{"id":1656,"date":"2025-07-24T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2025-08-01T15:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:11:10","slug":"a-little-bit-of-dereliction-in-an-otherwise-polished-city-can-be-glorious-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/24\/a-little-bit-of-dereliction-in-an-otherwise-polished-city-can-be-glorious-3\/","title":{"rendered":"“A little bit of dereliction in an otherwise-polished city can be glorious”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Red<\/div>\n

Derelict buildings don’t usually get left alone for long but they have a unique value in today’s cities<\/a>, writes Jessica Furseth<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A little bit of dereliction in an otherwise-polished city can be glorious.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take Battersea Power Station<\/a>. For over 30 years it loomed large and useless over the Thames in central London. As restoration plans came and went, it was almost as if this art deco masterpiece was thumbing its nose at efforts to make good use of a prime piece of land in one of the most expensive cities in the world.<\/p>\n

London’s heavy-footed march towards gentrification will not be denied. Maybe this is why it can feel pleasing, to Londoners like myself, to see a redundant and ruggedly attractive piece of industrial history just sit there, defiant.<\/p>\n

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Almost always, restoration is an exercise in compromise<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As renovations go, Battersea Power Station is a good one, with the chimneys even recast using the original techniques. But most redevelopment projects don’t have anywhere near that kind of budget, and it’s rare to see such uncompromising care.<\/p>\n

In cities that cry out for more housing it’s hard to justify doing nothing with buildings of no use, and city-dwellers may feel doomed to forever watching neighbourhood landmarks replaced by nondescript blocks of flats. Almost always, restoration is an exercise in compromise.<\/p>\n

So when a run down building is left alone longer than expected, I can’t help but sense a little glee. Maybe you too have a dilapidated, charming structure that you walk past often, wondering what it was once used for. The thought of losing these private monuments can feel like losing a landmark in your life.<\/p>\n