly paid too much for the site and as a result require considerable new build in order to recoup their outlay. Although now supposedly 'saved', unfortunately the developers plans for the site always entailed demolition of the administration block and the erection of flats in its place, leaving the iconic main structure for alternative use. Not surprisingly, in order to convert this part of the building for museum use will inevitably require considerable internal modification.

In essence, the requirements of the design museum are for a plain white box into which they can insert great design, but this is clearly in major conflict with what they have been given. In my view the result will be unsatisfactory both in terms of preserving the integrity of the original design and in creating the right sort of space for the proposed new use. It was a great idea but it's going to end as a dogs breakfast and the Design Museum needs to keep looking for a more suitable home. As for the Commonwealth Institute, the search for a more appropriate use might just take a bit longer that's all.