London's' Lost Projects
Lost - as in taken away.
Lost - as in hidden.
Lost - as Heritage.
Lost - Never Happened.
Lost - as Grand Plans
Lost - to Technology.
Lost - and Found Again.
One of the key skills for project managers is to be able to identify
what is missing, forgotten or lost on their projects. This is
to prevent budget surprises, time delays and scope creep - as
per the iron triangle by Dr Martin Barnes - with other optional
points as appropriate - for stakeholders, funding, health and
safety etc.
What has been omitted from the agenda or the notes from the meeting?
What should be added to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) or
the Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS)? What should be included
in the report contents and conclusions? What is not happening
- as well as what is happening? What is missing from the Statement
of Requirements (SoR) at the beginning or at Practical Completion
(PC) at the end?
So for inspirations and stimulations for such skills let's look
around London and see what might be missing or lost.
Lost - as in taken away.
Much of the fabric of Roman London still existed up to 1700 and
then was "taken away" in improvements; although much of it was
not taken too far away being incorporated in buildings nearby
and on top of Roman foundations.
Much of the poor quality 19th Century housing has been demolished
and taken away - quite rightly. Although what replaced them -
as tower blocks and new towns have had their own issues.
Bomb damage and fires from the Second World War decimated some
whole areas of London and impacted many others.
The spectacular Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition of 1850s,
relocated to South London and which was destroyed by fire in 1936
was a great loss.
Church bells were a prevalent sound for centuries in a noisy
city including for time keeping and curfews but have largely disappeared.
For many years horses were the key transport device - for passengers
and commerce - although walking was more common. Reminders are
available with occasional water troughs, the horse hospital, mews
for coach houses and stables, the Blues and Royals, occasional
mounted police, horse drawn brewers drays for beer, horse drawn
funeral corteges, the ride in Hyde Park, royal carriages for state
occasions, pub names, etc.
It is difficult to believe that London was the largest port
in the world just over one hundred years ago. There is very little
active evidence in operation. The port functions for commerce
have moved to Tilbury and elsewhere; and for passengers to airports.
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Lost - as in hidden.
The many "lost rivers" of London are still there and flowing
into the River Thames - over twenty. They have just been covered
over with streets and buildings; or are features in parks such
as the Westbourne River flowing through the Serpentine in Hyde
Park. To get a feeling of the river courses one can stand on Holborn
Viaduct to feel the River Fleet valley north and south.
Many of the natural geographical features of London have been
lost. The low lying marshy areas which were liable to river flooding
have been drained, reclaimed and occupied at Clapham, Pimlico,
Battersea, Southwark, Lambeth and Lea Valley. The excavated materials
from the docks have been used to build up and level off other
areas. The River Thames has been narrowed by embankments.
The current street levels in the City centre are well above those
of Roman times as layers of development have been added one on
top of another across the centuries. This may be seen at the Guildhall.
Information and news may have been hidden - such as the Silvertown
TNT explosion in January 1917 or the impact of the Blitz on London
in 1940s.
Also London has world leading archaeological expertise - as may
be seen with the recent Crossrail excavations and at Museum of
London and many local museums. This can be dangerous work with
unexploded ordnance and plague pits.
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Lost - as Heritage.
Some valuable buildings and heritage has been removed over the
years such as the 19th century Doric style Euston Arch (1837-1961),
the Coal Exchange, elements of the Festival of Britain from the
1950s, the Commonwealth Institute, the Firestone Building in art
deco, the Lyons tea shops and corner houses.
However many remain to provide a rich tapestry of physical heritage
greatly aided by the approach to Listings of buildings. Changes
of use, refurbishment and conservation techniques are all assisting
in these matters as indications of the "circular economy".
By way of a particular example the chains from the Hungerford
Bridge by I.K.Brunel were dismantled in 1860 to be reused on the
Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.
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Lost - as in Never Happened.
There have been many great proposals for London - and many others
which were not-so-good. Many did not get out of the conceptual
stage while others advanced a long way - and then were abandoned.
Recent examples might include - a new airport on "Boris Island"
in the Thames Estuary; an NHS patient database; the Garden Bridge;
a traffic free Oxford Street.
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Lost - as Grand Plans.
There have been grand master plans for London - following the
Great Fire of London in 1666 through to post war rebuilding. Recently
there have been master plans from eminent Architects such as Terry
Farrell, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers.
As with all master plans even the ones which are adopted are
not always fully implemented; such as the whole of the post-war
Abercrombie Plan; or the North Circular and South Circular Roads;
or the more recent, yet ongoing, Elizabeth Olympic Park proposals.
It will be interesting to see if the twelve cycle super highways
will be completed or fewer or more.
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Lost - to Technology.
The really extensive tram and trolleybus systems with their infrastructure
installations throughout London have been removed and replaced
by bus services.
A few iconic red telephone boxes are retained as tourist attractions
or as plant holders since being made redundant by mobile phones
and new designs.
Ticket offices at Underground stations have been closed with
the use of ticket vending machinery. Loss of privacy arises from
CCTV cameras everywhere - and reduces terrorism, crime and safety
concerns.
Central London used to be a very noisy place with sounds 24/7
from traffic, work, living and leisure. This has all changed to
a much quieter ambiance. People travelling on buses, tubes and
trains are universally silent - unless they are tourists. Newspaper
vendors do not shout the latest news on street corners to promote
their journals. Conversation has been lost to handheld mobile
devices. Electric cars are becoming more prevalent. Everyone is
aware of or sensitive to sound and air pollution. Much of this
is being addressed through projects.
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Lost - and found again.
Refurbishment is a constant theme in London as a city on the
move - sometimes to their original purposes. Take Covent Garden
as an example. From open fields an elegant open square with prestigious
houses was constructed in 1630's. With the arrival and life of
the fruit and vegetable market the area changed in respectability
and went downhill. Then since the market moved to Nine Elms the
area has risen again with continental style pavement cafes, market
stalls, buskers and street entertainers; with adjacent opera house,
theatres, museums and shopping - found again.
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