by the Beaver Social Team, Photography from the LSE facebook
The results are finally in. Though some may think the architecture is not that important and doesn’t really affect the lives of students in a university for social sciences, they would be wrong. Architecture is everywhere around us and some buildings just beg to be analyzed and polled against each other.
First things first, the most controversial building in Britain : the Barbican.
Thankfully, what was once voted “the ugliest building in London” has been redeemed in this LSE students poll, with 63% of participants recognizing its greatness. To the other 37%, I’m sure you will come around eventually…
Feminist geographers have often stated that you can find the imprint of the patriarchy in the skyscrapers that grow across downtown districts throughout the world. Look at those fine long highrises. Just look at The Gherkin. Which leaves me with just one question for those 13 souls that voted “not phallic” in the poll: WHY?
In my quest to map out the architectural preferences of LSE students, politics was the next stop. While 55% voted for the Barbican as snob (liberal), 45% voted for the Chelsea townhouse, establishing themselves as snobs (conservative). The definitive statistic being that 100% of LSE students are snobs either way. Not that anybody doubted that.
Enough of that London architecture shenanigans. Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for: LSE buildings surveyed.
The Marshall Building is hailed “crown jewel” of the LSE kingdom by LSE management.
Unsurprisingly (sorry Minouche), the people have spoken and the people are not fans. At an almost reversed polling from the Barbican survey (some of you are traitors to the brutalist name), 62% said they couldn’t stand this neobrutalist BS. 38% (brave souls) stood by their love of the Marshall building. The future corporate slaves have made themselves known…
Now, the LSE “best features”. This mostly served to weed out the psychopaths from the rest. A very mellow choice, the Shaw library won with a breezy 43 votes. I’ll give a pass to the 19 appreciators of the NAB big red ball. I’m glad the attraction to large shiny objects is not limited to babies and insects. The real heroes being the 18 that voted for the Library stairs. You really appreciate flawed architectural trash like no one else. Similar admiration for the 11 who voted for the 32L lower ground floor (not to be confused with the basement, the ground floor or the first floor that also all happen to also be on the same floor). I hope you enjoy spending time being late to class running around LSE’s most badly lit building. Good luck finding a women’s bathroom. I’m still looking.
Finally, the most awaited poll : the LSE buildings ranked.
With a whooping 52 votes CBG takes first place. She’s like vanilla ice cream: good but a little bland. In second place, with 22 votes each, a tie between Old building and Marshall. It really makes you wonder if the £30 million donation was worth it… Last but not least, our good pal NAB, thank you to those 10 that, I’m hoping, are the same people that voted for the big red ball (minus 9 defectors).
Sadly 32L was not included in the poll, though I’m sure the freaks from the previous survey would have found a way to put it in first place.
