Architects must take the blame for London's views

This must be acknowledged by us. It is architects who have written documents to weaken earlier view protection policies.

It is architects who have produced faint visualisations with buildings hardly visible in wide angle pictures, so that a secretary of state is tricked into overturning her own inspector’s recommendation to refuse consent for the earliest aggressive, and unnecessary, tower beside the National Theatre.

We architects know that the human eye perceives detail in the wider view with intense clarity. And of course it is architects who design these buildings; and who publicly state that they are excellent, when they are mostly ordinary. It is an architect who has designed a tower to intercept the iconic view of the Gherkin, a new skyline wonder, from Waterloo Bridge.

However, not all important views in London are yet lost.

ICOMOS-UK, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, has produced preliminary spatial assessments of the open sky needed to conserve the best views of Westminster World Heritage Site — some of which are not yet marred by overly tall or misplaced towers.

Therefore now is the time to change direction and save what is still important in London’s skyline, with really strong spatial policies enforced with power, based on the appreciation of London’s urban landscape.

Hal Moggridge,
Lechlade,
Gloucestershire