More Comment – Page 156
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OpinionShould the profession fight to protect part I funding?
Yes, says Daniel Rosbottom, or we undermine the core principle of five-year funding; no, says Katharine Heron, limited funding means we have to prioritise part II
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OpinionChinese student pioneers free-range living
It is not only in the UK that young architects struggle to make ends meet
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OpinionLet’s see an end to City excess
The introduction of out-of-scale groundscrapers such as Make’s proposed HQ for UBS are a symptom of City planners’ fears
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OpinionDown like a ton of bricks
Further to your report on a possible carbon tax on bricks (News December 10) the EU should realise that while brick-making might require upfront energy consumption, bricks can last absolutely indefinitely – think Babylon stepped ziggurats. Compare that to steel and other thin sheet materials used for cladding, which can ...
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Opinion
Local heroes
There are many practical details to be clarified, but the localism bill’s requirement that developers must consult communities before submitting planning applications for large developments (News December 10), and give local people a real chance to comment on the proposals and to influence the design before it has gelled, will ...
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Opinion
Local villains
Localism is simply the worst thing that will have happened to the building industry in the UK, especially in regards to the urgent need for delivery of housing to meet the needs of an increasing population.Anyone with experience in the sector knows the public detest having any change and progress ...
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Opinion
A hard lesson
I completely support the actions of protesting students (News December 10) but I do think we are witnessing something that goes much further than the fees issue and is finally going to challenge the very fundamentals of the rigid architectural education system.For decades, the seven-year, three-part qualification process has been ...
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OpinionA matter of trust
Riba Council’s decision on December 10 (bdonline December 14) removes the function and independence of the Riba Trust
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Opinion
Let Riba rethink
I have just heard of the extraordinary decision to wind up the Riba Trust. This is devastating news
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OpinionIt’s time to learn from the students
By the time you read this, the outcome of the Parliament vote on tuition fees will be known. I fear the worst, but, whatever the result, what has been extraordinary is the focus and dignity of the non-violent protests that proceeded it.
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OpinionBSF fee claims are unjust
We believe BD’s story last week “The architects who billed £1m in BSF consultancy fees” to be unfair, disingenuous and misleading. The signatories of this letter represent most of the practices who are designing schools within the Birmingham BSF programme
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OpinionIn proportion
As Cabe enabler for Birmingham Building Schools for the Future, I was directly involved in the appointment of those client design advisers investigated in last Friday’s BD. Some context may help shed light on the situation
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Opinion
Up to the mark
In the scramble to cut cost and red tape, housing minister Grant Shapps may be missing the value of housing standards. Get them right and they don’t automatically push up costs, reduce choice or curtail supply; they provide benchmarks that allow us to compare housing quality
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Opinion
Blame game
In response to Tom Cordell’s comments on my review of his documentary Utopia London (Letters December 3) I’d like to reassert that there remains an awkward chronology in one section of his film
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Opinion
Correction
Last week’s story on the winner of the Greenwich Millennium Village competition reported that Proctor & Matthews was in a team lead by Aecom. In fact, the firm was in a team with Feilden Clegg Bradley, Alison Brooks and S333.
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OpinionDid school client design advisers offer poor value?
Yes, they were inappropriate in the context of what most architects earn, says Chris Roche; no, they provided an essential service to a flawed system, counters Paul Fletcher
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OpinionAlsop’s affairs are taxing stuff
Will Alsop has a famously tangled business history – and it just got even messier
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OpinionStudying must be worth it
How much did your architectural education cost? No idea? Well, consider yourself lucky.