4 10 39 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/39f58996006b6ab7c352d6134d6a4dee.pdf d9cf2f62158799c8aec9fd3a4feac94b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NAM National Design Service Subject The topic of the resource NAM goes for public sector... report of third annual congress, held in Hull. 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A ches Ws naku An More OW bation Nake preeenaleara oe a !goreGly dionAe ee Ro pena, eget ger eet eT Levdspinsh ie ieans wi beprin tl tenn, locabioankottoheebeetse Greater Lcendon Council \ Historic Buildings Board keport (27,9.72) by oe Cer CC col Lec va Gic Wie oe THE SCHOOLS OF THE LONDON SCHOOL A =£ ~“S : EP 523 sup. ie \or BOARD (1872-1904) AND THE LONDON _2-/ | COUNTY COUNCIL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ? Vine > pe Ee | <2 “1904-1910—INVESTIGATIONFOR ae ~ / ,{ PRESERVATION : ee | The Board will recall that some time &@g0 a request was made that a detailed report on Board Schools of London snould be submitted for information and consideration. It will be appreciated that a very considerable amount of research was involved in the preparation of the report which is now presented for the Board's consideration. 1 The remarkeble architectural phenomenon of the Bozrd Schools of London was conceived iin that section of the Hlementary Education Act of 1870 concerned with the special provisions to have effect in the 'metropolis'. Requiring that the name of the school board 'shall be the School Board for London!’ the Act stated that the board 'shall proceed at once to supply their district with sufficient public school accommodation’. london was thus required to lead the way with a vast programme of school building, and, dividing the district into ten areas ~ Marylebone, Finsbury, Lambeth (East and West) Tower Hanilets, Hackney, Westminster, Southwark, City, Chelsea and Greenwich, the Board set immediately about its orgenisation. Ata meeting of the Works and General Purposes Committee in May 1871 it was decided that the duties should be divided under three headings: the Acquisition of sites, the selection 'from time to time', of an architect to erect buildings, and the appointment of a consulting architect end surveyor, with reference to talcing over schools and ‘the general business likely to arise’, The importance of getting the best possible designs for all ney buildings was stressed even et this early stage_ and the method favoured was to hold limited competitions of known school architects. The intention of the Boord-had first been to research the Situation fully, but 'at the instence of Lord Sandon it was determined to build a first batch of twenty schools in the most destitute districts without waiting the result of the laborious Statistical investigations'. Eighty-four architects applied for the post of consultant architect to the Board and from these six were shortlisted: Joseph Janes, J.i, Morris, Thomas Porter, John S. Quilter, E.R. Rodson and Yiliian Wigginton, E.R, Robson was appointed to the post with an overwhelming majority at a Board meeting early in July 1871. Born in Durhan iin 1835, Robson had been erticled to John Dobson of Newcastle— on-Tyne.e In 1857 he came to London whore ne worked for three years ‘in the office of George Gilbert Scott, and met there in 1858 as a fellow pupil the young Scotsman, John James Stevenson. Setting up in practice, Robson was Appointed Architect to Durham Cathedral and in 1864 became «chitect and surveyor to Liverpool City Corporation, a post he held for nearly five years. During this time he was responsible for the new ilunicipal offices end riany other public Works and improvements in the city. It was the prospect of the massive School Board commission that brought Robson finally to London: he resigned from the Liverpool post in 1859. Fhilip Robson wrote in a Memoir of his father that, seeeees ON the 2 75ing of the Forster Fducation Act my father determined 4f he cowl te Lead the way with regard to Educational Buildings'. Shortly after his aprointment in 1871 Robson took J.J. Stevenson into a partnership that lasted into 1875 and there can be no doubt that this action was decisive in the development of the Board School Style, as it came to be known. i However, for the first two years of the Board's existence, Robson and his partner had little or no influence upon the designs of the schools, for the competition system was pursued with the somewhat panic-stricken zeal of the. early Board until its unwieldy and expensive administration and by no means alvays satisfactory results led to its rejection in 1873. A characteristic example of these first competition schools was that at Johnson Street, Stepney, by T.R. Smith, opened in 1872 and now destroyed. In the Gothic manner, with little to distinguish it from the numbers of parochial and national schools that had gone before, Smith's design represented all that was to be rejected so dramatically within a year of its completion. Robson himself wrote in 1874, Pe e Johnson Street School cannot, when critically considered, be regarded the light of a success which invites general imitation.' One school emerged from the competition system to foreshadow the elements of the Board School Style: that at Harwood Road, Fulham, designed by Basil Champneys and opened in October 1873 (now demolished). The distinguishing features of this building - the red brick walls articulated with slender brick pilasters, gable ended roofs, tall chimneys, tell white-painted sash windows and mild Renaissance details - were those of the 'Qucen Anne’ manncr, about to become one of the stormiest controversies in art and architectural circles of the 19th century. Robson's ovm comments on Champney's school in his book School Architecture of 1874, were restrained in their approval, but reflect the crucial influence that Harwood Road must have exerted upon hin: 'The style in which the building has been thought out", he wrote, ‘is a quaint and able adaptation of old English brick architecture to modern school purposes. Apart irom the opinion, which may be termed that of fashion, because of its temporary nature, but which runs for the moment headlong after e favourite style, even when carried out in the most tasteless and unmean— é: manner, this building must be regarded as possessing decided architect-— ural character. The war between the rival styles has raged so long that we are in some danger of forgetting the existence of certain broad first principles common to the great architecture of all times and countries, and whicn are certainly never absent from the more conspicuous and representative examples. Among these first conditions of architecture must be ranked a regard tox good form, geod proportion, good grouping and, above all, good architectural character and good colour .....- .. The design in question must rank as thoughtful and artistic work, whatever may be our individual preference as to style.' . : With these words Robson was justifying his own decision, when in 1873 with Stevenson in unofficial partnership with him, he took over the designing of all Board Schools and chose to express the new age of education with the new style of architecture. : | The division of responsibility for the 'School Board style’ is by no means a straightforward matter, and was, it seems, already a subject tor arguaent in 1874, Stevenson was undoubtedly one of the principal spokesmen and apologists for 'Queen Anne' and among the first actually to have built in the new style. In 1870-1 he designed Red House, Bayswater Road for himself, in red brick with pedimented gables, tall chimneys and flat arched sash windows, at a date when Norman Shaw, later to be the arch—protagonist of the style, had not yct abandoned the picturesque Tudor of his work of the '60's. In 1874 when the programme of the Board Schools had already been formulated with Robson, and Shaw's Lowther Lodge Kensington, a classic example of 'Queen Anne’ was only in course of building, Stevenson read before the General Conference of Architects at the R.I.B.A. a paper entitled 'On the Recent Reaction of Taste in English Architecture’, a key document in the history of the Queen Anne revival. Emphasising the close affinities of Queen Anne with classical architecture - in the search for an appropriate label for-the style the term Free Classic was often recommended — Stevenson depended heavily for his justification on the practical ari economic advantages of the new manner, 2 reflection, no doubt, of the discussions he and Robson must have had when establishing a coherent and viable house style at the School Board. The central argument of his paper, quoted below, is immediately applicable to the Board's work: “(The Style) has much to be said for it on practical grounds. Take the ordinary conditions of London building - stock bricks and sliding sash windows. A flat arch of red cut bricks is the cheapest mode of forming a window-head: the red colour is naturally carried down the sides of the window, forming a frame; and is used also to emphasise the angles of the building. As the gables rise above the roofs, it costs nothing, and gives interest and character ........ to mould them into curves and sweeps. ~The appearance of wall-surface carried over the openings, which, in Gothic, the tracery and iron bars and reflecting surface of thick stained glass had taught us to appreciate, is obtained by massive wooden frames and sash bars set, where the silly interference of the Building Act does not prevent, almost flush with the walls, while to the rooms inSide these thick sash bars give a fecling of enclosure and comfort. . : : With these simple elements the style is complete, without any expenditure whatever on ornament ........ There is nothing but harmony and proportion to depend on for effect. We may, if we have money to spare, get horizontal division of the facade, in this style, as in Gothic, by string courses and cornices, and we have the advantages over Gothic that we can obtain vertical division by pilasters, which, though not constructive any more than string courses as used in modern Gothic, have at least as much meaning in a London house as pointed window arches ..... The style in all its forms has the merit of truthfulness; it is the outcome of our common modern wants picturesquely expressed. In its mode of working and details it is the common vernaculer style in which the British workman has been apprenticed, with some new life from Gothic added ....." 3 Later, in his book House Architecture, published in 1880, Stcvensor referred Specifically to the Boarda Sc Schools in this Context: "Within the last year or two there has been a revival of the ‘Queen Anne! - style for town houses and even for streets. The fashion scems to be spreading. It has received some accession of force from the schools of the London School Board, planted in every district of London, having been mostly built in that style. For the architecture of a few of the earliest of these I am responsible, having found by the practical expericnce of a house I built for myself in this manner, that the style adapts itself to every modern necessity and convenience. In that case I made no attempt to follow any particular style, the style grow naturally from using ordinary materials and modes of work, and trying to give them character and interest ........" eee nnd a - _—- - ote So * 1874 was the year in which Robson too published his important document School Architecture, already referred to above, in which, together with examples upon which he comments, he sets out to justify the adoption of the Queen Anne Style. More ideological in approach than Stevenson and less passionate, perhaps in his advocacy of the new style per se, Robson was nonetheless well aware of the great opportunity for changing the face of ‘London and the course of architectural development that his post as Board Architect was offering: "Among so large a number of new school houses," he wrote, "some are “4 fortunate in being placed in positions where they can be easily seen and it becomes of some importance to consider what style is most suitable ......! His rejection of Gothic - in theory, at least - seems characteristic now of the evangelistic fervour that the Act had inspired in the Victorian reformers in Education: "A building in which the teaching of dogma is strictly forbidden, can have no pretence for using with any point or meaning that symbolism which is so interwoven with every feature of church architecture as to be regarded as € its very life and soul. In its aim and object it should strive to express civil rather than ecclesiastical character." Thus, he reasoned, the idiom previously employed for National Schools in England (Gothic, that is) would be entirely inappropriate, and for the added reason that it would lack "anything to mark the great change which is coming over the education of the country." But a precedent had to be found somewhere - these were, after all, the 1870's ~ and it was observed that "iin London the plainer and less expensive buildings forming by far the most numerous class, must always be constructed of brick." Moreover, "specimens of good and thoughtful brickwork in sufficient numbers still remain scattered among the old architecture of the city and its suburbs to form the basis of a good style suited to modern requirements — Hackney and Putney, Chelsea and Deptford all furnish old examples." With a final flourish of logic Robson concluded, "The only really simple brick style available as a foundation is. that of the time of the Jameses, Queen Anne and the early Georges, whatever some enthusiasts may think of its value in point of art. The buildings ...... are invariably true in point of i@ construction and workmanlike feeling. Varying much in architectural merit, they form the nucleus of a good modern style." ‘Robson seems to have been unwilling to acknowledge Stevenenson's contribution fully. Philip Robson recorded that his father had observed how he "was occupied often in the afternoons rubbing out what John had done in the morning," and in School Architecture Robson did no more than mention in passing that "severai of the designs selected for illustration are from the pencil of my partner tir J.J. Stevenson, who, althoush haying no connection with the School Board, has rendered much valuable assistance in their work." Together with schools that are a clear expression of 'Queen Anne’ there are illustrated, in Robson's book, others that reflect a more conservative attitude to Gothic, as for example those at Winstanley Road, Battersea (demolished) and Mansfield Place, Kentish Tow (demolished); it is likely that these examples reveal Robson's individual hand, while the first group was predominately Stevenson's responsibility. Vith its immediate roots in the work of Philip Webb and W.E. Nesfield in the 1860's, the Queen Anne style was developed mainly in the field of domestic architecture, and it is reasonable to suppose that Stevenson, having "With the most basic means availeble for buildings regarded as nothing more than utilitarian, they si.ccessfully combined architectural distinction with good, honest construction. ‘Thoir essential charm is in the grouping of their building masses which is always interesting without boing contrived". In the informality of Robson's schools lies the central difference between them and the schools designed by the second Architect to the Board after 1884. Designing for smaller numbers of pupils than his successor, Rooson was able to Maintain the domestic scale and assymetrical plan which were crucial to the idea of the Board Schools as part of an Enplish vernacular revival. E.R. Robson resigned from his post in 1884 and returned to private practice. His later independent works included the People's Palace, Mile End Road and € these poor persons brighter, more interesting, nobler, by so treating the necessary Board Schools planted in their midst as to make each building undertake a sort of leavening influence, we have set on foot a permanent and ever active good - this is no mere theory - it is already proved by the manner in which builders of ordinary houses are imitating the Board Schools in every direction.'! ea applied its forms at an early date to his own house in Bayswater, provided the impetus for Robson's adoption of the style. Certainly little that fore- shadows the Board Schools of 1874 is to be found in the ponderous semi- classical formality of Liverpool Municipal offices. Whatever the truth of the matter, the influence of the Board Schools of London upon both the school and domestic architecture of England during the last decades of the 19th century was profound. It was Robson himself wno, in two articles published in the Art Journal in 1881 related the schools to the Aesthetic Movement as a whole, and he who should be allowed the last word: - "It must always be among the high purposes for which the Act exists to make any home brighter and more interesting, nobler if you will. We have seen how abject are the homes of countless thousands. If we can make the homes of Little remains of the schools with which Robson illustrated School Architecture, and where they have survived, as at the Charles Lamb School, Islington, they have often been enlarged almost beyond recognition. Indeed, examples of Schools from the whole period 1873-84 that have not been subjected to over~ whelming alterations ze now rare. € necessities of planning to introduce variety and intcrest into what might have becn a bleakly functional structure. Thus the decorative possibilities of the white sash windows and their repeating rhythms, the soaring chimneys and spirelets and the colour contrasts of yellow bricks with red briok dressings, white stone plaques, copings and cornices, were all exploited. So, too, were the opportunities for interesting formal compositions that the flexible plan afforded, with its simple units of hall, classrooms and cloakrooms on each storey. Hermann Nuthesius, the eminent critic of English architecture at the turn of the 19th century, wrote of the early Board schools in 1900: Usually, like Park Walk, Chelsea, they are of three lofty storeys, their height emphasised by the thin brick pilaster strips that frame the tall white painted Sash windows. The steeply pitched red—-tiled roofs are enlivened by delicate lanterns and pretty stonecoped gables carrying one of Robson's rare concessions to pure decoration —- the stone plaques with their flower reliefs that became one of the hallmarks of the early schools. Other small enrichments were the familiar title plaques and, occasionally, a wall panel in bas-relief of Knowledge strangling Ignorance, from a model designed by Spencer Stanhope. Robson was otherwise dependent solely on his materials and the bare Me Royal Institute Galleries in Piccadilly - both buildings of distinction. Eis successor as Board Architect was Thomas Jerram Bailey, who had been : Appointed chief draughtsman to Robson in 1873. Bailey had served his : apprenticeship with R.J. Withers and worked as an assistant to Ewan Christian before entering the School Board's Architect's offices in 1872 at the age of 28. In 1881 he became an Associate of Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow in 1893. In 1904 when the London County Council took over the School building programme of the London School Board, he was appointed Architect to the Education Department and, exempted from retirement in 1908, he continued to hold office for two more years and died only six months after he finally retired early in 1910. The R.I.B.A. dournal's obituary notice began: "By the death of Mr T.J. Bailey we have lost a member whose influence on the evolution of school planning during the last 25 years can hardly be exagserated." Drawing attention to the "enormous numbers' of schools built to his designs Since 1884, the report concluded: . "There is probably no type of modern building which more nearly combines the werits of carefully thought out planning with an xchitectural treatment so thoroughly expressive of its purpose, as a typical London Board School." Having observed the building of the Schools for more than ten years and contributed, no doubt, to details of their design, it is not surprising that Bailey's own work after 1884 was essentially a development of Robson's proto- types. But the assymetrical plan and the vocabulary of architectural rooms which had been evolved for the small schools of the '70's - and were essentially domestic in character - now had to be adapted to the demand for much larger buildings. Wherever possible, as Bailey himself explained in his paper quoted below, the domestic scale was maintained, but it is in the massive schools for up to 1500 pupils that the development of his individual style can best be appreciated. His first response to the problem of the long clevation was to multiply the familiar units of the original small schools: the Munster school and its twin the Sir John Lillie in Hammersmith are of this type, but in their plans that uncompromising rectangular symmetry which became the characteristic of Bailey's large schools, is already firmly established. The Hall forms the entral core and, unfolding on either side f it, are, in sequence, the staircases, the cloakroom blocks and classroom wings. Behind the hall, and completing the rectangle, are ranged in line the principe] classrooms. In his paper The Planning and Construction of Board “Schools, read before the R.I.B.A. in 1899, Bailey revealed the extent to which the problem of restricted and awkward sites had dictated the devclepment of his monumental school tyne: "WInere sites are sufficiently large and level, schools of all one storey aro usually built - as a rulc, a senior mixed school, consisting of classrooms grouped round a central hall, with an infants' department as a separate & pbuilding. Another type is to put the boys' and girls' as a two-storcy pbuilding; again with separate infants' school. This type is suitable for a large site where the levels are inconvenient for a one-storey school. The majority of sites will only allow for three-storey schools ...--." Proceeding to describe this type as being the most usual he explained: "The infants are naturally on the ground floor, on a level with their play- -ground, the girls on the first floor, the boys above. The London School | Board consider a hall indispensable to every department of a school. 7 \ Experience has shown that nearly every school built in London has required enlargement. There must naturally, however, be a limit to the Size of a School, so that the departments do not become unwieldy. The maximum size or accommodation of a group should not exceed 1,548 ...... and if further accommodation is required, it should be provided by a separate mixed department ...... On the other hand, if a smaller school is needed to begin with, it is convenient to take the figures named as a maximum, and built a portion first, leaving it to be added to as needs arise ....!" "The main line of classrooms should, if possible, face the playgrounds rather than a noisy road, and draw their light from the east, as that aspect suns up the rooms in the early morning and does not disturb them for the day. TI never build to the cheerless north if I can avoid it .....; the classrooms in the Wings cannot be so considered, but it would be impracticable and unworkable to place them all in one line. The hall, facing west, provides a good reservoir of sun-lighted air to help the classrooms, and, not being seated or reckoned in the accommodation, is a cheerful place into which to march the classes for recreation or collective purposes. Architecturally also, this elevation, being the more broken up (comprising, as it does, the main lighting of the hall, the Staircases, cloak and teachers! rooms and blocks, and gable end of wings) is more desirzble for a street front than the long unbroken lines of classrooms, though the aspects of the site do not always allow for this." Thus, for example, the Munster Road school Successfully presents its hall elevation s the principal front, while the Sir John Lillie has its classroom range fronting onto the main Lillie Road. By the late '90's Bailey had evolved for the large schools that bold ana monumental front which, though differing widely from Robson's prototype, is often held to be Synonymous with Board School architecture ana appears, with only minor variations, throughout London. Good examples are Vauxhall. Manor, Lambeth, Montem, Islington and Rhyl, Camden. The Slender central lantern and delicate gables of the earlier schools have given way to elaborate twin cupolas over the staircase blocks, to flank the plain central mass of the hall, and heavy pediments Surmount the wings. In this school type each part of the plan was expressed as a Separate architectural unit, linked primarily by the majestic Symmetry of their arrangement in 4 B C DC B A rhythm. The later development of Bailey's work - for the School Board and then for the L.C.C. - shows a general tendency towards a more Sculptural style and a more richly decorative use of materials, as shown for example in the magnificent South Hackney School Cassland Road or Torriano School in Camden. The plan, however, remained basically unchange@, and the variations in architectural treatment, although astonishingly inventive, were little more than superficial, Bailey was essentially an eclectic architect: reflections of current architectural fashion ~ the Ndwardian onilence of Ei. Mountford or Ernest George in the South Hackney Upper School, Hackney and the Harion Richardson School, Tower Hamlets, or the eccentricities of Art Nouveau in the Torriano and Kingsgate Schools, Camden - are constantly to be found, although his own feeling for sombre Baroque symmetry and mass is never absent. In the area office at St John's Hill, Wandsworth, Bailey achieved a final refinement of Edwardian "Wrenaissance" brick architecture and brought to a close the vernacular revival in which the carly Board Schools had played so important apart. That Riley had retained a firm influence on the designs produced in his office is indicetea by the fact that architectural standards abruptly declined after his retirement despite the continuing presence under his Successor R. Robertson, of his principal assistants, H.R. Perry and G.L. Wade. The contribution of Robson and Bailey to school architecture and to London erchitecture in general has been all but ignored for sixty years, although the — 8 o The School Board's real concern, fom the beginning, for architectural values, "The policy of the School Board has almost always been to Give these a buildings, as public buildings, some dignity of &ppearance, and make them ornaments rather than disfigurements to the neighbourhoods in which they are erected .... It was found that the difference of cost between bare utilitarianism and buildings designed in some sort of Style and with regard for matcrials and colour, was rather less then 5 per cent. At the same time, this ornamental appearance may be scured either by richness of detail, or by a dignified Grouping of masses; it is the policy of the Board, while studying, in the first instance, suitable arransements for teaching, not to Set aside the dignity and attractiveness of buildings, which the Board have e* feltshouldbeacontrasttotheirpoorSurroundings,!! 7A a . : - = One valuable assessment of the merit of the Schools was published in the Architectural Review in 1958 where it was stated, with reference to the early schools but with equal truth in the context of the 1884-1910 period. “Robson's achievement eesee lay firstly in his incisive analysis of his objectives, his ready understanding of the challenge which new social demands had placed before him; Secondly, in his prompt understanding that designers Such as Champneys and Stevenson had hit upon a stylistic approach that might be developed in answer to this challenge; thirdly, in the Superb confidence and virility with which he and his staff carried through the development of the style, Giving power and sometimes Grandeur where its originators could only achieve charm; anc, lastly, in the truly Victorian drive with which he pushed a vast programme of work to completion with architectural standards of the very highest order maintained throughout ......!! _/ *wirtuosity of their schools is everywhere apparant. The pleasant Spreading buildings of the Single storey schools Give a village air to arid suburban streets, while the larger Schools, their beautiful detailing expressly concentrated in their upper storeys, were built to S02r above the -crowded streets, often the only concession to dignity among the Victorian slums. Was emphasised in the Final Report of the Board, published in’1904: Z eley Principal sources School Board Chronicle “inutes of the London School Board rinal Report of the School Board for London 1870-1904. 1904 *loor Plans of L.C.cC. Blomentary Scnools, 1,.C.C. 1931 V9. Architacture U.R. Robson, 1874 "By sheer Victorian ruthlessness the L.S.B. achieved a far higher degree of standardisation than most education authorities have achieved since the last + Although the L.S.B, Schools vary from very plain building to the Greatest elaboration according to the openness of their sites, it cannot be Said that, in practice, Robson was over—anxious about tailoring each shool to suit its locality. The positive result of this is that these buildings, strong in personality, do a very great deal to set a stamp of unified character on the hodge-podge of Victorian London ....,." : (UOic of E.R. Robson, P.A, Robson, 2.1.B.A. Journal, February 1917 2 : renee COUR F On $ne Recent Reaction of Taste in English Architecture, J.J. Stevenson, 187} (i) Early Robson (ii) Classic Robson (iii) Late Robson (iv) Early Bailey (v) Classic Bailey (vi) Late Bailey (i) EARLY ROBSON (3) Camden Institute, Holmes Road, Caniden. (liolmes Road School, opened April 1874) S: 3-storeys, assymetrical plan, plain coped gables; square-headed windows on first floor and end bays of second floor are recessed in Gothic relieving arches. Brick buttress piers divide the bays. Elegant lantern spire. (fhe Victoria, opened January 1876, date plaque 1875, additional Junior Mixed School by Bailey, 18S) Two storeys, assymotrical plan. Single-storcy hall block on Becklow Road has square stone flower plagues in gables. Two storey end bays contain a large Gothic wincow with glazing bars in ogee-form and figured rclicf panel and titles tadlot in elnvorate Gethic frame with crockets and angel corbels. House Architecture, J.J. Stevenson, 1880 Das Englische Baukunstder Gegenwart, Hermann Vuthesius, 1900 Das Englische Haus, Hermann Muthesius, 1904 Ovituary of E.R. Robson, The Builder, 2nd February 1917 Obituary of T.J. Bailey, The Builder, 25 June 1910 R.I.B.A. Journal, 24 September 1910 Towers of Learning, David Gregory—Jones, Architectural Revicw, June 1958 In the following descriptive list, principal features only are noted. The Original names are given in brackets with the date and indication of type. Asterisks and letters indicate schools of closely similar typee The list is divided into the following groups: Of more than 550 schools built or projected during the period 1871-1910, 351 have been considered as possessing architectural and historic interest, while the remainder have been demolished or altered too extensively to merit consideration. The selection of the 37 buildings listed below has been dictated not only by individual architectural merit, but by the degree to which the schools illustrate the characteristic qualities of Board or early L.C.C. school architecture, and by the need to represent the principal stages of development. The architectural importance of each school within its _immediate neighbourhood has been taken into account, and wherever possible, a balanced distribution of selected schocls among the I.L.B.A. areas has been attempted. Minor external alterations and additions have not necessarily ruled out inclusion. The process of modification according to changing needs began almost immediately after the completion of the first Board Schools and has continuec ever since, though with declining respect for the character of the original buildings. Victoria Junior School - Becklow Road, Hammersmith. 4 f Hackney end Stoke Newington College for Further Education, Oldfield Road, Hackney. : » 10 (ii) CLASSIC ROBSON (5) aie Colville School, Lonsdale Road, Kensington. (Buckingham Terrace School, opened June 1879, Classic Robson) 5 storeys, assymetrical plan, with flat range of classrooms as principal front, hall and staircases at rear. Date and title plaques on ground floor, end bays. First floor windows recessed in blind arcade. Stone coped gables with ball finials and decorative plaques. Thomas Jones Primary School ~ Freston Road (ex. Latimer Road,) Hammersmith. (Latimer Road School, opened January 1880, date plaque 1879) 3 storeys, symmetrical plan with hall at centre of main facade, flanked by staircase blocks and recessed classroom Wings. Small shaped stone-coped gables with ball finials, flower plaques and semicircular pediment caps. Cut brick scroll decoration surmounts the title and date plaques on the. staircase blocks. s : J Sucen's Park School, Droop Street, Westminster. A Pinar (Droop Strect School, opened November 1877, early Robson, with much later alterations) Kingswood School, Gipsy Road, Lambeth. 2 storeys, assymetrical plan; fine corner sitc. Triangular gables, some Stone-coped. Elegant louvred ogce-roofed lantern with fleche. Ono of the two good stone gates to playground is intact. (Salters Hill School, opened April 1880, alterations 1905) - 3 storeys, assymetrical plan, halk at rear; the five stone-coped gables of the main front each have stone plaques in the apex with scrolls, pediment and finial. Buttress piers and pilaster strips. Tiny lantern tower. Park Welk Primary School, Park Welk, Kensington and Chelsea. (Park Walk School, opened January 1881, dated 1880) zee ve 5 storeys, assymetrical plan, flat classroom ranse to Park Wall’ and hall and staircases at rear. Shaped and pedimented brick gables, some with stone flower plaqyes. Date and title plaques on end elevation. (Oldfield Ro2d School, opened January 1882, additions 1899, dated 1881) 3 storeys, hall enclosed by classrooms in assymetrical plan. Brick gecbles with stone flower plaques alternate with paired circular windows in upper storey. First floor rectangular openings with brick corbelled stone cills, and fromee by pilaster strips. ,7 4 the (iii) LATS Rosson (5) “Weavers Fields School, Mane Street, Tower Hamlets. z ——— ergs school (Hague Strect School, opened October 1883) 5 storeys, assymetrical plan. Gables only at ends of classroom range, the other units finished by crenellated Stone-coped pzrapets. Cloakroom block expressed externally as hexagonal turret with Spire and lantern. ‘First floor openings recessed in pairs in relieving arches. *Kenmont Primary School, Valliere Road, Hammersmith. ——— mary school (Kenmont Gardens School, opened February 1884, date and title plaques 1883) As last. Primrose Hill School, Princess Rozd, Camden. Eltringham Primary School (Single storey infants block only) Eltringham Street, Wandsworth. (Princess Road School, opened Februsry 1885) 3 storeys, assymetrical plan, the principal bays surmounted by a variety of extravagant Stone-coped Dutch gables. (Eltringhem Road School, opened January 1886, dated 1885) Single storey, assymetrical plan, long classroom range to York Road, 2 dormer gables and broad ond gebles with flower, monogram and date plaques énd finials at base and apex. Stone coping. Daubeney Junior School and Daubeney Infants School, Daubeney Road, Hackney (Daubeney Road School, opened May 1886, dated 1884) Junior School: 2 storeys, symmetrical, classroom range as principal front, triangular gables with shaped stone coping. Date cnd title plaques. Good wrought-iron railings. Infants School: Single storey, assymetrical plan, classroom range as principal front, trianguler gables with shaped copings, the large end -gables carrying elaborate stone finials at base and capex and stone plaques. Good railings. (iv) EARLY BAILEY (6) Copenhagen School, Boadices Street, Islington. eeLeeROO (Bondicca Street School, opened February 1887, dated 1885) 3 storcys, assymetrical plan, with architectural features th-t emphasise this. H22i enclosed by classrooms and cloakrooris. Roof playground with picrced p2rapet. One staircase block boldly treated as ansle turret with Surmounting lantern. Gable end of one classroom wing has pediment with floral relief decoration and large shell motif below. r ——— “* Laneford School, Marineficld Road, Hammersmith. } Sa : =e <i = X eee 12 a Riversdale Primary, School, Merton Road, Wondsworth. 3 storeys, assymetrical plan; unusual use of Board School decorative features. Projecting turret with copper ogee roof and Spire on side elevation; main front with two smal] Stone-coped shaped @2bles and one large gable with corbelicd lantern at “pex and finials at base. Ivydeale School, Ivydale Rond, Southwark —chool (Ivydale Road School, openod August 1892) **Munster Primary School — Filmer Road, Hammersmith. S ey school (Munster Road School, opened June 1893, drawings dated October 1890) Fine island site. 3 storeys, symmetrical plan, principal front of 7 bays with central hall, staircase blocks, cloakroom bays and gable ends of classroom wings. The hall block With sm211 centrally placed 2-tier lantern, has crenellated parapet and giant brick picrs surmounted by stone corbels, Scrolled gables Over classroom wings, return elevations and six main bays of the rear elevation, where rear staircases are pressed as round arched recesses, : **Sir John Lillie, Lillie Road, Hammersmith. —_—_—_— _(Merton Road School, opencd May 1891, dated 1890) (Lillie Roza School, opened September 1893) Similar to Munster Ps. (Longford Road School, opened June 1890, enlarged 1893) Similar to Munster PS (below) 2 (v) CLAssic BAILEY (8) — et B Hungerford School, Hungerford Road, Islington. (Hungerford Road School, opened April 1896, enlerged 1904) -3 storeys, symmetrical plan, facade of 7 units; stairense towers with leaded Ogee roofs surmounted by tiny wooden balustrades ond lentern spires. Cloakroom blocks with Shaped coped parapets and trianguler pedimented classroon Wing bays. This school is of the type repeated, with minor variations of detail and different tower form in Rhyl School, Camden. B WNontom Primary School, Islington. —eeeeeee——— (Montem Strect School, dated 1897) Similar type to last. -: : B Vauxhall Manor School (annexe) Kennington Road, Lambeth. nor school Similar type to Hungerford School. 353 Richard Atkins School, Kingwood Road, Lanbeth. =e ensschool (Beixton Hill School, onened fugust 1897). Similar to Kennington School (below) but the towers lack 2 contral lantern. BB Kennington School, Cormont Road, Lambcth. ———— (Cormont Road School, cpened January 1898) 5 5 storeys, symactrical plan; 7 unit hall facade to Cormont Road; a variation on Hungerford ang Rhyl Schools type, with different These ench have 4 corbelled angle turrets and a centrel lantern Spire, while the gables of the classroom wings arc shaped, with Single circular openings. form of staircase towers. (vi) LATE BAILEY (10) ALLEL C Rosendale School, Turney Road, Lambeth. EEechool Rhyl School, Malden Road, Camden ve School (Rhyl Street School, ovencd August 1898) 5 storeys, symmetrical plan, principal front of 7bays, central hall 5 windows Wide, the first Storey arcuated with Stone~banded pilaster Picrs; flanking Staircase towers with spires of intricate snd fanciful form; cloakroom bays with date tablets end railed playgrounds Over; classroom wing bays with Giant Ionic brick pilasters and triangular stone pedinents, BB Henry Compton School, Kingwood Road, Hammersmith (Kingwood Roaa School, opened March 1898) Similar to Kennington School (above). B Smallwood School, Smallwood Road, Wandsworth. _ oe =Kood School 2 (Smallwood Road School, opened February 1898) Similar to Hungerford School (above) C Sunnynill School, Sunnyrill Road, Lambeth. FonS REsensigroemaoe i= schoo) (Rosendale Road School, Junior block opened January 1900, Infants School added 1908, domestic, for School Board) j Single Storey, both blocks with symmetrical plan and elevation. Low red- tiled roofs broken by broad gables with pebble dash finish, deeply moulded "cornice! Surrounds and small tablets with date and LSB monogram. End gables of Junior school contain vestigial shaped 'gabdles' in facing bricks. Delicate lantern with spire and weather-vane. A school with closely Similar characteristics to those of Rosendale is South Hackney (Upper) Scnool, Casslana Road, Hackney. (Cassland Road School, opened August 1902, for School Board) (Sunnyhill Roza School, opened January 1901, datea 1900) Similar to last. 2 storeys, Symmetrical, all req bricks with terracotta dressings. Main facade with central 4—bay hell flanked by Staircase blocks and classroom Wing bays. Outstanding Yor the exuberant uSec of terracotta decoration: cudins, cnannelied pilasters, modillion cornice, window arcoitraves, friezes and pediments, the Staircase towers terminating in deep frieze, cornice and balustrated parapets with elaborate angle urns, all in terracotta. Good wrought iron reilings and gates and low enclosing wall with Stone copins and pedinented piers, nh 1h Millbank Primary School, Erasmus Strect, Westminster. ° x —— ime ny school Kingsgate School, Messina Avenue, Camden. aware school (Kingsgate Road School, opened November 1903, for School Board) (The Nillbank, opened January 1902, domestic) Ei Scparate single storey and 2 storey buildings, assymetrical plans, excellent Stone date and title plaques. The Single storey (infants') school has gable ends with rough cast finish characteristic of Bailey's small shools. The two- Storey block has eccentric Spire and gables with pilaster strip motif. +Charlies Lamb Junior School, Dibden Strect, Islington. (Popham Road School, 1875, 1903, mostly Bailey for School Board) Bailey's work of 1903 was to attach a School of his classic symmetrical type to Robson's early building, illustrated in his 1874 book on School Architecture. Parts of this are still visible. Bailey's principal front hes the central halj block expressed as a projecting splayed bay on 3 Storeys, with buttress piers at angles. The staircase blocks are without towers but numerous tall chimneys enliven the roof. The classroom wing bays have triangular gables with pairs of round Windows. The school exhibits the Q@rmre Sculptural tendencies of Bailey's late work. 2 storeys, assymetrical plan; extravagant use of highly mannered stone details — bands, parapets, date vlaque and gable copings, eccentric circular louvred lantern. Gordon Primary School, Craigton Road, Greenwich. (The Gordon, opened August 1904, for School Board) (Senrab Street School, opened April 1907, for L.C.C.) > Pane 1 2 ct o borcys, symuotrical plan, a variation on the familier classic Bailey type ange rraicen ron facade; heavy classical details in stone. Hell front has trircase blocks with Squat copper turrets; closkroom blocks terminated by tone arches Springing from Giant pilasters. Trianguler stone pediments with date and L.C.c. monogram surmount the rear and return clevations. Stone- banded chimney stacks. i 3 storeys, symmetrical plan; terracotta dressings and date plaques; a variation on Bailey's late '90's type with 7 unit hall facade, the classroom range facing Craigton Road. Staircase blocks flanking 5 bay hall torminate in terracotta balustrades and are linked to hall by the cornice which is @oontinvea round the triangular gable ofthe classroom wings. Marion Richardson School, Senrab Street, Tower Hamlets. I.L.5.4. Division Office, 92 St. John's Hill, Wandsworth. (Dated 1909, for L.c.c.) ALtHOuEN not built as 2 School, the offices were designed for the Education Depsrtmcent under Bailey's Supervision: it scoms appropriate thet one example of this branch of his work should be represented here. The office is conceived as an elegant "Wrenaissance! town house. Built of brick, it is of two storeys, with dormers ond is 9 bays wide with plain sash windows and 15 modillion cornice, Stone pilasters énd a bold Segmental pediment with high relicf decoration and date inscription emphasise the entral entrance, The dominant feature of the steeply pitchca tiled roof is the central dormor with its Surmounting wooden balustrade framed between two delicately detailed tall chimneys, Torriano School, Torriano Avenue, Camden. school (Torriano Avenue School, opened November, 1910, for L.C.C.) 2 storeys, Symmetrical plan, principal facade 5 units wide, the stcircases placed in the wings. Central hall of five windows with three miniature dormer &ables; flanking classroom bays with belled g2ble ends finished with white painted rough-cast; cloakroom blocks at the ends of the facade aro of unusual cubic form; the Separate units of this School are much more closely inter-related on the facade than in the Symmetrical schools of the 1890's. RECOMMENDING — (a) That the Boora adopts the attached list of School buildings Set out in the foregoing report as representing the best remaining examples of the work of E.R. Robson and PJ. Bailey in the remarkable sequence of designs produced for the London School Board and the London County Council between 1873 and 1910. (b) That the officers be euthorised to investigate any means by which preservation might be achieved. (c) That a furthor report be Submitted in duo course, AR/HB/NME/5869 > OF SPRCLAL ADCEITECTURAL INTEREST. SHAS GOO e! Se5)) Salat CAuty GRESNVICH 172 Euston 2ozd Lancaster Grove 30-2 Cannon Street *Bishopsgate (ambulance station) “Carmelite Street “121 Charlton Road Eltham High Street Eaglesfield Rd., Shooters Hill 1912-3 Lakedale Rozd, Plunstead Tunnel Avenue, ©=.Greenwich Eltham Road, Lee Green Sunbury St., Woolwich EACKNSY HAMMERSEITH TSLINGTON Ta Homerton High Street Shepherd's Bush Road 685 Fulham Road Mayton Street, Holloway *Calverley eae *217 Blackstock Road Old Court Place, Kensington ‘ Basil Street *Herne Hill ' 41,5 Norwool Road Gresham Rozd, Brixton *aterloo Roid (ambulance stn) *Renfrew RNoud, Kennington 19071 1913-4. 1896 1908 1906-7 1902-3 High Street, 1902 191),-15 1$06 : 1885 1896 1907-5 1901, 1905-6 1887 (Tose I know to be in other use marked with * but others may now have joined 4 LVTSIAM “Lewisham High Stre.4 1899 1903, 1902 Evelyn Street, Yoolstone Road, Perry Vale Deptforat SOUTHWARK 306-8 01d Kent Road 1903 *59-61 Chatham Rd, Bettersea 1906 TOVSR HAMLETS eae eee west Ferry Road, Millwall Brunswick Road, Bow 1904, 1910 WANDS YORTH Trinity Road, Tooting 1907 WOSTUINS TSS Chiltern Street Greycoat Place, 1888-90 1505-6 The Euston Fire Brigade Station was designed in the Fire Brigade Branch of the L.C.C. Architect's Department's Constructional Division in 1901 and was opened the following year. ‘The Assistant Architect in charge of the fire Brigade Branch at this time was Owen Fleming, with Charles Canning Winmill] as his second—in-command. Suston Firs 3ricade Station, 172 Suston Road, Camden. The authorship of the design of the Zuston station has been much dsiputed. When photographs of the building were published in the years imnediately after completion it was described as the work of W-E.Riley, the then chief architect to the Council. Even Riley's obituariyn the R.1I.8.A. Journal (December 20, 1937) wrongly cites the station as one of the principal works for which he was personally responsible, It was then described as 'so logical in its outwardly visible form that it would be almost possible to draw the plans from externa] examination only. It is a genuine firerunner of the modern movement towards a franker method of design and if its details were translated into concrete would immediately be recognised as such'. David Gregory Jones in his excellent essay on Some Garly Works of the L.C.c. Architect's Department (A.A. Journal, November 1954) wrote: 'I have not discover the names of the designer who deserves to be known to posterity‘;it was certain]; not designed by Owen Fleming to whom I have heard it ascribed". That Gregory Jones had consulted Fleming before writing his essay gives considerable weight to this statement. John Brandon-Jones, in the correspondence that followed the publication of the article, sugzested that Matthew Dawson, a disciple of Lethaby, and closely involved at the Council with the designer of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, may have designed the station. It seems highly unlikely, however, that an assistant outside the Fire Brigade Branch would have been given any hand in its work. There is little doubt that the man responsible for Huston Fire Brigade:Station was Charles Winmill, an architect, on the evidence of the later Swiss Cottage Station and many other stations in London, of unusual originality, and the friend and admirer of Philip Webb. As in all the best examples of L.C.C. stations built before the First World War and under his direction there are clos links in the Suston design with the Arts and Crafts movement, reflecting the association of Winmill with Webb, Lethaby, Thackeray Turner, C. R. Ashbee and others. Gregory Jones describes the station as ‘an eminently serious essay in the romant its multitudinous forms seem drawn together by the concentrating force of its own personality...... Certain details such as the entrance porch to the flats which the station contains are eccentric and mannered in the style of Mackintosh while the whole building is perhaps over—picturesjue for a city site. But it extracts undeniable power from its corner position and is extravagantly fertile in ideas —- note the treatment of the lintels over the garage doors.....' The Suston Fire 3rigade Station, with the Swiss Cottage Station at the junction of Ston Avenue and Lancaster Grove, is not only among the best examples in London of this building type, but must be considered as one of the most outstanding achievements of early L.C.C. architecture. Marke) Como Csndio- Wehaidi 5-50 IZ) Gwe —PYO Mb.gasora>efel.ubetz lo | (OyMoye) eS ees Ligaen Felumli hel tIoigrs (8 PS Pore totatrcl«ferepyOgle ® Sop pec aeae “Shylet Sook ©fv h +sCraps Giuk =) Peer IST So Scleels wag of A jldeg g 1 The penultimate design by Inigo Jones for the Banqueting Hall 2 A working drawing for Somerset House. 3 Barry and Pugin's Houses of Parliament. 4 The Great Hall at Westminster, just before its mid-nineteenth century restoration; itwas designed by the Board's master-carpenter Hugh Herland during the 1370s. (Print: Mansell Collection.) 5 Somerset House, designed by William Chambers in 1776, was the first purpose-built government office. Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren, Robert Adam, John Soane, even Geoffrey Chaucer are among the famous figures who have been employed by what could be called the most distinguished, and certainly the most ancient, architect's office in the land. The Office of Works (as the Property Services Agency was then known) was formed 600 years ago this year—an event which is being celebrated this month with an exhibition in London's Banqueting House.* Bur, of course, the Office of Works was (as is the PSA today) much more than just a design office. Under a clerk of works (a post held by Geoffrey Chaucer from 1389-1391) were gathered masterbuilders and craftsmen capable of maintaining and constructing major state buildings and royal residences. In 1615, when Inigo Jones became surveyor-general, an office structure was sect up which lasted for the next 100 years Under the chairmanship of the surveyor-general was a Board which consisted of master- masons, master-carpenters and acomptroller (who watched the money). During the period when Wren was surveyor-gencral (1669- 1718) the office reached its golden age with virtually all the country’s leading designers and craftsmen being employed by it Grindling Gibbons was master sculptor and carver in wood. John Vanburgh was comptroller between 1702-1726 and Hawks- moor was secretary to the Board from 1713-1718. After 1718, when Wren was replaced, the Board was reorganised with the various posts generally being held as sinecures by relative nonentities until William Chambers and Robert Adam became joint architects of the Works in 1761 (this was the first time in official history that the term ‘architect’ was used). Thereafter other distinguished architects again became involved with the Board—James Wyatt was surveyor-general from 1796- 1813, John Soane was an attached architect from 1814-1832. However, by the mid-nineteenth century the Board's responsibility had grown to such an extent that it became bogged down in what one can only suppose to have been a stifling bureaucracy. After about 1850 we find very few of the country’s leading architects employed directly by the Office, with most of its major building operations being undertaken (usually following competition) by leading architects in private practice, such as Gilbert Scott at the Foreign Office or Edmund Street at the Law Courts. This state of affairs continued well into this century. In 1940— *25 April-7 May, admission free. The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 PSA 600 J \ The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 Number 16 Volume 167 726 PSA 600 730 The editors 730 Notes and topics 732 Letters 734 RIBA Council 737 The week 740 743 745 761 775 See "Theroos thewhole Roof -and nothing but Contents NEWS AND COMMENT 600th anniversary of the Property Services Agency Small change from Healey Astragal on: GLC architects; RIBA future presidents; The army museum Defending the Anti Nazi League A national architectural service; SA schools get the chop; Salaried architects sat upon All-party support for Savidge; Budget brings little cheer; Workload up but jobs fall Hellman and Diary AJ INFORMATION LIBRARY Manufacturers’ catalogues helpful to the architect Coed Glas Assessment and Observation Centre Handbook of Sports and Recreational Design Glass reinforced cement 4 APPOINTMENTS Vacant posts and partnerships Registered as a newspaper Copyright © 1978 The Architectural Press Ltd 9 Queen Anne's Gate London, SW1H 9BY (01-930 0611) ISSN 0003-8466 Each feature of the AJ Information Library is CI/S{B classified and punck marks are provided. Further information about advertisements or Products file notes may be obtained from manufacturers by using one of the reply-paid folders on the last pages of this tsswe. theRoo TECTON the complete timber roofing system from Blacknell Timber has a lot of advantages. It’s light and easy to handle. It’s strong and rigid. It’s economical. It’s available. For al those reasons, if you have not specified The Tecton System before, now is the time. Tecton is the timber beam roofing system with the ability to support all types of decking over flat or sloping roofs. But its most important asset isthat itiscomplete. Blacknell developed it that way — even to the extent of taking care of fascias, and super- vision on site. That’s why throughout the country, Blacknell are recognised as experts in timber roofing. The Tecton roof provides the proof. Show us how quickly you can return this coupon and we’ll show you how Trade literature file Building study Section 3Indoor dry sports: Introduction Technical study @ coloured pages at end Blacknell Buildings Ltd., Westmead, Farnborough, Hants GUI47LB. Tel. 0252 44333. | Name __ Position _ A Add. SS SSF eS quickly we can provide aTecton roofing system. interested n rapid roofing Tell me abour Tecton. Subscription rates per paid £18 a year; abroad £44 a year (US and Canada $78); student rate £13°50 to members of a UK school of architecture. A reduced rate of £28 for a combined subscription to both The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal is available in the UK to architects or other members of the building dengn team and associated disciplines (see order form on last page of AJ). Single copies ef AJ: UK and Eire 32p (post paid 70p); overseas B5p (post paid £1°15). Back numbers more than 3 months old: UK and Eire £1 post paid; overseas £2 post paid. Your half-yearly volumes can be bound complere with index in cloth case for £11; carriage £1-20 extra. os tz (alea(|FRGaP)sje The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 The Architects’ Journal 19 April 19/% fae a 58 iT NTxa aDiy OANad get i l i 6 Institute of Geology, Edinburgh, 7 British Embassy, Rome, Sir Basil Spence & Partners for PSA. 8 Leicester Crown courts, Perspective designed by Midland Region PSA. pacemaker for high quality work across the range of PSA projects. Leading by example as Lacey puts it. The design panel was set up at the same time to review and discuss sensitive jobs. The pancl, made up of PSA board members including two architects from privatepractice, has a monthly programme of visits. Lacey reports considerable success with this system, but the object is not to achieve a PSA house style: "You can unify objectives not approach’ The design office on the other hand does seem to be producing 4 recognisable style. ‘We are after the logical and unpreten- tious,’ says Lacey. He sees the essentially domestic feeling of much contemporary PSA work aS springing naturally from the type of work being undertaken ‘T’'ve been keen to make sure that the design office doesn’t get all the plum jobs,’ says Lacey. As far as the future is concerned Lacey isrelatively confident. Workload is stabilising after a period of Government cut-backs, though its nature is changing. Most of the big defence projects are giving way to the programme of dispersing civil servants. The other mainstay is the Crown courts’ programme. Expansion in graduate recruitment is being sought by the agency and Lacey speaks glowingly of the committed and talented new recruits now coming to the PSA. As far as the PSA’s next 600th anniversary is concerned, Lacey hopes to see his years remembered for laying the foundations of an architecture which made ‘buildings humane, good places in which to work and for people to derive pleasure from’ 9 Worthing Crown Building, designed by Doman Hatton and PSA 10 Civil service block Liverpool, sketch axonometric, 11 Harlow telephone exchange. ‘The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 when the board was renamed the Ministry of Works—it had 6000 employees, which increased to 20 000 by 1946 and steadily gtew thereafter. Indeed, itwas to reverse the trend towards mediocrity that the Matthew Skillington report on ways of upgrading official architecture was produced in 1974. The report criticised the PSA for its ‘unsatisfactory and even daunting image’ and its con- clusion, accepted by the Government, asked for higher standards from the PSA ‘to influence for the better the environment as a whole’ As a result of this report Dan Lacey was appointed, in 1975, to a newly created top post with a brief to stimulate design awareness, At 55, Lacey is an architect who has spent his whole carcer in the public sector, rising to Notts county architect in 1958 and DES chief architect in 1964. From his 13th floor office at the DOE Marsham Street headquarters, Lacey, whose official title is director-general of design services, has care of more than 500 architects working on a £417 million annual programme. Apart from them, the PSA, which now employs almost 50 000 people, has civil and mechanical engineers, surveyors and estate managers among its professional ranks Talking to the AJ last week, Lacey looked back on his first three years as the most senior architect working for the Government. With his architects Scattered through 15 offices round the country, his approach has been at various levels, but Lacey sees his major function as being to introduce ‘values’. A first step was the establish- ment of a multi-disciplinary design office acting as a The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 Chopping Cutler The destruction of the GLC architecture department iscontinuing with accelerating speed. The latest butchery being considered by the cash-register-obsessed Tory administration is the abolition of the ILEA. If the Inner London boroughs produce a Conservative majority at the elections next month, the plan seems to be to push school building responsibilities back onto impoverished and ill-equipped boroughs. With housing already badly mauled, the total disappearance of school building would make the final rundown of the architecture department so much easier. Especially if, as is strongly rumoured in County Hall, the job of architect to the council goes to Fred Pooley, currently head of planning. Tory thinking seems to be that allowing Pooley to hold both jobs would leave both departments ripe for culling when Pooley retires in a couple of years time. 730 The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 —_— The architectural shop floor is coming in for attack too. “The productivity (in value terms) of GLC architects on construction work is about half the standard adopted by RIBA in the private sector’ wrote Tory GLC leader Horace Cutler in the March issue of the council’s staff gazette London Town. Horrific one might think. Get rid of the lot of them. And indeed this is what Cutler seems to be trying to do. ouwatw Ses i, SMALL CHANGE FROM HEALEY If you say it loud enough, they’ll all believe you. This seems to be the Government’s technique for dealing with the building industry. After the budget, Housing and Construction minister Reg Freeson claimed that £100 million had been injected into construction. Yet most of this bonus goes in equipping hospitals, paying for increases in the costs of school buildings already being built, and in help to householders to insulate their own roofs. Precious little new building or rehabilitation will result. The chancellor has apparently decided that he can buy off the industry by making sympathetic noises and by offering a few tax concessions to private partners. Environment secretary Peter Shore must be as disappointed as the building industry that Healey has not accepted the vital role the industry has to play in underpinning the industrial strategy. There were no tax concessions to spur factory building. And despite pleas from the industry’s representatives and from Shore, Healey has not seen fit to raise the level of public spending on building from its pitifully low level. In fact, including the £400 million which he gave the industry last autumn, he has only restored half the cuts in public spending he made in 1976 alone. No one wants to return to the overheated days of the early 1970s boom. But the quarter of a million unemployed building workers have a right to a higher level of investment in the industry. The industry’s pressure on Healey must not be relaxed. It must find MPs to fight for it in the Finance Bill battles when, in this Parliament, quite radical revisions of the chancellor’s budget policies are possible. But the productivity of GLC architects can be precisely measured by an ingenious Cost of Production Scheme which has stood up to the closest scrutiny by an all party members’ Steering group and an especially appointed assistant director general. All staff costs (including productive architects and non-productive staff) are measured on time sheets. To this is added departmental overheads and another 32-5 per cent as central ‘on costs’. If this is compared with costs of each project by the standard adopted by the RIBA in the private sector, then the productivity (in value terms) of GLC architects engaged in housing construction has worked out to be 30 to 45 per cent more than their private sector counter- parts in every year for the last 15 years. public who sources of <oanna - 22! 584") : A he U fs y buildings. arranged on The public \ Telephone 24017 k RE 31 March 1978 besa | MODERN REC ORDS GENT RE Ee i University of Warwick Library Coventry GV4 7AL Ext. 2014 Our Ref. R/RAS Dear Mr. Murray, My former colleague, Janet Druker, who is now engaged in full-time research, has passed me your enquiry of the 27th about the ABT records heres I enclose a check-list of these and information on the Centre. We should be pleased to make the papers available to you to study here; it is helpful if we could be given a few days' prior notice of your intention to visit. We look forward to your visit. Apart from the late summer bank holiday and the day » following, we expect to remain open throughout the led services on adjacent to or. University's summer vacation. peeronithe igtonSpa to On the architectural side of the question, you are probably aware of Alastair Service's Edwardian architecture (Thames & Hudson, 4977) and his collection of essays Edwardian architecture and its origins (1975), ir. both of which Gnclude material on the LCC's Architect's Dept. yetween the | Road Yours sincerely, R. A. Storey ® irs are 9.00 ns Encs- id9.00 a.m. and jar's Mr. J. Murray, 5 Milton Avenue, London N6- A rewrey wernerat euveney Buu Wie Walang med sd We West Midland No. 28A and No. 29A bus services start from Pool Meadow in the city centre. The 28A and 294A call at the Main Site of the University. vetanea inrormation about courses at the University is contained in the Guide to First Degree Courses and the graduate prospectuses, copies of which are on, obtainable on request from the Academic Registrar. s April 1977 De is ie Archivist University t yhich has a rom see ares eae ee Centre is part of a national network of repositories, Sa yocoupeuniversityandotherspecialisedarchives.The eee a enrecangivesomeadviceaboutotherpossible ical information and the principal guides to these. A selective guideOtNotheeerecentteeacrceesssions0fotherWesstMiMidlandsreposiitorieisis {| L | I COVENTRY, VVarwic = of . . University . Information for Visitors Access by rail The Euston/Coventry between the CV4 7AL TELEPHONE: COVENTRY (0203) 24011 The University is situated three miles south of Coventry and 1'/, miles north of Kenilworth, in Gibbet Hill Road off the Kenilworth — Coventry section of the A4G. pyar Access by road See the location plan inside. From Leamington Spa station Midland Red servicetso De Motorists should note the one-way traffic system in arr on the Main Site. Motoring times Birmingham 40 minutes, Kenilworth 10 minutes, Leamington 20 minutes, Leicestér 1'/, hours, London 2 hours, Oxford 1'/, hours. 517. 518, and 536 leave the bus station adjaceont the the railway station and pass Gibbet Hill Road way to Coventry. The journey from Leamington Gibbet Hill Road takes about half-an-hour. train service is half-hourly between 08.10 and 19.40 (journey time 11/, hours). There are also trains from Paddington via Reading, Oxford and Banbury to Leamington Spa, which is seven miles away from the University. Local bus services Footpath Visitors on foot should use the footpath East and Main Sites, and not Gibbet Hill Road. : The University welcomes members of the public who wish to see the campus and the University buildings. a ee ; F on LorSee a aeereSee ome Conductedvisitsforlargepartiesmaybearrangepdublic Sa Ceo ee oe big MeSemiiere ore prior;request:tothecaAecademic Reogeistrar.ThUeniv,ersit.y | are in particular invited to visit the bookshop, situated in the Arts Centre, whichare 9.00 wide range of books on sale. Opening Hours eeSee eSeSCRaeCaan eae a.m.top5.m1.5onp.m.,FridMaoyn.daytoThursday,and Midland Red bus services to Kenilworth¢, wWhiarwick, : S pe has2 eon ins Seana on ee see rat areTe MY ee Bee e. Uniwersitysine ane ; son je most frequent 9.00 a.m. pao lar's minutes. e ; 7 , and : also)pass the University. The bus stop for the University is Gibbet Hill Road; it is about five minutes walk from the stop to the East Site and fifteen to the Main Site. From Central Coventry Both the Midland Red and the West Midland No. 28A and No. 29A bus services Start from Pool Meadow in the city centre. The 28A and 29A call at the Main Site of the University. April 1977 De to 4.20 Detailed information about courses at the Universityandis contained in the Guide to First DegreeofCowuhriscehs are Registrar. on, 5 is copies obtainable on request from the Academic the graduate prospectuses, Spa to A ‘the Modern Records Centre is part of a national network of repositories, including city, county, university and other specialised archives. The staff of the Centre can give some advice about other possible sources of historical information and the principal guides to these. A selective guide to the recent accessions of other West Midlands repositories is maintained in the Centre. Je 2e 3e 4, De Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, Coventry, CV4 7AL. RULES FOR RESEARCHERS WORKING IN THE MODERN RECORDS CENTRE 4. A Research Record form is to be completed on a researcher's first visit. 2. <A Deoument Requisition form is to be filled in for each request for material. 3. No smoking. 4, Pencil only to be used : no ink or ballpoint pens. 5. No documents may be marked. 6. Documents are not to be leaned on or have writing materials or other items laid on then. 7- Documents are to be returned to staff in the condition and order in which they are received by the researcher. August 1974. Q@re HULU UnUuGc. CU vei Ve 2we ewww ewwwnne How to find out about the Centre's holdings A Guide, describing principal accessions to June 1977, is available from the Centre, price £1.50 (inclusive of inland postage). New accessions are described in a quarterly Information Bulletin (No. 1, April 1974) and the appendices to the Centre's annual Reports give details of each year's accessions. Each accession receives a number in a running sequence (MSS.1, etc.). A numerically arranged Accessions Register with alphabetical index is maintained in the Centre. In due course check-lists or catalogues are compiled for each accession, and a set of these is held in the Centre. (Copies of most catalogues are also held in the National Register of Archives in London.) A Selective Index of names and subjects appearing in these catalogues is maintained on cards in the Centre. The Modern Records Centre is part of a national network of repositories, including city, county, university and other specialised archives. The staff of the Centre can give some advice about other possible sources of historical information and the principal guides to these. A selective guide to the recent accessions of other West Midlands repositories is maintained in the Centre. UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK LIBRARY THE MODERN RECORDS CENTRE Normal opening hours: 9 aeme - 5 Pee Monday - Thursday, 9 am. — 4 pem. Friday. Other times by arrangement. Address & Telephone no.: Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, Coventry, CV4 7AL. Coventry 24011 ext. 2014 The object of the Centre is to collect and make available for research original sources for British political, social and economic history, with particular reference to labour history and industrial relations. How to find out about the Centre's holdings 4k. A Selective Index of names and subjects appearing in these catalogues is maintained on cards in the Centre. 5. The Modern Records Centre is part of a national network of repositories, including city, county, university and other specialised archives. The staff of the Centre can give some advice about other possible sources of historical information and the principal guides to these. A selective guide to the recent accessions of other West Midlands repositories is maintained in the Centre. The type of material held by the Centre includes signed minutes, correspondence files, runs of printed journals and ephemera of trade unions and other organisations and individuals, including some local political parties in the West Midlands. All material is kept in closed-access secure accommodation and may only be worked on in the Centre, under the supervision of its staff. Some deposits are held under conditions of restricted accesSe 16 A Guide, describing principal accessions to June 1977, is available from the Centre, price £1.50 (inclusive of inland postage). New accessions are described in a quarterly Information Bulletin (No. 1, April 1974) and the appendices to the Centre's annual Reports give details of each year's accessionSe 2. Each accession receives a number in a running sequence (MSS.1, etc.) open numerically arranged Accessions Register with alphabetical index is maintained in the Centre. 3e In due course check-lists or catalogues are compiled for each accession, and a set of these is held in the Centre. (Copies of most catalogues are also held in the National Register of Archives in London.) Classification of records held in the Centre As far as possible, a uniform scheme of arrangement and classification is applied to all accessions. The main classes are: /\ minutes (and related papers, such as 2xendas and reports) f2 financial records (e.g. account books, balance sheets) /3 correspondence (including subject files) /4 publications of the institution or individual creating the archive o /5 other publications /7 miscellaneous (this category may be subdivided in a number of ways, @efe by alphabetical suffixes: /7/LE legal papers (other than agreements: see 9 below); /7/ST staff records) [8 diaries /9 +agreements /10 press-cuttings {11 reports Examples: MSS.5/1/4 3 Accession 5, minutes series, volume 4 NSS.9/3/24 ote Accession 9, correspondence, file 24 ras 1/78 /6 sub-groups within a deposit (e.g. the personal papers of a member of an organisation handed over to it for safekeeping on retirement) MSS.78 ARCHITLOT ASSOCIATICN 1942 the AS! TANTS, PROFESSIONAL UNION later the VEYORS AND TLCHNICAL ASSISTANTS, from IG TECHNICIANS EC minutes 1919-29 (includes GC mins. 1919) & 1948-69. Council mins, 1943=42. With Kmergency ixece mins. 1938-9. Ceneral Council winse, 1942-69 AGM mins. 1919-69 with mins. of National Conventions 1919-26. Accounts bks., 1940's-60's. re sir-raid shelters & war-time building. Check-list by J. Druker, May 1977 e journal of the ABT, Mar 19/9-Nov 1968 (incomplete). tame j =C ubs. of the University of Warwick Library GUIDE TO THE MODERN RECORDS CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK LIBRARY compiled by Richard Storey & Janet Druker The Modern Records Centre was established within the University of Warwick Library in October 1973 with the aid of a grant from the Leverhulme Trust. Its object is to collect and make available for research primary sources for British political, social and economic history with particular reference to labour history and industrial relations. Since its foundation it has received records from several dozen trade unions, including numerous defunct or absorbed unions, and from a number of other organisations in the field of indus- trial relations. It also holds records from some pressure groups and special purpose organisations in other fields, as well as some West Midlands political records, business records and some important groups of personal papers. All except the smallest accessions received between October 1973 and May 1977 are described in the Guide temee published shertty. As well as a description of the records, each entry includes, where appropriate, background notes and bibliographical references. Entries are arranged in a classified sequence and a full index is provided. Occasional Publications No. 2 AS format, card covers. Price inclusive of inland postage and packing: £1.50 ISBN 0 903220 O1 6 June 1977 Onc afHe pote arjuntAs f afe bac ar tue 16 — GEE, APAFT. 15-378. hat ot bucgs tefe frt Ue tlahin-shp bsfoseer gually ad quantity 2] laboww ipinsted, Suiadiby Isa seal comapl aeft.di-d a plece --cA Yont It defoctha 1Schet aolafin%debate|yet bhAclussonsisto bawfhecerhalGutinra)arclulectarallpracecefr oe |e. quaranliz af qualily YAM Nnigag teal fifforavec wtul. He batis | tte ~ anclilicts bargair tugll.secu y : of quality asa aap? fe[etemsis fn arqualele OG ecaqusittier Hout?ThequalclyGfLhetuapronudtdaClatb}nai A>tteAeoity Spent or pone consoque-Th goon pect of write tel Ind done dnderictval tedncloridual tat Crete dab! smn - H fess a Averey Yoms yeaa Moree 2NU YWthhr be caleilalead (fy clfferers|o-flouléo yore tpThecat.Whalt|Pq cy, ae bent Hope coitl eit to thy irnf plasofqualdyfre. atin wots savy tout tor opouct guamnilets wally Lut lem quali Car oly de achive tHhbhe A Cyfyrr ansut of eboouv har bee eipadled a te fhrertuct. Tyr. ofent rey Soe Sate tucl qealily ton Lt achived an bewarlpud Tur«©nte tee Chata/tepresentRBAjoeScalePurqualdytlewe] kb ancalel. Gr addition He arelulcte urd fon Uo fees Wares not Cortef matiomals- rolatin ho qualdy but& rahe The fu avebule”gftcficspee quaiddyad ay pce te wut ot a ar allimalixe , te (fe will be turce argeal cal barelee nat +Thawllalse jaleowy font expo cted cceuy +f Yer ile gual ef + maleiel glicfucd » fofo!atsche ieee heLrintingeetragpnetegiv &das ole.Weqeavthd0XcantoVeusette,becauac , con Wane Hp A~-a-teve thin vert reduce te fee ork: ake Gp) Lacser6l al % B beducz Valse, faa a ShaslA ets xferdid ne Aprnrcpal toAAA. mM) C.creaae to prof? Jha Xiong fe scale rar be crn manistd a ae cotucl At ® netAte anCeleNtxlfefeddicebuildi~gcarsLutetuclAes spit. are A Ontese Wy MAU bualdnng Graliby. he qutstin Wwhelley Ha i¢a suka bass [ srcehy/) barvga- witt. Kearchutictiretpapsnn Y cde quali pb te crnertme ofprofesional conven of ORLA Sn fkbeatleaatlayfteh&e¢hbobelaClebacofiVemee)jeSal Ke only qparilfabteehemeut ® @) arehcabpetuyo—ThaDoaneAoacriodAg[Shisee- |"Guokionafie aghoat Quality] t“hore nocoraany Hemd quatelyae ae ,2 carMaeyyoot tzHightfu patteMightprice. eRener + RS [wot a 4 4LXMC_« band Shut Le cul a2 bp “54eee amycgoufafdsalbotwood. ie eck A lilceeenney |i ee ej | Se ee AatheGeatoled—(asCeLESEL oe Ke19%ot." aeChrorebAtulweLaveceatrable_tefa+29 ; «|publi.aed.oficln¢ WO naibie_1faseHle" |eiHeiclohgae EhAGflorFiley.FleIZ 1a)a ERMatha ear, by eer &, Say Lr1949 ue MeNon=ple cirBE | WeA-= treet ; 5 7Ga DN ei ce MAL Digithete ae. eae Iealicheetes CoH oo 20Sformewap«a paeeta tie cabotsigee AderspateBaaMMAge | pe date te eta a |eu he re ae 4i BA covetcolape iE 0 ae ef | tlepusaty pacticehoa|<I Lalrf-d 4a | caeweg ey paFeeSS er es o} v8 ug t a‘e an » evan Green Yellow Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Building Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2 December 1977 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/843df6d463a695d580e52aff8e779f16.pdf 084eacb15546a83326f3644c1a5a3a76 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Press Cuttings Subject The topic of the resource Various articles and comments incl NAM PDS Group about RIBA proposals Description An account of the resource BobGilesisamemberoftheRIBA Salaried Architects’ Group and isstilemployed inthe GLC architects’ department. The AF went to see him, them in the public sector, but some still have very positive ideas about their future role. This week, the AJ gives the views of three architects working at the drawing board in the public sector. Next week we shall be looking at the ideas of one chief architect. serve the community, almost like corner shops. Certainly there would be no ‘career Structure’ or ‘promotion prospects’ bur motivation to go into public service should coincides with a period of economic diffi- culty... .’* The political basis of the cuts in public expenditure thus disappears, public sector architects are separated from their context and SCALA can address itself to finding a technical solution to a technical problem. Why should leaders of the profession shy away from a reality so apparent to everybody else? Is it because they are unwilling or unable to accept that the model of architec- tural practice which has been pursued for over half a century is not (and probably never has been) relevant to the practice of architecture as a public service? The promulgation of this model is reinforced by the control of architectural education, employment and regulation (ARCUK) by the Icaders of the profession, It defines the architect as an independent entrepreneur Following the collapse of the GLC archi- not be about self-enhancement at the expense tects’department,BobGilesandmanyofhis oftalent.Itshould,hefeels,haveanelement operatinginanidealisedprivateeconomy,in architect colleagues are looking for some of what George Smiley called ‘a sense of competition with other architects and in con- satisfactory alternative employment. As one of the Salaried Architects’ Group, he has campaigned for years for more authority to John Murray and Bob Maltz are unattached be delegated to job architects. However, architects, trade unionists and members of the despite his optimism when Fred Pooley’s New Architecture Movement and both are practice groups were first discussed at the GLC, (AJ 29.11.78 p1022) he cannot raise anyenthusiasmnowtheyhavebeensetup. The initial idea has been badly mutilated by Savage cuts in both the number of architects and their workload and, in any case, all work hierarchical pyramids that stil exist in most public architects’ offices and sees no reason to have an architect at the top of them. He argues that once an architect leaves the draw- ing board he loses touch with his expertise and is no better than any other administra- tor. It is the very existence of these large hierarchies, completely divorced from clearly locates them as actors or victims on a building users, that has brought about the political stage. downfall of the public office. So tightly They are not alone in this predicament. It is definedaretherolesofthedifferenttiersof onethattheysharewiththeonemillion service’—and that means working with, as flict with other professions and trades in the well as for, the community. building industry. Imposed on the public sector, this model has resulted in a view of councillors, tenants and fellow public sector workers (who suffer under similar models) as obstacles in the path of their architectural creations, rather than collaborators in the effective provision of desired services. employed tn the public sector. They write: Discussionsonthefutureofarchitectureasa Thekeytotherealisationofanewrolefor public service are su.facing in the archi- public architecture is an alternative model tectural press. Not since the AJ Guest Editor based on: series in 1952 has there been any widespread on education buildings has been excluded informed consideration of this matter. The and obstructive hierarchies and moves from the groups for the time being, so harbinger of the long overdue debate is less architects working on ILEA buildings welcome. Public expenditure cuts, parti- remain in the same old empire, pyramid and cularly in housing and education, mean that all. towards a structure based on co-operative | principles; e forging strong technical and’ political there will be less work for architects, At the Giles continues to be bitterly critical of the same time, as local councils come under in the production of buildings, such as increasing pressure to reduce staff, depart- housing officers, valuers and building ments of architecture rank a close second to direct labour organisations as prime targets for the ‘back to private profit’ movement. Architects in general, but especially those associations. who work in the public sector, find them- selves thrust forcibly into a spotlight which The clear aim should be to create integrated public development teams, including al those who are involved in the production and subsequent management of building, which would be accountable to councillors and tenants ona local basis. authority that those professionals who householders on the country’s council and This model is dependent on collective action actually carry out the work rarely, ifever, get housing association waiting lists, and with of architects and fellow workers, acting a chance to meet their real clients. Every- other public sector workers and the people through strong inter-disciplinary unions like thing has to be relayed through each layer of for whom their services are intended. Thus NALGO and TASS, for both its implemen- the pyramid and several committees. No the position of the public sector architect is wonder public architecture is unpopular—it Not separate from that of the tenant, housing is imposed upon its users, whether they like officer or building worker and cannot tation and successful operation. Substantial moves in this direction have already begun in two boroughs. Professional institutions that seek to line up architectural staff in al sectors behind the owners of private architectural firms, merely it or not. Since no system is foolproof, Giles sees no point in employing endless numbers of ‘back stops’ to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Architects are professionals and should be allowed to take responsibility for their own work, without layers of higher-graded pro- fessionals to supervise them. He thinks that more public money is wasted in employing people to ensure that mistakes are not made than could ever really be justified. The only hope for public architects, argues Giles, is if the impenetrable hierarchies are dismantled and small local offices set up to reasonably be considered in isolation. Yet this is precisely what the RIBA and offshoots like the Society of Chief Architects 736 AJ 15 October 1980 ae CAWG, NAM, individual architects and neighbourhood groups must back him up. in Local Authorities (SCALA) are trying to hinder the active trade union and political do as they attempt to come to terms with the dismantlingoftheWelfareState.ThePresi- dent of SCALA, instead of acknowledging that to provide or not to provide council housing and other public building is and always has beena political act, now seeks to redefine the problem in technical rather than politicialterms:‘Thepatternofdemandis changing in many services. This arises from demographic change and other factors. This involvement of architects in campaigns againstthecutsinpublicservices.Itisonly through such involvement that the new model will be built. *(From: letter to Public Service and Local Governmest, September 1980 by President of SCALA.) MurrayandMaltzlookforwardtodiscussingtheseissuesand appropriate action with other architectural trade unionists at the New Architecture Movement Congress in Edinburgh on 7, 8 and9 November 1980. ¢ internal reform which abolishes arbitrary working links with other disciplines involved workers; e forging similar grass-roots organisational links with building users through tenants’ Next week, the Society of Chief Architects in Local Authorities (SCALA) isholding aone-day conference to discuss the future of local authority architecture. After the government cuts, many architects may have decided that there is no work for What future for public sector architects? Time please From M. W. Jeffels Diparch, RIBA, Acting County Architect, County of Cambridgeshire Sir: In his article on the 1980 JCT contract (AJ 1.10.80 pp667-669), Donald Valentine is concerned that it doesn’t make the failure of the employer to gain possession of the site a ground for an extension of time, and he suggests that architects should advise their clients to add this as a further reason for extending time. In my view we should try to avoid amending the contract and I would suggest that the architect has two practical solutions if the problem of late possession arises. He either issues an Architect’s Instruction to vary the date of practical completion, which would then be a relevant event as specified by JCT 1980, or he grants an extension of time under Clause 25.4.12 due to the failure of the employer to grant him ingress to the site through land owned by himself. The first alternative is the one which I would pursue in these circumstances. M. W. JEFFELS Cambridge Martin Richardson refreshes the parts... windows an added interest while the occu- pants stil have full security. This device is particularly suitable for doors to narrow entrance hall lobbies, which are usually left unventilated. A range of windows was marketed in Sweden some years ago with this arrangement, including insect grilles behind the louvres, but so far UK manufacturers have not, to my knowledge, shown interest in this idea. RICHARD BURFOOT East Twickenham, Middx Essex guidelines From 7. K. Simpson, architect Sir: The two schemes under fire in your ‘Colchester Camouflage’ article (AJ 27.8.80 p390) are, of course, pure Essex Design Guide (EDG). The South Woodham Ferrers complex, alas nowareality, which also falls under the critical axe, was of course definitive Design Guide. Remember the guide? The panacea for al that had ever ailed architecture since the dawn of time, and hailed with bouquets strewn in its path by the technical press including the AJ? Mr Dan Cruickshank amusingly and naively divides ‘blame’ for the Colchester schemes between ‘the council’s influence and tendency to favour the traditional approach’, and ‘the architects’ tendency to embrace the spurious principles of pastiche’, etc. Is Mr Cruickshank stil not aware that these schemes, as all schemes submitted through boroughs and districts in Essex (with thankfully, stil one notable exception) are of necessity pure EDG, because nothing short of this will ever get consideration. If any Contracting out From Peter Hampton RIBA Sir: Having read the new 1980 JCT contract, and your appraisal (AJ 1.10.80 pp667-669), it becomes ever clearer that an architect who allows his client to sign one is in grave danger of being sued for negligent advice. For many years the JCT contract has been ... other architects can’t reach. inclined so far towards the contractor as to earn the name of the ‘Contractor's Spot the difference contract—that this issue just has to be From Martin Richardson Darch, RIBA unacceptable. Thank goodness there is a Sir: The short answer to Mr Hossack’s letter ‘blame’ or criticism is due, it should surely better alternative—the Faculty of Architect's contract which puts the architect’s authority where it should be, in his own hands. PETER HAMPTON London SE1 Clear up on dereliction From Paul Spelzini Sir:IfeltIhadtoreplytoarecentreport(AJ upresidenceallhisspotshadgonc.But 17.9.80 p534) entitled “How to tackle whether this is due solely to the excellent derelict land and vandalism’. I am not as night ventilation only further detailed concerned with the latter as with the former, research would ascertain. a major factor in creating vandalism. MARTIN RICHARDSON A deliberate policy of under-investment by London WC2 successive governments is causing deteriora- Private view at the louvre tion of the national building fabric which is From Richard Burfoot DipArch, RIBA severely hampering efforts to provide better Sir: Your letter from Mr P. G. M. Hossack living and working conditions. John (AJ 24.9.80 p583) regarding the provision of Kelcey’s view that derelict land is a valuable night ventilation to casement windows, is resource may be true, but it is also a scar on the landscape and a drain on national resources. Consequently, Iwould advocate that derelict land be cleared of obstructions and rotting buildings, irrespective of ‘economic’ factors or red tape (listings, etc) to provide eco- logical zones in city areas. As a result more is no, it is not another instance of archi- tectural considerations over-riding people’s be laid at the shrine of the EDG and at the feet of those who accepted its ‘guidelines’ as mandatory. I somewhat gloomily forecast the future preferences. I am told by Milton Keynes Development Corporation Housing Department that they under the guide (letter AJ 5.4.78), and have never had a single complaint about although I am pleased to see the AJ night ventilation on the estate. One occu- pant, however, did tell me that since taking apparently changing horses, I am at the same time surprised that it got so far into midstreambeforeitdidso! J.K. SIMPSON Westcliffe-on-sea, Essex Dan Cruickshank replies: The AJ initially welcomed the Essex Design Guide because it sought to stop the worst of speculative housing in the county by instructing the builders and their architects how materials and clevations were traditionally treated in Essex. Before the appearance of the EDG it was common to get the same sort of boxes on grid layouts most interesting. House occupiers do need to have an additional means of ventilation while that one could have found in Dorset or the window remains closed. This is parti- Devon. The link between this and the guide, cularly important for older people living in admirable in intention but questionable in single storey houses, or in apartments practice, is not as direct as Mr Simpson directly adjoining an access balcony, who need positive security. I have for some years used a vertical louvre, suggests. Indeed, one of the more poignant aspects of the Colchester story is that the borough council, far from being dragooned by the requirements of the EDG genuinely interesting city areas could be created and many problems associated with dereliction, doors with an internally opening insulated wanted this type of scheme. It was made including the investment and safety aspects would improve. PAUL SPELZINI Potters Bar panel, usually side hung which, if necessary, may be in two or more sections to give high or low level ventilation. Louvres can give clear to both firms of architects at the outset that only ‘traditional’ style design would be considered. AJ 15 October 1980 in wood or metal, to one side of windows and CAWG, NAM, individual architectsand neighbourhood groups must back him up. New Architecture Movement, 9 Poland Street, London WI. 3rd April 1978. Dear PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE CONFERENCE, UCATT HALL, GOUGH STREET, BIRMINGHAM Yours sincerely, for Public Design Group, NAM. Invitation PUBLIC DESIGN GROUP As you may know, the New Architecture Movement decided at its Hull Congress in November 1977 to develop further its policies relating to the Public Sector. Since then, work in this field has continued steadily and the Public Design Group which was delegated at Hull to arrange a conference now invite you to attend this, the first NAM Public Design Service Conference in Birmingham on Saturday 6 May 1978. During the past months we have met regularly and consolidated our programme. In addition to refining our critique of architectural patronage and local authority working arrangements, we have been considering the origins and evolution of local authority architectural departments, their internal structure and their relationship to the profession, private practice and to society as a whole. Papers on these will be available at the conference. We feel that discussions have now progressed sufficiently for interim proposals to be made. At the same time areas of further study and action have been identified and more support is needed to extend the work of this group. We therefore hope that you Will wish to participate in the conference and to contribute subsequently to the programme. As you can see from the attached papers it will be a very full day. We hope you will be able to attend, and we look forward to receiving your application as early as possible and to seeing you in Birmingham on th May. Freeson must take the initiative but — ; CAWG, NAM, individual architectsand . neighbourhoodgroupsmustbackhimup. STR LE f ere Leche t rehabilitation The Architects’ Journal 30 August 1978 | Astragal | Squeals of delight an Gambolling at the Ritz. a ee No doubt it’s due to the warm weather—a condition which encourages useful reflection —that Ifind myself ruminating rather excessively upon historical matters thisweek. But events have conspired to exaggerate the condition. For example, Ifound myself being entertained at a reception in the gambling dens of the Ritz and, as Ichomped my lobster and quaffed champagne, Iwas assured that ‘Conservationists and socialites throughout the world breatheda sigh of relief when London’s Ritz hotel was reprieved from decline by anew management’. For two years, Iwas told, the basement had been closed and used for storage—sacrilege. But now all is put right (that is, returned to the original 1906 design) and gold leaf, ‘faux marbre’, lush carpets, and specially designed French rococo furniture have returned to these quarters. OPEN THE COMMUNITY CHEST The initiative being taken by the RIBA Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG) towards launching a community aid fund is extremely welcome. As we reported last week (p356), CAWG is collecting data from architects engaged in ‘community work’ to demonstrate to Housing minister Reg Freeson the need for such a fund. What no one has given much thought to is how such a fund should work. Should it be controlled by central government, local government, neighbourhood groups orthe RIBA? Should the money be used to subsidise private architects? Or should efforts be concentrated solely on expanding local authority departments? The latter approach was advocated by the Public Design Group of the New Architecture Movement recently, but they have not spelt out how it would work. CAWG has so far not committed itself. The Netherlands system (see p374) is therefore particularly interesting because the Dutch appear to be several years ahead of us. There neighbourhood groups really do have some access to and control over architects; tenants are allocated to new flats before they are designed and therefore can be involved in the design process. The main lesson to be gleaned from the Netherlands, however, is that the system evolved as it did only because of both pressure from local neighbourhood groups (often assisted voluntarily by architects) and an enlightened government. If we are to progress in this country Freeson must take the initiative but CAWG, NAM, individual architects and neighbourhood groups must back him up. The designer responsible, Robert Lush, worked with GLC historians to get all the details right. And getting it right has been pricy. For example, the walnut doors alone cost £1000 apiece. But the press release (from which Ihave been quoting) ends with a spasm of unexpected perception: ‘whether f 4:| Building The Architects’ Journal 30 August 1978 Defending the faith Taken out of context Cl/SfB| 81 The Welsh way Astragal [the rich and famous] will appreciate the care and expense that are being used to restore this spectacular example of Edwardian rococo abounding with stucco and extensive gold leafing isamoot point’. The Ritz’s press officer has stolen my words. should be abetter balance between the two sites and wants the expansion to take place not at Headington, Oxford, but five miles away at Wheatley. It also thinks that the depart- ment of architecture should be the unit to move to improve the balance. Oxford County Council isapparently proposing to move the Oxford School of Architecture from Oxford to Wheatley, a pleasant village five miles to the east.At Wheatley there is already a part of the Oxford Polytechnic using buildings put up fora teachers’ training college. The Poly isdue to expand by 6000 square metres and from 3200 to 3600 students in the next couple of years and there are at present only 700 education and management students at Wheatley. The county thinks that there It’s a subtle scheme. Bear in mind that there are, of course, far too many university students in Oxford anyway, let alone polytechnic ones, and that the factories at Cowley are the only really important features of the city.Recall also that the influence of Oxford buildings on architectural students can be very upsetting. Remember too, that there are an excessive number of architects in practice anyway and that architectural study may make a man discontented with his environment for life. All this supports the argument that any step taken to destroy an architectural school must be welcomed. Isolating a school of architecture in a village is just such a step. The art historians’ favourite church in Muswell Hill, London. The way the listing process is being run down is really getting beyond a joke. The list for Swansea has not been revised since itwas first compiled in the early 1950s and, says the Welsh Office, will not be until the 1990's. As one would imagine, many buildings in Swan- sea which are now listable are not protected. Also, again as we would imagine, several of these potentially listable buildings are cur- rently threatened. Notably the Carlton cinema, built in the early 1900s and the Palace Theatre of 1888. Both are important survivors in this much-devastated city and both could be found suitable new uses if there was some official move to save them. Surely, since the Welsh Office intend to be so feeble, the city council should serve Building Preservation Notices on the buildings. The Welsh Office would then have to take some action and, who knows, do its duty and safeguard thehistoric buildings under itscare. There can’t be many threatened buildings to have had Sir Hugh Casson, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, Sir John Summerson and Sir John Betjeman as its champions. The lucky building that these illustrious fellows are now fighting (or at least writing letters) for is the somewhat unlikely Broadway church in Muswell Hill, North London. Built in 1903 and designed in a curious eclectic Art Nouveau style by George and Reginald Baynes, the church is listed grade II and its owners, the United Reformed Church, want todemolish itand sell the site for commercial development. As a result of the application a public inquiry was held a couple of months ago whose decision is still awaited. Certainly the inspector should find in favour of retention for not only is the church important in itself, and in a key position in a well preserved Edwardian suburb, but also the local group (BROACH) fighting for ithas collected 9000 signatures from locals calling for the church’s preservation and has produced a scheme showing how itcould successfully be tumed into a centre for music. Carlton cinema in Swansea. CI/SfB, 81 bakbmesilt) rehabilitation WORKING FOR AN ENLIGHTENED LOCAL AUTHORITY ALLOWS ONE TO PUT INTO PRACTICE ONE'S CONCEPT OF ARCHITECTURE AS A SOCIAL SERVICE . 4+.THE SOUAL SERVANT. THE AGED... THE INFIRM THE HANDICAPPED / AND HOW BO THEY LIKE THE NEW BUILDING, MATRON 7 HOSTEL FOR HAUNICAPPED OLD PEOPLE CLASS 6p/s Obituary Charles Eames Charles Eames, who died last week aged 71, was one of the most influential furniture designers of this century. He trained as an architect and worked in Eliel Saarinen’s office. Street, London E8. 13.00-17.00. With Eero Saarinen he was one of the first to appreciate the potential of new production techniques and new materials. His first outstanding design (with Saarinen in 1940) was for an armchair in die-moulded aluminium and plywood. The famous rotating “Eames chair’, with its mighty headrest and stool, was also designed in laminated timber and aluminium (1957) but the majority of his post-war designs were for furniture in various kinds of plastic; many are produced by Herman Miller Inc. Eames did not limit himself to furniture design. In 1949, the steel-framed house he built for himself at Santa Monica, Cali- fornia, out of standard components ordered from a catalogue, showed a humane and delightful approach to industrialised Plymouth Polytechnic one-day conference ‘The teaching of colour in schools of archi- building that has, unfortunately, been too little followed by Ltd). At TCPA, 17 Carlton others. All his work: his furniture, exhibition stands, films and toys showed the Eames hallmark—painstakingly thorough, yet full of wit and chann. House Terrace, London SW1. Admission: 20p. At 18,30. 12 September RIBA/DIA private view of Alvar Aalto exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burling- ton House, Piccadilly, London WI. Fork buffet supper with wine will be served in the galler- ies during the evening. Cash bar on arrival. Tickets: £6-50 from Anne Corke, RIBA Conference Office (01-580 5533 ext 225). 19.30-22.30. (Exhibition open to public from 16 September to 15 October). 18 September One of Eames’ wittier designs. ad The Architects’ Journal 30 August 1978 an s Diary IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE NEEDY AND DEPENDEAST MEMGERS OF A CARING ComMMUNITY OH WE ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT, DoNT WE MR CHATTERLEIGH 7 2 September NAM Public Design Group tecture’. Speakers include Martin mecting “Theory and Practice’ at Wilkinson and Tom Porter. At Centerprise, 136 Kingsland High 9-10 September NAM Leeds Group Forum, main topic NAM Constitution. At Red Ladder Theatre Building, New Blackpool Centre, Cobden Avenue, Lower Wortley, Leeds. Details from Norman Arnold, 9 Midland Road, Leeds. Plymouth Polytechnic, Palace Court, Palace Street, Plymouth. Details from: Joe Lynes, prin- cipal lecturer, School of Archi- tecture (0752 21312). 27 September The Polytechnic of Central Lon- don: one-day course on arbitra- tions. At PCL School of the Environment, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1. Inquiries to the Short Course Unit (01- 486 5811 ext 397). 6 October Corrections O The figure of £74 000 quoted in the news item about the newly converted premises for RIBA Publications Ltd (AJ 5.7.78 p48) comprises not merely the conversion cost—as implied in our note—but the entire budget including freehold purchase of the old building, conversion costs and all fees. ( In ‘Use of redundant build- ings 2’ (AJ 22.3.78 p568) para 2.02, the correct address for SAVE should read 3 Park Square West, London, NW1 4LJ (01-486 4953). ( Russell Rose was the job architect for the Dutch Quarter, Colchester (AJ 26.10.77 p780-1 and AJ 17.5.78 p952). Future events TCPA Planning Forum ‘Hous- ing in the inner city’. Speaker: A. F. Rawson (chairman, Bar- ratt Developments Southern th la ees, 372 The Architects’ Journal 30 August 1978 1‘Concrete Armada’ by Deanna Petherbridge. 2 ‘Brick Knor’ by Wendy Taylor. 10 eweee ~[ James" Latnamesuggetcans vi ,] ITCTFs illustrated RS Time2 wo eA i” { \ | 4 :i i { Berto)PATS eeaie) 19.10. asoeOreee ~ a nt to know.’ fa ceri, 5ht AT 15 October | —— ize amen das aun a @ ARE: “gaan on)a5 ane. 4B MEER OTeh ee cuaeo one-theperson nd, on the way, aoente aCR psa.Meeye me PS | t | | AJ 15 October 1980 a} coincides with a period of economic diffi- culty... .'* The political basis of the cuts in public expenditure thus disappears, public sector architects are separated from their context and SCALA can address itself to finding a technical solution to a technical problem. Why should leaders of the profession shy away from a reality so apparent to everybody else? Is it because they are unwilling or unable to accept that the model of architec- tural practice which has been pursued for over half a century is not (and probably never has been) relevant to the practice of architecture as a public service? The promulgation of this model is reinforced by the control of architectural education, employment and regulation (ARCUK) by the leaders of the profession. It defines the architect as an independent entrepreneur operating in an idealised private economy, in competition with other architects and in con- flict with other professions and trades in the building industry. Imposed on the public sector, this model has resulted in a view of councillors, tenants and fellow public sector workers (who suffer under similar models) as obstacles in the path of their architectural creations, rather than collaborators in the effective provision of desired services. The key to the realisation of a new role for public architecture is an alternative model based on: internal reform which abolishes arbitrary and obstructive hierarchies and moves towards a structure based on co-operative principles; e forging strong technical and political working links with other disciplines involved in the production of buildings, such as housing officers, valuers and building workers; e forging similar grass-rootsorganisational links with building users through tenants’ associations. The clear aim should be to create integrated public development teams, including al those who are involved in the production and subsequent management of building, which would be accountable to councillors and tenants ona local basis. This model isdependent on collective action of architects and fellow workers, acting through strong inter-disciplinary unions like NALGO and TASS, for both its implemen- tation and successful operation. Substantial moves in this direction have already begun in two boroughs. Professional institutions that seek to line up architectural staff in al sectors behind the owners of private architectural firms, merely hinder the active trade union and political involvement of architects in campaigns against the cuts in public services. It is only through such involvement that the new model will be built. (From letter to Public Service and Local Government, Sepiembee 1980 by President of SCALA.) Next week, the Society ofChief Architects in Local Authorities (SCALA) isholding aone-day conference to discuss the future of local authority architecture. After the government cuts, many architects may have decided that there is no work for Following the collapse of the GLC archi- tects’ department, Bob Giles and many of his architect colleagues are looking for some satisfactory alternative employment. As one of the Salaried Architects’ Group, he has | campaigned for years for more authority to be delegated to job architects. However, despite his optimism when Fred Pooley’s practice groups were first discussed at the GLC, (AJ 29.11.78 p1022) he cannot raise any enthusiasm now they have been set up- The initial idea has been badly mutilated by savage cuts in both the number of architects and their workload and, in any case, all work on education buildings has been excluded from the groups for the time being, so architects working on ILEA buildings remain in the same old empire, pyramid and al. Giles continues to be bitterly critical of the hierarchical pyramids that still exist in most public architects’ offices and sees no reason to have an architect at the top of them. He argues that once an architect leaves the draw- ing board he loses touch with his expertise and is no better than any other administra- tor. It is the very existence of these large hierarchies, completely divorced from building users, that has brought about the downfall of the public office. So tightly defined are the roles of the different tiers of authority that those professionals who actually carry out the work rarely, ifever, get a chance to meet their real clients. Every- thing has to be relayed through each layer of the pyramid and several committees. No wonder public architecture is unpopular—it is imposed upon its users, whether they like it or not. Since no system is foolproof, Giles sees no point in employing endless numbers of ‘back stops’ to ensure thar nothing goes wrong. Architects are professionals and should be allowed to take responsibility for their own work, without layers of higher-graded pro- fessionals to supervise them. He thinks that more public money is wasted in employing people to ensure that mistakes are not made than could ever really be justified. The only hope for public architects, argues Giles, is if the impenetrable hierarchies are dismantled and small local offices set up to them in the public sector, but some still have very positive ideas about their future role. This week, the AJ gives the views of three architects working at the drawing board in the public sector. Next week we shall be looking at the ideas of one chief architect. What future for public sector architects? Bob Giles is a member of the RIBA Salaried Architects’ Group and ts stil employed in the GLC architects’ department. The AF went to se him. John Murray and Bob Maltz are unattached architects, trade smionists and members of the New Architecture Movement and both are employed in the public sector. They write: serve the community, almost like corner shops. Certainly there would be no ‘career structure’ or ‘promotion prospects’ but motivation to go into public service should not be about selfenhancement at the expense of talent. It should, he feels, have an element of what George Smiley called ‘a sense of service’—and that means working with, as well as for, the community. Discussions on the future of architecture as 4 public service are surfacing in the archi- cectural press. Not since the AJ Guest Editor series in 1952 has there been any widespread informed consideration of this matter. The harbinger of the long overdue debate is less welcome. Public expenditure cuts, parti- cularly in housing and education, mean that there will be less work for architects. At the same time, as local councils come under increasing pressure to reduce staff, depart- ments of architecture rank a close second to direct labour organisations as prime targets for the ‘back to private profit’ movement. Architects in general, but especially those who work in the public sector, find them- selves thrust forcibly into a spotlight which clearly locates them as actors OF victims on 4 political stage. They are not alone in this predicament. It is one that they share with the one million householders on the country’s council and housing association waiting lists, and with other public sector workers and the people for whom their services are intended. Thus the position of the public sector architect is not separate from that of the tenant, housing officer or building worker and cannot reasonably be considered in isolation. Yet this is precisely what the RIBA and offshoots like the Society of Chief Architects in Local Authorities (SCALA) are trying to do as they attempt to come to terms with the dismantling of the Welfare State. The Presi- dent of SCALA, instead of acknowledging that to provide or not to provide council housing and other public building is and always has been a political act, now seeks t0 redefine the problem in technical rather than politicial terms: ‘The pattern of demand is changing in many services. This arises from demographic change and other factors. This al Murray aed Maltz look forward to discussing these issues and appropriate action with other architectural trade uniocists at the New Architecture Movement Congress in Edinburgh on 7,8 and? November 1980. 4| ee |National architectural service? The A:rchitects' Journal 2 March 1977 ‘Boss architects’ But David Gosling said that those speaking posal were merely ‘representing their own positions or chief architects’ and the RIBA was supposed to represent architects, the majority of whom are salaried. ‘If we oppose this proposal we will be seen, in Hellman’s words, as the Royal Institute of Boss Architects.’ was not up- Several other speakers said that if the proposal accepted then something much stronger would come Adams said that the institute’s study of the profession, Bernard shortly, shows that the majority of which will be published the there or it could ‘find some way of salaried architects are not happy with their lot. Either could ‘sit on the safety valve’ in which case institute would be a ‘certain explosion’, the pressure and find a new kind of professionalism’. relieving to defer a decision was an attempt to Brown said the decision kill the proposal and ‘puts its finger on the [lack of] of the Council’. sincerity against the pro- as partners all ae! ps > the professional class, the need for accountability in the pro- posed fund, the need for community schemes to be locally based. ‘Many people working in this arca think that the prin- ciples of the RIBA aresagainst the principles of community architecture’, he said, affirming his belief in ‘4 community 4, _\ 3 |were another example of architects believing themselves to |be ‘a panacea for social problems’. The paper did not recog- |nise severe problems: the suspicion by the working class of ite ’aa |Benefit communities, not architects Student member David Breakell believed that the proposals architecture that benefits communities, notarchitects’. Jim Johnson agreed. Very often the community architect needs to become a kind of entrepreneur—taking initiatives for people who will not do so for themselves. A new concept of professionalismisneeded:‘it’softenamatteroftakingsides’. The institute, he thought, should take ‘a persuasive not @ pre- scriptiveattitude’.DavidPercivalwantedtoseethefeescale pressedcodeofbuildingregulations;second,forahighly revised to be appropriate for community work. efficient enforcement service operated by ‘adequately skilled James Latham suggested that the industry’s pressure group persons’, and third, for ‘as far as possible uniform interpreta- oeftheCounde Savidge ideas get wide support In the debate on the building regulations, councillor after councillor reiterated the same proposals for reform as spelled out in the AJ by Rex Savidge. Thedebatecentredonapaperfromtheinstitute’sBuilding Control Committee which called first for a single clearly ¢x- TA ‘The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 on Westminster, the Group of Eight, should take up the pro- posal for a fund. The Government is committed to improving the inner cities but doesn’t know what to do, he argued. Nego- tiations with Whitehall should start immediately. Salaried architects sat upon After one of the most fraught debates of the day’s meeting, Council rejected a proposal by the Salaried Architects Group to immediately set up a Salaried Practice Advisory and Con- ciliation Panel. Instead, by 18 votes to 17, a much-amended motion was carried agreeing in principle to the notion of such a body but referring the idea to the membership and public affairs committee and to the membership in general for its views. Jake Brown, who put forward the proposal on behalf of SAG, voted against the amended motion because he said it was an attempt to sweep the issue under the carpet. The SAG proposal, described by Brown as a ‘spring lamb’ in its mildness, is aimed at providing a means by which salaried architects could protest against employers who prevent them carrying out their work with proper professional responsibility. The panel (five members including two salaried architects and two principals/chief officers) would be appointed by Council and could only act with the co-operation of its members. Un- like an industrial tribunal it could not have statutory power. Yet Council members expressed their disquiet with the pro- posal. Ray Moxley said he had a ‘gut feeling of anxiety. It could be very damaging to good relations in practices.’ Eric Lyons said it could ‘seriously jeopardise the future of private practice ...to see this institution as a quasi trade union would be very worrying’. Allan Groves, chief architect ofCornwall, said it would be ‘divisive’ and was unnecessary because ‘chief architects in the public sector are responsible individuals’. RIBAGOUNC : ; subsidised by fees from otherwork. Alan Meikle, introducing the paper on community architec- ture, emphasised that community architecture is not ‘a pass~ ing trend’. Economic and social pressures will ensure that, for many architects, the nature of their job will change, he said. There will be much more concern with the existing stock i 3. Now it’s the turn of the infantry: house-to-house work |anu fine-grainplanning.” ( |Much is being done but not enough, he argued. So anational |fund is needed to help the poor acquire the skills ofarchitects, |just as the legal aid scheme and the National Health Service |help them get access to the services of the otherprofessions. |A Community Aid fund should be set up by the Government to help poor people pay for architectural advice. Council agreed by a massive majority that the institute should press Whitehall to provide cash for this purpose. The fund would |cover fees for community schemes including abortive work, |non-architecrural services related to home improvement and fees for full services for housing rehabilitation, which is often |and by extension, directly with the inhabitants. “The day of |the big battalions with their bulldozers and tower crancs is ‘This kind of architecture can only be practised with the know- |ledge and consent of the user’, he said, “we must be moving towards an architecture for everyone, not just for those who have the money to pay forit.” Lotham: Whitehall talks should start immediately. baile againgge!meetinif Nittional Krogty Pore To suggestthatthe,ptiblig 9dJ résifmably iknorantof St ictural caine cerstharhas.Beught oTarepypodana sh the } reputid to Prafgs Comments ) cin +}, Fhereave ingund muledheg pga yara sare modularragigdesignSah y ho a Crohg fyétédines the onthe icedu demonsiarlor,THate02 Leagueiscomplet PT theuseofviolegce'fshemHrotXo- esré SESS, au his letter (AJ 4.1.78 p7) than is - illustrgt a a inthearticle cepttha Ryle deteahi AJen i Apna ~| thectigui,= cea rathJK use Ras own money i At itsobjectivesa) acwcoesforthelowWgubli<4\ASuithiehainal_\ An ‘Architects agaitet dens ff National FrontTMtarfipantey has been set up,to enfouragd! ) » architects?SdHvindK{ ofthemt ziLeague. The a intentionjd bgnae SaPO} t signaturesdtLooWarg hitects Cy and\£5000 intdonaiSiots to. theA LScafes16.5Sal A massive response of this sortcanbel}++eyeBoB } of the Natis iu Brtai counter theunpretedented Nazi Propaganda to which the electorat: is going tobe , exposed Iath‘eg ack Sn IcallupeénaiBARE demonstrate their ahbortuke of racialism by writing to‘give support to this campaign, irrespective of other political differences. Letters of support and donations should be sent to “Architects against the National Front’, c/o The Architectural Association, 34-36 Bedford Square, London, WCI1B 3ES John Sell London WC1 ee Recollections of violence From Geoffrey Maddison RIBA, AADip!, MRTPI Sir; Your correspondent A. Anderson PUN eeoneronpeene Ppastebrmo fWhi en, gine - complam, /¥ i\ sone ent, disgri inssting f uniARelligencel &We’ woltd sugkest th: ‘Goth ‘compejence CORN ay auseful i}. wulge! tab hthe'pub! hf,5‘intelligen,ry= vy NYyWretfeb sewho find e lre pe OLA lnnang Fe alfo a ah, The Architects’ Journal 19 April 1978 733 qualification. Put against the RIBA, SAAT iss*Hlinitsinfandydandunless $ Fascists in London in the 1930s; my own visits to oom any. he Austria in crab re includingbejngaeay! wastocarrytheargument nerchristopbblign} GestapowhenItriedtoseTebeyondtheengineeingcirclein.*schatny;moveaiwaiyf)dup Photographs of evidence of aptj)=4ne Sir: The objegt of the Ie on limig state debigycaJ ‘Ate 77 p1201 ath pate will definit bth sides, juWshagdakafpnhiy Reng) c cretive, kriow-it-a MTaeakG ingsin theirsHa wBeebyandBillen Ulnton N «PaniDAO }ow SAAT the only hope From §.mele have Jewish violence in Vienna and a “a y]a ekweston era Or mharter rather than writh tt prejudiced red scare hysteria shown by Meese whosq attituleist ander hit was previouslyy confined a sintendedtobe contfovepdl. a mal opinionlabourthediahdonAasfitrary fe | ieDurSdieenthere ckwork, The figBures ip —- rey diso; freeeprohcesslegiayt Pe webrokethatdow great Tho ember that the argicles in i¢saméansvWerusing;J197](repripy asatOAT CP110thanusidgAVWe;Hanokybidsstiekei rae that he €Ane shme dealt adequately pfich the evel ofthenewdhaftBS449, jets f;actors,Hytosis iyteleee Bepate soe <q riticismofthecurent <as‘ind"thatmaywel} CP114 i)AN Agigbed ths Midd TM io ‘ishTaohie‘ dai a 1 ang,sAAiSteayy wcthts my aWrarded, ean li ; Whatwedany Aino 4 ~sénse’ig the OF Mi sicy in shortestsupply,particujgtly where fashion and progress are concerned G. ae bets Ao > G A4Hodgkinstn letter above). members. Ihave astrong feeling that if some review is not made soon, the R pamey inda take-over bid.by shar very (evidert—based Ppirel) and simply, on the fact that there will be more of them than us! Philip W. Heeks “Crewe and Nantwich, Cheshire : London W4 a a a ee té Technicians’ training wl From Philip W. Heeks Sir: uM | Twould like to stronghy *ey fi the let from B@. Tint AJ 30.11.77 p1961), Satie to architectural technician training My own view is that as the RECS now have a bridging, courge fo eyabersofST,.s¢should the yolbam haveabridgeforSAAT to totally demolish 17 listed buildings and partially demolish five others, in the Queen, Foregate, Frodsham Street area ofthecity. Ifnthhi Rey: are not going forthasc wv mentioned above; then what are they going for? nsstheSince would begin to id“y t he editors engineersare prepared to ope Kj Acepniebpaehibnona lad From John Sell RIBA Sir A. Anderson is incorrect in both the points he seeks to make (AJ 12.4.78 p678) attack- ing the Anti Nazi League. the latter would begin to com- prehendichgincering realities themannerofeee them" opinion in this country, united « forthe soleobjectiveef Opposing.the poi of racial by the National ¥ront and other Nazi organisations Among oe thousands who have givent su ort to the Anti Nazi Lea cmeiiAbey ‘A shtcoft’ S§ir * Tohi Gielgud, Pete Buon 'i Cleo L3ine, ints M Michael*Parkinson’ a Previn The second paragraph of Mr Anderson’s letter cdr, only refer x toac paysasceayyn Srpanfsed a by tH BitmifigHam Ang “A RacialistCGommittesAR ON mil + ici " a with e ee obectsincludney wen rhehup~gilrcominghttechniéians socialpriority Bye no rote of ite it,1¢Willstayth woe oar | ANnti-Naziaesan) Sca¥sbrook yeybehthtetenteeoftheanti-_ ressreports,and Mlfission . roadbpjldittglobby*howsthar” mee none of itsmm ti ’ salt this Yarn. ispossiMe anstttat Ohi re sj bienseatdesign OW Pirliamentacceptsthatthe Weide fromG.M.Roseland psppleSreotaay o NSNareeas Mosley’s|AHodgkinson Tens (AJ 12.4.78 p678) refers to the Anti-Nazi League as being odious and implies that its Sir; a Afthe regi MOI tocar * pees(AJ5:4,78 2637),Iie} Neth hq Kok CrRAtRoid° people. Imysqlf havéheen c xhpalyttlege forthe.By Ao ght years with SAAT as, the,a / oly hopep Al Tretogn: fi aigingysnyie i ith present and future empl yaa of the heagJAf ane} oPHNCanWaspwheoal ate\) confused e eS ai‘terePRO aeaePee cah yj take tq hainthese quabfic nS,6, atbotertaiglyrare. Renee anda lot of Practiges § Nesto % Further recollections of violence (sec oviteaanags;,* Whe eal TheAntiNaziLeagueisnot pyc lentWaragainstaD ¢ ndengagaen! aCommunist front apisation« but an organisatig priothdd Vv V5ve ine pat byaverywidecross-Sectionof da We ear TRearticle,cover: ,aspectof ergs ofs ipimty 3 the appligation o Agate te Meavehale ay ay demiginhi— biplais tehnlticz Up firswy QbA hicg eke heirorric 5 T(soncepe’a doesnotinA { ‘ SARE merefygeflectsthecriticismWs hoserjousissinapros CP11¥ made ateverypectin lit é ae fe criticisry fe ca)pve v on that code since jtapp, Nuintt a eb sis intakeinganarbi- ts sevenforthesafetyfactor {Harry ae | 119. brey Says no more in CNaweregiso equal ose 386 ‘ \ » The Architects’ Journal 2 March 1977 . Diary 2 March The possibilities of community architecture meeting organised ternational Council of Socicties by Nottingham New Architec- of Industrial Design at the May ture Movement group, at the Fair Theatre, Stratton Street, Peacock Hotel, Mansfield Road, j London WI. Speakers include Nottingham. Guest. speaker Selwyn Goldsmith. Adam Purser, NAM, London. 16-17 March 19.30. 3 March Official vandalism: housing in the inner city lecture by Jim chow preanised by NORSAG, at the Departiient of Architecture, Infor systems for de- | signers symposium and* exhibi- tion at the Universiy of South- ampton, organised by the Design Group. Details: Publication Ser- vices, 33/35° Foxley Lane, High WAKE UP, SIR — YOUVE BEEN MADE } Edinburgh University, 22 Salyington, Wotthing, Sussex, +) REDUNDANT/ \Chahibérs Street, Edifburgh, at 117.15 “4 March’, 5 ay Discourse in architecture lecture by Francoise Choy in Lecture \ Theatre 1, Architecture Unit, ¥ 4)Pobytechnic’ of Central London, BD13 3AD (0903 65405). 23-25 March ———————— ee Design guidance a three ‘stage workshop organised +by\ the School for Advanced Urban Studies to proyide a forum’ to discuss how design guides are 35 Marylebone Road, ‘London | preparedy their,impact on. devel- opment control and-thteir pérfor- “mance. Details; Judith Tyler, School for Advanced Urban Richard MacCormac: an archi- \ Studies, ‘Rodney, Lodge, Grange tect’s. approach’ to ~architécture Road, Bristol: BS8 4EA; (Bristol mecting at North East London; 311117). Polytechnic,: Department of 23-25 March aa Architecture,ForestRoad,Lon- rN eeeobe NW1, at 18.00. i sSe _ 7 March |EiDeadwood| CHIEF ARCHITECT) don, E17, at 18.30. . — a + Aspects of health ‘provision building programmes course for architects, administrators and , YOURE UNAWARE OF w THE Wider ISSUES § March ‘ Tropical architecture lecture by pFactifioners on the designiprob- vere LADDIE f vf Otto Koenigsberger at the Lec- “lents ing region#i\ant ajgrice tures. Theatre, 'sDepartment >of + health authorities) organiséd by Fine ‘Art, Neveanle Univecsity, the IpSituseof Adv: anced Afchiy |) tectural Studies. Derhils: they Secrosary, IAAS, King’s Manors at 13.00. / a —_— : - 7 Yor’, YOT ZEP (0904 26912). 28 March-2 )April tony 1 > seminar with speakers Gordon *“Rok? “and Patrick-\Morréay; at, 7 8 March Tube structures and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, Correction)“; Liverpoo}] Polytechnic, Main 6 Wérdhe ddiwings hahdbsoky Jiy‘hecture_Theatte, Byrom Street, i26.1.77, IS5,/p188, para 1.02 § Liverpool 1, ag 14.30 third line sHould ready ¢he:values 8 March }\ aX Lecture by. Geoffrey. Darke t otganised by); N@RSAC, at 17,15. See above for venue. 8Mairch LA ASS Lecture by Cedric Price in the Main Auditorium, South Bank Polytechnic, Wandsworth Rbad, London SW8, at 16.30. 8 March RABAS*Lalk in’: can we afford the building regulations? Walter Segal will open the discussion with Eric Lyons in the chair, at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place, * London W1, at 18.30. — ‘9 March Milton Keynes lecture by Derek Walker ofganised by Oxford Polytechnic, at Museum of ‘Modern Art, 30 Pembroke s Stteet, Oxford, at 19.30. th 9 March Le Thoronet, La Tourette lec- ture by Dr Geoffrey Baker, at Plymouth Polytechnic School of Architécture, Studio 3, at 14.00. AJ © \ i7'S ALU RieHTs OFFICER = / I've'Gor Aim | Future events The designer and the disabled conference sponsored by the In- =. 1 :V2‘and, of course, | XA¥ FS compil, p186, should read. eqm- passes 9 , : Innnext week’s. Guy ‘Hawkins looks at Water- field School, Thamesmead—a turning point in the design of comprehensive secondary schools. ® UY Git mavens LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE IN THE NEWS AGAIN / fi ‘The Architects’ Journal 2 March 1977 ponds and redecorate Sydenham station. The fifth campaign is intended to encourage Londoners to plant more trees. A special committee chaired by architect and tree enthusiast Sydney Chapman will advise public auth- pees and individuals and, in some cases, it will help with cash. Neut Fe duce partial services only, said Nisbet, and ‘such policies declare only too clearly that the cor- porate client has no requirement for independent professional advice’. Even so, Nisbet pointed to the greatly increased status of the qs. Partly as a result of the power of the corporate client, most qs firms now find that a large pro- portion of their appointments are made direct by the client without prior selection of the qs by architect or engincer. Qss’ status has also been enhanced by their appointment as project co-ordin- ators of design teams, said Nis- bet. ‘We are all proud of the fact that a quality surveyor was chosen to manage the team for the National Exhibition Centre and that the project was success- ful in terms of both time and cost.” This role for the qs is growing and, according to Nisbet, there seems little doubt that there is ‘a tendency for clients to look to them for financial management in the full sense of accepting res- ponsibility for ultimate costs. And no doubt it will soon become apparent that responsibility can- not be undertaken without the authority to take such actions as would ensure compliance with the financial brief.’ Local authority single person housing is being provided for the first time, by a London borough at least. Haringey implemented this policy from 1 January and other boroughs will follow suit. Haringey gives priority first to those over 50 who cannot afford a mortgage, then to people over 35 earning less than £35 per week. Those under 35 get the lowest priority. There are also residence qualifications. The sixth campaign aims to use waste land and buildings al over London. The pilot projects include the conversion of waste land by the canal in Paddington to a temporary park, the creation of a permanent park in the Isle of Dogs and the foundation of a city farm in Newham which will incorporate grazing land, a tree nursery and a communal vegetable plot. The seventh campaign is intended to clean up London’s build- ings and streets. The west front of St Mary le Strand, the portico of St Paul’s Covent Garden, the Ritz and Grand Buildings in Trafalgar Square are all to be cleaned this year. Build to human scale: Shore Listed building legislation is not overruled by Dangerous Struc- tures or public health legislation. Answering a question in the House of Commons last week, Environment Secretary Peter Shore made it clear that listed building consent must be obtained before any demolition works are carried out on listed buildings—even those that have been classed as Dangerous Structures. pt In the past there has been con- fusion over this point because several listed buildings, for ex- ample the 1760 tapestry factory in Streatham Street, London (AJ 17/24.12.75 p1282), have been demolished as Dangerous Structures without listed build- ing consent. Large corporate organisations, both public and private, are crod- ing the professional role accord- ing to qs James Nisbet. Recently Nisbet talked to the qs division of the RICS and explained that thegrowthoflargecorporateSSesa clients, with their in-house pro- fessional teams, tended to reduce independent professional firms to ‘a reservoir of supplementary manpower to be called on from time to time as necessary and to follow instructions’. There was an unnecessary tendency for in- dependent qss to be asked to pro- P. E. O'Sullivan, professor of architectural science at the Welsh School of Architecture, Univer- sity of Wales, is one of four new members appointed to the Advis- ory Council on Energy Conser- vation by the Secretary of State for Energy, Tony Benn. Manor Farm scheme in Stornoway, Council’s Architect's Department. Peter Shore, Secretary of State for the Environment, spelled out the Government's thinking on new housing when he opened the GLC exhibition ‘New directions in housing’ at the Design Centre last week (AJ 23.2.77 pp330-334). Shore welcomed the ‘trend back to building on a human scale” and opined that ‘when historians look back on the ’sixties I think they may categorise it as an age of illusion, of false hope and false dreams—a period in which we thought we could & solve society’s problems by turning to the new and theuntried, WY breaking with the past. In no area is this more true than 'n the field of housing architecture where, with the best of “‘ntentions, though the worst of consequences, politicians, planners, architects—with few dissenting voices from outside —saw the block and other high density dwellings as the answer. This approach did answer one problem—slum clearance— for we saw a faster rate of planned redevelopment than any other country in the world. But I think we can now acknow- ledge that we probably created as many difficulties for our- selves as ever we solved.’ No more comprehensive redevelopment He criticised the notion of comprehensive redevelopment (though ‘I am not one who believes that bricks and mortar as such must be preserved, whatever the cost, just because they are 50 or more years old’). But, said Shore, ‘where we build new we must place a premium on trying to preserve the sense of community, the street patterns, the facilities and al the other familiar landmarks which give people their sense of identity with an area’. He stressed that a strategic housing plan for London with an inter borough allocation is ‘vital to ensuring that all Londoners in need have a fair chance of a decent home’. Shore congratulated the GLC for providing housing ‘on a human scale’ and for being ‘in the forefront in promoting methods of consultation and participation’. The pitched roofed, low rise, consciously urban way ofdesigning Symbol of social division ‘Tower blocks’, he said, ‘and high density barrack blocks are not liked, and are not good places in which to bring children up. And then there were, and are, the community defects of this kind of vast institutionalised building. Up to the sixties, particularly in areas outside the inner city, the bulk of muni- cipal housing had been terraced or semi-detached—of a similar design to the kind of house desired by owner-occupiers. The tower block broke away from this common pattern of design, and divided people not only by tenure, but also by the style oftheirdwellings.Towerblocksbecameasymbolofsocial -_ division, and understandable discontent, and have in my view added to a sense of polarisation betwecn tenure groups.’ He enthused over ‘the move back to the basic, well tried and well loved idea of houses—where possible with gardens’. “2 ese) i TI ,1 eal : jl ne housing has reached the farthest corners of the kingdom. This ts the 'eo a ya —— Deena ef. Western Isles, designed by the J 0 | ~~ —v “Michael Heseltine's present policy (on council house sales) is enjoying only a limited Success — by the end of the present term of this government, he will be lucky to ownership against their will. have sold more than 10 per cent ofthestock.Heknowsthatthe article—thatmostcouncil next 10 per cent will be far harder to sel. On the other hand, the proposals we have made would bring about the large redistribution of wealth this country has ever seen — from the state to the individual.” So concluded a recent article in The Times, “How All Council Tenants Can Become Instant Owners", (May II 1982) by Peter Luff and John Maples. The theme of the article was simple. Most council tenants want to be owner |occupiers. Public housing is expensive and inefficient. Society isbecoming increasingly divided between those who own and those who rent. The solution could hardly be simpler; transfer the ownership of al council houses to existing tenants by converting rents into mortgage repayments. At a stroke this would satisfy widespread aspirations, Nothing new There is nothing new about this idea. A similar proposal was advanced in the mid 1970s by Frank Field, former director of the Child Poverty Action Group and now a Labour MP, and then in 1978 by Peter Walker, former Conservative Environment Secretary Unfortunately the latest authors seem to have learnt little from the extensive debate which accompanied the earlier Suggestions. tenants would rather be owners — acomprehensive NEDO Nobody involved in housing could pretend that al is rosy with public housing. But equally those who advocate radical solutions ought to be a bit more honest about the likely implications. The truth is that the above proposals would have dwellings with very low very serious social and economic repercussions, potential market values would be permanently trapped in poor repercussions which scem to have been totally ignored by their architects. First, there is the effect of coercing tenants into home Contrary to the assertion in the survey of tenure preference in 1975 found that 55 per cent of council tenants preferred council renting. The National Dwelling and Housing Survey in 1978 found that 74 per cent of council tenants were very satisfied or satisfied with their accommodation, Not expensive Secondly, there is the impact on public expenditure. In fact, the provision of council housing is not ‘enormously expensive’. Studies have shown that the real rate of return on investment in council housing has averaged 2¥4 per cent in the last decade While this is slightly lower than comparable rates of return on industrial and commercial investment, the social benefits of housing would lead one to expect alower than market rate of return, In addition, under existing financial arrangements, Owner Occupation costs more in public subsidy than public renting. It is also not the case that public housing ‘results in poor use of the housing stock’ as claimed. The average vacancy rate is no higher in the public than the private sector, the household-dwelling fit is much closer in the public than the private sector while under- occupation is much higher among Owner occupiers. The impact on the distribution of wealth could be much more complex than the authors suggest. Local authority dwelling market values are lower, on average, than owner occupied dwellings. Tenants in difficult to let and unpopular properties. especially those on low incomes. Mobility would thereby be discouraged for whole sections of the community. Private tenants would not benefit at al. If the authors are really committed to a more equal wealth distribution, more effective polices are available. Their proposal would be both capricious and inequitable. There is also the impact on the one and a quarter million households on waiting lists. Access to decent housing for these would be removed at a stroke. Indeed, the proposal would end the prospect of reasonable housing at reasonable cost for the large number of poorly housed, homeless and newly formed households unable to make their way in the private sector. The ‘right to buy’ is proving more successful than the Government —at least in its own terms — originally expected. In the 15 months since its introduction in October 1981, no less than 422,900 tenants had applied to buy, some seven per cent of al local authority tenants. Actual sales have risen beyond initial estimates, reaching an expected 134,000 in 1981/82 and a forecast 165,000 in 1982/83. A recent thorough and up to date review" of both the effect of sales and the future of public housing are hardly supportive of Government assumptions. The book forecasts a bleak future for public housing on current policies and trends with sales creaming off the best of the state and local authorities being left with the most unpopular dwellings; with subsidies continuing to fall and new building confirmed to special needs; and with increasing maintenance problems as the stock continues to age. Equally, Luff and Maples’ proposal will not put an end to “a two national country divided between those who own and those who do not’, as they claim It would simply recreate the same divide within one tenure that exists between sectors at the moment and which is being exacerbated by sales. The only real prospect of reversing current trends towards a society Segregated by tenure and class is to remove the artificial advantages — financial, social and legal — afforded to owner occupiers by successive governments. Stewart Lansley Vohn English, Ed. The Future of Public Housing, Croom Helm, 1982. PSLG July/August 1982 1) 51 CUSIB (Amw) Housing AJ7July1982 ee eeeee = ‘ CONVERT RENTS TO MORTGAGES? CPEEY CUSEB (Amw) (1976 revised) (Amw) 16 PSLG July/August 1982 yworpremper 1982 HUMEOTyewsween atOxford Polytechn: chelsea=<Qama> Circle 9 on Reader Inquiry Card vpair-was shown on television, there were 51 : 74 CUSiB (Amy) : 5 Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life that some power take offs are more reliable than others. But ifthe PTO that supplies power to your specialist machinery lets you down, the rest of your machin- P a units are the most reliableonthemarket | isquite simple. Only Chelsea PTO’s have afacility which as Chelsea power take offs. And that’s our exceptionally = Telex: 335665. fast delivery service. So ifyou’d like full technical literature, contact Spicer Power Products at Spicer Power Products Division, | Racecourse Rd, Wolverhampton WV6 ONE. Tel: 0902 773814. \ ery will be useless. And with some applic- ations, you can’t afford to take that chance. So if your application demands a high level of reliability and performance, there’s only one owertakeoffthatyoushouldever puton. They’re called Chelsea power take offs and they’re manufac- tured by Spicer Power Products Division. And the reason why our | allows you access to check backlash and accurate fitting. Which means that ifyou don’t s ecify our PTO’s, you won't be able to check a hothe® your | vehicles are suffering from prematurely worn gears, and they could break down with- out warning. Thankfully however, there’s @ still one thing that’s as reliable CI/SfB (Amw) (1976 revised) (Amw) — multi-disciplinary approach )in building, is to close. [thas years ago to promote a area in the next year. On the question of anew body to take over the work, Mr Jefferson said, “We're putting quite a lot of resources into our |institutions that it would have liked. STANLEY FLOATS BUILDING REGS RELAXATION provide the right type of land as their predecessors in the Labour government.” Mr Moody went on in his speech to forecast that the increasing cost of land would force many small builders out of the industry because of the large amounts of money that had to be tied up in expensive land There isachance that a similar unit of some sort will survive, though probably not in report from the continuing professional development working group which recommended a yoluntary system of education, backed by incentives. The York Centre was: The Government iscurrently )York. The York Centre |Advisory Committee will discuss the setting up of another body, possibly in London, at its meeting in November. This toowilldependoninstitutional to have played a major role in the guidance and co-ordination of the RIBA approach, a job which may now fal to the RIBA. investigating “without commitment” the possibility of relaxing some of the rules governing health and safety requirementsinnewhousing,in purchases. YORK CENTRE TheYorkCentre,setupfive educationasa“keypriority” made its mark, with proposals for continuing education having been taken own programme, and I'd be the up by the RICS, IOB, and last to say that there would be |finally,lastweek,theRIBA, anythingtospareforoutside ~wa who also announced the closure. But ithas not had the support from the work". Compulsory education The RIBA council accepted a - support.Governmentfunding »Acompulsionincontinuing favouroftheuseofinsurance. es ASBESTOS RULES TO BE TIGHTENED Specifiers of products containing asbestos are explicitly obliged to consider its substitution by other materials * the recommendations of the final! report of the advisory | committee on asbestes, published this week. “he committeewantsastavuto! ban on new applications of blue asbestos and statutory control limits on the use ofbrown and white asbestos. There is no quantitative evidence of a risk to the general public from exposure to asbestos dustssays the report, and in worker exposure ithas not been possible to identify a threshold limit, so the committee rejected an across- the-board ban on asbestos. Instead of a “hygiene standard” which implies a level below which exposure is safe, the committee wants a control limit introduced. This gives a realistic level of airborne dust )seems unlikely. The York Centre consisted basically ofits director, Dick |Gardner, plus secretanal support. Its total expenditure |over the five years has been some £70000. Mr Gardner is currently on holiday and unavailable for comment. | That the York Centre has |survived as long as it has is |probablyduetogenerous funding from ARCUK, some |$50 000 in the last five years. |The feeling isthat ARCUK may be unwilling to fund at this level given lack of support from other bodies. The RIBA, paying an the centre last year. The objective of the York Centre, Philip Groves of the advisory committee told | Bralding this week, was to jchange the climate on continuing education. It could fairly be said to have done that, he thought. Without the York centre report last year, the adoption of continuing education at the _RIBA council last week would not have taken place. education is ruled out by the group, unless after a period of several years the voluntary scheme fails. This is recognised as a hot political issue which needs to be discussed further, the report says. Speaking at the first international conference on house warranty, Housing Minister John Stanley told 300 delegates that the Government was investigating the possibility of removing from local authorities the obligation to Cost of the enterprise would be about £19 000 a year—a modest sum to change the outlook and standing of the professions,itcomments.Inthe designofhouses,matenals next year, the outlines of the scheme will be worked up, linking up with the regions and identifying topics of interest. Full development would be in the years 1981 to 1983 by which time the climate of opinion will shave changed, the group hopes, and offices will have started training budgets, the RIBA will have produced guidelines for standards of development, and members will have begun to keep a record of involvement in courses, in office events and personal studies. The group presses for the scheme to go ahead as rapidly as possible, but with its in built dependence on the York Centre, used, and the standards of construction. The present requirements would be replaced — to a greater or lesser degree —by the use of insurance. This would probably operate on the health and safety aspects of housing in the same way that NHBC guarantees presently affect the physical fabric. France has used such a system for some time and provided the Government was satisfied that minimum standards were being set and met and that policies for the conservation of energy were being followed, Mr Stanley saw regulate housing standards through the use of minimum requirements governing the CASH CRISIS CLOSES ry Mr t= SS Andrew Tait, NHBC director, opening the first International Home Warranty Conference, London, on Monday index-linked grant, gave £650 to Building 26 October 1979 E rT ll The York Centre has discharged its role, RIBA |president Bryan Jefferson the RIBA programme may need | no reason why a similar system | above which no person should claimed this week. This had |been to map out the work tobe | Centre at its next education some revision. ARCUK wil consider its should not be employed inthis | be occupationally exposed. country. This recommendation has position in relation to the York HBF president Don Moody _| been welcomed by theAsbestos done and to arouse interest. It | committee meeting in |Was essential that the RIBA now] November, but has not yet been| problem caused by land Government is aware of the picks up on the work, he said, ; asked whether itis prepared to | shortage “they do not seem at |and it would be taking continuing | support any new initiative. present any more willing to AUS Serrember- 1962 ae S _ SpainWasCheaatanhaeineae aS ‘ , there were atOxford Polytechnic. 74 pe ‘ ‘ _ OT Ree CIUSEB (Amw) (1976 revi )(Amw) renee NUEEF TIE a CI/SEB (Amw) complained that although the Cement Manufacturers : Assdctation, which says that it wil provide additional reassurance to building workers handling asbestos cers 2r.. AJ 8 September 1982 TorWnurDErUy — atOxford Polytechnic | CUSSS (Amw) City Centre Edge Hill Wavertree In place of riots The venue isachurch inToxteth,Liverpool 8, Wednesday 14 July 1982 ar 20,30. One Section of the church has been cleared of pews, and grouped around trestle-tables covered with house floor plans are over 70 men and women of all ages. Reflecting the area’s 35 per cent unemployment level, many of them are unemployed, the remain- der mostly in low paid manual and service jobs. All of them are currently living in some of Europe’s worst housing—crumbling six- storey municipal tenements, often without hot water. This is the Mill Street Co-operative and its members have met in the hall two or three nights a week for over three months, designing their 54 new ‘dream houses’ with architect Martyn Carmichael Associates. Even when the World Cup match between England and Spain was shown on television, there were Coppin of Brock or Public Sector SomethingincrediblehashappenedinLiverpool—arguablythemost important step forward in British housing for decades. Without anyone in the rest of the country really noticing, an era spanning 60 years of paternalistic quietly come to an end. In itsplace funded housing has taken over in which the users are firmly in the driving seat. Nick Wates reports. COMMUNITY ARCHITECTURE THE LIVERPOOL BREAKTHROUGH | There have been endless research Studies and experiments. Occasionally, as at Byker in Newcastle for instance, architects for new schemes have worked closely with the tenants, but they have always remained accountable to the localauthority. Housing Phase 2 Liverpool City Council no longer uses its own architect’s department to build, on Spec, new public housing for rent—apart from a small amount for special needs. Instead it funds the people who need new housing to Organise the design, construction and management of it themselves through self- generating, self-reliant co-operatives. Liverpool’s first new-build co-operative scheme of 61 homes was funded by the Housing Corporation and is now two-thirds occupied. Nine more, involving 341 families, have been approved and are at various stages ofdesign and construction, and several more are in the pipe-line. All but one are being funded by the city council, /. It works like this. Local authority tenants living in slum clearance areas or deterior- ating tenements organise themselves into groups—so far ranging from 19 to 61family units—and obtain the Management services of one of Liverpool’s co-operative develop- ment agencies: Co-operative Development Services (CDS), Merseyside Improved Houses or Neighbourhood Housing Ser- vices. With its assistance they register as a ‘non-¢quity’ housing Co-operative with limited liability, locate a suitable site and negotiate to buy it. (So far nearly al the land has come from Liverpool City Council or the Merseyside Development Corporation.) They then select a firm of architects with whom they design a scheme which is submitted to a funding body. The scheme is then submitted to the DOE for Subsidy and yardstick approval as on al localauthority funded housing association schemes, When the houses are built, the co-op members become tenants of their homes, paying standard fair rents, but they are also collectively the landlord, responsible for management and maintenance. The full significance of events inLiverpool has not yet been Brasped nationally. The need for participation by tenants in public housing has been talked about foryears. 1 The spread of new-build Co-ops in south Liverpool, Solid dots show sites of those already approved, open circles indicate where co-op members are moving from—invariabl yclose by. Merseyside Development Corporation’s area 18 Shown hatched, with the International Garden Festival site in tint in the south. Co-ops inorder offormation: 1 Weller Streets, 61 units, nearly complete 2 Hesketh Street, 40 UNILS, ON Site 3 Prince Albert Ga rdens, 19 units, on site 4 Dingle Residents, 32 UNITS, on site 5 Grafton Crescent, 30 units, On site soon 6Southern Crescent, 40 1s, design Stage 7Mill Street, 54 units, design stage 8 Shorefields, 46 units, design stage. Two other schemes (Leta Claudia and Thirlmere) not shown on the map are on site in north Liverpool. public housing provision has a new way of building publicly CI/SfB (Amw) (1976 revised) (Amw) But the Liverpool new-build co-ops are totally different. The tenants are not being asked to participate or be involved—they are actually and firmly in control: they choose the professionals they want to work for them, they choose the site, the layout, the floor plans, the elevations, the brick colour and the landscaping—albeit within the normal yardstick restrictions—and, when built, they manage and maintain the estate. The implication of all this for architects and other professionals is immense. Only a handful of firms are involved in the work so far but already they have developed a unique new style of working. Instead of being accountable to council committees or housing association managers, they are accountable to the consumers who are making very different demands on their talents. The architect’s vision, technical expertise and design skill are as important as ever, but, in addition, a new range of knowledge and skills has to be learned. no absentees from the co-op meeting Tonight they are finalising details of their floor plans. Some people are opting for a combined kitchen/diner, others a combined living room/diner, while some want three separate rooms. Coppin moves from table to table, pointing out problems and suggesting ideas on cach person’s layout: “If you want a carpet in your dining room, the last thing you want is french windows into the garden as that’s your only access.” ‘Why not switch the sink round so that you can reach the drainer better?’ You'll get more space in the living room if you turn the staircase round the other way.” Mostly his advice is heeded, occasionally ignored—it’s up to the future occupant to decide—unless the co-op as a_ whole considers the chosen design so bad as to seriously jeopardise future lettability. In the end, the Mill Street Co-op opts for six basic house types with 16 variations Design mectings have become a regular feature of Liverpool 8 nightlife. The previous evening, a few streets away, 10 members of the design committee of the Shorefields Co-op were deciding on brick colour and elevations for their 46 new homes with three architects from Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon. Daye Ainsley displayed coloured Pantone drawings with a range of They're not houses for people. 1 think the options, 7. After discussion, one banded council housing thing is going to dic out and brickwork solution was rejected because it more houses are going to be built like we're 2 Fohn surveys the site of the co-op’s 46 new homes from afifthfloor access balcony ofdoomed tenements in Liverpool8 where most of the co-op members now live. They wilbe the first new homes built on land controlled by the Merseyside Development Corporation. The site for the International Garden Festival ts in the distance 3 The last days of back to back terraces around Weller Street where 61 families formed Liverpool’s first new-build co-op. Their new homes, mostly complete, are les than half a kilometre away. looked too ‘Noddy-like’. Another suggestion was ruled out because it was too ‘Corpyish’, that is, too much like Liverpool City Council housing The first thing that most co-ops tell their the major spur for the housing co-ops, and few cities better demonstrate the tragic and like those built by the council. ‘Council costly failure of Britain’s public housing. housing is the worst housing ever,’ said Despite having a ‘gross surplus’, almost one- architects is that their homes must not look atOxford Polytechinix 74 CUSIB (Amw) John doing it. It’s more personal—each one personally designed—and it doesn’t cost any more.’ Reaction to ‘Corpy’ housing has indeed been Bailey, chairman of Shorefield Co-op, 34-year-old Bailey, chairman of the Shorefield Co-op ‘Ivs boring, pathetic, inhuman—like someone went into the architect's department and said, “I want 400 houses—get the drawings in by half-three.”” unemployed bricklayer ee AJ 8 September 1982 AJ 7 July 1982 | { 0were ageriene Sr Co-op leaders put the council’s failures down to the fact that tenants w not involved in design and, as a result, the council did not build what people wanted. Furthermore, tightly knit communities were broken up in the rehousing process, causing widespread alienation, which, coupled with irresponsive management and maintenance, led to uncontrollable var m and violence They are convinced that their new homes will not suffer the same fate. For a start, al the co-ops are building on sites close to their old homes (se map and picture) and, by movir masse, the intricate web of family and kir ship ties and local associations will not broken In addition, their involvement in the design and construction process will give them a pride in their homes which no council tenant ever has ‘Once you've designed it yourself you're going to look after it,’ stated one co-op member. ‘You’re not just going into somewhere they’ve built for you. Council estates deteriorate, but ours aren't going to be like that. They’re going to be the best.” In a letter to a local councillor, the chairman of one co-op wrote: ‘Apart from the ambition which comes from the very fact that we are doing something for ourselves there are also prevalent feelings ofbeing part of, taking part in, belonging to and being. It is a very healthy attitude that is positive and contagious.” The community architects Four Liverpool architectural practices are currently working with co-ops Brock Carmichael Associates (two schemes); Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon (three schemes); McDonnell Hughes (one scheme); and Wilkinson, Hindle and Partners (three schemes). They range from small to medium-sized practices, engaged in a variety AJ]8September 1982 brick colours with architect Dave Ainsley at an architect Mike Padmore to help them choose landscaping for 6] UNITS OF FAMILY HOUSING FOR WELLER STREETS HOUSING COOPERATIVE LTD MINERAL CONTRACTOR WM TOMKINSON& SONS LTD. ; i cheSupparrcommemtryarcemexeurewey CommunityDevelopmentProject(CDP)privateinitiat ee ba. fora numberofyearsattheAands at Oxford Polytechnic okihete CUSIB (Amw) : re 4Some of the Weller Streets Co-op members ture to celebrate the beginning of work on site, August 1980. 5 The Thirlmere Co-op is addressed by 1s secretary, Mrs Martin, in the local church hall where itholds al itsmeetings 6Architect David Wilkinson discusses site with mem 1Co-op Shorefield Co-op’s design committee chooses rT scheme. ae grecimenre ny ryury198zZ = t that are having their top floors cut off to form single-storey houses at a cost of £20 million. Only last month the council agreed THE LIVERPOOL BREAKTHROUGH \ ‘ evening meeting. ler Streets Co-op members visit the Ness university botanical gardens with landscape third of the city’s housing stock of 75 000 units is now classified as ‘hard to let’, including much built since the war. Some 6000 homes are empty because no one will live in them. Much is scheduled for demolition, some is undergoing desperate last ditch surgery, like the ’50s walk-up flats pose for a pict to demolish some *50s low rise housing wernerere 54 "for anum! atOxford Polytechnic —-7-+ _ 74 CISEB (Amw) AJ7 July 1982 ray Grafton Street Cis 20m 19 z ; of work throughout the Liverpool area. In services all but two of those currently in existence. In a special pamphlet for co-ops called Choosing an architect, CDS describes the architect’s appointment as ‘one of the most important decisions that the co-op will take.... The architect is the co-op’s employee, agent, teacher, adviser, designer, negotiator.’ It also stresses that ‘the co-op and its architect will work together very closely for up to three years and the human or personality angle will be very important.” CDS provides co-ops with a list of firms it considers competent from which to short- list, although co-ops can of course add to the list if they choose. The pamphlet lists questions which might be asked at the interview, for instance: “What was the worst mistake you ever made as an architect?” While advising on procedure, CDS plays no part in final selection: this is up to the co- ops. The chairman of one co-op described the judging criteria as: Community Development Project (CDP) private initiatives have been more errective” by architects working with co-ops. 10 Grafton (Brock Ca rmichael). A central pedestrian spine and minimum car penetration provides an easily defensible core for the close- knit community. 11 Shorefields (Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon). Rejecting anything remotely addition, Merseyside Improved Houses 1s doing one scheme in-house. Invariably the architects actually doing the work are in their twenties or thirties. The starting point for architects is being interviewed by the co-ops, & process conducted with remarkable rigour. The co- ops usually insist on visiting previous examples of the architect's work, followed by an interview. One co-op interviewed no less than eight architects and made its choice by secret ballot using a non-transferable vote system. Co-ops are advised by their co-op agency on how to select an architect. The most active agency so far has been CDS, a non-profit- making registered housing association with a stock of 900 houses in the area controlled by avoluntary management committee elected from tenants and co-ops buying its services. CDS has played a pioneering role in getting the new-build co-op movement rolling, and 9 Ground floor plans for the Shorefield Co-op. Of 20 alternatives drawn up by Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon, the co-op chose the topfour shown. The bottom one was evolved with three families who wanted separate dining rooms overlooking the rear garden. A wide variety of site layouts has been evolved ‘| The people must be the ones who tell the architects what should bebuilt. 2 The architects’ involvement with the co-op must be total. 3The architects should act as advisers and scribes. (Tell us what is and isn’t possible and suggest alternatives.)’ Communicating and learning Selection over, the first task is educa- tional—for the architects to discover the needs and aspirations of the co-op (both individually and collectively), and for the co- op members to learn about architecture and the building process. ‘It’s like teaching the first three years of an architecture course to 70 people in 6 weeks,’ said architect Bill Halsall, partner in Wilkinson, Hindle and Dartners, ‘but it’s a mutual process. It is possibly more important for the architect to be able to listen and learn, and in the process unlearn previous professional preconcep- tions.” AJ 8 September 1982 Fol'years atihe AA and wscurrently afacarch musent 74 ‘Corpyish’, the co-op opted for semi-detached houses in spec-style arcadian layout, a solution made possible by a virgin unrestricted site. 12 Weller Streets (Wilkinson, Hindle). A courtyard scheme with six houses per court. 13 Leta Claudia (Wilkinson, Hindle). The solution for this long narrow site was evolved using a flexible model. Unlike other co-ops, old people wanted to be separate from families and their bungalows are grouped at the top right round a communal room/co-op office. 14Elevations for Grafton reflect a desire for a change, something different from normal council schemes. make design decisions’. All the architects have used models of various kinds, but in the end found that drawings are the most effective design tool which, perhaps surprisingly, people soon find easy to use and understand. ‘At first we couldn’t understand drawings,’ said Francis Mogan, secretary of Mill Street Co-op, ‘but once Martyn (the architect) had sat down and drawn little people and furniture on them, people soon got the hang of it.’ The architects have similarly found that people soon grasp the complexities of government yardsticks, Building Regu- lations and space standards, so that, as one put it, ‘cost yardstick densities are bandied around as easily as the latest supermarket prices’. Through developing a close working rela- tionship, professional barriers are broken down. ‘Professional people are no longer faceless. We’ve broken down the language barrier and learned how to handle the professional mystique,’ said one co-op chairman. Another said: ‘Professional people usually think they're better, superior. We didn’t know what they were about at first; now we know they’re people who can be very useful.” ‘The co-ops have an enormous loyalty to their architects, vying with each other as to whose is best,’ said CDS development officer Paul Lusk. ‘People talk about “our” architect, which isincredible when you think how architects were thought of a few years ago.” Each co-op has different priorities and these are reflected in the design solutions they evolve with their architects. The layouts of the schemes on the drawing board, for instance, vary considerably, Some have gone for semis, some for a more urban streetscape with small courts and alley ways. One scheme has old people in three single-storey houses, while another has integrated the old people in special flats which are deliberately indistinguishable from adjacent housing. The co-ops also vary in the extent to which they encourage individual eccentricities. Some have restricted themselves to a limited range of house types; in others almost every house is different. Same fee—harder work Inevitably working this way involves The practices vary in their relationships with local hall but regularly visit the architects’ architects in a great deal more work than deal with internal layouts and finishes. Most co-ops set up a design base in a convenient Wilkin, are ‘the most effective way of choices. To avoid this they see competition allowing people without design skills to between architects in getting the work as 55 AJ 8 September 1982 offices. they would have devoted to an equivalent ‘An early breakthrough was to sit around a amount of public housing in the past—an table—instead of round a room,’ claimed estimated 7hr per week over two years, Halsall. ‘It was psychological—developing a according to one architect. Yet, although it is the co-ops and are developing and refining new techniques all the time. A common early ploy is to give everyone a tape measure. “The most useful phase ever was when people measured the furniture in their own homes, cut it out in cardboard and fitted it on plans,’ said Coppin. ‘They were getting physically involved and it was the most useful device for getting past the threshold of people just thinking they were getting a new home.’ Architect Mike McDonnell visited al his co- A variety of techniques have been used to op members in their own houses. “It was familiarise people with the design process old rope, designing council housing,” workman-like attitude—and helped develop too early for those involved to have made a the idea ofprofessionals and co-op members working together on an equal basis rather than the architect lecturing. The first architectural discussion is how you organise yourself in the room.’ final calculation, at 6 per cent of contract price the work is stil thought to be profitable. CDS believes that this merely demonstrates that for 60 years architects of public housing have simply not been doing their work thoroughly. ‘It’s been money for and make them aware of the options and claimed Lusk. ‘Architects didn’t put invaluable. It gaye me a tremendous insight into what people were like and really helped with discussions.” Some co-ops have opted for having a design committee which liaises with the architect, work were shown using slides or an epi- CDS’s main concern now is that architects others have involved everyone al the time. diascope. Coach trips to see other examples should not try to save time by bull-dozing One co-op set up an ‘outside’ committee to of housing and landscape are extremely through their own ideas instead of deal with layout and an ‘inside’ committee to popular and, according to Dave Innes presenting co-ops with a wide range of choices open to them. Kids haye made models at school and taken part in painting competitions of houses. Examples of other anything in apart from reading design guides on what people were thought to want and producing standardisedplans.” CUS (Amv) AJ 7July 1982 ay jury T9sZ THE LIVERPOOL BREAKTHROUGH foughtintoSaltiey,Birmingnam,vyureeevee:VS——— Z~ Cane Project (CDP) private initiatives have been more effective the Support community architecture group in London. He taught for a number of years at the AA and is currently a research stedent atOxford Polytechnic Community Development overtime rates dedicated difficulty 1s An additional absurd financial that architects are not guaranteed any fecs at all until the site 1s purchased, by which ume a substantial amount of work has already been done. Some firms have had to work for up to two years Wjthout receiving any income and with the prospect that if the project fell through they w ould never receive any involved in the Despite this, all the architects work are finding 1t extremely stimulating ‘Working with a co-op presents the architect with an opportunity to open design precon- ceptions to criticism from which to learn,’ wrote Danielle Pacaud of Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon. ~There are obvious gains gers having first st the stirring of concludes Work enjoyable. Itisthemostrewarding discovered homes hav: designer under CUSIB (Amw) AJ7 July 1982 the architect’s imagination from the rman mee a neighbourhood and build new homes designed to their own specifications to be owned, controlled, managed and maintained by themselves 1s 4 remarkable one for which there is not space here. Now, though, the battles are over and most of the co-op members are settling down in their new homes and proudly showing visitors around, casually pointing out snagging details which would normally only be spotted by 2 trained building surveyor and monitoring the final construction process ‘What's going to happen behind this wall here, Bill (the architect)? If we don’t fil it with earth it’s going to become a rubbish trap.’ Bill agrees, and a solution 1s quickly 15 Members of the Thirlmere Co-op discuss the site layout for their 40 new homes on site with architects from Merseyside Improved Houses 16 Weller Streets Co-op ‘dig-in’, August 1980. Everyone in the co-op joined in to clear the site. Four lorryloads of cobble-stones were gathered and used later for landscaping. The event was also a good morale booster ata slack time between design and construction. essential. An architect who skimped would never get another job, at least in Liverpool On the other hand, the anti-social hours that architects have to work can create stresses within practices (and marriages), and the amount of extra work required would not be possible for practices paying normal Architects have to be in users rather than man ect, not mines local authority housing, as well as from the overriding emphasis on cost In eloper housing. On reflection, the co- ive works so well that to return to other systems of housing production would seem for us a step backw ards into contradictions whose resolution has been the first new-build co-op scheme is already three-quarters built and provides grounds for hope. This is the Weller Streets Co-op which is also important because it 1S having a vital call on an arc the imagination of the pressure tO consider primarily trying to live in his or her buildings rather than trying to organise the smooth management of them.” A report by Innes Wilkin, Ainsley, Gommon with co-ops is proving very experience in housing design that we have had as a practice Or as individuals. It releases stereotype of t building user conceived from a housing manager's point of view that agreed before we move on The scheme comprises 10 courts with six houses around each ‘We wanted itsmall and intimate,’ said one co-Op member. The courts were designed as the key to estate management, with decision making devolved to each court as much as possible They are seen as communal rather than public open spaces, where toddlers can play freely, although they are linked by a network of paths and the public are free to wander through. However, care was taken in the planning to ensure that they won't be used as short cuts, 12. Significantly the co-op had to fight hard for the courtyard layout because the city owsoe Paving the way Whether the universal optimism by tenants ind professionals involved is well founded will not be finally proved until the new din for some years. But ‘demonstration effect’ in stimulating the growth of Liv erpool’s other Co-Ops Much of the philosophy and techniques of communal design and participation Which are now becoming Widespread in Liverpool were evolved by the Weller Streets Co-op, CDS and architects, Wilkinson, Hindle and Part- ners. ‘Weller Streets paved the way by showing that the seem y impossible could be achieved,’ said Walter Menzies, special projects manager of Merseyside Improved Houses—Liverpool’s largest housing associa- tion—which 1s now moving into new-build co-ops and already has two under its wing in its role as an enabling agency The story of how 61 families living in sordid back to back slums, galvanised by their local milkman, fought bureaucracy and political inertia to make history by getting £1-3 million of public money to buy land in their AJ 8 September 1962 AJ7 July 1982 57 AJ 8 September 1982 THE LIVERPOOL BREAKTHROUGH engineer insisted there should be 4 Jitter every day. In practice, people take a designed by its users to be maintained by its hammerhead to accommodate articulated pride in doing it,’ said the co-op chairman. users—a concept which could offer an alter- lorries turning in each one. This would have (The co-op symbolically got its own back on native to the current choice between an completely destroyed the co-op’s concept by the city engineer by insisting on calling its increasing burden of landscaping main- requiring 12 houses round each court instead new street ‘Weller Way’ despite his protesta- tenance or a featureless, bland environment of six. ‘The whole point was that we didn’t tions about the “obvious implications’ .) attempting the unachievable goal of no want articulated lorries turning in our The designissimpleand almost utilitarian, 17. maintenance.’ Residents 1n each court had courtyards,’ said a co-op member. The city The same red brick is used throughout their own ideas and preferences, so that each engineer stood firm, so the co-op decided to (‘Everyone was in favour of using different will have a very different feel. have the courts ‘unadopted’, which means It, coloured bricks, but everyone wanted redin Weller Streets’ houses are less customised rather than the council, will have to maintain them. It was a decision that no conventional housing association could possibly have taken. their own courts’). “Bay windows were than some of the co-ops’ now on the drawing thought to be a bourgeoisie irrelevance,’ said board, with only six different house types Halsall. ‘Instead they went for super out ofa total of 61 units. (Members picked insulationstandardstocutdownfuelbills.’ outofahattodecide,withineachhouse High priority was given to quality fixings to tYPS> who should have which house, but reduce future maintenance, and to security, many people have since swapped.) A major So far this has not been a problem. ‘Each courtyard has 4 cleaning rota to sweep UP 17 Liverpool’s first new build co-op scheme, Weller Streets, completed summer 1982. 18 Co-op chairman Peter Tyrrel with his family one week after moving into their home. defensible space and ease of management The scheme was designed withmanagement very much in mind and the architects have provided each house with a manual. The co- op could have taken out a management agreement with CDS but, significantly, decided last year to dispense with its services altogether. ‘We feel we've built up sufficient expertise to run it ourselves,’ said a co-op member. ‘If they hadn’t designed their own scheme, they couldn’t have managed it,’ commented Bill Halsall. Landscaping also received high priority, with co-op members visiung other land- scaping schemes (notably Runcorn) and botanic gardens with landscape architect Mike Padmore of COMTECHSA (AJ 7.7.82 p74), 8. According to Padmore, the landscaping is ‘a unique pilot scheme, exploring the possibilities of an environment cy eee ee prUEE UL CIC CHMLITY UTA yoruntary-ana —$—<$—— een currentryWTEsCSCSTUSENT at Oxford Polytechsic Community Development Project (CDP) private initiatives have been more effective 74 CUSEB (Amw) 58 AJ 8 September 1982 AJ 7July 1982 ae sayy re 74 CUSEB (Amw) New horizons Despite their achievement, the Liverpool co- ops have only just begun to explore the potential of user control. The current schemes are being conducted within an extremely tight framework of yardsticks and space standards, which leaves little room for experimentation, creativity and significant individual eccentricity. The present financial arrangements, for instance, are a deterrent to users doing any self-build, since it would just lead to a reduction in the grant. The tight restrictions and control over the form of public housing were introduced in part to protect users against architects who were working at arm’s length. With architects working directly for users, many of the restrictions could be relaxed. Regardless of whether new-build co-ops on the Liverpool model become more wide- spread, those involved think there are extensive possibilities for the lessons and techniques being developed there to be applied in other directions. There is no reason, for instance, why the close working relationship between architects and users existing in Liverpool’s co-ops could not be equally successful in other forms of tenure— for instance equity sharing or even in the private spec market. CDS might well be proved right in denying that Liyerpool’s new-build co-ops represent the end of council housing. ‘It’s the beginning of council housing,’ it says. ‘It’s public sector housing phase Day It may also signal the beginning of a new era for housing architects generally in which users, at last, become the clients. sail 7/pte x ed LPL ILO 19 One of Weller Streets’ 10 courtya rds. There are six houses in each with those for the elderly indistinguishable from the rest. t. ‘ Ao Oe monyhallecys elvideeefiat am Soerent caagaglReSom the rehab co-ops and, having proved themselves, new-build was a_ logical development. Liverpool’s housing policy has three com- ponents, according to chairman of housing, Chris Davies: stopping decay through a massive programme of housing action areas in strict order of need anyway, involving tenants effectively in design requires, by definition, preselection of tenants. This has always been the main stumbling block in the past in this country (although other coun- tries like the Netherlands have been doing it for years (AJ 30.8.78 p374)) because Labour and other politicians fear that they cannot predict who will be in priority need suffi- ciently far in advance. Co-op members, they say, are jumping the waiting list. Liverpool has clearly decided that any injustice in preselection—and indeed acertain amount of self-selection—is far outweighed by the benefits of self-determination and involvement. Tt is significant that many Labour coun- cillors in Liverpool who were formerly opposed to co-ops are now starting to show more enthusiasm, and the council is attempting to allay some criticism by incorporating co-ops in a more compre hensive housing programme. One scheme with Merseyside Improved Houses now on the drawing board will entail offering everyone in a tenement clearance area the choice ofeither forming anew-build co-op or being transferred to municipal accommoda- tion or moving into rehab property. ‘It’s a model of how local authorities should deal with housing,’ said Menzies. row blew up when one member wanted a containing 30 000 properties; cheap green bath, and in the end it was decided that everyone should have white. This reflects partly the co-op’s particularly strong egalitarian principles which are mile of the sites); and new-build for rent evident throughout the scheme, and partly the fact that it was the first and already had enough on its plate. ‘The whole thing was touch and go,’ remarked a co-op member. ‘We only managed to sign the contract two months before the Government’s housing moratorium. We could have fallen by a green bath.’ through housing co-ops and housing associations. The most important breakthrough isthat it is now official council policy that tenants shall be involved in the design of their new rented houses. The council only supports housing associations on that basis. ‘It is the way forward for the public sector,’ said Davies. ‘We've got to have people involved in order to strengthen the community base and to give people more responsibility, self- control and self-respect.” developer housing for sale (2000 have been built, mostly by Barratt’s and Wimpey’s, and most of it sold to people who lived within 1 As the good news ripples through the city, new co-ops are forming faster than the professional services can cope. ‘The trouble now is controlling the co-ops,’ said Davies. ‘We haven’t got money for endless new- build co-ops.” He is in the process ofturning one down and delaying another. Whether Liverpool’s lead will be followed is difficult to determine. Charles Barnes, a DOE principal architect in the North-West, who has dealt with the Liverpool co-ops, is personally enthusiastic about them. But he stressed the importance of local authority support: ‘The local authorities are the key link in al this. They’re providing the funds. This department can’t do anything unless the co-ops have the backing of the local authority.” Inevitably there are stil many unanswered questions, Will the co-ops stand the test of time? Will they manage to maintain the current enthusiasm and involvement to handle maintenance and management effec- tively? What will happen when people start to leave, and others, who were not involved in the design process, take their place? If the public sector were to rely completely on co- ops for al new-build, will some people be left out? The last point is the nub of Labour council’s reluctance to be more positive about co-ops (or any kind of tenant involvement in design)—it does not secure rehousing in strict order of need. Leaving aside the question of whether current waiting list procedure houses people .Pe * ks * ee Tenants’ control for real In the long term the importance of Weller Streets’ scheme is that it happened at all. It has demonstrated beyond doubt that tenants’ control over the process of design and construction of their homes is possible, even efficient. Catherine Meredith, director of CDS, points out that despite delays due to being a pioneer, Weller Streets was the ‘fastest housing association new-build scheme on Merseyside, from land registra- tion to start on site. So much for the argument that participation slows the process down too much.” As a result of Weller Streets’ success, tenants’ contro] is becoming a reality in Liverpool. That the co-ops emerged there is due to a unique combination of local determination, patient hard work over the last decade by a wide range of radical professional enablers, and oscillating party political control of the city council, which culminated in full backing by the ruling Liberal Party, with, significantly, active support from the Tories. Since 1970 rehab housing co-ops have been making their mark in Liverpool, with some two dozen co-ops now having rehabilitated over 1000 properties (AJ 29.6.77 p1215). The co-operative servicing agencies (secon- dary co-ops) and many of the architects now doing the new-build work cut their teeth on PHOTOGRAPHS: CDS 4,16;MIH 5,6,15; COMTECHSA 8;NICK WATES 2,7,18;JOHN MILLS PHOTOGRAPHY 5,17,19. — 74 wt | 1 ‘The failure of many attempts over the last three decades to tackle the problem of inner city decline successfully 1sstriking. Theproportion of national resources devoted to resolving the problem isclearly an important consideration, but it is noricea ble that large sums have been spent to little apparent effect.” (Lord Scarman) for a number of years at the AA and is¢ urremily ® research student at Oxford Polytechsic HERE ILLTHE Architects as fund raisers Many of the so-called community architects work in inner city area with voluntary involved: for instance, Shankland Cox on the groups. These groups have made use of Inner Area Studies, although this involved *Tom Woolley is an architect with experience ranging from community work oa 3Glasgow housing estate 10 practisingwith the Suppor¢ unity architecture group in Londen He twught minimal contact with community groups (AJ 19.1.77 p140), and Rod Hackney, who was brought into Saltley, Birmingham, by the Community Development Project (CDP) ‘urban programme! finance to rehabilitate there (AJ 5.10.77 pp630-636). buildings or even construct new ones. But there have been some encouraging deve- To obtain approval for grant aid, project lopments recently with the establishment by initiators have to demonstrate the feasibility the voluntary sector of some technical aid and likely cost of any building work. For centres. In _ Liverpool there are some time many sympathetic local architects COMTECHSA and the Community Pro- and other professionals have provided this jects Advisory Service, and in Manchester information—usually without payment. The the Community Technical Aid Centre. In early discussions about community architec- Glasgow ASSIST (AJ 10.11.76 pp899-908) ture, for instance In the RIBA Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG) report (AJ 39.11.78 p1023), were verymuch has been offering aid on an informal basis and there are plans for an aid centre in the city. In Newcastle the Architecture Work- concerned about the extent of such shop is increasingly taking on this role. In ‘speculative work’, Some private practices London Support and NUBS (Neighbour- even found that once the project was hood Use and Building Services) exist and approved, local authority architects would plans are well advanced for an organisation attempt to take over and their speculative called CLAWS (Community Land and investment would be wasted. Workspace Services). However, there is stil Experience has shown that community a yawning gap be filled between the architects should know a lot about fund demand and readily available professional raisingsothattheycanassisttheirclientsto advice. obtain the finance for the project as well as their own fees. Over the years it has not been easy for com- munity groups t0 find sympathetic profes- sionals who understand these problems. With the exception of SNAP (the Shelter Neighbourhood Action Project, AJ 3.1.73 pp249-250) in 1969, there have been few organised interventions to provide technical aid to community groups: This is surprising when one looks at the extensive serics of measures aimed at dealing with the inner city’s ‘pockets of deprivation’ or releasing ‘community initiatives’ to tackle social problems, 2. Some private practices did get edoibaCoedol ARD—REPORT ? fs ANDREW WI! 4, Tom Woolley* looks at the crucial issue of community architecture funding in the contextof government strategies to tackle inner city problems of urban deprivation and unemployment. He talks to Tom King,Minister forLocal Government and Environmental Services, about the role of the new Urban Initiatives Fund and examines some of the issues and problems in financing the voluntary sector. The announcement of the Government's £100 000 Urban Initiatives Fund (UIF) is important because it provides additional funding (albeit a small amount) for com- munity projects. It also indicates 4 change of emphasis in its recognition of the contribu- tion of voluntary groups in tackling inner city problems and of the importance of providing professional advice to those groups engaged incapital (building)projects. There is some debate within the profession about whether this new government finance should go to agencies such as community technical aid centres or tOprivate practice. Concern has also been expressed by some (for example, P. Lambert’s letter in AJ 16.6.82 p35) that much of the UIF money might be snapped up by the RIBA to finance its administrative work promoting com: munity architecture rather than going directly to projects. CUSSB (Am) private initiatives have been more effective AJ7July1982 Increasing emphasis on the voluntary sector The interview with Tom King shows that the provision of government funding for government technical support to voluntary initiatives marks 4 significant recent shift in policy emphasis. Despite 14 years of inner city schemes, poverty, unemployment, de- caying environments and social conflict remain. They were brought sharply into focus by the 1981 riots. The Conservative Government, committed to cutting public expenditure, has actually increased its budget for the inner city as 4 result; the traditional urban programme allocation for 1982-83 1s £24-6 million compared with £16-5 million in 1981-82. An increasing share of this money 1s likely to go to the voluntary sector, which is some recognition of the claim that voluntary and \ Carol Bucknell News and Features hs NOQUIR READERS’ ENQUIFha Fach feacur | CISyB The AJ15ave Please appl ; ntlybeen Alison Gauldie BA Buildings BUILDINGS EDI TOR DipUD, RegArch i ISSN 003-3466 Elwyn Jones CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMEN T MANAGER David Thorne SALESOFFICE MANAGER Brian Storey PRODUCTION MANAGER Willie Evans ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER Malcolm Todd AJ7 July 1982 FEATURE SEDITOR dD, wickshank BA NEWS EDITOR Charlorte Bilis DipArch, RegArch ASSISTANT NEWS EDI OR Belinda Ward BA Patrick Haxway Dip ASSISTANT BU Buchanan BArce Lynne Jackson INGS EDITORS ArchitecturalPracticeResearchand Advertising ADVERTISEMEN Roger Beil LONDON AND SOUTHERN AREA MANAGERS T MANAGER Phillip Capstick Malcom Hasniten Barry Law Rickard Maguire BA MIDLANDS AND W ALES MANAGER Ronald Baker NORTHERN AND 5 OTLAND MANAGER Circulation CIRCULATION Eamonn Vincent MANAGER COVER: British architecture for export (see p23). Illustration | based on Moroccan tiledesign Limelite Finishing Specially formulated for use over Limelite Plasters. It is porous, assists rapid drying out of walls- permitting early decoration. | PLASTER | | APRODUCTOF —_— ata Tilcon Limited SPECIAL PRODUCTS DIVISION Limelite Lightweight Plasters— Sales Office |74 COMMUNITY ARCHITECTURE: Where will the money | come from? Tom Woolley discusses the funding of community architecture in the inner city, and interviews local government | minister Tom King about the UIF and the voluntary sector NEWS SECRE TARY Limelite Renovating Controls dampness passing through plastered walls and is also suitable where new damp- proof courses OF systems have been installed. | | 79. ASTRAGAL Vauxhall Cross double; Classicism revived in Shepherds Bush, Winchester and CoventGarden 81 LETTERS: Double takes of people and pictures; Jolly Jencks; Popular views of community architecture |86 HELLMAN ANDDIARY | | 83 REPORT: LDDC planners put to the test; Commons favour Vauxhall Cross SDO; Lubetkin’s Gold; Bristol’s fate reconsidered THE ARCHITEC TS’ JOURNAL | 7JULY 1982 Editorial Consultant DACA, Bayne© BE, Hon FRIBA | SECRETARY TO THE EDITORIAL CONSULTANT NUMBER 27 VOLUME 176 Please use the yellow AJ Reader’s Enquiry Card atthe backofthis journal when seeking information about products of trade literature advertised or reviewed in this issue It helps both the manufacturer and the AJ to know the original source of the enquiry Editor LeiteReiremsten é E Information Library TECHNICAL EDI TOR MA, MA(Arch), RIBA TIVE TECHNIC ‘AL EDITOR 1sMSc NT TECHNICAL EDITORS Anthony Ferguson MSc BArch, RIAS Graham Parsey ASSIST TYPRODUCTS EDITOR Jane Taylor BSe (Eng) LIBRARIAN Dorechy Ponrin ALA Limelite Cement Backing Dry bagged LIGHTWEIGHT plasterwith similar properties to 4 1:1:6 cement:lime:sand mortar. The ideal backing - offering a hard durable background surface, developing very little suction. Lingerfield, Scotton, Knaresborough North Yorkshire HGS 9JN Telephone: Harrogate (0423) 864041 Telex: 57471 | Gillan Collymore EDITORIAL SEC RETARY ¥ CARDS; Amew form oJ lypaid en be Al prices quored are for pounds sterling For more details enter 1748 on AJ enquiry card | Telex 8953505 —_—_— SS a ee em | Ealing |Greenwich 8 13 | |Haringey = 1 ee OFINNERcity| |THE FAILURE FROM |Havering - _Hounslow 8 |POLICIES: EXTRACT AGOVERNMENT REPORT* | 4 | |andChelsea — 13 | | didnot | ‘Local authorities |Lewisham |Merton |Newham |Redbridge |Southwark |Tower Hamlets |Waltham Forest 3 8 2 4 3 7 2 | |explicitly and consistently |attempt to channel traditional 6 — urban programme funds |towards the worst areas.’ 12 | — | 138 | | | | | 2 5 = |Harrow 1 1 | | Borough Local Volun- | Kensington 5 2 Wandsworth 4 6 4 6 | |Westminster — |TLEA |GLC TOTAL 3 | 14 author- tary | ity organisa- | projects tion | projects | 3— — 3 | Barking |Barnet 1 6 | Bexley 3 1 | |Brent 1 = | |Bromley |Camden |Croydon 3 8 1 66 1 | 3 | 13 | | one lar e~ Selected bibliography - The urden programme, the partnerships at work, Department of the Enviroament, 198) Review ofthetraditions!urbanprogramTMs Department ofthe Environment Inner Cities Directorate, March 1950 Donnison, D. and Soto, P The good city, Heinemann, 1980 The Econoreist, 13.382 pP 40-32, 10.4.82 pp3?-35, 2, 82 pp3e-+0. Eversley, D. ‘Retrospects and prospects’, The Planner,November 1981 Gough, L.,Thepolitical economy of the Welfare State, Macmillan, 1979, Hall, P. (ed) The inner cary te context, Social Scence Research Council, 1981 Potiey for the anner calves, HMSO, June 1977 The Brixton dirordert, H MSO, November 198) Whosefoun1IrayeHMSO,1952,(ReportofDurham conference) Home, R. K. Inner city regeneration, Spon, 1982.* Jones,C. (e4.) Urban deprrvatior and the inner <tly, Croom Helm, 1979 Lawless, P. Britain's tuner cities, Harper and Row, 1981." London Comenunity Work Service Newsletter, June 1952, No4l, Urban Aid Supplement Nabarro, R. and McDonald, L. “The urban programme’, The Planner, November 1978. Inver city mettoork, National Council for Voluntary Organisacion®, May 1952 Steen,A.D.Newlifeforoldcxticeaiofmindsustry,198) Regenerating our snner cities, Trades Union Congress, July 1981 *AJ ‘best bays’ OF FUNDS FOR TARY GROUPS* [HISTORY OFINNER CITY | Contact the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, Inner Cities Unit, 26 Bedford Square, | | London, WCIB 3HU (001-636 4066) \4 eS | POLICIES | | | | | | and Education Priority Areas. | 1968 Two weeks after Powell’s | ‘Rivers of blood’ speech, Callaghan lau nches Home | Office run Urban Aid Programme, Community Development Projects (CDPs) | | Urban Development | Corporation and Enterprise | Zones established. | «Many projects funded by local | |authorities, however, didseem— | |Urban programme: | (a) traditional urban programme |for deprived areas not including | inner city partnership and rogramme authority areas (b) inner city programme— partnership and programme authorities Local authority grants—rates funded Local education authorities— especially youth services Conservation—most architects will be aware of these sources The Sports Council Tourist boards The Arts Council | Health authorities | European social fund, EEC | The Prince of Wales Committee | Charitable sources Parish funds Commerce and industry Breweries—where licensed bars are included in schemes |Manpower Services Commission | | Liverpool8. As well as running jts own direct jabour | team, theNewcastle workshop hasmoved from being an environmental education 1972 | New Conservative Government commissions Inner AreaStudies. Peter Walker pratses SNAP. | resource [0 becoming 4 technical advice | service, But, aS competition for funds becomes fiercer, the survival of even this | |1973 enterprise 1s 1n question (AJ 9.6.82 p38). | 1982 Large increase in inner city spending announced. | | FJome Office Urban | Riots in Brixton, Toxteth, Moss Side, ete. Heseltine becomes M inister for Merseyside. | workers with tradesmen supervisors, has managed to employ 4 site architect to super vise their building projects, but he is paid £89 a week while the supervisors he instructs get £116 a week. |4969 ShelterNeighbourhoodAction | | Project(SNAP) setup1 | 4979 | Heseltine announces poltcy | review. Local government and | other spending cuts stepped up. | Centre for Environmental | Studies closed. | | to fall under the category of | | “more of the same”’.’ | | <Yoluntary sector projects | appeared,onthewhole,tofulfil | more of the traditional urban | sinner Cities Directorate, DOE, 1980 3i ) 1978 Inner Urban Area Act comes | practices with expertise in community Pro jects and technical advice centres. An exampleofthis partnership isthe Design Co-operative's close relationship with the nearby Community Technical Aid Centre in Manchester. However, such developments are themselves hampered by shortage of funds to which the UIF will only make a small contribution. | into force. Partnership scheme | | 15 ‘programme authorities’. Urban aid continues as “rraditional urban ard’. | Ian Finlay, of the Design Co-operative and | chairmanof the RIBA’s Projects Committee, ser up, with bulk of money going £0partnership areas and | | Architect as enabler Finance is likely to be one of the main topics under debate tomorrow, 8 July, at the RIBA’s community architecture conference. No clear policy has yet emerged from the RIBA, but it seems likely that the emphasis will be on a partnership between private believes that the Government will have to provide increased finance for such develop- ments. He, like Rod Hackney (AJ 13.1.82 p22), considers that it is time that free architectural advice 15 available like legal aid and most medical services. He argues that environmental problems are often at the root of medical and legal issues, and that local authorities are increasingly unable oF unwilling to tackle such problems. However, until funding is adequate and pro- vides for the essential professional contribu- tion to the job, it will be difficult to evaluate just how effective professional enabling can be. The imaginauon, skill and commitment are there, but theireffective application is threatened by 4 combination of bureaucracy and shortage of moncy- *From the London Community Work ServiceNewsletter | Deprivation Unit set up. | 1974 | Comprehensive community | programmes setup. | | 4977. CDPs closed down and Home | Office refuses 10 publish final | report. Labour Government | | | publishes White Paper on | policy for the inner cities and | DOE takes over responsibility from Home Of Ice. programme criteria than those | ‘submitted by local authorities.’ *Further information may be obtained from three | papers which will be available shortly Funding and planning a pacant building project, Funding skills and rechnacal support, and The role of local authorities. _— —= |1982 URBAN PROGRAMME | |PROJECTS IN LONDON* | AJ7 July 1982 Fighting for fees to the voluntary Given a shift in emphasis sector, will it be any easier for community groups to get professional advice? Urban aid and partnership funds for capital projects usually allow for fees at normal RIBA rates. These only become available once a project is approved. But thecrucial work is usually to establish the feasibility of projects: few voluntary groups can raise enough funds to mect the hourly charges of the professionals engaged in thisessential work. Experience in the field hardens some to this problem. The Design Co-operative in Manchester told me that it always charges £10 an hour after attending one or two initial meetings. In order to pay for such unfunded fees, some groups raise the money in 2 variety of ways, ranging from local authority grants to jumble sales. do give free In some cases local authorities assistance to voluntary groups in preparing applications, but this is very rare. Local councils of social service may attempt to co-ordinate applications to ensure that those most likely to succeed are pushed forward. However, many promising initiatives fail to get past the first stage. The usual pattern of project funding is to put together money from a variety of sources, 5. Typically, 4 redundant or tem- porary building isacquired for low costwith financial assistance from the local authority, urban programme money pays for materials and fees and the Manpower Services Com- mission (MSC) pays for building labour. Any shortfall comes from fund raising and private sources. expertise The accounting and management to co-ordinate this work is considerable, especially when some agencies persistently fail to recognise the problem. The MSC, for instance, assists many projects through its Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP) and Community Enterprise Programme (CEP). However, the MSC has completely failed to recognise the importance of professional input to projects. Many job creation schemes involve building work and the MSC regional committees always demand ahigh degree of technical detail, drawings, specifications, work programmes, cash flow schemes, plan- ning permission etc before approval is given. But even after approval no allowance is made in the funding arrangements for professional fees. this A number of projects have overcomearchi- problem by employing unemployed tects and technicians on their schemes. The Neweastle Architecture Workshop, for example, employing 20 trainee building > 75 lu arecent conference organised by the Labour Co-ordinating Committee, called ‘Beyond welfare’, has started discussions about more democratic and attractive objectives for the Welfare State. Itsuggests that local authority services should be devolved and demo- cratised, but there have been few steps (0 develop this in public architecture offices. It therefore seems likely that, in future, private and voluntary initiatives will be to the fore. in terms of the urban programme, despite the fact that the voluntary sector has received only asmall portion ofavailable funds. Apart from massive expenditure on expen- sive research (for instance, Inner Area Studies and CDPs) 75 per cent of traditional urban aid allocations between 1968 and 1969 went to local authorities. When implement- ing the cuts, local authorities have used inner city money to keep departmental pro- grammes going, rather than evaluating the most effective ways of spending It. This clearly influenced Lord Scarman in his strongly worded condemnation of the failure of inner city policies (sec caption to fig 1). The DOE’s own Inner Cities Directorate has produced evidence to support this picture, J. Some local authorities in London stil do not give grants to voluntary groups, 4, but in other areas urban aid andpartnership funds have become a lifeline to a whole range of esssential projects. The competition between groups to obtain such funds is fierce and there are always many more applications than money to meet them (for example, there were £1-5 million’s worth of bids for £0-5 million of partnership money in Manchester last year. In some areas attempts are made [0 COo- ordinate applications, but the overall short- age of money leaves a great deal of dissatis- faction. The most successful groups are arguably those that are most sophisticated in assembling finance rather than those most capable of doing an effective job. Because of the expertise required to tap such funds, an inner city network of highly professional organisations has grown Up, many advising or servicing voluntary groups to the extent that the term ‘voluntary’ sector issomething of a misnomer. A Ao THE MINISTER’S VIEW Tom King, the Minister for Local Government arid Environmental Services, was worried about inner city projects becoming dependent on state finance when I talked to him recently in his Marsham Street office. His solution is to ‘get the voluntary sector moving’, and he em- phasised that ‘public money will never do all the jobs because there is such a massive amount to be done. The Government will do what it can but its skill is to get the maximum gearing with other funds coming in to support projects.” He was prepared to admit that ‘under the squeeze, local authorities tended to cut the voluntary side to protect their own programmes’, but pointed out that the recent increases in budget would benefit voluntary groups. However, King stressed that projects should not expect to recetve a continual injection of public money: ‘I don’t automatically subscribe to the idea that they are all by definition totally unsustainable or unviable in their own right.’ His policy ts to cut out waste and help in a cost- effective way to encourage projects that will be self-financing. Groups obtaining funding under urban programme schemes will be given time limits to stop them running on and on, he said. Part of this strategy of increased support to voluntary groups ts to encourage technical and professional advice. This is the main purpose of the Urban Initiatives Fund (UIF). King explained that the idea of a fund had emerged from discusstons during the European Cam- paign for Urban Renaissance (ECUR) (AF 6.1.82 p21). Despite criticisms from people like David Eversley, who called wt an ‘intellectual middle-class professional movement’, King considers that ECUR has been a success—its exhibition of demonstration projects had ‘stimulated people around the country 10see what they could do themselves’. King believes in the power of example and hopes that good professional advice would encourage more successful voluntary projects in urban renewal. He sees COMTECHSA* as an example of effective professionalassistance. He would not say what criteria had been used to assess the many applications which have well exceeded the £100 000 available in the UIF, but a decision on its allocation ts expected shortly. Applicants have to match any grant pound for pound, bur King hopes that a number of differ- ent approaches will be supported so that the most successful can be evaluated in use. Look- ing into the ‘foreseeable future, he said that the fund would be renewed each year. «Cocamunity Technical Services Agency, based inLiverpool. Itis financed langely by Inner City Partnership fiands. In 1980-81 its budges was £61 000, which isas indication ofbow thinly spread the£100000UIFmvoncywillbe.COMTECHSA ismanagedby representatives ‘ofthe community groups Htserves and local sympathetic professionals. Restructuring the Welfare State Early critics of community architecture, such as the New Architecture Movement’s Public Design Service Group, saw com: munity architecture as a threat to local authority departments. While some see current developments as recognition that voluntary groups do a better job than the more bureaucratic local authorities, others warn against the dangers of state services being whittled away and replaced with cheaper private groups which exploit the social concern and goodwill of unpaid volunteers. Much of this has been seen in the social services, where cuts in home help and nursing services, for instance, have put more burden on low income families. However, Ian Gough, in his book, The political economy of the Welfare State, argues that a preoccupa- tion with the cuts obscures an understanding of what is really happening— @ restructuring of the Welfare State which includesprivatis- ing many state-run services. The present Government has been able to implement many of these changes without much opposition because of widespread public dissatisfaction with public services, particularly in housing and health. Even the left of the Labour Party and the trade union movement has belatedly recognised this, and mame | ARCHITECTURE AS COLONIALISM |Colonialism isnotarelicofthe past—empire building inforeign ey - . “i of this year’s RIBA conference if t there was a genuine desire to listen to people outside the profession. lands—nor tsit just a superficial charge to be levelled at those members oftheprofession who f build models ofMilton Keynes in the Muslim deserts. C aphilosophy that tsvery much alive right here and now in the UK. (It could have been the subject ‘olonialism ts 2 Colonialism always includes three essential processes: the occupation of territory, the resettlement of communities and the destruction of indigenous cultures. If theprofession continues to claim some responsibility for the ‘world about us’ (as this year’s conference title would suggest) then 1tmustalso recognise the colonialist natureof so many of its actions. To absolve itself the profession must accept | 4 humbly, in principle and in practice, that because of our history and our narrow class base, we architects actually know very little about our own subject, ‘the whole environment’. So often we are brutally colonising an area and its people, feeding them only our narrow perception ofculture. Brian Anson in this, the second and final part of ‘Architecture as colonialism’ (Part 1,AF 30.6.82, pp29-44), suggests that the profession can choose one of three routes for the future. Two of them he considers disastrous; the third, ifchosen, will mean that to recognise our profound ignorance will not be depressing—on the contrary it could offer us a genuine cause for celebration in 1984’s Festival ofArchitecture. fie’ AJ 7July 1982 61 an ~— cnSe IEE oe Gio eerie eed ES mera ar ke ae | | | | | | 68 ]Frontis page: What environmental usefor the future of Bootle? 1 The two-faced profession—culturally oe Ay 7July 1952 AJ7 July 1982 we a 3 routes for the profession James Bellini, in his book Rule | Britannia: a progress report for domesday 1986, describes the Britain of a few years hence thus: ‘There will be a small closed world where knowledge is God and the altars are tended by a monastic order of information brokers. And there will be a vast backwater economy around it, where unemployment, menial work, moonlighting, barter and brigandry are | the standard features of everyday life.’ Many would argue that, in parts of the country, that world already exists. Bellini omitted to sketch out its envi- ronmental characteristics but we can imagine them—indeed, in some regions, we can already see them: | decaying industries, decaying housing estates and decaying landscapes. Such dereliction is no longer nicely confined to traditionally poor areas and the inner cities—it is rapidly spreading. Chronic unemployment, leading in many cases todisillusionment, apathy and bad health, prevents even ‘average’ | people maintaining their own personal environment. It is a cancerous phen- omenon which the architectural pro- fession has assiduously ignored. In the first part of this article (AJ 30.6.82, pp29-44) I suggested that the RIBA was perfectly correct to describe architecture as ‘the whole built envir- onment’ and pointed out that this wide- | ranging definition was verified by the fact that no architect (no matter how small the practice) has ever refused a major city development on the grounds that it did not form part of their sphere of knowledge. | Throughout the “60s and ’70s the pro- fession largely neglected its social responsibilities just as it ignored, or more often aided, the breaking-up of indigenous communities in the interests of comprehensive redevelopment— indeed the RIBA president, Owen Luder, is on record as declaring in 1972 that ‘the most successful architects are those who know the property field’. In its current neglect of the growing dereliction which is helping to fuel communal violence, the profession con- tinues to ignore its social responsibility. In the first section of this article I sketched out three community situa- tions with some reference to the ‘spatial culture’ within each environment. The case studies were chosen carefully to illustrate by comparison two of the essential problems of the architectural profession—its inherent ‘colonialist | character and class base, and its pro- found ignorance of the ‘spatial cultures’ of many communities. which way will you go? . a But, as a profession, we have also been in- volved in the other aspect of colonial- ism—the neglect or brutalisation ofthose we have either ignored or seen resettled. As part ofits social responsibility, the profession has never seriously considered how itmight put its talents at the service of those who inhabit the slums and grey areas of our environment. The profession’s general ignorance of the case, to be recruited from the ‘other’ classes. This is not to imply that the profession has a great knowledge of the numerous other ‘cultures’ within our society (rural, suburban etc) but at least architects are closer to these communities. Most architects will totally re- ject the idea that our profession 1s related to a colonialist mentality, yet We really are en- gaged in the same game. To the present day we frequently (and with- out protest) create our architecture on ‘occupied’ land—the compulsory purchase order and the comprehensive development area have been used for the same ultimate purpose (profit) and with the same success as was the bayonet in the past. We ought to have been perfectly aware that, through our architecture, we have aided the ‘forced’ re- settlement of communities of long standing and played a direct part in the destruction of their social cultures. The ‘language’ in the streets of many ‘gentrified’ areas of the UK is totally alien to that heard even a decade ago. These changes (in which the profession was heavily involved) were not slow and gradual, incorporating the best aspects of traditional cultures, often centuries old, but swift brutal acts of aggression. What, after al, is Covent Garden but a classic case of ‘colonialism’? people’s social culture has produced what are now aptly termed ‘the new slums’. Although the architectural profession has largely identical characteristics (as an elite) in the countries of al three case studies (the UK, Ireland and Germany), 4comparison of the ‘cultural strength’ of the three com- munities highlights the subtlety of the British system of social and environmental control, of which our profession is a part. Despite the severe problems it faces, the cul- ture of the Irish community is by far the strongest of the three, ifonly by virtueof the retention of its language. However, the furure is ominous: 4 member of the West Donegal community writing [0 the European Court of Human Rights received the reply that ‘no further letters in Gaelic will be acknowledged’. The German community, although with a similar working-class history to Bootle, is the ‘culturally’ stronger of the two. One explana- tion for this is that European communities, owing to their continuing history of wars, revolutions and occupations (and thus resist- ance), have a greater ‘sense’ of struggle ofall kinds, including community action. Architecture as colonialism Colonialism, in pursuit of profit and power, always involves three essential processes: the occupation of territory, the resettlement of communities and, to consolidate its con- | quest, the destruction of indigenous cultures. Having no interest in those com- munities the occupation of whose territories would bring neither power nor profit, it ignores them. Those it resettles it always ignores, in some cases first brutalising them. | Colonialismisnot4relicofthepast(empire- | building in foreign lands), it is @ philosophy—very much alive—which sees territory as merely a profit, of power making mechanism. As he threw starving | peasants of West Donegal off the land in 1849, the words of Lord Brougham that “it is the landlords inalienable right to do as he pleases, otherwise money will cease to be invested in land’ were only a more honest | version of those of one particular GLC | chairman, who in 1970 informed the Covent Garden architects and planners that they | should have nothing to do with community organisations because ‘they are more trouble than they are worth’. In its basic objectives, colonialism 1s more successful in its own domain than in ‘foreign | lands’. The British working class has been, justifiably, described as ‘the last colony of the British Empire’. If my reference to working-class culture seems excessive it is because this class has been the most neglected or brutalised by the architectural profession which tends, in any illiterate. (Illustration by Brian Anson.) i —e AJ7 July 1982 ARCHITECTURE AS COLONIALISM ART IN ACTION BRIAN ANSON "=noo eeeeee ee eb eA As regards Bootle, |know from personal ex- | perience that I totally failed to understand | how brutal and oppressive the environment of the dockland community was until I had left it. Jingoism, false patriotism and propa: ganda still prevent—as they did in my child- hood—the poorer communitics of the UK from fully appreciating the extent to which they have been conned into accepting, among other things, 4deprived environment of scandalous proportions. However, as the communal riots (with their shocking results) have proved, things are rapidly changing. Timidity isbeing replaced by community anger and violence towards the environment. The architectural profes- sion cannot hide from this; first because, as architects, we have a clear duty to face up to the problems of the ‘whole built environ- ment’, and, second, because the anger will | not be contained. I suggest that there are three basic routes | which could be followed and the future of the profession will depend upon which one we choose. 2 This year’s conference theme, but some worlds | are ignored. 3 Option two: defensive architecture. | | | | 70 vo AJ 7July 1982 AJ7 July 1982 uf > Route 1: ‘Steady as she goes’ This will be a continuation of the profession’s present course—really two routes in parallel but not in conflict, despite their different appearances. At one level is a profession obsessed with advertising, directorships, liabilities and ever-larger combines. Concomitant with this will be the continued expansion of architecture as an international pure ‘art’ form, complete with drawing sales, _ exhibitions, cultural jamborees and a continuous search for quiet cathedral towns (rapidly diminishing in number as Bellini’s ‘brigandry’ spreads) in which it can continue to ‘talk to itself? and ‘rage’ over the latest stylistic ‘battles’. For both profession and society the results of this course will be disastrous. Society will lose out because, despite its social failing and ineptitude, the profession has a wealth of creativity to offer all the people in this country. Architecture will lose because it will bring upon itself the naked hostility of a growing community of people who sce that they have as much right to a civilised habitat as they have to some form of dignified work. As the tensions grow in our society we will be reminded of the old adage that “if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem’. Characteristic of the blindness of the present route is the mind-blowing insensitivity of the RIBA’s decision to hold its 1984 ‘birthday party’ on the theme ‘The art of architecture’ in the drowsy environment ofOxford. Some will argue that the problems outlined in this article are being tackled by the much- lauded new venture of ‘architecture work- shops’, backed by both Government and the RIBA. They have recently becn described as ‘a major breakthrough on a national basis’. Leaving aside the fact that they represent @ minute element in the whole fabric of the profession, their performance so far would suggest that, at best, they are reformist (and paper over the cracks of the real problems) and, at worst, deeply sinister. If the work- shops idea was ‘to combine education and training in the built environment’ (thestated aims of the Newcastle venture), then their ‘curriculum’ must have excluded some very crucial subjects (rack-renting, land speculation, class and cultural take-over and environmental neglect on acriminal scale) or else their ‘pupils’ were mute, docile or architecturally brainwashed at an carly age. One would expect any normal community of people, being provided with the real reasons for their substandard environment, to give vent (at least initially) to a show of anger and protest. No such outburst has yet resulted from the activities of the workshops. On present evidence the advent of the archi- tecture workshops will not alter theexisting course of the profession; it will stil be ‘steady as she goes’—to social disaster and disgrace. This will be a development which acknow- ledges the growth of a violent society and Not al British landlords in West Donegal were brutal; some of them, though patronis- ing, genuinely wished to ‘improve the con- ditions of the peasantry’, yet their land ‘improvements’ depended upon the destruc- tion of the people’s most important cultural traditions—the inherent egalitarianism and countenanced by the system. The plan therefore included ‘safe houses’ for those on the run, Those who would condemn such ascenario as exaggerated and extremist should consider that it was outlined three years before the Liverpool riots. This route would also be disastrous for al sides: not as disastrous as the present route (which will in any case lead to the develop- ment of defensive architecture) for there is evidence that some form of creativity arises out of overt struggle. Yet few couldscriously desire such a scenario if for no other reason than that it would waste the immense amount of creative potential presently lying dormant in our society. There are two specific prerequisites for this path, the only way that gives the profession any chance at al of producing a socially acceptable architecture. The profession must first reject its obsession with corporate imagery and esoteric ‘cultural’ debate, and, having done so, must become involved in a major way with the areas and classes it has so long avoided. The second requirement is crucial: the pro- fession must drop its arrogant belief that it can ‘teach’ the communities of these areas about the environment; such an approach is impertinent in the extreme, given the record of architectural disasters. If their declared in- tentions in the Press are accurate, the RIBA’s Architecture Workshops are afaulty concept from the start, in that they propose to ‘educate’ the people in environmental matters. It is we, the architects, who need the education. The ‘spatial cultures’ outlined in the case studies were the people’s environmental knowledge—information without which any concept for improvement of their environ- ment is facile. I described only three examples (two of them working-class, since I consider the improvement of working-class environment a priority) but every community, whatever its class, has a unique ‘spatial culture’. If we ignore this then we not only design in a vacuum but, ironically, our creativity can actually be destructive. The communities of whole streets identical to the one described in dockland Bootle, but closer to metropolitan centres (particularly London), have been eliminated through the application of, among other things, ‘creative’ ideas. It is good for an architect to make @ humble dwelling more beautiful by the application of design talent, but ifthis results in the landlord (in his determination to get ‘more of this class of person in’) evicting the indigenous community, then the end result js bad. If the architect, in the quite proper aim of brightening up 4 grim environment, eliminates the vital physical elements in the community culture (for example, the blank gable wall which is the only ‘football pitch’ for the local kids), then the end result is again negative. Route 2: ‘Defensive architecture’ I proposed that a block within the area should be deliberately burnt and vandalised and then encased in an (exquisitely designed) glass sheath. It would contain a continuing anti-colonialist exhibition showing not only what Britain did to its colonies, but also how city areas were raped and exploited by the powerful world of property, aided and abetted by our profession. Defensive architecture is not to be confused with Oscar Newman’s theory ofdefensible space (and that is not to devalue his contri- bution to our understanding of architecture). Newman's analysis refers to the defending of space within communities; defensive archi- tecture will deal with whole areas designed in such a way that entire communities not only totally control their neighbourhoods but ensure the ‘other side’ keeps out. It will be created on both sidesof the divide in our society with the majority of the profession continuing to serve the ‘small closed world’ of Bellini’s scenario. A minority ofarchitects who have long endeavoured to put their creative talents at the service of the more de- prived communities will, in their frustration at the profession’s obstinate refusal to libera- lise(letalone‘revolutionise’)itself,developa Route3:‘Celebration’ defensive architecture for their side. There will be a difference in the two styles. One will continue to be ‘a green and pleasant Jand’, but with more private roads and, most importantly, guarded by the State through whatever ‘law enforcement’ arm iteventually creates. The other will be more aggressive in character and with one prime purpose in its design—to keep the State out. Space does not allow detailed description of the numerous examples of defensive architecture which have come out of Belfast in particular in recent years, but they include the ‘creation of open space’ (free-fire zones) by the army and the ‘physical removal’ of modern blocks (designed by architects to make the streets ‘more interesting’) by the Provisional TRA, who feared they would become conyenient observation posts for the army. In 1978 I described the streets of my home city, Liverpool, as ‘Belfastian’ in character and argued that ‘there is little difference between the Falls Road and the Shankill Road and the streets of Liverpool 8’. As an ‘academic’ exercise I designed a piece of defensive architecture for the centre of the city. I will only briefly describe some of the principal elements in the plan, 3. The first objective was to define the area that could be successfully defended against the ‘forces of the State’. Thus market forces (the MEF areas of the plan) are excluded as being too powerful to contend with. The streets of the defensible area are al renamed: ‘Street of Loneliness’, ‘Street of Irish Sorrow’, ‘Sam Driscoll Way’—the first to make the point that architectural training and practice seldom comment on the sad and derelict as- pects of our environment, the second to re- emphasise my contention that architecture has a ‘colonialist’ character and the third in memory of the many ‘ordinary’ people who struggled so hard for a better environment in the days of community action. The project made the point that, despite the fact that ‘participation’, ‘Jocal initiatives’ etc are now fully accepted processes in our establishment philosophy, this does not mean that sofa! control will ever be Oepe tries THO tenet a seg peeee er ae 2 eer Ahe orSN ‘learns how to live with iv. | AJ 7July 1982 Conclusion alone cannot solve the pro- The profession blems that led to the riots but it can recognise the part it played in their creation. Many architects might then join’ those who have taken to the streets, learn from them and, ultimately, co-operate with them in creating a more humane environment. If the profession does not take this route (and ‘a dozen architectural workshops by the end of the year’ is just an insulting gesture) then architects are in for a bad time. of the Perhaps the most dramatic example is the profession’s current social irrelevance high probability that, had the RIBA been located in Liverpool’s Upper Parliament Street or Brixton’s Railton Road and not in salubrious Portland Place, it would now be a burnt out shell. magazinenot- The decorum ofaprofessional withstanding, the justified hostility citizen of one of these environments prevents me diluting his reply when questioned on the architecturalprofession: ‘The bastards who design this shit in which we are forced to live make a lot of bread from it—when the time comes we'll burn them too!” But then perhaps Ihave got italwrong. Per- haps the profession is acutely aware of the future implications of the ‘whole built en- vironment’ and is seriously preparing tode- fend itself and its creations from the ‘prigandry’. This might just explain why Lt Gen Frank Kitson, former GCC Northern Ireland and foremost ‘counter insurgency’ expert, was going to be one of the principal speakers at the RIBA conference! of a 71 —on SA y= the caretakers, the typists, the canteen | 4 Recognising our ignorance of others’ cultures workers of their own institution. Thus they ought to be a cause for celebration; we can learn leave the school of architecture a homo- from one another. geneous mass, thinking and talking the same current stylistic irrelevancies. It is an immense tragedy. The recognition of our ignorance is not a depressing idea; on the contrary, it is a cause for celebration. “To know what you do not know—that is wisdom,’ said Confucius. The creative environmental knowledge we do possess is marred and rendered less effective than it could be because of its narrow base, but al its philosophies are not to be despised—they are just wrongly directed towards ‘the small closed world’ and not to society at large. Our acquisition of the knowledge possessed by the people will immeasurably enrich our own knowledge base: it will ‘feed’ it and, through this process, it will develop and thus live. The people’s acquisition of our ideas will similarly enrich them. Surely such a prospect can only delight us. The celebration of co-operation being sug- gested is in contradistinction to the absurd theory that architecture, in order to gain social acceptability, must ‘give the people what they want’, a notion as ridiculous as that of Anthony Caro at the recent Art and Architecture symposium that ‘people do not know what they want; when they get it they like what they get’. The citizens of Liverpool 8 and dockland Bootle may eventually require and demand defensive architecture but, like any other sane community, they would infinitely pre- fer an architecture composed of the richness of their own culture plus the wider ideas of any architect (from whatever class) who had goodwill towards them and was offended by the dereliction in which theyexist. co-operation with which they shared good | and bad land. Creativity, in the world of architecture and | environmental design, 1s not an abstraction: it must be related to social reality. The rota! experience of the physical environ- ment resides, by definition, within society. Every man, woman and child possesses cle- ments (possibly only munute ones) of the ‘knowledge’ that we architects need to do our job properly. It is a concept far beyond the (now sopatronising) ideas ofparticipation, consultation, town trails and the like: it is | based on a shocking realisation that, because of our history and our narrow class base, we architects actually know so little about our own subject, ‘the whole built environment’. Indeed in the considered view of those who | have already taken to the streets, we are simply illiterate in the matter. Our system of architectural education per | petuates this creative ‘narrowness’. Students embark upon architecture with a combined wealth of environmental knowledge—the expert knowledge, rich in detail, of their own neighbourhoods. I once taught a class of students and was able to draw out of them a massof environmental knowledgeof ‘spatial culture’ in which they were the experts: the spatial patterns of an African village, of growing up 1nFlorida, ofaNew England in- dustrial city, of growing up on the edge of the Libyan desert, and a dozen other such spatial culrures—it was only 3 small class! Retaining the definition of architecture as ‘the whole built environment’, we must work from the basis that, at one level, there are perhaps.20 million architects in the UK alone. Yet in al my experience with students they have never been encouraged to share this knowledge with each other, let alone with ee The Otis award To be given to the architects making the most significant contribution to the urban scene in the UK. First announced: AJ 16.6.82 p31. Sponsors: The Otis Elevator Co Ltd, in association with the AJ. Judges: Richard Rogers, John Outram, AlecClifton- Taylor, Simon Jenkins, Leslie Fairweather. Prize: £10 000. Closing date: Nominations by 3 September 1982 at 17.00. Details: See AJ 16.6.82 p31 or contact Barry Wheeler (Otis Award), Otis Elevator Co Ltd, The Otis Building, 43/59 Clapham Road, London, SW9 0JZ (01-735 9131). | | Current AJ competitions and awards | The AJ has two competitions and one award scheme currently under way. Here is a reminder of the crucial details and dates. Judges: Maurice Culot, Nicholas Cooper, Leslie Fairweather, A new leaseof life for Belsize Wood Ideas wanted for the future ofa9 acre site on the fringe of central London (below). First announced: AJ 24.2.82 p38. | 7 Sponsors: Belsize Conservation Area Advisory Committee, AJ, Camden Society of Architects, London Region RIBA and London Environment Group. Judges: James Stirling, Jake Brown, Leslie Fairweather and a representative from the Landscape Institute. | 5 Prizes: Total £500; first prize £300. | Closing date: Tuesday 31 August 1982 at 17.00. NB No further copiesof the conditions are being issued. | Po e but risk * Condensation * Mould growth * Delay and deterioration % . of decoration Efflorescence Rust and pattern staining * Material wastage Excessive labour Measured drawings * High maintenance International competition to measure and draw historic buildings, structures, machinery and archacology. First announced: AJ 3.3.82 p31. | by using Sponsors:WigginsTeapeandtheAJ. other Plasters! 2 IanKennedy. Prizes: Total £2500; first prize £1000. Closing date: Friday 29 October 1982 at 17.00 | Details; Apply to A. J. N. Edwards, Wiggins Teape (UK) PLC, Chartham Paper Mills, Canterbury, Kent, CT47JA. Architectural photographer of the year This competition will not be run this year, but is programmed again for 1983 when it will be held in conjunction with the a For more details enter 1748 on AJ enquiry card ys mats ’ 7 ; Victorian Society’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Details will | 2 —— AJ 7July 1982 ~~ uave scaled the be announced in the spring of 1983. PSLG March 1980 ee ee| fith the For more than 50 years, the provision of public housing on 4 large scale has been a central plank of successive government housing policy. In consequence. municipal housing now caters for about a third of the population One can speculate about what might have been without state intervention on this scale. But there is litthe doubt that public provision has been a major explanation tor improvements in housing conditions in past decades. As a recent NEDO report has argued, “its achievement must be regarded as among the successes of British social policy.” This is not to say that Council housing does not have its problems Local authorities have estimated 250,000 of their dwellings to be “difficult-to-let”, a product of deteriorating environments and obsolete physical structure and design Housing management still leaves a lot to be desired. Local authorities are too often insensitive and unresponsive. and standards of repair in many areas are simply appalling Tenants also lack real choice and mobility. and generally tind it difficult to realise rising housing aspirations The problems associated with e¢n- vironmental and physical decay are gradually being recognised, but the cuts in housing investment will severcly delay the improvements required, In an attempt to give tenants more tirmly based rights, the Torys version of the “Tenants Charter” contained in the Housing Bill/Act gives tenants security of tenure, the right to sub- let, take lodgers, make improvements and apply for improvement grants The Bill also requires landlord authorities to establish and make publicly known, arrangements for consulting tenants on issucs of housing management. These are steps in the right direction, and may lead to some backward authorities reviewing and improving their practices In view of the Conservative Government's drastic policies of the past twelve months or so, and in particular the controversial legislation consuming housing and local government, this year's National Housing and Town Planning Conference (The Brighton Metropole, 28, 29 and 30 October) should be quite a powder keg. Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, will bravely step into the jaws of the > ctocodile when he presents his Ministerial Address and, no doubt, will emerge again » <unscathed, without even a trace of plaque. >Among the diverse problems to be ironed out at — the canference will be public behaviour in the environmentSEE a housingtheelderly, . Gocial services-departments, planning in the. Sp eighties and housing management, ‘repairs and © feature, time is running out for public housing so. there may..be nd need to ever consider the . problems of maintenance ormanagement. TTTTT I] maintenance. But,-asStewart Lansley points.aut- in his opening article to this speciak PSLG _ 2 sa Not far enough But they hardly go tar enough. Two im portant provisions in Labour's Housing Bill. for example. have simply been dropped by the Tories. These would have relaxed residential qualifications and facilitated mobility by empowering the Secretary of State to require local authorities to make a proportion of their relets available to tenants moving trom other areas Significant as some of these problems are. the bulk of council tenants are happy with their housing. A survey in 1975 found that 75 per cent of council tenants were satisfied, though 40 per cent still had a preterence tor owner occupation An important feature of British public housing has been its comprehensive charac: ter. Since 1946, it has, in principle, been open to all — not just to working class - — — —_—* —_——- ai 2oe —_— a) pid a ———— - j => ol eeeed, Somaya —_— 4 oa ——~ wun } to ownere their own home . that ownerC- homes Provides greater freedom. dkernative 2 } aluminium plates for someon 40] Aj 20 February 1980 x This trend is hardly surprising. The tempt to put the financial and other benefits — But without radical changes in policy — and role choice between renting and buying 1s. as a of renting and buying on a par. households soon — the shadow may soon become a ing. recent Fabian author put it, far trom a with sufficient resources to make @ choice shroud. das z oT toTMown theirown homeaaEpa: : / j '- = cent. In 1975, 45 per cent of the poorest tenth of households lived in council genuine toss'up’. Financially, owning 1s will generally opt tor purchase housing. In 1976. only 2 per cent ot generally a much better bet than renting Time is running out tor public housing as professional workers and Il per cent ofem- Many other advantages lie with buying, a a comprehensive sector catering for a wide :m. ployers and managers lived in the public situation that is not the ‘natural’ one that range of income and social groups. What we jis sector. In contrast. 65 per cent of unskilled this and the previous Labour Government — are witnessing is the gradual demise of Fhe manual workers were council tenants, com- have claimed, but one created and fuelled public housing into a largely residual. pared with 55 per cent in 1970. Current by successive government policy. The facts Government policy will therefore simply are that housing preferences have been ar reintorce a trend that is already well under _ tifictally distorted in favour of home owner- way ship. Until changes are introduced which at welfare role — towards the polarisation ot any society. by income and class, between the ng two major sectors Council housing ts cer- and tainly passing under a deepening shadow jical | occupation provides greater freed es om. PSLG October LYS0 five 6! ach the leir /Yop BHOUSING! households. In contrast. social housing in other countries has played a more limited welfare role, catering mainly for the poor and disadvantaged. In the United States, for example, the share of public housing stands at about 5 per cent, and ts largely limited to low income houscholds. In 1970, 70 per cent of tenants were non-white, 40 per cent were one-parent families and 40 per cent were elderly and disabled, with only 25 per cent of houscholds containing wage-carners In Britain, public housing has catered tor a cross-section of the population. Despite this. its existence as a@ major and com prehensive sector is now under real threat Partly this is due to the policy innovations of the present Government Insignificant New building, already at an all time low since the war, could collapse to less than 30,000 by 1983, according to a recent report ‘ by the Commons’ Select Committee on the Environment. The new measures to boost sales will not have a significant effect on the 5 size of the public sector, at least tor some } time. With a current stock of 6!2 million dwellings, sales would have to rise above even the Governments most optimistic target of 200,000 a year, to have any i noticeable impact. Where sales will have an impact. however. — and a crucial one — ts on the quality of the stock and the range of houscholds catered tor by the public sector Despite denials by the Government, sales will lead, in the main, to a loss of better quality dwellings in popular areas. and bet- ter-off tenants The Government's retreat trom public housing is therctore important, but it is not the only factor threatening its vote Recent years have seen a gradual concentration of poorer households in the public sector Between 1967 and 1975, the proportion of all households in receipt of sup- plementary benefit’ living in municipal housing rose from 45 per cent to 37 per faith the PSLG March 1980 |2 iterative aluminium plates for someon | on The Government's retreat from public housing will mean that there may never be any more interesting local authority estates such as the one at Virgt Walk and Cherry Laurel Walk, in the Borough of Lambeth. | ‘ |d yes he f} ; a The ho; cant hea to InLondonW10 there’sahousewithafront wall measuring just four feet nine inches. In Oxfordshire there's a modest pile called Blenheim Palace that boasts a handy 200 rooms. Fooca(aoemdar alasccmaorremeORritllore other homes in Britain, from one-bedroom flats to eighteen-bedroom vicarages. Glow-worm gas central heating boilers can heat them al. And when we say ‘heat’, we dont mean we can just slap in any old boiler. With the biggest range of domestic gas boilers be authoritieswant.erate ‘Fi GhawawormLimuted,NeatinghamRoad,Belper,DerbyDESIT AdiviseeofTlGasHearinLgidow Circle 11 on Reader Inquiry Card pee," URAL a Baris in the country, we have the most economical unit for every size of house. With our combination of wall-hung, free- standing and backboilers, with conventional or balanced flues,we can fitaboiler anywhere. Up and down the country, local authorities are specifying Glow-worm boilers at the rate of over 300 per day. Which means we dont just have the biggest range of boilers for local authorities. We also have the kind of experience local Too many proye : san oe ane tocommission then slumimium piate for somecun c whereby a t1( ng ical fole ing a as each A the mative 2 to own their occupation provides uld preter that owner greater treedom own homes. council ifitwas years of thIe original sold within purchase This pre-emption clause designed to prevent the owner selling at a Profit within the five year period. A further Circular tssued in 1977 enabled councils t increase the discount to 30 per cent, but only with Department of the Environment consent The 1974-9 Labour Government. for I to rescind 4 DOE Circular in 974 (70/74) irgued that it would be wrong to sell houses in areas with a ontinuing Never bund 6,000 in € also points out that any old piece « alloeamkYelo) housing always has been a political pawn — up and down with the fortunes or misfortunes of successive governments. In the sixties the emphasis focussed on building more and ‘better’ UToaohMeyerTTCMTTathconstruction thisgeneralconsent has tailed-off dramatically and, in Michael Heseltine’s own words, ‘will never get back to the scale it was ten years ago’. Provision of new housing is being left to the private sector's CTIAERYCLTaLingenuity,sometimesin partnership with local authorities. At the same time, to continue updating the existing housing stock and its immediate environment, is imperative. In this, and the next two issues of PSLG, we are devoting our main features to the changing aspects of housing. The following article, by Stewart Lansley, Senior Researcher with the Centre ion Environmental Studies and author of consent to local authorities that houses could be sold atfull market value. without restriction, or at as much as 20 per cent below that value on condition that houses were offered back to the their opposition to sales, did little need for rented accommodat theless, sales fell sh irply to ar 1976, but subsequently rose to reach 28.000 n 1978. Then in March 1979, follow ng the growth in sales in some areas, Labour issued a circular preventing sales in certain narrowly detined circumstances Owner-occupation Council house sales are an integral plank of current Cx nservative housing Pp »licy a reflection of their determined Support for pation and their vision of Pe(TNTeeNT)ItaILO TAMTe Owning democracy But this time, the proposed policy has a new twist — compulsion. The aim is sales on a massive scale, and it is the element which has aroused particular controversy The generosity of the discounts is also Not all parts of the Housing Bill published in December have aroused political con troversy. Indeed, some sections remair largely unchanged from Labour's Bill » hich fell with the election. Most Parts of the proposed Tenants’ Charter, and the greater availability of grants for repairs and im provements have bipartisan Support. Other elements, however including the proposed shorthold tenancies, and the new local authority subsidy system particularly the intention to reduce the overall level of sub sidy — are being hotly debated But most controversial of all is the Proposal embodied in the Tenants’ Charter to give council tenants the statutory right to buy their own homes at fixed discounts of up to 50 per cent. This is already set to provoke a bitterly fe Ught parliamentary bat tle, which will almost certainly forex the Government into the use of the guillotir e The selling of council houses is not a new policy. Sales in England and Wales re #peak of 62,000 in 1972. This tollowed the e Heath Government's provision of genera highly contentious. Purchasers receive discounts from assessed market value of 33 per cent after three years’ tenancy. rising by one per cent for each year to SOper cent af ter 20 years or more. The option clause JEposit provides at year time continued from p42 H ATacteyKMey TeGovernment's decision to sell ofa large portion of the country’s council house stock. argued that most households w 718 " 177ayy : sef0COM 1 ic sfor someone fo¢ Option to buy at the price fixed att of the original 4tluation has also aroused wide concern Most of the arguments about stiles have already been widely aired Supporters have sluminium plate c ‘| ultimate value of the scheme as some | allocations ofcapital expenditure will be | marginal or accidental overspending’. _ F measure of the value of the scheme’. At | made, as before, under five main | The new broad controls on capital is IP diay Nick. et — — — ———-— =perwnmcsutinapresOrmn UTE" proposa aanrnrour OWCVETS cotomancan awe ee 5 Milton Anonue Re RIBA Comumlis Prelutieriane, CUSHE 81(A}p) = _Af30January 1980 *. ye > LONDON W.1. pessapo “ait Counate OF Te ultimate TEATUTE OY Mis Proposals that although | However intend to make directions Tory measure of the value of the scheme’, At | made, as before, under five main | The new broad controls on capital DEMOCRATIC DESIGN A ONE DAY CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEMS FACING LOCAL AUTHORITY ARCHITECTS AND TO BRING TOGETHER IDEAS FOR RADICAL CHANGE. U.C.A.T.T, HALL, GOUGH STREET, BIRMINGHAM SATURDAY 6TH MAY, 1978, AT 10.30 A.M. REGISTRATION: £1 (EXCLUSIVE OF MEATS), FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE TO: PUBLIC DESIGN GROUP, NEW ARCHITECT MOVEMENT, 9 POLAND STREET, A MEW ROLE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY ARCHITECTS DEPARTMENTS value of the scheme as some | allocations of capital expenditure will be | marginal or accidental overspending’. | CISIB 81(Ajp) AJ30 January 1980 Discucsios m o fete af anclulectie as a public Senet ane Surfacinugr hie avetulicturak guess. Not sorce tha AT Guest EMI Senisin (952 Lastherebtonanysilesprtad rsfomtd Conidtation or Mus malléy. The harlovingoy sf the long averdul Acbato is Less ttle. Public Expenditure Cuts ,particularly bn hoting amd LAucahar moans thot there will he Lass ote qr archutects Ar Ke same tome, as lal ouuck Cane hid) ncnasing pressinfeo teduce Shh, clopadtments ef ardulacture fank a chow Second fp Direct lalouY Crgamasahions aS promt iagels Pv te “back fp private profit WaovreweTD frchilictstimgonoval, but expecialythoseoko sores,te public Seep ford HomselvesAroust forccbly tify Spotlightasbuchclearly IecalesthomasacotfrWicksens| @ am a felibical stage: They ase not aloe din Tes precicawumt, It t ane usbuclr royShape thr Ke ore million Beetle houscholds on fhe coumpry’s Comet and housing asspiatio waiting lists,and C sat Chey peble Sect rotleoy)avd fspreafLefr wlian.thong Gernees ane tnttrdad. pabliescctvarellect isnotseparatefroHoatfhe tovand| tousung offeced AVbuilding wirtheny ard cannot : keasmably be conrsidend tn (Selatan, [et Thr is precisely what the RIBA and off shats ihe te socuity 2} Chil Aeluitets om Umal Authentics (SAA) are hymng clo as fray attmpl b cane to Wars tultr te Thus He potion of mctsbeds the ClsrmantingoftheLlelfiseult,ThePresideatfScatA, | Wstiad 4 ack nouledy lng thot fo provide VW Not fe Prom hy CE Repoblic Soniee » C aie prwulgatior 0 This melel isKerafrced by (ew Corhal of architictwal pepulatine(7i2cvid). 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Me arnclelitiel pads undtausts ho act» tede tier aco jfotiltcal Le Solupe-T | a ime wn eanrpangus agennsh EY up fhe | Bee stjp cn at Seto> ie eel beelund Te cul > ee ww publec Lovitz , ab in, Reegh Sucl. : | Ln plenad soar Ce WS niglek ttl be 1] belt» eln Muvar{ Bob Male. a. lie “hs elgihsse one ai paie aeNarecalaty14YO, Interim Proposals and tenants. my the his hi To achieve an effective Public Design Service the NAM Public Design Group proposes local authority design and build teams which are area based and which will be accouritable to users ¥ DESIGN TEAMS SHOULD BE AREA BASED INSTEAD OF FUNCTION BASED. We suggest the following interim proposals which are feasible now and which create the potential for further change : td LOCAL AREA CONTROL OVER RESOURCES. AREA DESIGN TEAMS SHOULD BE MULTIDISCIPLINARY. JOB ARCHITECTS SHOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO COMMITTEE. z : * " ABOLISH POSTS BETWEEN TEAM LEADER AND CHIEF ARCHITECT. = ESTABLISH JOINT WORKING GROUPS WITH DIRECT LABOUR ORGANISATIONS. For further information contact : Public Design Group New Architecture Movement 9 Poland Street London W 1 — aes van” estimofatthee|feature :re ultimatepatieoftheschemeassome ilese 1 sure ofthe value oftt 1 t 4 INTERIM PROPOSALS: _1, LOCAL AREA CONTROL OVER RESOURCES Since control over design cannot be separated from control over the resources of land and finance, changes are required in the formal counci] structure to enable control to be exercised at community level. Although counicllors are elected on an area basis they serye on function-based committees (housing, education) which have contro] over the expenditure of money on the provisioonf services across the whole local authority area, Real local needs tend to be subordinated to an assumed general interest. The role of a councillor as a committee member therefore may be in conflict with his or her role as a representative of a local interest, In order that local area interests are safeguarded, jt js suggested that a further tier be added below the main functional committees (c.f. neighbourhood councils), These would be area committees consisting of representatives of loca] tenants and residents organisations, local councillors and trade unionists, The size of the area would obviously be a matter for discussion. These committees should deal with al] council] matters relating to their area and would consequently relate to several or a]| of the main function-based committees, They should have powers of recommendation and of veto in their relationship to the main committees, They should brief architects and have power of approval over designs and standards, 2. DESIGN TEAMS SHOULD BE AREA-BASED INSTEAD OF FUNCTION-BASED So that they can relate to Jocal area committees and the requirements of local people, The present arrangement of function-based architectural teams servicing function-based client committees and departments has two major disadvantages. Firstly, in providing a service within this structure, architects are isolated from the people who will use their buiidings. Architects work on a Borough- wide basis, and people's needs and wishes, insofar as they are taken me as |alloc neas some/ allo 1fesch re",At Teenie Vitoyoravtet (American) tutors": ang | Goesm't catch his real atfec- remember, I'ma fan. had been invited to make .anyMors©5)and”9)tionforMarcarntiasRuatuadlinBiessenbos.csncninAstilsneeileal \ A —_— into account at all, are averaged out and presented to the architect in briefing guides as criteria to be designed for in much the same way as are site constraints. The total constitutes a design problem and the concept of the a-political officer paid to solve technical problems is thus reinforced, Similarly the professional ideology of individual architects expressing themselves in their designs is sustained, of that action. the recipient of decisions by others. P 218 CUSIB 81(Ajp) AJ30 January 1980 Secondly, this system creates a "closed circuit"! method of liaison. For the architect; architect-client department- client committee. It is illogical as well as difficult to break this circle to relate to local residents or even loca] councillors. The public also find this organisational] boundary virtually impregnable, They are vulnerable to officia] action yet the boundary renders the officers immune to the consequence It should be noted that the term ''area based team'' as distinct from ''function based team'' does not necessarily mean that the team is located in an area, ([t merely means that a team is responsible for the work in an area. As such, it would offer the architects a variety of types of project. It would also enable them to initiate action in their area instead of being 3. AREA DES|GN TEAMS SHOULD BE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY AND SHOULD HAVE AROUND TWELVE MEMBERS AS A SUGGESTED OPTIMUM : 4. JOB ARCHITECTS (and other team members) SHOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO COMMITTEE The term multi-disciplinary would in the local authority context include planners and valuers as well as the more usual design team members such as quantity surveyors and engineers. Each job architect and team member should be responsible directly to the committee for the work he or she carries out, In this way PARRACTELORRIOeee) aeaena not only will committee members relate to the person actually producing the work, but job architects will be aware that they work in a political forum as well as a technica] one, 5. ABOLISH POSTS BETWEEN GROUP LEADER AND CHIEF ARCHITECT Group leaders should become responsible directly to the area committee and thus to the Council for the collective work of the group, The chief architect would then perform a co-ordinating role amongst the groups, similar to the role performed by the elected leader of the counc!] vis-a-vis committees, Occupants of redundant posts to be found a more usefu] role in the new structure. It is envisaged that in the future group Jeaders shou]d be subject | to election by their group and that the chief architect should be elected from amongst group leaders, with periodic change built in. lt should be noted that the present vertical structuring of the - architects departments stemmed from the late |9th Century private practice model, That is, from a form of practice compriseodf one | principal and a small number of apprentices, The largest practices of that time had one partner and around 25 apprentices. As private practices grew so did the number of partners, each being equally responsible under Partnership Law, (A common ratio of partner to staff is 1:15), In public practice the concept of one chief remained so that when the chief architect became responsible to the council for the actions of more than 100 staff, intermediate grades were introduced whose sole function was to contro] the job architect, Theirs is a non-design function and their status is dependent on increasing the proportion of procedural and managerial matters. under their control, They form an effective boundary between job architect and chief architect, let alone between job architect and counci]lor or job architect and user. en trern Ree primesse ne 218 <5 a — + ---- 2ne epee rr L Leeratenripeniveentxignh apt Rae ee otal” and more ominously, ne “con= Uinues, ‘perhaps an estimate of the ultimate value of the scheme as some measure ofthe value ofthescheme’, At| ected Imanotner sipmiticancrmmncnnr-ae! feature ofhis proposals that although| ho allocations of capital expenditure will be | m; made, as before, under five mair Rca mand . ren SS 218 YE, ~ee se~ departments. CISEB 81(Ajp) a —; 6. ESTABLISH JOINT WORKING GROUPS WITH DLOS To ‘consider how toachieve better designed, constructed and maintained buildings. In the longer term it is envisaged that separate professional teams should disappear in favour of design and build teams within the service of the local authority rather than within the building contractors! organisation, Summary: it is clear that many if not all, of these proposals could be put Into effect fairly readily, \t may be noted that in at least two London Boroughs, proposals similar to these are being actively discussed as departments of architecture are re-organised, These proposals are seen as part of a continuing process of democratisation of local government, without which a lasting communi ty architecture is not possible. They are not seen as a final solution but are offered as practical proposals applicable at this stage. The next stage in the development of these ideas is to widen this discussion to include representatives of tenants, local councils, relevant questions which should be considered but which are outside the scope of this report. e.g. * The relationships between architects and other council] i central] government and NALGO and other public sector unions, In advocating these proposals it is recognised that there are other * Devolution of power from central to Jocal government, particularly in relation to the control over building finance at present exercised by central government departments, ——S es AJ30January1980 Pr. woure-ve-tae value Of thescheme” At |m aaa i ere ns for ESeas aer itare2WiW.bemargin1aloracciidentaloverspending”. » under five main | The new broad controls on capital NtaterAtLtOT 19. pendence to elect a -—+—How the RIBA for m of building contract dictates the relationship between architect and building worker by separating design and construction, how this is necessary in the public sector, and how a new gement could be evolved to facilitate the on of local authority design and build teams. un arran format tectural education, including abour Party proposals for The role played by archi further discussion of the L overcoming the present sectar bias. (3)- jan and private practice Sreagcaas-—- ae: owe ontrols on AJ 30) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource AJ, BD, NAM Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-1980 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/0fd4f708a523a76014aebb676e5f4a04.pdf d54b369243f9ed0ca6d29a6338363891 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Haringey Experiment in Public Design Subject The topic of the resource Development of NAM PDS Group proposals Description An account of the resource HARINGEY EXPERIMENT IN PUBLIC DESIGN NAM PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE Between 1979–1985, Haringey Council Architects Department implemented a number of pioneering features from the New Architecture Movement (NAM) proposals for a Public Design Service, many of which went on to become adopted more widely. See NAM Report ‘Community Architecture – A Public Design Service?’1 to the Minister of Housing. Summary in 1978 Building 2 Design article . A key feature was accountability to users based on the idea that the excesses of slum clearance and high-rise housing promoted by Conservative central government but implemented by local government architects would not have been so readily achieved if tenants and building users had had a say in what was being produced for them. (eg, the Broadwater Farm Estate where a planning brief based on the seemingly spurious argument about high water table resulted in the prohibition of dwellings at ground level and access by walkways at first floor level). The main NAM PDS proposals adopted by Haringey are summarised below: 1. Area based teams rather than function based teams to ensure accountability to users. 2. Multi disciplinary teams to ensure accountability to projects rather than to professions. (Pioneered by Building Design Partnership and Arup Associates in the private sector but unknown in the public sector at this time). 3. Project Architects to be responsible to Committee for their projects. 4. Team Leaders to be responsible to their teams. 5. Service Head to be elected from team leaders. Election to be ratified by Council. The purpose of these proposals was to ensure that architects were properly identifiable and accountable to both tenants and users as well as to committees. This system worked well. Subsequently, accountability to users was incorporated as a standard procedure by Central Government. (eg DOE Estate Action bids). It was also adopted by the RIBA’s Community Architecture group, which eventually spawned firms such as Hunt Thompson. Area based teams and multi disciplinary working also became the norm for other London LA architects departments such as Camden, Islington and Southwark. WHY HARINGEY? These proposals for a public design service accountable to tenants and users, coincided with a number of other factors which lead to the ideas being developed in Haringey: 1. Under the then Housing Chair, George Meehan, Haringey Council had pioneered the involvement of tenants in the design of a new housing cooperative at Pelham Court in Tottenham. Bert Dinnage of the Borough Architects Service designed the scheme. The first phase was completed in 1980. 2. John Murray, one of the founders of the New Architecture Movement and a Haringey resident, approached Bert Dinnage to discuss how a new form of public design service could develop incorporating his experience at Pelham Court and the ideas of NAM. 1 “Community Architecture – A Public Design Service?” Report to Minister of Housing, author John Murray, NAM Public Design Group, written in response to an RIBA proposal that community architecture should be provided by private architects 2 Building Design Magazine 13 October 1978 1 HARINGEY EXPERIMENT IN PUBLIC DESIGN 3. The NAM proposals were debated and agreed by staff at meetings of their NALGO trade union. 4. The then Borough Architect Alan Weitzel was sympathetic to the new ideas. 5. New radical Labour councillors such as Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Grant supported the proposals. They themselves had campaigned for neighbourhood committees which included tenants’ representatives as well as councillors. 6. In 1979 the first restructuring took place with the creation of Area Design Teams carrying out all the work in their area. They superseded specialist design teams such as Education or Housing. John Murray was appointed as one of the eight new Team Leaders. (The councillors appointment panel was chaired by Jeremy Corbyn, chair of the Planning Committee). John Murray lead the Wood Green Team whose main work was the rehabilitation of the historic Noel Park Estate. He continued to work with colleagues and to develop the proposals. 7. John Murray was then asked by the Chief Executive Roy Limb to act as the liaison officer between the Borough Architects Service and the trade unions and officers of the Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) to prepare for the Conservative Government’s Planning and Land Act which was the forerunner of compulsory tendering for local government services in the 1980s. This lead to constructive discussions with the DLO Trade Unions convenor Dennis McCracken and the UCATT convener Hughie Dagens and also with Bernie Grant, the Chair of the Public Works Committee responsible for the DLO. To achieve fair tendering, a system was developed by the Contracts Compliance Working Party, an interdepartmental team chaired by John Murray, which measured the performance of firms against key performance indicators, so that only high scoring contractors were invited to tender through the approved list. In 1982 John Murray was seconded by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of UCATT shop stewards to manage PELAW (Partnership Experiment in Local Authority Works), a pioneering workers cooperative Direct Labour Design and Build organisation which required support in meeting its programme and financial targets. By 1985, the Borough Architects Service had developed into the new Haringey Building Design Service (BDS) comprised of eight multi-disciplinary, area-based design teams accountable to area committees. The Management Board of Team Leaders became the head of service. The Coordinator of the Management Board was to be elected, the decision to be ratified by a Council Committee. John Murray became the elected head of the new service in 1985. This system worked successfully with the support of Councillors and Committee Chairs. People were attracted to work in such an innovative organisation and in a Council which encouraged equal opportunities, so the service never had trouble getting good staff; more women and people from ethnic minority communities were appointed (a considerable number of whom were in senior positions), so that the service composition became one of the first to be more reflective of the community it served. By 1990, over 60% of the staff were black and ethnic minority and 30% were women. This compares to 22% and 14% respectively in 1985. As an example of community involvement, local people were involved in the selection of the Broadwater Farm BDS Team established after the riots in 1985. The team implemented a 10-year £80m estate action programme, ensuring the use of local labour and encouraging BWF Youth Association Coop to carry out work on the estate. The award–winning Broadwater Farm workshops were designed by the Broadwater Farm Team and built by the BWF Coop. 2 HARINGEY EXPERIMENT IN PUBLIC DESIGN Architectural Trainees As part of a policy to encourage local young people to become involved in architecture, each of the eight teams appointed two local young people as trainee architects. The majority were young black and ethnic minority men and women who were sponsored through college. Wider Impact In terms of the wider impact of these changes, Graham Towers in his book Building Democracy: Community Architecture in the Inner Cities, records that, “The events in Haringey sent ripples through technical departments in neighbouring Boroughs. Many staff disillusioned by being typecast into specialist roles, were attracted to the new way of working...In Camden, an alliance of staff and councillors succeeded in introducing area working. A similar alliance developed in Islington Architects Department and ...eventually bore fruit. Subsequently, the new approach was adopted in some other authorities. Area team working brought a new structure to public service, giving a more accessible and accountable approach to public capital projects”. (Building Democracy: Community Architecture in the Inner Cities, pp 142,143, Graham Towers). Award-winning Designs Quality of work was recognised in Dept of Environment and Civic Trust design awards plus awards for energy conservation work. The Wood Green Team carried out the rehabilitation of the historic 19th century Noel Park housing estate, built by the Artisans and Labourers Dwelling Co, including phasing of design and construction work to ensure annual delivery of 100 completed renovations. Tenants were involved in developing the design and there was a show house for each Phase. Tenants’ satisfaction surveys were carried out at the end of each phase by architectural students. Palace Gates Sheltered Housing Scheme, designed in the Wood Green Team following briefing by future tenants and built by the Council’s Direct Labour Organisation, won a Civic Trust award. Public Sector Consultancy To supplement the service income in the light of a declining capital programme, in 1988, the Council approved the proposal from Haringey Building Design Service to establish a public sector consultancy to obtain work from other councils and from housing associations. Eventually by 1994, the consultancy provided 15% of service income. Based on work with Broadwater Farm community, BDS collaborated with the University of Cambridge to provide advice to Bratislava City Council in Slovakia on the renovation of a large concrete panel estate. UK Govt. ‘Know How Fund’ funded this project. In 1991, as part of a consortium, Haringey’s design service won in competition a project in Moscow to create a small business support agency. This project, supported by both the UK and Russian governments, was funded by the UK Govt. ‘Know How Fund’. This project proved very successful and the consortium and their Russian colleagues sought to have a similar project in 23 other Russian cities. John Murray was invited to join the new project funded by the EU, and decided he should leave Haringey to do so. As team leader of a subsequent DFID funded social housing renovation project in Yekaterinburg in the Russian Ural region, John Murray developed low cost, tenant-driven renovation model for the 5 storey “Khrushchev flats” which house some 40m Russians. A key feature of the project was to encourage residents to become involved in the proposals for their flats and to encourage the city administration to ensure that residents were able to participate in decisions affecting their homes. So NAM ideas spread to Russia as well. JM/26/03/14 3 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Murray Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979-1991 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/f3c7e17769cddc51a2892fde3d51971a.pdf 3f464ef71c5c9e97f33387f73fd6854e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Going Local Subject The topic of the resource See 'Haringey Builds for the Future' John Murray article about Haringey Building Design Service, based on NAM PDS Group Proposals Description An account of the resource Going Local PCL School of Planning No.8 July 1987 NEWSLETTER OFTHE DECENTRALISATION RESEARCH AND INFORMATION CENTRE — Haringey builds for the future JOHN MURRAY outlines the unique structure of Haringey's innovative Building Design Service, which is seen as an essential part of improving the Council's public design service through community architecture Although the term 'community architec- ture' has become common currency, fifteen years ago it scarcely existed. During that period it has changed from referring to a part-time, unpaid, temporary and largely political assignment as part of the wider community action against private developers and sometimes local authorities in the 1960s and 70s, to achieving respectability and the Royal seal of approval in the 1980s. The ideas underpinning the objectives and structure of Haringey Council's Building Design Service also can be traced to com- munity action and the discussions which took place in alternative architectural circles in the 1970s. Organisations such as the New Architecture Movement studied the part played by the architectural profession in the creation of unacceptable environmental and social conditions following slum clearance and large-scale redevelopment. They proposed that if architects were to avoid these mistakes in future two main conditions should be met. The first of these is the need for control over resources and their allocation at local level by representatives of the people who will use the build- ings, and for architects to work directly with and be accountable to the building users. For this to work effectively there was a second and corresponding requirement for the architects themselves to work in a democra- tic and non-hierarchical way. This was partly to ensure that the people who actually designed the buildings related directly to the people who would use the buildings, and partly to avoid the frustration and lack of responsibility encountered by the 80 per cent of architectural workers who were employees in authoritarian and hierarchical private practice or local government offices. To achieve the change within the profession three main avenues were proposed: the unionisation of private offices; the establishing of design co-operatives to work with tenants and other groups; and the democratisation of the public design service in local authorities. The last of these led to changes being proposed in some local authority architect's departments, one of which was Haringey. At the same time similar ideas on democracy and accountability were gaining ground in local government and in the Labour Party as described in previous issues of Going Local and other publications. The Second Stage In 1985 a further reorganisation of the Architects' Department took place resulting in the new Building Design Service of about 220 people. The new service was structured around eight multi-disciplinary area design teams of 20-25 staff (ten architects, four quantity surveyors, three engineers, three clerk of works and three administrators) and one central support team providing central facilities such as programming, staffing, administration, library and contracts compliance. The teams are responsible for all the design work occurring in their area. The arrangement represents a major departure from the traditional structures in that the people required to provide a complete service work together in one team. The central management or chief-officer function is carried out by a Management Board made up of the team leaders. The coordinator of the Managerpent Board is elected annually from the team leaders. A further aim of the reorganisation is to move towards self-management in due course, with elected team leaders. A key feature of the organisation is that individual workers are responsible to their teams, and teams are collectively responsi- ble to the Management Board. The team leader's job is to make sure that the team fulfils its constitutional duties, and like all team members, he/she is accountable to the team. Similarly, the Management Board is collectively responsible to the Planning Committee of the Council for the work of the Service, the co-ordinator's role being to ensure that the Board carries out its functions. Area Links Teams, which are paired to facilitate sharing of resources, relate to the areas covered by the housing area sub-committees. The reorganisation report states: 'By operating the Teams on an Area basis it is intended to strengthen the awareness of staff to the particular problems and needs of the area and increase accountability to local groups and organisations including area based subcommittees . . . The chief officer function and cross- team co-ordination Chief-officer functions are allocated annu- ally amongst individual Management Board members (and to a lesser extent other senior staff). Decisions at the Board are generally by consensus with occasional votes. Standing panels of the Management Board are delegated responsibility for issues such as staffing and recruitment, capital programme monitoring, etc. Within the Service co-ordination of different disciplines (e.g. quantity surveying, design) in terms of quality, standards and procedures takes place through co-ordination groups of representatives of each team. Teams operate a common agenda and cycle of meetings so that programme information and monitoring is available at the same time. Team leaders formally report back to their teams at regular intervals, and feedback from teams is reported to the Management Board every four weeks. Thus in addition to trade union consultation, all major issues affecting the Service are discussed in the teams before a final decision is taken by the Management Board. A structure consistent with a decentralisa- tion strategy is in place. Systems are being developed to allow teams to operate semi- autonomously at local level while being able to influence the central management and direction of the Service. Six teams are already located in, or adjacent to their areas and the long-term goal is to decentralise in paired teams. This is obviously dependent on the Council's overall decentralisation policy. Employment issues and equal opportunities Clearly the changes outlined above had a significant effect on people in the service. Individual chief-officer and section-head posts were abolished and replaced by collective structures. This affected both existing groupings and the power of individuals throughout the organisation. Recently a substantial increase in the Capi- tal Programme due to deferred purchase arrangements has resulted in an increase in the establishment of BDS to around 300. This expansion created the opportunity to recruit more women and black and ethnic minority staff into the service and thus more closely reflect the make-up of the local community where around 40 per cent are black or ethnic minority. Over the last two years around 130 staff have been appointed. Half have been black or ethnic minority and just over one-third were women. The proportion of black and ethnic minority staff in the service has now risen to 34 per cent, while the proportion of women is around 25 per cent. The changes have taken place at all levels. Of the twelve people now on the Management Board (expanded dup to increasing establishment), three are women and half are black or ethnic minority. 8 Sixteen trainee posts have been established covering all professions. The emphasis in recruitment is to secure employment for local school leavers — again, particularly women and black and ethnic minority young people. There are also three multidisciplinary trainee posts to enable young people to sample the different disciplines for six months each before deciding on their -careers.' Clearly these changes in the composition of the Service are not only of importance in employment terms but also for the quality and sensitivity of the work produced. This point has been stressed by Councillor Peter Doble, Chair of E*nu Haringey's Planning Committee: 'A growing percentage of women and black and ethnic minority people work within the Building Design Service. The views and concerns of these groups have been underrepresented in traditional hierarchical offices. A collective structure with the emphasis on equality of participation should begin to ensure that •a diversity of views are given voice. At the same time, we are intending to achieve much greater accountability to the people who use our buildings.' Quality and user control The belief that the quality of architectural design is dependent on the involvement of the building user is a theme which runs throughout the systems being developed in the Service. Three extra technical posts have. been agreed to advance work on methods and systems for user consultation; to co-ordinate the formulation and development of design briefs for buildings', and to establish and monitor responsive design standards and practices in relation to the needs of black and ethnic minority people, women, and the elderly and people with disabilities. Accountability to representatives of building users as well as to Council members takes place at area sub-committees at a formal level and with tenants' associations before and during the rehabilitation of existing buildings. Design work is also carried out for community centres 'and voluntary groups where the architect works closely with building Users, Recently completed examples include a Women and Children's Centre in Tottenham and nursery for West Indian Under Fives. Currently designs are under way for 'the refurbishment, tof Haringey's Women's , Centre, where the design and construction will be carried out by women. At Broadwater Farm an on-site design group has been established which will eventually have around 25 staff. Representatives of the Youth Association and Residents' Association took part in the recruitment of the team, and regular meetings take•place with community representatives, council, Iors and client officers to agree day-to-day issues, and monitor progress on schemes which include workshops and a community centre. -It is hoped that this close involvement of the community in the selection of the people who will design their buildings will become general policy in due course. Contracts compliance The Building Contracts Compliance Unit has already been referred to as a means Of ensuring fair competition between private contractors and the DLO. As part of this process contractors are required to comply with technical and employment criteria including equal opportunities. All contracts let at Broadwater Farm for example specify the employment and training of local unemployed labour as a condition, and this is being extended to cover all contracts. A new approved list is currently being compiled to ensure that small local firms, particularly of women and black and ethnic minority workers, are able to tender for council work in the future. Summary The Building Design Service over the past two years has been developing systems of internal accountability to positively encourage co-operative and collective working within the Service. Building on the practical experience of staff at Broadwater Farm and other schemes where tenants are involved in briefing designers, methods are being established to allow regular consultation and feedback from building users on the quality, performance and appearance of all buildings designed by the Service. When the enterprise of transforming Haringey Design Service was begun there was a clear understanding that only by making public services more accessible and more democratic could they hope to or indeed deserve to survive. Employers in the private sector of architecture represented by the RIBA, recognised nearly 10 years ago that changes were required to meet the rapid decline in traditional workload and general changes in the building industry. . . . community architecture is not a passing trend. Economic and Social pressures will ensure that for many architects, the nature of the job will change . . . (from RIBA Report — cited in Architect's Journal 19.4.78) The RIBA were naturally anxious to find areas in which private practice could con- tinue to function profitably, to help ride out the then crisis in the industry, but also adapt to longer-term structural changes. The fact that the 1985 Conference on community architecture was not only addressed by the Prince ofWales but partly financed by Regalian Properties, Bovis and the Wates Foundation demonstrates the growing importance attached to this sector of the economy by big business as well as by the private architectural profession. The private sector is therefore moving into areas of work which ought to be met by the public design services. The potential of being something more than an echo of private architectural practice has always been a challenge. It can be grasped as described in this article. The necessary changes are dependent for their success on the skill and commitment of the staff and the continuing support of the union, Council members and building users. JOHN MURRAY John Murray is a team leader in Haringey's Building Design Service, and has been Coordinator of the Management Board for the last two years 9 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource PCL (Paul Hoggett) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1987 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/a66104a58388f32cfdaa4f8c38a834a1.pdf e5f5e7f46f8d4b5e1903ea22bc6e074f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Service - A Personal History Subject The topic of the resource A personal history from the first NAM Congress in November 1975 to 2006 describing the development of NAM ideas in Haringey and subsequently in Russia and Slovakia. Description An account of the resource A PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE A PERSONAL HISTORY At the first NAM conference in November 1975, at the request of Brian Anson of ARC, I presented a paper on a National Design Service. Subsequently, along with people from a variety of locations, including Adam Purser, a former Brian Anson student we developed the ideas from the initial paper, which proposed involving tenants and users in the design process and collective responsibility on the part of the design teams. Although we in NAM’s Public Design Service Group didn’t manage to achieve this nationally, we did more or less achieve it in Haringey. In Haringey we developed area based multi- disciplinary design teams, so that people in teams owed allegiance to their teams rather than to their professions and, through their teams, to the community they served. Team Leaders were also accountable to their teams and the Service Coordinator was elected from amongst the Team Leaders. At the same time as we in NAM were developing our ideas, young Labour councillors who had emerged from tenants’ struggles like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Grant in Haringey were beginning to be elected. They were fully supportive of our ideas. Jeremy Corbyn was the Chair of the Planning Cttee, which at that time oversaw the Architects Service. Jeremy and his committee approved the NAM proposals for 8 multi-disciplinary area teams. He chaired the panel, which selected the team leaders including myself. We then worked closely with him defending public services like the DLO against Tory government attacks. I was appointed as the team leader of the Wood Green Team in 1979. Our main work was the rehabilitation of the 19C Noel Park Estate, designed by Rowland Plumb for the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Company for workers on the new railway line out of London. The Council took it over in 1966. It’s a marvellous estate, set out on a gridiron plan with very small houses which had baths in the kitchens and outside WCs. We put in new bathrooms and kitchens. With the tenants and housing officers we worked out an efficient system which enabled us to renovate 100 houses a year on time and on cost. We also completed a new award-winning sheltered housing scheme. By 1985 the new arrangements were fully approved. I was elected as the Coordinator. As part of a policy to encourage local young people to become involved in architecture, each team appointed two local young people as trainee architects. We were asked to establish a team at Broadwater Farm after the 1985 riots. A few years later George Meehan the Chair of Housing complained to me that the team had gone native. I suggested that this was a mark of their success and took his complaint as a compliment. Eventually during a restructuring in 1990, the Personnel Service brought us more into line with other Council Services and I became the Borough Architect. The restructuring removed some of our autonomy though and we became part of a Directorate. To supplement the service income in the light of a declining capital programme, in 1988 we established Haringey BDS public sector consultancy and obtained work from housing associations and from other councils, such as Newham and Tower Hamlets in London and from Leicester and Nottingham. Eventually the consultancy provided 15% of service income. As part of a consortium, we won in competition a project in Moscow to create a small business support agency. The UK Govt. Know How Fund funded the project. Based on our work with Broadwater Farm, we collaborated with the University of Cambridge to provide advice to Bratislava City Council in A PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE A PERSONAL HISTORY Slovakia on renovation of a large concrete panel estate. This project also funded by UK Govt. Know How Fund. Our project in Moscow was deemed a success and was eventually opened by the Minister. At the end of the project our team and the Russians began to look for ‘life after death’. Using the Russians’ Komsomol contacts we travelled all over Russia giving seminars. Eventually we won an EU TACIS bid to provide small business support agencies in 23 Russian cities. My colleagues asked me to join them in the new project so I decided to leave Haringey in 1994 to work with my former colleagues in Russia. After the first project was complete in 1996, in conjunction with Russian SMEs and Housing Associations we won an EU TACIS funded project to develop economic sustainable housing in Chelyabinsk, a large industrial city in the Urals. I worked in collaboration with Jon Broome of Architype who provided the house design. Subsequently built in Liverpool but alas not in Russia as the 1998 Russian financial crash put a stop to the implementation of our project. In 1998 two colleagues and I established SEEDS (Social, Economic, Educational Development), a not for profit organisation which aimed to inform policies, influence practice and to generate projects which help to implement a set of social objectives. Through SEEDS we won a DFID funded social housing renovation project in Ekaterinburg, the capital city of the Russian Ural region, to develop a low cost, tenant-driven renovation model for the 5 storey so-called Khrushchev flats which house some 40m Russians, mostly poor. A key feature of the project was to encourage residents to become involved in the proposals for their flats and to persuade the city administration to involve residents in decisions affecting their homes. I was the leader of the project and involved some of my old Broadwater Farm colleagues in the team. We designed a project with DFID to implement our findings and in 2001 were in the middle of tendering for it when the Government decided to divert money away from Russia to Africa. Perhaps they were right but we and our Russian colleagues were very disappointed. We tried unsuccessfully for EU TACIS funding before finally accepting defeat. In 1999 I was asked by my old NAM and Haringey colleague Andy Brown to apply for an Interim Manager’s job with Southwark Building Design Service. I did so and then worked intermittently at Southwark until 2007 when my assignment to procure sub consultancies to supplement the work of in-house staff ended. Unfortunately Southwark Building Design Service which was the last Borough Architects Service in London was closed down a short while later. Since 2006 I have been working as the volunteer coordinator for the North London Group of Different Strokes, a charity which supports working age stroke survivors. John Murray 15 October 2015 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Murray Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 15 October 2015 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/28ee234a48887a10208fb63211406745.pdf ea9aa7ad598513dbddbc77ed5185b005 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Development of NAM - PDS Group Subject The topic of the resource Talk to Bartlett Masters Students about development of NAM ideas Description An account of the resource NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL I’ll talk briefly about NAM largely using the agenda suggested by David Roberts  Background to NAM How I and others got involved How NAM ideas and ideals were discussed and disseminated (for example in SLATE) How all this related to my Masters study here at the Bartlett How this related to my work in Haringey Current practice and John McAslan’s initiative      1. Motivations for forming NAM Edgewick Primary School in Coventry 1968 I was briefed by the City Education Client Officer. When I asked him how I should accommodate suggestions from the Head Teacher about the design of her new school, he just said “Ignore her”. But I decided instead to ignore him and went on to work closely with the Head teacher, staff and pupils in developing the design of what turned out to be a successful and well-regarded Primary School in one of the poorest areas of Coventry. For me this was confirmation that the users of a building must be fully involved if the design is to be successful. It was a very important lesson and my respect for the committed Head stayed with me ever since. Other ideas came from working with tenants. 2. Working with Tenants The next stage in the process: In the early 1970s many architects, including myself while working in offices during the day were also providing free design advice to Tenants’ and Residents’ groups. This taught both sides the benefits of having a design service accountable to the people who use buildings. I was working for tenants in Newham while during the day I worked for BDP, incidentally a very good firm whose idealistic founding partner Grenfell-Baines stated it should be multi-disciplinary and fully involve and reward its staff – and so it was. (3Rs, Responsibility, Recognition and Reward) These ideas subsequently influenced the Public Design Group. (See Guardian obituary) My wife Ursula was working at that time in a Community Development Project in Canning Town. Through her I became involved with West Ham tenants. 3. ARC and First NAM Congress 4. How      While working in BDP, at lunchtimes we used to occasionally visit the AA in nearby Bedford Square. There was also an AA Studio in Percy Street near the BDP office. There I met Brian Anson the tutor and his students. I talked to Brian about my interest in a public design service. ARC Architects Revolutionary Council. Brian Anson and students Proposal for New Architecture Movement. Trying to encourage sympathetic architects. Brian asked me to make a presentation on a National Design Service at a conference. In November 1975 an advert appeared in the architectural press inviting participants to attend the inaugural Congress of the New Architecture Movement in the unlikely setting of Harrogate. The congress brought together a considerable number of like-minded salaried architects and students. NAM was born NAM’s ideas and ideals were discussed and disseminated ARC proposed that NAM’s structure should be an elected Leader and committee. Animated debate resulted. The women at the congress persuaded men to structure NAM like women’s movement, ie, groups of people interested in particular issues who would come together as necessary, not at the diktat of a higher body. NAM was structured as local groups. There was also to be a liaison group whose role was to coordinate the different groups, deal with correspondence and arrange the next annual congress. I was involved in the London liaison group and we got a grant from the Rowntree Foundation for an office in 9 Poland Street. See articles about history recommending radical historians from my thesis. (See SLATE)     1 NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL 5. Groups  Accountability to Users Alternative Practice Education Feminist Group Professional Issues (A number of us were elected to ARCUK to represent ‘unattached’ architects) Public Design Group Trade Unions and Architecture SLATE        groups, which were largely autonomous, worked across local groups to develop These their ideas. They arranged their own conferences and reported through SLATE and annually to the NAM Congress. Although I was involved in the liaison group and some other groups, my main interest was in developing the ideas for a National Design Service. This eventually became the Public Design Group. It included Adam Purser, one of Brian Anson’s mature students and architects and students from Sheffield and Nottingham. So we did a lot of travelling. 6.  Public Design Group Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. In May 1978 we organised PDS Conference in Birmingham with the help of UCATT. Presented papers including on the Origins, Evolution and Structure of LA Departments of Architecture, which demonstrated that the existence of Council departments of architecture was almost solely dependent on the provision of   schools and council housing based on Elizabeth Layton’s 1961 study Building by 1   Our Interim proposals paper suggested six steps which could readily be adopted: 1. Local area control over resources 2. Design teams to be area based 3. Area design teams to be multi disciplinary 4. Project architects to report directly to committee 5. Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect 6. Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations Also in 1978, these interim proposals were included in our Report Community Architecture - A Public Design Service? to Reg Freeson, Minister of Housing. This report which was widely publicised, argued that community architecture should be based on the public sector rather than on the private sector as promoted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), claiming that the RIBA’s newfound interest in the community stemmed from a growing shortage of work in the private sector. Incidentally, the proportion of registered architects working in local government rose from about 20% in 1952 to about one third in 1977. (ARCUK votes) Local Authorities. The growth of these departments followed closely on government legislation making schools and housing a statutory provision. Their subsequent identity as separate departments depended on whether the local authority built mainly schools or mainly housing. 1 Building by Local Authorities, Elizabeth Layton, Royal Institute of Public Administration, Allen & Unwin, 1961. 2 NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL 4. How it related to your Masters studies 2. Evaluation of Design     While all this was going on, in 1976 I decided to leave BDP to do further study. I particularly wanted to learn more about the evaluation of housing design so I applied to join the Bartlett Masters course. The course was run by Bill Hillier and two other tutors, one of whom also taught at the North London Polytechnic and was very good. I enjoyed the course and learned a lot. It was good to study full-time again. My Thesis was called: Cultural Reproduction and the Form of Council Housing. I developed the theory that housing design is evaluated primarily in relation to the extent to which the form of tenure reproduces the ideas of the dominant culture. The historical appendix to my Thesis showed that not only did the quantity of council housing fluctuate in relation to the government in power, but also the design. Starting in the 19C, the Conservatives, who were concerned about the growing working class poor living in rookeries, promoted slum clearance and multi-storey blocks which culminated in the contractor-designed tower blocks of the ‘50s and ’60s. "The rookeries of central London were considered to be hot-beds of the "dangerous classes", the foci of cholera, crime and Chartism". (Stedman Jones) (Attempts to improve working class housing and to alleviate the danger of rookeries took four main forms in the period from 1840 to 1870. These were; street clearance, model dwellings, sanitary regulations and the Octavia Hill schemes). And that Conservative view continued throughout the 20 C and certainly appears to be alive and well today. On the other hand Labour Governments favoured cottage-style estates. The successive Conservative Governments’ policy of slum clearance and high flats was challenged in 1968 by the Deeplish Study instigated by Harold Wilson’s Labour Government. The Deeplish Study (Deeplish in Rochdale) demonstrated conclusively that it was more economical to rehabilitate existing houses than to demolish and build new. And it also ensured that communities stayed together. That became Labour’s policy and it was extended to Councils buying houses for sale, which became Council houses and we renovated them.  5. Haringey BDS The most comprehensive design service reorganisation along the lines proposed by NAM took place in Haringey where I live. Tenant Involvement in Haringey Haringey Council had developed an early commitment to user participation. In 1976 the Council had initiated cooperative housing projects, in which the future tenants were invited to take part in the design process. The architect for the new build scheme was Bert Dinnage who was not only radically minded but a very good architect. The Council and staff in the architects’ service were therefore familiar with and committed to ideas of tenant and user involvement in design. I met Bert Dinnage to see if he thought NAM ideas could be implemented in Haringey. After I completed my MA at the Bartlett, I got a job in Haringey’s Central Area Team in 1978. The NAM ideas were adopted in Haringey Architect’s Service in two stages in 1979 and 1985. (See article in Going Local 1987) At the same time as we in NAM were developing our ideas, young Labour councillors who had emerged from tenants’ struggles like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Grant in Haringey were beginning to be elected. They were fully supportive of our ideas, as were many officers in other departments. I then worked with Bert Dinnage and other like-minded people to get the service changed. This was done through union meetings. The then Borough Architect, Alan Weitzel was also supportive. The first change came in 1979 when area design teams were agreed and I was appointed by a panel chaired by Jeremy Corbyn, the then Chair of the Planning Committee, 3 NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL as the Team Leader of the Wood Green Team, the first multi-disciplinary team in the service. Jeremy Corbyn continued to be very supportive of our proposals. The Wood Green Team carried out the rehabilitation of the historic 19th century Noel Park housing estate, built by the Artisans and Labourers Dwelling Co, including phasing of design and construction work to ensure annual delivery of 100 completed renovations. Tenants were involved in developing the design and there was a show house for each Phase. Tenants’ satisfaction surveys were carried out at the end of each Phase by architectural students. Our team won a DOE and Civic Trust Award for Palace Gates Sheltered Housing Scheme, designed in conjunction with the resident representatives and built by PELAW. Involvement with the DLO: Following the 1980 Conservative Government Planning and Land Act, I was asked by the Chief Executive to work with the DLO and local building workers unions (UCATT) to ensure fair tendering in the procurement of housing and other building work. Subsequently seconded on recommendation of UCATT shop stewards to manage PELAW, a pioneering design and build housing rehabilitation Direct Labour organisation which required support in meeting its programme and financial targets. During this period, negotiations to develop the Architect Service reorganisation continued. The second stage took place in 1985 by which time the Council had fully adopted these ideas including the proposal to have a Management Board of Team Leaders who would manage the new Building Design Service (BDS) of eight fully multi-disciplinary area teams. The Coordinator was to be elected annually by the Management Board, this decision being subject to ratification by committee. I was elected coordinator each year until about 1990 when I was appointed Borough Architect. This system worked successfully with the support of Councillors and Committee Chairs. People were attracted to work in such an innovative organisation and in a Council which encouraged equal opportunities, so we never had trouble getting good staff; more women and people from ethnic minority communities were appointed (a considerable number of whom were in senior positions), so that the service composition became one of the first to be more reflective of the community it served. By 1990, over 60% of the staff were black and ethnic minority and 30% were women. This compares to 22% and 14% respectively in 1985. 3% of staff had disabilities. Design Teams were now located in their areas and soon became closely associated with their local communities and local councillors. As an example of community involvement, local people were involved in the selection of the Broadwater Farm Team established after the riots in 1985. The team implemented a 10-year £80m estate action programme, ensuring the use of local labour and encouraging BWF Youth Association Coop to carry out work on the estate. The award–winning Broadwater Farm workshops were designed by our Broadwater Farm Team and built by the BWF Coop. Architectural Trainees As part of a policy to encourage local young people to become involved in architecture, each of the eight teams appointed two local young people as trainees. The majority were young black and ethnic minority men and women who were sponsored through college. 6. Wider Impact The traditional way for architects and engineers to work was in separate teams accountable to a chief. But as Grenfell Baines had figured out that means staff are primarily accountable to a chief, whereas on a project which is necessarily multi disciplinary they should all be accountable to the client or as NAM would say the client including the user. So we went around proselytising giving talks to other LA architects departments. What we were doing was also being reported in SLATE, BD and the AJ. 4 NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL In terms of the wider impact of these changes, Graham Towers in his book Building Democracy: Community Architecture in the Inner Cities, records that, “The events in Haringey sent ripples through technical departments in neighbouring Boroughs. Many staff disillusioned by being typecast into specialist roles, were attracted to the new way of working...In Camden, an alliance of staff and councillors succeeded in introducing area working. A similar alliance developed in Islington Architects Department and ...eventually bore fruit. Subsequently, the new approach was adopted in some other authorities. Area team working brought a new structure to public service, giving a more accessible and accountable approach to public capital projects”. (Building Democracy: Community Architecture in the Inner Cities, pp 142,143, Graham Towers). Award-winning Designs Quality of work was recognised in Dept of Environment and Civic Trust design awards plus awards for energy conservation work. Public Sector Consultancy To supplement the service income in the light of a declining capital programme, in 1988, the Council approved the proposal from Haringey Building Design Service to establish a public sector consultancy to obtain work from other councils and from housing associations. Eventually by 1994, the consultancy provided 15% of service income. In 1991, as part of a consortium, Haringey’s design service won in competition a project in Moscow to create a small business support agency. This project, supported by both the UK and Russian governments, was funded by the UK Govt. ‘Know How Fund’. Based on work with Broadwater Farm community, we collaborated with the University of Cambridge to provide advice to Bratislava City Council in Slovakia on the renovation of a large concrete panel estate. UK Govt. ‘Know How Fund’ also funded this project. 7. Current Practice Privatisation When the 1980 Planning and Land Act sought to privatise the work done by Council DLOs, I assumed that would just be the start and the rest of Council services would follow, including architects and engineers and so on. And so it has proved although at the time people thought I was exaggerating. Many architects preferred working with private builders because the DLO could challenge their authority through Councillors and the Union. So many were happy with the 1980 Act, not realising they would be next.... Then sheltered housing ... then housing... then social care.... And now the unbelievable is happening... The NHS is being secretly privatised - already 70%. As far as architects are concerned, my 1978 Paper Origins, Evolution and Structure of LA Departments of Architecture, demonstrated that Council departments of architecture were almost solely dependent on the provision of schools and council housing. Now there are no more Council Houses being built and PFI ensured that private contractors chose their own architects to build schools and hospitals. (I did a review of this for SCALA newsletter and also on PFI). So now nobody remembers there were LA architects departments... new Haringey Councillors don’t know what we did or how radical we were. 5 NAM TALK 07 MARCH 2014 TO DAVID ROBERTS’ MASTERS DEGREE STUDENTS, BARTLETT, UCL Letter to Guardian 04 January 2014 Subject: Hidden from History? Date: Sunday, January 4, 2014 13:56 From: John Murray <johnmurray@btinternet.com> To: The Guardian letters@guardian.co.uk John McLaslan’s initiatives to open a studio and train local young people as architects from Tottenham (Haringey) and also to rectify the absence of black and minority architects in the makeup of the architectural profession, are to be very much welcomed (After Haiti, Tottenham architect opens studio in riot scarred borough 4 Jan 2014). However, it is equally a timely reminder of the hidden history of the role of local authority architects services, which disappeared in the 1990s in the steady march of privatisation. The Haringey Building Design Service was especially pioneering. At its peak it employed around 200 staff, 60% of whom were black and ethnic minority, reflecting the Borough’s very diverse population. It had 8 multi disciplinary teams serving different areas of the Borough. As part of a policy to encourage local young people to become involved in architecture, each of the eight teams appointed two local young people as trainee architects. ie 16 in total. The majority were young black and ethnic minority men and women who were sponsored through college. What currently seems pioneering was then a core part of a public service shaped by the two strands of social change which fortuitously came together in Haringey in the 1980s. Firstly, a radical local Labour Council committed to equal opportunities and secondly, the impact of the New Architectural Movement (NAM). The latter was a social movement committed to extending accountability and user involvement in design services and Haringey local authority architects (including myself) were among some of the most actively involved. As neo liberalism has advanced over thirty years and the social state is dismantled, it is important that we do not forget this radical legacy and the sense of agency to bring about social change from this era. And as the housing crisis deepens, what was once deemed possible as a part of the social state may well need to be reinvented. John Murray (former NAM PDS Group) 07 March 2014 6 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Murray Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 07 March 2014 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/01be8ce4a29aa316794499ecba0eba52.pdf 537c91f8b207778b60ce82f68588769c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Local Authority Architectural Services Subject The topic of the resource Article in SCALA Newsletter October 2003 re John Murray SCALA survey about decline in public architecture services Description An account of the resource LOCAL AUTHORITY ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES INTRODUCTION In her seminal report, Building by Local Authorities,1 Elizabeth Layton showed how the origin of local authority departments of architecture was almost wholly dependent on the provision of local authority schools and council housing. The growth of these departments followed closely on government legislation making schools and housing a statutory provision. Their subsequent identity as separate departments depended on whether the local authority built mainly schools or mainly housing. The provision of state housing and schools goes back to 1919 and 1902 respectively and it is the extension of this responsibility for the greater part of post-war housing, and schools under the 1944 Education Act, that accounts for the expansion of architectural work and to a larger degree of the architectural staff in local authorities in the last century. PRESENT POSITION 2 In 1978, local authority departments employed nearly one-third of all registered architects . Since then circumstances have been significantly altered. Successive government policy changes, beginning during the 18 year period of Conservative Governments from 1979-1997, affected the provision of both council housing and schools and has resulted in the main workload of departments being removed. The majority of new social housing is now provided by Housing Associations. Schools are generally financed through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI)3 Both of these changes tend to exclude local authority architects. Housing Associations generally commission private practices to design their new housing schemes, until recently as part of a design/build team where the contractor takes the lead, although in recent years the Housing Corporation has been promoting Partnering as a more advantageous form of contract. The PFI developers also involve private practices as part of their project teams. These changes suggest that there will have been a substantial reduction in the number of local authority departments of architecture and in the proportion of architects employed in the public sector compared to 1978. While evidence ‘on the ground’ tends to confirm this, there appears to be no published data readily available, and further information is required to analyse the present position. SCALA SURVEY 2003 A survey designed to discover basic information was carried out for SCALA in 2003. Authorities were invited to respond to a brief questionnaire included in the SCALA May newsletter. 48 completed questionnaires were returned, which, although only a ‘snapshot’, tended to confirm 1 Building by Local Authorities, Elizabeth Layton, Royal Institute of Public Administration, Allen & Unwin, 1961. 2 “Origins, Evolution and Structure of Local authority Departments of Architecture”, draft paper presented by John Murray to a Public Design Service Conference, Birmingham May 1978. 3 From Society Guardian 1/10/02 The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) PFI is now the government's favourite way of funding major new public building projects such as schools, hospitals, prisons and roads. It was introduced under the Conservative government in 1992 and extended under the new Labour government of 1997. How does it work? Private consortiums, usually involving large construction firms, are contracted to both design and build a new project, and also to manage it. The contracts typically last for 30 years. The building is not publicly owned but leased by a public authority, such as a council or health trust, from the private consortium. How is it paid for? The private consortium raises the cash to build the project. It is then paid back with interest by the government through regular payments over the period of the contract. The amount paid depends on the performance of the consortium, so if the building project is delayed or if it is badly managed the consortium gets less money. In theory therefore the risk of the project going wrong lies with the private sector. 1 LOCAL AUTHORITY ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES the expected reduction in the number, size and status of local authority departments of architecture. The 48 responding councils employed a total of 1,032 architects and building surveyors and 2,128 design related staff in total. Just under half did not distinguish between architects and building surveyors, presumably reflecting the fact that planned maintenance and looking after existing buildings now comprise a substantial part of their design workload. The biggest design departments were in county councils and metropolitan city councils. The largest number of total design staff (250) supervising the biggest annual turnover (£120m) was in a large county council. This council also had the most senior level head of service (second tier). On the other hand, another large county council with an annual turnover of just under £94m, did not employ any design staff whatsoever. All design work has been privatised in this authority, with a single consultant providing the service previously carried out by the County Architects’ Department. In terms of status of the departments, there were no chief officer City Architect or County Architect posts. Most heads of building design departments are third tier posts located in a variety of directorates, ranging from professional services to client directorates such as Housing or Property. Only 2 of the 33 London Boroughs responded, perhaps reflecting that the loss of building design departments in the Capital has been particularly marked, with few building design departments remaining. FURTHER STUDY 4 There are 468 local authorities in the UK as a whole . The 48 respondents represent a sample of just under12% of the 410 local Authorities in England and Wales. A further study is now necessary to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the current position. Two further types of investigation are proposed: 1. Seek support from IDeA, possibly in collaboration with an architectural magazine, to carry out a comprehensive survey of all local authorities. 2. Interview a sample of departments to identify the main issues affecting them. THE FUTURE It may be speculated that the contraction of local authority departments of architecture will continue. Twenty-five years ago there were 203 separate departments of architecture in the 454 English and Welsh local authorities,5 employing nearly one-third of all registered architects. What will be the position at the end of the next twenty-five years? And is there anything SCALA could or should be doing in the face of continuing decline? JM/02/10/03 4 Guardian Local Authority Directory 2003 5 Metropolitan Year Book 1978 cited in Footnote 2 above (Origins, Evolution and Structure of Local authority Departments of Architecture”, John Murray 1978) 2 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Murray Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 02 October 2003 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/b1efb34a899563cdd12d0c28a5a98c0d.pdf a1f5044848c05f1c935b7b05f20fd2c9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Déjà Vu- Parallels between High Rise System Built Housing and PFI Subject The topic of the resource Article in SCALA Newsletter September 2004 describing the intriguing parallels between the way the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) operates and the building by local authorities of system-built tower blocks in the 1950’s and 60’s. Description An account of the resource John Murray T: 020 8340 4359 E: johnmurray@ btinternet.com John Murray was formerly Borough Architect at the London Borough of Haringey. His 1977 MA Thesis on Design Evaluation and the Form of Council Housing included a historical review of council housing. 28 High rise system built housing and PFI: Have they anything in common? What Similarities? There are intriguing parallels between the way the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) operates and the building by local authorities of system-built tower blocks in the 1950’s and 60’s. • Both policies were introduced by a Conservative government. • In both cases, the Government promoted an unpopular policy by using financial incentives to encourage reluctant local authorities to adopt unfamiliar and untried methods of building. • In both cases control over design and construction was vested in large private construction companies, with local authority architects having little influence. The responses of the in-coming Labour governments of 1964 and 1997 were, initially, similar. PFI, introduced by the previous Conservative government in 1992, only took off after Labour took office in 1997. It was enthusiastically adopted and extended for a substantial proportion of large public sector building projects. In 2001-02 the PFI accounted for 9% of public investment. According to the NHS plan, more than 100 new hospitals will be provided using PFI by 2010. 1964-1973 By 1964, there was an increasing use of high high-rise systems imported from Europe. The in-coming Labour government, having promised to build 500,000 houses a year, continued the drive to industrialise and established the National Building Agency to advise on industrialised system building. But within three years, the new government set about changing the inherited policy of slum clearance and high-rise system-built council housing. The 1967 Labour Housing Act, which introduced the Housing Cost Yardstick, is less well known for effectively bringing an end to the building of high flats by local authorities. It reduced the financial support for high flats, abolishing the additional subsidy available for each storey in excess of six, and re-introduced the general needs subsidy. Thus ended an arrangement, which, since 1956, had encouraged often reluctant local authorities to build high blocks. The Housing Cost Yardstick, while strengthening central government control over the financing of public sector housing, drew attention to the excessive cost of high building and the possibilities of alternative patterns of housing layout. The partial collapse of Ronan Point, a system-built tower block in the London Borough of Newham and a customary datum, was therefore not the cause of the decline in the high block. It occurred one year later in 1968. In parallel with the decision to discourage the building of high-rise council flats, the efficacy of slum clearance was also questioned. In 1966 the government commissioned the Deeplish Study to assess the possibility of housing improvement in place of the slum clearance programme begun by the Conservative government in 1953. Its report of 1968 recommended rehabilitation rather than demolition, stressing the economic and social advantages. By 1969, the government had transferred the emphasis from slum clearance and high flats to rehabilitation. In the private sector also, improvement grants were introduced “to provide dwellings by conversion, or by improving dwellings and houses”. General Improvement Areas were introduced with compulsory powers to improve living conditions. In 1974, following the return of another Labour government, the policy was further extended to include municipalisation, the acquiring by local authorities of homes from private developers and agencies. PFI Time will tell whether the current government will have a similar change of heart about PFI. At present that seems unlikely, despite criticisms and public disquiet. The PFI was introduced by the Conservative government in the 1992 Budget, after the UK was forced to pull out of the European exchange rate mechanism earlier that year. The government wanted to stimulate the economy while at the same time holding down public spending - and the PFI appeared to offer a relatively inexpensive way of boosting a recession-hit construction industry. Under the PFI a private consortium raises the money needed to build or refurbish a capital project such as a school, hospital or housing estate. The project is financed, designed and built by the consortium, and is then leased back to the public authority complete with services such as routine maintenance, cleaning and catering, typically for a period of 25-30 years. The private consortium will be regularly paid from public money depending on its performance throughout that period. If the consortium misses performance targets, it will be paid less. The attraction of PFI for the Government is that it avoids making expensive one-off payments to build large-scale projects that might involve unpopular tax rises. Since the risk of PFI projects is technically transferred to the private consortium, in the government's accounts it does not show up as increased public borrowing. But there is a question mark over how much risk is genuinely transferred to the private sector given the record of government having to bail out private companies managing troubled public services. Critics also claim that as with any form of hire purchase, buying a product over a long period of time is more expensive than paying for it in full at the outset. They also point out that governments can borrow cash at a cheaper rate than the private sector. Growing concern has recently been expressed amongst experts about the cost of PFI. Public sector accountants claim that hospitals and schools would be cheaper to build using traditional funding methods. The national audit office described the value for money test used to justify PFI projects as "pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo". It said that there was little evidence so far that the PFI offered increased value for money, especially in providing new schools and hospitals. (cited by Weaver, M, PFI: The issue explained, The Guardian 15/01/03) Public sector unions have criticised PFI as "back-door privatisation". They are concerned that the wages and conditions of support workers who are transferred from the public sector to the private sector consortia suffer as businesses seek to maximise profits. Economists also point out that the government can borrow money from the markets at cheaper rates than the private sector so the PFI saddles public services with higher interest repayments than if the cash had been borrowed by the Treasury. The Government does not dispute this but it believes that PFI encourages greater control of costs over the project's lifetime. For example, since the consortium will be penalised if part of the building becomes unusable, in theory, it is in its interest to use high quality construction materials, which in turn should keep maintenance costs low. High rise system built housing and PFI 29 “Growing concern has recently been expressed amongst experts about the cost of PFI.” “...there is continuing unease about the low priority given to design quality...” 30 High rise system built housing and PFI In an article, To PFI or not to PFI in the Summer 2004 Scalanews, Mark Mattison, in discussing alternatives to PFI, argued that, “Partnering contracts allow the provision of integrated design solutions by requiring the procurer, the contractor and related consultants working on a project to work closely together, providing an integrated service to the employer using a wider skill base and a (hopefully) non-adversarial approach to negotiation”. But the PFI is now the major source of capital funding for local authorities and NHS bodies because ministers will not countenance the borrowing or increased taxes that would be needed if PFI were to be abandoned. Design Quality In addition to these concerns, there is continuing unease about the low priority given to design quality in the process where control of projects has been taken over by contractors. Building Design magazine reported on the anxieties about contractors’ control debated at the July 2004 RIBA Conference. The Manchester City Council Chief Executive criticised the government for leaving local authorities with little control over their own areas by allowing control of regeneration projects to be taken over by contractors. “The mismatch at the moment is very serious. It is the notion that the private sector knows best; the contractor, heaven forbid, knows best. We have to be more responsive to the local, and to the particular circumstance in the community”. He also criticised the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) for failing to challenge the Government in terms of procurement. Architects from the platform echoed his disapproval. A Cabe commissioner and architect pointed out that Cabe had challenged the government on design quality and had produced a report to ensure that design quality had a higher priority in PFI but the Government has not adopted all of Cabe’s recommendations. The complaints came just before the government announced an extra £16 billion of public funding to build houses. In his spending review in July 2004, the Chancellor extended the Government’s commitment to contractor-led procurement by announcing more PFI housing. More recently, the Architects Journal described a report by Public Policy Research commenting on the need to improve design quality in PFI projects: “There is enough evidence to argue that the design of some PFI facilities is below best practice...The Audit Commission report on early PFI schools establishes a correlative link between PFI and poorer design when compared to conventional procurement. New research into the effect of PFI on design standards should therefore be a top priority” (Three Steps Forward, Two steps Back Public Policy Research report). Cited in AJ 09/09/04 P10 Labour Boffins demand PFI Probe. Summary By jettisoning the inherited policy of slum clearance and high rise system built council housing, and by transforming it into a combination of rehabilitation of existing housing plus medium-rise, architect- designed new build, the 1964 Labour government anticipated the growing unpopularity and expense of the high-rise block. It seems unlikely that the current Labour government will discard its commitment to the PFI, at least in the near future, despite signs that the method is becoming increasingly unpopular. A Guardian/ICM poll in the latter part of 2002 showed that almost two thirds of voters supported a moratorium on any new PFI projects. So far, the Government has refused to grant one. It is not only the pared-down designs and long-term costs, which cause concern. Excessive charges for using facilities are also cited. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is more expensive for visitors to park their cars at the new out-of-town PFI Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, than it is at Edinburgh Airport. One consolation for local authorities may be that while much of the blame for the consequences of high rise flats was laid at their door, rather than at the door of the culprits in central government, so far, at least, there seems little doubt in the public’s mind where responsibility for the PFI lies. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Murray Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 18 September 2004 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/8e811e981db21d99aa428adbb673559b.pdf 1ac8bb526d8ce9a03adfe1bdf6abc91f https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/e93c8c35f2a1ed1a98e2ed61a78e24cd.pdf d7dde0af57b8d3d89fe89e765cde9025 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Design Group Description An account of the resource Argued that it was only through the public sector that the majority of people could have access to the land and resources needed for housing, education and other essential services. The task was therefore to reform the practice of architecture in local councils to provide an accessible and accountable design service. The Public Design Group proposed reforms to the practice of architecture in local councils to provide a design service accessible and accountable to local people and service users. The following 6 Interim Proposals were developed which were later initiated and implemented in Haringey Council 1979-1985 by NAM members. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</li> </ul> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Press Cuttings Subject The topic of the resource Various Press Cuttings about public architecture, many demonstrating the profession's hostility to local authority architect departments (3 files) Description An account of the resource ae 2 CG Auk public S2¢ev Fess Ct ane - | Aete eee Qit2" expensive than development’, has given the WCC con- sent rather than pointing out the error of its ways. One of the many curious reasons the Secretary of State gives, in his letter of consent, is that he ‘. ..is aware that the city council have no intention of rehabilitating the buildings and there is no evidence that any other agency having the necessary resources would be willing to do so’. Indeed, he feels that the ‘result of his refusing listed building consent would be the continuing decay of the listed buildings and the perpetuation of unsatisfactory conditions on the site [which] also aggravates local housing needs’. The local Amenity Association had, in its submis- sion to the inquiry, shown that the housing could be rchabilit- ated to provide housing for between 158 to 184 persons. WCC would build housing but has not yet produced a scheme. Public sector architects’ efficiency under scrutiny A major study of public sector architecture has been started by the RIBA. Sparked off by increasingly strong attacks on local authority offices, the study will look at the architects work in public authorities. It will make recommendations on ways in which the profession’s skills can be used most effectively. The RIBA has asked more than 200 local authorities, nation- alised industries, new towns and government bodies to submit evidence. The study will be carried out by a four-man steering group chaired by Gordon Graham. The other members are Thurston Williams, Bob Giles, John Wells-Thorpe and Patrick Harrison. They plan to complete the report by next summer. Launching the study last week, Gordon Graham commented that he saw the issue as being of vital concern to the whole profession. Not only does the public sector employ half of the RIBA’s UK membership, but it accounts for one-third of private architects’ workload as well. Graham repudiated what he called the “travesty of the truth put about by some people who should know better’, a refer- ence to GLC housing supremo George Tremlett at the RIBA conference in Liverpool. Instead, he claimed that the bureau- cratic features of some public offices weren’t always a very suitable environment for the creative role of designers. Awards for conservation Howell Mill at Llanddeusant, Anglesey. Maladministration in Aberdeen | ‘The people of our country are aware of their heritage and have rightly become steadily more determined that needless destruction shall be stopped and that the effects of neglect be made good,’ said Secretary of State for the Environment Peter Shore when handing over this year’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’/The Times conservation award (see ‘DOE reverse on rehab’, p198). The competition, the subject of which was the restoration and reuse of industrial premises, was divided into two categories: industrial and related premises preserved for further indus- trial use, and industrial premises converted to educational or recreational use with public access permitted. A total of 50 entries were received with the Howell Mill at Llanddeusant, Anglesey, winning the first category prize and the Gladstone Pottery museum at Longton, Staffordshire, winning the second category prize. The Howell Mill is the only remaining working mill relying entirely on water power in north Wales. The architect for the work was N. Squire Johnson. The Gladstone works is the last remaining Victorian pottery factory. It was on the point of demolition when a Trust was formed to buy and convert it into a museum. The architects for the scheme were size unacceptable. However, the planning department mis- Green, Campbell Wainwright and Parmers. takenly gave the applicant—the Grampian Health Board— The second prize in the latter category was won by the Farm- the go-ahead and, to compound this error, failed to advertise ham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey, and the third prize by the the decision. Locals, who later objected to the scheme, only Worsborough Mill museum, Barnsley, Yorkshire. There were knew about the proposals when men arrived on Site to begin The Architects’ Journal 2 August 1978 199 no runners-up in the category won by the Howell Mill. The judges were Brigadier T. F. J. Collins of Essex County Council, Richard Harris of The Times and Michael Wright, editor of Country Life. Aberdeen District Council has been found guilty of maladmin- istration by the local government Ombudsman because of a ‘series of errors and omissions’ by its planning department. An office development application involving the building of an extension on to alisted building in Queens Terrace, which is in a central Aberdeen conservation area, was tumed down by the planning committee because it considered its design and “sg Sisto TRADA’s new building at High Wycombe was opened last week (AF 10.11.76 p879). As one would expect it isa largely timber building (designed by Geoffrey Hawkins in collaboration with TRADA architects). The view above shows the new building with the conference room in the centre: the site slopes steeply and the timber frame construction has adapted with a minimum of excavation. A curious feature of the building is the roof. Instead of the usual granite chippings the flat roof is covered with turf which protects the roof membrane from sunlight and insulates it. In brief Commercial development for Epsom Renton Howard Wood Levin’s scheme for a commercial development in the centre of Epsom, Surrey, has been accepted by the town council. The scheme, which covers a site of about 4-05 hectares, retains the existing frontage on the main streets bounding the site and includes a new shopping mall, car park, offices and some housing. The developers are the Dutch based firm of Brodero. Leeds at the World Congress A project by a Leeds Polytechnic architectural student— Howard Wainwright—has won its way to final judging in a competitiontobeheldduringtheWorldCongressofArchi- tects in Mexico City in October. The theme of the competition is the design of a local government complex to serve a popula- tion of up to 50 000. AONBs to be studied The Countryside Commission is to carry out a two year study into the effectiveness of designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a means of conserving and improving land- scape. Don’t monitor planning, says RTPI The RTPI strongly opposes the Government’s proposal to introduce assessors to monitor the planning system. Tony Eddison, chairman of RTPI’s External Affairs Committee, wrote to Peter Shore recently suggesting that the system is already extensively monitored. The planners’ public accounta- bility is already high, he believed: through the ombudsman, public inquiries, the press and community groups. New London region chairman The RIBA London region has elected J. Maxwell Hutchinson to be its new chairman. He has already been chairman of the North-East Thames Architectural Society and of the London Environment Group. The Harkness Fellowships Twenty fellowships are offered each year for 12 to 21 months of study and travel in the United States. They are open to UK citizens in any profession or field of study whose secondary and further education (or equivalent professional experience) has been wholly or mainly in the United Kingdom. Candidates must be between 21 and 30 years of age on 1 September 1979, unless qualified in medicine or employed in the Civil Service or the media, in which cases the upper age limit is 33. Appli- cation forms from The Harkness Fellowships (UK), Hark- ness House, 38 Upper Brook Street, London, W1Y 1PE (en- close sae for 16p). Five schemes win awards The five winning schemes for BBC Nationwide’s Pride of Place competition are: the town of Portsoy by Banff District Council; Cofferidge Close, Stony Stratford, by Milton Keynes Development Corporation; the West Bank Community Scheme, Widnes, by Halton District Council architect’s depart- ment; a land reclamation scheme at Halkyn, Clwyd, by the Halkyn Countryside Committee; and parts of Poole (old and new town), Dorset, by Poole Council architect’s department. Prizes appropriate to cach scheme will be devised later. a the hall and its 77-acre estate (all now owned by the Peter- borough Development Corporation) include spending £1 mil- lion repairing and converting the hall, stable block and gate- house into offices and buildings for recreational use, and £100 000 restoring the formal gardens and stocking the park with deer, rare animals and new trees. i IEESSSSSSSS iveniios PPceeet OCNELEAGSAFEESIT Bspeepe 200 The Architects’ Journal 2 August 1978 construction. When the council finally discovered its mistake it decided that, since a tender had already been accepted, it was too late to stop work. Although construction began over a year ago the extension has sull not been completed because the contractor has gone out of business. Hotel and clinic for grounds of historic house Plans to build an hotel, clinic and sports facilities in the grounds of the grade I listed Thorpe Hall, near Peterborough, are causing great concem among historians and local residents. The Friends of Thorpe Hall, which was built in 1645 by Peter Mills and is one of the most important surviving common- wealth houses in the country, ‘are concerned that [the devel- opment] will min the magnificent views now obtained of Thorpe Hall from Longthorpe Parkway’ and that the hotel and clinic ‘would be completely out of character with the rest of the conservation area’. The Friends also ask in their letter of objection to the city council that ‘if this sort of development is allowed within a conservation area then what isn’t permit- ted?’ As well as the city council, which is now considering the proposals put forward by the Bell Industrial Trust Ltd, the Friends have also written to the DOE demanding a public inquiry. In addition to an hotel and clinic the developer’s proposals for Decline in members could force SAAT out of existence THE Society of Architectural and Associated Technicians warned last week that it could be forced out of existence if a move is not made to boost falling membership. The Warning came from SAAT’S vice-chairman, George Lowe, at the society’s annual general meeting in Edinburgh comparable to the 20 000-odd of in parallel but different the RIBA. In the ‘theady days’* Streams.” of 1967/68 the level reached a Lowe added that the other peak of 6000 and has since fields included industry, been slowly declining. It now commercial forms, the catering stands at about 4 500. Lowe suggested that the policy Of recruiting members Lowe explained that of the 700 or so HNC students who almost entirely from private and could qualify for membership public architects’ offices and that the extension of OF SAAT cach year, only about contracting firms created *‘a @ quarter tried to join the society. His statistics were based on a survey carried out on 1973/74 “It is possible that if the massive shortfall between those taking HNC examinations and those who seck SAAT wrong place for our members, qualifications are not resolved, but it iy fairly certain that by the Society may cease to be concentrating on the more usual viable within a few years,” he and professionally ‘legitimate’ Warned field we have ignored and The society was set up in therefore failed to gain 1965, at which time its initiators advantage from those who hoped for a membership work outside the establishment Bexley tenants get a say in house design THE prospective tenants of “The idea is that we will be able seven council houss in Bexley to hear something about 1, will be allowed people's personal preferences, say in their design under although we hope they won't be a plan put forward by the frustrated if they're told what When youve seen one ofour wall clocks borough council If the scheme wins the approval of the DoE, with Which itisnow beme discussed the council’s architects will hold meetines with the people inhabitants will have some say nvolved to consider how theyy over depend on the outcome of Want to influencthee design the talks with DoE. Bexley’s The houses are all three- scheme is similar to one bedroomed and are duc to start introduced by Haringey next year. Assistant borough Council where tenants are also architectKennethMechansaidinvinodeslignvdisecusdsions Italso happens to be a splendid way of introducing you to the next big advantage. The variety. Because not just content to produce a design for every possible purpose, most of the ECS Wall Clock models are available in different versions and sizes. Thus some can be wall mounted and others fitted flush, without changing the overall look. This combination of mounting variations, overall sizes, and choice of movements together with al the different styled dials, means that ECS offer you one of the most comprehensive ranges possible. In addition to this range of wall clocks ECS can also offer Day and Date clocks, Digital clocks, Mahogany Calendar clocks, and ifyou really want to be ahead ofthe times, the unique Teleclock, which receives its accuracy from a Swiss radio beam. We also make clocks Developing ideas on Portman operations involved and the committee tended towards leniency. Nevertheless as the rules now stand an architect is theoretically in jeaopardy if he designs his own house and sells it to somebody soon alter Portman operates three companies the RIBA audience was told. One offers complete “I WOULD love to be able to design services with architects, be a developer”’ said architect services men, engineers but Keith Scott at the RIBA talk- not quantity surveyors who in on US architect/developer are as unknown in the US as John Portman on Tuesday in Europe, Another supplies Speaking after the RIBAJ furnishing and fittings and the editors had given a brief slide third is a development and and movie show of Portman’s management company. In this work — omitting an interview way he is able to do what which the noise of Portman’s British architects would like to air conditioning had ruined do — control the whole Scott was opening a discussion process of building from about architect developers. berinning tolend, though not He pointed out that the actual construction of Portman exploited a loophole buildings in the American Institute's Eric Lyons tartly pointed code Less a loophole than the out that architects were no less AITA’s stipulation that its susceptible fo corruption members can act as architect than anybody else and one ex developers providing they architect, ex-developer asked have equity in the Scott why he didn't leave the development (‘participating RIBA and 20 ahead and members” as the Americans develop anyway put it). They would thus be The question nobody effectively their own clients asked is how seven Veurs of and there was no conflict of learning how to put buildings interest together particularly fitted Developer cases brought architects to enter the complex before the RIBA disciplinary world of high finance and committee were said to be hotel and office occupancy judged on the scale of prediction “So what exactly.have you got in mind? philosophy of narrow and debilitating exclusiveness” There were other related areas where members could be recruited membership in the mainstream is limited — indeed the opposite has proved to be the case. There seems to be only one way to look, and that isoutwards.” trade, property companies and service organisations Tony Lodge, a former SAAT chairman, sugeested at the meeting that technicians cligible for membership could also be found in the computer field and the North Sea oil industry Lowe concluded; “‘It is clear News rd provide a vernacular touch to this scheme for 42 units designed by “IL is not true to suggest that For a full report, see News in Green Lloyd and Adams for the G: ess Trust, The homes are situated on the Kings Road in Chelsea not a brick’s we have been looking in the Focus, page 6. throw from Eric Lyons’ Worlds End scheme. The “chimneys” contain vent pipes, ven jon ducts ete, not fMues. they want isn’t permitted by the Building Regulations Derails of exactly what aspects of the desien the future you havent seen them al. Remember, most models in our range can be adapted to run either from the mains, from to order, incorporating company namestyles a battery, or as part of the ECS Quartz master clock system. Which at the same time means saying goodbye to any power source restrictions that may hitherto have been hindering your ideas about installation. and symbols. And so the listgoes on. You'll find al the details listed in our many specification sheets on the subject. Send to the address below. ECS Wall Clocks. They’re al time greats. ECS ENGLISH CLOCK SYSTEMS Industime House, Chase Road, Park Royal, London NW/10 6QI Telephone: 01-965 9011 Also at Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Gliggow For instant information tick on reader inquiry card UI |The weklynewspaperforthebuildingteam_ Pia a Why people prefer to buy new homes TTT by FEBRUARY 6, 1976 Metric madness “THE imposition of the metric system upon usby doctrinaire dictators, completely out of touch with people, is a dis- ceful, insensitive act” — trick O'Keefe launches a full-scale attack on metrica- tion. Page 12. [faaeseea Crisis City EIGHTEEN leading archi- tects have examined the spects for the furure ofDublin and their views are brought together under the title, Dub- lin: a City in Crisis Neil Steedman looks at the results. Page 10 — 1. Systems guide BD pull-out product code chart on housing systems — sce page England's Ist limited competition winner THE design (above) for a new HQ for the Avon division of the Severn-Trent Water Authority is the winner in the first limited regional design competition held in England. HN Jepson & Partners of Nuneaton was the winning ractice out of six local firms invited to submit designs. Sponsored by the Water Authority and organised by the RIBA’s West Midlands Region, the competition took six weeks from briefing to as- sessment. Freeson also revealed in*his (Gon, Melton). Ereeson, said @ Qurmide commissiforntshe By Paul Finch there were now 679 staff in th PSA increased by 30 per cent answer that a “comprehensive Directorate, 44 of whom were in the period January to Sep- A PACE-SETTING review” of the Directorate architects. There were 490 ar- tember 1975, compared with A ‘Architect's office aims at better standards PSA GETS NEW DESIGN TEA “designoffice”with- General’s responsibility for technical development work chitectsinthePSAasawhole. thesameperiodin1974. The new London City Mis- sion, rising from the ashes of the 18th century church of St John Horsleydown, in the Property Ser- vices Agency has been created as part ture work is “closely concen- are called architects and not This was to ensure that fu- Ayon division managing of moves to improve trated on clearly identifiable P&TOs. This was one of the director Alan Harker said the design standards. needs.” Better machinery has competition, which has a prize been set up for giving guidance of the commission for the Thecreationoftheoffice on Cas issued within the project, “brought out a was'"a recommendation agency, he said, and the PSA fices should not be used except could contribute to im- pofenent io ofthe Index : tremendous range of solu- from Environment Secre- Board was now considering tions.” He described the win- tary Anthony Crosland in how to “provide for evaluation ning design as “deceptively response to the Matthew/ and monitoring of design mat- simple” and fitting well on the Skillington report on ters at top management level” site. promotion of high stan- more effectively. More detailed designs Freeson said although it was as integral of design teams, and that partial com- missions should be stopped — have been half-implemented. public awareness of issues Inquiry Service 16, Dateline Freeson said action was be- ing taken to ensure close inte- should be ready within four dards of Government ar- too early to assess the work of gration of the work of drawing affecting the quality of the 17, Appointments 18 — 19. built environment.” ai cege. Today,morethaneverbefore, Wilton Works, Shepperton Rd. you lok forefficiency and unbeatable London N1 3DG. Tel: 01-226 6455. months, work should start by chitectural design. the Directorate, “I am sure that offices and design teams, but it Set up under thecontrol of the measures being taken will had proved impossible to September this year and the the Director General of Design help to foster* professional abandon partial commissions. Services, architect Dan Lacey, morale and stimulate the “Bur when work isput out to headquarters should be oc- cupied, by 300 staff currently scattered throughout the divi- the multi-disciplinary team is quality of design work in the consultants, the achievement sion, within two years. West Midlands region agency.” Replying to further ques- tions from Michael Latham Anthony Crosland last March, he said it would be a “pace- setter” in the PSA, and that its work would provide apractical basis for guidance and advice ONLY 1 per cent of those to the agency’s general design work. Ina Parliamentary reply this chairman Alan Robinson said he hoped this would be the first of many such limited competitions in England. from within the PSA. When the idea of the design designed to produce quick re- office was put forward by Pioncered in Scotland, they are sults, and to give the promoter a direct say in choosing the winner. Repair row: who choose to buy a brand new house do so because itiseasier to get a mortgage, says a mar- and that everyone wanted the council fined week, Housing and Construc- ket research report published largest living area possible. headed by another architect, Geoffrey Woodward. He and the other five senior members of the design office already recruited have all come of good design is always a major consideration in arrang- ing a commission,” he said. The survey found that the overall size of the kitchen was not as important as the layout and other specialist functions has been carried out. @ The DoE’s Environment Board has set up three groups under Sir Hugh ilson, Alfred Wood and Professor which was bombed durin; Peter Hall to “study further the Battle of Britain. Page 7. ways in which the Department tion Minister Reg Freeson said this week. Most indicated that there THE LONDON Borough of the future programme of the could never be too much stor- Lambeth had to pay out more new unit andthe staff needed Nearly 50 per cent of those age space in a house; 80 per Potter Rax Limited, Dept than £200 this week and was orderedtorepairacouncil out. because they are cheaper. Other important reasons for choosing new over old, the report says, are suitability and specity.That'swhy Raxscoretimeand Birminghars edmorethanthreebedrooms. againwithsizeablecontractsfor BraatnBascinghstokee(s4580). Carcitf house after pleading guilty in a case brought by one of its ten- ants. Nearly fifty per cent regarded central heating as essential in their first home. Ninety per centthoughtthatagaragewas andtodeliveronschedulemakes He said new titles for professional staff are being considered so that architects Matthew/Skillington recom- mendations, Others — thatdrawing of- for it are now being worked who buy new houses do so cent of those questioned want- value formoney ineverything you Telex 264354 Existing resources will be redeployed to create whatever is decided. Apart from Wood- folding shutter doors and collapsible gatesinmajorpublicworks. Our capacity to custombuild with great precision to any size, in any ‘quantity — {021-558 2211). Bath (0225-23171). (0222-24771), Manchester (061-205 2018). Glasgow (041-332 0411), Southampton Cork (04-893 2284), Belfast (0232-669552), (52358), Dubin (62139) Agentsthrowghouttheworks. design, lack of choice of an The verdict followed last ward,theotherfivemembers olderhousewithintheirprice of the design office comprise two architects, a qs, civil en- gineer and M&E engineer. essential or desirable. The report, by Research weck’s High Court decision that local authorities which al- lowed their properties to fal into such disrepair as to become a statutory nuisance may be charged with acriminal offenceandfinedupto£200. agency’swork,”butwillbe edtobuyamucholderhouse, ofEngland.Itisavailablefor resistantdoor—allmade-to-measure The design office is intend- ed to undertake “a significant representative sample of the “Many respondents did not like the design of houses built in the immediate post-war period. They ultimately want- Consult usfor folding sliding shutter doors, roller shutters and grilles, range and ease of maintenance orrepairs. Associates, was based on 12 group discussions with 100 irst-time new house buyers in the North Midlands and South us highly competitive in today's conditions. The comprehensive nature ofourexpertiseisalsoatellingfactor Lambethhadtopayafineof concentrating initiallyonde- butuntilthiswasfinancially £85 from The Radfords, foryouropenings. £50, £105 compensation for signing the PSA’s new possible they preferred the de- Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 damage to clothes caused by headquarters, which will be sign of new houses,” says the 8DJ. Telephone Stone (078 the collapse of a ceiling and built in Teesside under the 583) 3164/5. £66 costs, dispersal programme. report. ® on reader inquiry form uilt environment, both for green field development and in Sean existing built-up areas; and to consider the scope for greater Week 9, v collapsible gates and altypes offire- y iv Perpecu e e7, r io 9, Week by lucts 14, Reader e 7, I Int n ter- For doors that match ernne ‘Some of the Rax sliding folding shutter doors supplied for the Main Transport Workshop, Creekside, Deptford for the London Borough of Lewisham. Contractors Ws: Simms Sons & Cooke (Southern) Ltd. Borough Surveyor:J. W. Turner. 8Bee ae out by Dr lain Clark of St Luke's Hospital at Guildford. The full report is expected to be criminating against certain a this summer by periods ofarchitecture — Dr Clark began his particularly Victorian — in its Grade 1 list of historic buildings. According to investigations carried out on behalf of SAVE, i The new London head office of NAM address change THE address of the New Architecture Movement has changed to 9 Poland Street, London, W1. Membership is£5 for working members and £2 for unemployed and students, not £1 as stated in BD last week. Dramatic talk y Vic Tapner country houses listed as Grade 1 are Victorian. also notably absent. Other about £5 million and building work | The application has come tertainment facilities are en- started in August 1975. Completio: from architects Gray Associates visaged. inbalancesinthesystemwouldIsexpectedincarly1978.eeeofWindsor,actingfortheirSofaronlyanoutlineplandancyif.cutbackmeasures come to light when his own lists Client: Banque Nationale de Paris, clients Craftroad Ltd which was has been _ Submitted and being considered by the council were complete, he said. Architect: Fitzroy Robinson and | set up several years ago to Southend District Council has are implemented. Most of the “Though the Victorian period saw the building of more palatial and prodigious country houses than any previous period, officialdom has been slow, indeed grudging in theatres and railways.” appreciating their worth,” says SAVE. The criticism accompanies Make the most the release of the initial fin- dings of a three-year research said, the listing system was too Dr Iain Clark. programme into Grade 1 ised) upgraded Mentmeoreitealf fram buildings in England carried Grade 2 to Grade 1.” jayman's study “basically SOUTHEND councillors were The project would en- Theatre” on March 30 at the William Street, London which was yesterday considering a compass a total area of 200 ha. Kingston Branch of the RIBA. THE trend to community wagon which is inevitably architecture is continuing with attracting many architects in the establishment of a new search of work.” organisation called “‘Support’’. set up hard on the heels of the work in Support is based on direct relationships with people Architecture Working Group, on the ground. There is a need RIBA’s Community consists of people with ar- to redefine ways of working.” Hinsley added that there was who want to work outside no formal membership, but a traditional professional loose organisation working to hitectural and building skills methods Support says its aims are to a structure had _ been promote socially responsible deliberately avoided to retain work and to help the majority flexibility. of people who have no control over the built environment they office in The Clerkenwell live in. Although it is London- Workshops, 27 Clerkenwell based it intends to work with Close, London EC1. community organisations helping deprived social groups in all parts of the country. Demolition error Where particular projects need specialist advice Support THE Environment Secretary, will contact an expert to help. Peter Shore, has admitted he In the long term Support wants made a mistake in authorising to establish new skills like demolition of a building in support each other. Too formal King’s Lynn which contained Unlike many other “‘com- Norman arches hidden behind participatory design. munity architecture” groups Support will be involved directly with those it is working for. In its first newsletter re- discovered after demolition had leased this week Support says: started. King’s Lynn Preser- “Community architecture is vation Trust disputed this rapidly becoming a fashionable earlier this week. A spokesman expression. It is used by groups told BD a letter containing as disparate as ARC and the photographic evidence had All this and more from the world’s largest manufacturer of decorative products. Make the most of us—ring Freefone 6067 for literature and further information. Support is establishing an the facade. Shore told the Commons last Make the most of Crown’s vast product range nts Specifier— invaluable for tricky specification week their existence was only Banque Nationale de ParisTieiiol Britain's largest marina planned SIR Denys Lasdun is to give a was “topped out” last week. The illustrated talk on “Architec- new building is on the site of the bank’s old headquarters inKing tural aspects of the National through curiosity” and an demolished in February 1975 and planning application fora huge Two harbour walls would be interestintheownershipofproviadgerossareaof7800sqm.commercial/housingbuilt—onealongsidethe historic buildings. He told BD Expanded foreign exchange development on 90 ha of remains of Southend’s fire- that Victorian buildings were capacity, improved staff accommo. reclaimed land off the seafront, ruined pier — to enclose the not the only ones to be dation and catering facilities are The mecting begins at 7.30pm in the Main Lecture Theatre, Kingston Polytechnic, Penrhyn Road, Kingston. Council cuts mere” 1 of the 780 overlooked in the Grade 1 list. Included in the new development, combined with what would be reclaimed land and water area. Non-conformist chapels were The original contract was worth Britain's largest marina. Housing, shops and en- More than 100 workers in Barnsley Council's building department could face redun: On the question of Victorian Partners. Main contractor: Sir pursue the possibility of marina Set up a special sub committee workers are involved with major buildings, he said: ‘I don’t Robert McAlpine. think there is any other category in the list which has as few as 11, expect perhaps In total he has looked at 38000 Grade 1“‘items’’, which often include groups of buildings. At the moment, he development in the area. to consider it. capital projects. random and he hoped that his report would give a clearer overall picture tothe committees who drew up the lists. In reply to the claim of discrimination against the Victorian period, the DoE has told SAVE: “It is quite untrue to say that there is any prejudice among Ministers or in the DoE against Victorian buildings... we_ recently Hugo Hinsley, one of the The group, which has been organisers, told BD: ‘Most RIBA.Itisimportantthatour beensenttotheDoEbeforethe problems.ManathemostoftheCrown crown work and ideas can be building came down, but no Crown Decorative Products Ltd., PO. Box 37, Darwen, Lancs. BB3 0BG distinguished from this band- action was taken. scheming on major projects and specialist technical advice on any decorative problem, Building Design, London SE18, Every Friday. Copyright 1977 Morgan: Grampian (Construction Press) Lid. 7, For instant information tick on reader inquiry card Printed by Huthweite Printing Co. Lid, Sutton-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire. Registereads a newspaper at the Post Utnce. YP est by Are Fimseting, London EC1. works with you NEWS IN BRIEF Apprentice decline THE number of apprentices entering the construction industry through the National Joint Council scheme fell from 13093 in 1975 to 11336 in 1976, accordin t NEBTE. g to the Victorian period discriminated against by DoE THE DoE was criticised this week by the conservation organisation SAVE for dis- Ii Community design group established jobs. Make the_special paints for special colour range-ineat of the B.S. 4800 Crown Eggshell aswell as Gloss and Matt Emulsion. Make the ureau-free colour most of the Crown Pai Decorative Advisory B If you wish to communicate urgent news, contact Vic Tapner on BD Newsdesk 01-855 7777 Construction professions needrevamp — Labour NEC A NUMBER of radica atic indemnity scheme AdministeremA by the institutes and reforms in the construction the insurance industry.” Each professions and a move Ace ce would be insured against towards greater standard- liability for defectsin larger projects isation in design have been nd would require a special bond called for by the Labour for “more ambitious” schemes. A firm could be promoted to a higher Party National Executive experience level only after it had A GROUP of prominent architects, artists and writers occupied these near derelict early 18th century houses in Elder Street, Spitalfields, East London last week in an llth hour bid to stop further demolition and protect five other house in the row to negotiate with the prospective owners of the site, the Newlon Housing Association, about saving the houses when they redevelop on and around the plot. This should protect the rest of the street, which could also fall into disrepair and need eventual demolition. Committee completed several bonded schemes The proposals, which also Aesthetic quality should be improved by holding more design include a blunt demand for competitions public ownership of the con To improve cost control, quantity Struction industry, will be put surveyors “who at present do little before the 1977 Annual Labour more than translate design draw Party Conference in Brighton ings into qua antitics of materials” next month The document makes the following five major recom mendations for changes in the professions Professional education should be abody representingt of the industry a possibly the Construction Industry Training board. The currentsyste narrow, giving inadequ onboth to production m technical independent of the The document also reiterates the Labour Party demand for a Public Procurement Agency to co-ordinate the letting of public sector contracts. There should also be more use made of continuity and serial contracts The document adds: “Both systems require substantial similarity between successive projects, and therefore create a need for greater standardisation in design. this need not mean uniformity the use of standard building plans, simple construction details and a restricted range of fixtures, fittings and components can allow standardisation in production without uniformity in appearance.” The NEC advances a three point plan for public ownership of the industry which is needed socially, to improve working conditions and practices and to critical path d to the wide: 7 social context of professional we Co-ordination of projects should be improved by setting up Regulatory Board for Contracts Procedures and [ which would lay n rd forms of contract and resolve contractual disputes Contact Dennis Punter for Purpose Built's approach to housing today. Licensing arrangements and overseas enquiries welcomed Purpose Built Ltd., treatment and modular fabrication give Burnt Tree House, PURPOSE BUILT Technical competence should be more firmly controlled by creating Comments to the proposals: The National Federation of Building Trades Employers said; “They amount to economic and industrial idiocy as far as the con- struction industry is con cerned. They are likely to ensure its continuing decline rather than aid its recovery.” Purpose Built homes. Timber frame housing in a wide range of designs and styles with critical path construction thinking behind them. The National Council of “municipal enterprises” and would be assisted by a new said it did not want to central agency to pool Building Material Producers comment until its members had been consulted, but according to its director Richard Hermon, it could sce no reason for inter fering with the present oration to be established based structure” initially on the acquisition of one or more major contractors The RIBA said it had Thirdly, it suggests that workers’ co-operatives should educational recommend be set up, backed by Par “prave reservations over the ations”. But other parts of liamentary legislation and a the report which aimed at revitalisir heindustry were encouraging and showed that construction’s vulner ability was at long last beginning to sink in with the politicians Co-operative Development Agency On the building materials Side, it recommends a pro: gramme of selective public ownership under a new state holding company, a Building Materials Corporation experience and co-ordinate documentation and methods of working Second the NEC wants a National Construction Corp Architects in bid to save houses began ripping off the roofs, but were The owners of the houses, British Land, want to clear the site to make way for a not shored up an adjoining building housing scheme. The buildings are This temporary halt gave the Spitalfields listed and the street is part of an Historic Buildings Trust, which includes weavers’ homes outstanding conservation area, but the* Mark Girouard, Colin Amery and Dan TheSpitalfields Trust Squatters, looking GLC has given the go-ahead for clearance Cruikshank, cnough time to organise a tired and uncomfortable after a week because the homes are considered unsafe squat and a 24-hour guard. The Trust sleeping on floors, expected an eviction Last week British Land's demolition men hopes this move will give it breathing space order later in the week Purpose Built. Homes that have Factory assembly, timber pre- ‘challengethesubstantial Coe monopoly power” exerted by the big contractors It calls first for an expansion of direct labour departments which could be run as a uniform standard of reliability that ensures quick economic site construction. Insulation values are higher than the statutory requirements, a variety of elevation treatments are possible and stepping and staggering on sloping sites Is.easily achieved. A complete Development and Manufacturer service Is offered, for the private or public sector. Four thousand families have already opted for a Purpose Built home. Burnt Tree, Tipton, West Midlands. DY4 7UE. Telephone: 021-557-6232. Telex: 336842 MLLARD G stopped on a technicality because they had BUILDING DESIGN, September 9, 1977 3 For instant information tick on reader inquiry The houses were built in 1725 and are the last surviving examples of local 4 BUILDING DESIGN, September9, 1977 To celet y of the of the reassertion of the private set up a viable project. “The YAn architectural training in WANCHESTE® MCW TOWN HALL Somer expensive. That's probably because the any.Or never looked beyond the basic pr ce. Built-in Savings 1911 and came to Britain in are in need, the poverty True, the c way be alittlehigher tha window frames Butthen, alu »,farfrom beingex windows actualy cos actually save Quality As my Window ve, in real terms alumaniurr and, in the long run, they come ready glazed and they don'tneed to ey have two material fthe Alummnium Window Association are manufactured to BS 4873 and come costs built into their price the qualitya surance of the Kitemark symbc rSpecifier Wallchart tells y allyouneedto know which had been set up the But Schumacher believed previous year by a group of that his message of austerity ethat aluminiurr 1937 and trained as an econo- Stricken multitude who lack mist, studying at New College any real basis of existence Oxford and Columbia Uni- who have neither ‘the best’ versity New York. From 1950. nor the “second best’, but go 1970 he was Economic Ad- short of even the most visor to the National Coal essential means of subsist Board and its Director of ence.” Statistics from 1963 to 1970, In recent years planners in In 1966 he became chairman the developing countries have of the Intermediate Tech increasingly accepted his nology Development Group message \,eaHeptertcsy =)2 re A PREDICTION that far- proposals although its author, rather than the council's, only reaching proposals for Charles McKean, secretary of the private architect can help changes in practice will be the group, prefers to phrase out impartially,” he told BD demanded in next year’s them as “questions” rather Rod Hackney proposes sever- report of the RIBA Com- than demands until the CAWG al ways in which private prac- munityArchitectureWork-reportcomesoutinJanuary. ticescouldbeencouragedto ingGrouphasbeenmadeby Hackneyseesthelocalauth- workforcommunitygroups its deputy chairman, Rod ority as the chief villain both to JThe creation of an archi- Hackney. existinginstitutionsandtecturalaidfund,subsidisedby cooreSLttt ayAnan ¥y Withh,Sah}ra SPUTUM } | ity Art G; He suggests that the report could demand an end to local authority interference with community group projects and community groups aspiring to By Michael Foster the RIBA and central govern- ment to pay practices working for clients with few financial resources about alurr help yout rs. Ask for yourcopy today...it 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7EL Tel: 01-637 3578 Aluminium Window Association, engineers, economists and and technological gentleness scientists to provide practical was also applicable in the advice on self-help techniques developed countries. On a for developing countries News architect's position as sole suit local authority sitting in its In 1867. His} #blce counsellor for the work. Ivory tower does not give a hat and coat A letter circulated today to damn,” he said the schools grounded in prac- tical building methods and sympathetic to the simple refurbishment needs of practices Hackney claims that political “ugly, squat and heavy”. The | interested in community action considerations must interfere community groups. BH! Maintenance Free What'gqnare, aluminium window frame rust, warp orpeel and they're virtually maintenance free RIAS plans group to boost construction SCOTTISH Nationalist Party doldrums and so much of the spokesman on housing Andrew physical environment needs Welsh has welcomed the idea of Improvement. The idea sounds forming an all-party body to most welcome and I shall be press for greater priority to the getting in touch with the RIAS Scottish construction industry, to find out more.” an Initiative being mooted by the Royal Incorporation or The Incorporation’s with a local authority architect secks 4 mandate for such called in to help out in a CJAn increase in fees for the architect at the expense of the builder, at liberty to raise his tender price at will rather than being confined by a restrictive code Extensive RIBA campaigns on the media to bring the services of the architects to the notice of the community at large rrot, community group. Enforce ment orders could be put on properties to improve them which a community might not be able to carry out itself or did not want in the first place. “Unless local authority architect departments are broken into sections account- able to professional opinion Architects in Scotland (News, membership is currently being September 2) Welsh told BD this week proposal, which would be “Something like this is badly linked with a £100 000 advert- needed in Scotland in that the ising campaign to get more industry is so much in the work for Scottish architects OBITUARY Dr Ernst Schumacher ALTHOUGH his name will progress along the same path always be linked with that of, as doomed to failure. Instead intermediate technology, he proposed an intermediate Ernst (Fritz) Schumacher was technology based upon simple not a technologist. He was a devices, low capital invest- moralist and propagandist. ment and the use of indig- His death at the age of 66 enous skills and material. _ occurred in Switzerland where Some accused him of he had been addressing the proposing a “second best” Industrial Week of Moral technology for the poor which Rearmament; for him per- sonal morality and the bus- iness of living were not separable He was born in Germany in would confirm them in their poverty rather than enable them to emerge from it. But these he answered eloquently “This is the voice of those who recent tour of the US His book, Smallis Beautiful Schumacher had no less than | published in 1973, is strongly 160 speaking engagements in moralistic im tone. Schu Six weeks and was received by macher was deeply uneasy President Carter. His last about the selfishness and book, Guide to the Perple. vd materialism of the consumer is due to be published shortly society and saw the attempts of the developing countries to Gerry Foley consulted on attitudes to the Community report may demand big changes the 100th y allery is mounting an exhibition of drawings by Alfred Waterhouse, architect for the town hall. Wai jlerhouse, a chief exponent of the Victorian Gothic style in large secular build won the | working drawings of the town hall on show range from plans and elevations to details as minute as a stand. Visitors to the exhibition will see how Waterhouse modifled his design in response to public criticism. The} original clock tower, for example, was remodelled after complaints that It was too exhibition, at Manchester Clty Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Is open from September 13 to October 23. more than 30 “ITnever use aluminium windows. in methods of practice They cost too much.” Forinstant information tick [4 | on reader inquiry card Table It Number of Less than 3 months 3 but less than 6 months 6 but less than 12 months 12 months ormore *See footnote to Table | have at feast 12 months work to ploy = AJ SURVEY (per cent) 2c x =23 a~i Sms | tie Oma Speers =<<sS=S Poe Fe ote bing et e eS Ss Spee Lore wht rserkdeip Tt e = = g 2S g = : s So SUA Te ores et a. The Architects’ Journal 8 June 1977 AJ SURVEY (per cent) RIBA INDAL Detailed results Howmuchandforhowlong? s 2 2 Sil Sere serene 2 s/s= 4S ei Spins moma ered|Iemecy Salsas Here Ga 3ioEeypeieseie)i|Sneuilisaiees Sis eS eeercpapes| ears cans SERS RNR Sa ea ea Alreadyunemployed Lessthan3months 1211184116O4/32o|813 SbutlessthanGmonths 13 14 18 3 12 13 25 4/33 3/16 23 3 Sbutlessthan12months 23 22 27 16 16 28 13 0/26 21 29 37 17 12months ormore 49 50 33 76 70 35 63 90] 9 76145 27 73 * Totals will not necessarily add up to exactly 100 por cent due to rounding up of figures. The AIBA chairmen's survey is of practices and not individuals. OnStOr2 eSeeSeOS|ee|ee 90 ——— 80-; 70 — 60 — archts archts in archts archt! 8 a ase 3 Jar Oeae O a 9 19 134 «#413 Sh y22 195 69 91 1 10 21 21 60 62 14 28 47 83 83 58 archtl pa plans techs re on! p la govt inpp inia a all resps 1© ® ©86©© Key to tables and graph Columns from left so right (nos 1-8) 1 All respondents 2 All architects 3 Architects in private practice 4 Architects in local authorities 5 Architects in government departments 6 Technicians in private practice 7 Technicians in local suthorities 8 Planners in local authorities tects on the ARCUK register. archts in in techs anticipate continued employment beyond the next 12months Regional variations Architects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (and to a lesser degree in the North West) are marginally better off than the rest of the UK, and those in the South West region are considerably worse off. The other regions conform within a few percentage points to the national averages shown in the tables, although the northern region appears in our survey to be a bit below. In the South West only 38 per cent of al architects (including both private and public offices) have 12 months work or more, and much less than half think they will be employed by their offices next year. Comparison with INDAL and RIBA INDAL’s results are slightly more gloomy than the AJ’s, but are a reasonable match. The RIBA chairmen’s survey is very much more depressing than either AJ or INDAL, especially for the private sector. Regional comparisons are more difficult, although there is general agreement on the best and the worst. Comparison with RIBA new commissions would suggest that Scotland, the North West and West Midlands should be weathering the recession best. All have a larger percentage of total national new commissions than the percentage of archi- ics FQ e How busy? When al respondents are counted, the split between those who are fully occupied in their present jobs and those who are not, is roughly even. But, when sub-divided according to types of office, nearly 60 per cent of architects and architectural technicians in private offices are doing less than a good day’s THE ROAD TO CATASTROPHE FOR BUILDING Dramatic decline of architects’ anticipated workload confirmed by detailed analysis of AJ survey The results of our Architects’ Employment Survey published there is a dramatic increase in the inflow of new commissions. two weeks ago aroused considerable interest both inside the The most fortunate people to emerge from this survey are profession and in the national and regional press. We have now local authority planners, both in terms of anticipated future beenabletoprocessaltheresultsindetailandcollatethe employmentandinsalary. many written remarks and suggestions. The picture painted now is no less alarming than that depicted in our earlier issue—the future for architects is grim unless Table | Number of months’ work considered to be in the office’ In addition to our own AJ survey, we commissioned Industrial Data Ltd (INDAL) to carry out a random sample (rather than a self selecting sample) survey asking some of the same ques- tions. Their results are given in the description which follows, plus the results of the recent RIBA regional chairmen’s survey, for comparison. Details of the amount of work being carried out in architectural and planning offices are shown in table I, and prospects for |continued employment in table I. The figures for 12 months or more work, and the same period of anticipated employment, are combined in pillargraph 1. The luckiest are planners: the unluckiest are architects in private practice. Taken overall for architects, only half reckon they have work beyond the next year, although a higher percentage hope stil to be employed in their present office in 12 months from now. Even so, one-third |of al architects and over one-half of architects in private Practice do not think their present employer can go on employ- ing them, or that they can continue running their own practice beyond spring of next year—a probable total of well over 7000 architects out of work, in addition to the 1000 or soalready made redundant. This means that 1 in 3 of the 25 000 archi- tectsontheARCUK registerthinkshewillbeoutofhisjobby next year. percentage The editors Editor: Leslic Fairweather RIBA News and features editor: Peter Davey BArch, RIBA Assistant news editors: Dan Cruickshank BA Nick Wates BSc Deyan Sudjic BSc, DipArch Buildings editor: Henry Herzberg AADip, RIBA Technical editor: Maritz Vandenberg BA( Arch) Assistant technical editors: Barrie Evans MSc Jane Taylor BSc(Eng) Patricia Tutt AssocPoly(Arch), RIBA Assistant editor: building economics Helen Heard AADip, RegArch, MSc(Econ) Production/art editor: Tim Cottrell Assistant production/art editor: Colin Jenkins Sub editors: Carol Hemsley BA Patrick Tierney BA Drawings editor: Louis Dezart Photographer: Bill Toomey Librarian: Dorothy Pontin ALA Editorial secretary: Carla Dobson BA Editorial administrator: Gillian Collymore Editorial director: D. A. C. A. Boyne HonFRIBA Advertisement manager: Roger Bell London and home counties area managers: Phillip Capstick Peter B. Hadley Malcolm Hamilton Barry Lait Midlands manager: Ronald Baker Northern counties and Scotland manager: Elwyn Jones Advertisement production manager: W. Evans Advertisement administrator: Brian Storey Advertisement director: F. G. Dunn ONE VOICE: ONE MESSAGE—DISASTER Everyone in the industry must hope that the delegation, led by Eric Lyons, which is to meet the Prime Minister on the 16th, will at last achieve a proper understanding by government of the grave state to which building and construction have been brought. (Our survey, analysed on the next two pages, indicates the degree of despair among architects who are at the mouth of the pipeline which leads ultimately to the men on the sites). In the long run, there will be benefits to the industry as a whole from collaboration in preparing the case to the Prime Minister. One such benefit must be the realisation that we, as an industry, need a common pool of information on which to base our arguments. At present, several bodies collect information about the workings of the industry. For instance, the RIBA produces statistics about the workload of private architects, quarterly. But every four months, the DOE analyses the workload of public architects’ offices. Yet the DOE does not distinguish between public work done in-house, and work put out by public authorities to private architects. Confusion reigns. No one can measure the workload of the whole architectural profession accurately. So no one attempts to estimate the effects of a slump (or boom) in architects’ work on what contractors will be doing one, two or three years later. The fact that we cannot produce detailed and complementary figures makes it easier for those politicians who have no serious wish to understand building’s plight. The RIBA has begun to put the industry’s house in order by starting on a re-examination of its own statistics. If the DOE can’t collect usable public practice figures, the institute must surely ask its members in local authorities and central government, as well as those in private practice, to provide information on work coming in, the value of working drawings going through, and on abortive work. This will put the onus on members to provide the ammunition for future battles. And, after evaluating the overall workload, a small survey should be conducted to discover, in detail, what is happening in the regions, in different types of building, and so on. At the same time, the DOE must do its own survey quarterly to chime in with all the other figures collected by itself and others. This is just one instance of the kind of information that must be found and co-ordinated. Among others are the relationships of architects’ workload to the employment of building workers, contractors’ cash flow to orders for building materials, and subcontractors’ well-being to the intake of certain craft apprentices. Whatever the outcome of the industry’s visit to number 10, all the industry’s interests must surely agree to set up a commonly funded statistics bureau for building. But meanwhile . ..the Prime Minister must be left in no doubt that, though we may not, yet, have precise figures (partly because of government inadequacy), the pipeline is emptying fast. Building is the biggest industry in the country and it will not remain cowed and divided any longer. The Architects’ Journal 8 June 1977 1055 A credit to The Bauhaus lives again—or at least its the party buildings do. According to the excellent Danish magazine Arkitekten, alarge party for ex-Bauhaus students and teachers was held at the end of last year to celebrate the rehabilitation of the Dessau complex, exactly 50 years after the building was first opened. With the thoroughness that only communist countries seem to be able to bring to restoration work, a team led by Hans Berger of the East German institute for the care of monuments has restored the war shattered edifice to its former glory (it was used as a trade school for many years after the war). Great attention was paid to detail: chairs, lamps and even the devices for opening the windows have been lovingly restored. Only in the epoch making curtain wall of the workshop isthere any important alteration: itis now double glazed with vacuum sealed units (how did the students survive behind the single layer of glass designed by Gropius?). Happily, Arkitekten says that the new glazing isnot particularly noticeable. Mirthless mayhem The main hall is now hired out for functions and there isapermanent exhibition on the Bauhaus in the old gallery. But, as yet, no one is quite sure what to do with the rest of the complex. Undeterred by this slight problem, the East Germans are pressing ahead with restoring other Gropius buildings including the Bauhaus staff houses and even the famous circular Dessau labour exchange. Architects al over the world will raise their hats. “Art to me is an expression of my environment. IfIbetray agrisly image then you have only society to blame.’ Sounds, you might think, like an architect explaining away his latest outrage on the landscape, but actually it’s Derek Wain talking, an art student from Leeds, charged with iltreating six budgerigars and 12 white mice as part of an ‘artistic event’. Wain and his co-defendant, Peter Parker, were fined £20 cach by Leeds magistrates because of a ‘work of art’ they staged before an audience of 100. This was to culminate in the massacre of the budgies but, Iam glad to The Architects’ Journal 8June 1977 A breezy lot say, the two were prevented by the audience from killing more than one bird. To the accompaniment of loud music and flashing lights, the tethered budgies were showered with broken glass and shot at with an air pistol. This bizarre tale must have some relevance for architects, if only because it proves that you can’t blame the environment for everything and get away with it. Bunting isperhaps too modest aword to describe the plangent banners of the South Bank which range from ashimmering black and silver chequered flag to a hand painted silk windsock. Three of the projects, vastly Raymond Rankine, left, and Tony Fretton, in front of their black flag (top). The windsock to the right, is Brenda Taylor’s lion. Pedro Jaramillo-Carling’s streaming pennants (above). The finest jubilee bunting in London is to be seen adorning 18 flagpoles outside the Festival Hall. They are the winning schemes of an Arts Council open competition for the design of flags and similar projects. The aim of the competition, which attracted 218 entrants, was to provide an opportunity for professional artists to propose designs which would ‘enliven an urban location’. ge a aentaeearnei ESa aT.mT CESS APLSRECRO eee MR work. In local authorities, the proportion is reversed and 60 per cent think they are fully busy. Planners are yery busy: 83 per cent think they are fully occupied, and only 17 per cent are less so. Of those in al groups who are not working to their full capacity, most think they are utilising about a half to three-quarters of their full potential. Where is the work? The work, such as it is, is overwhelmingly in this country. About 93 per cent is in the UK, around 5 per cent in the Middle East, and the remainder in Europe, Eire, Nigeria, West Indies and, for one lucky practitioner, ‘world wide’. What else can you do? About one-quarter of al architects who returned our question- naire are secking alternative employment; strangely enough nearly 20 per cent of them are secking it in private practice, the hardest hit sector. Otherwise, no definite trend is discernible and, among the choices we gave, the percentage preferences are fairly evenly divided. About one in five architects supplements his present income by taking on other work. The amount can vary between 1 and 60 hours, although how those at the upper end of the scale do their normal job as well is not stated. Much of this extra work is private architectural work—conversions and small exten- sions—but others work as musicians, bar tenders, a hospital cleaner, lecturers and writers, security officer, taxi driver and song writer. How much do your colleagues earn? The worst off are technicians in private practice; the best paid seem to be architects in Northern Ireland, followed by archi- tects in government departments and planners in local authorities. Table III gives the details. Are professional bodies any help? A good two-thirds of architects feel let down by their national orregionalbodies.TheRIBAtakesalotofstick,butNALGO and RIAS also come in for censure. In fact, the RIBA has been taking a more active part than most architects obviously realise—many of the recent initiatives have been either started or actively supported by them. The RIBA has not been as The age of a large proportion of those who replied was between 30 and 39. There was a fair proportion in the decades before of the RIBA is obviously in not making enough of what it and after these ages, with a drastic tailing away in the over ineffective as so many of our respondents think—the failure has been doing. The many pages of computer print out 60 group. Regional response compares very favourably with architects on ... too remote. ..totally ineffective ...backward looking . . the ARCUK register. include: ‘RIBA appears to be above reality ...doing nothing not militant enough and branches too timid ...carries no respect . . . a bosses’ clique which couldn’t care less about salaried architects’. One or two do support the RIBA, but tartly point out that the membership generally has not supported branch meetings and given help and encouragement and formed an effective lobby. What do the surveys show? The AJ survey shows, as we said two weeks ago, that archi- tects—especially those in the private sector—are in desperate straits and that this will mean very severe repercussions throughout the building industry (and therefore the country) as a whole. We predicted about one in three of all architects on the ARCUK register out of work within the year, plus What are we short of? Only about 12 per cent or so are worried by shortages of many thousands of building contractors, sub-contractors and The Architects’ Journal 8 June 1977 1057 | Table II Salary ranges* AJ SURVEY (per cent) s ARCHITECTS IN REGIONS (percent) both labour and materials. The percentages are a bit higher in the north of the country, and Northern Ireland seems to have a considerable problem in obtaining al the building materials it needs—S3 per cent complained of a lack. The crucial shortages are of skilled craftsmen and tradesmen: bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, plasterers, plumbers, elec- tricians.Theconcernisnotonlyaboutthesmallnumbersof Allthefeetaretreadingalongthesameroadtotheruination skilled men around, but about the competence of some who claim to be skilled. Shortages of materials tend to be local— bricks, sanitary fittings, steel, decent timber, doors. of a profession and the wrecking of a crucial industry. It is the purpose of RIBA president Eric Lyons and his delegates to the Prime Minister next week, to make sure that this case isforcibly put and firmly understood. S2 o 3 ‘0 a BWko8s058esSato Piesisycescmipegeecgreg:i peg eeietaiagaees Zeetgcetgetreagwgrtus4ute Lessthanf£a000. 9 5 8 1 0281203 43 410 3 «6 £3100-£4000 |£4100-£5000 }£5100-£6000 16 13) 18 212 37) 23) (0/12 11 9) 9 21 15) 10 262426241425301330203323272423 1922163622 §&2335232224231223 0 3136333752 5125234433242303769 Over £6000 * See footnote to Table | Who answered the questionnaire? We received 1466 completed forms, of which 1450 were processed and analysed—the remainder arrived too late. About 90 per cent’were from architects and architectural assistants; 4 per cent were from planners, some of whom were also architects; the rest were mainly from architectural technicians, landscape architects, teachers, and quantity surveyors. They worked in the following types of office (figures are per- centages): Private practice 59; Local authority 24; Govern- ment department 4; Industry and commerce 5; Nationalised industry 1; Hospital/health authority 2; Others 5. About 70 per cent were salaried and 30 per cent self-employed. In the private sector, 46 per cent were salaried and 56 per cent self-employed. Comparison between response to our survey and the ARCUK register suggests that private practice is slightly over represented, but as we have more subscribers in the private sector this would be expected. The work done was overwhelmingly housing, with a fair sprinkling of schools, hospitals and commercial and industrial. materials suppliers out of business. The INDAL survey supports our own findings and is, if anything, more gloomy. The RIBA chairmen’s survey is very much more depressing even than the other two, especially for architects in the private sector, and makes it quite clear that AJ and INDAL are not scare-mongering. Theweekly newspape rfor the building team New note from RIBA on abortive work costs A NEW practice note has been issued by the RIBA in an attempt to reduce friction between housing associations and architects who have diffi- culty getting payment on aborted schemes. The note says there is no difference between housing associations and any other client. Architects should make Sure, before carrying out any work either that there is a written agreement or that the scheme has received DoE cy council approval in the shape of @ grant Shoreallays fears of new towns’ cuts NEW towns may not suffer such drastic cutbacks in their future programmes as has been feared following a recent state- ment in the House of Commons by Environment Secretary Peter Shore. “With the exception of Central Lancashire, the for- ward programmes of other new towns are mainly so far advanced that there is little Scope for material changes,” said Shore. He was replying in a written answer to Conservative MP Edward Gardener, following Speculation that the review currently being conducted by the DoE into the new towns’ future may recommend a cut- Shadow Spokesman on the Environment, when they met him for the first time this week. Heseltine of its fears that the Slough Estates report on factory and management. as al helping to speed up the Under the heading “Planning current procedures. control” the panel suggests that Among the architects giving the 1971 Town and Country evidence to the panel were private architect was being Squeezed out by the increasing size of public sector depart- ments. Also discussed in the one- hour meeting was the present general plight of the construc- tion industry, and the ways Government action could help to alleviate it. “We got on with him very well,” said ACA chairman Ray Moxley. ‘He showed an imme- diate grasp of the problems we are facing.” fire precautions on a 400-house when flames from a “flashover"’ REMEDIAL work to upgrade September, Three people died Council house repairs study AN investigation into ways estate at Swindon will cost furniture fire on the ground council tenants can help in hour fire resistant doors, to FOC and GLC regulations, tailored repairing their houses is to be £500000. Forty thousand floor penetrate the plaster- homes throughout the country walled lining and spread carried out by the National to fit any Consumer Council. ; using the same steel-framed rapidly through the wall cavity BISF system could require to the roof. The ventilated opening, delivered on time. Acme, 01-560 2233 ring Similar modification to bring cavity acted as a self-fuelling them up to standard. flue and quickly ignited the The work to Thamesdown roof and the hardboard and Borough Council's Pinehurst fibreboard panelling on the The council's research unit us now! will rt on the tenants’ and councils’ attitudes to the concept. Maintenance costs are currently running at £2-3 per week for cach of the country’s four million council homes. Acme Gate &ShutterCo, Ld. Great West Road, Estate follows extensive investi- first floor. gation after a fatal fire last Thamesdown is now carrying Brentford, Middlesex. For instant information tick { 1 |Z on reader inquiry card Aas cre INSID As theatre companies take to the road Robert Adam looks at the latest innovations in move- able structures. Pages 12-13. Perspective features the Tid- worth Zouch Junior School, Education School Design Award. Page 10. Sutherland Lyall visits Essex self-builders with a difference. Pages 16-17. In Half the city's 120000 houses need repair and there 24, News in Focus 6, Letters are 13 000 on the waiting list. 8-9, Perspective 10, Scorpio 11, About 10 000 houses have been Week by Week 11, New put out of use — often due to fproducts 19, Reader inquiry @ “Today and Tommorow’ An aerial view of Milton Keynes City Centre wing latest progress. On the left the Lioyds Court office back of their expansion. The is the title of this year’s RIBA building which was officially opened this week. The first two sta; of the Shopping areca( ht) are scheduled review is expected to be pub- Conference. The Conference for completion by Su Committee last week issued a | The half-mile-long bi Statement giving more details of the subjects to be covered “Many influences are calling into question not only the traditional nature of profes- sionalism and the changing nature of patronage, but also the traditional roles and relationships within the profession,” Says the statement. “Clues to the future can often be found in what is happening today — and it is timely now to try and predict some of the future areas of change and how architects might respond.” Speakers for the conference, at RIBA HQ October 19-22, have not yet been chosen. 1978, with the third stage, amassive ‘ohn Lewis store, completed byAutumn 1979. lished in the next few weeks. a study day last November will be the largest covered shopping area in Britain providing almost 101000 @ A five-year plan has been dto combat the trend of dereliction in inner Belfast. Spending could mun to £130 Sw v ig new pr Heseltine and started to look into the lished this week. ACA hititoff The proposals — from an Regulations with a view to simplification was the main proposal under the “Govern- ment lations” category. The “Design” heading covered MEMBERS of the Association organised by estate agents of Consultant Architects struck Hillier Parker — also in- tutes and MPs and the panel is the building contract, drawings up “an instant rapport’ with clude a revision of the confident there will be consi- and standardisation already Michael Heseltine, the new Standard form of building derable Government follow up mentioned. contract. to their recommendations. Under “management” the The conclusions are listed panel was less specific, but The investigating panel was under four brand categories covered better training, an Adelegationofsixtoldsetuptolookatdevelopmentcoveringplanningcontrols,examiofnovaersteasiporacntice delays and costs following the Government regulations, design and clearer client instructions building, which showed that UKperformancwaes among the worst in Europe. The panel — which included Planning Act should be Ps, distinguished fives from the construction industry and property developers — listened to evidence from architects, planners, tradeunions, quantity Surveyors, builders and suppliers. Richard Seifert and Percy Gray. ded to allow licati Seifert said the standard form of for planning consent and for building contract was the “root Industrial Development Certifi- cause of trouble’ and should be cates and Office Development “scrapped”. Permits to take place simul- Percy Gray said much of the tancously. Planning authorities detailed architectural drawing shouldproduceanexplanatorydoneinthepaysaeeswas leaflet with advice on the best unnecessary. Thecriti factor ROLLER SHUTTERS, FOLDING SHUTTERS, COLLAPSIBLE GATES, GRILLES Four products, made to Acme's standard of perfection for the market you are involved with — and we know that market through years of experience. Solid and durable materials, 2 Copies of their findings haye way to minimise delays and the was the production of final been sent to all Government DoE should establish drawings before site working departments, professional insti- procedure for dealing quickly started, he said, Engineering consultants: Felix J Samucly. especially on factory buildings. for cutting development A major inquiry should be and bricked up. service 20, Dateline 21, Appointments 22-23. costs and delays recommended in a report pub- effectiveness of the Building investigating panel set up at | By Ted Stevens million, A steering group under the direction of Ray Carter, the Under Secretary for Northern Ireland, has been setup to take control of the drive. Repre- sented are the district council, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the regional DoE -and other private and public agencies involved in housing. the violence of recent years — COMMENT 2, News 3-5 and DING SIGN _FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18, 1977 No. 335 5q m of lettable space. Contractors: John Laing Construction. Report calls for planning changes a ‘SPEED UP DESIGN’ PLEA APLEA to architects to try and cut down on the with planning appeals — quantity of their drawings is one of several Swindon faults—a_ nationwide bill? out a two-year modification Programme that involves mineral wool with fire-proofing qualities being injected into the cavity and plasterboard being fitted to all first-floor walls and ceilings. The total cost for each unit will be about £1 200 The council has been in contact with the DoE but as yet ho modification note has been distributed to other [ocal authorities. TENANT CONTROL The unjust treatment of council tenants is at the heart of this country’s housing problem, says Tom Woolley. He argues here that public housing work is organised in such a way that it has little more social benefit than speculative office building and that architects should be made more accountable to building users, whoSmust organise control of their estates. Woolley works for the Glasgow Corporation Tialea : ", Twant to look at housing problems more from the tenant’s pointof view than from the benevolent administrator’s. While a great deal has been said onbehaoflfthehomeless,thecauseofthecouncil thancounciltenants. tenant has never really been fashionable. This is perhaps becauseof the underlying assumption that once someone gets a council house, his problems are solved and he can be forgotten about: ifhe complains, he is thought to be somehow ungrateful. Yet the problemsof council tenants are at the centre of the housing problem, and itisimportant to understand their grievances both about design and about their generally oppressed status. Housing managers are the intermediaries between the architect and the real client: the building user isthe anonymous client. The architect isbriefed, not by the people who will use the building, but by those who organise its financing — the public authority. The architect is accountable only to a ‘false’ or intermediate client, not to the real client or the user. Council tenants therefore have little control over the kind of house they will live in. But those architects who have a social conscience can do little to break down the artificial barriers that have grown between them and their ‘real’ clients. Even where attempts are made, the economic constraints strictly limit the alternatives that can be offered. Where public participation isoffered, itisstil barely more than a paternalistic gesture, which means little to people whose lives are severely limited and constrained in every other respect by economic and bureaucratic forces outside their control. Genuine participation means people having control over al the factors affecting their lives, not just in one or two areas. There is much to be done to improve the relationship between public authorities and tenants, and tenants will have a fight on their hands ifthey are to establish any control over their environment. In my experience, tenants — especially those in the poorer areas — have a tremendous struggle just trying to maintain decent living conditions in substandard housing. Maintenance is poor, rents are continually rising, and completely unjustified stigmas become attached to many council housing schemes, which permeate through to officialdom and influence its attitude toward the tenants. For many tenants, it is a continual fight to retain self respect. Even in *better’ and ‘showpicce’ schemes, To many architects, this does not represent a dilemma. They quite happily tailor their designs to meet the needs of the present power structure and current ideologies, without considering whether the designs will suit the tenants. For example, Irecently heard an architect, showing slides of an award winning scheme in London, say that he had adapted the design in its final phase to give more individual identity to each house,sothatwhentenantsareforcedtobuytheir tenantshavemanyjustifiedgrievancesbecauseof houses (as a result of the Housing Finance Act and so called ‘fair rents’) they will more easily be able to identify what they ‘own’. Apart from uncritically accepting one of the most devastating inflexible and second class treatment. In response, tenants’ associations have been formed, often because of rent increases, but also in an effort to resist the way in which they are treated by +Douwity2!‘ ae ,me Renr We 574k Act oy - attacks on the living standards of working people, this architect was implyiing that owner occupiers were entitled to more attention and individuality RIBAJ January 1974 c= mM LO! Lill Tom Woolley | | | | | ' ' | . about architec tural and environmental issues, but it is an uphill battle getting anyone to listen. The unjust and oppressive treatment of tenants can be illustrated by the following case. I used to live in an area in Glasgow’s East End which traditionally had a ‘bad name’, and where the local tenants’ association was quite strong and active. At weekly meetings, mainly attended by women, issues from education to planning were discussed, with regular repairs and complaints sessions, and bingo parties were held to raise money. Sometime in 1972, the housing management department tried to evict the vice chairman of the association, Mrs Johnston. The local supervisor claimed that Mrs Johnston’s dog had peed on the common Staircase, and that was the reason given for the eviction. It was a clear caseofvictimisation, but ittook several months of pressure before the housing management department withdrew itsthreats. It is wrong to suggest, as some ‘officials’ have done, that itisneighbours and not housing managers who want people evicted for such “Where public participation is offered, it is still barely more than a paternalistic gesture, which means little to people whose lives are severely limited and constrained in every other respect by economic and bureaucratic forces outside their control. Genuine participation means people having control over all the factors affecting their lives’ ‘offences’. Every day, tenants throughout Britain are harassed by petty officials, and while, in some cases, neighbours may complain, they will always unite to oppose unjust treatment, as they did in Mrs Johnston’s case. Tenants can be evicted ifthey have infringed any oneofthe 17‘conditionsof let’.Most local authorities stipulate many rules for their tenants, ranging from obvious conditions, such as maintenance of the property, to telling them not to putcigarettevendingmachinesontheirwallsorto hangoutwashingonSundays.Thereisnoagreed or recognised pr ocedure of appeal or complaint against housing authorities, and so tenants can England send out hundreds of thousands of similar documents every year, many for rent arrears, but also for trivial ‘offences’ like that alleged against Mrs Johnston. Many authorities keep black lists of what they call ‘anti social tenants’. It is true that there are some people that no one would like as neighbours, but in general the definition of an anti social tenant is based on subjective and unjust decisions which are kept secret, and are often even withheld from councillors. Mrs Johnston was considered to be acting unsocially because she was failing to keep her staircase clean. But in fact, the particular housing scheme in which she lives is dirty, not becauseofthe tenants, but becauseofofficial neglect. The drains are blocked and the buildings are crumbling. Every town has similar council housing estates where the poorer people are dumped. Imean that many local authorities have deliberately let estates run down, and then turned them into ‘problem’ areas. As their stigma grows, only the weakest and most desperate people are prepared to go to such estates. It has taken direct militant action by residents ofclearance areas to expose the local authorities’ classification and gradation of people by ‘type’ — very good, good, medium, fair, poor — which condemns them to certain areas which match their grading. The only way that tenants think they can escape this classification is by bribery (which is not unknown), or by refusing to move until they get an acceptable offer of a house where they want to live. There has been an important growth in community action over such issues in, for example, Hamilton, the Gorbals, and Maryhill. But the process ofallocation stil remains much the same. Sociologist Sean Damer recently carried out a study of one stigmatised area in Glasgow, and found that corporation officials and departments have adopted outrageous and insulting views about many of the residents. (It isn’t uncommon to hear tenants described as ‘animals’.) Tenants are treated in a humiliating way, as a result of being classified according to middle class standards of ‘good behaviour’. The fact is that some tenants can’t meet such standards simply because of straightforward poverty. The attitude had grown up among officials thatitwasn’t worth doinganythingforpeopleinthestigmatisedareas. Repairs are done in an extremely grudging manner. The policy, according to Damer, ‘seems to have been to do as little as is compan lle with keeping the place from actually falling apart. Even those public officials who have a humane understanding of the causes of people’s problems attack only the symptoms: they supervise and harass people in such a way that the blame for thephysicaldecayoftheareaseemstobeputon thetenants.AsBarryCullingworthhaspointed | RIBAJ January 1974 uthority.Manyareveryarticulateandconcerned removal’.LocalauthoritiesinScotlandand be threatened with eviction on an official’s whim. Thelocalauthorityis,ineffect,theprosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner. The result is that the council tenant has no security of tenure. After being threatened verbally andthenwitha letter,MrsJohnstonwassenta pseudolegaldocumentcalleda‘noticeof ut [October RIBAJ, pp 488-91], many local authorities have hundreds of empty houses, even in towns with enormous waiting lists, but people just refuse to go to them. One corporation in west Scotland is trying to remove the stigma attached to one area by dividing it into smaller ‘districts’ with new names, in an effort to ‘foster a sense of community’. The answer to the problem shouldn't, however, be superficial. Providing new place names or even employing more enlightened housing managers are not sufficient (though clearly the latter would be better). Instead, fundamental attitudes to mass housing must change. It is scandalous that council tenants have no rights and can be treated like cattle. Tenancy agreements always state the tenants’ obligations, but those of the landlord are not defined. Meaningful change will have to be toward more tenant control over housing, and there must be devolution, not centralisation, of power. Managers, architects, and others concerned with housing must be directly accountable to the building users. Some improvement is being made, not on the question of rights and control, but in the field of communication. “Participation’ or ‘consultation’ is seen as improving communication between the ‘masses’ and the experts’. While this may give tenants the chance to make their voices heard, it is essentially a diversion. Unless people can control how the money is spent, the impact of their views will remain minimal. Some tenants’ associations fal for ‘participation’ concessions, but there is a growing tension between demands by community groups for more say and a better deal, and attempts by public bodies to develop more sophisticated techniques for dealing with and managing people. Through participation and other communication techniques local authorities are becoming better informed, but they stil have al the power and control. As administrators become more sophisticated and better understand the importance of the social content of housing development, new kinds of professionals — ‘the soft cops’ — are being employed to work closer to the people and provide corporate bodies with a more human face. This would be all right ifpublic bodies directly represented the needsof the ordinary people they control. But state and local authority agencies increasingly reflect the needs and priorities of capitalism and big business. Public housing and rehabilitation policies have grown out of the attempts to redistribute wealth through services to the poorer sectionsof society, but in practice they have also provided the mechanism to boost private power and profits. Problems of finance, land costs, and organisation of labour have been left to market forces, allowing construction firms and property companies to exploit urban renewal, rehabilitation, and public spending. Industry and private property stil receive massive government subsidies, while in public housing there is a move to deny subsidies to tenants altogether. Even at the local level, decisions on projects are too often influenced by a network of graft and corruption which is only now beginning to be revealed. The state manages the people for the benefit of private wealth and capital. It is in this context that the very real economic powerlessness of working class people must be understood. Established housing policies reflect not so much the needsof the people, but the need to provide an adequate supply of labour where big business requires it. The broader needs of the ‘community’ are generally ignored, especially if ‘Industry and private property still receive massive government subsidies, while in public housing there is a move to deny subsidies to tenants altogether. Even at the local level, decisions on projects are too often influenced by a network of graft and corruption. The state manages the people for the benefit of private wealth and capital’ they involve capital expenditure for facilities such as nurseries, meeting places, rooms for voluntary and collective activity, and places for kids and old folk. Housing for the people is the little box and no more. The young professional whose social conscience would have directed him toward local authority | work istherefore faced with atremendous dilemma. Since working on public housing projects often has no more social benefit than working on speculative offices, many architects are now looking for new roles, often through voluntary and independent agencies doing work thatcanbelooselydescribedas‘advocacy’—or ~ they may even refuse to build at all. *Advocacy’ can be seen as a facet of ‘community’ work, and itcontains many dilemmas and contradictions. The detached and independent community worker in a working class area can providea useful resource to powerless people by stimulating local initiative, building up solidarity, and providing the finance, telephone, duplicator, and information. Community workers can also play a manipulative role, focusing the interests of residents on, for example, local authority plans for participation. But the encouragement of independent, critical action inevitably leads to conflict and confrontation as the demands on the authorities become more articulate and persistent. 7 RIBAJ January 1974 ; : party has let them down and that only direct action and ‘illegal’ formsofprotest have any effect, In the past, rent strikes have succeeded in saving thousands of pounds’ worth of rent increases for tenants. Recently, in Kirkby in Lancashire, however, the total rent strike has been used as a weapon, and this tactic will inevitably spread to other areas. The complete withholding of rent raises the question: why pay rent when mostof it goes into the pockets of moneylending organisations as interest repayments ? In fact, many tenants are asking: why pay rent at all? Instead, if tenants controlled their own estates, they could manage them inamore humane way, making regular contributions for repairs and to a citywide pool for building more houses. The more progressive politicians are now recommending that the new community councils could be responsible for local housing management, or that council housing could be handed over to locally run cooperatives. The politicians, however, are not prepared to face the problem of interest rates and housing finance, and tenants’ control will be meaningless unless the crippling interest charges and loan debts are removed. The popular ideaof giving tenantsa financial stake in their estates isreally just a way of conning them into accepting moreof the interest charges. But tenants’ control should not involve subsidising the profits of moneylenders: it should be a militant objective, similar to that of workers’ control at the point of production. Only when there is real tenants’ control can architecture reflect the needs of the people who use the buildings. While we, as architects, may expend agreat dealoftime and energy intrying to provide the best kind of environment for our anonymous clients within present financial limits, our work will be undone by those who finance and control housing. The struggles over these issues must be won before itwill be possible to build homes which are fit for humans. ‘The problem of unjust distribution of power and resources can be solved only when people control their own lives by collectively organising so that they have the power to fight back. The working class has had to do this in industry, and is now having to do it in the community. Working with the community means recognising the need for people to Organise action which is autonomous and politically conscious’ RIBAS January 1974 “ny people in community work projects are oking to young radical architects and planners to work with them, so that community groups can have their own ‘experts’ to help articulate their criticisms and organise counter proposals to the Jocal authorities’ plans. But the expert’s role must be the secondary one of helping the community to work out its own answers: providing expertise is not the complete answer to the people’s problems, Projects like sNAP in Liverpool, which is thought by many to beashining example of how ‘experts’ like architects and planners can work more sensitively with people, may be doing little more than providing the authorities with a more flexible tool for manipulating people. In the SNAP report [reviewed in the RIBAJ last June], urban problems were seen as the result of technical and administrative failures. The control of power and resources, and the distribution of income, were not considered as central issues affecting community problems. The illusion of advocacy is that by making expertise available to poorer and less powerful groups in society, inequalities and injustice can somehow be balanced. It assumes that the technical solutions and expertise of the professionals issomehow objective and ‘nonpolitical’, but in fact the ideas and ideologies of professional education over the years have helped to integrate professional services in the existing power structure. Advocacy, where itsees people’s problems as soluble in terms of administration and technical processes, will tend to reinforce people’s dependence on experts to solve their problems for them. The problem of the unjust distribution of power and resources can be solved only when people control their own lives by collectively organising so that they have the power to fight back. The working class has had to do this in industry, and is now having to do it in the ‘community’. Working with the community, therefore, means recognising the need for people to organise community action which isautonomous and able to generate political consciousness. The solutions to people’s problems will have to be fought for and won: they cannot be handed out by socially conscious experts. Those experts who become involved, therefore, must first and foremost be political agitators. Finally, to return to the problems of council tenants, Iam convinced that the primary issue will become one of rents, around which the community organisations will grow. As housing policy becomes more clearly controlled by the State, so community action will become more militant. The working class has a fragmented tradition of rent strikes, which can be used as an economic weapon against the system. Studies of rent strikes have shown that the majority of people are disillusioned with constitutional means ofgetting things done. They feel that the Labour e overwhelming Brighton confere the party also restoration of alJ public spen- ding cuts for the next two years advisers and, most important the introduction of the Govern with proper procedures nanded the happens to be the next one in of all the British public, of the Delegates at Brighton in addition voted by a huge majority for the expansion of direct labour departments and ing enterprises some pointing a working has “shown aware specified whats wrong with atough, durable wall finish,everywhere else? Awarding these public ui sects would be a far better bet than giving them to these yall Tom, Dick and Harry iding contractors who don't give people a fair deal,” he said ‘The trouble with the building industry is that the natient has been dying slowly vision interview rooms being next door to the air-ducting equipment and gantries having to be erected to accommodate the television cameras because the television companies found the intended positions on the balconies unsuitable The architects had replies ready when questioned by BD. They justifiably pointed out the new headquarters tn south centre is an all purpose build Later we a spray guns. application yet retainsthe pots otherattributes ing, intended just as much for Several delegates were entertainment or sporting London apparently dismayed the events as conferences, and this washed-out, ascetic colouring precluded the normal cosy in the auditorium and by the atmosphere found in con fact that it resembles a large ference halls The decision to switch the nal. According to press room scemed “foolish” si this e it difficult to commented associate, John August. He said the trouble The part of the building over camera positions was designated for press received difficult to understand because the cold shoulder from the the television companies had sports arena more than a be involved in the proceedings party organisers who decided given the balcony positions the instead to use the restaurant for OK during the design stage. Atany rate the architects will attending yeant the clos- get ample opportunity for user ing of the restaurant and no feedback during consultations meals available in the building over the conversion of the Georgian terrace in Walworth the journalists other than snacks Other upsets included the road, London which is to be the rooms chosen tor quict’’ tele- party's new hq Eric Heffer. Opening of 1977 Labour Pa yConference. public ownership at the cost, be a “‘colossally expensive have no doubt, of hundreds of blunder’ said Peter Morley, millions of pounds,” he said president of the National The reasons for this were not that a proper case had been made out for a more efficient E Ueto Biteesennaililll major industry to come into Sensible, moderate is the very worst nationalise,” he Morley, “and construction just Minister, his colleagues and wing of the and cost-conscious industry. but “because socialist dogma said Morley urged the whole the means of production,” said industry to convince “the Prime requires public ownership of all line.” colossally expensive blunder He did however hold open stakentime.Buthereit is.Fresh. Pas For instant information tick | 14] on reader inquiry card Peter Marsh reports from the Labour Party Conference in Brighton was in the right direction, but not nearly enough, he said Other speakers pursuce the same, familiar theme, but it was left to Eric Heffer, MP to supply the emotional appeal. Reminding delegates he was set out by the party's national executive, which included radical measures to reform the professions. (News, Sept 9) The only reference to the yarious institutes came from Norman Mikardo of ASTMS who said they were often “fragmented and insular” But they have much expertise and learning in the technical field and we must take their views into account In plans for the future,” he said All the motions were carried by vast majorities with the few hands raised in disapproval earning boos and mutters from the rest of the delegates anyenvironment you caretoname.We felt there wasn'ta wall in the country that would escape our Labour Party votes to nationalise the construction industry leaving it for the usual econo mics cycles to determine And he reiterated that direct works departments had a powerful role to play if given the status of “municipal build and equipped accounting ‘We've made Portaflek kinder Conference facilities come under fire NFBTE hits out at ‘expensive blunder’ MacphersonThse FreshPaintPeople. hope for the future that any Government attempt- out that Callaghan ing to nationalise, or even part- himself acutely nationalise, the construction the vote losing industry, would be com- capacity of the left’s demands mitting.” Although Portaflek did in fact become the undisputed brand leader itwasmostly ment’s much-postponed Bil “If the Government were to be re-elected with majority the construction industry would be the next LABOUR Party members, who spent time last week criticising design details at the new Brighton Centre, where their annual conference was being held, stumbled upon an embarrassing coincidence. For Russell Diplock Associ- ates, who designed the centre for Brighton Council, are also the architects for the party's Labour's new hq will be in this Georgian terrace in Walworth Road “basically a construction worker” himself, he said the huge numbers of unemployed in the industry was something LABOUR’s plans to nationalise the construction industry would for the nationalisation of the banks opinion in the Labour Party and elsewhere will, |am sure, recognise that construction — by virtue of its very size and diversity — which the party ought to be deeply ashamed Federation of Building Trades Employers last week He said a public procure If the lett Labour Party's Executive Committee has its way, millions upon millions of taxpayers’ and ratepayers money will be sacrificed on the altar of socialist theory,” Morley told NFBTE members in South Wales. industry to National dded a whole range of subtle,beautifulshadesandtexturestosuitevenyourbestfriendsarenotsupeto thing. The problem was one that tell you about. Ours did. Finding the formula which isalmost odour free in THE nationalisation of the construction industry coupled with an immediate Government-led reflationary injection of £1 100m is now official Labour Party policy. Voting in favour of this by an majority at its nce last week ment agency was needed to work out plan programmes of public works instead of and cruelly for a long time. Our statement is the only answer to curing the patient and making him a healthy being,” he said onthe snozzle. The conference also accepted the proposals on construction Hard on the surface. Easy on the eye. And now, atreat to the nose We started with a wall finish that was tough, durable, hygienic, quick to apply and cheap to maintain. expanding their pow Danny ¢ rawford the building workers union UCATT proposing the motion, said construction had too long been “bottom of the list” for Government help The aid, in the form of cash injections in recent months, ‘or use in heavy-traffic areas. So NLL Trade Division, Donald Macpherson & Co Limited, Radcliffe Rd., Bury, Lancs. Drop in delegates attending conference PROVISIONAL _ bookings the high cost of attendance for this year’s RIBA annual £60 plus accommodation and The conference happens to conference indicate a dis- fares. The original cost-cutting clash with the National appointing response with measure of holding the confer Housing ‘77 exhibition and only about 250 delegates ence in London (instead of Town Planning Conference in expected at the final roll- Bournemouth where it was Harrogate, and this 1s expected call, Last year more than originally scheduled) seems to to attract some of the potential 300 turned up and in prev- have backfired. The organisers delegates, said Murray ious years the figures usually haye been charged, internally, forthehireofthehallandthere evened out at about 400 a has been only a small handful year. of architects taking up ofters of ~ Last minute bookings and free or cheap hospitality from day tickets could swel the total London architects but it is unlikely to go over the The organisers have also 300 mark preliminary been unlucky with their main breakdown of the delegates crowd-puller, Peter Jay, who Today and To eheldar RIBA in ¢from October 19-22 Students — eavily subsidised can dl for just £5. displays on show AT LEAST ten different Monique Faye, tapestries from exhibition displays will be on degree students at the Royal show during the conference College of Art, panels on next week, including the first Charles and Ray Eames loaned show of the winners of the by Herman Miller, an Building Design/RIBA Round- exhibition by the Architectural about competition. Press called “Salvage and Other attractions include a Photographs from a collection display of delegates’ own work, taken by Edwin Smith. an exhibition of work by archi- During the conference fects under 35, panels illus- delegates will also be able to trating good landscape design visit two exhibitions of work Provided by the Landscape trom students at Central Lon- Institute, a display of work don Polytechnic and the Poly- from the London Region technic of the South Bank. branches titled “And All the displays will be open tomorrow’, photo murals by to non-conference delegates. was suddenly whisked off to his local authority representatives. new job in Washington earlier BD. goes daily Last year private firms sent 121 this year, and is now unable to iclegates outweighing the 107 attend BUILDING DESIGN will be pub- from public offices. This year Conference co-ordinator, lishing a daily newspaper at this the trend appears to have Lesley Murray, said she was year's conference — along similar hopeful of a few more during lines to the highly successful issues f contributing the last week. “But we are still produced at last year's meeting in involved, but a bit below last year, although Hull. Delegates will find their free s thought to considering the economic sit- copies in the main hall on Thurs- ye the economic recession and uation I don’t think it’s too day, Friday and Saturday mornings. ALLOM O60 Recessed LUMINAIRES Change of face on keynote speaker Students at conference as part of course NEARLY 30 students and staff from Liverpool University School of Architecture will be ALLOMSee Forinstantinformationtick IZ |onreaderinquirycard THE 1977 trial scheme to invite local architects, who are not Thursday October 20: at the attending the conference, along Foundling Hospital, Blooms- to some of the evening social bury, WCI. Buffet, wine and events has met with a “mild” 18th century music. Tickets £9 response, although the each. 8 — Ilpm. Organisers are hopeful of a last Thursday October 20: buffet minute rush for tickets nearer and disco dance on HMS bad,” she said \ NUMBER of minor changes attending this year’s conference have been made to the conter in mass as part of a two-week ence programme Peter course into the effect of Chamberlin of Chamberlin, different practice management Powell and Bon, has been Structures on design forced by poor health to pull out The conference will act as a climax to the course, which is in introduction mto the way in which the final design is influenced by the size and approach adopted by the practice, contractual arrang ments, the type of client, and physical considerations on site. The 23 students attending in block are all on the Part I B(Arch) course, and are in the fourth year of their studies, Michael Manser Clare Frankl of the Thursday morning ses- having just completed a trad- sion. He was originally sche itional BA duled as one of the speakers to Before coming to London for respond to the keynote address. the conference the students will His place will be taken by look at a number of different Michael Manser. practices to try to understand The three other architects the ways in which design is chosen to respond are Cecil formed. Speakers from the Elson, of Elson Pack and Building Design Partnership, Roberts, Gordon Wigglesworth the PSA design office, Ormrod of the GLC, and Clare Frankl, and Partner, a medium-sized a late addition representing local practice, and an ex- young salaried architects. employee of Ove Arup have The aftern session on beenlinedup Friday has been modified The idea of finishing the Slightly from the original plan course at the conference was of Six architects speaking on six dreamed up by year tutor, Alan specific issues (patronage, Brookes. “The conference is directorships, salaried archi- perfect for the course we are tects, the building industry, running here. It couldn't be bureaucracy and controls, and better for us,” he said education). The session is now likely to be conducted as an informal relaxed debate cover ing the subjects more broadly New trial scheme response ismild Wednesday October 19: open- ing reception with buffet supper films, cabaret and review Tickets £8 each. 7.30pm — lpm. the time. “The programme is Belfast has been cancelled due listed in the next column. to lack of response, Evening socials 8 BUILDING DESIGN, October 14, 1977 Variety of exhibition 1s wing back towards Pi and attracted nearly 150 people, mostly representing local h Clerkenwell Workshops. The Dove Centre of Creativ- Glastonbury in Incorporating living as wel as working, and crafts teaching along with production, itisalso in ost authority development and planning departments Last Thursday, however such symposium sponsored by the RIBA and the created Fede mbitious and idealistic. wil influence their future development. Although in general the con- ference was dealing with work ing communities in specific buildings, the desire to se the principle broadened out to include an urban area encom- passing also residential, retail shopping andsocial accommo- aaa wasvoicedbyanumber of5 -JohnMorton, who presentedthe Barlow Mow t t Tee a ‘ a : Hence Sa dallk would Ifthe event can be viewerd as another nail in the cofin comprehensive redevelopment, grandiose commercial and civic schemes, and 30 years (or Workspace, thought that, to do so, the local authority should take the initiative in setting up 4 non-profit trust as a service company, especially in a con- servation area Bi id ; iorattack on the whole f tocraftsmen’ shopfronts th cosa) He saw wy P ceses."Hesaw workingcom munities asaremedial mea sure,countering "30yearsof fipt” and the theat of speculativedevelopment. : “P° Franks thinks the local sometimes crippling a wh town, the concept ofadiversi- fied “community small cSoembinedbled papetrstheatreand cle’ firms looks increasingly attrac ema reclaimed tive facingbricksandtradewindowsto eands— Scuffham’s plea for further irms_collaborat exploration of the possibilities outeachfirmlosingItsown pl dividuality.” Six Londo’ in Heading community proposals. Unless The conference blurb des elma esieieg eeesnere relaxations were made, or a While putting the working system of grants analogous to communitiesconceptinamore Housing Improvement Grants set up, the present situation ing by sharing a building (or for indu buildings), together picked up from the up services and facilities, with flor by Manuela Sykes, En teni trial Chaplaint x se consumption c consumptionof« ing historical build- Act intended as a undertake worth, v nOfficerofthe of V n¢ t! tnd reat b ha ld mak wil be caled) were sen bl under Section 1 floweringofideas like “‘self king iner city” ils, likethe pre ingnedsf r 1 1 c | pri mw | pace fr The new bulldings Later in the day, Reynolds emphasized the political and social necessity for authorities meeting current standards and to channel their limited aid to industry in such a way a’ to minimize unemployment Sitatead picturesquebasinonthe North London Isacomplex community and that the work- the resent highly _popul feels the nn focal authority work are usually so high that many necessary pt jects become unfeasible. speakers noted the difficulty of dustrial of which are of revolving fund, has ben mad ani tectur vailable under the administrs wellas economic, ¥ tion of the Industrial Common Thetensionembodiedinthe Ow shipMovement(ICOM). o industrial ° hat aditional d . 4 HAVING demonstratedIntheClerkenwellWorkshops“theprinciple of quick, cost-effective renewal using existing alldings,” Mike Is now seting his sights onthe 5 ling area. With an £8000JieGrantessetinguptheCerealrastforUrban Renewalandhas work tlswekonsxseslntheClerkexvell tto nied“outthat aditional.decision-making It creates dela : sisdeCOMCO andSeaT Aiea lecoration anc tenance requirements largest supplier ofprecast concrete structure : 7 ¥ adecade. raceof planingightandhavebenvacantfradecade.Theeraofre peoplea Screen che eds ntenance requiremen What BP frames,Whateveryournceds,Atcost canalmost “| tronthaleratr Anumberofspeakerstes Atcost Frames.Buiilt-in fire EaeresistancemeansbuiltIneconomy|nestndustrialDivisionSE ES }buldin, acts the to catalyst tomarket placepro htheorg i fire-casing steelwork sitetnotonlycastlgnleatimeconeinatae iharencronetheater . Green Conservation oe rojects range from creating& garden, omen tet 1gwith astudytoassess what growsrat the iothe reinstatement of “thelast example of early htheprovisionof RRpeatee rf quirementupto‘and Tees tproductionfacilitiesare excessof30metres. An: 7 t retextnicturalfeare rebullttoaccommodate,onceagain,craftsmen'sresideonctehse Wreenndtthleirhweroksopacressabore.Pranksodkethertso be taken ov ‘completionnext year by acommunity organ! Caer [easenemunderacevensawhichwouldforexample, ‘ y Teen Ua id ong the largest and most advancec “Ope todealwithaservice threstoreys.Andmeetthefire Ss eryon schedulei A ape Position Rh society onth twa pilars company having ful responsi r ring up to 4hours fire = of“acquisitionandcompet vfortheenterprise. Most esistang houtanyaditional sitework Henenlase} sured. And you 1ebenefitsofhigh technology duct project, give special thought to the fire regulations. AndthenthinkAtcost.Evenifyouonlywant | requlre the occupants to take on apprentices. lesaw in orking ofthe ae communities” the possibility ca fortheco-operative, limited: withaconsultativefunction a TM =s = I 1 peor eur co uns |: )ld Rond Street. L MuntaRoad.Stil ' WIN SDA Ted. DA Tel:Stirling6291 1demonstrationfwhaltocalsathortiy rees Coulddo.Atpresent,winotbuhdget idam renewal projects, the council's reralkasl been rastcieliaita But, of course, the TY AlthhaismsadeTheAtcostGroupBritain's eratesbeakperkibanytpeteage(teClerkenwell” Shownhereinthetpresentconditionth,eyhavespe30nytearsunder | certainlymeetthem-includingclearspansin peaneXUDayouineLaingseOUAen | pan. aIt-i _—— For instant information tick inquiry card 01-495 080. nd Contain‘saveral]lonter:oes BUILDING DESIGN, June 17, 197 15 conference held at the RIBA last week on the role of work communities in urban renewal. up-market, relatively elegant conversions for architects, graphic designers and other professionals, likeSDey reet an #pace tallarger lower budget conversions for skilled crafts- Mike Franks of the Clerken- wel Workshops stressed that local authorities for the future development of working com- munities, Anational “revolving fund" was suggested by Ron Renata paestedby,Ron ValuerattheGLC, speaking fromtheflorinanindividual capacity,toenablelocalautho- ritiestounderwrite“thetop slice of therisk" in setting upa working community. He also pointed out that one obstacle to the development of more we's is the reali cally high i|pree which 5 are oeiriany vacate Dales edthekeyroleofsympathetic theareawastherealworking realistic perspective, this also highlightedthediversityofthe schemes which had earlier been presented. They ranged from ditions would continue. authorityhasavitalroletoplay but that this partnership with a non- promis commun. . He which condemns many people to work in “Dickensian” con 4 BUILDING DESIGN, June 17/1877 IT IS very unlikely that five Bob Maltz reports ona years ago, when the con- cepts embodied in “Worl ing Communities and Urban Renewal” were the concerns of a few voices in thewilderness, aconference on the subject would have hi kSi Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource AJ, BD, Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource From Nov 1975