The Carbuncle Cup has been awarded, the tongue in cheek award for the worst building to be finished in the last 12 months, and this year it goes to a development by one of Tesco’s subsidiaries.
Spenhill “is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco and delivers residential and mixed-use developments across the UK according to their website, and the development in question is home to a Tesco and 189 apartments in six 17 story blocks.
The award is given annually by the magazine Building Design, using a combination of democratic votes and a small team of critics.
The development firm, Spenhill, who is wholly owned by Tesco, said that “The aim was to create a cohesive piece of strong architecture that unlocked this vast space and establish a desirable place to live.”
Not only was the development built under the overarching umbrella of Tesco’s empire, it is also home to a large Tesco Extra store. Situated in south-east London, the building has been described as “oppressive, defensive, arrogant and inept.”
Although the Carbuncle Cup is a tongue in cheek award, it hasn’t helped Tesco’s image at a time when it seems to be seeing nothing but failures. They recently had to bring in Dave Lewis, an ex-Unilever worker, to try and help them recover their rapidly falling market share.
In the UK, the market share of Tesco, the biggest supermarket, was recently announced to have fallen to 28.8%, and in Ireland, it has fallen over 5% in recent months.
In the face of all the issues the company are facing, including the current price war, this architectural award is barely a cause for concern, but it is one more straw that has been added to the camel’s back.
