More Opinion – Page 349
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Opinion
Happy Christmas and a bold new year
It has unquestionably been a tough year for architecture, and reserves of optimism — the discipline’s lifeblood — at times fell low.
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OpinionConcrete Boots
Frozen outGrimshaw’s Bath Spa project is not the practice’s only headache. Staff and visitors wanting to enter the firm’s London HQ in Conway Street are being directed to a back entrance because of problems with the front door. Apparently, the hi-tech door is supposed to sense when an individual arrives ...
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Opinion
Pecularities of architecture
Your coverage of the problems in architectural education brings out clearly the inherent weakness of the relationship between universities and government, which threatens to close more schools of architecture.
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Opinion
Value of teaching
Neil Jackson puts forward the “only solution” for schools of architecture (Letters November 26), but is it right that we establish our educational structure on purely economic arguments rather than on proper pedagogical ones? Your article regarding Cabe’s support for changes to the RAE with regard to architectural education ...
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Opinion
Research is vital
Zoë Blacker’s assertion that the “true purpose” of any university is to teach conveniently wipes out centuries of history.
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Opinion
Time not money
I find it interesting that Richard Saxon sees women architects as giving up the profession “as their pay cannot cover childcare costs” (Soapbox November 26).
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Opinion
Design hot-bed
In his coherent and rather self-critical thesis (Soapbox November 26), Richard Saxon made a slightly irritating gaffe: “architects… usually in large local authority offices during the sixties doing socially responsible work (but let’s not look at what they produced)”.
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Opinion
Solid foundation
Disillusioned Young Architect (Letters November 26) writes that the shortlist for the Architecture Foundation’s new HQ consists of “has-beens and fashionable hacks”. What we actually have is a balanced list that includes both recent graduates and a Pritzker Prize winner, with the majority in their twenties, thirties or early ...
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Opinion
Prince ill informed
Prince Charles is quoted saying “the concept [of modern methods] has more to do with ideology than practicality as it would cost twice as much to build components in factories and transport them to site” (News November 26).
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Opinion
Lost temple
Thirty-five years ago, my children gathered conkers along a forgotten section of the Roman Ermine Street in Hertfordshire.
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Opinion
A bumpy ride to the promised land
It felt like the start of something. The Docklands Light Railway was festooned in “Back the Bid: London 2012” graphics and left the City of London destined for Custom House — the aptly named station where Docklands really becomes the Thames Gateway.
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Opinion
Research: Holy Grail or Achill
Why all the hand-wringing about the poor research performance of UK architecture schools?
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Opinion
Concrete Boots
Gender defenderBD’s glittering Architect of the Year Awards at the London Hilton on Tuesday took a satisfyingly political turn. De Rijke Marsh Morgan’s Sadie Morgan told the assembled masses that her award for best new practice was one in the eye for the male majority, which was well said given ...
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Opinion
Dwayne Hemmingham
Why can’t modern housing be more like those containers you get Chinese takeaway in?
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Opinion
Yearning for the old school days
Zoë Blackler’s editorial (November 19) misses the point, which is that architectural education, as we have known it since the 1958 Oxford Conference, and the universities’ research assessment exercise are incompatible.
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Opinion
Bravo Cabe
Croydon councillor Adrian Dennis (Letters November 12) calls for a “root-and-branch shake-up” of Cabe and criticises it for being “cliquey” and a “gentleman’s club”.