My god, this is good.
Visualisation of the new wing.
RIBA Journal, the official magazine of the Royal Institute of British Architects has given a resoundingly enthusiastic review of the redevelopment of the Bluecoat declaring the building 'a linchpin of solidity in a sea of ephemeral modishness' hailing the redevelopment 'real architecture' and commending vision architects Biq for designinga building that is 'small-scale, solid masonry, taking its cue from history but managing to be effortlessly modern.'
Editor Hugh Pearman, architecture critic of The Sunday Times and one of the original instigators of the Stirling Prize, has provided the Bluecoat's redevelopment with it's first major architectural review and revealed the unique quality of the redevelopment by revealing that for him, it is 'a huge relief to encounter a building that draws on – and slyly subverts – an older tradition.'
Alastair Upton, Chief Executive at the Bluecoat, delighted with the review commented 'I’ve spent the last year and a half telling everyone I can find in the City what is being built at the Bluecoat; how they will walk through the Bluecoat from the finest 18th Century building in Liverpool out to the finest 21st century one. The RIBA article is a tribute to the staff and board who, years before I arrived, bravely backed a Dutch architect Biq, who had never built a public building before, with the commission.
Sit up and pay attention everyone. Make no mistake the Bluecoat will be a star of 2008 and one that will last way beyond the year.'
The review has provided the perfect seasonal gift to the Bluecoat as the organisation comes to the end of almost 3 years of redevelopment, saying goodbye to a succesful 2007 and looking forward to the big re-opening of the Bluecoat in early 08, when the public will be able to witness this architectural achievement for themselves.
