22 December 2012

Bye Bye Sky Plaza

| DirkDiggler
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Amateur (but armed) architectural criticism – a fitting end to one of the world’s worst buildings –
Sky Plaza.

sky plaza gets it

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Gungahlin Al said :

Masquara, I am far from an aggressive poster (or person). But since you joined here, you’ve been doing your damnedest to spin many threads towards your brand of conservative politics, some would say blatantly and naively. Now RA’s an open shop so you can play it as you wish. But don’t go getting defensive and trying to deflect when people call you out on it.

Your post was quite aggressive, actually. Being shat off with Labor for an election cycle doth not a conservative make. I am well left of centre – and until this year a lifelong Labor voter – and judging from your support for Lauren Jackson’s actions, and the building she promoted, you are probably to the Right of me. Sigh – perhaps just another self-serving politician – why did we ever have expectations of the Greens, with even Bob Brown coming out in support of that Tasmanian gambling millionaire, Richard Walsh, who failed to pay tax on the money he made from gambling addicts. Oh, and it isn’t Christmas – it’s still the secular consumer extravaganza the day before, so don’t pull a formerly-meaningfully-religious festival on me to avoid the topic!

poetix said :

My poem was meant as gentle teasing, honestly.

And there’s this thing called metre. You might want to look it up. (That was gentle teasing again, with just a squeeze of lemon.)

No way I’m being more than slightly sarcastic on Christmas Eve or tomorrow. Boxing Day, though…(-:

Metre is not my strong suit! Yes, taken as teasing, and responded to in the same vein! Merry Christmas and happy Hannukah – not sure why I thought you were a heathen like me. : )

Masquara said :

poetix said :

‘Twas the day before Christmas,
and we watched a fun flick.
But Masquara and Al,
like to crunch kapow kick!

Poetix, you failed to avoid
an unseemly display of schadenfreude
and, as you are but surely an atheist
that Chrissy mention must mean you were pissed!

Well, for an alleged atheist, I’m going to church a bit much… Kiddies’ church, and hopefully again at midnight.

My poem was meant as gentle teasing, honestly.

And there’s this thing called metre. You might want to look it up. (That was gentle teasing again, with just a squeeze of lemon.)

No way I’m being more than slightly sarcastic on Christmas Eve or tomorrow. Boxing Day, though…(-:

Gungahlin Al5:36 pm 24 Dec 12

54-11 said :

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

None of which makes this any less YOUR problem and any MORE Lauren Jackson’s fault.

You’re a very aggressive poster – so glad you aren’t in the Legislative Assembly! I suspect you would incapable of making a bipartisan contribution.

LOL.

Al, you know you are on the right side of the fence when you get criticised by RA’s resident, right-wing nutjob.

Yeah the right end of the bench is getting pretty crowded lately isn’t it? What a classic pot-kettle. She starts off with “Lauren Jackson should have been run out of town for promoting this truly horrible building” and then calls me aggressive?

And then because I reject her assigning of some higher standard of care and responsibility on Jackson than she’s willing to apply to her anonymous self, she ignores my first post and tries to paint me as supporting that woeful building and the people behind it.

Masquara, I am far from an aggressive poster (or person). But since you joined here, you’ve been doing your damnedest to spin many threads towards your brand of conservative politics, some would say blatantly and naively. Now RA’s an open shop so you can play it as you wish. But don’t go getting defensive and trying to deflect when people call you out on it.

Merry Christmas.

poetix said :

‘Twas the day before Christmas,
and we watched a fun flick.
But Masquara and Al,
like to crunch kapow kick!

Poetix, you failed to avoid
an unseemly display of schadenfreude
and, as you are but surely an atheist
that Chrissy mention must mean you were pissed!

poetix said :

‘Twas the day before Christmas,
and we watched a fun flick.
But Masquara and Al,
like to crunch kapow kick!

Well it’s fun for me that a purported Green is coming out in defence of local advertising and real estate moguls … and a low-eco-credentialled high-rise!

Well I guess it does look a little bland .. I suppose you could go down the Chrysler building track, and whack spires and bloody great gargoyles all over it. Could even make the goyles in the images of our illustrious assembly leaders; forever chiselled in stone for their admiring public.

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

None of which makes this any less YOUR problem and any MORE Lauren Jackson’s fault.

You’re a very aggressive poster – so glad you aren’t in the Legislative Assembly! I suspect you would incapable of making a bipartisan contribution.

LOL.

Al, you know you are on the right side of the fence when you get criticised by RA’s resident, right-wing nutjob.

Tetranitrate12:34 pm 24 Dec 12

troll-sniffer said :

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

Yep, you’re just one of many, and manufacturers of sub-standard goods rejoice the world over safe in the knowledge that a goodly percentage of the population just aren’t discerning enough.

Uh huh. Nice personal attack there.

You know what’s really hideous and tasteless?
Crace. and Forde. and particularly Dunlop.

Forgive me for liking the fact that there’s actually some high density housing near a city center rather than poorly constructed little shitboxes out in the middle of nowhere. Hell, bring on the commieblocks for all I care – build them as ugly as possible, make it absolutely clear: housing is a social need and a human right. Not vehicle for investment, not a lifestyle statement, not urban decoration or a source of retail vibes.

The quality of construction and DESIGN of housing out on the margins of Canberra is absolutely terrible. Really obvious stuff like verandas with sloped roofs that slope TOWARD the dwelling – even a partial blockage of the gutters (or merely an unusually large volume of rain) and water gets channeled directly into the roof cavity. The blocks are postcard sized and and houses won’t last 30 years, yet it’s still priced at 400k+. At least with the terrible cheap apartments of sky plaza you’d be in a convenient location.

So apparently it’s alright for young people to buy overpriced shitboxes so far away from the city that you literally drive through empty fields to get to them, yet high density apartments in the heart of the city are outrageous and ‘potential slums’ if they’re not cosmopolitan enough.

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

I think the other tall buildings in Woden are office buildings, which is fit for purpose. Sky Plaza is bereft of design merit or any indication of any form of social planning having been done. Lauren Jackson was promoting tiny, tacky, low-ceilinged, cheap flats with no retail buzz, atmosphere or anything else to recommend them, to naive investors or the lowest end of the home owner market. The ads promised a cosmopolitan lifestyle! Lauren Jackson of course would NEVER have considered living there, so it was pretty uncool of her to promote them as though they would present her kinda lifestyle.

Oh no! no ‘retail buzz’? how awful. I guess the residents will need to walk the whole 150 meters to Westfield Woden to get their fix of ‘retail buzz’. So I take it you think tall buildings are okay for offices but not as places for people to live? those people, those young’uns should be out in Crace where they belong instead of in apartments?

It’s not even like Sky plaza is cheap. People pay good money to live there despite it seemingly being such a horrible eyesore.

‘Twas the day before Christmas,
and we watched a fun flick.
But Masquara and Al,
like to crunch kapow kick!

Gungahlin Al said :

None of which makes this any less YOUR problem and any MORE Lauren Jackson’s fault.

You’re a very aggressive poster – so glad you aren’t in the Legislative Assembly! I suspect you would incapable of making a bipartisan contribution.

Gungahlin Al10:38 am 24 Dec 12

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

I don’t mind sports stars promoting Lynx or even Nike – anything that costs a little bit of money – but pushing a 30 year mortgage commitment for a crud home to a first home buyer is something else altogether.

She’s a basketball player. If you see an ad with her on it and think “oh well then – Lauren Jackson is a fantastic basketball player, so she simply must be an expert on building quality too, so I’m gonna rush out and buy one”, you “need to work on your observation skills” to quote JB on another thread.

Regrettably, advertising doesn’t work on the mind rationally. It’s nefarious. And if anyone thinks they are too smart to be vulnerable to advertising techniques, they are almost certainly wrong. I have a postgraddy in marketing, am a counterculture type, and I am confronted constantly by the fact that my consumer decisions are often heavily influenced by advertising.

None of which makes this any less YOUR problem and any MORE Lauren Jackson’s fault.

What a shame the video is fictional.

Gungahlin Al said :

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

I don’t mind sports stars promoting Lynx or even Nike – anything that costs a little bit of money – but pushing a 30 year mortgage commitment for a crud home to a first home is something else altogether.

She’s a basketball player. If you see an ad with her on it and think “oh well then – Lauren Jackson is a fantastic basketball player, so she simply must be an expert on building quality too, so I’m gonna rush out and buy one”, you “need to work on your observation skills” to quote JB on another thread.

They’re both tall…

Gungahlin Al said :

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

I don’t mind sports stars promoting Lynx or even Nike – anything that costs a little bit of money – but pushing a 30 year mortgage commitment for a crud home to a first home buyer is something else altogether.

She’s a basketball player. If you see an ad with her on it and think “oh well then – Lauren Jackson is a fantastic basketball player, so she simply must be an expert on building quality too, so I’m gonna rush out and buy one”, you “need to work on your observation skills” to quote JB on another thread.

Regrettably, advertising doesn’t work on the mind rationally. It’s nefarious. And if anyone thinks they are too smart to be vulnerable to advertising techniques, they are almost certainly wrong. I have a postgraddy in marketing, am a counterculture type, and I am confronted constantly by the fact that my consumer decisions are often heavily influenced by advertising.

Gungahlin Al said :

She’s a basketball player. If you see an ad with her on it and think “oh well then – Lauren Jackson is a fantastic basketball player, so she simply must be an expert on building quality too, so I’m gonna rush out and buy one”, you “need to work on your observation skills” to quote JB on another thread.

Agreed. I never gave a dingo’s fart about sport until my missus made me watch the Opals matches with her during the Olympics. Now I love Lauren and ladies b-ball (I still think watching blokes play sport is gay), and I will defend her tooth and nail.

Besides, if you want to get into a discussion about it, women athletes get sweet FA in terms of salaries and endorsement contracts compared to men. Even though LJ is/was arguably the best female player in the world (there’s no argument on a national level) she gets far less than any of her male counterparts do. I don’t really think you can blame her for taking whatever gigs she gets offered.

Gungahlin Al11:16 pm 23 Dec 12

Masquara said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

I don’t mind sports stars promoting Lynx or even Nike – anything that costs a little bit of money – but pushing a 30 year mortgage commitment for a crud home to a first home is something else altogether.

She’s a basketball player. If you see an ad with her on it and think “oh well then – Lauren Jackson is a fantastic basketball player, so she simply must be an expert on building quality too, so I’m gonna rush out and buy one”, you “need to work on your observation skills” to quote JB on another thread.

Instant Mash10:33 pm 23 Dec 12

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

I also fail to see the big deal. Sure, it’s not the greatest looking piece of architecture, but I wouldn’t say it’s that bad.

Doesn’t it like to anyone else that it might just fall of it’s own accord.

Is it earthquake proof?

Gungahlin Al said :

Masquara said :

I think the other tall buildings in Woden are office buildings, which is fit for purpose. Sky Plaza is bereft of design merit or any indication of any form of social planning having been done. Lauren Jackson was promoting tiny, tacky, low-ceilinged, cheap flats with no retail buzz, atmosphere or anything else to recommend them, to naive investors or the lowest end of the home owner market. The ads promised a cosmopolitan lifestyle! Lauren Jackson of course would NEVER have considered living there, so it was pretty uncool of her to promote them as though they would present her kinda lifestyle.

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

I don’t mind sports stars promoting Lynx or even Nike – anything that costs a little bit of money – but pushing a 30 year mortgage commitment for a crud home to a first home is something else altogether.

GardeningGirl6:29 pm 23 Dec 12

Masquara said :

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

I think the other tall buildings in Woden are office buildings, which is fit for purpose. Sky Plaza is bereft of design merit or any indication of any form of social planning having been done. Lauren Jackson was promoting tiny, tacky, low-ceilinged, cheap flats with no retail buzz, atmosphere or anything else to recommend them, to naive investors or the lowest end of the home owner market. The ads promised a cosmopolitan lifestyle! Lauren Jackson of course would NEVER have considered living there, so it was pretty uncool of her to promote them as though they would present her kinda lifestyle.

+1

Gungahlin Al said :

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

And some people think Salmon is a perfectly OK paint colour for a house… :-p

It’s barely acceptable in a fish. Purple, on the other fin…

Gungahlin Al5:23 pm 23 Dec 12

Masquara said :

I think the other tall buildings in Woden are office buildings, which is fit for purpose. Sky Plaza is bereft of design merit or any indication of any form of social planning having been done. Lauren Jackson was promoting tiny, tacky, low-ceilinged, cheap flats with no retail buzz, atmosphere or anything else to recommend them, to naive investors or the lowest end of the home owner market. The ads promised a cosmopolitan lifestyle! Lauren Jackson of course would NEVER have considered living there, so it was pretty uncool of her to promote them as though they would present her kinda lifestyle.

Yeah because sports stars have NEVER done paid ads for products they don’t use before…

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

I think the other tall buildings in Woden are office buildings, which is fit for purpose. Sky Plaza is bereft of design merit or any indication of any form of social planning having been done. Lauren Jackson was promoting tiny, tacky, low-ceilinged, cheap flats with no retail buzz, atmosphere or anything else to recommend them, to naive investors or the lowest end of the home owner market. The ads promised a cosmopolitan lifestyle! Lauren Jackson of course would NEVER have considered living there, so it was pretty uncool of her to promote them as though they would present her kinda lifestyle.

Gungahlin Al11:43 am 23 Dec 12

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

And some people think Salmon is a perfectly OK paint colour for a house… :-p

troll-sniffer11:25 am 23 Dec 12

Tetranitrate said :

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

Yep, you’re just one of many, and manufacturers of sub-standard goods rejoice the world over safe in the knowledge that a goodly percentage of the population just aren’t discerning enough.

Tetranitrate10:39 pm 22 Dec 12

I drive through Woden pretty much every day and I really don’t get what’s so terrible about it aside from it being a little far from the other tall buildings around the Woden town center. I’d happily see a half dozen similar buildings built in the area to even things out.

Lauren Jackson should have been run out of town for promoting this truly horrible building.

Gungahlin Al12:42 pm 22 Dec 12

Gorgeous. Not going to win Hoax the Internet, but the sentiment is spot on.

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