Ooh-Aah2, you may watch Mudcat every minute of the day, but I sometimes have other things to do. I'm glad you like the National Gallery extension. It does have some plus points, and you've mentioned one or two, but still it is a pale shadow of the imaginative concept that provoked Charlie's uninformed wrath.

Liz. if you said the water was wet, I'd agree. If you say the British Library is a bastard to supervise, I'd want to hear evidence from more than a former security guard - especially when the CEO describes the building as a pleasure to work in. (I should think very few public buildings are designed around the presonal needs of a security guard.) I take your point about the angle you're viewing from, but I assume relatively few people will ever see it from that same angle.

McGrath may not have gone out of his way to find a dull and dreary photo, but plenty of photos are available that show this fine building in a better light. The following pics are the result of a Google search - no picking and choosing, I've just linked to the first six returned by Google that give some impression of the building as opposed to close-ups of detail. If anyone wants to check out more images, just do a Google images search for "British Library."

Pic 1 Sorry - this one's a bit slow to load.

Pic 2

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Pic 6