Architects have been lamenting the loss of the Welbeck Street car park in London, as works starts to replace the brutalist building with a new hotel.
Scaffolding has been installed around the distinctive triangular concrete facade of the structure, built in 1970 by Michael Blampied & Partners, as builders prepare for demolition to start.
Many figures from the architecture and design world expressed their sadness about the demolition in response to photos posted on Instagram by Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.
"We should be ashamed. This is a significant work," wrote Henley Halebrown cofounder Simon Henley.
DH Liberty director Dara Huang described the situation as "soooo sad", while British architect Peter Barber called it "sad" and Claesson Koivisto Rune founder Eero Koivisto said it was "stupidity". Architectural photography duo Hufton + Crow suggested the facade could be dismantled and relocated. "It should be rebuilt somewhere else," they suggested.
"Radical conservation" needed
Architect Sam Jacob told Dezeen the loss of the car park was "such a sad thing".
"It's a building that expresses a particular relationship between the city and the infrastructure that supports it, and should really be considered alongside other great pieces of transport architecture, like Gilbert Scott's St Pancras, Brunel's train sheds or Grand Central Station," he told Dezeen.
"Its expres...