We’re part way through the voting and things have taken a dramatic turn in favour of the historic Roman Baths with a whopping 40% of the vote!
Today’s top 5:
Roman Baths
Warwick Castle
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
London Eye
Blenheim Palace
If romantic bathing isn’t your thing, vote for your favourite place at Construction for Seduction.
Do you feel there is architecture in poetry and poetry in architecture?
Copyright: RIBA Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Library Photographs Collection
To celebrate our 175th Anniversary the RIBA commissioned a poem by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion. Feel free to post your comments here - on the subject of “architecture and poetry”.
The Royal Gold Medal this year has been awarded to Álvaro Siza and as part of our 175th anniversary celebrations, is being presented by Her Majesty the Queen at a private audience at Buckingham Palace today. This is only the fourth time the medal has been presented by the Queen in person, so it really is an extra special occassion.
Check out some of Siza’s work.
Jonathan Glancey of The Guardian tells us why Siza is a laudable, if underrated winner.
Listen to Siza on BBC Radio 3 last night.
Le Corbusier hand
After a successful run at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the exhibition has now moved to the Barbican Centre in London. It’s well worth checking out.
There are loads of events and talks designed to give an insight in to the mind and works of this controversial architect and designer. The RIBA website Le Corbusier Season pages have more information.
Read a review in the Times Online.
This Valentine’s day, the nation has decided that Britain’s hottest places for a date are:
Warwick Castle 20%
‘You can even hire your own suit of armour to wear when you propose!’
The Roman Baths, Bath 15%
‘With a Great Bath and a Sacred Spring what more could any couple want?’
Royal Pavilion, Brighton 14%
‘Excessive, outrageous and extravagant, it was designed for partying with style.’
London Eye 13%
‘What goes round comes around in the world of romance.’
Blenheim Palace 9%
‘A Baroque n’ Roll place for a date.’
Love doesn’t just live here on Valentine’s day though … paramours can keep voting until 6 April when we will publish the final results.
So far, with 20% of the vote, our lovers’ preferred location is Warwick Castle. One voter writes:
‘There is nothing like the sun setting over the castle’s walls as you walk hand-in-hand with the one you love. Set in the heart of the country, Warwick Castle is the backdrop to the perfect day. Indulge in traditions of days gone by and escape the commercial heartlessness of modern Valentines day. Warwick Castle is the one for me!’
Ahhhhh … how sweet … Let’s imagine days gone by, like 1345, when the whole town was gripped by the plague …
No, it’s nothing to do with Carol Vorderman…
Why are Palladio’s proportions pleasing on the eye and the ears?
If you have the time (or the inclination) have a go at the conundrum below. Answer at the bottom of the article:
In a Palladian villa the owner is having a party and has placed a rectangular dance floor in the main room. He wants to put square carpets down adjacent to each side of the dance floor, making four squares in all. To determine the area of carpet he would need in total, what is the smallest number of measurements he could take?
Possibly aimed at bitter singletons, Dan Stewart of Building Blogs asks What is the least romantic building in the UK? and discovers that love (actually) is not all around.
Which building in the UK is the most romantic place for a date?
Launched for Valentine’s Day as part of the RIBA’s 175th celebrations, this light-hearted poll looks at some of the nations favourite buildings.