11 10 310 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/a563fe2519ded93c9a1e09d8b7adb2f2.pdf 6255d45aa6e627b43f2dc4b4df0dd0b0 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 Introduction and Origins 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 Harrogate Congress Subject The topic of the resource Poster New Architecture Movement Harrogate Congress with Hellman cartoon Description An account of the resource PROFESSIONALS TOGETHER / Harrogate Congress NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT 21:23Wev Costs from £10-58 inclusive Info from New Architecture Mevement 10 PERCY STR. LONDON WI 01 636 0798 Lon Moy ay FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER TIMETABLE to 19.00 5. i) Initial address ii) Discussion and Initial Motion. Working session groups (1 to 6) to formulate approach and assess validity of the task. 19.00 20.00 22.30 SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER to 20.00 to 22.00 10.90 to 11.00 11.0 to 11.30 11.30 to 13.00 13.00 to 15.00 15.00 to 16.00 16.00 to 16.30 26.30 to 18.00 1. Plenary Session. 2. Morning coffee. 3. Working Session 4. Conference Session. 5. Afternoon tea. 6. Conference Session. 7. Bar open between 18.90 and 23.00 NEW ARCULSECTURE MOVEMENT CONGRESS - 2ist to 23rd NOVEMBER 1975 Royal Baths Conference Centre Harrogate 13.00 to 15.00 l. Registration of Delegates and Guests at Royal Baths Conference Centre. Registration of Delegates at hotels and guest houses. 13.00 to 15.30 2. 15.00 to 15.30 3. Afternoon tea. 15..0 17.15 to 17.00 A. Opening Plenary Session. 6. Bar open between 19.00 and 22.30. 7. Cold Buffet. 8. Optional Plenary Session. 9, Conference Centre closes. 29.00 to 21.00 g, Buffet Supper. 21.30 to 23.00 9. Optional Conference Session. 23.00 10. Conference Centre Closes. a-——~s 2 gap ra Ussin. ! Awan. Huw. 2. Fodigfo.Wake |HeeAmm¢ 2. SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 10.00 to 11.00 11.00 to 11.30 11.306 to 13.00 13.20 to 14.00 14.00 to 15.00 15.30 Conference Session. Morning coffee. Closing Session. Meeting of Elected Officials. Buffet lunch. Conference closes, Chanics Prot bar, Occ COLL aradesrtrette polvctlhrn, oe Free time, no lunch given. An onportunity to view Harrogate. A wu & W NY FEF 7s. ee @ @®@© @ «@ Over the past few weeks the Architects Revolutionary Council has been publ icising its aims in the press and media and pamphletting schools, papers and magazines. Certain MP's have also been given copies of our literature. This pamphlet expands our views and puts forward our strategy to bring about the architectural revolution. We see architecture today as criminal, in as much as it is practiced against the general welfare of ordinary people in Britain. These are the people ARC members see as their peers, not the present controllers and manipulators of our environment. Because of the injustice and chaos caused by architecture and its practitioners, we feel that though our approach is similar to other revolutionary groups, our enemy is slightly different. True, architecture is oppressive, exploitive, manipulative and ignorant of peoples desires, but in its present form it is also archaic, totally archaic. .: The practitioners and bosses of architecture are virtually unaware that they are so inadequate and i1]1 educated in terms of the directions that our society is trying to progress. Unlike unwanted governments, monarchies| or military Oppressors, they are unable to conmand physical force to directly implement their dictates. These two factors, unawareness and ill-equippedness make our enemy, the architectural establishment? vulnerable, yet unpredictable. We do not know how aware our eneny is of iteelf, or of the strength and versatility of ite opponents. The RIBA has resisted any real efforts to change this situstion, openly unwilling to ednit its social insdequacy and allow the emerging social forcee to influence its dictates. A more sensitive and socially responsive Overleaf is e primary action course, that we see as the foundeticn to the newarchitecturemovementcomingtofruition.heOeeaeeOecones tecChnicians, drsusguhgthetmeemnen aand studenetsn wiSatnheingetheourparosfessrions to Gscrarec,! SOCIAL HOMICIDE REV reason behind a structure manifesting itself, in the physical form was because it was croritenie. In terms of the scale of this manifestetion the equation is simple, the bigger the practice, the bigger the building, the greater. the profit and inevitebly the greater the social disruption and destruction. OLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE The Architects Revolutionary Council is not a populist movement. Unlike a total social revolutionary group, we are primarily concerned witn radical change within our *ield of work, that being architecture and How have we managed to achieve a total reversal in the eccepted reason for the existance of architects? 4 planning. Having said that, 1t would be naive to think that our writings and activities will not effect social change, we will have failed if they ao not. We are initially concerned with the heightening of the awareness, of our colleagues, the creation of a real empathy with the users of our designs, then producing a solidarity based on whst we see as a just cause. Our cause is a just one and we are committed to instigating our policies and strategies to bring about architectural revolution. A complete evaluation of almost any building erected in the vast two or three decsdes will show,in social terms, firstly how vowerful architecture has become and secondly, how the abuse cf that power has brought sbout a destruction of our culture. Architecture has ceased to function fcr the good of people, it now functions to satisfy profits, ego's end abstract aes thetics. That is the shameful cafession architecture has to make to society, now. ARCHITECTURAL SUICIDE Public sector architecture has pernetrated a syate of ugly, dominating and vast developments in the neme oF society,in the vretence thet it is 1 *the power structure, based on the economic infrastructure, yropned un end reinforced by the media and supported by the educations] couses. The architectural profession has been instrumental in the destruction of the physical rabviec of society, when its major purpore should have been the exact opposite. Collectively the architects, technicians, draushtemen and students in the profession have either eagerly participated or silently carried cut a systematic annihilation of our great citics and many of their cultures and sub cultures‘,In many ways architecture has created more havec and destruction than the Lurtwaffe in World War Two. The only difference being that architecture has hidden behind the viel of redevelorment or rehabilitation. The war was destructive in many obvious and clearly definatle ways. Architecture has been a ict more subtle.... but make no mistake the result has been precisely the same. Germanys motives in that war were also easily identifiable ond we found them very easy to hate; their succinct eggressive nature was plain to see. Yhe reasons for the architectural force taking over the aggressors rele is not as clear, yet in the vrivate sector the answer is simply profit. Though actual. building fascades varied, irrespective of purpose or locetion, the At peony ARC is uncertsin what grounds the establishment will submit on; what its greatest weaknesses ara Also we are uncertain of its potential | towards the areas of society that need our aseistance. The RIBA is too severity in repressing the indictments we are going to make, and ite i committedto the wealthy to change its direction,without loosing Sauce and capactty to resist a real attack on its very foundation, As well e2 cur j Jeapordizing ite professional status with that section of society. This manifesto, which basically states our beliefs, it is imperative that we dependance unon architecture being profitable is ruining cur environment, riot limproving it. Architecture in ites existing form is far too svorerveent lay down certain ground rules. On achievement of the mass movement which i we are striving for, theee ground rules can be used as a future basis oF : etarting point for the new architecture movement. It is our belief, in i® pefering te the RIBA and its members as the enemy or the establishment, to the economic structure to assert its real social responsibility. Therefore we are committed to its destruction and the replecement of it with » syetem of enviromental design that takes people as its peers, not money. that there exists a distinct 'us and them’ situation in architecture and Lanning. There are those who wield the power and those who are subject o it. The wielders are the RIBA, the principles in private ‘practice and the heads of lccal government denartment:. Avle recruits for these posit- ions are always in the pipeline thanks to the educationalists who constantly feed this archaic, yet, powerful group. Obviously we are aware - thede consciences and commence wor thet this nower structure is cubscrviant te finenciers, cornoraticns and rich clients, anc cf course develomers and syecalators. This heirerchy has always been eble to rely on the technicians, partially qualified designere end drevcatemen,who make un the bulk of people in tie offices, to carry out their dictates unquestioningly. They are guilty of silent ecquiesenct, working without a »rincipled mind, ebusing their conrciences, end foregoing eny rocial morale they may heave had. The resui+ of this power abuse ond cocial disregurd, is a lousy environment, Uroun chacs, rural decay, cocinl disruption, psychological disorders...architectural suicide. : solying housing and educational problems. Most of these prcviems are partially inFated by architects and planners thinking they can disgnose a society without even coming into contact with that society. In all honesty all that architects really need to know about people is that they are mostly between four and six feet high and take up varicus amounts of space, dependant on the activity they are involved in, That has been elmost the sum totel of expertise architects have applied to their buildings in distinct human terms. Architecture has successfully reduced people to the status of a design element, to be taken into account with all the cther elements such as lighting, plumbing, car parking etc. architectural order must remove them and begin to redirect our exnertise . -_ .ae Sienaeae WeAloan (7 a Yea oon DAL? i hodsved_ LavonW| Ol:696-019. ida /75. Nowe SIT, Refer Wolves fyyout7clepbavawy ‘ be Tiaelipa, iells 0s npaae mae Wonwoda, “Log vei noe Tenyalt it aint wieBRS,baceceah - ow) Liege be fet xed a fj PROFESSIONALS TOGETHER | oY\ =* a (? a599SOxwyTy[iaRMIaY70 095LIESSLAYPNRLIRA|S, ) C= = oO <i. | »i i C) ef aj ay —s- st.>= NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT Harrogate Congress 21:23Wev Costs from £10:58 inclusive Info from Wew Architecture Movement TO PERCY STR. LONDON WI 01 636 0798 NEW ARCUISECTURE MOVEMENT _ CONGRESS - 2ist to 23rd NOVEMBER 1975 Royal Baths Conference Centre Harrogate FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER TIMETABLE 13.00 to 15.00 1. Registration of Delegates and Guests at Royal Baths Conference Centre. 13.00 to 15.30 2. Registration of Delegates at hotels and guest houses. 15.00 to 15.30 3. Afternoon tea. 15. 0 17.15 to. 17.00 4, Opening Plenary Session. i) Initial address ii) Diseussion and Initial Motion. to 19.00 5. Working session groups (1 to 6) to formulate approach and assess validity of the task. Bar open between 19.00 and 22.30. Cold Buffet. Optional Plenary Session. Conference Centre closes. 6. to 20.00 7. to 22.00 8. 9, 19.00 20.00 22.30 SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 10.90 to 11.00 1. Plenary Session. id. -0-to..11:,30 2. Morning coffee. 11.30 to 13.00 . 3. Working Session 15:00 to 16.00 4. Conference Session. 16.00 to 16.30 5. Afternoon tea. 26.30 to 18.00 6. Conference Session. 7. Bar open between 18.90 and 23.00 29.00 to 21.00 8. Buffet Supper. 21.30-to 23.00 9. Optional Conference Session. 23.00 10. Conference Centre Closes. SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 10.00 to 11.00 11.00 to 11.30 11.30 to 13.00 13.50 6 14.00 14.00 to 15.00 15.30 Conference Session. Morning coffee. Closing Session. Meeting of Elected Officials. Buffet lunch. Conference closes. 13.00 to 15.0 Free time, no lunch given. An onportunity to view Harrogate. DH uu & W N FF = ee @ @© @ @ The Congress on "A New Movement in Architecture” will open at 3.00p.m. on Friday 21st November in the Royal Baths Conference Centre, Harrogate, Yorkshire. (See attached programme for full details.) The Congress will be officially opened by John Toomey, a local councillor and community worker from London. He will outline one of the principle aims of the new movement - that is, for the architectural profession to relate directly to local communities. Any new movement will obviously need the support and sympathy of Parliament and we have been much encouraged by the support shown by leading parliamentaries. It is hoped that Jo Grimmond, MP will address the Congress after John Toomey. Discussion on the issues raised will then bs thrown open to the Congress participants. The meeting itself will have two Chairmen: Peter Whelan - playwright Nikki Hay - formerly editor with the Architectural Association and now a freelance writer. be wt Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource ARC Poster 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 21-23 Nov 1975 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/24b6bf27a8e586e107dbde60d8f56e62.pdf 507be80ea058dd350b7280de9aaadfb4 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 Introduction and Origins 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 Harrogate Congress Subject The topic of the resource ARC Flyer and promotion of 1st NAM Harrogate Congress 13 pp total Description An account of the resource ARCHITECTS STUDENTS, TECHNICIANS & OTHERS. THE ARCHITECTS REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL, 11, PERCY STREET, LONDON W.1, TEL. 01.656.0974. Sx7.27. The Draft Manifesto. ARC ARC ARC ARC is well aware that to achieve a new framework for architecture there will have to be radical changes in our present political and economic system. Nevertheless first architects and students must demonstrate that they are prepared to fight for a new system in their own art. specifically believes that the students in the schools of architecture cry out for a new educational system to replace the existing one where they are trained as fodder for the profit orientated professional system existing now. calls on all these people to join together to form a new international movement end through solidarity help bring about the architectural revolution. REMEMBER UNITY IS STRENGTH. ARCHITECTS UNITE FOR THE REVOLUTION. REJECT THE RIBA. VICTORY TO THE 4£RC. eee FURTHER COPIES OF THE PAMPHLET(15p each) and POSTERS (20p each) ARE AVAILABLE FROM:— ARC, 11 PERCY STREET, LONDON W.1. calls on all those architects and others involved in the built environment who believe that we should cease working only for the rich and powerful minority or the bureaucratic dictatorships cf central and local government and offer our skills and services to the local communities which have little chance to work directly with architects and architecture. maintains that the profession as it now stands is a luxury profession and that because of this the architect is caught in the narrow trap of economic viability and profit. further maintains that the RLBA Qycpogetes this narrow luxury characteristic and is thus directly responsible for the malaise of architecture and the state of our cities. believes that their are thousands of architects who would welcome a new framework through which they could work directly for the local communities which would then becone the real clients with alk the power and privilege: of traditional clients. believes that the problems of architecture are al11 around us, but that people who suffer from them cannot afford architects to solve them; neither can architects afford to tackle them. It is this trap we wish to break. 2irateteentntimerA What is ARC, It is a movement of architects, students and others, which believes that creative architecture should be available to all people in society, regardless of their economic circumstances. It is a movement committed to revolutionary changes within the architectural eatablishment and spec- ifically to the replacement of the RIBA by a new architectural system. Why is ARC needed. The term ‘orisis “in architectyre! 18 common -ioday.and mot only pecause or Malcolm MacEwans book; the press is constantly filled with statements of alarm, disgust and desperation over the state of architecture and the dilema in which architects find themselves. We in the movement would refer everyone to MacEwans book which soundly castigates the RIBA, for in general terns we agree with his analysis, BUT WE DO NOT AGREH WITH HIS SOLUTIONS OR CONCLUSIONS. His radi¢al Péformist policy, which accepts the convinuance of the. RIBA,..i18 doomed to failure, in the contexs Of our archnivectupal system, because, as ANdre Gorg says!....reformism rejects those objectives and demands, however deep the need for.them, whieh are incompapibie with the preservation of the system..". Architecture shoulda be done in the service of “society.* Social euhics and justice should-pe “our Criteria, We all kmow. this.is not so.and that the architectures! profession has fay too frequently been motivated by anti-social values. The profession is full of the whining and wheedling of the RIBA at the moment over the disasterous slump in the professions work load. Delegations to the govertmen., lobbying’ of Wi"s and Poolewe receny plea vo ele architects wo donate £10 to the HIBA;s- these are all~ Sigs of s-ponie rue to protect the status quo, The reasons for Pooleys begging are, in his own words, !..as+sbat a Strong RIBA is neccessary’ to the survival of practices everywhere and the achievement of a stable building programme. Apart from the fact that this is not even true (greedy large practices are at least partially responsible. for the dilema of the small enterprise), there is not a word about the quality of the.environment, nor about the dramatic gocial changes trying to break through if} our society,.and in.which.erohitecture Must Play apart if-4a%-as to heave amy credibitaby at,ali,, Pie common ownership,of workplaces,.-the desire for local: control, the. semi slavery of the technicians in the profession;. there is no evidence that the RIBA is stimulated by such ideals. The RIBA's yearning for a stable buildigg programme is a wistful reference to, the boom years of the late sixties.and early seventies, Those boom years tell the whole story and they are the prime reason why ARC maintains that only revolution: wall. do. This graph showing the rise and fall of cormissions in the world of architecture, shows Clearer than any words, just where the profession and the RIBA have stood im Pelavion to our society in recent years. This coincides enootly Manin the Office Boom, So:-°2 weknowwhothefriendsofthe SaaecaedAe RIBA were, and why the profession s+“Delioatin theyreats.t+4he years of 1969 to 1973 will be rerienbered for a long tine’ 6 come. They are our generations architectural heritage. L Pay pare fj | | y et aMILLION [acre le ca eae es PSE peopl g [| | § i i | i| p PaPorees Seve ys| Ae |. aod Foal a TS aa 7. 97>cLaeaieaneTa oe 800 iesdues ae ee pory ce] ase ia' !ieo;Ee}aan cf6p~6s TOUTfayoe VALUE OF COMMISSIONS/LAST DECADE. sesilent: Ai} 4900 he) im this period the price of buiidine and of land,recketedt;he 4mm fae unacceptable face of capitalism’ -was~coined; the speculator and. the developers became sihe villains in our society and. corruppien-in-the saintly architectural profession began=toobreak: throygn-~the-thin-yeneer of 'epegbive prapessiauslasmi ctiao he RiBAchad:fosteredanfoxs sontong.in the words of ‘many commentators,"it wasonly the tip of the iceberg"; Yet during. that. time leading members of the profession (some now on the RIBA Council) were saying such things as; H1t is, Cideoulovssnot.t0 Gevelop the site to. its.fuliest potential... tmere.18 No poling. in iF aectietenceing on valuable Tand.."' Fitzroy Rovineon. "The most successful architects are those who understand property values and the mechanics of property development". Owen” Duder. ‘Yes we did work for the spivs(developers) and when we did we felt DOr eLoLe. NVPOCL tees. .a« Pl, Wal could we do”, Anonymous: arehitect Building Design 4/75. OT couwmse. the HiBA-did Hoy officially endorse such Views, Dub, Meivper didwit,;-durdug these-years.of physical and S0ctal rape, once cry, os in Protesty Hor those in the Movemeny, sete pesu-yoers Leave pecn tie Tie oie. Likemany.otherswehavewaited.to.seetheprofessichetacc.uptoi3 social responsibility and we were willing to. accept éven. gradual reform as lone a@s.weeould. see. a e260. 01. eo0cial Cpa « We now-sée. that we could wei lorevers.in our; View, the groabest,and last, chance, tor the RIB, Colca im ie Oroperw,). 090n,. Tits ico when. Loe prolession, could. have. bes the vanguard in environmental ethics and morality. instead the, RIBA showed, die, true character, and .sided.with he, ceriminats.who. exploLied pe infgiation-in,dand. and.consiruction. costs. Louis Hellman(AJ cartoonist) wa s certainly right when- he said: of the RIBA "4. the people at--the wets ow ‘this place have a vested interest in keeping things the way they aro. Architecture, said Hans Meyer in ine P9504 Sis? a weapon that-has as-all éimes been wielded by the ruling class of human society'. Stephen Kurtz in his book 'Wasteland’ says "She history of architecture is’ the history of those who had the power to build. Rembrandt's greatest work was accomplished in poverty and*reyection.’ But without kings, noblemen and governments, churchmen, merchants and speculative builders, architecture WoUuld=-Metoxis~wb.ec”au.se--lheywouldnototherwisehavefunctioned. Architects have always allied themselves with the rich and powerful’, No-one can deny this. But we can change this, and turn architecture into aSweaponthatCanbevusedforthegood*orsocietyeae?“perhEOUsarseyea1 the cause of those who live in degrading environments’, The RIBA is\ part of the free market system andi.that-is why..the-dnetisute is In“such a turmoil now as that system is under such an. attack..We all Wnow what that oystem has done to Since 1971 three times as much capital ment as into our industrial production. outside this system, and nor has it the however, always had a mandate to do so, as it's charter, specifically demands that it'advance civil architecture'. preted as perving society, which it has £100,000 a year from the taxpayer in purpose. Where other professions have social service, (some tentative like Legaal Aid Centres; some which embrace the whole society, like the our physical and social environment. NHS) whilst the RIBA has only become more associabed.with the rich and: powerful. has gone into property develop- The RIBA cannot imagine itself traditions -to do so. 1b has, This can, only be. inter- never done though it takes tax and rate reliefs form this made moves forward in terms of 2eeee reteeee adsense ere Oeous orees hon—6—s5 ofpanlis of any veform of lasting value to society, ‘The institute is dead! says MacEwan, Dut then ne goes on to say “The t7sti ite on the other hand is alive and well't,. THE INSTITUE IS NOT DEAD! 80% of arch- itects belong to it and it is the mouthpiecs of architecture in our society. WHY THE TIME IS RIGHT. ie many ovitior of the RIBk gall for reform, We eal) tor REVOLUTION and say DO AWAY WITH THE RIBA; It is an enemy of eociety, and the dictator of the lives of the poor and underprivileged. It is in the path of progress and must be swept away, it has abused the trust of society and must now go,to allow a humane and just design profession to Flourish, The ARCHITECTS REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL sees itself in the tradition of past revolutionary moverients in architecture; the Constructivists, ARSE, Atelier Populaire. These movements did not succeed because the time was not right, but they planted fertile seeds. WE BELIEVE THAT THE TIME IS RIGHT and we in ARC want to play our full part in the creation of the new mass movement in architecture. But this can only come about with your aid. There are over twenty thousand registered architects in this country. Per head of population this is more than any country in Europe, Over 80% of these registered architects are membems of the RIBA. 80% of all architects are salaried;IE.they work for other architects. This alone shouldbeunacceptabletothesocietythatpaysfortoed.Tren so is the taxpayers money that provides the grants to train architects to deal with the enviromnental prepblems of society. Architects do not repay this debt in any way at present, they are unaccountable and irresponsible to that society. Trained people are foreed to work in and are exploited by a bosses orgamisation;the RIBA, A large peoportion Of the archit- ectural work is handled by a small proportion of the membership. who have built up large practices. The RIBA has always been run by such people and thus the status quo is maintained. The tendency has been to become big and powerful with the emphasis on streamlining and managenent techniques. The RIBA's ethic, if it can be gaid to have one, is that of narrow professionalism; a service to the client. These days the client cannot be identified with the society and frequently not even with the user. All this is in direct contrast to the moves going on in our society; the themes of local autonomy and preservation, the revival of craftsmanship and a more human approach to developing phe environment. Over half our urban environment is economically impoverished and environmentally deprived.The communities within these areas have helped through taxation,to train the profession. This profession returns note of this aid and where it does not ignore these areas (commissions do not come from the poor areas)it helps in the rape of them through development or subtle gentrification. The RIBA upholds 2 19tn centuny elitist position and deliderately keeps lay people out of its club. This is particularly true as regards the yawning gulf between the profession and the working classes. The RIBA has a code that seeks to cushion its members from adverse critisism;it is more important to the RIBA that members should be loyal to each other and to the institute, than to the society that it is supposed to serve. It refuses openly to condemn aparthied and therefore has no regard for Civil justice. If it cannot have such principles from 4000 miles how can we expect justice from it on the home front, i2 has never developed even such esoteric concepts as the compethtion system, because the ruling elite wish to keep the rewards for themselves. But the RIBA and its ruling establishment, has worked itself into a trap from whieh it cannov escape. It's greed, especially over the last decade, and its narrow objectives have put 1+ in such tad repute, tiat 1 it is fighting a last ditch battle to try to build an acceptable image. It will not succeed. The 3000 unattached architects have already c2 clained in a recent survey that the RIBA has done nothing for architec ture, Members of Parliament attack it for its social sins. The puoi and especially those in the poorer areas, now see alone with whe Loeal bureaucrats and speculators who have ruined their lives, environments and communities, the subtle villian of the piece is the RIBA. But -usekess asnitlis ne RIA will mot welinguish.power volunvarily. The status quo.will.not..casily abdicate in the face of reason said Harold Taski. He was fight. A stronge°architectural révolyiionary moverent must-keep attagking.the RIBA, until the.power.is restéd from them ang a new order established, .Prior to.this,hope Only “oy Wiel the “tow. architects and. students.deeply commited to an architecture-for-atl people Now many more will commit themselves, because they sre left with no other.optien, fhée.new system.of architecture will need to be based on & mass movement just agrthe RIBA is, otherwise, there ¢an be no’ progressive and creat- ive atpack.,on.therénvironmental problems.of our-society. That 18 why the ARCHITECTS REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL Goes not pretend to be The ew movenent, wor indeed its embryo. ARC has constantly seen itself as a snall commited tiovement totally opposed to the present set#up. It wpuld also oppose the new movement should it show tendencies to becoming 2 bureaucracy intent-oh prererving. - iteelf.’ to’ the. deteriment, of SOCiEV. ARC sees itself as helping to bring the new movenant abou and if nessessary.acting as its,vanguard, To this end it-is organising & national, conyentaon.in.ithe Autuma,of all-architects, technicians, students and others who wish to see revolutionary changes within the professio Seperate literature will be published shortly concerning this convent- Long : Agawepards ARC Ateelt, there.ia,still much. to. be done to build the, group into.aM; 6licetivea.archdtectural guerilla forge, What-follows 18 8 brier history of the movement so far ‘and ways inf which you tayoe able Go molp Livyou,d¢ eel. gyourse.t..comyitted..For.as Malcolm xX. once gait. "...1f-you,.e not ~oseh, of pame. solution. vour,;part, of. the. problem”, THE PRESENT SLTUATION Th ARC. The movement began some eighteen months ago, when two architects,. one English and one Jugoslavian, decided that an international movenent was needed to take the profession out of its elitaést and, capitalistic framewrk and make it responsible to society. There was particular need to deliberately nlign the profession with the poorer eueam tous environment were donnection with architecture is non-existant. The peodle living ig- these communities are particularly incensed. pecause the professiom passed itself off as being socially conscioys. But the tables are turning because of the massive number of redund- ant architects who will soon condemn the RIBA for not building a firm social working base for architecture. Over a thousand architects will pe out Of work by Christmas and more: than 60% of graduates will not. find employment this sumaer. These unemployed architects can blame, with some justification, world inflation and recession for their, plight, put the main problem is the greedy inflexible charncter of the profession. And as the redundancies occur who will be hit first? Not the powerful principles who run the big practices and back up the elitism of the RIBA. Tt will be the salaried architects and technicians, the people who do the real work in architects offices. All those soon to be redundant should know that there has never been a lack of work. A large part of our environment is a slum and ‘getting worse. But the RIBA has never taken the trouble to-ferge the professisn into.an organiser capable of tackling these problems. The first prerequisite of such capability is thw desire to do ‘Ssonething about ity thie presupposes a social .conscience,. something the RIBA has never had. For reasons such as greed and aloof- ness the REBA “be incapable cofidintyingsttiselt problem «atithe -kevei.of the Me RISA has noieaming thr our 3iGiety: a seciety “that requires commit Hent to:49,.Gause... bee no meaning .for continues .fo control their destiny. It has meaning to many purely as -an enticement to letters after ones name, Soon there will be no jobs left. avchitectire “srudents veu 1t as-a path to commissions or jobs. Because eventually we will need parlianentary backing, the movement is in the process of naking contact with appropriate MP's, Our contatts with the unions are also developing and at the right time we expect full support fron*then, The movenent is drafting ideas for a new aystem of educatthon; for the new finenoial =siructure. (how architects would be paid under the’ new soc- ially orientated system) and for the other ideas. These will be put to the Autumn convention as ARC's contribution to the mass movement. By July the main core of the English movement(in LOndon) will have split, to produce at least three new cells om Units, in the Provinees; on ‘the Hast coast, in the North West and in Scotland. Because these: cells will be constructed by totally committed ARC members we will be certecin of four fpealthy cells Oy -SstUmmer. WHAT CAN YOU DO. Within, im: your vractice, College or Locality you’ can’ try-vo Dull: up-a unit that would strive for the establishment of a new system of architectu ture, based on the draft manifesto, It,is better to have. four people who can trust Gach other than a,ioose- unit: often. Remember unity is strength, and you, will not te alone, Contact the main movement to let’ us know you are attempting to build a cell then keep us in contact and let us know your views. We have a fairly extensive network of people throughout Britain and we maybe able. to put you in. touch with others in your.locality. Your help will be needed in setting up the Autumn convention and to thés end the ARC main group will be calling a meeting of all the British members Carly in Summer; Finally always remember that the reason that the status quo is preserved is because people think they are alone. The minute two people get together and say ew can do something, then a movement is born. This is wha what we said and a movement has been born and we shall win, because the ting, 12 Pier t.. Architects unite for revolution VICTORY -TOt THE AERC¢ « One of the primary instincts of the founders: was that there: already existed many hundreds, if noy thousands, of architects who-are a part of such a movenent in spirit; what was collective and formidable force for ssion. Commonsense demanded that national movements be constructed first, and this pamphlet refers only to the that there are embryonic cells in Argentina, Italy, Jugoslavia, France, due course, perhaps within two years, Ceol", The main core of the English movenent is in London, and contains, in addition to architects and students, menbers have worked extensively in valid “though “that. netitod tis ,:cit wilh environnental field on its own. The revolusgionrsed ‘to aid community action.: has been building strength based on have left because they could not live putting the cause of the revolution itecture. Others have joined after The core meribers have lectured at land, .In addition a.small group recently speaking at colleges in Boston, New Angeles and many other cities, One adressed the conference of the ¥oung party but we will proclaim ARC anywhere). needed was to forge them into a revolutionary: Changé, inthe: profe- English group. However it is known eight other: countries so far; USA, Norway, Ireland and Scotland. In the first ARC INTERNATIONAL will laypeop&fé and lawyers. All the core community action and believe that, not-achi eve total Inoeedem ain sbhe profession themselves have to be During the last year. the movenent commitment (for example one or two up to the ideals, which denangs before conventional success in arch- long and serious thought.) colleges in England, Ireland and Scot~ travelled throughout America York, Chicago, San Frensisco, los of<the founder members recently Liberals.(We do not align with this p [ere ARCHITECTS avian BEVOUUTIONARY cee COUNC START THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT | Ceaseoe membershipfeestotheRoyalInstitute of British Architects and stop supporting any functions or activities they organize or sponsor. 2 Commence setting up in regions, cities, offices, colleges or localities groups of people willing to participate in a truly social form of architecture and environmental design. 3 Forego any committment to the existing practice and education system and begin contacting and working for people and groups who are working towards ereating a better environment, not screwing it for all it is worth. 4 Come together and begin to organize a system of design education which we can implement through national and local government, colleges, universities, and polytechnics, to replace the present archaic process of design teaching. 5 Work for and participate in a national convention in October, to formerly establish the beginning of e new architecture movement, based on people not profit. We see the establishment of these points as paramount if we are going to have a worthwhile architecture. The present system,for the reasons stated,is incapable of the radical change neccesssry to ressurect architecture from its disgusting state. KEN “pone SOUTHERN REGION) ADAM PURSER( MIDLANDS) DAG FASTING( EASTERN REGION) GEORGE MILLS(NORTH WEST) BRIAN ANSON( LONDON) ANDY BURRELL( SCOTTISH REGION) REGION) BRIANeno) REGION) PAUL WALKER(WESTERN PETER MOLONEY( IRELAND) IlPERCY STREET LONDON WI. Ql.636:0974 EXT 27 The Architects Revolutionary Council is escalating its activities to bring about the We need committed people to make revolution. If you require further with organization,contact the following people at the ARC Offices. radical changes it envisages. the architecturel information or assistance Over the past few weeks the Architects Revolutionary Council has been its aims in the press and media and pamphletting schools, papers and Certain MP's have also been given cop ies of our literature. This pamphlet expands our views and puts forward our strategy to bzwasng about the architectural revolution. We see architecture today as crLM Wigs, an as mucn as ik a Sp ract iced agains t the general welfare of ordinary people in Bri 2ain. aHese are the people ARC members see as their peers, not the present controllers a manipulators of our environment. r my REVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE fhe Architects Revolutionary Council is not a populist movement. Unlike @ total social revolutionary groun, we are primarily concerned with Padical change within our Yiela of work, that being architecture and planning. Having said that, 1t would be naive to thin that our writings and activities will not effect social change, we will have railed if they do not. We are initially concerned with the heightening of the awareness, of our colleagues, the creation of a real empathy with the users of cur designs, then producing a solidarity based on what we see asa just cause. Our cause is a just one and we are committed to instigating our policies and strategies to bring about architectural revolution. At present ARC is uncertain what grounds the establishment will ‘submit on; What its greatest weaknesses era Also we are uncertain of its potential severity in repressing the indictments we are gcing to make, and its capacity to resist a real attack on its very foundation. As well «2 cur manifesto, which basically states our beliefs, it is inmerative that we day down certain ground rules. Cn achievement of the mass movement which we are striving for, these ground rules can be used as a future beais or starting point for the new architecture movement. It is our Pelice,. an refering to the RIBA and its members as the enemy or the establishment, that there exists a distinct ‘us and them! situetion in architecture and lanning. There are those who wield the nower and those who are suvject o it. The wiélders are the RIBA, the principles in private ~ractice and the heads of lIccal governnent denartment: Able recruits for these nosit-— ions are always in the pineline thinks to the educationalict: who constantly feed this archaic, yet newerful jroup. Obviously we are aware not improving it. CPV Le. to the economic structure td a Therefore we ari -conmitted te 1 of is with a system of enviromental design that takes neople as f ers, not Ssocarcuavectirad Because of the injustice and chaos caused by architecture ani its practitioners, we feel that though our approach is similar to other revolutionary grouns, our enemy is slightly different. True, architecture is oppressive, exploitive. manirulative and ignorant of peonles desires, Dut in its present form it is also archaic, totally archaic. 2: The practitioners and bosses of architecture are virtually unaware that they are so inadequate and ill educated in terms of the directions that our society is trying to progress. Unlike unwanted governments, monarchies or military oppressors, they are unable to coumand physical force to directly implement their dictates. ‘these two Tactors, unawareness and ill-equipredness make our enemy, the architectural establishment* vulnerable, yet unpredictable. we do not know how aware our enemy is of itself, or of the strength and versatility of its opponents. SOCIAL: HOMICIDE thes this powersare cane ‘rich elients, anuoct > cour tins alwnys be Gesigmerr end « Ber Car ly 2Ont, Wi Gery AEC’ ecqulesance, weoricrrs % end Porepui ns: Lad j power ubuce rural decay, eecizd disruption, paycholcgical suicide. *the power structure, baced on the economic infrastructure, propyed un end reinforced by the media und supported by the educational couces. Aa ind A conmilete evaluation of almost: any building erected in the past two or three decades will show,in social terms, firstly how powerful architecture has become and secondly, how the abuse of that power has brought zbout a destruction of our culture. Architecture has ceased to function fcr the good of people, it now functions to satisfy profits, ego's end abstract ees thetics. That is the shameful caression architecture has to make to society, now. ¥ ARCHITECTURAL SUICIDE The architectural nrofession has been instrumental in the destruction of the phyeical 1 ds of society, when its major, purpose should have been the €xact opposity. Collectively the erehitects, technicians, draushtsmen and students in the profession have either eagerly particirated ov silently carricd cut a systemutic annihilation of our great citics and many of their cultures and sub culturesI.n many ways architecture has created more havoc und destruction than the Luitwafie in World War Two. The only difference being that architecture has hidden behind the viel of redevelorment or rehabilitation: The war was destructive in many obvious and clearly detinarle ways. Architecture has been a lot more subtile.... but make no mistake the result hag been precisely the same. Germenys motives in that war were also easily identifiable and we found them very easy to hate; their succinct aggressive nature was plain to see. ‘he reasons for the architectural rorce taking over the aggressors role is not as clear, yet in the pvrivate sector the answer is simply profit. Though actual. building fescades varied, irfespective of purpose or lccetion,~ the reason behind any structure hsp chy Pee itself in the physical form was becanse it was vrofitable. In terms @f the scale of this manifestetion the equation is simple, the bigger the ptactice, the bigger the building, the greater. the profit and inevitebly the greater the social disruption and destruction. How have we managed to achieve a total reversal in the accepted reason for the existance of architects? is ODITeam fubscervaant, te singnevers, cornolatitns ani aevelcsers and srecalato This heirerchy un the bulk of peonle in the o>fices, ines (ane wgud ht y ofis? Lent Public sector architecture has perpetrated a spate of ugly, dominating and vast develonments in the name of socliety,in the pretence thet it is solving housing and educational problems. Most of these prcevlems ere paertislly inated by architects and planners thinking they can disgnose a society without even coming into contact with that society. In all honesty all that architects really need to mow about people is that the are mostly between four and six feet high and take up varicus amounts of syace, dependant on the activity they are involved in. That has been ealnust the sum total of expertise architects have applied to their buildings in distinct human terms. Architecture has successfully reduced people to the stetus of a design element, to be taken into account with all the cther elements such as lighting, plumbing, car parking étc. The RIBA has resisted any real efforts to change this situation, openly unwilling to ednit its social inadequacy snd allow the emerging escisl forces to influence its dictates. A more sensitive and socially rzsnonsive architectural order must remove them and begin to redirect our exnertise towards the areas ci society thnt need our assistance. The HIE j committed to ths ith jeapordizing it: io dependance unon 4 2 11s direction thout 1 S05 with thet, seetion of money. vrelritabl Overleaf is a pritary action course, that we eee as the fovndaticn to the new architecture wovement coming to fruition. We technicians, drew ctodents within the theis consciences eee ermo©rSmniees’, Ol. this acs, i All costs include VAT Please make cheques payable to the New Architecture Movement. @ecsseeeeeeeesaecevesseeovreeeenseseecse All costs include VAT Please make all cheques payable to the New Architecture Movement. HARROGATE 21st to 23rd Nov. 1975 evening meals on Nov. 21st & 22nd. £5.00 : tevecee eeeccee Bed and Breakfast, Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd Nov, Type of roon Cost per person No. of rooms available No. Req: 2Total 21 coccoses b5estee 31 seceeeee ae 29 eee bierte isan 25 soeevens eoeeeae a7 seeccces euseves 10 16eb eee eenbnes 28 @eeoeeees@ eseeee0es Single Single Single Double Twin Double £3.25 e355 (5 £4,590 fee 15 £2613 23500 £3550 Pert WAHT Twin eeee eee £GRANDTOTAL.scoeee NAME O.6'0'6'651666.660186068.90.40000:0600octeieoeoePeeSNeORVeephereeatieyoteerierneHeevaluetayoamegessoeae NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT CONGRESS APPLICATION FORM Please return by Nov 3ad to NAM 11 Percy Str. London Wi Cost per person No. Reds £ Total Conference Attendancé including 3 NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT CONGRESS HARROGATE 21st to 23rd Nov. 1975 YauwuPr nm oe Gt no el & ADDRESS PRCHSHHHE HEH HOES EHHEAEHSHHHCHEES HOES HS HOSE OHE EE EEAESES ESHER OESEEE SS aeeeda OtOeCOCo,Gan APPLICATION FORM Please return by Nov. 388, to NAM 11 Perey Str. London W1 Conference attendance including ~ Cost per person evening meal on Frid, 21st & Sat 22nd. £5.00 Bed and Breakfast, Friday 2ist & Saturday 22nd Nov. No. Req. coccvece EBTota. eecceces Type of room Single Single Cost per person £3.25 PER NIGHT £3.15 21 31 & TOTAL eeccccee wcvccce seceveee cdeeees Double Twin £2215 ELS 25 le] oocerene eeevece soceccee wteenes Twin £3.50 28 eeegeee a Se @orvecoes sees ee £>GRAND.TODATo:6esis ‘ No. of rooms available Wo.’ Req: Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource ARC Flyer Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Nov-75 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/301e024af37cb9bfa60ac6b10d1fab1d.pdf a62fbc35fa44df6cdf0d96109b44aca9 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 Harrogate Founding Congress Subject The topic of the resource The Harrogate Congress was the founding of NAM. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 21-23 November 1975 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 Harrogate Congress Subject The topic of the resource Flyer for Harrogate Congress 1975 single 2-sided paper Description An account of the resource PROFESSIONALS. TOGETHER / 09gL8KS Rio NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT Harrogate Congress 21:23Wev Costs from £1059 inclusive Info from Wew Architecture Movement 10 PERCY STR. LONDON WI O17 636 0798 NEW ARCULSECTURE MOVEMENT CONGRESS - 21st to 23rd NOVEMBER 1975 Royal Baths Conference Centre Harrogate FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER TIMETABLE 13.60 to 15.00 1. Registration of Delegates and Guests at Royal Baths Conference Centre. 15,00 to 15.30 3. Afternoon tea. 15,0 to 17,00 4, Opening Plenary Session. i) Initial address ii) Discussion and Initial Motion. 17.15.%o 19.60 5. Working session groups (1 to 6) to formulate approach and assess validity of the task. 6. Bar open between 19.00 and 22.30. 19.00 to 20.00 7. . Cold Buffet. 20.00 to 22.00 8. Optional Plenary Session. 22.30 9, Conference Centre closes. SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 10, OO: te 11,00 1. Plenary Session. dO%6T23202.Morningcoffee. 11.30 to 13.00 . 3. “Working Session 15400. to-14..00 4. Conference Session. 16.00 to 16.30 5. Afternoon tea. &B.30 to 18.00 6. Conference Session. 7. ‘Bar open between 18.90 and 23.00 29.00 to 21.00 8. Buffet Supper. 21.30 to 23.00 9. Optional Conference Session. 23.00 10. Conference Centre Closes. SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 10.00 to 11.06 54 20.06 Lis Ti .30 €6 13.00 55.00 to. 14.00 14.00 to 15.00 £3.30 Conference Session. Morning coffee. Closing Session. Meeting of Elected Officials. Buffet lunch. Conference closes. 23.06. 06 15.30 2. Registration of Delegates at hotels and guest houses. 13.00 to 15.00 Free time, no lunch given. An onportunity to view Harrogate. DH uv & W DN EH BeilOeeeRe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource ARC Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Nov-75 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/4818128c3b7b8a9d706737880f38cc64.pdf 4f92ac88c303ff55c4502dcaf0b38620 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 Professional Issues Description An account of the resource A cohort of NAM members became engaged with the professional registration body, standing as elected councillors on the Architects Registration Council and its various committees. Hitherto entirely dominated by the RIBA bloc, the Council began to yield to a new dynamic through NAM's involvement, enabling fresh perspectives on such issues as mandatory fee scales, greater lay representation on the body, ethically-based standards of professional conduct, etc. 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 Helping ARCUK reach maturity Subject The topic of the resource "Helping ARCUK reach maturity" Letter to Building Design from JA Description An account of the resource Letters elping Arcuk reach maturity sponding to such issues as the Monopolies Commission investigation, the new standard of conduct, the Esher Report and the EEC directive, Arcuk has begun to distinguish its role from that of the professional associations. Moreover recently, under untypically nonpartisan chairmanship, speakers of any viewpoint arc assured of a fair hearing, thus bringing welcome diversity to both council and the Board of Architectural Education and becoming more representative. It is both consistent with and central to this process of reform that Arcuk should seek to reestablish control of educational recognition, after the hijacking of this function by the RIBA in the mid-1960s. It is indeed a statutory duty under the 1931 Act, and for the RIBA to disparage this as "interference" is either disingenuous or merely ignorant. And if the institute finds it objectionable that Arcuk appoints its own education officer or vets the new RIBA examination, it has only itself to blame for the years of arrogant intransigence. As I retire after 10 years as an elected councillor, it is rather a depressing prospect that valuable timc and energy now seem likely to be wasted in fightin over old ground that has alreac% been won, thereby divertinc attention from new and more fruitful lines of progress. Yet RIBA blimps must realise that any attempts to return Arcuk to the old ways will be resisted — not only by the unattached who now know the game, but by other interests in council and BAE which have discovered that the RIBA is not a reliable ally in times of political pressure. Government appointees have likewise necessarily adopted a higher supervisory profile in view of Arcuk's enlarged EEC duties, and even the press has a positive part to play in giving effective coverage to Arcuk's affairs, including reportage of deliberate fouls. Instead of trying to turn the clock back, RIBA would-be saboteurs should overcome their fear of change, recognise that the institute's period of hegemony is ending and make a constructive contribution to Arcuk's overdue transition from wardship to adulthood. John Allan London N7 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource JA Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived JA Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/6e44b05c71e61fa8d8c0939fa3d0fa32.pdf deb71fbfb2d21de43a723e2f8e16a6a5 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 Professional Issues Description An account of the resource A cohort of NAM members became engaged with the professional registration body, standing as elected councillors on the Architects Registration Council and its various committees. Hitherto entirely dominated by the RIBA bloc, the Council began to yield to a new dynamic through NAM's involvement, enabling fresh perspectives on such issues as mandatory fee scales, greater lay representation on the body, ethically-based standards of professional conduct, etc. 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 Helping ARCUK reach maturity Subject The topic of the resource Letter to Building Design Description An account of the resource 12 BUILDING DESIGN. March 6.1987 Opinion Making the fares fair Herb Meyer looks at funding for the docklands Light Railway and makes some American comparisons. Letters depressing prospect that valuable time and energy now seems likely to be wasted in fighting over old ground that has already been won, thereby diverting attention from new and more fruitful lines of progress. Yet RIBA blimps must realise that any attempts to return Arcuk to the old ways will be resisted — not only by the unattached who now know the game, but by other interests in council and BAE which have discovered that the RIBA is not a reliable ally in times of political pressure. Government appointees have likewise necessarily adopted a higher supervisory profile in view of Arcuk's enlarged EEC duties, and even the press has a positive part to play in giving effective coverage to Arcuk's affairs, including reportage of deliberate fouls. Instead of trying to turn the clock back, RIBA would-be saboteurs should overcome their fear of change, recognise that the institute's period of hegemony is ending and make a constructive contribution to Arcuk's overdue transition from wardship to adulthood. John Allan London N7 ment and good luck to them. "how-not-to-do-it". Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource JA Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived JA Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6.3.87 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/59bb91c0ca54de8a9ed7ed4611ec55c2.pdf 3d147a9fdcb9455b42e2c2b531a118e2 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 Miscellaneous Subject The topic of the resource Miscellaneous issues Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-1980 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 Highbury Hopes Subject The topic of the resource A contribution to Islington Borough Plan by Highbury Plan Group (chair John Allan) Description An account of the resource A CONTRIBUTION TO ISLINGTON BOROUGH PLAN BY THE HIGHBURY PLAN GROUP cAcleek! ns ee aoe AacQlk Ss, cee :=a SS Orca OV oeQ ¢ Miele ai uw Vousi: Carer’ “ TeaeLsore aptGoesPlQ,.Ce Geecats Orr Hw thresh Ce Wentay Veen On a Cac PolipOeOSG SenteWOON|Ofte A Ang & 4G ups Ole ae Ree Pre a frertink & & Abbr. CREANlotrel ts.foun BEN Bell; / L200 ,a& CAO Br 9 AAG, ikAe — ThyOven. EO DA uk&yeuneAO 7 AOGnolaefeNSUCWOOe W&Sh.& Connsctni, fate. A hor” el a ADP, Crore, Le ch7le BO5Q,, Are ROKR AcarlOte Ur Andantino Nau a4 7 Prsfemsrok 4 PoxRepoOE)OEBececeAee Ochs, a @ (drfrraun.al Cerarearea.(7!)Qe Flog A, oe GO C@@Aava Prynin HAg ek Crk, plesGsCESnDPsenagers Pua hint. =Ca a ANR f Wo AL Oo uw & LONG A)ph& Ru A020 OCR ACD, EUROS(QUE ES ep. ; : Pi Cxas 3 Chew Bak oe Ai J COLL b y Can AQ Goul@ vy Zassyal NDI RO Ley) 718 Ay 2 \Pxs S Qe HR ARE BD overt ee i ay wy) Ose hing, Xo Occ G R064,aoGN sQaAxpLa5 —————EE HIGHBURY HOPES Proposals For Progress A contribution to the Islington Borough Plan by the Highbury Plan Group. June 1977 SEER HIGHBURY HOPES : PROPOSALS FOR PROGRESS A contribution to the Islington Plan by The Highbury Plan Group. ONE: TWO: 2.1 2. THREE: Sind 3.2 FOUR: 4.1 -2 PART FIVE: Letter of Submission to The Borough Planning Officer. Introduction How this Report came to be written; and why. A pennyworth of participation; Highbury's first impressions. Summary of Aims and Means Aims: Main Conclusion and Proposals. Means: Journey to the Unknown. Main Report What is Highbury like now? Housing in Highbury. The Disadvantaged. Transportation in Highbury. Shopping in Highbury. Schools in Highbury. The Environment in Highbury. Appendix I : List of groups and numbers who participated in Highbury District Meetings. Appendix II: Map of the Highbury Plan Area. K.G. Blythe, Esq., The Borough Planning Officer, London Borough of Islington, Plan Department, 227 - 229 Essex Road, London N1 3PW Dear Sir, Islington Plan, Highbury District Meetings As Chairman of the~Highbury Plan Group I have pleasure in enclosing a copy of our report: "Highbury Hopes ....proposals for progress." In so doing we trust we have brought the initial discussion Stage of the participation exercise to a fair conclusion, and hope that the report may contribute usefully to the Borough Plan as a whole. I should like to emphasise that the work of preparing "Highbury Hopes" has been undertaken by numerous individuals and sub- groups, and so, within the limits indicated in Appendix I, can claim to be at least reasonably representative of the area. You should also note that although this formal submission is to the Borough Planning Officer, the Report will be circulated widely among Councillors, the local press and other interested parties. We regard this submission as only a beginning, and renew our challenge to the Council as a whole to trust its nerve and proceed from these hesitant first steps towards a state of real popular participation. Yours faithfully, \ASARS John S. Allan Chairman, Highbury Plan G: Pp The Highbury Plan Group, 220 Blackstock Road, Islington, London N4. 29th June 1977 Te . ere ‘ | ee HIGHBURY HOP! INTRODUCTIO! How Report came to be written, and why The effect on our Group, when early in 1976 the Chairman of Planning Committee announced the need for our extinction, was to continue our task, and attempt, so far as possible, to bring the business of the first phase to some honourable conclusion. We have more to say later on sharing information, but one of the factors contributing Significantly to our understanding of Highbury was the Highbury District Study - a long report prepared by the Planning Department in the early 1970's but shelved before any action was taken. |E In setting about this task the Council decided the only valid method was to proceed in close conjunction with the people of Islington. The Highbury Plan Group (H.P.G.) is one of the groups that came into being inthis way. With the exception of the H.P.G. all the Area Meetings folded up after the second or third occasion. Some only lasted one meeting. In mid 1975 Islington Council embarked on the ambitious Scheme of formulating the Borough Plan. This was to be a coherent strategy for development over the next ten years. The Highbury Plan Group elected its own Chairman and Secretary at the second meeting and carried on for over a year. We had a dozen or so full meetings, with further smaller discussions continuing thereafter between those involved in finalising this Report. Participation with the public was to take several forms: the production of Fact Packs to raise the level of knowledge; Survey Questionnaires to canvassviews in selected areas; the use of "Focus", the Council newspaper, as a questionnaire; and the arrangement of District Meetings to d uss the issues at greater length with groups in the Community. The Borough was divided for this purpose into seven areas. Despite our earnest belief to the contrary, it presently became clear that the Council had already decided how much participation would take place and how long it would last. = The data in this document, which was kindly made available for our studies, has enabled this Report to be geared more specifically to Highbury than would have been possible by Simply referring to the Fact Packs. Statistics, unless otherwise Stated, have generally been taken from this study. This Departmental study, plus the results of the group's discussions over its period of meeting, plus various other data emerging from the Plan exercise generally, make up the background of this present Report It is again emphasised that the work — particularly that of analysing the Highbury District Study - was shared by many people. Lastly, this Report does not represent the only fruits of the Highbury Plan Group. (The real benefit, probably unquantifiable, is the raised consciousness and increased contact of those taking part.) However, when the Council announced its withdrawal of Officers from our discussions and also of help in arranging our meeting places - it became clear that we were ourselves ‘homeless’ and had better find our own place. This partly accounts for the uneven coverage of different topics, and the fact that some issues, which are given 'ChoicesPapers' in the Council's second stage are not given separate sections here. Thus, while “Highbury Hopes" will supplement the Choices Papers Response, we trust it will also make a contribution of a different order. Membe: of the Highbury Plan Group along with people from various other local associations became involved in the struggle to retain the modest but pleasing terrace of Georgian houses in Blackstock Road threatened with C.P.O. and demolition. One of these, number 220, is now our base, and we have endeavoured to promote its use as an 'Environment Shop' such as we propose in Part 3.2.4, by mounting maps of the area and details of possible changes, etc. All are welcome to visit ttre 2 2.5 A Pennyworth of Participation: Highbury's first impressions. The question thus arises - if officer activity is inadequately monitored by those whose seats depend on it - who is to be held accountable? ; Participation about power. Sharing information is sharing pov - A council that embarks on such a programme unaware of its implications, does so at its peril. Put simply, the need for participation grows out of two main factors. Firstly the desire of Councils to procure a real mandate for their policies. With the increasing volume and complexity of particularly Metropolitan Councils' affairs it has become clear that a twice per decade crossed ballot paper is a quite inadequate level of involvement of people in their local government. The need for participation originates at the ‘front entrance’ of the Town Hall - from the desire, more or less mutual, of electors and elected to keep closer to each other. Despite all the flag-waving and breast-beating of the last 10 years,participation - that is real power sharing - in environmental politics has hardly begun. It seems that if real progress is not achieved soon the game will turn sour; Councils (like Islington) will wonder 'what else to do', and the people (the supposed beneficiaries of the whole exercise) will return to resentful acquiescence, their initial Scepticism confirmed. Secondly there is a growing awareness among people themselves that the Council - whether of their own party or not cannot reliably be left to get on with its 'own' business. Many have discovered this the hard way - by being displaced from their homes, or unable to find adequate schooling for their children, or if elderly, unable to meet others of their age for any social contact etc., etc. The majority of disaffected ratepayers simply read the papers and keep their eyes open — and witness all manner of financial blunders presided over by the Council, and paid for by themselves. The main business of participation however must take place through the 'rear entrance' of the Town Hall — where the officers come in. For it is precisely the size, the statutory powers and the technical sophistication of centralized planning departments which has created the sort of officer autonomy that so reduces the capacity for effective member scrutiny and control. The answer is that only by much closer liaison between local people and the Council's officers can the gap be bridged. It follows that for this process to actually cut ice - the results must be different from the outcome if no participation took place. Hence the danger of embarking frivolously on the participation bandwagon. Working people have learnt their history too well to lose their instinctive suspicion for the 'benign' council officer, and if, so soon after the "new beginning", groups of genuine if disorientated participants are informed that they are becoming over-diligent the old crust of cynical disinterest is quick to reset The residual question that the Council - members and officers - must ask itself is: Are the consequences of real participation - a journey to the unknown - more to be feared than the cumulative consequences of denying it? The question is now squarely on Islington's Agenda - and the time for answering it is running out. oe sea HIGHBURY HOPES PART THREE SUMMARY OF AIMS & MEANS 3.1 Aims: Main Conclusions and Propos In the H.P.G. Chairman's interim report to the Council of 7th January 1976 appeared the words - “in planning, more than in any other discipline, the goals one sets are in the event transformed or reinforced by the methods used to achieve them." To practise what we preached, this section is arranged in two parts: the first summarizes those opinions we have gathered which, in effect, form our current aims. The second part, recognizing the way in which these will change, either in outline or detail over a period of time, Suggests methods of continuing the participation process to monitor whether we are still on target - and enable us to change direction if necessary. Highbury is an established area which does not need large scale change. It consists of a number of geographical 'cells' or villages which have their own communities, and would lend themselves to individual tailor-made improvements. Theoretically there are more families than homes for them but in fact if all the empty houses were filled and the derelict land, especially railway land, exploited, the problem would almost vanish. Large scale redevelopment in Highbury is unnecessary and irrelevant. Forms of housing and types of tenure should be becoming more, not less, diverse. The more monolithic the housing stock the greater the problem of "exceptions' - and diversity is the essence of successful housing policy. The Council should not confuse their obligation to progress towards a well-housed population with the desire to supervise the whole operation. The most needed (and feasible) immediate action is on empty houses, most of which are publicly owned. There should be as much variety of control of this housing as possible, while council tenants, who wish to do so, should be encouraged to manage their own estates. A major drive to stimulate 'self-help' by private landlords is urgently needed to provide basic amenities in otherwise structurally sound properties. Two age groups, the under 5's and the elderly are getting a bad deal - both in overall terms and in comparison to the rest of the Borough. Highbury's claim for priority treatment is reinforced by the population structure. The right places for social services are centres in the local community which can involve both the Council and local organisations. There is no other effective way to find and help the people who really need help. Too many commuters pass through or park in residential streets. The answer is not to widen the main roads as car numberswill expand to fill the available space. Intelligent inh iting of private car movement must be coordinated with improved public transport services. The Blackstock Road accident blackspot could be eliminated cheaply within weeks by adopting our proposals. Since only one-third of Highbury residents aré car owners, greater emphas must be placed on pedestrian safety, a greater proportion of Highbury traffic comprising "strangers' to the district. The patronizing belief held by architects and planners, that other mortals only use their eyes for steering, must be debunked, and the Council meet its obligations to maintain the dignity and cleanliness of public areas. Outside the well publicized Conservation Areas the Council Should develop small derelict areas as gardens and sitting Out spaces. Highbury has a rich variety of small shops which planners must resist the temptation to "tidy away". With careful help and encouragement this shopping structure Suits very well the predominantly pedestrian and/or elderly shopper. Grandiose centres such as Wood Green would benefit only those who can use Wood Green already. Rather the 'High Street’ character of Blackstock Road and Highbury Barn should be reinforced by partial pedestrianization. There are plenty of schools in Highbury but they are inadequately used outside school hours. It would make more sense to bring this spare capacity into constructive use, than devote scarce resources to new building projects. The decline in overall pupil numbers should be used as an opportunity to reduce average class sizes and improve facilities. The immediate target should be maximum class size: 30 and two form entry. Even when this is achieved it will not necessarily be time to close down schools on the basis of dubious ILEA forecasts. More generally we need trees especially in North Highbury. Hundreds of 'em. Lastly, the Highbury Plan Group is disappointed with the recent designation of Housing Action Areas. Firstly the Group were denied any knowledge of the forthcoming prog- ramme - despite the obvious relevance this would have had to our discussions. Secondly the Finsbury Park Triangle HAA, one of the key areas in Highbury, was rightly desig- nated top priority but then demoted to last in the "adjusted" list apparently to avoid some official embarrassment. MEANS, JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN 3.2 It is not possible to know in detail either the future requirements of specific areas of the resources available to meet them. The most ambitious plans may look foolish at a stroke, if the Arab Emirates change the price of Galil, After deciding broadly what matters and what doesn't, we must set up procedures whereby specific policies can be formulated as part of an ongoing process. Planning departments should decant into local branch offices — ngt unlike Social Services Area Teams - where teams of about 5 officers can work directly with area groups. This would help to lessen the impenetrable ‘them'/'us' image foremost in people's mind when they think of planners. Planners and other servicing departments for their part would begin to work with people instead of data. If officers however fail to meet their direct obligations to communities, this decanting will simply be regarded as a more effective form of spying. Standing Advisory Committees of teachers and governers, parents and children, and ILEA officers should be encouraged to establish regular programmes of consultation to establish schooling priorities in detail Active encouragement must be given to form Committees of residents to liaise with the Council's area teams. Half- hearted attempts to do so have tended to make some existing community groups cynical and suspicious. Street Committees should be formed similar to HAA Joint Advisory Committees before any work is contemplated in a specific area. Raising people's expectations and planning knowledge could be assisted by setting up neighbourhood ‘Environment Shops' where local planning matters and proposals may be Studied and discussed. This might be combined with 3.2.1 so long as these centres did not just become branch offices of the Planning Department. 220 Blackstock Road, the rehabilitation of which has been undertaken by several groups and individuals (including members of the Highbury Plan Group) is a first step in this direction. Associations of shop owners and traders should be convened to formulate shopping street policies, and benefit from the effects of strength in numbers. Most of Highbury's shops are in distinct concentrations. We support the idea of an Industrial Aid Bureau to liaise between the Council and the local business community. To be successful however people must know of its existence and how it can help them. afey 5 a 5 % “ fet Ina continuing period of economic stringency, which allows politicians to defer their dreams and hence their bilities, short-term solutions have a vital role. wa Sure such as the Job Creation Programme , correctly used, can tackle several problems simultaneously. combats the type of unemp and also suits some of the immediate tasks we have proposed in connection with environmental improvements, etc. These proposals all aim to give identity and structure to groups of people that already exist but have no incentive to meet because the Council holds out little encouragement and its officers defend their own knowledge. If real participation ever develops the Council must bite the bullet and realise that they will be unable to completely control it. While parti ipation remains manageable by the Council it Can never become real ® HIGHBURY HOPES : PART FOUR MAIN REPORT What is Highbury like now? Highbury, like most of central London, has experienced a loss of population over the last decade, but at half the rate of Islington as a whole. There were 340 thousand living in Highbury in 1891, and by 1981 there are expected to be 32 thousand - roughly the same as in 1828. These astounding statistics have been a major influence on Highbury. The major features of Highbury are: a) Highbury Fields: a splendid urban park surrounded by fine terraces and providing much needed recreation facilities. Other green spaces include Highbury New Park and Newington Green, both of which are designated conservation areas. Finsbury Park Station: an important transport interchange with bus, rail and tube facilities used by a population much larger and more dispersed than Highbury's. Arsenal Football Stadium. A club of national importance, again attracting many thousands of "outsiders' and imposing occasional irritation to nearby residents, but benefittinglocal trade. Blackstock Road/Highbury Park: from Finsbury Park to the Barn is Highbury's local High Street offering an excellent range of shops - and, with its turns and gradients, having a definite character and identity. There is one principal zoned area of industry - namely Queensland Road and Ashburton Grove, which also includes the major Borough Cleansing Department establishment. This area merges with the vast acreage of railway land - a significant proportion of which is probably underexploited. |f | In this section we look at the ex sting tuation in Highbury in general terms, before studying particular topics in more depth. The Group accepted the Planning Department's boundaries of the area. These are, ofcourse, to an extent arbitrary but may be defined as the district enclosed by the Kings Cross and North London railway lines on the west and th, Holloway Road on the south west and the Hackney / Islington boundary on the north east; an area of approx— imately 300 acres. P ‘ a Structure and character : the area is a patchwork of smaller segments - distinct urban villages — some with outstanding architectural qualities, like the Fields, but otherwise mainly consistent and comfortable What a few years ago would have been viewed in disfavour — namely the absence of much comprehensive redevelopment - may now be counted as a blessing. The predominant land use is residential with minor industry well absorbed into the general grain. o we Physically the most obvious differentiation is between the southern sector with its mature trees and greenery and the "Finsbury Park triangle" area which could well have the lowest tree count of any area in Inner London. e Most of the housing stock is Structurally sound, or easily made so, but in many cases lacking in what are now classed as basic amenities. The rate of decline of Highbury's population being half that for Islington generally has resulted in our area having an increasing share of the Borough's population. This is distributed relatively more in the very young (under 5's) and 30 - 35 age group. One-fifth of Highbury's population are children of school or pre-school age. Two-thirds are of working age (of which four-fifths actually have a job) and less than a fifth are retired. The national trend towards more and smaller households is reflected in Highbury, but the presence here of more than the average number of children, young adults and large families means that provision for the young is particularly necessary. The socio-economic pattern shows a relative rise in more affluent (e.g. professional or employer) groups against a reduction in services and unskilled labour. These trends are more exaggerated in Highbury than the Borough as a whole, and are doubtless the result of inward migration rather than mass upward social mobility. Eighty per cent of Highbury residents (1971 figure) are British born. 13 per cent are of Commonwealth origin and 7 per cent from elsewhere. This mix is average for the Borough, which is generally becoming more cosmopolitan, but shows that many immigrants are second generation or older. In 1971 it was estimated that one-fifth of the total housing stock in Highbury was either derelict or vacant. If the Council truly wished to dent the housing problem in Highbury it need look no further than this. Of the other various options open to the Council (or the G.L.C.) to tackle Highbury's housing problems, redevelop- ment appears singularly inappropriate. It is too expensive, takes too long, adds to the wrong tenure section and would involve demolishing property not unsound enough to justify demolition. It is also unlikely to produce a net housing gain. Development of railway and other unexploited land may deserve serious study but the main impact, apart from restoring the empty houses to full use, must be made in improving or stimulating others to improve existing stock mainly in the private unfurnished sector. Short life use of existing unused property must be consid— ered a serious possibility if its owners - public or private continue to acquiesce in its dereliction. The Council should not feel inhibited about permitting genuine Squatters to occupy and improve unoccupied dwellings particularly if owners are persistently obstinate in improving them. Where the Council itself is the n HIGHBURY HOPES : PART FOUR _ sa The statistics quoted below from the Highbury District Study give as good an insight as any into the housing problems of Highbury. The area population (1971) was about 34,000 and the number of households just over 13,400. This gave an average household size of .2.3 persons - a Significant drop from 2.7 in 1961. The broad pattern, typical of London generally, has been for owner-occupation to remain about constant, council tenancy and furnished accommodation to increase, but private unfurnished lettings to fall markedly. There are almost 3,000 fewer dwellings than households, a deficiency which is made up for by sharing. In 1971 12% of households were living at more than 1.5 persons per room - or, in other words statutory overcrowding. S than a quarter of the housing stock needs major repairs to extend its life by 15 years. A third of the tock, the majority of which is pre-1916, needs some improvement - usually in the form of additional ameniti Only half the total number of households have exclusive use of basic amenities - the other half representing mainly the private unfurnished sector. 4.2 Housing in Highbury In 1971 it was estimated that one-fifth of the total housing stock in Highbury was either derelict or vacant If the Council truly wished to dent the housing problem in Highbury it need look no further than this. Of the other various options open to the Council (or the G.L.C.) to tackle Highbury's housing problems, redevelop- ment appears singularly inappropriate. It is too expensive, takes too long, adds to the wrong tenure section and would involve demolishing property not unsound enough to justify demolition. It is also unlikely to produce a net housing gain. Development of railway and other unexploited land may deserve serious study but the main impact, apart from restoring the empty houses to full use, must be made in improving or stimulating others to improve existing stock mainly in the private unfurnished sector. Short life use of existing unused property must be consid- ered a serious possibility if its owners - public or private continue to acquiesce in its dereliction. The Council should not feel inhibited about permitting genuine Squatters to occupy and improve unoccupied dwellings particularly if owners are persistently obstinate in improving them. Where the Council itself is the n HIGH 'Y HOPES : PART FOUR The statistics quoted below from the Highbury District Study give as good an insight as any into the housing problems of Highbury. >area population (1971) was about 34,000 and the number of households just over 13,400. This gave an average household size of .2.3 persons - a Significant drop from 27 Lneloole SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The broad pattern, typical of London generally, has been for owner-occupation to remain about constant, council tenancy and furnished accommodation to increase, but private unfurnished lettings to fall markedly. There are almost 3,000 fewer dwellings than households, a deficiency which is made up for by sharing. In 1971 12% of households were living at more than 1.5 persons per room - or, in other words statutory overcrowding. Less than a quarter of the housing stock needs major airs to extend its life by 15 years. A third of the stock, the majority of which is pre-1916, needs some improvement - usually in the form of additional amenities. Only half the total number of households have <clusive use of basic amenities - the other half representing mainly the private unfurnished sector. Conclusion: If it was more widely known by electors that a major Slice of their rates was devoted to depriving them of their homes there could be public disorder. = SUSE 5- J The only appropriate response to the housing problem in Highbury is a pluralist programme. No one answer and no one agency is the right solution. a the obdurate owner such an option at least provides accommodation which is after all the primary objective. In the U.K. as a whole each year only 2% is added to the housing stock, and we must look to what already exists for the 'new' supply. In other words rehabilitation and conversion give best value for money. Derelict property if all restored to use would cut homelessnes by one-fifth. Meanwhile, nine per cent of L.B.I. land is vacant. Occupier satisfaction is a more useful criterion of acceptability than Statutory definitions in a crisis and Saves needless expenditure on second priorities. The Council's major role may well be an indirect one in persuading, and ipporting financially if possible, other agencies including private individuals involved in providing accommodation. Improvement Grants must be less restrictive if the benfits of full take-up are to be gained. Before extending its direct involvement the Council should face the unpleasant fact that it is the agent principally responsible for the housing shortage. (Housing Fact Pack p.14 states that nearly } of rehousing in 1974 arose from decanting from areas of Council activity.) HIGHBURY HOPES PART This abominable word describes a familiar enough phenomenon : the very young and the very old, in other words the dependent sections of any community. These are not necessarily at a disadvantage, of course, only more vulnerable to it. If the demand for general social services is probably inexhaustible - the resources to meet it are certainly not. The question therefore arises how to identify those in need and deploy resources to best effect. The first group clearly in need is the pre-school age under 5's, and the population figures quoted earlier indicate an above average proportion for Highbury. Provision of services for the under 5's may be made as follows a) Nursery Schools - full or part-time, provided by the Education Authority or privately. (3 - 4 year olds.) b) Nursery classes attached to primary schools. ce) Primary Schools : admitting under 5's or the so-called "rising 5's". d) Day Nurseries : full-time child minding for children any age under 5. e) Child minders : registered or otherwise. 3) Play Groups : Council sponsored or voluntary. Such services generally benefit not only the children, by promoting educational and social development at a critical age, and offering an alternative (and in cases better) environment - but also their parents by enabling the mothers to take part or full-time work, make more social contacts in the community or give better attention to younger babies. The Government, the ILEA and LBI are all apparently in ? favour of improved provision for the under fives, but the situation in Highbury is not encouraging. In 1972 less than 200 out of over 1200 3/4 year olds were in pre-school education and only about 300 out of over 24 thousand 0 - 4 year olds were benefitting from any other provision. In Islington as a whole only 26% of the 0 - 4 age group are catered for, but in Highbury this figure falls to 19%, 5 6 The Disadvantaged a We clearly need priority treatment in this area, particularly since precisely those households where conditions are poor are more numerous in the young families sector. The elderly of Highbury are also especially badly off. Whilst Council can do little to influence national pensions, there is a shortage of P. day facilities, to which resources could be directed. There are 52 luncheon clubs in Islington, but Council officials were (at the time of enquiry) unable to name one in Highbury. A third area of concern is the maladjusted child or young person. All must recognise that the responsibilities arising must be shared equally, but many people in Highbury feel they are already carrying their fair share. Conclusions A major objective should be to provide more nursery education in Highbury - preferably in the form of nursery classes in existing primary schools, as this is most economical, or creches or special nursery schools. Currently the trend looks to be heading the opposite direction, with Elizabeth House risking closure for lack of funds. Day facilities for the elderly must be improved, with consideration to adopting suitable existing premises as well as building new centres. Until at least some progress has been made on these items there should be no more adolescents' hostels etc. in Highbury. The difficulties of making and sustaining contact with those in the two groups in need could be eased if environ— ment shops or centres such as 220 Blackstock Road are encouraged and fostered in other parts of the district. The Social Services department must be closely involved, but the contribution of which voluntary agencies are capable must be given full support. Transportation in Highbury Car parking is not a major problem in Highbury so far as residents are concerned as ownership is only about 30%. Incoming parkers cause difficulties however, especially in connection with Arsenal. The Council should give special priority rights to residents in Arsenal's "parking shadow" who endure this invasion week after week during the ever-lengthening 'season'. Finsbury Park Station - the area's main interchange- is a squa disgrace of which the Council, the G.L.C. and British Rail should be utterly ashamed. Highbury faces two basic problems of movement, the rush hour (affecting all modes of transport) and the concentration of traffic on particular roads. 2a is surrounded by major roads - Holloway, Seven Green Lanes, St. Pauls Road — but traversed by s Several minor roads, Gillespie Road, for y_ far too much through traffic, which is not generated locally. Intermediate size roads, such as Blackstock Road in turn carries too great a volume for its pedestrian/shopping character. Figures indicate rates of eleven thousand vehicles per day for both Green Lanes and Blackstock Road = when the former is suitable for such a volume, and the latter manifestly not. Drayton Park/Gillespie Road likewise carry up to two- thirds the volume of Holloway Road during rush hours, the latter being in effect a national trunk road. Because of these and similar overloadings of inappropriate roads Highbury has more than its share of accidents. In particular nearly half of all the di tricts vehicle/ pedestrian accidents occur along Blackstock Road/Highbury Park - and one-third of all the accidents on the same stretch of road. This is quite Simply because the character and use patterns generated by this road are quite incompatible with any "through route" function. The western zone of the district is quite well served by Tube lines, but public transport elsewhere is hampered both by the congestion described above, and the singularly tupid operating habits of London Transport whereby buses are dispatched in groups of 3 with hour-long intervals between. The North London Line is generally reckoned to be under- used but the British Rail services at Finsbury Park provide important links with the city centre. Conclusion All the authorities involved should combine to give Finsbury Park Station the mother and father of a facelift. Successful traffic management consists of mastering the problems of scale A 14 wheel lorry at 40 mph may be acceptable on par of Holloway Road, but it is not so on Blackstock Road. A stream of private cars at 20 mph may be acceptable in Green Lanes, but only doubtfully so at Highbury Barn. Through traffic will revert to its proper channels if the disincentives to go elsewhere are made strong enough. These can consist of additional traffic lights, culs-de Sac, pedestrian crossings, and "broad hints" such as planting, seating, changes of texture, etc. etc. (Think of Oxford Street 5 years ago — and now. ) Accident figures show that Blackstock Road carries too much traffic for its alignment and character. Traffic lights should be installed now at the Gillespie Road/ Mountgrove Road and Monsell Road/Brownswood Road crossings. Consideration should be given to pedestrianizing the section from these junctions or even Seven Sisters Road to Highbury Barn - i.e. the main shopping portion. On-street parking is not so awful really, and looks 0.K. if shaded by trees. It is als cheapest and allows drivers to get as near as possible to their destination - a desire nobody will ever succeed in changing. So any money now ear-marked for the nonsenseof off-street parking should be spent on trees to distract the eye from on-street parking. HIGHBURY HOPES : PART FOUR eeOL 4.5 Shopping in Highbury d) Highbury Barn 5.7% T.F.S. e) Newington Green 13% T.F.S. f) Drayton Park 8.3% T.F.S. 8) Highbury Corner 13% T.F.S. The 'cellular' village character of Highbury which has already been described in detail also characterises the shopping patterns of the area. The distribution of shopping facilities in Highbury is roughly as follows: a) Finsbury Park 35% total floor space (P19 3,) b) Blackstock Road 15% T.F.S. ce) Highbury Park 8% T.F.S. Although there are also many smaller concentrations of shops it can be seen that Finsbury Park/Blackstock Road /Highbury Barn - carrying nearly two-thirds of total floor space - acts as the "high street' for the area as a whole. The above inference is also Supported by the fact that 75% T.F.S. is given to food sales. J MOA This distribution suits the district's notably low car ownership level - since most (70%) shoppers walk to their local shops - and must therefore be preserved. The problem with shopping in Highbury is not the shops, which are numerous, friendly and traditional and offering wide choices, but the hazards and discomfort involved in using them. This leads straight back to traffic as discussed earlier. Conclu: The G.L.C. proposal that resources should be concentrated on strategic centres such as Wood Green would benefit only those already able to take advantage of such facilities. Running down one centre simply results in more car traffic to the others. The Blackstock Road high street must receive the main encouragement and improvements, with idicious face-lifts and rapid re-letting of premises fal ig vacant. 4 Also ethnic food requirements - a significant factor in Highbury - are better Satisfied in a structure of The existing patterns suit residents generally and especially the elderly, who can walk to nearby shops, receive personal service and purchase small quantities. numerous small shops of wide diversity. ey ————--—— arr HIGHBURY HOPES :PART FOUR a FOUR 4. 6 Schools in Highbury Secondary Education. Nearly 2} thousand Highbury children are of statutory secondary school age. There are three schools for them to go to in Highbury : Highbury Hill (490 Girls Grammar — 3 form entry), Highbury Grove (1250 Boys Comprehensive -— 8 form entry) and Shelburne Upper School (680 Girls Unselective - 5 form entry)’. Many children travel to schools outside the area. Conclusions The school population in Highbury is apparently declining, a trend the I.L.E.A. predicts will continue. Proposals The decline in numbers vill have least effect in Mildmay and North Highbury. 75% of Highbury's schools are provided by the Public Authorities, 16% and 9% being Roman Catholic or Church of England respectively. Infant and Primary Schools. There are eight such schools in Highbury of which five are County,one R.C. and two of C. of E. I.L.E.A. have Suggested that the County provision must be reduced by nearly half by 1981! There are not enough R.C. places however, and generally the schools, although well located in relation to demand, are near major roads causing hazards to children. Once again the I.L.E.A. expects a decline in demand — such that Highbury Grove would reduce its intake and the two girls' schools amalgamate. -| ————————E School buildings are too important a resource to be used only for direct education. They can be open outside school hours for children, and a variety of uses by voluntary groups, adult education. Such activities promote better use of equipment and facilities, as well as closer liaison between parents and teachers, home and school With school buildings usually open only seven hours a day, two-thirds of the year, the latent potential is enormous — and this must be explored before resources are allocated to brand new facilities. The Council must strongly resist any school closures. must be retained, while class sizes reduce, with the “community centre" function expanded to the maximum. Affording a second caretaker's Salary is cheaper than funding a new building. HIGHBURY HOPES : PART FOUR ————eeOUR 4 iG The Environment in Highbury The majority of Highbury's residents do not live in conservation areas however. From Aubert Park and Kelross Road northwards the area contains no public open space whatsoever, and north of Gillespie Road there are barely mord than a dozen trees in public places. one of the most treeless in the whole of London. This area has to be The sort of place in which you find yourself when you walk out of your front door exerts a major influence on the morale of a community. How does Highbury rate on this basis? The quality of environment depends on numerous interlinked factors, many of which have been mentioned already under separate headings Clearly the condition of housing, the streets and shopping areas and the volume of traffic passing through them have a major effect. The adoption of our proposals on these issues would greatly benefit the environment in general But other measures must be considered in a direct effort to improve the environment in Highbury and the mundane aspects of these should not disguise their importance. Islington's free skip scheme is an almost revolutionary measure deserving recognition at national level. Unfortunately, however, other refuse collection measures are less consistent. Is it really necessary for dustmen to leave half the garbage on the street after their wild passage? If they cannot be tamed (they almost certainly deserve better pay) then the only solution is to programme the street sweepers to follow immediately behind. A major percentage of visible public ground is tarmac or paving slabs. The Council has responsibilities to ensure that these areas are not only just safe, but maintained in decent condition. Builders, etc. must not be permitted to mix up cement on the carriageway causing permanent staining. Areas of broken or disfigured paving must also be replaced. These details all add up to an impression. (Look at the pavements in Hampstead for comparison.) Of the sixteen conservation areas in Islington, only three are in Highbury. Of these Highbury Fields is the most important being Islington's principal green space. Conservation areas naturally,and to a point deservedly, receive priority attention in environmental matters - and it may be fair to say that the current level of protection, if maintained, is adequate. HIGHBURY HOPES : PART FOUR ee OE 4 4 The Environment in Highbury The majority of Highbury's residents do not live in conservation areas however. From Aubert Park and Kelross Road northwards the area contains no public open space whatsoever, and north of Gillespie Road there are barely mord than a dozen trees in public places. one of the most treeless in the whole of London. This area has to be The sort of place in which you find yourself when you walk out of your front door exerts a major influence on the morale of a community. How does Highbury rate on this basis? The quality of environment depends on numerous interlinked factors, many of which have been mentioned already under Separate headings Clearly the condition of housing, the streets and shopping areas and the volume of traffic Passing through them have a major effect. The adoption of our proposals on these issues would greatly benefit the environment in general But other measures must be considered in a direct effort to improve the environment in Highbury and the mundane aspects of these should not disguise their importance. Islington's free skip scheme is an almost revolutionary measure deserving recognition at national level Unfortunately, however, other refuse collection measures are less consistent. Is it really necessary for dustmen to leave half the garbage on the street after their wild passage? If they cannot be tamed (they almost certainly deserve better pay) then the only solution is to programme the street sweepers to follow immediately behind. A major percentage of visible public ground is tarmac or paving slabs. The Council has responsibilities to ensure that these areas are not only just safe, but maintained in decent condition. Builders, etc. must not be permitted to mix up cement on the carriageway causing permanent staining. Areas of broken or disfigured paving must also be replaced. These details all add up to an impression. (Look at the pavements in Hampstead for comparison.) Of the sixteen conservation areas in Islington, only three are in Highbury. Of these Highbury Fields is the most important being Islington's principal green space. Conservation areas naturally,and to a point deservedly, receive priority attention in environmental matters — and it may be fair to say that the current level of protection, if maintained, is adequate. Conclusion The Council's Refuse Department and Street Cleaning section must realise they provide one of the most anything, more manpower is needed. There are several areas of derelict or unexploited land in the northern half of the area which would lend themselves to redevelopment as 'vest-pocket' public gardens. These are cheap and easily applied solutions and have a disproportionate effect on environmental "morale'. Although there are 16,000 trees in Islington a major area - North Highbury - is without any. There must be a period of 'positive discrimination’ here both in Parks Department's own policy and in such measures as the Tree-for-Tree scheme. valuable of all services and be paid accordingly. If PART FIVE APPENDIXI Finsbury Park Community Group Central Islington Community Party Highbury Social Services Department Highbury Fields Association Central Islington Liberal A: ciation Christ Church, Highbury Highbury Park Residents and Traders Association Islington Community Housing Association South Highbury Residents Association Mildmay Community Association Round House and S. Highbury Residents Association Drayton Park Social Services Department North London Teaching Association North Highbury Tenants Association Pyrland Road and Area Residents Association Aberdeen Park Tenants Association Friends of St. John's Association Plus approximately 25 - 30 private individuals Officers from the Planning Department, Housing Department and Islington Council for Social Services also attended some meetings. The Highbury district Planning Group consists of representatives from the following Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Highbury Plan Group 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 Jun-77 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/6af3d039c3dd6415ff12b54f294ae72e.pdf 22a2896fb5d493fe4e9f1ea781c593bc 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 Trade Unions and Architecture Description An account of the resource Themes included action on asbestos and Health &amp; Safety, and involvement with Direct Labour Organisations and Building Unions. Following comparative research of possible options, NAM encouraged unionisation of building design staffs within the private sector, negotiating the establishment of a dedicated section within TASS. Though recruitment was modest the campaign identified many of the issues around terms of employment and industrial relations that underpin the processes of architectural production. 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 Highrise Industrialised Housing Subject The topic of the resource Critique - 7 x A4 typewritten pages Description An account of the resource ¥ - ST TIS Highrise Industrialised Housing. written by members of the yj Building Design Staff In Britain during the period 1964 - 1970 there was a remarkable boom in construction of high- rise industrialised housing. At the height of this boom over 40% of new local authority housing was being built using these methods. Although the period was very short, during it the skylines of most cities and towns in Britain were transformed, and a legacy was left which is now distinctive for another reason — massive repair bills. The scramble of the boom years with the attempt by the Labour government to achieve 500,000 new housing units per year was a gold mine to the building companies. Most of them developed or bought a system yntil there were more than 400 systems on the market; now there are only abot 70 in common use. HOW DID IT HAPPEN? The Tory government of the 1950s was concernetdo promote slum clearance, prevent urban Sprawl, retain agricultural land and to preserve the amenities of the countryside; these concerns were embodied in the 1953 jhite Paper which, whilst urging slum clearance and organising Green Belts around the Major cities, also encouraged Local Authorites to build at higher densities than before. After the war Local Authorities had concentrated on three-bed somes and flats, usually no higher than 3 - 4 storeys, but. with the creation of Green Belts expansion was restricted and housing land was limited. Central Government pressed Local Authorities in urban areas to build to higher densities, and produced 'Flats and Homes 1958' which they described as 'a study of design and economy in high density housing". Ministerial circulars, design manuals, bulletins, speeches and informal consultations with Local Authorities pressed the density policy home. The Government advised that above 90 persons per acre tall blocks would be better but were not completely necessary until a density of 140 persons per acre was reached. The policy was put into effect by a subsidy to Local Authorities for high-rise flats; each floor higher than six earned a subsidy. So, despite counter-objections, high-rise housing became a key component of Government housing policy, and the bandwagon began to roll Supported by technical advice which justified the idea. fhe NBA (National Building Agency) was set up in 1964 to examine the question and provide technical information and to Study industrialised building methods. Their backing of the highrise London branch of AUEW-TASS. industrialised solution and the support of the Government gave great weight to the idea, and there were very few Local Authorities that could resist the pressure. JUSTIFICATIONS FOR INDUSTRIALISED SYSTEMS. Many reasons were put forward as to why industrialised syatems should be used: 1. There was a large and urgent housing programme, and homes had to be provided quichly and cheaply. 2. Costs would decrease by standardising components and by mechanising the building process. The argument was that factories would be built with controlled conditions in which to make the components, which would then be taken by lorry to the sites and erected by skilled assemblers. This would mean that there would be less reliance on traditional labour crafts, less industrial conflict and therefore a smoother building operation. Cost would be further reduced by repeating standardised, units, and often an analogy with car assembly lines was used to illustrate this point. By ensuring a continuous demand for a particular system the high cost of capitalising such a project would be recouped; it was the possibility of high profits that induced building contractors was the main material used - about 95% in 1963 and 70% in 1970 for example. Many of the systems were imported from abroad. 3. Closer co-operation within the design team would result, and time would be saved by repeating types and the elimination of the one-off job. Had the high-riee experiment succeeded it might well have had major implications for the employment of designers. During the highrise boom attempts to introduce for instance, did not develop far enough to be a threat to design staff. One important inovation of the period was the ‘package deal’ whereby a building company undertakes to provide a certain number of dwellings, and both designs and constructs proposition for Local Authorities - particularly the smaller ones. After the highrise boom collapsed the package deal operation continued for lowrise housing, and recently there has been a noticable expansion of it. 4. NBA research was produced to show that above five floors to push their system. Concrete computer-aided design methods, them. This was an attractive construction costs did not increase markedly, even including the costs Industrial- the U.K. Use of room Hungary Large building elements in| nets W. Germany Industrial- Prefabric— ation in fo Ors|Oe3|0 24leoeS] Sell eeO|73 eee Ona QRS (rat. trad.) ~ of lifts. The supporters of high-rise industrialised building methods refered to building costs in Scandanavia and the Iron Curtain countries which appeared to show that highrise was cheaper. THE EXTENT OF THE HIGHRISE BOOM. The following statistics summarise the boom, and show comparable figures for some other European countries: eee? 1.3||12.4]16.7| 22.9]36.5]/49.7|17.9| 24.7| 27.7| 28.6| 31.3] 28.2 isedconst=|gaa logec29.6]33.9)36.8]37.8]34.0]23.4/19.8|21.7]20.2/18.8 ruction in : aged consta| 7(al s5ealo7_a)06%6 98.2/ 90.0] 88.1] 86.6] 84.3| 79.6] 80.1/82.6 ruction in E. Germany (n.b. figures include concrete blocks) esceia cece | cece) eee! eoee!| eeee/10.7/10.7/10.9/10.9/10.8/10.7| 9.4 Materials used in industrialised housing in the U.K. as Z% of total: Concrete 95.9 || -.+-|75.1] 68.8] 71.4/69.6|71.6|64.0]62.7|61.2|50.7 39.1 New houses and flats built using industrialised methods - as a Z age of all new dwellings (all figures are taken from the Annual Bulletin of Housing and Building Statistics for Europe published every year by the UN) Timber Steel 2-3 | eee-} 7-1/11.5] 9.2/12.0]/11.5/13.1]15.3|24.5|39.7155.0 Bricks 1.7 || ..--] 7.9} 7.0] 6.4] 5.4] 3.3] 6.1] 7.9] 7.8] 4.3] 4.6 coos ieeee! 9.8/12.7/12.9/13.0/13.6/16.7/14.1| 6.5| 4.3] 4.6 1963|| 1966} 1967} 1968} 1969] 1970) 1971] 1972] 1973] 1974| 1975| 1976 THE END OF THE ERA. By 1968 the boom was over, and the ending was dramatic - high-rise industrialised housing was discredited. The apparent reasons were: 1. Growing public disenchantment with high-rise housing in general. 2. Design faults and repair bills due to hastily conceived designs and lack of experience in industrialised housing. After the partial collapse of Ronan Point in 1968,300,000 examined for structural faults. : dwellings had to be 3. The Housing Subsidies Act 1967 reduced financial high-rise flats by abolishing the additional in exess of six. support for subsidy for each storey 4.The devaluation of the pound in 1967 and the cutting of £82 million from the nations expenditure on housing. 5. The Wilson government introduced a large subsidy for hotel construction which meant that many building quickly as pessible to this. REASONS FOR THE HIGH-RISE BOOM AND FOR ITS COLLAPSE. 1. Commercial. Whatever the elaborate theoretical justifications housing the real underlying motives were always commercial. Apart from the advantages already mentioned of cutting back the workforce, the building companies could share the same plant and equipment for tall offices, housing and hotels. By the early 1960s the largest companies were already tooled up for highrise operations - for office building. But in their scramble to make profits out of high-rise housing, the large building companies were 80 greedy that they failed even to produce a reasonable product. Thus the serious building recession of the early 1970s was to some extent their own fault. 2. Political. In the early 1960s the establishment took up the cause of high-rise housing with enthusiasm. There were some direct influences on governments from the building companies; for example director of Bovis, from 1964 to 1971 Geoffrey Rippon was Chairman of Cubitts, and advisors to the Minister 1965 to 1966 a director of Costains director of Concrete Ltd. (Mr K. Wood) of Quickbuild Ltd. (Mr D. Llewellyn). Also very important in influecing companies switched as in 1963 Keith Joseph was @ of Housing included from (Mr Lederer), from 1966 to 1967 a and from 1967 to 1968 a director used for high-rise the Government was the NBA, supposedly an objective scientific research body, but which acted in fact as one of the main channels through which commercial interests brought about the high-rise boom. Other sections of the establishment such as the media and University research departments also played a role in legitimising the process. Of course it was mainly through political pressures that the experiment was abandoned. In the late 1960s high-rise housing began to be a political scandal and embarragment and the establishment dropped it as quickly as it could. 3. Ideological and Theoretical. In the early 1960s all sorts of ideolgical and theoretical arguments were found to justify the construction of high-rise housing. One of the most potent was the mechanistic line of thinking which said that since it was now technologically possible to construct mlti- storey housing it was there fore inevitable scientific progrss to do so. A number of simplistic architectural theories were also trotted out. Also Britain was said to be lagging behind countries like the U.S.A. or even the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe. Incidentally, the latter remains the one part of the world where high-rise solutions have continued to supply a high proportion of new dwellings; an analysis of this is however outside the scope of this paper. 4. Operational. As mentioned above the building industry was to a certain extent already geared to multi-storey construction for its very profitable office building operations. Nevertheless serious operational problems continued throughout the high-rise boom. One basic problem was the lack of a steady and regular supply of land. Public ownership of land, such as it was, was unable to counteract the effects on land supply of the capitalist land market. Another basic problem was the way that both Government and businesses use the building industry as a 'regulator’. The cyclical booms and recessions of a capitalist economy are thus magnified in the construction sector, and one of the ways that Governments try to regulate the economy in general is through housing policy. The high-rise housing boom was also so shortlived that builders afterwards claimed that lack of time to achieve competence in this new field was the main problem. Although there was some truth in this, it assumes, wrongly, that builders were primapily interested in building good dwellings. They were not - their primary interest was and is in making profits. As it happens, this may sometimes involve good building practice. 5. Sociological. Although it is hard to believe it now, in the early 1960s sociological theories were dredged up which ‘showed" that high-rise flats were going to bring a better life, particularly for the poor. However, we can now see what the actual sociological effects have been. Whereas the idea was put forward that multi-storey estates would be wonderful new communities, we can now see that in general they are barren and unsatisfactory places to live, particularly in comparison with some of the traditional working-class neighbourhoods which they replaced. The disruption caused by this novel form of dwelling has proved to be enormous; they are particularly unsuitable for families with children. All this combined with the appalling technical faults of many estates has meant that the whole building type is now stigmatised.— for many people the very idea of living in a high flat is a fearful prospect, and many people who do live in them want nothing more than to get out. CONSEQUENCES OF THE HIGHRISE BOOM. 1. The Housing Stock. As a result of the 1960s high-rise boom there are now a large number of extremely poor and problematic dwellings. New problems with highrise flats are constantly coming to light; among these are structural problems which lead to cracks developing or even danger of collapse, condensation due to inadequate insulation, heating bills which may be as much as three times those of traditional dwellings, and cheap and badly-fitting windows or other compoments. Ratepayers are now having to pay for enormous repair bills on estates which are less than ten years old; in some cases high blocks of flats are even being demolished long before the loans with which they were built have been paid off. , 2. Employment. As observed above, one of the original ‘advantages" of highrise construction was claimed to be that more buildings could be built with less labour - both on the construction side and on the design side. Despite the meteoric and short-lived nature of the boom we can see that this did happen. Also both designers were considerably de-skilled - indeed this was one of the advantages for the employers. Despite the failure of the high-rise housing boom, both these and construction workers | changes in the quantity and in the nature of employment are still going on. This has been helped by the fact that the building unions have been comparatively fragmented and ineffectual, and building design staff have been, until recently, hardly unionised at all. INDUSTRIALISATION NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. About 20% of new housing is still being constructed using industrialised methods, but these days it is low-rise. The attractions to the building companies are the same as they were for high-rise. Most of the new low-rise industrialised systems use timber, and TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association) is performing a similar role in advocating these to that which the NBA performed in advocating high-rise industrialised methods in the 1960s, TRADA is partly funded by private construction companies. Another fact to note is that one low-rise syatem, Wimpey No-fines, has over the last few years accounted for over 20% of industrially built new public sector housing. Trade unionists in the building industry must keep a careful watch on these activities. Finally it must be pointed out that industrialisation in the construction industry is not necessarily a bad thing. But the criterion to decide whether the introduction of new technology is a good thing should be social need, and the pattern of employment should be taken into account as part of this. In the past this has not happened. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Building Design Staff, London Branch of AUEW-TASS Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Andrew Brown Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource post June 1977 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/e775f9e6c7d10bbd89245677aa4d74aa.pdf 5075c5f4d28c2765a260be0a6a40c4b5 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 Miscellaneous Subject The topic of the resource Miscellaneous issues Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-1980 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 Historical Perspective Subject The topic of the resource 9 page historical essay summarising modern architecture viv-a-vis NAM (2 copies) Description An account of the resource INIO4dSH3d ‘IWIIMOLSIH S i HISTORICAL PERSPECLIIVE Hawser Trunnion "The past is not for living in; it is a well of conclusions from which we draw in order to act. " (John Berger) The selected history of modern architecture from which NAN draws its conclusions for action can be told as a ghost story. That is to say, it is the tale of how a once lively modernism lost its social radicalism, became comfortable then senile, and finally died —- but only to transforin itself into a ghost which continues to haunt us the more effectively for this deceptive transformation. Like most good stories, there are several versions with significant differences that shed more light on the narrators than on the story itself. The most recent official version was told by ‘he Architectural Review, that ageing glossy now totally debauched by its own rhetoric, in its Preview Issue of January 1976. The punch-line came first : "that Kiodern Architecture as one has been experiencing it has gone into hiding. Gone (well, nearly gone) are those massive rectilinear packages; the towers, the slabs and (since Burolandschaft) the too big urban footstools. Gone (or nearly gone) are those self-assertive, diagramatic buildings which made a point of having nothing to do with the neighbours. Gone is the will to assert, the will to shock." That the wills to assert or shock have gone is debatable. That the buildings referred to have "gone" should presumably be taken to mean the new commissions for such buildings, not the buildings themselves. But the most disagreeable aspect of the article is the mixture of wise complac-— ency and indulgent penitence. Unfortunately we find our version of the story rather more worrying. The effects of the process of radicalization induced by war could be seen in It has indeed taken almost exactly twenty-five years for the impetus behind the first Modern Movement in this country to be exhausted. The Festival of Britain and European Architectural Heritage Year, 1951 to 1975, might be taken as the official milestones at the inauguration and closure of the period respectively. We appear to stand now at the beginning of a new phase in which the criteria of 'relevant' action will be determined as much by the understanding of this legacy as by our particular political standpoint. 205 1945 in the arrival of the first modern Socialist Government, with longer an imperial power. young man of 30. "When I first came in contact with new architecture in Germany I was struck by two things; the first, this version of a grandly proportioned urbanism taking in everything: dwellings, roads, factories, markets, down to the small paraphernalia at the closest personal context. Here is an architecture, I said to myself, capable of everything. Here is a true resolution, the end of discord. This is it, I wasgwept with a fervour that was the reflection of a release of creative energy which was to spread from Europe to every part of the world and change the character of architecture decisively. its far-reaching social reforms on the domestic scale, and in our modified nation status in NAYO and the realization that we were no In matters of environment the New Towns Movement, the Town & Country Planning Act 1947 etc were the first expression of a new vision and confidence that had already permeated other sectors of society, including for example the health services. One recalls the bright-eyed article by the Smithsons in which they referred to themselves as "The 1947 Generation" denouncing the bygone equipment of the pre-modern architect, the screw pen, the classical grammar, in favour of their own new weapons, the development plan and the C.P.0. The South Bank Exhibition and the associated housing schemes for Lansbury, East London epitomised the mixture of exhuberance and ‘committed concern' while showing that modern architecture was not simply a flat roof or a corner window but a comprehensive urban language. The underlaying had of course been worked out long before, in Germany, Holland, Sweden and most completely in Russia. In this ideas, France, typically slow on the uptake,it was codified visually country, in the 1938 Exhibition of MARS group, which itself derived the parent CIAM movement in Europe. The architecture was first embraced by a radical is best captured by Max Fry's own description few in this country of himself, as a “hen the second thing was added to me when I fell in love with a house by Miss van der Rohe, his Turgendhat Haus, in the Taunus Mountains. I fell in love with this building, which is to say that I gave my heart to it and it entered into my emotional its premises from — spirit in which modern recesses and filled them to overflowing. For me at that time it was as though, my mind cleared, rinsed and invigorated by the noble rationality of the Bauhaus, the breadth and grandeur of the proposition that it and the Modern Movement represented to me, suddenly my heart was taken, by one work, not essentially different, but of a quality of which I had not imagined the movement as yet capable.” The sincerity is exemplary; the combination of rationality and passion the best modern architecture can offer but it now seems incomplete. Wells Coates, Fry's contemporary and fellow traveller put the vision more bluntly. "As creative architects, we are concerned with a future which must be planned, rather than a past which must be patched up". from the thirties But the climate of 1945 was different/ both in degree and in kind. The post-war era for the first time saw the alliance of the ‘new wisdom! hitherto the preoccupation of dissaffected intellectuals and enlightened bourgeous patrons, with all the executive force of government and the major institutions. At the very moment that the pioneers! thesis appeared to be vindicated, so the process of institu#tionalizing its assumptions began in its adoption by a new establishment due to become infinitely more sophisticated and bureaucratic than any hitherto. Naturally it was intelligent enough to absorb the precepts and personalities that would otherwise have been dynamite, and throughout the 50's the professions of architecture and planning were happy to be included in the monolithic drive for reconstruction. (For 20 years it has been considered an unjustified luxury to conceive of L.A. housing as anything but a numbers problen.) The antithesis,which was bound to arise in conflict with this centralist orthodoxy, appeared early in the 1960's in phenomena ranging from the satire movement, to student protest; that is at about the time when on the threefold premise of cheap energy, expansionist economics and enlightened paternalism, 'progressive' architects and planners (now comfortably established in government institutions and well-connected practices) were ready for the big boom. The extent of development, publicly or privately sponsored out afresh". Martin went on to diagnose the failure of modern architecture in the neglect by architects to attend to the 3rd item. But he himself was neglecting another factor infinitely more important, because while concentrating on changes in form and technique he quite ignored the question of changes in patronage - the underlaying governing function which determines the very boundaries of change of the other two. Its the same blind spot as Fry and Coates, but after 30 years of social change - how much less forgiveable! during the 1960's is unlikely to be equalled during the lifetime of any reader over 20,and the housing, new towns, universities, — of this period will somehow or other have to do for the majority of us and our children till the latter are middle-aged. The future which Wells Coates generally wanted to plan is now the past that we will have to patch up. transport infrastructure etc. -- But for the architectural profession, the boundaries of their sphere of action were still essentially the same. Even Leslie Martin, one of the most advanced thinkers of the movement, took stock of the situation in the mid 60's like this:- Referring to the 20's, 30's he wrote in 1966 "However complicated the historical situation may have been, three powerful lines of thought appeared. The first came from the passionately held belief that there had to be some complete and systematic re-examination of human needs and that as a result of this, not only the form of buildings, but the total environment would be changed. The second line of thought interlocking with this was simply that change in the form of buildings or environment would only be achieved completely through the full use of modern technology. These 2 ideas produced a third, which wasthat each architectural problem should be constantly re-assessed and thought whats best for him. S, preside over a process that was already in decline. What could follow now? Obvious with hindsight: a simple coronary case with complications. We ran out of fuel - petro-chemical, financial and most important social. For by now the assumed popular consent on which all this development had been based was solidly organised into community groups, environmentarists, conservation lobbies, spaceship earth economists,etc of increasing expertise. It began to seem once more that the people with the power were less intelligent than the people without it. The complications? Almost as fast as the development boom fever was dying in the establishment the antibodies were being absorbed. Participation, piecemeal planning, rehab and recyling have been hastily substituted in the official policies of national and local authorities and the professional institutions such that the concepts of 'Community Architecture' and 'Neighbourhood Participation! are already barnacled with bogus concern and trendy humbug, without much noticeable advantage to the intended beneficiaries. The courtesy with which Nicholas Harbraken was received at a County Hall lecture, when his whole theme was disposing of the very basis on which the Department operated, was quite astonishing. Thus the wise Authority rejects not with brick wall but with cotton wool. Sociologists call it "Rejection by partial incorporation", and the British Establishment is uniquely gifted at it. Not only is there nothing you can complain m Max Beerbohm had called the 20th Century the "century of the common man", but in architecture and planning, after now more than 50years of modernism, he is still assumed to be less qualified than remote architects and planners to know Meanwhile arteries were hardening. In 1970 the D.0.E. - a concept that would have seemed revolutionary 25 years earlier - established itself in the now familiar tastefully separate from Whitehall, its bland combination of technocracy faulty towers, sited and expressing so precisely about - there's plenty you must be grateful for. shus the host was born. and officialdom, to and to penetrate. aie Salaried architects - the vast majority of the profession - who may be hopeful of more direct and satisfying relatiaships with the users of their products, in view of the changing climate, have little to be optimistic about. Their governing body, the R.I.B.A. in no way representative of their concerns, continues to be dominated by the assumptions of private principals and no other organisation save ARC and ourselves shows any sign of challenging it. Such a state of affairs, when 80% of a profession is misrepresentated by default (or not at all) would be at best unsatisfactory, except that the current economic depression has begun to show that more immediate aspects of employment may be none too cosy either. Government cuts and the Middle East Klondike can only temporarily disguise the fact that large sections of society who can avail themselves easily of the services of doctors and The current climate is pluralistic and diverse to the extent that, given the right form of words, everyone can apparently claim to be progressive — the D.O.E, R.I.B.A, most L.A.'s, the R.T.P.I. etc etc - concealing the fact that major ideological change is occurring with little or no commensurate redistribution of power. Environmental matters continue to be determined on the basis of power, not of need, and the status quo is effectively maintained. It is this situation that N.A.M. was formed to study So much for what amounts to our context in the outside world. Meanwhile, what of our context in the profession? In the same period under review the profession has transformed itself from a craft-orientated elite of aesthetic gourmets supported forelock - tugging draughtsmen, predomminatly private, into an army of professionals dependent on a very different calibre of recruit - a university educated, mainly middle-class mass of aspiring principals whose habit of identifying with employers has blurred their vision of the political reality both within their offices and within the RIBA as a whole. lawyers have no access to architects except through surrogate by is drawn. At the deliberately unlikely venue of Harrogate, rather less than a hundred people met for a weekend in November 1975 at the invitation of the small group named ARC (Architect's Revolutionary Council) which had already for a couple of years been preoccupied with such questions. The outcome was the nucleus of a New Architecture Movement which has since distinguished its own identity from that of ARC and at the same time consolidated its membership and its aims. Of the latter more will be said later, but beforehand the two essential characteristics of the movement that Harrogate established require explanation. First its attitude: it was felt that this must be positive and constructive, no matter whether this involved more work. Nevertheless we must beware of getting bogged down in research. We would guess that it's all on the shelves of College libraries already. What we need are the people who wrote it. The second feature is our structure. If there is a single obvious lesson in the past period it is that the more general the precept the more diverse must be its application. The structure is therefore federal, national. Our object is to seek strength in numbers such that any individuals or groupings that share the basic aims contribute to the consensus for action. Apart from rudimentary liason processes, therefore the resulting character of the movement is its diversity and its localised basis. A centralised power elite dictating policy seemed both alien and unworkable. The N.A.M. is a microcosm of the social structure it foresees revolutionizing architectural patronage. clients whose patronage they can in no way initiate. It is out of this ghostly atmosphere of reality and appearances, wisdom and duplicity that N.A.M. developed and it is mainly from this section of the profession that its current membership lies in the actions of many. ae Individuals and local groups spread throughout the country make up the Movement - all of equal status in so far as they can develop their own programmes in support of the generally agreed aims - any material produced therefore is signed for example "N.A.M., Edinburgh Group", or "N.A.M. North London Group". The essential function of making a sustaining contacts, together with arranging national congresses is carried out by a small Liason Group - which at present happens to be situated in London. This function could of course be transferred to any group who wished to take over it. If you wish to join, the contact list will probably already contain the names of individuals or groups in the area and you can join their meetings or alternatively establish a group of your own. Ideally a network of groups will develop, covering the entire country, with overseas contacts also, each one working on a number of topics, local campaigns etc which it would present at national congress for review. The Congress would also of and tweedledee of form and technique - competence and the course be the place for overall aims and strategy to be reviewed. The key to this decentralised structure is that of local antonomy. If a particular topic or local issue is your interest then you pursue it. We are not a movement with presidents or celebrities and its strength lies not in the words of a few. Its strength Anyway we started telling a ghost story, and want now to tell how it ends. Well,for the A.R. it ends about here, because Moder Architecture they tell us has gone into hiding. Actually they were more honest than they intended when they added: "This disappearance is not caused by any great change in the accommodation asked for: clients are still calling for immodest cubes of space and be given this city bursting character. But, by and large architects are displaying them differently and are putting a more sociable face on them". Well what a surprise. Plus ca change. Still the old tweedledum in the course of our work. Now NAM must measure its strength; dispose of this ghost of moder architecture, and build a social reality in its place. design guide. We leave you to guess whether this preservation of the status quo is because the RIBA is too preoccupied with bread and butter issues, or because it knows all too well which side its bread is buttered on. The ‘questionis now not whether the politics of the profession matters or not, but whether anything else does. A profession which once came near the brink of radical change - donned a mask instead and now its face has grown to fit it. But behind the new sociable face practising its "social art" the architect with integrity (a word much in the news on which we had something to say to Monopolies Commission) knows quite well that his formal windmill-tilting and technical guesswork hardly touch the real forces and desires of the people or groups that literally form the life blood of the environment. The radical question is not "what forms? or "which techniques" but "who are my patrons? for it is this link which draws up the whole chain. Without seeking to answer it, modern architecture can well stay in hiding, while its ghost roams more sinister for its new disguise. It visits most of us daily far and wide; all the Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hawser Trunnion Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource c 1976 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/f16c9b8d7bf64902e16b21b4f20a74cc.pdf 0859251e4551007953602e8a31916caa 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 <p><span style="font-weight:400;">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. </span></p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Local area control over resources </span></li> <li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Design teams to be area based </span></li> <li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Area design teams to be multi-disciplinary </span></li> <li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Project architects to report directly to committee</span></li> <li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Abolish posts between Team Leader and Chief Architect </span></li> <li style="font-weight:400;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Joint working groups with Direct Labour Organisations</span></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 Housing Assoc.s & LA's Subject The topic of the resource Housing Associations - A Democratic Alternative to L.A.'s ?' (5pp) Description An account of the resource BOUS UNG ASSOC IAT POR S AND LOCAE AUR Lr eS DRAFT MAY 1978 3agetantoSaeaOe Ei Series nes ses Perea Te HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS: A DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITY ? Radical and progressive architects have for some time now been argueing for genuine participation of user groups in the design process; that the problems in modern architecture arise from the system of patronage and control in both design and construction, and not from some illusory "crisis of style’. We believe that these problems can best be resolved by the reform and democratisation of local authority departments, since it is only through the local authority and its, albeit limited, democratic functioning that working people have access to land and resources. In recent years there have emerged a.number of alternativest.o local authorities which, it is claimed, are better suited to carry out this transformation than a heavily bureaucratised local authority structure. In housing, the most directly experienced and important area of architectural provision, housing associations form the most significant alternative; so this paper will attempt to show, by looking at their development, structure, financing and projected future role, why housing associations can only play a very peripheral part in bringing about the changes we are advocating. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The origins of the present day housing association lie in the last century with the charitable trusts, carrying such well known names as Peabody, Rowntree and Guinness, and the 5% philanthropy practiced by some of the more humane, if paternalistic, among the ruling class. The legacy of charity and paternalism established by these forerunners of the modern ‘voluntary’ housing movement still bears heavily on its structure and management. Until the first world war these organisations offered working people virtually their only alternative to the ravages and inhumanity of the private landlord; but from the 1920's they have worked against the changing background of increased local authority provision, a declining private rented sector and, from the '50's, rapidly expanding owner occupation, Most of these trusts continue to function today in one form or another, and since 1945 a number of new charitable trusts have been established. Other types of association in operation prior to 1960 include Government sponsored associations in Scotland and the North-East set up in the late 1930's, and various industrial associations initiated by business concerns primarily to provide accommodation for their own employees. 1961 saw the establishment of cost-—rent housing societies financed by central government, and this scheme was expanded in 1964 when a new body, the Housing Corporation, was - set up to supervise and direct loans. Many of these projects were beset by financial problems, so the Housing Corporation introduced an option mortgage scheme and many cost—rent societies transformed themselves into co—ownership associations. Despite these varied forms of activity, the contribution made by the voluntary housing movement to the country's housing was minimal, such that in 1972 it owned only 1.5% of the housing stock and contributed only 301% of new permanent dwellings. However, changes were about to occur that would make its role far more significant. PRESENT STRUCTURE: The system of finance to housing associations was drastically altered in 1974 with the introduction of the Housing Association Grant. This provided subsidies to housing associations either through the Housing Corporation or the relevent local authority in the form of a capital grant, in principle equal to the net cost of the project, to enable housing associations to run at neither loss nor profit. At present this entails a subsidy of about 75% of a schemes capital cost, available in a lump sum; this compares more than favourably with subsidies to local authorities who receive 60% of loan charges spread over 60 years. This favourable subsidy system has led to a dramatic increase in housing association work such that in 1976 they contributed 27,561 new housing starts ( 10% of the total ) and gained 13,863 improvement approvals ( 11% of the total ). Loans from the Housing Corporation have risen from £38.3 million in 1973/4 to a projected £300 million in 1977, when housing associations were responsible for providing about 100 homes a day. They continue to cater primarily for special minority groups, with significantly more than half their provision in 1976/7 going to the elderly or handicapped. At the end of 1975 there were about 3,500 associations either registered or intending to register with the Housing Corporation; whether this number has grown in order to meet the increased operations is dubious since the tendency is towards more centralisation rather than proliferation. PUTURE ROLE: The future of housing associations under the present government seems quite secure; the Labour Party made this clear in their 1977 Green Paper on housing: "The Government intend to continue their support for registered housing associations. Housing Associationsi,n cooperation with local authorities, can offer an important element of choice in socially owned rented housingeee’. The Conservatives, too, are likely to continue support for housing associations, although under their current far right leadership, associations are likely to become increasingly dependant on private rather than public funding, thus reducing the potential for democratic accountability. Like the Labour Party, the Conservatives also Mal stress the importance of the ‘element of choice!’ in housing provision; what-ws. TL de do they mean by this ? i private rented sector has been declining since the first world oteyutie war; by 1976 it was responsible for only 14.4% of the housing stock, by 1986 it is estimated that it will have declined to 8.3%. While promoting the ideal of home ownership, realists in both parties are aware that it is unlikely to rise significantly beyond its present level of about 50%; housing associations can potentially fill the gap left by the declining private rented sector and thus prevent the unsavoury prospect, for the right, of municipal housing rising to nearly 50% of the total housing stock, The earlier mentioned economic discrimination in favour of housing associations further enhances this ideological role by providing semi-private housing which can be favourably compared with public housing; we can see parallels of this in both medicine and education. DEMOCRATIC POTENTIAL: Given the history, structure and present role of housing associations, what part can they play in the extension of tenant control over the design process that we are advocating ? The management of housing associations remains essentially paternalistic, largely because of their historical development and charitable status. There are a number of commendable exceptions which are to be welcomed both as examples to other housing associations and local authorities of what can be achieved in conditions of democratic participation, and in giving more concrete form to the growing demands of tenants groups, but the majority retain the attitudes of their forerunners. In rehabilitation schemes the problems are often increased by the dispersed nature of the development; : rv, such that in London, only one in ten housing association projects have any kind of tenants association; hardly the basis for thriving tenants participation. In the field of tenant control over design the outlook is even gloomier and not surprisingly so. Many housing associations have been initiated by professionals to channel work and public funds through their own practices, estate agents, solicitors, architects etc., they are unlikely to welcome the longer and more complicated process of user participation in the project. It is true that legislation is being prepared to control this practice, but just how effective it will be remains to be seen. Furthermore since housing associations are only accountable to themselves except in what they are not allowed to do, and often here they are more accountable to central government than they are to local elected bodies, they are sometimes able to thwart and obstruct local authority plans. This is the current structure of the vast majority of housing associations, and obviously we should be doing our best to encourage democratic developments within them, but what is the potential for using existing legislation to establish new and and democratically accountable associations ? There seems to be little hope in this direction since the voluntary housing movement is at present undergoing further centralisation, making the possibility of setting up new associations, sensitive to tenant involvement, still more remote. In the North-East for example, two thirds of new build approvals in 1977/8 went to only four associations, and this is in line with the policy of the Housing Corporation, which is now committed to oppose "proliferation, competition and wasted effort." The virtues of small scale operation, flexibility and compassion by which housing associations are supposedly characterised have apparently been largely lost to the forces of the market and financial self-interest. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION: The Public Design Service group of N.AM. conceives of area based design and construction teams with architects working closely mot only with the immediate users and broader local community, but also with construction workers. Housing associations, however, offer little or no possibility of this collaboration between architect and builder; by being forced onto the private market of production for profit, they can only maintain existing hierarchical relationships. Within local authorities, however, de~casualised direct labour departments where construction is for use and not for financial gain, form the potential basis for a fully integrated process of design and construction. In this important area housing associations offer no real alternative to a democratised local authority. CONCLUSION: I have attempted ,to show that housing associations do not have the potential, on a large scale, to produce the type of architectural practice which we argue for in the Public Design Service group of NeAM. Furthermore that the money made available to housing associations from the public purse and then channelled through various organisations for private profit does not make for efficient and democratic housing provision. This is not to detract from existing housing associations which are practicing democratic participation, nor to neglect the attempt to change the management structure of the more conventional associations; these can provide valuable examples of the potential of meaningful participation and popular control in housing. Housing associations have been praised for their ability to provide flexibility and choice; we must show that the local authorities, despite the rigidity, uniformity and bureaucracy which characterise their present structures, are subject to change through mass pressure and are potentially capable of providing more meaningful flexibility and choice by giving working people real democratic control over their environment. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unsigned Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 1978 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/57ae52623e3e394249a1bd156d4aae04.pdf 54c61a8d69dab64fb9f97469b79a2ae7 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 Trade Unions and Architecture Description An account of the resource Themes included action on asbestos and Health &amp; Safety, and involvement with Direct Labour Organisations and Building Unions. Following comparative research of possible options, NAM encouraged unionisation of building design staffs within the private sector, negotiating the establishment of a dedicated section within TASS. Though recruitment was modest the campaign identified many of the issues around terms of employment and industrial relations that underpin the processes of architectural production. 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 Inauguration of BDS London Subject The topic of the resource Letter to John Allan re meeting to take place on 31st May 1977 Description An account of the resource x =x REELo AmalgamatedUnionofEngineeringWorkers (TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY SECTION) K GILL, General Secretary to whom all communications should be addressed REGISTERED OFFICE ONSLOW HALL LITTLE GREEN RICHMOND SURREY Telephone 01-948 2271 Telegrams Draftineer Richmond Surroy Circular No. 143/1977 25th May 1977 ; John Allan Dear Colleague, Re: Inaugration of Building Design Staff Branch (London) As agreed the above mentioned meeting will take place at the New Ambassadors Hotel, Upper Woburn Place, London WeC.le at 6.30 pem. on Tuesday, 31st May 1977. It is hoped that Bob Mansfield (President) and Roger Henshaw (Divisional Organiser) will be present. I will arrive at 6.00 p.m. so that we can discuss the final arrangements for the meeting. Yours sincerely, HARRY SMITH NATIONAL ORGANISER Qetoone_d es) AI QOD GAM, TS/lLim Boker ck. NAM ysewromak May 147 .70 kcal: 4. Srarcm aA SR op6MMCanefiall Niivk wat AQuonLQ, @O ReLQroh =REE Cu, Pe SToORnCusrc2Qbn Arolne Hiedak , Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Harry Smith Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 25..5.77