All Opinion articles – Page 363
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Opinion
Cross dressing up
Is the reporter on Alsop’s designs for The Public in West Bromwich (Solutions June 25) ashamed to write about corrugated cladding, and instead has to dress it up as sinusoidal cladding? It’s this kind of pretentiousness that distances the profession from the public.
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Opinion
Common purpose
Andrew Matthews (In Practice June 18) bemoans the increasing influence of other consultants in developing design proposals, but he might consider the reasons behind such a large design team. As long as architects find other specialisms confusing we will continue to need those who have an expert understanding of the ...
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Opinion
Prince Charming
Minister for housing and planning Keith Hill grins… and grins and grins. If prizes were won for grinning, Hill would win them all. Mild use of violence would probably only make his grin more inane. And now, having charmed audiences everywhere with his Mr Nice Guy with bonhomie to spare ...
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Opinion
Ferguson’s challenge: lead a revolution
We should welcome the stirrings of revolution around the professional status of architects.
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Opinion
Captain Cabe man
You have got the wrong end of the stick about Cabe’s design review committee (News June 25), as your editorial did the week before when it described me as Cabe’s chairman (I am deputy chairman). I did not tell your reporter that DRC would be the subject of a big ...
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Opinion
Take bold steps
In 1982, an Architectural Association student proposed a grand entrance staircase for the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It was considered too freakish an idea and rejected.In “Dixon Jones proposes grand entrance” (News June 18), we see that loftier concepts may prevail again. However, judging by its design of the ...
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Opinion
Blockheads hit
More hedonism at a Chetwood Associates party and a clear sign the firm must be doing all right. Laurie Chetwood appeared to have swallowed the party planner’s handbook whole and deluged his guests with treats from frogs’ legs canapés to a fountain of liquid chocolate, waitresses dressed in RAF uniforms ...
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Opinion
No bee’s knees
So it’s official: “British people do not like modern architecture.” A Mori poll finds that 67% of the population are not prepared to disagree with the statement “I do not like most modern buildings”.A glance through your jobs pages reveals the highest-paid job on offer for an architect was for ...
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Opinion
Wayne’s waxings
Fashion designer turned defender of quality housing design Wayne Hemingway gave us a little window on Wayne’s world this week. An earnest Hemingway told a national newspaper that British developers must stop ruining our built environment with housing that is about as welcoming as “Colditz”. A return to Victorian-style terracing ...
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Opinion
Shiver me timbers
I like the look of Foreign Office Architects’ Korean book building: “One face of the screen is clad in timber, the other in wood” (Works June 18). Is this the meaning of juxtaposition?
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Opinion
Out of the ordinary
I feel just about everybody has missed the point on Malcolm Fraser’s Bo’ness project (Works June 4; Letters June 11 and 18). To criticise it for not looking different or exciting enough is not particularly sensible, but to defend it on the basis of its “ordinary” aesthetic is just as ...
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Opinion
Tall order
Where can I buy one of the beautiful vases illustrated on the cover of BD June 11? It would look stunning on my dining-room table, though I’m not sure it will fit in the sink when in need of a clean.
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Opinion
MSPs’ sanctuary
Members of the Scottish Parliament who have presided over Holyrood, one of the most controversial building projects of all time, will at least be able to relax in front of the telly when it is built, but not without further discomfort. News that nearly 400 TVs will be fitted in ...
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Opinion
In praise of men
One of the best things about being a female architect is working with lots of lovely men. I feel moved to say this in response to the experiences so regularly and aggressively related by Sarah Wigglesworth (In Practice June 4).Coming out of college without ever having seen a roll of ...
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OpinionMissing link
I can recognise Andrew Matthews' problems only too clearly (In Practice June 18). The bigger the job, the more people get in on the act. But I note that neither the acoustic consultant, the DDA access adviser nor the planning supervisor was present. After a big accident, we are often ...
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Opinion
Ian Martin
Contemporary art is rubbish. Or has been incinerated. Or is in the Tate Modern. Or all three...
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Opinion
Grrrls lack polish
Sad news regarding the Prada Meinhof Gang, the riot grrrl act that was due to play at the Architecture Rocks gig tonight. The band — whose leader is based at Reid Architects — has pulled out due to an “inexperienced keyboard player”. Hardly rock ’n’ roll. Gig report on those ...
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Opinion
The force is strong
The last sentence of your article on Ken Shuttleworth's Vortex (News June 11) reads: "The engineer also believes the distinctive shape works well to minimise wind loads." This rings a bell.The Vortex is a version of the hyperboloid of one sheet (albeit using different values for the equation) used in ...
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OpinionDominique Perrault
To coincide with his first exhibit at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Frenchman will be in London this Monday to discuss his design for the New Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg
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Opinion
Making density more palatable
Councillors' reservations about high-density development are not surprising. At the Civic Trust we are all too aware of our members' concern and the challenge facing suburban areas to accommodate higher residential numbers. One of the main concerns is losing facilities to give way to housing development. If we are to ...