Goldman Sachs, which used to do God's work for him in sepulchral silence but has now been unwillingly brought into the public eye, is in need of a new European cathedral and is in talks with a number of architectural practices to see whether they might possibly consent to design a new head office building for them. It will be little surprise to learn that Goldman Sachs already own the site in London: only a few grade-two listed murals by Dorothy Annan on the exterior of what was once the largest telephone exchange in London stand in the way of redevelopment. Annan's murals are highly regarded but have mostly disappeared as the buildings on which they were located have been demolished to make way for ever greater architecture. Only three of her major public murals are believed to survive – the largest single example, the Expanding Universe at the Bank of England, was destroyed in 1997 a good decade before reality caught up with art, presumably in case the public, by looking at it, got wind of what the financial world was up to.
Amongst the architectural firms so honoured with Goldman Sachs's enquiries are Foster and Partners, who, unlike the other two, American behemoths, can be relied upon to raise anyone's cultural credentials.
