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Spot on BD. A worthy winner. I was horrified when I first saw the designs and the finished building is even worse than feared. In the past whenever I was near the Cutty Sark I would go and stand near the bow and marvel at her beautiful lines. The oblique frontal view is the classic view of any ship (and any other vehicle come to that). It is the view that always gets photographed for good reason. The building has killed this view stone dead. Now rather than beautiful lines you get lumpen glass - forget transparency it's all frames and reflections - and clumsy fire escapes. For me this one mistake is enough to condemn this building but your article adds several more. The design displays a complete lack of understanding of, or sympathy for, the object it is meant to be serving. It is astonishing that the trustees let it happen.

One cannot resist the suspicion that Grimshaw favoured the structurally gymnastic solution because that is what turns them on. Have you ever seen a Grimshaw building without pin joints and tension rods?

What sets this apart from the other entries is the auspiciousness of the circumstances. A unique and beautiful historical object in a stunning location, a generous budget and a premier league architect should all result in something exceptional. Sadly this spectacular project is a spectacular failure.