More Comment – Page 375

  • Opinion

    Binding contracts

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Detailed contracts and tight deadlines mean less time for creativity and more distrust between parties

  • Opinion

    Offending Arb

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    I was recently prosecuted for contravening the regulations of the RIBA and Arb. Quite right, too. I was guilty of such contravention and given a conditional discharge with £200 costs.This cost the RIBA and Arb a considerable sum for sending a barrister to Bedford, supported by an expensive central London ...

  • Opinion

    Gehry’s star pupil

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    When Frank Gehry makes a presentation for his next project, don’t be surprised if Hollywood movie star Brad Pitt pipes up. Fresh from his heroic role as Achilles in his latest film, Pitt is now believed to be serving an informal apprenticeship at Gehry’s Santa Monica office. Pitt’s work placement ...

  • Opinion

    Noisy celebrations

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Young Architect of the Year, Austrian practice Querkraft got a lesson in British boozing after the awards ceremony last week. After the formal proceedings, architecture’s great and good decided to take the winners to a nearby pub to continue the celebrations. But, Querkraft partners Peter Sapp and Jacob Dunkl looked ...

  • Opinion

    The gates of history

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    A very interesting argument in favour of designing gated communities was this week put forward by architect John Thompson, who is working on a huge new scheme in Moscow. Thompson said he felt comfortable designing gated communities because, historically, all communities were gated. He argued that all towns and cities ...

  • Opinion

    Host with the most

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    SMC Gower Architects has to be applauded for thinking big. The practice recently sent out an invite for the launch of its new offices in Leeds with the proud boast that other invited guests included Tony Blair, George Bush, the Queen and, just to add a touch of glamour, supermodel ...

  • Opinion

    Basildon bonds

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Basildon residents have taken umbrage with Terry Farrell after he pledged to prevent the “Basildonisation” of Edinburgh. It may have made a nice line for Edinburgh’s most famous architectural Sassenach just weeks into his reign as the city’s design tsar, but bridges already need building in Essex – or perhaps ...

  • Opinion

    The new revolutionaries

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Aspiring Russian architects are increasingly frustrated with the state of design in Russia as the oligarchs call the shots and formal training is pushed aside. But there is hope, say José Esteves de Matos and Angus Morrogh-Ryan after a visit to Moscow

  • Opinion

    A lack of training

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Your report "Design law at last" and leader (March 26) reported good news for all architects. All those who used their influence to amend the Planning Bill should be congratulated. It should be understood, however, that those working in the public sector have given their wholehearted support for ...

  • Opinion

    Poor precedents

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    One good thing that good design “at the heart of planning legislation” could bring is its equal opportunity in rural as well as urban areas. But let’s not get too excited; we might well view the new planning legislation with some foreboding. When not all architects agree on what constitutes ...

  • Opinion

    Bill is bad news

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Far from being pleased that "good design" is to be an additional factor that planning authorities will now have to take into account when considering planning applications, I fear it may well prove to be a poisoned chalice. The term is impossible to define and its interpretation will therefore inevitably ...

  • Opinion

    A-level exposé

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Damn it! Ian Martin has rumbled me (March 26). No A-levels and an architectural education in a metal shed that morphed into a polytechnic and a university years after I left. Will any planning department ridden with Channel 5 newsreader lookalikes and lawyers ever understand my statement on concept and ...

  • Opinion

    Not quite so tall

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    I am writing in relation to your article “Airport’s challenge to tallest tower” (News March 19). I would like to put the record straight in relation to several errors and omissions contained within this piece by your journalist Chris Mugan. First, the project’s architects should have been credited as DMWR ...

  • Opinion

    Defending Arb

    2004-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Jack Pringle's comment about an RIBA-administered register (News March 19) is not new. It was mooted previously when the Architects Act was being debated. Current thinking in government and consumer circles is that professional and regulatory bodies ought to be separate to avoid conflicts of interest. Members look to their ...

  • Opinion

    Pringle power

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Your article on Jack Pringle (News March 19) demonstrates that he is the only candidate with the courage to commit himself to leading the RIBA in opposition to the most damaging attack on architectural values since the days of system building – PFI.While in opposition, Labour mouthed anodyne sophistries about ...

  • Opinion

    Why don't these Brits win YAYA?

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    It's the fourth year in a row a non-UK architect has won the Young Architect of the Year Award. Why are our bright young things losing out? Karen Glaser interviews young practices and some YAYA judges for answers

  • Opinion

    The big conversation begins

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    John Prescott often says he is fed up of planners and architects failing to work together to deliver his beloved "wow factor" in Britain's buildings.

  • Opinion

    Skylon revisited

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    "Skylon to rise once more" (News March 19) makes very welcome reading as it was a structure, as with so many others at the Festival of Britain, that inspired young architects at that time. It was my good fortune to work briefly with both Powell & Moya and Eric Brown, ...

  • Opinion

    Cabe: no mystery

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    I would like to correct two misrepresentations in your coverage of the forthcoming audit of Cabe’s procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest (BD March 19). First, your leader referred to Cabe’s design review process as “mysterious”. Since Cabe started work in 1999, we have reviewed several hundred projects ...

  • Opinion

    The full story

    2004-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Your report, “Cabe chairman under scrutiny” (News March 19), suggests that “claims relate to glowing design reviews given by Cabe for a Stanhope scheme” and that “a rival scheme on the site… was given a poor review”. In this regard, you extract two highly selective quotes that do not ...