Mareel Construction Update
20th November 2011
On Saturday morning (19/11/2011) I headed into Lerwick to see how the construction of Mareel was coming on. The building seems to have caused nothing but controversy right from day one; primarily because of the cost of the structure in these tight economic times, but also because of its design and location. In my humble opinion, I would say that from an architectural perspective it certainly is striking. Many locals have criticised it, but what would they have done differently? The main function of the building is to house the new cinema, so clearly a substantial section of it has to be a large box-like structure with no windows. The functionality of the building clearly plays a central role in its design, and hopefully, given time, the people of Shetland will come to love this building and appreciate its bold lines and geometric shapes.
