More Comment – Page 362
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Opinion
Louiss love affair
Nathaniel Kahn calls to talk about his cinematic quest to discover his dad, Louis, in the film My Architect, which is previewed next week in London. After agreeing that big-name architects tend to be an eccentric bunch after he met IM Pei and Philip Johnson for the movie, he reveals ...
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Opinion
Letting off steam
Alsop himself is angry about the evaporation of his Cloud, and regeneration company Liverpool Vision got some of his invective in Louis’s favourite paper on Saturday.In an interview, curiously badged “exclusive” given he poured out his heart in BD the day before, Alsop fumed: “I only had a meeting with ...
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Opinion
Water torture
The reaction to the latest big publicly funded architectural project to go wrong is more sighs of resignation than public outcry. After the Millennium Dome and the Millennium Bridge before it, the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, designed by Kathryn Gustafson, looks set for a lengthy closure. The natural spring water ...
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Opinion
Bare noises
A press briefing about the acoustics makeover of the Royal Festival Hall revealed some interesting, but strange, facts about how sound reverberates around a concert hall. According to acoustics expert Larry Kirkegaard, the sound in the Royal Festival Hall would be better if the audience was naked. Apparently, a fully ...
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Opinion
Mandy money
Still at the RFH, CEO Michael Lynch wasn’t pulling any punches over Peter Mandelson’s criticism of the renovation scheme. Referring to the fact that Mandelson launched the Millennium Dome project at the RFH, Lynch said: “I would have liked some of the Dome money.”Wouldn’t we all.
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Opinion
Ian Martin
Things are back to normal. Well before lunch, this week’s proposed world’s tallest building is announced
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Opinion
Iconoclasm, clouds and con tricks
This summer’s argument between iconic and contextual architecture changed from parlour game to public debate on Monday when Alsop’s Cloud scheme in Liverpool, Britain’s most iconic proposal of recent years, was scrapped by its public-sector clients and the public that holds them to account.
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Opinion
Arbs secret society must be challenged
Regarding the article on Arb’s desire to remove democratically elected members without reference back to the membership (News July 9), the board appears to wish to turn itself into a secret society, hiding behind its ever-changing remit. No wonder the profession’s elected member, Ian Salisbury, is so frustrated by this ...
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Opinion
Pile on pressure
The RIBA Conference in Dublin enjoyed a lively discussion on PFI (News and Editorial July 16), but to say that the public sector is on the road to hell is pushing it. PFI is not about to disappear: it is a funding system that is far too attractive to the ...
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Opinion
Listing benefits
Handing over responsibility for listing buildings to English Heritage (News July 2) can only benefit the development industry as it will bring increased certainty. The transfer of responsibility to English Heritage does not come without scrutiny and has important new safeguards: it will be required to act within published ...
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Opinion
Monumental risks
Public monuments are, by definition, useless (Soapbox July 16): they have no apparent function in our architectural culture, unless, of course, they are called landmarks. But if we are to remember worthy people or significant historical events, they will be with us for as long as society itself exists.Yes, there ...
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Opinion
Worst of British
A recent comment by Peter Kellow is that as “British people” don’t like modern architecture, we should therefore give it up, a proposal seconded by Robert Adam (Letters July 2).To be consistent let’s ditch the arts entirely and confine our media to soaps, sport and Big Brother. While we’re at ...
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Opinion
Raines check
Your article, “Prefab security slammed” (News July 9), and editorial conspired to give a misleading picture on Raines Court.Secured by Design (SBD) was fully consulted during the pre-construction phases and no specific recommendations were made at this time. SBD’s specific concerns regarding deck access, the open-plan flat layouts and the ...
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Opinion
Why we need an urban institute
What do I mean when I say that the RIBA should become an institute for urbanism? It ceased to be an institute for architects some time ago, instead becoming an institute for architecture. The time has now come to make a bolder step and to open our doors to all ...
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Opinion
Pull up a chair
Another ex-RIBA president has been eying the Cabe chairmanship — Paul Hyett. He’s been taking a few gentle soundings and might fancy a pop at the big gig, alongside Marco Goldschmied. As far as anyone can tell, Hyett looks like an outsider, but the whole situation seems confused. What kind ...
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Opinion
Super-size model
We’ll pretty much go to the opening of an envelope, so it was with pleasure that we scooted along to a new phenomenon — the opening of an architectural model. Not an exhibition, oh no. Just the one piece. It did have multi-coloured lights though. The model in question was ...
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Opinion
So, farewell then
Paul Foot, radical left wing journalist and one of the founders of Private Eye, who died this week, might have appreciated an item in Concrete Boots. RIBA council member Sam Webb told BD how he used to work closely with Foot nearly 35 years ago to examine the scandal of ...
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Opinion
Fail safe
George Henderson, emeritus professor at De Montfort University, is the man chosen to unpick the scandal of the 90% failure rate in the part one course at the University of Central England. Henderson may be able to bring some useful experience to bear on the problem — at De Montfort ...
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Opinion
Oh, Danny boy
The New York gossip mill reports that Ground Zero architect Daniel Libeskind recently threw a party to celebrate the departure of New York Times critic Herbert Muschamp. The long serving NYT critic created a stir last year when he wrote a review backing Rafael Vinoly’s THINK Team proposal for Ground ...
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Opinion
Ian Martin
The Gourd would enhance Tamworth’s world-class city status (already 6.8 on the Pritzker Scale)