More Opinion – Page 327
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Opinion
Dont gag the king
In reply to Ian Louth’s letter (Letters August 5)), Ian Martin is the king of architectural satire and must never, ever be gagged or otherwise censored.
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Opinion
Saving heroes
I look forward to the 2005 Architect of the Year awards, but my anticipation would be greater if the award categories included a Conservation Architect of the Year. Across the country there are architects doing excellent work in the conservation and creative re-use of historic buildings, but conservation remains the ...
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Opinion
Who decides?
Is it surprising that design statements are often “no better than a pack of lies” (News July 15)? Even if put together with insight and real commitment are they understood or even read?
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Opinion
Design rocks
For crying out loud, will rock gods, movie stars and television presenters please just leave architecture alone. The profession is fine without you.
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Opinion
Homes hijack
When Prescott wasn’t launching his £60,000 house on an unsuspecting world this week, he was taking surprised tourists on tours of Downing Street.
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Opinion
Form a queue
But Prescott managed to wrangle the agenda away from terror and back to housing. In an uncharacteristic moment of goodwill, Prescott said of the £60,000 home competition: “Everyone is lining up to criticise the winners of the competition, but I welcome the criticism.” Prescott welcoming criticism? See, he is a ...
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Opinion
Smoke stack
Swiss Re may be trying to discourage the “gherkin” tag for its HQ, but maybe they should be thankful. Pimlico School architect John Bancroft likes to refer to 30 St Mary’s Axe as “Clinton’s cigar”.
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Opinion
Life on Mars
Architect Georgi Petrov has drawn up plans for a small settlement with homes made from local materials, adequate parking and skylights. Doesn’t sound too sensational? Well, think again because the settlement is planned for the planet Mars.
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Opinion
Scouse trashing
A proposed new Mersey Ferries terminal in Liverpool is not getting a good reception from the locals. The building has already been dubbed the “pedal bin” by the local paper for its distinctive roof, while the Liverpool Echo recently ran a story carrying local reaction.
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Opinion
Ian Martin
Jim Stirling’s Number One Turkey was never eighties enough. It would definitely be enhanced by sticking a big mullet on it
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Opinion
Alsop’s gang makes a grab for power
It’s about time Will Alsop left behind his reputation as an enfant terrible. He will be 58 in December and the two don’t mix.
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Opinion
London shouldnt be some exotic zoo
Fashionable French architects seem to be as quaintly ridiculous as French rock stars. Dressed entirely in black, pouting and intense, they try hard to appear as if they have just come from discussing existentialism at the Deux Magots.
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Opinion
Concrete Boots
Kids on the caseKids say the funniest things. Boots has been speaking to architects who have had to consult children for new schools and a children’s theatre in London recently and found they are more perceptive than you might imagine. One child told an architect consulting on a school in ...
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Opinion
Ian Martin
We wish to create a united front , defying the establishment squares who laugh at our round shapes and spindly legs!
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Opinion
White male lineup is of BDs making
We are astonished in our office to see nine young white men lined up as your newest A-Team in architecture.
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Opinion
Recycling is key
Being a greener construction or civil engineering company isn’t just about building less energy-hungry buildings or using more energy-efficient construction processes. It’s also about using recycled materials in new products. While companies may have previously not had much incentive beyond notions of corporate responsibility to use such products, there ...
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Opinion
Cabe unpressured
www.cabe.org.ukI write in reference to last week’s item on Falconer Chester’s proposed tower on Skelhorne Street Liverpool (News July 29). I strongly contend the suggestion by Adam Hall that Cabe has been put under political pressure on this or any other scheme. Cabe judges schemes on their design merits alone. ...
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Opinion
Opera counterpoint
Simon Foxell in his piece Opera and Me (Culture July 15) refers to the value of opera — how it acts as a counterpoint, taking him from the everyday problems of practice, presumably into another world of fantasy and imagination. However, he does mention his feelings about the quality of ...
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Opinion
Community care
The use of the word “community” is presumptuous in the field of architecture and town planning, most topically with respect to John Prescott’s claim to be promoting “communities instead of soulless housing estates” at the proposed Thames Gateway.I have been trying to persuade my fellow architects to facilitate community in ...
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Opinion
Planners stoop low
The news that a tall couple (6ft and 6ft 10) have been refused permission to raise the roof of their Aberdeenshire home is a pathetic indictment of planning bureaucrats.I recently visited some old crofting cottages where the doors are closer to 5ft. If planners were still enforcing these outdated ergonomics ...