Turner's last stand

After years wasted, the Turner Contemporary Gallery's final design should be revealed tonight by Chipperfield Architects. With one abortive attempt to build a gallery, which look something like a squashed marshmallow, and saw the best part of £8 million wasted, expectations will be high for the latest gallery design.

It will be interesting to see, how far the relatively meagre budget of £17,500,000, goes these days. Anyway it seems a long time since, February when the David Chipperfield firm of architect's gave a presentation highlighting the constraints and technical issues involved in the design process.

It would be nice, to think that the final design, will be something unique, to Margate. Hopefully it would reflect the brash, course and less than the genteel atmosphere of Margate which after all is a seaside town, that owes its heritage to day-trippers and holidaymakers.

Unfortunately during their last visit, I made a criticism of the Hepworth building in Wakefield, which I likened to a nuclear bunker, that unbeknownst to me happened to be one of theirs, oops, tonight I shall keep my mouth shut and see what they have to offer.

At the end of the day, whatever they have to offer, is as good, as it will get, for us here in Margate, particularly since weak local government, has allowed the town's main asset Dreamland, to be destroyed. For recent past history click on label below for Turner Contemporary.