BD should have stopped and thought before opening up YAYA, a British prize, to all (other) Europeans (News March 15).

Phil Coffey, founder of Coffey Architects

Phil Coffey, founder of Coffey Architects, Young Architect of the Year 2012

I am very pro-European but I think if the “best architects in the UK now have to compete with their counterparts abroad” it makes no sense to dilute the focus of this gong. To say that we’re a “global profession” is to miss the point. This change will not help young UK architects, will it?

BD should learn from the Manser Prize fiasco and keep this prize British. If generosity knows no bounds — ahem, prize money £5,000 — then create an additional prize for all young Europeans.

Michael Holms Coats
London EC1

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