Tome capsule

摘要

Swiss Cottage is where north London falls to bits - big time. Sandwiched between the hilly charms of Hampstead and the white stuccoed grandeur of St John's Wood and Nash's Regents Park, Swiss Cottage is the bit the road engineers got their hands on. To attempt to cross the six-lane dual carriageway that drives a fume-filled canyon between the main civic amenities to the east and the shops and cinema is to take your life in your own hands and wreak havoc with your lungs. It wasn't always like this. In 1965 Queen magazine shot doe-eyed, mini-skirt-clad models against the backdrop of the newly opened Swiss Cottage Library. Designed by Basil Spence, Bonnington & Collins - one of Britain's most prestigious practices at the time - it was seen as a showcase development, hailed as a tremendous success in the architecture press and beyond.