Show Us Around Your Neighbourhood

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Here’s a prime example of fugly modern deconstructivist architecture in London (Nine Elms). Hard to beat for sheer aesthetic displeasure and whatthefuckery but on the up side, you could argue that it has something for everyone!

Did the architects study at the 'University of Sticklebricks'

Edited April 20, 2020 by Double 0 Soul

[Flash]

52 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

@Flash interested in seeing pics of Shankhill when possible

Will do mate , plenty of murals about and a few spots of tragedy,  one being the site of the Shankill bombing , it was a fruit and veg shop but above it was the headquarters of the UDA ( Ulster , Defence , Association ) so the bomb was planted by the IRA to target the headquarters but 8 civilians lost there lives and 2 were children 

[Double 0 Soul]

I work in the S3 area of Sheffield just on the outskirts of the city center, it's only 15mins bike ride from home, when i first started work as a giddy apprentice it was a huge bustling industrial quarter, come the outsourcing of the 90's.. within a few years almost everything started to shut down, Stanley Tools, Record Ridgeway, Braun, The Printworks, Cannon Brewery...ect ect around this time there was an old Victorian maternity hospital at the top of the road (which has since been re-developed as part of the university) when crack hit in the late 80's the hookers in their desperation started accosting expectant fathers en'route to visit their wives... so the filth "unofficially" coralled them into the old industrial quarter "opperate from this dangerous, poorly lit area madam and we'll stop harassing you" so for the last 20yrs it's been me, a few silversmiths, graffheads, some squatters, a bunch of artists, skateboarders, soundsystem builders, sculpters, recording studio's, homeless peeps (who i leave cups of very sweet tea out for) cannabis factories, lots of hookers and a few pimps who unlike Iceberg Slim wear joggers, hoody's and ride BMX yet ive never seen any of them pull off a half decent tailwhip??.. I imagine that Lou Reed would have loved it.

I often feel bad because the hookers ask nicely to use my toilet facilities and i refuse, they only want somewhere safe to shoot up but imagine explaining how dad came to have an overdosing teenage prostitute in his washroom

This is a photo which i took in the early 90's from the ball courts on my old Holga medium-format, it's the building where i started my apprenticeship, it was run down but i loved it.

I took this photo from the same position a few years ago...it's now a Tesco Express with student flats above

...when the council put a compulsory purchase order in on behalf of Tesco, half way through my 6yr apprenticeship we moved to this building

This place had historically been a foundry and attached patternshop for 100's of years but the council didn't give a shit about that, the Supertram network applied for CPO so they could demolish it and put a tram stop there agreeing to erect a cast iron sculpture in homage to it's industrial (soon to be) past. Supertram subsequently went bankrupt was sold for £1 and bailed out by the tax payer. The building became more student flats.. but hey we got our sculpture.. its all about those little victories!!

On we go..up to a couple of years ago this was a single story Brassfounders, i used to make their pattern equipment for street furniture, benches, tree-grills, planters, bollards, and those commemorative "celebrity" handprints... its now more student flats, the signage gives a nod to our industrial past...as it's quickly erroded.

...now i'm caught in the middle of ever encroaching international student accomodation from the top and ever widening Kelhan Island from the bottom... anyway, lets take a walk around, The area is more recently an ever dwindling mix of small business (who are under constant pressure from the council/developers to move to out of town industrial estates) international students, and hipsters who think its cool to move into a post industrial wasteland then complain about the last remnants of industry being a noisy inconvienience.

Record Ridgeway, a sprawling art deco works, soon to be demolished to make way for yet more flats, HSBC headquarters has already gone to make way for another 490 flats.

..across the road we go to Kelham Island, it was recently named as 'One of the coolest places in Britain' by 'TravelSupermarket’s Hip Hangout Neighbourhood Index' but what the fuck do they know.. it's just a thin facade, it was breifly cool 20yrs ago. Some friends of mine have lived in the riverside appartments since before it even existed, the neighbourhood hasn't been allowed to grow it's been artifically fabricated, like a 'cool' version of Milton Keynes i imagine that Lou Reed would fucking hate it, it's just a vision of soleless unsympathetic developers who offer short term reduced rent agreements to attracted young middle class hipsters who are only too keen to spend mom 'n dads money on some rehashed venture which seemingly just attracts comfortable middle age wankers trying to buy into a slice of cool as they shoehorn their fat ass into skinny jeans. The businesses don't accept cash because the till networks are linked to WestOne (the developers) who take a cut of the till as part of the reduced rent aggreement, 2yrs later come the rent hike they realise the sourdough isn't going to pay the wages and they move on....history will repeat itself until Argos and CashConverters move in to mop up the dregs.

Bessemer Converter, Oooh! Sir Henry would just love what you've done around the old place

The Grind Cafe where i can't get an organically hand reared breakfast for under £12  above is Cornwall Works...i mean flats.

In contrast to Wendy's which i can't get to at all..

This is Krynkl, a pile of converted shipping containers, they offer lip alignment, plumpers and fillers (just what you need in a historically working class area) restaurants, £20 wetshave, they even do Cryotherapy where they blast you with cold air to make you look younger.... well i cycle to work through the harsh northern winter so fuck you Krynkl! i'm getting Cryo'd for nowt... downstairs is Urban Yoga, everything that uses the word 'Urban' as a prefix is cool right?

FFS!

More flats intimidating the poor old Kelham Tavern

Stout and Oyster Bar.. Which seemlessly blends the old with the ugly, Just like when Donald has contractually agreed sex with Melania.

More flats

The Graffiti resturant

Oh the irony

Ecocube hipster housing

...and more going up besides

As we get to the outskirts there is thankfully still resistance albeit pushed back ever further

'Prosi Central' where Julia Roberts and all the other crackheads hang out.

What was Stanley Tools

.

.

Shoetree

What was the Cannon brewery

Doorways

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.

...and back up towards work.

This used to be CADS 'Creative Arts Design'..but it has recently been acquired with planning permission granted to build 16 affordable homes with parking, once granted the plans were quickly changed to 62 studio flats..ffs! you've probably noticed some of my fitpics stood here.

More glass rectangles/student flats on my doorstep, notice how dark the streets are..

At the top of this lane you can just see the top of St Vincents church, it has been abandoned for years..

...It used to look like this

Here's a couple of photo's when i managed to 'gain entry' a few years ago

Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called life..

The council agreed that if the developers fix the leaky roof they could build more student flats on the surrounding land..

What the fuck! is nothing sacred? Alas these photo's were taken back in 2018, S3 now has more international student flats in the form of massive brick rectangles which dwarf even the most towering of tower blocks...iQ Knight House being one of them...Ugh!

Edited April 21, 2020 by Double 0 Soul

[Maynard Friedman]

Great post Neal. 21st century progress to cure the inner-city woes.

My son and I call this ‘Minecraft housing’ - the virtual world taking over the real one!

23 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Edited April 21, 2020 by Maynard Friedman

[Double 0 Soul]

You've taught him well!

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Great post Neal. 21st century progress to cure the inner-city woes.

My son and I call this ‘Minecraft housing’ - the virtual world taking over the real one!

This is an artists impression of the development they plan for the site of Record Ridgeway & HSBC

490 more flats at a cost of 45m, my single storey unit which isn't much bigger than a garage is just behind this monstrosity...

[Cold Summer]

Egad, and I thought the homogenous apartment buildings in my area were bad...

Sometimes I wish I lived in an old area with lots of historical scenery, lamenting America's general lack of historical buildings, but seeing all this makes me realize that it would just make me more angry seeing it all knocked over and/or bastardized into hipster cube housing. You can't loose what you never had, I guess.

I've always thought the English countryside seems like the most beautiful place in the world, but I guess that's nowhere close to reality for many/most people in England these days.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

@Double 0 Soul love it Neal! I mean your documentary of course 

[Duke Mantee]

Note the similarity Neal - this is British architecture for the 2010s/20s

[Geeman]

49 minutes ago, Cold Summer said:

Egad, and I thought the homogenous apartment buildings in my area were bad...

Sometimes I wish I lived in an old area with lots of historical scenery, lamenting America's general lack of historical buildings, but seeing all this makes me realize that it would just make me more angry seeing it all knocked over and/or bastardized into hipster cube housing. You can't loose what you never had, I guess.

I've always thought the English countryside seems like the most beautiful place in the world, but I guess that's nowhere close to reality for many/most people in England these days.

CS one of the pros (as in positives not the pros that que for Double 00's loo) of living in a relatively small country is that we are never far from a coastline or country side. Horrendous modern architecture aside we still have plenty of natural beauty not to far away.

[mpukas]

7 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

I've always thought the English countryside seems like the most beautiful place in the world...

This has always ocurred to me as a great irony, as beautiful as the British Isles are, and in this case the English countryside which is indeed beautiful, before it was settled it was all lush forests (or so I've been led to believe). 

Same w/ NYC and the area where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic - it was once one of the most densely prolific natural resource areas. 

[Dr_Heech]

12 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

 ... I've always thought the English countryside seems like the most beautiful place in the world, but I guess that's nowhere close to reality for many/most people in England these days.

I count myself as one of the lucky one's in that respect as live in a small town in  The Cotswolds  - tons of amazing places to walk and cycle right on my doorstep. Love it! Couldn't live in a built up area now (used to live in the Newbury/Reading area when l was young) - Sheffield/London or any city in the UK would be my idea of hell. 

 

[Duke Mantee]

49 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

I count myself as one of the lucky one's in that respect as live in a small town in  The Cotswolds  - tons of amazing places to walk and cycle right on my doorstep. Love it! Couldn't live in a built up area now (used to live in the Newbury/Reading area when l was young) - Sheffield/London or any city in the UK would be my idea of hell. 

 

@Dr_Heech Do you mention those cities because of the architecture or some of the occupants? 

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, Dr_Heech said:

I count myself as one of the lucky one's in that respect as live in a small town in  The Cotswolds  - tons of amazing places to walk and cycle right on my doorstep. Love it! Couldn't live in a built up area now (used to live in the Newbury/Reading area when l was young) - Sheffield/London or any city in the UK would be my idea of hell. 

 

It all depends on which part for me Doc.. if you flip back to the previous page... i live in Sheffield but i also live within a stones throw of the Peak District National Park, it takes 4.5mins by car (not that i ever use the car nowadays) with all the walking, downhilling, fell running, bouldering, road cycling, caving, camping...you could ever wish for.

I was born in a semi-rural part of Sheff but as a teenager i was more of an inner city kid, or i should say i was attracted by what the inner city had to offer...i lived in shit-holes as a teenager, got sick of it by my early 20's so bought a house on the edge of a woodland in a small Derbyshire village where we lived for 18yrs, when the boy came along it was great, out fishing, catching crayfish, making Tarzan swings/dens in the woods, foraging food it was idyllic but once he got to 7/8yrs old he needed much more stimulation than i could ever offer him in the 2hrs between getting home from work and him going to bed, there was very few kids his age within walking distance.. i used to look at the teenagers hanging around in the village who had fuck all to do with very little opportunity in their lives and i didn't want that for him so we moved back to a part of Sheff which has the best of both worlds, i can ride to work/city in 15mins or out to the Peaks in 15mins, it's good to have the choice i would absolutely hate to move back to the sticks but i would also hate to live in 80% of Sheffield's neighbourhoods.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Double 0 Soul

[Dr_Heech]

43 minutes ago, Duke Mantee said:

@Dr_Heech Do you mention those cities because of the architecture or some of the occupants? 

Haha, but no.

My Mrs lives (most of the time) and works in London. And l do go down there when l have to 

And for balance, although living in such populated places isn't for me, l do love travelling and visiting different parts of the country if and when l get the chance. 

Looks like Double0 has got the right balance imho, as he lives on the edge of Sheffield, whereas there are no edges to London and alot of built up places, around the South and Southeast.

Anyway even 'round our way' there are more and more peeps moving into the area, so maybe I'll end up living in Scotland one day 

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Dr_Heech
Spelling

[Dr_Heech]

^^ took me so long to compile that reply that 00 beat me to it! 

Luckily, thanks to Denim-forum life, l know quite a bit about where you live, where you've lived and likes and dislikes to name but a few. And l've honestly always felt a connection (up to a point) because so much of it, at times, mirrors my own life and situations. Too much to discuss really so rep points will have to suffice.

And l envy you living near the Peaks, as (tourism aside) it makes the Cotswolds look like a little hill on a map 

 

 

[Duke Mantee]

I guess I’m lucky.

Literally 5 minutes stroll to the cliffs and another 5 to the main beach front. In between is an old (but dying) town with only a few modern areas - we don’t even have a Starbucks or Costa ... although there is a coffee roasters so you can get good stuff.

We’re also surrounded on the interior with beautiful farmland and it’s only an hour to get into the Grampians or Tay Forest Park ... or an hour and a half to Edinburgh or Glasgow

[Geeman]

Like 00 I lived in a pretty rural area as a kid but craved the city life. Moved out  by age of 17 into lodgings/emergency housing/shit hole flats etc. Now I'm still in a city, albeit a nice part and the UKs best city, I'd love to move back to a more rural area.

[Maynard Friedman]

UKs best city! 

I grew up in inner-city London and now live in a less built-up (but not suburban) part on the other side. Due to work, schools, etc, we are likely stuck here until we retire. It’s OK but I think I’d like to move somewhere else before I kick the bucket, preferably warmer and coastal.

[Double 0 Soul]

51 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

^^ took me so long to compile that reply that 00 beat me to it! 

Luckily, thanks to Denim-forum life, l know quite a bit about where you live, where you've lived and likes and dislikes to name but a few. And l've honestly always felt a connection (up to a point) because so much of it, at times, mirrors my own life and situations. Too much to discuss really so rep points will have to suffice.

And l envy you living near the Peaks, as (tourism aside) it makes the Cotswolds look like a little hill on a map 

I know Charlie, just filling in the blanks for those that don't.. You're lucky that you can live and work rurally while still making ends meet with a few quid besides to buy jeans.. most can't so either leave or commute, ive always made the choice to do the type of work which i enjoy over the money so ive always had to work long hours to compensate and keep myself in the denim-lifestyle to which ive become accustomed... my 5.30am commute used to be 20mins but never less than 1hr in the evenings just because i would leave the city at rush hour so i could get home at a reasonable time for a meal with the family, it would often take me 45mins just to travel 1mile in traffic and get out of the damn city it was by far the most stressfull part of my day... I'm still working the same long hours but nowadays i'm home no later than 4.45pm which has really swung the work/life balance and freed up my evenings.

[Dr_Heech]

7 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

I know Charlie, just filling in the blanks for those that don't.. You're lucky that you can live and work rurally while still making ends meet with a few quid besides to buy jeans.. most can't so either leave or commute, ive always made the choice to do the type of work which i enjoy over the money so ive always had to work long hours to compensate and keep myself in the denim-lifestyle to which ive become accustomed... my 5.30am commute used to be 20mins but never less than 1hr in the evenings just because i would leave the city at rush hour so i could get home at a reasonable time for a meal with the family, it would often take me 45mins just to travel 1mile in traffic and get out of the damn city it was by far the most stressfull part of my day... I'm still working the same long hours but nowadays i'm home no later than 4.45pm which has really swung the work/life balance and freed up my evenings.

Yep, it's all about the work/life balance for me too Neal.  I too have a 10 (or 20) minute commute; lf it was any further l'd have to move nearer my work sites (never could deal with 'commuting').

In contrast, Mrs_Heech lives 'Saaff of the river' in the capital and has to commute to Kensington which on a usual commute, takes an hour or so but quite often now takes up to 2 hours, and that's each way!

The only real downfall to a low-waged job is that I'll never realistically be able to retire, but hey, just got to roll with the punches. At least my drystone- walling skills will mean a steady supply of denim-fading 

 

[Dr_Heech]

27 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

UKs best city! 

I grew up in inner-city London and now live in a less built-up (but not suburban) part on the other side. Due to work, schools, etc, we are likely stuck here until we retire. It’s OK but I think I’d like to move somewhere else before I kick the bucket, preferably warmer and coastal.

Not another second home in Cornwall !?

Enough is enough!   

 

[Cold Summer]

I live about a twenty minute drive from midtown Atlanta, so all the city stuff is there when I want it... but I'm also a bit closer to nature, and outdoorsy things are easy to get to, so it's a similar balance for me. I'm still trapped in apartment hell, but if and when I get a house, I'd rather move further out from the city than otherwise.

[Maynard Friedman]

Look at this sensitively-designed extension, seamlessly integrating with the original building. It’s not one of yours is it Duke?

[Double 0 Soul]

Good grief!

[bartlebyyphonics]

reminds me of aspects of rotterdam... quite like the dissonance...

[Double 0 Soul]

A coat of grey paint covers a multitude of sins..

[Maynard Friedman]

Are you thinking of the Cube Houses Bartles?

[bartlebyyphonics]

reminds me of when I was there (20 or so years back, mind) and seeing how extremely dissonant the jump between old and bombed / rebuilt sections are (with some builds very very similar to what you posted)... no merges made or repro period rebuilds; just montage cut jumps between styles and periods... trying to remember exact locations; failing thus I post a random grab from google maps... architects were working with a very free hand there for quite some time sometimes to very good effect... quite liked aspects of it (no prince charles, me... but current London skyline; tears...)

 

[Duke Mantee]

11 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Look at this sensitively-designed extension, seamlessly integrating with the original building. It’s not one of yours is it Duke?

Which is which?