All Letters to the editor articles – Page 17

  • Opinion

    VAT relief rule is unfair to owners

    2012-03-30T00:00:00Z

    The owner of any listed building faces increased costs and restrictions on alterations (“Listed buildings lose VAT relief” News March 23).

  • Opinion

    Key gaps on the green leaders list

    2012-03-26T10:46:00Z

    I read “BD’s Top 50 Green Leaders” (Sustainability March 9) with interest but couldn’t fail to notice the emphasis on expertise in building technology at the expense of experts in social innovation and urban planning.

  • Opinion

    One size rarely fits anyone at all

    2012-03-23T00:00:00Z

    I’m not convinced that these schemes will reduce cost (“School standardisation threatens less for more” Leader March 16), but let’s wait and see.

  • Karakusevic Carson’s first major estate project was Claredale Street in Bethnal Green.
    Opinion

    Anyone for Denys?

    2012-03-23T00:00:00Z

    Sadly you did not note that the building behind Karakusevic Carson’s housing

  • Withnail: economic analysis.
    Opinion

    Harsh realities of Cambridge list

    2012-03-23T00:00:00Z

    So Cambridge gets another ridiculous amount of “talent” to draw generic urban apartment blocks (“35 teams on list for £200 million Cambridge extension” News March 16).

  • Opinion

    Architects ought to get out more

    2012-03-16T09:17:00Z

    If architects are in any way to blame for the lack of care in many construction projects then it is surely due to the RIBA not insisting on a decent chunk of their education being spent around construction sites.

  • Opinion

    Joylessness is a sign of the times

    2012-03-16T09:06:00Z

    Recent issues of BD have featured housing schemes at Hinkley Point, Somerset, Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg and Leidsche Rijn in the Netherlands.

  • Opinion

    We’d all survive without Arb

    2012-03-16T08:58:00Z

    Paul McGrath is anxious lest Arb might be snatched away. Here are a few answers to his worries.

  • Opinion

    Liverpool needs better rail links

    2012-03-16T08:36:00Z

    Is Liverpool the UK’s equivalent of Detroit? A doomed ex-industrial giant? Probably not, but whenever grandiose plans are announced for Liverpool, you can’t help feeling they are unlikely to get built.

  • Prince Charles: committed environmentalist.
    Opinion

    Prince Charles’s actions deserve better

    2012-03-16T08:05:00Z

    Well done for publishing your Top 50 Green Leaders. It is a remarkable resource.

  • Then and now: BD’s first pin-up, Rody Kent.
    Opinion

    Reader, I married her

    2012-03-09T07:50:00Z

    I was amused to see your 1970 “Babe in the woods’” article (Archive February 10).

  • Opinion

    All is not lost for education

    2012-03-09T00:00:00Z

    Although there was a great deal of emphasis on heritage in the Henley Review of Cultural Education (Leader March 2), the built environment did get a look in and architecture centres even got a specific mention!

  • Opinion

    Forum may not be cynical 'stunt'

    2012-03-09T00:00:00Z

    A very unfortunate headline on your front page (“Critics call Cameron’s city forum a Blair-style stunt” February 24).

  • Opinion

    RIBA-USA flies flag for UK firms

    2012-03-09T00:00:00Z

    I read with interest your article “UKTI gives firms a hand” (News Feb 17).

  • Opinion

    Work together to design out crime

    2012-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Irish planners and architects know only too well the dangers of including large open unmonitored spaces in schemes (“Let architects design while police tackle real crime” Leader February 17). The back lanes in Georgiana were never unoccupied — the staff and carriages often lived in the mews.

  • Opinion

    Don't scrimp on the design team

    2012-03-02T00:00:00Z

    I fully endorse the recommendations by Design Council Cabe, which has again underlined that the methods used for the procurement of architects and other designers within the sector are not fit for purpose (“Cabe calls on MPs to reform procurement procedures” News February 24).

  • Glass buildings in Toronto have become a local scandal.
    Opinion

    A mistake to write off glazing

    2012-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Hank Dittmar is wrong to sound the death knell of glazed buildings (“The problem of people in glass houses” Opinion February 24). The unique qualities of glass are the very essence of modern architecture, and neither Ken Shuttleworth nor Prince Charles can deny their appeal.

  • Opinion

    Arb elections promise change

    2012-02-24T00:00:00Z

    I am delighted that three previous presidents of the RIBA, George Ferguson, Jack Pringle and Sunand Prasad, have decided to support my candidature to be elected to change the Arb (Letters February 17). It’s not often that three past presidents of the RIBA reach a consensus and I’m flattered.

  • Opinion

    Let’s give credit where it’s due

    2012-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Mark Whitby’s protest is timely (News February 17) and, speaking as an ex-design partner of a high-profile practice, a relief.

  • Opinion

    The inside view of Tesco design

    2012-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Following the release of Tesco’s Christmas trading figures much has been written about the direction of the business, including what role store design will play in driving profits.