B******s to Architecture
Occasional irreverent comment on (mainly UK) architecture and architects
256 : Midsummer Madness
Posted Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 7:00 PM
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Just what is going on down at Portland Place? First we get the President's extraordinary "personal" email to every RIBA member on the subject of fee-cutting. Then we get the news that the RIBA Council has voted to consider the possibility of changing the Institute's name from RIBArchitects to RIBArchitecture. Has Sunny P finally lost his marbles as we enter the twilight of his Presidency, or is Nero (Sunny P) fiddling while Rome (Portland Place) burns, as several have already commented?
And did you spot the final paragraph of the front page leader in last weeks BD?
Posted Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 7:00 PM
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Just what is going on down at Portland Place? First we get the President's extraordinary "personal" email to every RIBA member on the subject of fee-cutting. Then we get the news that the RIBA Council has voted to consider the possibility of changing the Institute's name from RIBArchitects to RIBArchitecture. Has Sunny P finally lost his marbles as we enter the twilight of his Presidency, or is Nero (Sunny P) fiddling while Rome (Portland Place) burns, as several have already commented?And did you spot the final paragraph of the front page leader in last weeks BD?
Well let me tell you Mr President, on behalf of the poor impoverished and disillusioned membership that pays your expenses, there's sod-all to be "playful" about out there in the hard commercial world where thousands of architects are on the dole, working part-time, or taking pay cuts to keep their jobs. I'm afraid to say that comments like this just reinforce the view that those who frequent 66 Portland Place are on a different planet from the rest of us.Outgoing president Sunand Prasad, who proposed the motion (that the Institute should consider the name change), said: "It's something to think about. I was being playful."
255 : I love Amanda (x2)
Posted Monday, June 22, 2009 at 9:20 AM Link
One small voice of sanity in all the Republican v Monarchist, Traditionalist v Modernist, Ruralist v Urbanist, Rogers(ist) v Terry(ist), Planners v Public, etc. etc. bollocks which has surrounded the Chelsea Barracks debate - see every national newspaper and architectural magazine passim ad nauseam - is BD's wonderful Amanda Baillieu. Read her latest editorial [here] - saves the rest of us pointing out the bleedin' obvious, doesn't it?
And while you're reading Amanda's editorial, scan on down to the second part about Shared Surfaces. Is this the first small shot in an effort to win back the moral high ground from the disability lobby/minority? If so, then it has my total support - as I nurse a sprained ankle caused by tripping on those bloody dimpled pavements the disability fascists have forced on the rest of us.
Posted Monday, June 22, 2009 at 9:20 AM
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One small voice of sanity in all the Republican v Monarchist, Traditionalist v Modernist, Ruralist v Urbanist, Rogers(ist) v Terry(ist), Planners v Public, etc. etc. bollocks which has surrounded the Chelsea Barracks debate - see every national newspaper and architectural magazine passim ad nauseam - is BD's wonderful Amanda Baillieu. Read her latest editorial [here] - saves the rest of us pointing out the bleedin' obvious, doesn't it?And while you're reading Amanda's editorial, scan on down to the second part about Shared Surfaces. Is this the first small shot in an effort to win back the moral high ground from the disability lobby/minority? If so, then it has my total support - as I nurse a sprained ankle caused by tripping on those bloody dimpled pavements the disability fascists have forced on the rest of us.
254 : Emperor's Clothes?
Posted Friday, June 19, 2009 at 8:17 AM Link
What has the previously-saintly Chippo been up to in Barcelona whilst we've been salivating over the Neues Museum, Anchorage Museum, etc. etc.? I have to admit, right away, that I've not seen the recently-completed City of Justice in the flesh, ahem concrete, but from the images in this week's AJ - also available on the [AJ website] - this looks like one of the most ghastly mega-developments ever foisted on any much-loved Euro City. These blocks are on such gargantuan a scale, and of such unremitting conformity, that they make Canary Wharf look a paragon of human scale. If this project had been designed by any AJ Top Ten Practice (except, possibly, Fosters), or any of the US mega-practices working in Europe (think SOM, HOK, etc.) it would have been totally slated by the archi-mags if, of course, they had bothered to mention it at all. But, instead, we get pages of eulogy to the man who can do no wrong in the eyes of the current archi-establishment. Well, I'm afraid that Mr Chipperfield's fallen off that particular pedestal in my humble opinion.
One for [Ghost of Nairn] maybe?
Posted Friday, June 19, 2009 at 8:17 AM
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What has the previously-saintly Chippo been up to in Barcelona whilst we've been salivating over the Neues Museum, Anchorage Museum, etc. etc.? I have to admit, right away, that I've not seen the recently-completed City of Justice in the flesh, ahem concrete, but from the images in this week's AJ - also available on the [AJ website] - this looks like one of the most ghastly mega-developments ever foisted on any much-loved Euro City. These blocks are on such gargantuan a scale, and of such unremitting conformity, that they make Canary Wharf look a paragon of human scale. If this project had been designed by any AJ Top Ten Practice (except, possibly, Fosters), or any of the US mega-practices working in Europe (think SOM, HOK, etc.) it would have been totally slated by the archi-mags if, of course, they had bothered to mention it at all. But, instead, we get pages of eulogy to the man who can do no wrong in the eyes of the current archi-establishment. Well, I'm afraid that Mr Chipperfield's fallen off that particular pedestal in my humble opinion.One for [Ghost of Nairn] maybe?
253 : New Boys
Posted Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 6:03 PM Link
There must be something in the air at the present moment with two new, or newish, archi-blogs emerging, and getting a lot of press in a very short time.
First off is [Bad British Architecture], which attempts to chronicle the very worst in the UK's built environment by publicly naming-and-shaming those responsible for what the author believes are badly-designed buildings. I may not always agree with Ghost of Nairn, but it's a brilliant blog and earns a well-deserved Top Five placing on BD's News Junkie. My only worry for Mr Ghost is whether his rants can be sustained when there is so much crap out there that's so similarly awful - too many rants about the poor quality of volume housebuilding may pall after a bit.
The newer kid-on-the-block is [The Rubble Club] which has just launched to a big fanfare and a mention on the BBC News website. The Rubble Club catalogues buildings demolished in the architect's lifetime, and sets quite specific criteria for inclusion - read their website for details. The hidden, and unstated, agenda to The Rubble Club is clearly that these are worthy, well-designed, buildings which should have been preserved and that their early demolition is a heinous crime.
Neat little juxtaposition, don't you think? One new website for buildings which have been built but should be demolished, and another for buildings which have been demolished but should have been preserved. I wait with bated breath for the first building to appear on both sites.
Posted Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 6:03 PM
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There must be something in the air at the present moment with two new, or newish, archi-blogs emerging, and getting a lot of press in a very short time.First off is [Bad British Architecture], which attempts to chronicle the very worst in the UK's built environment by publicly naming-and-shaming those responsible for what the author believes are badly-designed buildings. I may not always agree with Ghost of Nairn, but it's a brilliant blog and earns a well-deserved Top Five placing on BD's News Junkie. My only worry for Mr Ghost is whether his rants can be sustained when there is so much crap out there that's so similarly awful - too many rants about the poor quality of volume housebuilding may pall after a bit.
The newer kid-on-the-block is [The Rubble Club] which has just launched to a big fanfare and a mention on the BBC News website. The Rubble Club catalogues buildings demolished in the architect's lifetime, and sets quite specific criteria for inclusion - read their website for details. The hidden, and unstated, agenda to The Rubble Club is clearly that these are worthy, well-designed, buildings which should have been preserved and that their early demolition is a heinous crime.
Neat little juxtaposition, don't you think? One new website for buildings which have been built but should be demolished, and another for buildings which have been demolished but should have been preserved. I wait with bated breath for the first building to appear on both sites.
252 : Ruffled feathers
Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM Link
Bloody hellfire - there's a fierce storm a-brewing over at the RIBA's folksy RIBAnet online forum. Well ... it's actually been a-brewing for a couple of weeks but has only reached gale force over the last few days. What started as a couple of innocuous postings about the BD becoming a paid-for publication turned into a hurricane when Amanda Baillieu posted a reply defending the BD's position.
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells and Disgruntled of Clerkenwell were initially a bit concerned that someone who was not an architect was allowed access to the RIBAnet forum but became apoplectic with rage when it was pointed out that the fragrant Amanda is an honorary fellow of the RIBA and there are actually quite a large number of other non-architects with similar access. In typical forum fashion this thread then meandered off into a tedious discussion about why so few RIBA members contribute to RIBAnet.
Well, knowing that I have (or had) a few readers who are avid RIBAneters, there are two answers - the kind answer and the unkind answer. The kind answer is that every online forum has 90% lurkers and 10% contributors as explained by the wonderful Jakob Nielson in [this alertbox posting]. The unkind answer is that most RIBAnet discussions are so trivial, naive, tedious, or worrying, or all four at once, that most architects wouldn't dream of putting their name to a reply. This is one forum where I'm very happy to be a lurker rather than a contributor - until the RIBA gives me anonymous access of course. Then I could really let rip. Oh the joy!
Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Link
Bloody hellfire - there's a fierce storm a-brewing over at the RIBA's folksy RIBAnet online forum. Well ... it's actually been a-brewing for a couple of weeks but has only reached gale force over the last few days. What started as a couple of innocuous postings about the BD becoming a paid-for publication turned into a hurricane when Amanda Baillieu posted a reply defending the BD's position.Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells and Disgruntled of Clerkenwell were initially a bit concerned that someone who was not an architect was allowed access to the RIBAnet forum but became apoplectic with rage when it was pointed out that the fragrant Amanda is an honorary fellow of the RIBA and there are actually quite a large number of other non-architects with similar access. In typical forum fashion this thread then meandered off into a tedious discussion about why so few RIBA members contribute to RIBAnet.
Well, knowing that I have (or had) a few readers who are avid RIBAneters, there are two answers - the kind answer and the unkind answer. The kind answer is that every online forum has 90% lurkers and 10% contributors as explained by the wonderful Jakob Nielson in [this alertbox posting]. The unkind answer is that most RIBAnet discussions are so trivial, naive, tedious, or worrying, or all four at once, that most architects wouldn't dream of putting their name to a reply. This is one forum where I'm very happy to be a lurker rather than a contributor - until the RIBA gives me anonymous access of course. Then I could really let rip. Oh the joy!
251 : Ruth (not quite) Reedy
Posted Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 6:25 PM Link
What a strange world we live in. The AJ, Building, and the RIBAJ all drop on my desk on the same day and one of them features RIBA President-Elect Ruth Reed on the cover. But which one? Well ... here's a clue ... it's neither of the ones with "architect" in its name. Yes, for some reason, the institute's first-ever woman president decided to give one of her exceedingly rare interviews to Building magazine. You can reed, sorry read, the whole article [here] if you must but it's hardly inspiring stuff, just all the normal presidential waffle about sexual equality, making the RIBA less London-centric, engaging with Government, etc. etc. Yawn. I can't see a single novel or exciting idea in it and just can't think what possessed a (small) majority of the (tiny) electorate to vote for such a potentially uninspiring leader. I'm very happy to be proved wrong, indeed I'd be delighted to be proved wrong for the good of the profession, but I look forward to Ruth's presidency with so little enthusiasm that I almost wish that we were having Irena Bauman as our first woman president. At least she has some strong views about the RIBA, as you can read [here].
Posted Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 6:25 PM
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What a strange world we live in. The AJ, Building, and the RIBAJ all drop on my desk on the same day and one of them features RIBA President-Elect Ruth Reed on the cover. But which one? Well ... here's a clue ... it's neither of the ones with "architect" in its name. Yes, for some reason, the institute's first-ever woman president decided to give one of her exceedingly rare interviews to Building magazine. You can reed, sorry read, the whole article [here] if you must but it's hardly inspiring stuff, just all the normal presidential waffle about sexual equality, making the RIBA less London-centric, engaging with Government, etc. etc. Yawn. I can't see a single novel or exciting idea in it and just can't think what possessed a (small) majority of the (tiny) electorate to vote for such a potentially uninspiring leader. I'm very happy to be proved wrong, indeed I'd be delighted to be proved wrong for the good of the profession, but I look forward to Ruth's presidency with so little enthusiasm that I almost wish that we were having Irena Bauman as our first woman president. At least she has some strong views about the RIBA, as you can read [here].
250 : Manifesto
Posted Monday, June 01, 2009 at 8:01 AM Link
It's all too easy for the anonymous blogger to appear totally negative, so I've decided to use the momentous occasion of the 250th B******s to Architecture posting to set out my five-point manifesto for the future of the architectural profession.
1 : Abolish protection of title
Posted Monday, June 01, 2009 at 8:01 AM
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It's all too easy for the anonymous blogger to appear totally negative, so I've decided to use the momentous occasion of the 250th B******s to Architecture posting to set out my five-point manifesto for the future of the architectural profession.
1 : Abolish protection of title
- What's the point of protection of title when protection of function has never existed in the UK and almost certainly never will?
- Clients and the public have never understood the distinction between ARB and the RIBA, probably never will, and probably wouldn't care if they did.
- Abolishing protection of title would enable the abolition of ARB.
which leads to:
2 : One organisation to represent the profession- It could be ARB or the RIBA, but the public has heard of the RIBA whereas it's never heard of ARB, so the RIBA is the obvious choice.
- One organisation has a fighting chance of providing proper representation without the endless internecine warfare (between ARB and the RIBA) which has exhausted the profession for decades.
- The organisation should concentrate on promoting architects, not "architecture". We need an organisation to speak coherently on behalf of all of us, not just the chosen few who are deemed to produce "good design".
which leads to:
3 : Re-engage with the construction industry- Architecture has always been about design, but whatever made us totally ignore construction?
- Architects must relearn how to construct what they can draw. It's no longer acceptable for us to leave it to the constructors to make our increasingly extreme designs work.
which requires:
4 : Re-focus the education system- Restore the balance between design, construction, and management which used to characterise the better architectural courses.
- Stop the idolisation of starchitects and their icons and focus more on improving the mundane and the ordinary - where 99% of the profession is working anyway.
- Explain that there is more to life than CAD - see posting [242].
- Ban the crit - responsible for teaching architects, from an early age, that it's perfectly acceptable to slag-off your peers in public - see posting [12].
which enables us to ...
5 : Stand stall, stand together- Respect the opinions of others, including the public, but be prepared to argue your case without arrogance.
- Unite when presenting the profession to the outside world. Internal conflict aired in public weakens our position - the media interest in the Chelsea Barracks style debate has done the profession yet more harm.
- Understand the strengths and weaknesses of other professions in the industry - see 3 and 4 above - so that you can defend your position when necessary and compromise when appropriate.
which allows us to ... see #1 above.
249 : Biggest and Best?
Posted Friday, May 29, 2009 at 8:01 AM Link
I've never felt that the AJ is entirely comfortable with its role as the annual chronicler of the rise-and-fall of the nation's largest architectural practices. For fifty one weeks of the year the AJ hacks maintain a distinctly sniffy disdain towards those who've sold-out to Mammon then, for just one week in May, the hacks swallow their architectural pride and give over the mag to the mega-practices.
This year the AJ could hardly contain its glee that it was "the end of an era" with the news that the Epsom Upstart had knocked the Grande Dame of Clerkenwell off the top spot for the first time in years. But the most amusing bit of the AJ's coverage of its own award is the [AJ100 interviews] where a selection of previously faceless senior directors/partners get to say their piece. With a few notable exceptions these men, and they are all men, wouldn't be given the time-of-day by the AJ any other week of the year nor, probably, would they be recognised by the AJ hacks if they passed them in the street.
But ... is biggest always the best? Compare the [AJ 100 - Top Ten] with the [2009 RIBA Award Winners]. Notice much synergy? Of course not, because the archi-establishment - who make the awards - hate the big practices for their financial success. So it's hats-off to BDP (No.2 with three RIBA Awards), Foster + Partners (No.3 with one RIBA Award) and Archial (No.4 with one RIBA Award).
So ... Biggest AND Best? ... no contest really, BDP's still way ahead of the rest.
PS #1 - Who is B2A's winner from the Awards night ceremony? Well ... the AJ's own Kieran Long for elegantly wearing a tie whilst all around him had shed theirs.
PS #2 - How convenient for Atkins that they "could not supply exact figures for architects" when asked how their numbers had changed, i.e. dropped, since the list was compiled in January whereas honest old BDP gave exact numbers.
PS #3 - Ken Livingstone = Greatest Contribution to the Profession? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Posted Friday, May 29, 2009 at 8:01 AM
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I've never felt that the AJ is entirely comfortable with its role as the annual chronicler of the rise-and-fall of the nation's largest architectural practices. For fifty one weeks of the year the AJ hacks maintain a distinctly sniffy disdain towards those who've sold-out to Mammon then, for just one week in May, the hacks swallow their architectural pride and give over the mag to the mega-practices.This year the AJ could hardly contain its glee that it was "the end of an era" with the news that the Epsom Upstart had knocked the Grande Dame of Clerkenwell off the top spot for the first time in years. But the most amusing bit of the AJ's coverage of its own award is the [AJ100 interviews] where a selection of previously faceless senior directors/partners get to say their piece. With a few notable exceptions these men, and they are all men, wouldn't be given the time-of-day by the AJ any other week of the year nor, probably, would they be recognised by the AJ hacks if they passed them in the street.
But ... is biggest always the best? Compare the [AJ 100 - Top Ten] with the [2009 RIBA Award Winners]. Notice much synergy? Of course not, because the archi-establishment - who make the awards - hate the big practices for their financial success. So it's hats-off to BDP (No.2 with three RIBA Awards), Foster + Partners (No.3 with one RIBA Award) and Archial (No.4 with one RIBA Award).
So ... Biggest AND Best? ... no contest really, BDP's still way ahead of the rest.
PS #1 - Who is B2A's winner from the Awards night ceremony? Well ... the AJ's own Kieran Long for elegantly wearing a tie whilst all around him had shed theirs.
PS #2 - How convenient for Atkins that they "could not supply exact figures for architects" when asked how their numbers had changed, i.e. dropped, since the list was compiled in January whereas honest old BDP gave exact numbers.
PS #3 - Ken Livingstone = Greatest Contribution to the Profession? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
248 : No stone unturned
Posted Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM Link
That well-known phantom project, the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, was back in the news again last week when the DCMS announced, yet again, that they've given it the go ahead "in principle" - Whitehall wonk-speak for "this is the latest plan that will never be built". But, this time, the chosen scheme is to be built at Airman's Corner, one-and-a-half miles west of the stones and, crucially, also includes the closing and removal of the section of the A344 which passes close to the stones.
Does all this sound familiar? Well ... it should do to regular readers of this blog, 'cos the road closure is just one element of Old Bollock's StoneHenge Experience, as proposed in Posting [217]. Now, why don't the DCMS go all the way, save a substantial proportion of the £25m budget, and implement the StoneHenge Experience in full, i.e. divert the roads and forget about the Visitor Centre? After all, there'll be b****r-all change left from £25m when the road engineers have spent it all so, maybe, DCMS intend implementing Old Bollock's plan by stealth - do the road alterations first, then announce that there's no money left in the pot for the Visitor Centre.
Posted Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Link
That well-known phantom project, the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, was back in the news again last week when the DCMS announced, yet again, that they've given it the go ahead "in principle" - Whitehall wonk-speak for "this is the latest plan that will never be built". But, this time, the chosen scheme is to be built at Airman's Corner, one-and-a-half miles west of the stones and, crucially, also includes the closing and removal of the section of the A344 which passes close to the stones.Does all this sound familiar? Well ... it should do to regular readers of this blog, 'cos the road closure is just one element of Old Bollock's StoneHenge Experience, as proposed in Posting [217]. Now, why don't the DCMS go all the way, save a substantial proportion of the £25m budget, and implement the StoneHenge Experience in full, i.e. divert the roads and forget about the Visitor Centre? After all, there'll be b****r-all change left from £25m when the road engineers have spent it all so, maybe, DCMS intend implementing Old Bollock's plan by stealth - do the road alterations first, then announce that there's no money left in the pot for the Visitor Centre.
247 : Wall Of Sound Lookalike
Posted Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 12:05 AM Link
For a split second during last nights Channel Four News report I thought that Phil Spector, disgraced record producer and legendary creator of the Wall-Of-Sound, had been released from jail to comment on the Prince's speech at the RIBA. But no, it was our very own "architectural treasure", the equally-legendary Piers Gough, having a particularly extreme bad hair day. Could Phil and Piers be, by any chance, related?
Excellent coverage of the evening, including the Channel Four video (all eight-and-a-half minutes of it) and the full text of the speech, on the BD website from [this link]. Just try and ignore the yawn-inducing Readers' Comments.
Posted Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Link
 Spector |  Gough |
For a split second during last nights Channel Four News report I thought that Phil Spector, disgraced record producer and legendary creator of the Wall-Of-Sound, had been released from jail to comment on the Prince's speech at the RIBA. But no, it was our very own "architectural treasure", the equally-legendary Piers Gough, having a particularly extreme bad hair day. Could Phil and Piers be, by any chance, related?
