Les Nouveaux bâtiments détruisent L'héritage Londres

London was founded by the Romans 2000 years ago on the North bank of the Rivert Thames. Over the years, the city was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The city skyline has often changed and will continue to do so as new towers have recently been built and others are projected. These new towers are controversial: on the one hand they are accused of damaging the 2000 year-old heritage of London. On the other hand, their defendants think that they are the monuments of the 21th century and that they are needed for the economic development of London as a global city and therefore they should be welcome.

Why are the new buildings accused of damaging the heritage of London?

In order to answer this question we will study two documents: source 1 is an extract from an article “Mixing the Old with the New” written by Safia ALTAMASH and published on September 18, 2012 on the “estatesgazette” website. This article explains the terms of the debate tow months after the opening of the “Shard”, London’s latest tower erected in London Bridge Quarter. Source 2 is a photograph of the Tower of London showing that the Shard is now part of the “view” of this World heritage site.

First we will see that the two types of buildongs, the old and the new, are part of London's history and second we will explain the controversy about the new buildings.

1. Each building provides a layer in London’s history and heritage.

a. The Tower of London a symbol of London’s long history (sources 1 and 2)

William the Conqueror built the Tower of London in the 11th century on the western edge of the city Roman wall, not only to observe and intimidate the most important city in his new realm, but also to protect it. At the end of the 13th century, there was a wall with four towers surrounding the White Tower, and this castle was known as the Tower of London. Another wall and a moat were built around it and it has reached its final form. As the building was made of stone, it survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Second World War destructions.

b.

The development of high rise buildings in the centre of London as an example of the “evolution of an

ever changing city” (source 1).

London is traditionally perceived as a low-rise city. Most of its heritage dates back to the development of terraced

houses during the Georgian period.

However London has a legacy of high buildings. From the 1960s skyscrapers were built in the City of London,

the financial and historic core of London. The most famous new building of the City is the Gherkin designed by

Norman Foster and opened in 2004 but other buildings include the Heron Tower.

The Canary Wharf business district located in the Docklands area has also been a site of high rise development.

Other buildings over 30 storeys are single landmark towers (for instance Euston Tower and now the Shard, built

on the South Bank near London Bridge.

The building of towers has been a common feature in global cities. Vast perimeters of new offices are required for

the headquarters of TNCs and service firms in areas where land availability is limited.

Global cities also tend to try and appear dynamic by building skyscrapers which add prestige to the city. “Signature buildings” such as Foster’s Gherkin are new landmark buildings which attract a highly-qualified workforce and tourists.

c. Why was it possible to build towers next to old buildings? (source 2)

London does not hesitate to build tower in its historical centre for three reasons:

- London is often referred to as an ‘unplanned’ city led by the private development

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