After yesterday's news about Eurostar settling well into its new home, here's another cheery account of a London landmark that has us thinking we might not be as bad at this construction thing as T5 would suggest.
Though it may have opened years late and countless gajillions over budget, Wembley Stadium has been selected as one of the New Seven Wonders Of The World by the discerning critics at Condé Nast Traveler.
Sitting among a field that includes the Burj Dubai and Daniel Libeskind's controversial entranceway for Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, it's clear the criteria is architectural prowess over function. The esteemed publication was enthused by the Foster and Partners-designed stadium, lauding the "signature element" of the arch that cleverly solved the old Wembley's sightline issues. The writers do, however, seem confused by the stadium's role in the 2012 Olympics, describing it as an "icon" for the Games and seemingly ignorant of the work going on at Stratford.
The magazine also picked out a couple of other recent London builds, and in truth it's a bit of a Foster-fest: they were enraptured by the British Museum's Great Court, the Gherkin, and the Millennium Bridge, though they politely neglect to mention teething problems encountered since construction by the latter two.
But if the article convinces visitors that London can still do big civic projects, then we're thankful for the praise - we imagine people arriving through the new Heathrow terminal will probably need reminding of that fact.
Image courtesy of Daveybot's Flickrstream
