Room for a view
TWO unrepeatable holes have opened up in the City of London. Enjoy them while they last. One, in St Martin's le Grand, marks the site of a nondescript office block, whose absence now unmasks the noble classical façade of Goldsmiths' Hall, Philip Hard- wick's masterpiece. The other is where Slater Walker used to be. That loss will not be felt, and the gain is a perspective from Queen Victoria Street to the south front of St Paul's — last shown up to such advantage after the bombs had stopped falling. (As the Prince of Wales told a City dinner for archi- tects, 'Say what you like about the Luftwaffe, they only knocked it down.') Too soon this spectacular hole will be plugged by a Lon- don home for Nissho Iwai, whatever that may be, and in front of Goldsmiths Hall will rise a speculative office block, possibly no more descript than its predecessor. I urge the Corporation of London to think again and adopt a policy of set-aside, which would leave these holes open for public enjoyment.
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