All Opinion articles – Page 332
-
OpinionBathtime bricks
It was great to see the Caruso St John Brick House in BD (Works May 27), and Irina Davidovici’s valuable commentary.Was Caruso St John consciously remembering Giancarlo De Carlo’s magnificent and extraordinary sixties villa, Ca’ Romanino, in the decoration of its bathroom?
-
Opinion
Strong arm of Arb
Robin Vaughan’s letter spells out distinctly that Arb under his leadership is not concerned with the spirit of the 1997 Architects Act or the intentions of Parliament, but with interpreting it to allow Arb as extensive a power over the profession as the unfortunately ambiguous wording of the act can ...
-
Opinion
Critical appraisal
Jeremy Paxman of University Challenge fame, not to mention a certain reputation for interrogation, provides a nice counterpoint to the raging crit debate (Campaign June 10) in his Daily Telegraph column.He writes: “I was accosted by an angry viewer the other day, who wanted to know why I was being ...
-
OpinionWe are working on accessibility
I was sorry to read the report of Mat Fraser’s attack on architects for failing to make cities accessible for disabled people (News June 17). Of course all buildings are not yet accessible, but there is a willingness and understanding in the profession to make things better. Many of ...
-
Opinion
The key to access
Mat Fraser is right when he says that architects are to blame for lack of access in London, but David Bonnett is also right when he says that architects design what clients require of them. There is no one answer. Architects often don’t understand what the needs of disabled people ...
-
Opinion
A vital trauma
The tutors I feared the most during crits at Dundee University were all female, and what’s more, the female students in my year were more than capable of giving it right back to them.
-
Opinion
Peer pressure
The crit should be heralded as a central and vital part of the development of architectural ideas. If your work does not stand scrutiny by your peers, go and do something else.
-
Opinion
Old school ties
If asked to picture a school, the chances are most people will think of a Victorian building: in urban and rural locations they so often have a place right at the heart of a community
-
Opinion
Ian Martin
Asked what Le Corbusier is famous for, people seem to think it’s either stylish cookware or a saucy nightclub
-
Opinion
Modern hero for the man on the street
The sense in which the modern movement in architecture can claim to be truly innovatory has been in dispute ever since the phrase itself, with all its political undertones, was invented.
-
Opinion
Walking a grey tightrope to inflexibility
You probably haven’t met Richard Hastilow. Let me introduce you. He is the chief executive of the RIBA, a bolt-upright former naval officer who doesn’t make a habit of shooting his mouth off unnecessarily. He also has the unenviable job, common to RIBA bosses, of playing politics with the Architects ...
-
Opinion
Worthy of a medal only if the face fits
Julian Wykham’s suggestion that the RIBA Gold Medal committee “should be looking at Britain” for a worthy candidate (News June 10) is at the very least breath-takingly ignorant and implies that Joseph Rykwert, once a professor at Cambridge and Bath Universities, AA tutor and graduate, is less than deserving of ...
-
Opinion
Doing our duty
In response to your story, “Winchester planners ‘failing in duty of care’” (News June 3), the council has a high reputation for the quality of its service.
-
Opinion
Clear case for the crit
Putting aside the rather unsubstantiated view that the crit is a clear cause for the drop-out of women from architectural education (Campaign June 10), I get the impression that one of the main reasons for a school to have to limit the traditional crit is the problem of reviewing an ...
-
OpinionConcrete Boots
Chip off the block The rampant marketing campaign for Urban Splash and “super-famous” architect Will Alsop’s new apartments in the New Islington development in east Manchester continues apace. The apartments, called Chips because they look like, er, chips, are now for sale. The marketing campaign has attracted praise from none ...
-
OpinionUncelebrated birthday boy
Norman Foster must have known that the Brits are rubbish at remembering birthdays. When his 70th came around earlier this month, he jetted out of the country to celebrate with his family in some warmer clime
-
Opinion
Language barrier
Your caption on French architect Jean Nouvel’s design for One New Change (News June 10) quotes him as saying “it will set up a dialogue with St Paul’s Cathedral and the neighbouring buildings”.
-
-
Opinion
Acting on orders
In response to George Oldham (Letters June 10), unless an act is ambiguous what was said in a Parliamentary debate is irrelevant.