CB Architecture or What would Titus think?

I walked to Saltaire to meet friend Jean for lunch and a catch up today.  En route I was pondering which local building would fulfil the brief for the Community Challenge set by Alsacienne.  I considered the eco house which is being built on the old reservoir but then thought of Salt's Mill and I wondered what Sir Titus would think of this view today?

In the second half of the nineteenth century, his Mill and the surrounding village would have been a busy, bustling, noisy place.  The guide says; 'The layout and architecture of Saltaire admirably reflect mid 19th century philanthropic paternalism, as well as the important role played by the textile industry in economic and social development.'  The canal here would have carried narrowboats full of raw materials for cloth production and taken away finished products.  On the towpath you would have seen workers coming and going to the Mill from their houses in the model village and carts crossing the bridge over the canal.

Since the modern philanthropist, Jonathan Silver, bought the derelict Mill in 1987, it has become a centre 'where culture and commerce could thrive together'.  Gone are the looms to be replaced by offices for the local NHS and small companies; luxury apartments; shops and art galleries with all the attendant facilities.  Now that Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a magnet for tourism and you are more likely to see camera wielding folks from all parts of the world on the towpath with the joggers and cyclists.  The narrowboat in my blip sells ice creams and coffee.

So what would Sir Titus Salt think?  I like to think that, apart from the wine and craft beer bars (he was a strict Methodist) he would approve of the use to which his Mill is being put today.