24 10 310 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/13360b0d75e5f5322205a5394c5c9a1c.pdf 7d271c29e4df2c39beaabd8722149845 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 8 Subject The topic of the resource Building a Future for Women in Architecture Description An account of the resource A Feminism & Architecture Special Issue: BUILDING A FUTURE FOR WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE THE RADICAL PAPER ON ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILDING INDUSTRY july/aug ISSUE § slite’, n., a, & vit. 1, Winds of grey, or bluish-parple rock easily split at smooth plates; picce of such ofinstinct. Themeetingwasattendedbypeople ©usednsroofing-material;plecoofIt ed In wood used for writing on neilorsmallrodofso~f(ctlean SAG,theRIBACouncilfactionthat sets out to represent the interests of salaried architect members of the Institute, has made substantial gains this year. They took five of the nine- -teen RIBA Council seats up for election bringing the strength to eight. All nineteen seats were contested by SAG who mounted a concerted campaign in the run up to the election culminating in the publication of an exhaustive 25 point manifesto. SAG also announced just just before the poll that if is to organise an exhibition of projects designed by salaried architects, on behalf of their employees in public and private sector offices. SAG's success has only gone a small way, however, towards redressing the in- -balanceofrepresentation on the RIBA Council. At least 70% of the Institute’s membership is salaried, yet out of the 67 councillors only eight set out to speak specifically for the interests of this majority. The only SAG candidate to head the poll inhis/herdivisionwasthewidelyknown chairman of the Group, Bob Giles, who was elected in the London Region. establishment view SAG's manifesto comes down firmly on the side of the established view of professionalism in Architecture. In some respects the Group’s opinions are more conservative that those of the RIBA Council itself. The manifesto, published albeit, before the most recent developments between the Institute and the Government, condemns the findings of the Monopolies Commission and declares that “there is no caseforrelaxingtheCodeofConduct...” although ...“‘the fee scale needs to be radically restructured...” (no specific proposals. Onthequestionofthepositionofthe salaried architect the manifesto isstrongest. “All partner practices” are to be encouraged and al architects should “share the risks responsibilities and rewards”, but in the meanwhile the job architect should be named in the building contract on the site signboard and in anypublicity. SAG also sets out ways to defuse the growing disenchantment with the prof- -essionshownbythemanyarchitectswho are resigning from the RIBA, adopting the approach to Trades Unionism to problems at work or arguing for radical changes in the architect’s role and relations with society through NAM. According to the 2 orcecif of or renounce oblign- ‘ ¢, -ercy,modifications Ssuch ns ocurin~; j]-~-club, mutual benefit society with small weekly and other building design staff, is the gradual introduction of new computertechnology. the discussion was therefore able to concentrate on concrete issues, as well asthepossibilitiesofcomputeraided design. The work done by trades unionists, especially from AUEW-TASS, in analysing the implications of this new technology has been of great importance In rejecting the ‘Luddite’ approach to computers. It would be wrong to go aroung smashing computers as they do have the potential to free us from boring jobs. At the moment, this results in workers being made redundant, but computers do provide a real possibility to shorten the working week for large sections of workers today. Fred Leplat. Fees- NAM report shows way ahead THEMONOPOLIES ISSUEHAS moved away from the ‘technical’ arena of the Office of Fair trading negotiations into oneof straight political lobbying. Although it is now certain that an Order in Parliament compelling architects to quote fees in competition will not be made for this session, the RIBA has no grounds for complacency. Its claim to serve the public interest and its manipulation of ARCUK are matters now squarely on the agenda of at least two government ministries. The question is no longer ‘will the status quocontinue?’ Itis‘WilltheRIBAsucceed in projecting upon it the illusion of real change?” contributio: i ~-colour(ed), (of) dark h groy; hence slat’x? a, ~. 3. y.t. Cover with~s hence slat/er' n, (ME Dear Editors, From the letter on possible PDS conflict inSLATE7it appears that our stand- point needs reiterating, though this time I'l try another angle. In our view, both Cynthia Cockburn’s book, and Douglas Smith’s article in SLATE 4 are excellent as far as they go, but they are both only half argu- ments, Both point out very well how the local state works ,but neither even starts to consider how it could work or how to change its workings. Their conclusions are merely implied and their arguments can thereby be taken as either standing for the A debate on the topic of computer aided design ok place at a meeting organised by ‘he London Building fom. of esclatstat*) (colloq.). Criticize ecrerely tn reviews), scold, rates ©, propose for office ete. Wenco + (2). fanp. t pree.} SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group. Committee, introduced the discussion with slides showing the possibilities of computer aided design. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are ine- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s | revolution (as the only answer ) or for attractive ideology Some commentators ascribe the rise of SAG's (sic) to the same urge for partici- -pation in decision making over questions affecting the process and product of thier work that has lead other architectural workers to take up Trades Unionism or join NAM. To some snmall extent this istrue, but the void that seperates SAG from the other tendencies is that the Group makes no attempt to analyse the relationship between the problems facing the salaried architect and the social and economic context within which the profession works. The profession isseen asanisolatedphenomenonfreetoarrange itsown affairs no matter what demands are made of it by society in the form of Government, the people who pay its fee accounts or who live and work in its products. This spurious ideology is clearly attractive to many salaried architects and SAG's manifesto exploits just this attraction, but would the Group’s policies stand the test of being put into practice? Or to daw out one specific contradiction, when SAG calls for the inclusion of salaried architects on entry lists for limited competitions, how would it respond to the competitions’ sponsors demandsthatthewinnersactuallysetup their own practices and carry out the work? “The problems with computers, said Cooley, is the way in which they are currently designed to intereact with humans. In theory the fast reliable uncreativeness of the computer is the perfect compliment to the slow unreliable but crzativehuman being. But, as anyone who has worked on, say, computer drafting will tel you, something between two or three hours in the symbiosis isthe maximum anybody can take. Instead of the computer being paced by the human. the human ispaced by the computer.” Computers have been able to take over some dehumanisingiandalienatjionbsg, but this has been done by the ad: ption and eventualeliminationoftheskillsinvolved. Computers and computerised robotic devices replace labour intensive production processes by capital intensive ones, shifting sections of workers to less skilled jobs, or simply to the dole queues. However, the consequences of computers do not stop here. As they are very expensive pieces of equipment, employers want to see such machines used round the clock to get the quickest returns on their investment. This iswhy, seven years ago, design staff at Rolls Royce struck against a move by management to introduce shift work on a new computer. liberation? All new technological inovations have views and activities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership. REPRESENTATIVES A network of 30 representatives has been set up throughout schools and large prac- tices all over the country. The only comm- itmentofeachrepresentativewillbeto receive 5copies of SLATE every two months and to try to sel 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE Al this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more writers ,more ideas and more reps in order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE: becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon. The copy date for the next issue will be Friday 4th August 1978 SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group) Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- wel Court, London, E.C.2 SLATE 8PAGE 2 hopeless apathy which plays into the hands of those who now wish to see the role of the local state drastically reduced for ideological reasons directly in conflict with both authors, The local state issurely atwo-edged sword, and both its edges need exposing thenwecanseenotonlyhowitacts,but also how itcould act. To do this we need thought and research (which the PDS group iscurrently undertaking) coupled with a clear idea of how and why the local state should function. That idea for us isparticipatory democracy and although we cannot realise al its implications until itisputintoforce,itsmeaning isclear, Yours faithfully Charles McKean the potential of liberating us from dehumanising and alienating work. This shouldbepossibleiftheuseofcomputers ArchitectsonARCUKhavepresentedtheir | iskept to amodest scale, but when they are introduced solely on the grounds of business efficiency, this is unlikely. For designers to work on computers they can pace, it is necessary to destroy the myth that supposes that it you have al the data to hand in the computer, then you can design quickly and efficiently. Cooleypointsoutthatagooddesigner is good because s/he has a vast store of apparently ‘redundant and unclassifed knowledge in his/her head. This report “WAY AHEAD” to Roy Hattersley and John Fraser in the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, Albert Booth in the Department of Employment and to Peter Shore at the D.O.E., and meetings are being arranged with these departments. A handbill summarizing the background and main thrust of “WAY AHEAD is inserted inthisissueofSLATE. “WAYAHEAD” itself — a major new NAM Report —is available from NAM, 9 Poland Street, London London W.1. Price £1.50. SLATE 8PAGE 3 manifesto, the way forward is to reconcile “the fundamental conflict between salaried Statusandthearchitect'sroleasanindepend- saysCooley -ant authority...” within the structure of the RIBA, The RIBA isrequired to intervenetosortoutthegreivancesof AMONG theyariouspointsof salariedarchitectswhocomplainthat concerntoarchitecturalworkers whowereworkingoncomputers,and their employer-architects are in breach of point 2.5 of the Code of Professional Conduct which lays down guidelines for the employment of one architect by another, and as far as the public goes, accountability to them will only be achieved by “identifying the actual building designer.” of the Lucas Shop Stewards Combine The manifesto makes no acknowledgement or mention of the problems of women workers in the face of the prevalent sexist attitudes in the profession. Beware CAD comes not from the computer memory but from wandering round the office library,talkingtopeopleordownon the job trying out ‘lashups’ on the basis VSM NAM Representatives of Unattached JVINEWSWIEWONE Dear Slate, Daye Green, for NAM PDS group With reference to my letter published in your last edition, Iwithdraw the comm- ents Imade concerning Tom Woolley. I misinterpreted adifference ofopinion, The SLATE Editorial group add their apologies to Tom for thepublication of the offending letter in the last SLATE, Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, NI. S NEWS\\ Manifesto brings poll gains for SAG Typesetting by the Publications G and Maggie Stack. a Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so. NEWSNEWSNIEWSSURVEY Conference calls for L.A. reform PERILOUS ASAONGCU)s REALLYwo ritTee esnt ARCA? TeacHGinis SHOULOBEGiVENN (63aSG:Wooow®)RK directly by tenants and reporting directly to committee. Forty or so participants came to the Conference from all over the Country and most sectors of the architectural profession. to hear the proposals and arguments worked out by the PDS group over the last six months. An enlarged group will now take up an ambitious programme of further investigation formulation and publicity, Adressing the Conference, UCATT shop steward Peter Carter reminded the architects present of the role, and, possibly, the existence of building workers in the industry. One of the prerequisites of progress, he said, was thecooperationofbuildingconstruction and building design workers and in Local Authorities that meant between architects and workers in Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs). He outlined how, inspite of the benefits that DLOs bring to the people in whose areas they work and to the workers within them, they were currently being defamed by private sector interests. joint action principle perpetuates existing power structures and that oppressed groups such as women will only become liberated by policiesof‘positive discrimination’. In housing this meant housing run by and for women. More infromation of the Conference from: The Secretary, Seagull Housing Co-op, “Flat 4, 13, Colville Houses, London, W11. ttempts by a Brighton Housing Co-op to convert a house to accomodate ‘young singles’ and couples who want to live communally have been foiled by the town’s Planning Committee. Planning permission was refusedtotheTwoPiersHousingCo-op on the grounds that the cooking arrangements proposed were not acceptable. Communal kitchens are favoured by the co-op’s members but the Council insisted that it could not sanction shared cooking facilities in multi- occupied accomodation. The case turns on the definition of the term ‘household’ .The twelve prospective tenants did not, in the Council’s view constitute one, as there were too many of them. The Council prefers using its planning powers to foster nuclear families. At the same time the circular nature of the relationship between building and society means that attempts to demonstrate thepossibilitiesofanarchitecturewhere women are actively involved can be influential. It is therefore crucial that as.a Architect Tom Bulley (see SLATE7) took up this theme and described how he and his colleagues at Hackney Council were campaigning alongside the DLO fora planned workload forall the Council’s construction services. Earlier in the day John Murray gave a fascinating paper on the history of Local Authority architects department in an attempt to formulateacriticalanalysisoftherole of the departments in our society. This was complemented by a talk from Howard Smith on contemporary attitudes to Local Authority services among the political parties. Discussiononthefloorwasregretably curtailed by the busy day’s programme but there was time to hear views and experiences from several local authority workers and to SLATE 8PAGE 4 things about the first six months of the group's work. What we must realise is that women are in the strange position of living in a built environment which isdesigned and built primarily by men. To suggest that were it designed and built by women it would be different is not enough. The fact is that it reflects accurately the male structured Society,atpresentwomenwhohavebeen successful in the architectural world have been so by taking up the values and modes of identification of that society and have therefore largely succeeded only in continu- -ing men’s work. People who look for a buildingdesignedbyawoman:toprove how different is the female approach, and find in the lack of such buildings proof of their convictions that women have nothing to contribute to architecture, have totally work ,we are now specifically interested in using our architectural and building skills with and for women. who are look- -ing for a different approach to designing and building. (Contact names below) In our discussidns we have been looking at the following issues, and itisthese which the various articles discuss in depth. 1, Women in education. This is particul- -arly the seperation between design and technicaleducation;women findit difficult und usually impossible to gain experience on site, a grave disadvantage in giving confidence in technical know- -ledge. In schools there is little encourage- -ment for women to take architecture up orcoursesrelatedtobuilding.Condition- -ing of girls away from technical fields of knowledge starts in early childhood. However, perhaps positive discrimination in schools might change this bias. _ debate the perenial question as to whether localauthoritiesareindependentfromor integrated into the State apparatus. If they are integrated then would our efforts be better directed at central government or are local authorities an embrionic manifaestation of real local democracy. Happily this debate did’ not devide the conference so that it was impossible to form a consensus behind the preliminary proposalsofthePDSgroupwhichwere almost unanimously supported at the MECCANO end of the day. Theday’spapershavebeenpublished Socialist Planners publish papers 3 NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE of Socialist Planners shows that the movement is growing steadily and taking lon'the task of analysing and disseminating the principles of socialism within planning and other related activities, Groups have been formed in places as far apant as Scotland and Hampshire, LondonandMerseyside.ANational Liason Committee consisting of delegates from the Regional Workshops is respons- -ible for coordinating activities and a news- -letter is now being published shortly, The Merseyside Regional Workshop have prepared papers on the issue of small firms and worker cooperatives. The paper on small firms looks at their role in the history and development of the capitalist economy and the reason why both the State and private capital are now promoting them Itwasthefirsttimethatsuchameeting had been held and it was set up in response to, among other things, the isolation felt bywomen inthemale-dominatedwotld of the co-ops. The call for women’s Co-ops is in opposition to the so-called First Co-operative Principle that states that co-operative ventures should be open to participationbyal.Womenatthe TerRific HAVING WOMEN AS @PREMITECTS »THEY KNOSoWM)H ABOUT Ki TCHENS Fh4 by NAM at £1 00+15p post and packing from NAM, 9, Poland St., London,W1. More information about PDS Group Tegular meetings from NAM-PDS, c/o JohnMurray,5,MiltonAvenue,London,N6., TBvriGAL_OLDHARRiDANTM | FESS VE FEMINIST1 2. Women at work. We feel that this is one of the most important areas of discussion because it involves the inter- -action with the real world, By compar- -ing different women’s experiences and discussing the way in which things could be organised differently. So far we have looked at the discrimination against women withintheeconomicsystemand the hierarchical organisations within architectural practices, 3, A Feminist approach to design, This covers a wide range of ideas, Susan Walker the relationship between housing and women’s role in Classical Greece; Denise Arnold looks at matriarchy and the importance of women taking the initiative for social change and Chris Knight demonstrates the importance of the communal role of women in early societies, which are al explorations in different directions, We hope this issue will encourage those women who feel isolated working in architecture to join us, for it is time women began to find their own identity in the built environment as they have begun to do so in other fields, hetragedyliesinhowweimpoverish ourselves as a s@ciety by not allowing women the opportunity to understand and control their environment. Who can tel how much of the barfeness of our built environment isdue to this fundamental lackofbalance. Webelievethatwomen have a crucial place in the contemporary worldof architecture and we have to see them take itup, SLATE 8PAGE S$ ee conclusion of a recent conference on Women and Housing Co-operatives. Called by the Seagull Housing Co-op the conference exposed many of the ways in which the existing structure of the Co-ops and the housing co-op movement fails to meet women's housing needs. DECENTRALISING Local Authority architects departments would be a major step towards the true accountability of building designers to the needs of local people concluded a national Conference called by NAM’s Public Design Service (PDS) group in Birmingham in early May.Such area design teams should be small and involve surveyors, architectsandengineersworking alongsideeachother,briefedSEeeConferenceargued,however,thatthisEsBUILDINGSITE2ANASS0CTATEBYSCREWINGCAN?TSTAND"THESE y or the first time the Government has been advised by one of its own bodies bodies to ban ceritin asbestos-based materials.TheAdvisoryCommitteeon Asbestos has recommended that it should be an offence to undertake work on another's premises involvong handling the materials, Materials to be affected by the proposed banarespayed asb and asb based thermal and accoustic insulation. Copies of the first report of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos are available form HMSO, price SOp. How AbSUROTS THe "THATGiRL2HAVE ANY ATA AL ABALiT STEVERSEEAWNBMARIONTA) This issue of SLATE marks the beginning of a conscious movement to recongnise and explore the potential of women in architecture, to acknowledge the prejudice which exists in the building world against the involvement of women and to seek out a true expression of their own identity. At the ’77 Congress NAM became tentativelyawareofagapinitsradical approach to architecture; that the ideas and experience of the women’s movement are as fundamental to the achieving of NAM’s group” we explore the alternatives both in aims as are those of the socialist movement, practice and in theory. The beginning of the and that they are intri ly bound togeth -the th icaldi ion is published here. What no one forsaw was that there would be While one result of the London Seminar so many people who would respond instantly (report in News from NAM) on Feminism with conviction to a feminism and and Architecture was to make us state architecture group. The bringing together of positively our commitment to practical these people has been one of the exciting 7 NuUNA ee | |Toioric 70 ALLOW WOMEN “To Stuly ARCHITECTURE,THEYREOWL LOOKING FOR A HUSBAND GQOURSESHEONLYGor7GE THe 6055 failed to understand that itisonly by work- -ing within the women’s movement and the Socialist movement as a whole to change the existing structure of society that such architecture can be possible. Pomen should be free to establish al- women housing co-operatives was one as One answer to the economic and unemploy- -ment problems of the declining inner cities and regions. The practical dilemmas which arise for socialists when groups of workers Propose coops in opposition to closures by private capital is the subject of the other Paper. Itargues that caution isneeded where State and other political interests are intervening to establish coops with the implicit intention of healing wounds and reducing conflict in the Capitalist system. Other topics which are being studied by the Regional Workshops include ‘The Role of Inner City Partnerships’ and ‘Planning and the Local State’, abrief analysis of the context in which most planners opfrate. |Further details from Box CSP, c/o 100 Whitechapel, Liverpool LI 6EN FEMINISM& ARCHITECTURE between the sexes in the practice of archit- ecture, a fact of which Iam personnally proud” and that “...the RIBA does not keep discriminatory records of the work of women architects”. This explains the scarcity of statistics, but those which do exist speak for themselves about the current position of women in architecture, 5% of currently registered architects in the UK are women. This is a bare 19% above the 1957 level, and the proportion has actually DECREASED by 0.8% since 1973, Is the situation changing? In 1977, women formed, 7% of al new ARCUK registrations: Of al student newly entering architectural courses in 1977/78, almost 16% were women, Compare this with UCCA statistics for ALL ful time students at undergraduate level (1975/76 figures) where, in the Arts, the proportion of women is 48%, and in Science, 24%. Tam not using these statistics to imply that women are discriminatied against in selectionforcoursesinarchitecture. It would be very difficult to demonstrate this even ifitwere true, and on the whole Idon’t believe itistrue. Women are discriminated againstlongbeforethis. WeARRIVEat the point of selection unequal, the product of 18 years or more ofa sodal condition- ing that does not encourage us to put a high enough value on the “career” part of our lives to warrant spending 7 years qualifying in order to fil in the gap between leaving school and haying kids. Any dis- criminationwhichmightbeappliedatthe pointofentry to the profession would in any case be pale in comparision to what has gone before, but would nevertheless, be particularly cruel for the women who happens to get that far. Imyself was the victim/benificiary of POSITIVE discrimination. At my inter- view, Iwas told (albeit charmingly), “Yes Ithink we'll have you. We need more womeninoursherryparties”, Which ties in with the second point Imade earlier, wherethAJfeounditnecessarytopoint out that women students in 1939 were hang- ing up “their own” work. Being accepted as an archi 1student is only the first step; The next isto be accepted as a SERIOUS architectural student. Now there As women, we face very particular obstacles to acheiving success in architect- ure, It is important that we get together to examine these obstacles and to make them visible to other women architects, to educators, to employers, and to the public generally. It is also important that we get together to examine what we mean by “success in architecture”. Nadine Beddington in her AD article, points out that “. there have been to date four women elected to (RIBA) Council . (and) two women vice would be raped in Mozanbique, fan Tod and Alan Lipman would probably be bayonneted in their backs in Botswana, and the rest would probably be quietly fed to the crododiles in Zambia, or would they prefere a gory sensational Uganda type death?:” Iget raped while the men get saved for the crocodiles. Sexism cannot be tackled in isolation, but only as part of a wider bigotry. It’s a man’s world... Even when qualified, of course, the problems are not over. Some would say they are just beginning. Straight from a school ing a letter from a group of us objecting to ofarchitecture astudent isyoung and inexperienced.If she isalso awoman, her problems increase exponentially. The part- ner, the teaboy, the contractor, will all be eagerly anticipating her first mistake. When it comes, as come it must, she will get some version of “what can you expect from a woman”, and youth and inexperience will not enter the equation. As one local arch- itect put it recently, we've had quite a num- ber of women working in our offices. Cer- tainly they tend to drop earrings down man- holes and that sort of thing on site”(Mr L. Mosely, PhD. B.Arch. FRIBA, Partner in H.M.R. Burgess and Partners, Cardiff speaking in a radio phone-in programme on architecture, June 1978.) Anne Delaney, a member of NAM and TASS and an ARCUK councillor writes about the problems women face in and after leavinga school of architecture. At present she is employed as a tutorial assistant in the Welsh School, where she did a Ph.d on “Professionalism in Architecture”. When the Architects Registration Bill was being discussed in parliament in 1931, one Labour MP had this to say: It is their great moment, for one day their schemes may find fulfilment in brick or concrete. Sex equality may give them thechancetheir arch- itect fathers have been waiting for, and a smash hit in the next compet- ition may bring them wealth and fameinanight. Sostiltheystrive, adding to the experience that will several points emerge. Firstly, what is this talk (in 1939) of “sex equality’? Secondly, why was it found necessary to point out that the work being hung by the “female alimni” was their own” (presumably it was not that of their “architect fathers”!), ARCUK investments in South Africa, the RIBAJ recieved the following reply from R.E. Cooper, Bulawayo, Rhodesia: but let it be remembered that the membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects numbers somewhere about 7000 architects, so that, by this Clause, complete power is given into the hands of that organised body of 7000, not merely of examination, but of moulding the carriculum and raising the standard of education so that no lad of my class will have any opport- unitywhateverofenteringtheprofession”. opportunitiestotraininthearchitectural Hansard. 17.4.31. Suchat accurate prediction of RIBA control over education, and such well- field. Aided ideologically by war p pagand to believe thay must “do their bit for the war effort”, and helped in practical terms But eight years later the country needed us all; the working class and even women were important to the war effort. The AJ makes its contribution to sex equality: “Meanwhile girl students play their part in the drive whilst training for those academic honours that will one day put aseal to their careers. At the Welsh School of Architecture T-square glamour looms large and the looms of near-graduate industry hum as never before. The female alumni have been hanging their own drawings for the exibition of the year. in the door of Portland Place. Forty years on without that ideological and pract- ical backup, how many women manage to Squeeze through? be their wavelength to sucess” AJ. 19th January 1939. Cut through the Pathe News prose and “T invite Ian Tod and his coterie to come out to Southern Africa, and see for themselves before getting involved in the politics of South Africa: and Idon’t mean the ‘whistle stop’ tour of two to three days. Although Ann Delaney When phrases like “sex equality” were being bandied about in 1939 it was true that a few women were being offered placed concern about the class composition by the sortof childcare and communal cater- may well be women whose sole purpose of architects should not go unremarked: ing facilities it sudenly and miraculous! neither should the assumption that concern became possible to provide at that time, a need only be expressed for the “lads” of the few women squeezed through asmall crack working class. in entering a schooolf archi is to look for a husband; there may well be women whose career ambitions stop at designing loft conversions from home dur- ing the children’s school hours; theremay well be women fired by the belief that their contribution to humanity will lie in designing the perfect kitchen. I haven't met any of those women myself, but they may well exist. The problem is,how can the rest of us begin to get taken seriously? «ust women who haye been througn a schoolofarchitecturewilknowwhatit feels like to have a scheme that would ben- efit from good constructive criticism, and to to get nothing but a pat on the head anda “very nice, dear”. In the 1975 degree Any statistics I give are going to be sketchy since women have until very recently been invisible in RIBA statistics, “Women in Architecture” has been a non-problem for the RIBA, as Nadine Beddington (RIBA councillor and one of four women on the 67 member ARCUK Council) iskeen to point out. In the “Women inArchitecture” issue of AD (August 1975) Ms, Beddington Stressed that “‘....the RIBA as anInstitute } 4 has never found it necessary to differentiate eee resultsforuniversityschoolsofarchitecture, SLATE 8PAGE 6 SLATE 8PAGE 7 in UK university departments of “engineering, presidents”. Is this what we mean by technology, architecture, and other profes- sucess? sional and vocational subjects” (GC 1975) Iam not seeking to increase simply the show that 100% of professors, 99% of readers NUMBER of women architects. Iam seek- and senior lecturers, 97% of lecturers and assistant lecturers, and 88% of “other” aremen. A quick scan of the staffs of university schools of architecture in the UK (Commonwealth Universities Yearbook 1977/78 reveals agrand total of8women (2%oftotalstaff). Ofthese,threearearch- servicewhichshouldbeavailableto itects. ing to increase the number of women architects who, in NAM’s words, “ are committed to radical change in the relation- ship of the profession to the public, and within the profession itself” and who consider that “architecture isapublic all sectors of s6ciety.” But even the life ofa “radical” woman architect is no bed of roses. After publish~ the proportion of men and women students in most degree catagories is very similar - except for the First Class Honourscategory, which contains almost 5% of men students (28 out of 603) and less than 1% of women students(ONEoutof110). Itseemsthat to be a good woman architect you need to be very good indeed. This tendency is not made any better by almost total absence of women in a position to affect teaching in a school of architect- ure, Figures for teaching and research staff [LFEMINISM &ARCHITECTURE ,e that makes us human —is actually the product of a social revolution which, w) itwaslargelycompleted 40,000 yearsag bears some remarkable structural similar. ities to the new process of technological and social revolution engulfing us all to. day, It puts paid to the theorythat ‘no revolution can change human nature’ by showing that everything human about our ‘nature’ was precisely the product of that immense social revolution in which our species was born. A form of ‘pop-anthropology’ (the boo! of Robert Ardrey, Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox are good examples) asserts that early humans must have organised themselves insomethinglikethemannerofbaboons, Yet when we examine the social lives of baboons and macaques, it appears that the very traits which primitive cultural ‘taboos’ above all rule out in social behaviour, these creatures indulge in to the full. Whereas human kinship systems strictly forbid a male from becoming the sexual rival of his father or mating with his mother or sister, young baboons quite regularly come into direct and open sexual conflict with their ‘fathers’ and often end up displacing them as the sexual partners of their ‘mothers’ and/or ‘sisters’. Among baboons and macaques, sexual relations are set up on a kind of ‘private property’ basis. The strongestmales,onthebasisofamoreor less violent free-for-all, end up with al the females (the biological ‘instruments of production’)belong,withtheiroffspring, to a few dominant males. All primitive kinshipsystems,ontheotherhand,func- tioncentrallytoruleoutsuchasexual A MARXIST-~STRUCTURALIST VIEW OF THE GENESIS OF CULTURE ins of Woman ir kinswomen's their Chris Knight isaresearch student working on human origins in the Anthropology Department, University College, London. He has also been collaborating in research into the social logic of spatial organisation under Bill Hillier at the Unit for Architectural for ‘when the chimpanzee with the desired Studies, Bartlet School of Architecture and tems bisected in this way are known as aye Grameen ual systems aie usually matri- Planning. food sees this request he runs off with the prizedpossession’(Fouts1975:380). Each animal is simply too egotistical - too wrapped up in its own private wants and desires-foralinguisticsystemtobeable to ‘work’. This individualism precludes the possibilityofanything cultural emerg- Kinship-rights are meal/meat-sharing rights. Men do have such rights on their own side. They do not have them on the other side. They havenosex-rightsontheirownside. They have sexual rights on the other side. biologicaloranatomicalaspectsofhuman evolution have been cleared up, the more puzzling have the social and cultural aspects seemed. Some of us in the Anthrop- ology Department at University College, London, now believe we may have made a be done. The same applies to kinship taboos’arealabout.Theyexpressthefact that people ‘belong’ to one another in an ultimately collective, social way ~ not as the private possessions of egotist- ical, dominant individuals (usually male). Finally, whilst baboons and macaques rival each other in a competitive free-for- al for food, al primitive kinship systems eliminate competition and enforce food- sharing and exchange, Far from being the same,baboon-likesystemsofdominance and primitive kinship systems bear an inverse relationship toeach other. The an- thropologistsMarshallD.Sahlins(1960) and Elman R. Service (1966) have long beeninsistingonthisfact. Nothingbringsoutthiscontrastmore clearly than a comparison of relations be- usbands whith to negate mate sexual dominance in general. Thesource of the womens breakthrough in the attempt to ‘crack’ this problem ~in principle, at least. It was really the origins of womankind on which the transition ‘from ape to man’ was based. GROUP oF ee PERIPHERAL traced until the limited number of possi ble Structural INVERSIONS fas been calculated and described. J{ (Left); lormal male-female It has long been recognised that the emer- genceonthisplanetofthefirsthuman iveagreementthatnoteventherudiments life-patterns represented a genuine social of culture are to be found among monkeys 9 fone| thatParonelittlecompetitionforspaceorfear MEAT gor of predators) approximate closely @this. Bé or apes. And this in turn was revolutionofsomekind(Sahlins1960; likehominidancestors whyourape- i 2 ee arem system. NEGATIVE: sexes gt intoallechivepolar-oppositegroups lominance Hockett and Ascher 1964; Holloway 1969). Despite the fact that human brains are little more than magnified versions of those of chimpanzees, the things which humans are capableofagreeinguponandcollectively constructing (dwellings, living arrangements, kinship-systems, linguistic structures and SO on) seem to havea life of their own of which there are no traces whatsoeveramong monkeys or apes. Despite their considerable ‘intelligence’,chimpanzeesarealmostin- capable of joint action or stable agreements between themselves (Reynolds 1976: 67 197). Even when they are to use American Sign Language which individual chimpan- zees can very well use in communicating with human beings — the use of language collapses when the apes are left to inter- SLATE 8PAGE 8 social revolution had to undergo a are going anywhere Levi- Strauss himself) consider themselves to be Marxist in one way or another. Acc- ording to Marxist theory, social conditions determine social consciousness. After arey- olutionary transformation of our social con- ditionsonaworldscale,wehumanbeings will not only act, but think and feelin a totally new way. The chief value of the study of human origins is that it helps us under stand this power of a revolution transforming the very depths of human consciousness. It shows that Consciousness itself ~ language, reason and everything ANIMAL alpha males. Many ‘baboons (grouna-livi caelomety, PathetogetherseekingSafetyinnumbers,so Se SLATE 8PAGE 9 act with each other. Should one chimpan- zee say, for example, ‘GIMME JAM’, its partner (who possesses the jam) understands perfectly well what is being said. But this abstract ‘understanding’ is not sufficient lineal For ‘total exchange’ (i.e. complete sexual and economic interdependénce) to prevail, the rules have to be: ; The problem of explaining the ‘origins of man’~ the evolutionary emer- genceoflanguage,tool-making,kinship systems and culture generally — has seemed insolubleeversinceCharlesDarwinbegan ingamongmonkeysor posingtheissueinscientifictermsovera apes.Alllinguistic hundredyearsago.Themorethephysical,structuresarestructuresofwhattheprimat-free-for-all,Thisiswhatso-called‘incest meal-sharingrights,alwaysbackuptheseee ologistVernonReynolds(1976:xy)calls ‘action’ ~ by which he means behaviour which is motivated socially and guided by Teference to collectively- shared under- standings as to what should or should not disputeswith ezspRusberidsorpoorhunters.lti this counter posing of en as brothers against men Structures, architectural structures and al other structures of that realm of “the art- ificial’ (Hillier and Leaman 1973) which human lifeinitsdistinctive wer is the Sexual solidarity expressedin Chet control of the circulation of thens labour- produce. Primate and human social origins cannot be features is, It is because ofan incapacity for collect- MALES. MOBILE AND AIT] A e structure ts POSITIVE tn that the before human culture Nearly al anthropologists nowadays who thatinternalcore ionaay emnereae)ERouiie examples. ¢NEGATIONOFNEGATION: could emerge. (rightuptoClaude tweenthesexes.Baboonsocialsystems (and, to a lesser extent, those of chimpan- Zees) are extremely male-dominated. This Human society emerged only when Sroupsoffemalessucceededinane in erms, seeking the favours of the al ha male Potala But’when (in hominid levolution) HUNTING became necessary, therefore unthinkableS”o the froup haa to split into two a3 the sons” istrue of many human cultures, too, but in the early hunter-cultures very powerful mai rilineal and egalitarian principles were acti andamuchcloserapproximationtosexual reciprocity seems to have prevailed. The idea that women once held political sway isa myth, but it isa myth which contains an important element of truth. The import Point isthat women could say ‘no’. rom them whenever anew hunting ex- dition was required. Once this power ad been gained, prostitution (xe. com- were not passive, ever-yielding, They immobilized bytheir fearof losing their slow- movin arems, would have always-aV- tobefoughtoverby rival males. They had their own solidarity the alpha males, ailable sexual objects ofa sexual kind. Men who wanted sex ed sexual ma parity producing the idual system” (es above But“these are conditional on men’s maki gifts’(above al, game-animals) bptheirwives, omen share bitsmeat ee eir proehetes ¢ against’ men (who, nevertheless veer: Tsasmuchttheyloseashusbands), Mén,being dependentontheirmothers/sistersfor & ( P. 78 Jevesare united. Gibbons (wbho live in trees, so “HAREM?OFFEMALESWITHOFFSPRING,The ales compete with one another in sexual etitiveSpyeat favour-seeking) .dbee: Bolished. ‘hene er, the females s$aid No to the hunters in this way, their own mnale offspring helpede: orce this ban. onal. . Sex wi each (matrilineal) thing tooffer. Thseept: would have had tounite with the hunter-males: SEX AND MEAT FOR ALL. re Z imbira village (Brazil:Gé pilansy.Thessimplmestplest CeConceivable ‘and obably the most archaic nship tructure is-one in which es hfere) the entireCay, 1sdividedintotwo toe and vice versa. lt is the men who are excha between the two Brow PS 2 rging halves. Here the the Fast dndery the ‘people of women; lencriss-crossfrom Castto West fest fo East, morni. Bena thegame animals Becnef}Btheir wives Puls, but havi kirtship rights and ileal aring rights wi inswomen Bac on their ow St circle. Hore they may eat meat which by CHRIS KNIGHT. with the male hunting bands whils retaining the power to eSevuail n el Ih ine huSsbands have killed. a he PYTh Gp could not get it by rape or intimidation, nor content as well -rules aimed at the preven- bysettingthefemalesoffagainsteachother tionofsexualprostitution.Humanculture inthe‘no’alreadydiscussed.Neitheris byofferingfavourstosomewhilediscrimin- cameintobeingonlywhengroupsoffem- thereanyneedforaseparatetheoryofthe | Cae swellequippe roofis + ating against others. The female community as a whole had to be satisfied, or else there was no sex. In hunter-cultures throughout the world, a collective hunting expedition is preceded by a ban on sex lasting one or more: days, which it is the prime respons- ales had won the power, collectively, to indicate ‘no’ in sexual matters to groups of males. Then, when meat was short, the women could threaten a ban on sex. If necessary they could deny themselves alto- gether to the men until the desired result origins of language, or of economic exch or of cultural kinship. These things would already already have been contained wi the capacity for refusal discussion. Once could be expressed in the context described this would itself have been the first appear- ance of language, of economic exchange, o kinship and so on. The evidence is that the most universal and ancient symbol of ‘no’ and hence the symbol of al human life its- elf-was menstrual blood, but that isano story. The crucial point is that culture was born ina ‘red’ revolution. Both sexes were involved in it, but it was upon the solidarity of the materially reproductive sex (the liy- ing ‘instruments of production’ ) that the trangition to humanity was based. The par- allels with today’s revolution should be cle: as you" 4 yFe ibility of the women to enforce. One of the was obtained. Sooner or later, the men most interesting recent reports in this connection is that of Janet Siskind(1973: 233), who describes how the women in one South American Indian tribe combat hunt- ing-laziness among their menfolk: ‘The special hunt is started by the women. Early in the evening, all the young women go from house to house singing to every man. Each woman chooses aman to hunt for her, a man who is not her husband nor of her kin group... The men leave the foll- owing day and are met on their return by a line-up of all the women of the village, painted and beaded and wearing their best dresses. Even the older men will not face this line without game...” would have had to get off their haunches and hunt. The very situation would have produced a fierce solidarity amongst the women. Any individual woman trying to ignore the ban would quickly have been reminded that her body was not hers alone to give. It belonged to her sex-group coll- ectively. Her sisters -once a ‘no’ had been decided on -would jealously have prevented her from seeking her own pleasure and breaking ranks. Her sexual value was theirs, not hers alone. All sexual morality began here. Male baboons cannot agree amongst them selves on anything. They are almost always fighting or threatening each other in some Inmostcases,thebanonsexwasliftedonly way,andatthebottomoftheirquarrels Lin, Wipeep, References ifthewomencollectivelyweresatisfiedthat lies,usually,competitionoversexualaccess Fouts,R.S.1975 thehunthadbeensuccessful.Rape,forthetofemales.Aslongashominidfemaleswere“CapacitiesforLanguageinGreatApes.’In TPS=Gatlin,‘Sh men, was out of the question: it was the women themselves who decided ‘yes’ or ‘no’. This seems to have been the most fund- amental of al the sexual rules of the ancient hunter-cultures of humanity. The women, collectively, had the power to say ‘no’. Part of the explanation for this power of refusal was a spatial one -in each commun- ity, the hearths and dwellings were arranged only a few yards apart or in compact clust- ers. The womenfolk were not isolated sex- ually from each other but formed a real community of their own, sharing the tasks of child-care, food-gathering, fire-tending, food-distribution and so on. Wherever hunt- ing was a highly-organised, collective, acti- vity this seems to have been the pattern. One archaeologist (Movius 1966: 321) has excavated the floor of what seems to have been a‘long-house’ 20,000 years old near the village of Les Eyzies in France. Many otherUpperPalaeolithic‘long-house’settle- ments have been excavated, including some of mammoth-hunters in the Ukraine (Klein 1973). In each ‘long-house’, the women folk-sisters,mothersanddaughters-would have had far more power than do women who are forced to live separately (which tends to be the case where male dominance is extreme), Female apes and monkeys lack the power or the solidarity to say ‘no’. Solly Zucker- man (1932; 233, 239, 285-6) noted long organised along similar lines, allowing them- selves to be used as passive sexual objects to be fought over by rival males, no enduring agreements between the males could have been reached. Solidarity between males de- pends upon either (a) their complete separ- ation from females or (b) the presence of females who have their own solidarity and who are, therefore, not going to allow them- selyes to be fought over individually as sex- ual ‘prizes’ for rival males. Among baboons some males -the ‘outcasts’ or ‘peripheral’ ones who have failed in the fight to obtain females -meet the first condition. These are the mobile males, and among our ances tors it would have been the counterparts of these who alone would have been in a pos- ition to begin hunting big game (the dom- inant males would have been placed at a dis- _Montagu,Ashley 1965 advantage when hunting became necessary, sincetheywouldhavebeenimmobilised precisely by their power -by their anxiety to guard their ‘harems’ of slow-moving fe- malesandoffspring).ButforaslongasthecnacianHorizonsattheAbriPataud,LesBaad co-operative male hunting bands were per- (Dordogne), and their Possible Significance,’ manentlyseparatedfromthefemalesex,the gern Anthropologist,vol.68(n.s.),pp.296- transition to human culture was ruled out. fh¢ The attitude of male peers at college was no more sympathetic, the women on the course being considered on the whole as mere decoration put there for the male students’ benefit. Such things as model- The ‘leap’ to culture took place only when the separation of males from females could be imposed, not by the dominance of a few ‘overlord’ males, but by the solidarity of the Reynolds, V, 1976 ‘The Biology sof Human Action.’ W.H. Freeman, Reading and San Francisco, : ; Working Women Susan Jackson, who is a registered architect working for the London Borough of Southwark discusses the difficulties of beingawomanarchitectina‘man’s world’. She previously worked in private practice for five years as an Associate. SheisalsoamemberoftheNAMFeminist Architecture Group and isBranch Secretary of the London Branch of BDS TASS. Sahlins, M.D. 1960 agotheparallelsbetweentheirsexualatti- femalesthemselves.Forthefemalesneeded ‘TheOrigofiSonciety’,Scientific Ameri Mostsecondaryschoolsdonot,intheir makingetc.weredeemedbeyondthecap- ‘careers’ advice service, include architecture abilities of the female students, and many as a possibility where girls are concerned. solicitous offerings of help were given. The Thestandardreactiontotheexpressedde- chanceforthefemalestudentstoworkas tudesandthoseofhuman‘prostitution’. notonlytoseparatefromthemales(whenSeptember,1960% Oe ‘protectors’. Theresultisthatsexualityis alternatingbetweenasexual‘yes’andasex- ‘TropicalForestHuntersandtheEconomy’. In Although female baboons are grouped to- forcing them to hunt ), but to unite with t gether spatially to form ‘harems’ under the them ( in order to obtain the sexual access Service, E.R, 1966 dominanceof‘overlord’males,thefemales andmeatrequired).Whenthefemalescould‘TheHunters’,PrenticeHall,NewJersey tend to compete with each other in sexual- ity, trying to gain favours from their male act in concert, periodically and collectively Siskind, J. 1973 sire ofa woman to be an architect is that the course is very long and that it’s a ‘man’s world’,Thecourseisnaturallyaslongfor a man as for a woman, but women are not expected to have career ambitions and collegeshouldmerelybeviewedasameans a group to produce a feminine approach to design was never given, and in fact the women tendedtoadoptthestanceofthe male student in being aggressive and ‘non- co-operative’ in order to be accepted at al bytheirmalepeers.Thefirstfeelingsof isolation arose then when the females sparred against each other, imitating the masculineattitudetotheirequalsthatpre- dominates in working life. SLATE 8PAGE 11 rules are sexual rules, and at the basis of alsexualrulesareruleswithaneconomic SLATE 8PAGE 10 for a separate theory of the origins of the incest-rule,foritcaneasilybeshownthat such a rule would have been contained with- Abst. Ream 1% since 1957. One is prompted to ask the question‘why?’ Personalexperiencehas shown that architecture is not considered yailed in many girls’ grammar schools in thelate50sandearly60s(andstildoesin many secondary schools today), when girls ual ‘no’, forcing the males to hunt for them and their offspring by placing a real social value on sex, the entire structure of human Gross, D.R. (ed). ‘people and Cultures of Native South America,’ Doubleday /The Natural History Press, New York, Compared with other professionals such as solicitors and doctors, the proportion of women in architecture issurprisingly low. 6%ofalarchitectsintheUKarewomen and the percentage has only increased by of finding a husband. This attitude pre- *cheapened’. The females make no collect- ive attempt to raise the ‘value’ of their owns sexuality. The earliest establishment of human culturedepended upon thereversal of this process. At the basis of al cultural come into being. There is no longer any need ‘The Social Life of Monkeys and "Ke culturalexchangewouldquitesuddenlyhave eas S1932 Paul, Trench, Trubner, London Tuttle, R.H. (ed.), Socioecology and Psychology of Primates, Mouton, The Hague, Paris, 1975, were encouraged to opt for teaching, nur- sing or university courses in the arts which more often than not resulted in them tea- ching on grad To opt for a ‘career’, rather than astop gap before marriage, was considered extremely unusual and was in many cases actively discouraged. Even ifthis first hurdle was jumped successfully the discriminatory attitude towards women as architects continued through college, ca with in my own experiencea tutor refusing to assess mine and another woman's work as he considered our presence on the course irrelevant. Hillier, Bill and Leaman, A. 1973 ‘Structure, System, Transformation: Sciences of Organisation and Sciences of the Artificial.’ Transactions of the Bartlett Society, vol. 9, PP. 36-77, Hockett, CF. and Ascher,R. 1964 “The Human Revolution.’ Current Anthropology, vol. 5, pp. 135-167. Holloway, R.L. 1969 ‘Culture: A Human Domain.’ az Current Anthropology, vol. 10, pp. 395-407. Klein, R.G, 1973 ‘Tce-Age Hunters of the Ukraine’ Ty oN A i University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. "The Human Revolution’ WorldPublishingCo.,ClevelandandNewYork. N a profession women should embark on without expecting to make exceptional sacrifices in femininity and the stereotyped female ‘ambitions’ such as marriage and ‘family life’. Movius, H.L. 1966 ‘The Hearthe of the Upper Perigordian and Aurig- i ) hae . a: if CE APermabit 60 ct gaa At work it has’ been found that discrim- ination against women in the first two or threeyearsaftergraduation isconsiderably less than when the woman has been work- ing for some years and is attempting to increase her responsibility and realise the ultimate goal for many of a principal in Practice. In fact, many practices feel that newly graduated architects, whether male or female, are capable only of design work, butthisparticularprecepttendstoremain fixed in many men’s minds for the remain- der of the female architect’s working life. Women, being women, are expected to be totally incompetent as far as amassing and using technical knowledge. To some extent this is possibly the fault of the colleges in not concentrating on and giving students the opportunity to take practical steps to learn technical skills i.e. by working on building sites, with Clerks of Works, Engi- neers or Building Contractors. There is the feeling amongst women architects that they are in a position to com bat the istic ion of archi to builders and vice versa because of their less aggressive attitude and the fact that they refuse to accept that they are on opp- SLATE 8PAGE 12 osite sides of the fence. Coupled with this is the idea that a much closer relationship between designing and building must be instituted early on i.e. at college level by theprovisionofjointandexchangecourses. pointblank,thathewouldnotworkwith The opportunity for the student to work on a building site for a contractor and for thecontractortoworkinanarchitect’s office would go some way towards building an understanding on each others part, of the way the other members of the building team operate, This opportunity is very rarely realised and misunderstanding and conflict ensue. Aingusta : therefore superior to her, thus preserving their egotistic attitude of being the better architect; or the converse and act exactly as the men do by being aggressive and ‘mas- culine’,thusbeingacceptedasoneofthe “boys’ and by inference not a ‘real’ woman. Both these reactions take the direct comp- etitiveelementoutofthesituationand diffuse any overt male chauvinistic react- ions, but result in the men stil viewing the women, albeit subversively, as inferior. Immediately the woman architect openly asserts herself as an equal, particularly to her male peers, she elicits overt criticism of her capabilities both as a female and as anarchitect.Againtheattitudethatwas put forward at school rears its head, that a woman who wishes to pursue a male-dom- inated career issomehow unfemale -not a whole woman. It is interesting to relate here my own experience in a private firm of architects where yearly interviews were conducted by the partnership, with the members of staff, ostensibly to assess how each individual ‘fitted’ within the office structure. The men were asked whether they were satisfied with the work they were doing and what their ambitions were with- in the firm. Iwas asked whether Iwas ‘courting’ and ifso whether Iwas contem- plating getting married within the next year or two! My ambitions to further my career were not even discussed. happily be reduced and the work-load stil coped with. But this then touches on the whole dichotomy of reduction in the work- ing week equalling a reduction in the work ing wage, which a subject that should be covered more fully another time. A subject which is brought up frequent- ly at union meetings etc. now, is the pro- vision of nursery and creche facilities at places of work. This does, however, tend to be part and parcel of the same attitude thatwomen arethetendersofchildren, and the facilities would be there primarily for the working married woman who wishes to have a full-time job and stil look after thechildren.Thewholequestionofjob- sharing in child-rearing has not been touch- ed and should be discussed further. The prevalentviewisstilthatthemanisthe bread-winner and the woman works merely tosupplement hisincome. This isaview that must be changed completely in order for women to be accepted, particularly after they are married and have children, as equal to men. One way of overcoming the problems of ‘family’lifeisbywomenworkingcollect- ively. There have been instances of al wo- men practices where the child-care has been shared by the architects. The one reason why that particular form of practice seemed to fail was because the women were notin a position to ‘solicit’ clients to get more work. Men have the advantage, in the pre- sent architecural structure, of having their ‘club-land’ circuit to provide them with contacts that will afford them new projects. Women are denied access to these inroads to clientele and have therefore anuphill struggle to obtain work ofany appreciable size. In the present male-dominated busi- ness world women are at a distinct disad- vantage. Until there are equal numbers of women clients and until the whole business venient brackets to suit the present socie- tal structure. Many women today feel tot- ally isolated from their female peers and as a result feel intimidated by them, pro- ducing a competitive element into their social framework. As Chris Knight has said, Women worked together for the com- munity, they were the backbone and driv ing force of the communal village life, and for women to regain their consciousness as whole women and as equal members of society they must once more work togeth- er.Womenarchitectsareinapositionto begin making moves towards this end by questioning the precepts by Which the co- mmunity’s buildings are designed and in particularhousing. Theseparationoffam- ilies into individual units isolates the wo- man and prevents her from taking a ful partin‘community’life.Thelinesofthis defined space need to be smudged. Some- thing along these lines has been attempted in the provision of ‘semi-communal’ hou- sing for the elderly, but this has tended to be for supervisory convenience rather than the desire to provide more socially accep- table living space in the community. Theroleofwomen asbuildingusers must be looked at more closely than just whether the housewife can supervise the children at play while she incessantly washes up. Each time awoman architect designs living accommodation she must ask the question ‘why must al housing be geared towards the man who works and the woman who keeps house?’ Until the whole concept of housing and community struc- ture ischanged women are still going to be considered a secondary workforce and a mere servicing agency for the male popu- lace. It is perhaps questionable whether women architects as a group can initiate the revolution that can bring this about but they can at least make some ripples on the lake of male complacency. SLATE 8PAGE 13 Many female architects start their prac- ticallifeatadisadvantageinthatmostmay tea-makingetc.especiallyifthesecretary never have been on site before graduation, unlike male student architects who freque- ntly work on building sites in theirholidays during the college course, and have learned a certain amount about the way sites are run and the hierarchy that operates there. A woman’s initial visit to a building site as a job architect presents several obstructions that may take a long time to overcome. In al cases a lot di ds on the p iti involved. The woman architect has important letters to type; and being _ constantly teased about her femininity and her attitudes to sexist calendars etc, pinned around the office. On the surface many men can appear to accept the woman arch- itect as their equal but this veneer eventu- ally cracks to show the in-built prejudice that prevails within the profession. This attitude, of course, not only applies to credibility rating has a low as far as site staff and op- the hi profession butotherareasof eratives are concerned, particularly if she work that have hitherto been considered male preserves. is panied by her (invariably male) boss. She is frequently assumed to be his secretary and gets the statutory wolf wijs- tles and ribald chauvinist remarks thatare Many women architects who have been put into this position react in one of two ways. They either use their ‘femininity’ to the extreme by acting dumb, weak and sigely so that men feel ‘protective’ and levelled at any woman who ventures near a building site. There have been instances, albeit rare, when the contracts manager has stated, a woman architect, but on each occasion decided otherwise on being shown that a femalearchitectisjustascapableasamale. But a much more wearing situation exists for the majority of female architects, who have to bear the brunt of insidious chauy- inism, that manifests itself in constant sup- ervision by a male superior no matter how competent she is; being gradually shoulder- ed with ‘housekeeping’ operations such as ey os ae _ We The attitude of many partnerships, and indeed most places of work, to women get ting married brings up the topic of part-time working, both for men and women. In todays patriarchal society, unfortunately, the onusof bringing up children falls squa- rely on the shoulders of the women, work ing ornot. The instant reaction of many bosses to a woman contemplating marriage is one of ‘oh, she will soon get pregnant and leave to look after the children’ and is thenceforth discounted as a viable working force within the office. of ‘job-getting’ is radically changed, women architects will find it much more difficult to obtain their own clients than will men. The idea of setting up a women’s coll- ective design and build team has been dis- cussed at the NAM Feminist Group meet- ings, as there are now emerging special groups of women who require a particular empathy from the architect should they need one, which men will find difficult to provide. From these small beginnings wo- men architects will be able to put forward their own particular ideas and philosophies on the provision of buildings for women and through their efforts become accepted not as female counterparts to the existing male architectural profession, but as a sep- arate force presenting radical solutions to problems that have heretofore not been considered except from the male point of view. Strong feelings have been put forward by women architects that the whole atti- tude of the architect towards providing design solutions to certain problems has become stereotyped and that the ultimate There are very few offices that offer the opportunity for women or men to do part- time work, and those that do tend to regard the part-timers as less than efficient archi- tects. There is a strong case for salaried architects to push for part-time working for everyone should they wish. It has been Suggestedthattheworksituationbeingwhat usersofthebuildingsareslottedintocon- it is at present, the working week could Archie Tekt Women inAntiquity evidence from prehistory is wholly depend- eee FIG 3 Coloritow “HOUSE conn Lex M. values varied. Literary circles in fifth- century Athens paid close attention to the physical and moral distinction between men and‘women, Plato, Timaeus, V, J, speaks of the thorax as divided into two parts of greater and lesser value, as houses are divided into men’s and women’s quarters. If moral weight was attached to opinions like this, we should expect to see some physical expression of it in house design. Security was also a problem in a crowded city that attracted many foreigners. Xenophon’s strictures on the provision of a strongly guarded door at the entrance to quarters occupied by female servants Occonomicus, IX, 5 are directed at a wealthy urban householder witha large number of servants. But in smaller settle- -ments such as Priende, Olynthus and Delos, these considerations were not so important and it is hard to see them consistently reflected in the architecture. Susan Walker isaprofessional archaeologist whose interest in architecture and social Organisations stems from three years spent in Greece researching on Roman buildings concerned with urban water supply. She is currently working on a museum exhibition of daily life in classical antiquity with responsibility for cases dealing with women agriculture and country life, and industry and transport. It is very difficult to make a useful correlation between the design of domestic houses in antiquity and the role of women in societies of widely differing structure of which we havea far from perfect knowledge. Part of the problem is the lack of hard evidence: archaeologists searching for patronage have tended to concentrate their energies on the excavation of spec- -tacular ceremonial and civic centres at the expense of unprepossessing domestic quarters. When domestic housing has been excavated, it has usually proved difficult to determine the exact function of rooms we are dealing with societies that used, for the most part, portable furniture. How can we reconcile this evidence with the knowledge of the social position of women that emerges from the literature and from inscriptions? Because we have to contend with so many different social formations, with problemat- -atic gaps in our knowledge, it seems best to attack the problem within strict histor- -ical confines. Ihave chosen to discuss classical Greece here because there is sufficient evidence from a number of sources -ent on the data and interpretations of modern archaeologists. And they, for the most part male, have not addressed them- -selyes to the question of the role of women in the societies whose remains they so carefully examinec If no one asks the questions, the answers will not come of their own volition out of the earth. Once excavated, the site is lost. From classical societies we have a few references to the way in which women spent their lives, and more accounts of how men wished these lives to be spent, and we eRe JeE pee FIGS season and used as decorative insulation Where did they do al this? Xenophon tells us how Isomachus showed his house to his bride. “ the rooms were built simply with a view to their being the most advantageous receptacles for the things that would be in them..... The bedroom, being in an interior part of the house, invites the most valuable bedcovers and implements; the dry parts of the house, the grain; the cool places, the wine; and thewelllightedplaces,theworksand implements that need light .” The excavators of houses at Olynthus inter- -preted some large rooms as places set aside for household work: an alcove close | SLATE 8PAGE 15 —! | \ have figurative illustrations that support the verbal picture. These are valuable aids to the interpretation of remains on the ground. But their are further pitfalls. Most of the surviving evidence informs us of the livesofrelativelyrichcity-dwellers. In rural areas, women worked the fields as they have done throughout history. Representations of these’ are rare: one of awoman sowing appears on ablack- figure cup of sixth-centuary date and some terra-cotta models show agricultural scenes —this isamedium that was considered appropriate for genre scenes from everyday life. There, is too, a gap between the origins of our evidence. Literary, pictorial and epigraphic infornfation comes from fifth-centuary Athens: the best archaeological evidence comes from fourth-century Olynthus in “orthern Greece, Colophon and Priene in \sia Minor, and from the island of Delos. \ny arguments that are carried from one -ield to the other are weakened by chrono- -logical, climatic and social variations. The discussion must be based on the evidence for the role that women were expected to fulfil, and on other considerations that influenced house design. Paramount among these was the seperation of domestic and public life. While men went about their business freely, most upper- class women remained within the confines of their homes. There was a strong concern for security, not only of property but also of the moral well being of the female members of the household, both free-born and slaves. This concern isportrayed in classical literature and reflected in house design, Naturally, the strength of these J tobuildupareasonablyclearpictureof bsAtHiEmanufactureofclothandthepreparation the serious constraints on their liberty: it might be more encouraging, from a of food. They produced clothing for their feminist point of view, to study prehistoric societies in which women appear to have enjoyed a more active role, but the SLATE 8PAGE 14 do c 40 2e Feng) vi 3om. Fig 2, ROOMS WITH SQUARE *ANDRON OR MENS DINING ROOM. families and the hangings and tapestries that played an important part in the furnishings of a classical house, since they could by easily stored during the hot With due consideration for these values, and for the conditions of climate and street environment, ancient houses (like many more modern Mediterranean counterparts) tended to look in on themselves. (Fig. 2) They had few windows giving onto hot, quality that is often symbolised by a basket noisyanddustystreets.Entrancesoccupied onclassicalvases)someofthismayhave asmall proportion of the facade. Rooms were generally disposed around an interior courtyard that often contained the house cistern or well, Most courtyards were lined by a verandah on at least one side that offered a sheltered area for work or relaxation. In some houses, especially those in the country- -side, a tower was incorporated in the structure as an additional security measure. Household servants sometimes lived in these towers. Demosthenes, XLVII, 56 Against Evergos, tells us of an aristocratic Athenian woman lunching with her children in the courtyard of her house. She is surprised by an intruder who makes off with most of her furniture, which is her property. But the female servants manage to save some of the goods by barricading themselves with items of furniture into the tower room where they lived. (Fig. 3) Within the house, upper-class women were expected to supervise the servants, perform and/or supervise tasks associated with the during the winter. Xenophon, Oeconimicus 7-10, advises an active role in weaving at the vertical loom, in folding blankets, and in kneading dough for the mistress of the house who isinclined to ill-health through leading a sedentary life. (Fig. 4) The ideal wife was also supposed to see to the orderly organisation of furniture and property (a been their own. They were, besides, Supposed to superintend the upbringing of their children, who probably had more cpntact with the household servants. FIG 4 a o io mn o ~° wo ° B. AVENUE AVENUE to the kitchen (Fig. 5) could have held a vertical loom of the type that is sometimes illustrated on vases. Loom-weights, however, appear in nearly every room of nearly every house. Mortars were found in the kitchens, in the courtyards, and in the work-rooms. Grain-mills were set up with similar disregard for the appropriation of particular rooms for specific functions. Lysias, I, 9, suggests that women lived in seperate quarters on the upper storey. While there is some clear evidence for this from earlier Aegean cultures (e.g. the Minoan palace at Zakro in Crete, the Mycenean palace at Pylos in the south-west Peloponnese), litle eydencyofsuchaic hasoe a recovered from clasical sites. Itwou! however, have been easyy to segregate such quarters if they were only built over ‘it the rear of the courtyard: this might have beenthecaseatVariorOlynthus. (Fig.5) If there is no clear evidence for the seclusion of women in a defined area within the house literary accounts reveal that they were excluded from the men’s dining room or andron, a room that is easily recognisable in the field from its relatively generous proportions and rich appointements. (Fig.2) Spartaeesanextraorduiary statewhose HES i FigS saidthattheirstrengthwasthecauseof view with some rather loose interpretation. For the genoral backgroundse,e R. Austin and P. Vidal-Nagyet, An economic and socibl history of Classical Greece. 1977 — translated sources with ajudiciously sceptical commentary. W.K. Lacy, The Family in Classical Greece 1968 — useful, but beware of the term ‘family’ in the modern sense of nuclear family. On houses sce Jones, Graham andSackett, An Attic Country House (Thames and Hudson) offprinted from the Annual of the British School at Athens, especially p. 430-8 and D.M. Robinson and J. Walter Graham, Olynthus VIII: The Hellenic House (Baltimore, 1938). For useful lists of various paintings that show women performing household tasks, sce T.B.L. Webster Potter and Patron inClassical Athens 1973. Some unexplained examples illustrate features on the women’s moyement in modern Greece in the current issue ofSpareRib(No,71)Youcansetheminthe flesh in the vase rooms in the British Museum; these are currently being refurbished, but look in the galleries downstairs for a few examples, There are also grave reliefs from Attica that demonstrate the close relationship many women had with their personal maids and the nurses of their children. Women in modern Greece have not fared much better than their classical pre- -cdecessors, expecially in rural districts. See John Campbell, Honour, Family and Patronage, and Juliet DuBoulay, Portrait of a Greek Mountain Village 1975. Fig, 1 Worm sowing. Froma sixth-century blackfigurecup. Fig.2Olynthus.Bloocfkhousseswithinthe citystreetplan. Fig3 Qolophon, W. Turkey, House complex with tower Fig.4Blackfigurelekythosbythe“‘Amusis construct or understand. Spatial morphology defines and restricts social patterns as well as being defined by social processes. The social cohesion of the Sioux Indians was broken when their sacred circles of tents were replaced with rectangular houses in straight lines in the same way as the tight-knit communities of of the East End of London. The social consequences on the mount- ain people of Colin Turnbull when they were removed from their usual environment were disastrous. So, far, the womens liberation move- ment has tended to concentrate on womens role in the world of production. ‘Western womensliberationhasbecome associated with the right to work. = This has produced a home, work dichotomy and splits male and female to opposite sides of the economic spectrum: men have become associated with production, and women as managers ofa consumer support system. Women even in the profession have found it difficult to compete with men. They are stil regarded as managers of the domestic support system, and womens work there is seen as invisible and unpaid. Women have not had wives. This split of home and work away from exchange value labour is characteristic of industrial society. _Itisnot primordial An african women stil manages a large part of the economy of the entire society athome. You would not ask her to ‘go out to work: She participates in the handicrafts,agriculture,commandsthe transformatory processes, turning the energiesweredirectedtowardsthe maintenance of a crack military force Children of both sexes submitted to vigorous athletic training; effeminancy in either sex was strongly discouraged. Spartanwomenwerenotedfortheirstrength totheirisolationfrommenasagroup, and good health; they were highly esteemed _ rather than (as in the case of Athenian asnursesbecausetheygavechildrena women)withintheconfinesoftheextended natural, unpampered upbringing. (Plutach, _ family. published periodicals and articles and held workshops and given talks on their work. She is an Architect and last worked for Solon Housing Association. Iwould like to continue what Chris Knight has written about the role of women in human communities past and present to suggest questions we may ask to define pointsofreferenceforadiscussionofa ‘matricentric’ viewof architecture. Ido not meantocontrastmatriarchywithpatriarchy. rawintothecooked,jierbsintomedicine than their Athenian sisters, and were not obliged to spend their days in sedentary household tasks. Some ancient writers held that they dominated men; Aristotle and Rome, Toronto 1977 — This is a collection of ancient sources in translation, with minimal interpretation. Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: women in Classical Antiquity — awider Of the country house at Vari. Ishould like to thank Ian Jenkins for his helpful criticisms of this article, the comparison must be between rule and anarchy, between the presence and absence of domination”, as Bookchin has said. A criticism of patriarchy and its world view must of course embody the class struggle but it will seek to go beyond defining the world in terms that are western, bourgeois and rooted in a capitalist mode of prod- action. Capitalism and the ‘society of spectacle’ are late stages of the wider problem of patriarchy. Certainly, the town has become ....‘transformed into an SLATE 8PAGE 16 Sparta’sultimatedownfallasamajor power. As women concerned with house design and social organisation, we may legitimately ask ourselves whether the strength of Spartan women was not related Denise Arnold is exploring cultures, religions and settlement patterns with matrilineal social organisation to see their implications, past and present. Belonging to the NAM FeministGroupsheisalsoamemberof ‘MatriarchyStudyGroup’whichhas - todefinewhatmaybemissing. Lycurgus14 Theylivedapartfrom their SUGGESTIONS FORFURTHER READING husbands, who visited them secretly by night.Theyclearlyenjoyedmorerights Lefkowitz,M.F.andFant,M.WomeninGreece Fig.6Reconspltanranudcsectieonadcal “the very essence of the matricentric world isthatitvitiatesruleassuch......polarities ter Painter” Athens, ct. S60B.C ing. Thevaseisinthe Museum, New York. ing wool jitan Todayweliveinapredominantly patriarchal world. The lines of descent by bloodandpropertyandinculturalpropo- -gation are patrilineal, i.e. they pass through cannot be found between patriarchy and themaleline.Weusuallytakeourhusband'smatriarchyastwodifferingformsofrule, names at marriage and pass his name on to our children — our world is defined by his. Residence rules in our society are blurred but the husband stil tends to own the household property, and women are isolated from each other, and rear their children away from their mother’s, sister's and brothers, with one man in a nuclear family. A potentially unstable sexual pairing becomes reinforced by ideology and economic dependence of the women as the basis for the upbringing of children. Fig.5PlanofhousESesH4,atOlynthus A Matricentric View from the domestic realm. Our planning laws, housing acts, building regulations, mortgage arrangments and architectural education reinforce these cultural and patriarchalvalues.Itisdifficulttobegin raw materials into clothes, baskets and pots, andisalsoinvolvedinmarketing: Briffault has assembled numerous examples ofwomen’sroleasarchitectsandengineers, ‘The huts of the Australian, of the Andaman islanders, of the Patagonians, of the Botocudos the rough shelters of the Seri, the skin lodges and wigwams of the American Indian, the blackicamel-hair tent of the Bedouin, the “yurta of the nomads of Central Asia, are al the exclusive work and special care of the women.......the earth lodges of the Omahas . The “pueblos” of New Mexico and Arizona . are built exclusively by the women? Amongst the Pueblos ......‘when first a man was set by the good padres to build- ing a wall, the poor embarrassed wretch was surrounded by ajeering crowd of women and children, who mocked and laughed, and thought it the most ludicrous thing that they had seen that a man should be engaged in building a house’. The activity of housebuilding has become efficient instrument of production and industrialised and removed completely from consumption, (Choay) . “a great consumer the world of women, into the hands of market, a vast workshop, an arena for experts who may break up the last remain- ambitions in Haussman’s works, but the -ing kinship systems without realising that they are doing so. “These would-be male separatists have extended the sphere of themen’shutsthroughmonopolyo,f theperpetuationofaclasssocietydespite Inasociety,however,wheretheJomes- priestly, scribal, administrative, political and weapon-bearing roles,” (1) Our settlement patterns therefore give preeminence to the realm of the men’s huts, whether the office, the factory, club or pub, at the expense of the world ofwomen’shuts,andalpower,production, andthemechanicsofpatriarchaloppression decision making, and ‘ritesof life’, birth, learning and initiation, healing caring, sickness and dying have now been excluded dynamics of patriarchy are more far-reach -ing than the mode of production and this does not seem to the instrumental factor in major social upheavals, nor in the examples of a patriarchal takeover. tic mode of production is the dominant mode, where society isorganised around reproduction as much as production, and respects the ‘reproductive factor’ glossed over by Marx and other economists, then the nature of houses and settlement patterns wouldbeverydifferent. In the primitive economy, Sahlins has shown that the household represents the determinate mode of production with an SLATE 8PAGE 17 The totalitarian aspects of Haussmann’s work in Paris are well known but the implic- ations of architecture in restricting the form- ation of kinship systems, in social organisation are less well known. Women in mass-prod- uced housing schemes live in jspaces and environments which they did not conceive, appropriate technology and division of labour. Itsowninnerrelationsarethe principle relations of production in that society. How labour is to be expended, the terms and products of its activity are in the main domestic decisions. These decisions are taken primarily with a view towards domestic contentment. It is the ‘affluent society’, not of over- production, like ours but of underprod- uction and of desiring little. human organisation with division of labour andcollectiveeffortandparticipationin work and ritual, awareness of the human life cycle, body cycles and seasonal rythms. The womans menstrual cycle seems to have been a major factor in understanding and articulating these rhythms for survival, for understanding when to seek game in hunts and plant seeds with early forms of agricul~ ture, and for regulating human sexuality, lunar and solar calendars were integrated into the built form for primative time- keeping, together with manipulation of the surrounding landscape in the later megalithic culture to define the most important modes of the seasonal year.(8) It seems that our word ‘civilisation’ derives from ‘moon-experience’ because the settlement as well as into its social and religious institutions, The alignment of the town or house reconciles it with the axes of the universe. ‘The rehearsal of the foundation cosmogeny in regularly recurrent festivals defines the pattern of the seasonal year and its commemorative embodiment in the monuments of the settlement: (Il). how women lost the west? REVIEW OF FROM TIPI TO SKYSCRAPER This book, published in 1973, discusse women in architecture in the United States and is of interest and importance to anyone concerned with the subject in this country. eeTT eee ee REVIEW Doris Cole: From Tipi to Skyscraper: iPress Inc: 1973: paperback; about £2 75: obtainable from Compendium Bookshop, Camden High St., \London, NWI. The domestic mode of production has a technology of similar dimensions ....‘the basic apparatus can usually be handled by household groups; much of it can be weilded autonomously by individuals. Implements are homespun, thus simple enough to be widely available. Productive processes are unitary rather than decomposed by an el- of its inti lationship with hrough union invol ,pressing for body.(9) The collective of omen would define their own emotional and spatial needs. Menstrual huts were set apart from the main residential areas so that women at their ‘sabbath’ could rest and look inwards. The libertarian world view has always emphasised the idea of the autonomous household and the ideas of self sufficiency and asimple technology. The womens movement isbeginning todebate these issues in the context of the ‘ecological’ movement (ecology means di of the house) andof a critique of ‘Marxist economics closer integration ofinternal processes which ignores the question of reproduction with external environment. The evolu- (economic means the law of the house.) See also para. (5) and (6). As women have been removed from the part-time working or for creches at work or collective child care at home, but we must be clear about the positive aspects of the matricentric world ifwe are to see which are are genuinely ‘re-volutionary’ in Hannah Ahrendt’s terms and which are merely fo correcting and improving the situation upper class women found a chance to apply by attracting more women to the profession. their knowledge to the plight of the Doris Cole starts with an account of disadvantaged. However, these social services women’s roles within the frontier traditions were still considered ‘women’s work’, still emphasising the sexual divisions and it was only in the utopian communes outside conventional society that men and women were able to attempt to work and live together as equals, structures alike, to make the profession more responsive to both its own constituents and the diverse client groups in society. Historically, the American woman is conditioned for this role......" This book is invaluable as it attempts to place the involve- -ment of women in architecture within a social context, although it could have benefited with being linked to the fight for the female suffrage and included an account of how these more privileged women regarded the struggles of, for instance, the women in the garment industry. The main thesisof the book isthat from pioneer days women have been responsible for the well being of their family in the first instance, and thus ulimately the nation, which is something to be proud of. It neglects the question of women’s respons- -ibilities to themselves and their own develop- -ment in that sense. Of course, 1would not argue that these things are seperate but if oneif looking for astudy of how women operate in this profession, this book fals aborate division of labour so that the same interested party can carry through the whole procedure from the extraction of the raw material to the fabrication of the finished good. which existed up until the end of the C19th as part of the westward expansion of the settlers from the Atlantic coast. The nomadic and rural life was shared by both pioneers and Indians until the spreading urbanisation destroyed them. She argues that in both cultures women were active contributors as the conditions of existence were too marginal to support any idle group. receive a formal architectural training, ‘productive’ processes of life, so men have been removed from the realities and emotions death, and so on would be reintegrated of the ‘reproductive’ processes, of birth and into the domestic realm. Would they also Vol. 1p. 443-45 (4) Sahlins, Marshall. 1972 “Age Economics" of women through the collectivisation of alienatedlabour’.(7) If we attempt to define a matricentric view of architecture we must take al these things into account. Chris Knight has written about the importance of the collec- tive of women in early human societies. Recent archaeological work has shown that from a very early period in the Palaeolothic thereisevidenceofstabilityofsettlements, far more highly developed among the SLATE 8 PAGE 18 Matrilineal households tend to be larger and require higher ‘space standards’ than patrilineal societies (10), there iscommunal cookingandablurringofboundariesbetween References between inside and outside, public and privatespheres. Theretendstobegreater I ledge of natural ph ja and (1) Paton, Keith, 1978 “Which Way Home” PaperstotheWorldCouncilofChurches (2)Reuther, Rosemary. 1976 Talk given to the SCM Conference inManchester 1976 (3) Briffault, Robert, 1972 The Mothers, ‘London Hardly any women entered the field of professional architecture, partly because of the restricted opportunities for them to tion of culture may require the external- isation of internal processes but does it form a sane society? With a matricentric view, the rites of passage of life, birth, London, George Allen & Unwin 3 volt, She maintains that the Indian women were the architects of their communities, often designing and constructing dwelling units, as well as designing and producing related objects such as blankets which determined their wealth. Women also designed, fabricated, erected and owned the tipis which were remarkably adapted to the lives of the Indian communities. cultural preservers The role of women in architecture was which were mainly due to ingrained social prejudices. Itwas not until 1916 that a school of architecture for women was started, almost inadvertedly by Henry Atherston Frost, a young instructor at the Harvard School of Architecture. Ihave said ‘not until’, but in comparision with the situation in Britain it was really remarkably early. The history of the Cambridge school forms a very intriguing part of the book with a description of Frost's short of expectations. It makes references approach to design and constructiont,he be reintegrated into the built form? The earliest cities often acted as total mnemonic symbols. (memory systems) London Tavistock Publication Ltd. 1974 (5) Delphy, Christine. 1970 “The Main Enemy, @ materialist analysis of Women's Oppression” childhood. Present alternatives such as Marxism, far from liberating women, has abandoned the female realm altogether in favour of the male realm of alienated labour. The citizen througha number of bodily (6) Conference of Socialist Economists pamphlet In Ruether’s words itis-‘the emancipation 2»,ercises such as procession, seasonal festival: No, 2. on the “Political Economy of and sacrifices identifies with the sense of Women” 1977 placeofthetown,withitspastandpresent. (7)Reuther,R.ibid. integration of land design, isi Indiansthanamongthepioneers,although policy,andthewayinwhichaveryhigh to on the suitability of the su studyofdomesticarchitecture,ofa‘feminine taste’ and refers to ‘this female attitude’, also quoting Frost as saying “ women seem to be as yet not as creative in their design work as men are”, but does not discuss the value of such statements. It could be inter- -preted as implying that these statements are true hecause of women’s conditioning. It would be interesting to see a study of how theworkandapproachofwomenstudents in schools today differ from that of male studentsandjudgeiftheirisanyvalidity in Erikson’s theories of Inner Space. However, that might be for the future, for the present, “From Tipi to Skyscraper is a fine and stimulating study which should prod us (and specifically NAM’s Women’s Group) into a good deal of solid discussion and research. SLATE 8 PAGE 19 It is a process both concilitory and integrative. Rykwert’s conclusions from his examination of early Greek and Roman towns reinforce these ideas. The acting out of the foundation (10) Ember, Melvin, 1972 An “‘Anrchaelogical of any settlement (or temple maybe, even a mere house) becomes the dramatic represent- ation of the creation of the world or the Indicator of Matrtlocal versus Patrilocal Residence, U.S.A. American Antiquity, Vol. 38 Nos.2 1973 humanbirth.Thisdramaisintegratedinto (11)Rykwert,Joseph1970“Theideaofa Town" London Faber and Faber 1976 As we seek to end alienation at work and to and to ity in our work- ing domestic lives we may look to anthro- pology or to the distant past for examples Civil War, women from the Northern States set up the US Sanitary Commission (1861) went to the front line to inspect and super- -vise the choice of sites and to enforce healthy conditions within the camps. Those women’s experiences in the war gave them confidence in their abilities in that larger domain which many of them longed “Both women and men architects are confronted today with this choice: they can continue to support, by becoming part of, the office pyramids until the architectural profession is so weakened in purpose that it looses its value to society. (And this has already begun to happen ), or they can attempt the difficult alternative of restruct- of alternative possibilities before us. may explore new kinship groupings or be forced like the battered wives to rediscover the benefits and trials of collective living. There will be a variety of paths to our goals, The study first documents the historic contributions of women in American architecture, secondly, analyses the under- -lying social and economic reasons for the present situation; and thirdly proposes ways for. In the industrial regions, middle and -uring the profession, schools and office ~ expedient or reformist solutions. London Women's Research and Resources Centre. 1978. Originally published in France in 1970 (8) see Dames, Michael. 1978 The Avebury Cycle. London, Thames & Hudson. 1978 (9) Shuttle, P. and Redgrove, P. 1978 “The pioneer women were also trying toprovide more confortable and healthy houses and communities. However, as the frontier closed their ‘proper social role’ became confined to the home and church, and they were given the role of ‘cultural preservers’ by men, They turned their mindsto‘domesticscience’which included “architectural style, good taste, economy, physical and mental health, supervision of workers, structure, site selection, heating and ventilation, plumbing furniture design and fabrication; and of course, efficient plan arrangements.” These women were grappling with the current technological and social innovations while the men were discussing styles of architecture. At the same time, that women like Catherine Beecher were dedicating them- -selves to transforming domestic duties into the profession of domestic science, others like Harriet Stowe went beyond their own homes. Many women found that they had to go out to work for the money and chose teaching, social science and nursing. Seeing the havoc of the proportion of graduates managed to combine marriage and professional work. an unfulfilled dream In 1942, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design opened its doors to women and the Cambridge School was closed. Doris Cole conclued this section of the book with “Theideaofaschoolofarchitecturesolely for women is perhaps out of date, nor was itthefinalaimoftheCambridge School; but the School’s aim of encouraging women in architecture is stil an issue and a dream that has not been fulfilled.” The most relevant part of the discussion takes part in the final chapter of the book which examines the role of women architects today and the way in which women have moved outwards from domestic architecture to handling building projects of al types. However, the actual carer prospectsfor women have not improved; indeed, women are more disadvantaged compared to men than they were 30 years ago. Doris Cole discusses the current re-evaluation of the proper concerns of architecture and the office structures and hierarchies in which most architects work. Wise Wound” London Gollancz 1978 Reading Urban History Progress emerged, in response to those fears, several discrete specialisms, Urban, econ- omic, industrial, social, army and navy histories took their place alongside polit- ical history as distinct subjects in their own right. [11] : Furthermore, historians themselves had to face a profound conflict, The idea of progress which had underpinned the validity of their moral judgements no longer appeared satisfying or respectable, Ithad become tainted with historicism. (the beleif that social and cultural phen- omena are determined by history). Oh the other hand, without any alternative, there was a danger that history would be vulnerable to an invasion by sociology orMarxism orboth. In 1944, Butterfield pleaded for a return to the old methods “Those, who perhaps in the misguided austerity of youth wish to drive out the Whig interpretation are sweeping Facts According to EH Carr, “history is a record of what one age finds worthy of note in another” [1]The facts of history are thus simply those facts which historians have selected for scrutiny. The process of selection itself is dependent on the goals of the historian and his society. Few nineteenth century historians considered that there might be a dichotomy between facts and interpret -ations. The role of history was to establish the facts. The collection of historical facts was assumed to be a similar venture to the accumulation and classi- -fication of physical and biological data undertaken by scientists of the same period. Historical facts were believed to be analogous to the facts of natural science. That is to say, they were verifiable empirical realities. Historians therefore undertook the enormous task of assembling facts in the belief that when their work was complete a definitive history would be the result. The historians’ approach also coincided with the positivist methodology of the natural sciences which maintained that hypotheses would rise automatically from a study of facts .Scientific explanations consisted of a collection of chainsofcauseandeffect.[2] has pointed out to the editor of IBP Bulletin (not Peter Murray) itis amusing, if not frightening, to see how the reporting in the journalists’ in-house sheetis just as one sided as the stuff they tum out for public consumption. And what happened to the event in the other papers? It may not have been as exciting as the latest press release from the RIBA or some Government department but then how often are the informers and formersofprofessional Opinion subject to scrutiny and discussion in public? Once is obviously too often as far as the architectural magazines are concerned. “The historians interpretation of the past, his selection of the significant and the relevant, evolves with the prog- ressive emergence of new goals, Whilst the goal appeared to be constitutional liberties and political rights, the hist- orian interpreted the past in constit- utional and political terms. When economic and social ends begin to replace constitutional and political ends,historiansturntoeconomicand progress,themainstreamofBritishhist- bypartsofthepaperwhichsaid.well, fromthisyear’sRIBAConference In short, it was the empirical approach which refused to recognise that a theory must be implicitly assumed in order that certain facts should be selected instead of others: SSE social interpretations of the past” [9] By the second half of the nineteenth century the continuing growth of popul- ationin uready crowded cities and the fear of a breakdown inmorality health and of the social order itself, led intell- ectuals to become preoccupied with the working class as a social problem. This in turn led to three main approaches, The first was a reaffirmation of the values of individualism, stressing the role of self- help, philanthropy and education. The second approach, that favoured by the Fabians and social imperialists, attacked laissez-faire capitalism because of its inefficiency and waste. Itargued for greater state involvement, comprehensive and disinterested central government, and greater colonial exploitation. The third approach, the “new liberalism” as Stedman Jones calls it, combined both approaches and advocated a form of welfare state linked to compulsory self-help. All three approaches shared the common trait of linking social theory to detailed propo- Sals for social reform [10] Up to the first world war, however, it was stil difficult for a British historian to conceive of historical change except as change for the better. But after 1918 Britain moved into a period in which change was associated with a fear for the future, * Where previously there had been one monolithic political history there now ory according to Stedman Jones[13] has remained steadfastly empirical. The new goal, it will be suggested, is social justice. In the next essay it will be argued that this is a necessary defence of the existing socialorder. © REFERENCES: 1, E) H., Carr - “What is History” 2. E: Hobsbawm -“Karl Marx’s contribution to histiography” in “Ideology in Social Science” ed R. Blackbum p.266 3. G. Stedman Jones -“The Poverty of Historicism” from R: Blackbum p.113 4. H.J.Dyas (ed) -“The Study of Urban History” p 364 5. ditto ibid p.365 6. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 97 7. ditto ibid p98 8. ditto ibid citing Charles Kinsley in 1861 they were about the close liaison between the editorial and advertising departments of the architectural papers. Phil’s analysis was obviously not far wide of the mark if the apoplexy it induced in several of the journalists present is anything to go by. Needless to say the meeting got no coverage in any of the papers that were referred to during its course, inspite of the little cohort of architectural hacks that marched up from the bar in the wake of the great editor, for al the world like a White House press corps that hadn't hada story for six weeks. But it did get coverage safely out of the public’s eye in a little journal called IBP Bulletin which circulates exclusively among the hacks themselves. This paper isthe organ of the little known International Association of Building Press to which they al belong and whose chairman isno other than Peter Murray. The article on the NAM meeting written by none other than Jan Vulture, a name for misogynists to conjure with, is only remarkable for its extended references to the Great Editor/Chairman himself at the expense, of course, of the prospectus intended to give a true fortaste of the event? Most likely. POOR ARCHITECTS? Another nail in the coffin of professioanl independence a few weeks ago when the RIBA accepted a£10,000 handout from the building materials producers. Seven big firms put up the money to float a special Trust Fund to “foster greater co-operation and mutual understanding in the world of building”. Half of the Trust Committee's members are nominated by the sponsoring firms, and for their trouble they are also getting free space at this year’s RIBA Conference to show their wares. Not bad going for the materials producers, who are, incidentally, economically the most powerful and monopolised sector of the building industry: not only do they get reasonably-priced advertising but they also have a say in how the money they have paid for itisspent. Itshouldn't be too muchof a surprise then that half of the Trust Fund has been allocated to help 50 ‘poor architects’ (the AJ's phrase) to attend this year’s RIBA Conferencewheretheywillsee,among other things, the displays of the seven philanthropic companies. Well. SLATE 8PAGE 21 “Those who tried to create theory out of the facts never understood that it was only theory that could constitute them as facts in the first place . Events are only meaningful in terms of the structure which will establish them as such.” [3] It may be noted that this nineteenth century resistance to explicit theories was still evident at a conference of British Urban Historians held in the 1960s. Many of the participants felt that hypotheses were synonymous with prejudices and argued that ,,“‘we are trying to empty out our preconceptions”[.4] Kellett for example insisted On the primacy of the facts: “Whatever we do must be founded upon an adequate block of promising’ source material . and this is what every historian must start from, no matter what instructions or thoughts may have been put in his head” [5] Judgement and Individualism ‘thehistorian,havingascertainedand marshalled the facts, could then proceed to evaluate the evidence. The values under- SLATE 8PAGE 20 -pinning the interpretations were those of the historian’s own society. Moral judgement was substituted for theories, which were regarded as dangerously speculative[.6] Closely associated with this was the belief in the free will and moral responsibility of the agent. EH Carr has suggested that since, in the early stages of Capitalism, production and distribution were largely in the hands of single individuals, the ideology of the new social order emphasised individual initiative: “History thus concentrated on the deeds of great men and the institutions which they created, modified or resisisted[”7’] Neither the subject of histary nor the historian were recognised as being products of their own societies. History became the study of great men subjected to the moral judgements of other great men, Charles Kingsley in his inaugural lecture as Professor of History at Cambridge in 1861 stated: “To tum to:the mob for your theory of humanity is about as wise as to ignore the Appollo and the Theseus, andtodeterminetheproportionof the human figure from a crowd of dwarfs and cripples” [8] ' The first essay in this series suggested that the dominant and most influential approach to Urban History in Britain is empirical, that is to say, it is based on knowledge derived from observation. It was contrasted with the ‘theoretical approach which is based on knowledge obtained by the conscious application explicit theories, The most important and well developed of the second is to be found in Marxist histories: The characteristics of empirical historiography were described as follows: a belief in the primecy of observable facts; implicit theories containing assumptions about the goals of Society; the individualisation of history and the isolation of the area being studied from other contemporary and historical events except by way of cause and effect. Empirical urban histiography itself evolved from the‘liberal’ approach to history which emerged in the nineteenth century. EE THE LIBERAL APPROACH Added to this was a sense of history as progess. Progress, that is, not only in the transmission of acquired knowledge and skills from one generation to the next, but as a part of ajourney towardsa finite destination, E-H. Carr suggests that this optimistic view which originated in the Jewish-Christian tradition was adopted and secularised by the rationalists of the Enlightenment. History then became progress towards the goal of the perfection ofman’s state on earth. It'will be seen that this has largely remained the view of many modern historians. Only the defin- ition of the goal is disputed. In 19th century England the goal was liberty and the rights of the individual (Kingsley at least did not equate these with equality) MURRAY BALLS AND ITS DERIVATIVES a room which cannot fong remain empty. They are opening the doors for seven devils, which, precisely bec- ause they are newcomers, are bound to be worse than the first. Whig hist- ory was one of our assets - it had a wonderful effect on English politics” Butterfield need not have worried, ~ Peter Murray, editor of Building Design stretched his critical faculties to the ful when he described a paper written for the SLATE committee by Phil Windsor as a “load of balls” at a NAM meeting recently, and then proceeded to threaten legal action against anyone who repeated the “allegations” he alleged that it contained. This petulant yet touching display of modern sensitivity, and moral contradiction, was prompted Despite the influence of the conservative Namier and the socialist Tawney, both of whom rejected fact accumulation, moral- izing and liberal variants of the idea of Ts this unfortunate little drawing of a room full of faceless architects taken 9.E.HCarropcitpps110-111andp.124 more positiveaspectsoftheevening's 10. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 103 11, EH.Carr op cit p. 138 12. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 106 citing ~ Professor H, Butterfield in “The Eng- lishmanandhisHistory”1944 13, ditto ibid p. 110-111 conversation. (see elsewhere in SLATE). Ms Vulture’s concluding platitude about how useful the meeting had been for the journalists there typically ignores thefactthatoverhalfthosepresentwere lay people who made, between them, the most trenchant points, but then, perhaps, she did not notice. As Phil Windsor SLUTWAC NEWS FROM of insisting on exclusive coverage of buildings they illustrate or describe. Fascinating though they were.the FEMINIST DESIGN AND BUILD GROUP PROPOSED PDS GROUP LOOKS FORWARD After the May 1978 PDS Conference and the publication of “Democratic Design” the enlarged PDS Group isnow trying to undertake further research. Most of the ideas developed over the last six months need examples and case studies to back themuporchangethem.Abroadquest- ionnaire iscurrently being drawn up. The areas we need input 'tolare:- a. office hierarchies and office democracy b. job architects working directly with users c,thierelationshipofjobarchitectsto departmental and committee structures d, the action of L.A. architects over finan- cial constraints and standards 2, the history (formation and growth) of departments .thepotentialforgreateraccountibility fyou could help us with information in iny of these areas or wish to help us in any way please contact through PDS Group, c/o 5, Milton Ave London N.6, post part one (year out) architecture student required to work in small inner city community practice in Birmingham. Starting salary:£2500pa. apply in writing to: B.U.D.A, Lozells Social Development Centre, 173, Lozells Rd., Birmingham B19 1HS tel. 021-554 3278 | special C) otier! A free copy of the NAM Handbook to al new NAM members. if you’ve decided not to join NAM. ORDER FORM toNAM9,PolandStreet,London,W.1. PleasesendmeacopyoftheNAM Handbook to Name . Ienclose S0p; —_—__ SLATE 8PAGE 22 [iytouwouldTiketboeamemberoftheNewArchitectureMovementflIntheformbeloawndmad} ittogether with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00(if | you're employed) or £2.00 (if you're are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | London W.1. | |NAME. | SOp THE PRESS COMES TOA LONDON MEETING Threats of libel action were uttered at the NAM London Group’s third open meeting held in May on the subject of architectural journalism. They came duringa lively debatefollowingthepresentationtothe meeting of paper by the Slate Committee critiscising the dependence of the trade journals should be taking up. The Slate Committee expressed its preoccupation with the process of development design andconstruction,arguingthatdesign workers should become awareof the economic process of which they are part and the nature of work in the whole process of building production, especially on the site. This emphasis was countered by the critiscism that Slate neglected the critiscismofbuildingsassuchandthatit ignored the importance of the completed building in the lives of the tenants or workers who used it. Slate should redress this imbalance, and in so doing may well help promote a more relevent form of archietctural cristiscism involving more non-architects. The meeting was held at the Architectural Association and attracted an audience of about 45 people. It is hoped to publish a modified version of the paper in a forthcoming issue of Slate. 1978 CONFERENCE Cheltenham is to be the venue for the 1978 NAM Annual Congress, booked for the weekend of the 10th-12th November. Suggestions for topics, speakers, and workshops for this the Movement’s fourth annul congress should be sent to the Liaison Group, NAM, 9, PolandSt.,London,W1, Moredetailstofollow. E1979 The open meeting was set up to look at the position of women architects at work, because the group felt that this subject has been, and stil is, totally ign- ored by the profession as a whole. Thegrouppresentedapaperwhich covered the following subjects: 1. Women in education 2. Feminist approach to design 3. An historical study of sex roles 4. Women at work 5. Women in the building trades Duringthediscussionwhichfollowed it became clear that definite action should be taken to try and change the present situation, not only of women at work, but in the attitudes taken towards women in architecture and construction, 7.00 p.m: Wide interest was expressed in setting THE NAM press on advertising revenue, Presented by Phil Windsor the paper Future meetings of the group will be held fortnightly and will be advertised in the architectural press and Time Out etc. Contact: Frenas Bradshaw,14,DuncanTerrace, London, Ni 01-278 5215 Julia Wilson Jones, 48, Sutherland Sq., London SE17 01-702 7775 Sue Francis, 9. St. George’s Ave., London, N7 !01-609 2976 HANDBOOK ...contains information on al NAM’s activities. argued forcefully that because all the trade papers rely almost exclusively on advertising revenue they had to adopt conservative editorial policies and to support the myths of professionalism. Not so retorted an equally forceful Peter Murray, editor of Building Design, and proceeded to defend what he saw as the progressive editorial policies of his paper. Of the four other invited guests Crispin Aubrey, news editor of Time Out agreed wholeheartedly with the paper, describing how his magazine had recently increased its sports coverage precisely because it would attract increased advertising revenue. Martin Spring of Building and Patrick Hannay of the Architects Journal were more circumspect agreeing with the substance of some of the critiscisms made of the magazines but not the analysis underlying them. John Mc Kean, in a carefully considered reply asserted that much more room was left for manoeuyre by the editors before they actually offended advertisers beyond sufferance and wondered why the Opportunity wasnottakentopursue more progressiveeditorialattitudesof the sort Phil had mentioned. After the five invited guests had offered their opinions on the paper the detate was dominated for a while by the dozen Or so journalists in the audience who had come along either out of curiosity or solidarity with their colleagues as they fended off some penetrating questions from others on the floor about various aspects of their work. A favourite topic was the process by which an architect gets his buildings published, which lead freelancer Sutherland Lyall to denounce Poland Street, London W.1. |=wane the practice of some of the magazines allegations, denials and gossip exchanged between the journalists and, to alesser degree, regretfully, the rest of the audience, ' There was an excellent turnout for the did seem for a while to lead the evening into a blind alley. Fortunately few people lostsightofthepurposeofthemeeting and the closing half hour or so was spent in constructive discussion of the issues that 2. Perception of Space 3. History of women in construction 4, Feminist approach todesign 5. Education 6. Legislation The setting-up of the groups will be dis- cussedfurtheratthenextopenmeeting of the Feminism and Architecture group , to be held on monday 3rd July at the Architectural Association Starting at NAM Feminism and Architecture open meeting. About 60 people came to the meeting,mostlywomen architects. upafeministDesignandBuildgroupto take on projects specifically for women’s groups. |ADDRESS. | I | If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement ) for £2.00 to NAM at 9, J SLATE 8PAGE 23 It is hoped to set up a series of study groups to research certain topics. Among the ideas discussed were: 1,Women & the press nn ae Anybody with ideas for the 1979 NAM Calendar, or who wants to help with layout, design production or distribution of the Calendar, please contact the Liaison Group, NAM, 9, Poland St., London, W1, Ane | their say GOVERNMENT policy on housing came under attack recently from North London tenants. At a public meeting called by four Islington co-operatives about eighty tenants got together to express their opposition to the system and levels of cost limits imposed on rehabilitation projects. Most important of the objections to the system was that it tended to force down standards. Insufficient capital was available for most projects and this resulted in the production of undersized flats with inadequate services, More important, some contended, was that essential repairs to the houses were neglected in order to save money. This caused serious inconvenience to the tenants when defects recurred and was also counter- productive economically as piecemeal repairs in occupied flats are expensive. All in al the co-op members felt that their future was insecure, Replying to the criticisms, David Smith of the Department of the Environment (DoE) made several unpopular assertions He claimed that the cost limits were not too low as‘only 15% of the schemes subject to them were actually referred to the DoE as being in excess of them. People expected ‘rehab’ housing to achieve Parker Morris standards but this could not be done. Besides, he said, the evidence that 80% of people wanted to be Owner-occupiers SLATE 8PAGE 24 ! and that space standards were 30% lower in the private sector, confirmed that Parker Morris standards were too high. The Government's aim was to spread the money “thinner and further’, Several tenants took up the question of the referral of projects over the limits and argued that the reason that the referral rate is so low is that Housing Associations are genarally more concerned with speeding up the devlopment process than they are with standards. They cut spzce, services and repair standards before submitting schemes for approval in order to avoid bureaucratic delays. That was why cost limits appeared adequate. Cost limits in rehabilitation are the subject of a campaign being mounted by the North Islington Co-ops. The public meeting was the second event of the campaign which was launched by a demonstration and mass lobby of Parliament late last year. Other questions raised by the tenants were connected with the way in which the limits tend to favour small units, why standards vary from borough to borough and even street to street and why access from flats to shared gardens is often impossible to arrange within the limits. Representatives from the Housing Corporation, the Greater London Council and Islington Council also attended the meeting. INSUE Co-op meeting called ARCHITECTURAL practices run as worker cooperatives are to be the topic of a special one day workshop planned for the autumn, Sponsoring the workshop are the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM), the London Building Design Staff Branch of the union TASS and certain of the unattatched councillors on ARCUK. ICOM would like to hear now from workers in any practices that are already run as worker cooperatives or which have ambitions to become cooperatives. Contact Dave Marshall, ICOM, 31, Hare St., London, SE18. NENT Private sector interests in the building industry are mounting a massive campaign to vitiate the idea of the nationalisation of the building industry. SLATE 9 examines the activities of The Campaign Against Nationalisation in the Building Industry (CABIN) and asks the question what would nationalisation really mean to the workers in the industry and the consumers of their products. Housing policy~ tenants have Also in SLATE 9, PartIII of John Murray’s series on Urban History. SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to 9 Poland Street, W1. SS Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE Group 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 July/ August 1978 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/141ac8f3955ce7b7b2a6f6f950d54f4d.pdf 6513d262bfd0949b3f0d0a93b76137e1 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 9 Subject The topic of the resource Direct Labour Description An account of the resource wil bes m C atpine TarmAc. Bovis | wll meey U he ie THE FIGHT FOR CONTROL OFTHE BUILDING INDUSTRY SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are inc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movements views and activities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership REPRESENTATIVES 4 network of 30 representatives has been set up throughout schools and large prac- al over the country. The only comm- it of each representative will be to receive ) copies of SLATE every two months and to try to sell 4 of them, return- ng €1.00 to SLATE Al this should help SLATE acheive a tar wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more ' Camden comes down on Hunt- ley street AT 6 AM. ON WEDNESDAY 16th August between 250 and 650(reports vary) police, mostly Special Patrol Group, with riot shields, bulldozers, pickaxes and bailiffs evicted 160 men, women and children from flats in Huntley Street, London WC1. It was the biggest ever eviction of squatters in Britain and, more signi- ficantly, the first mass eviction since the introduction of the Criminal Tresspass Law in December last year. Thirteen people were arrested and later charged under the Act although theoretic- ally al 160 people could have been charged U.S. Cu ion indu reacts to uet a writers more ideas and more reps in order simply for building barricades. A court NAM’S FEMINISM AND Archit- ecture group haye been asked by the Policy Studies Institute to submit information on job opportunities for women and their general posit- ion in the architectural profession to the Equal Opportunities Commi- ssion at a meeting scheduled for mid October. A survey was carried out ten years ago on women in higher management and professional positions and a report was eventually published entitled “Sex, Career and the Family ”. Specific reports were then issued on certain of the professions surveyed but one was ot published on women architects. THE UNITED STATES HAS TAKEN a major step forward for sex equality |in its construction industry by prom- oting legislation which obliges emply- ers to take “affirmative actions” in taking on women. These regulations, drawn up by the Department of Lab- our, have already become effective and require a goal for the industry to ensure that 3.1% of it’s labour force force are women by the end of 1978 compared with the current 1.2%. It is intended that the goal will rise to 5% in 1979 and 6.9% in 1980. These prop- osals having not been welcomed by Assoc- iated General Contractors (US's equivalent of our National Federation of Building Trades Employers) who are quoted as saying that the goals are “unrealistic” and would occupy eyery place in their Bureau of Apprenticeship Training schares. Lea Wests C£ aS by An occasional publication produced by Students and staff at the Architectural Association aimed at giving a wider cir- culation to political economic approach- es to urban problems and policies. Issue no 1 contains a paper by James Anderson entitled “Engels’ Manchester: Industrialisation, Workers Housing and Urban Ideologies”. Issue 2 - “Building Capital and Labour” contains a paper by Chris Cripps on the historic devel- opment of British construction capital- ism and unions, a paper by John Rogers on current tendencies in the U.K. con- Struction industry, as well as the full version of Malcolm Bezant’s paper on P.E.L.A.W. summarised in this issue of SLATE. Both issues are available from Plan- ning Publications, Architectural Assoc- iation, 36, Bedford Square, W.C.1. at 75p each plus 15p P+P to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE: become arep.,jointhe group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon SLATE ispublishedbythePublications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group) Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1. Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2 Ste’, n., m., & vt. 1, Minds of grey, Diuish-purple rock easily eplit « smooth plates; plece of cuch ¢d ns roofing-material; pleco of it med in wood used for writing on vencit or small rod of soft~ (clean id oresclf of or renounce oblign- lack, -blue, -grey, modifications sua8cohccurin~;J~-<club, benefit society with small weekly contributions; -~-colour(ed), (of) dark Mulsh or greenish grey; hence slit’x? a, ou}. (Made) of ~. 3, ¥.t. Cover with~s .» (ME clate, fem. of esclat suatt) . hearing was held on the 21st September and has been adjourned until the 4th December. Coinciding with the first court hearing, Dutch squatters demonstrated in support of the Huntley Street squatters by attempting to board up the British Embassy in the Neth- erlands. Fifty seven demonstrators were arrested,heldinjailforfourdaysandthen released without being charged. fight for rehousing. Despite the arrests the Huntley Street squatters were not totally unsuccessful in their fight for rehousing. Camden Council has housed al families in permanent acc- ommodation and single people have been promised alternative shortlife housing. Unfortunately fifty people are stil waiting in a temporary crash pad squat in Fitzroy Square because the typists strike at Camden has dly held up di ingfrom the flats allocated to the squatters. Camden Council has also been prompted to recon- sider its policies for housing single people and promises a new policy shortly. Above al the squat has demonstrated that squatting can continue despite the Criminal Tresspass Law. As the slogans printedonthecorrugatedironafterthe Elgin Avenue eviction in 1975 said: ‘It’s not what THEY say but what WE do that counts.” ). Criticize acverely revicws), scold, rates ©. Propose for oifico etc, Hence 7 WITH A GUN IN ONE HAN D. Xl) n. (app. f. pree.} NEWSAYVAMANEWSKY staff association lacking ‘bite’ A FEELING OF POWERLESSNESS oyer the six recent redundancies at Sir William Halcrow and Partners’ architectural section has caused many of the 700-strongstaff association to question its effectiveness and ability to go beyond liaison on ‘safe’ issues. Halcrows is a large multi-professional practice of engineers and architects number- ing over 2500 persons.The six were selected, so HSA were told, on the basis of their low ‘performance rating’ (an ongoing subject- ive evaluation by the management). This criteria was used to trim Halcrows sails to the slim pickings blowing in from the middle east these days: Arab investment capital has been increasingly diverted to the advanced nations from their native countries and Halcrows commissions have declined in consequence. The staff have also been informed that their productiyity is below par although it was not made clear how exactly this had been measured. Complaints have also been madebyHSAthatsomemajorjobshave been farmed out to outside practices: they have been told that this isbecause these are‘non-profit’ jobs. The motives of the practices in question must indeed be high ! The 6 were al unqualified lower/middle grades salaried staff -a characteristically vulnerable section of the architectural labour force. Many have already left of their own accord and the round of goodbye parties has apparently began to take its tol, on the Halcrovians (ed- perhaps this adds a novel nuance to ‘natural wastage’). The upper levels of architectural staff are naturally subdued in their criticism of the redundancies owing to the fear of their own security -a serious consideration for the older staff. HSA has set up a working group to review it’s relationship to management and they are eager to take a more positive role in the practices’ future. Recruitment to HSA has been fairly slow (25% at present) amongst employees and UKAPE have also a 15% membership. Both feel hampered by their size- without a significant proportion of the staff neither is likely to acheive recog- nition and without recognition their appeal is limited. NAM ®group meets E.O.C. womens gq tas hesWg re Archie meets the SAI unattached news Monopolies Issue A delegation of representatives of unatt- ached architects met with the Minister of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, John Fraser on July 26th to discuss the implementation of the proposals in Way Ahead’. Also attending the meeting were government legal advisers and the Office of Fair Trading. The proposed fee system was discussed in some detail and it was explain- ed to the Minister that by abandoning the ‘ad valorem’ system and replacing it with the unattacheds’ proposals, a system of standardised elements of service and rec- ommended ranges of cost afforded a safe- guard to the public against unreasonable price increases and a check to the profess- ion against unhealthy price cutting. By combining the widespread overseas prac- tice of charging on the basis of the cost of the service with the familiar UK procedure of secret tendering, ‘Way Ahead’ offered | London W.1. | NAME ADDRESS. London W.1,| the best solution to the Minister's criteria of benefiting the public interest whilst be- ing non-injurious to the profession. The unattached stated that they accepted the recommendations of the Monopolies Comm- ission and that the Minister should now re- quire ARCUK, the statutory body, to am- end its rules forthwith so as to permit un- attached architects to freely quote their own fees. The unattached left the meeting confident that the Minister would no longer permit the Monopolists to persist in con- straining those who had no wish to perpet- uate the monopoly. Corporate Advertising Corporate advertising by the RIBA is to be strenuously opposed as itdiscriminates against unattached architects. Either re- gional directories should be published by ARCUK covering all architects whether employers or employees or if the RIBA goes italone the unattached representatives will recommend to their constituents to advertise individually. Limited Liability Unattached representatives are in favour of architectural practices being Limited Companies believing that the interests of the public and of employees are better pro- tected. Employees can gain statistical know ledge of the practice yia the Companies Act and the client would no longer be mis- lead into believing that practices liability is at present unlimited whereas it is limited by the level of professional indemnity. Education The unattached representatives are to press for representation on the BAE visiting boards and as part 3 examiners from which they have previously been excluded. AP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | Discrimination inEmployment Opportunities Following representations made to the Registrar and an informal approach made to the Department of the Environment, the Local Authorities Conditions of Ser- vice Advisory Board with the NJC have issued a directive to al Chief Executives that membership of the RIBA confers no additional qualification and that advert- isements should only refer to ‘architects’, The unattached are now trying to ensure that similar advice isgiven to other public bodies and private practices and that firm- er action is taken by ARCUK itself. Since the RIBA ‘closed shop’ discriminates against the other associations in ARCUK the Councils of the AA, FAS, IAAS and STAMP are being approached requesting their support on ARCUK. Rule 2.5 and Spare Time Employment The unattached are trying to get ARCUK to issue guidelines to employers to the effect that they are breaking rule 2.5 ifthey attempt to prevent their employees from practising on their own account in their Spare time or entering architectural com- petitions. 1979 Unattached Election Persons interested in standing for the 1979 election to ARCUK should contact the un- attached representatives, c/o 25, St. Georges Avenue, London N7, as soon as possible. You must be a ‘registered person’ and ‘un- attached’ (i.e. not a member of any of the associations listed in Schedule 1 of the Architects’ Registration Act 1931) The present representatives have determined that their tenure should be restricted and that one third of the unattached councillors should decline nomination each year. DIRECT LABOUR below and send it together SLATEat 9,PolandStreet,| | | | | 2POLAND STREET LONDON WI [itvouWouldikeiboe memberoftheNewArchitectureMoveniearfilstheformbelowand ond? | it together with » cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00 ( if | SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to 9 Poland Street, W1. you're employed) or £2.00 (ifyou're are student, claimant or O, | If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in ths form |withacheque/ordpero(spatyaablletoSLATE )for£2.00to LIFTING THE ROOF OFF CABIN. TWO VIEWS OF PELAW. INTERVIEWS: COUNCILLOR TRADE UNIONIST, WORKER taking the roof off CABIN In the publication Building Britain ’s Future the Lab- resents a ready source of public finance which achedarchitect,NAMmem-ourPartyoutlinedtheirproposalsforextendingpublicbuildingemployerswouldliketoturnintoprivate MPshavelodgedobjectionsintheHouseofCommonsproposalsdonotgofarenough.Toomuchempha- berandNALGOdepart- controlovertheconstructionindustry.Buildingem- profitandinvestment.Operationally,theattackwas Suggestingthattheircampaigncontraveneselection Sisisplacedonmakingdirectlabour,andtheprop- Andy Brown is an unatt- Although CABIN claim no political allegiances, their links with the Tory Party, who fully back their campaign, are thinly veiled. A number of Labour Many unionists feel, however, that Labours’ mental representative who ployers became panic-stricken. They launched the works for the London Campaign Against Building IndustryNationalisation spearheaded by the NFBTE and the FCEC. £4m was spent before itbegan to flag last Spring. osed National Building Corporation, competitive with the private sector and not enough on the qualitative and organisational benefits that could tesultfromextendingpubliccontrolovertheind- TheirnextstepwastofocusontheMaylocal withwhichtocampaigninsupportoftheirownfin- electionsand,onceagain,DLOsweresingled-out BoroughofLambethArch- (CABIN)andprovideditwithanunlimitedbudget itects’ Department. ancial interests. CABIN was set up by the construct- ion industry’s two main employer organisations, namely, the National Federation of Building Trades Employers (NFBTE) and the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (FCEC). Their stated aim is to ensure that the proposals never get into Lab- our’s general election manifesto. for particular attack. Most of their efforts were dir- ected at London where 5 out of 14 boroughs select- ed for intensive campaigning were gained by the Tory’s from Labour. This was to be, in the words of Sir Maurice Laing, a ‘practice run’ for a Tory victory at the next general election. TheseatsonCABIN’sdirectingcommitteeare1976[eWIMPRYeeTa) procurementagencyfordirectingallgovernment ais filled exclusively by big-shots from the construction industry’sprivatesector.Full-timechairmanisnone 1976|WOODROW _f2In contracts, which now total 60% of the country’s buildingwork. Another proposal, to take architectural education out of their assumed control and place it in the hands of the Qonstruction Industry Training Board must also be vexing the RIBA. At present, they are conducting a study of local authority architectural practice. It cannot be long before the RIBA are provoked into taking a pro- CABIN stance. other than Sir Maurice Laing, who is also chairman of the building contractor John Laing& Co. Other members include Peter Marley, ex-president of the NFBTE, Clifford Chetwood from Wimpey, Frank Gibb from Taylor-Woodrow, Bil Lindsell from Mowlem and, last but not least, John Armitt who has been ‘loaned’ by John Laing & Co. as permanent director. Six full-time staff have been engaged to work under John Armitt Building Britain's Future sets out a number of proposals aimed at improving the performance, stability and standards of the construction industry. They include the establishment ofa National Con- struction Corporation based initially on the take- over of one or more major contractors, a Building Materials Corporation to be formed by taking over certain manufacturers of basic building materials including fletton bricks, glass and plaster, all of which are currently monopoly controlled, a register of em- ployers and employees to be held by the Construct- ion Industry Manpower Board in order to help pro- mote better working conditions, safety standards and trade union organisation within theindustry, and the expansion of local authority direct labour organisations (DLO’s) with the introduction of in- dustrial democracy in their management structure. CABIN's initial response was to concentrate an attack on DLOs. This isnot surprising. Ever since substantial direct labour departments were set up, over 50 years ago, they have been subject to height- ened attack during the periodic slumps in the con- struction industry. Work carried out by DLOs Tep- 1972 1976 1972 {In 1976[LAING isa] PROFITS BEFORE TAX 1972 & 1976 £s millions Ee toe Festa 1972 [ttm] EE] CABIN have now decided to concentrate on 80 marginal constituencies. They have shifted the emphasis of their campaign to an all-out attack on Labour’s nationalisation proposals. Advertising space | has been reserved in local and national newspapers. Both campaigns against DLOs and nationalisation, although presented separately, are clearly two parts of an overall strategy by private sector employers to extend control over public sector work. 1949, any expenditure which is designed to promote one candidate over another is outlawed. Predictably, CABIN claim that they are not campaigning on a constituency basis but, rather, on a regional basis, although it is interesting to note that a bulletin issued by the FCEC to their members in June describes the ‘marginal campaign’ and stresses that it was going to be ‘very political in nature’. More recently, CABIN have given themselves a face-lift. They have brought in Sue Lewis-Smith, a Wimpey employee who contested Nuneaton for the Tories in 1970, to improve their public image. Sim- ilarly, they have re-titled their ‘marginal’ campaign, the ‘local area’ campaign. TheunionsarehitingbackatCABIN.Thetwo big construction unions, UCATT and TGWU, have both published pamphlets replying to their campaign and supporting, in principle, the Labour Party's proposals. UCATT have made it their policy, through a resolution passed at their annual congress, to cam- paign for nationalisation. They have produced 500, 500,000 leaflets entitled Building Britain’s Future: the UCATT View for mass circulation. Of course, CABIN might quite simply haye given a large donation to Conservative Central Office, but — even with allies in the shadow cabinet like Sir Keith Joseph, former director of his family firm Bovis Hold- ings(building contractor) and overseer ofTory policy — they could not be sure that their money would be spent in their direct interest. Moreover, a0 overtly party political stance would probably cost them the support of those building contractors WhO, - whilst agreeing with CABIN’s overall philosophy, prefer not to bite the hand thatfeeds them —that - ofthe Labour Government. insteadsthey are spending considerable sums of money on publicity gimmicks and glamourous post- ers, stickers, polythene bags and balloons carrying _ i slogans like ‘Say NOto Building Nationalisation’ and “Keep Britain’s Builders FREE’. A public opinion poll has been undertaken. which boasts, ‘if we take away the don’t knows’, that 85% of the public, 877% of construction industry workers and 74% of Labour’: omists. In it they analyse the industry and present Own supporters are against nationalisation. Details of how the poll was conducted do not seem to be available. The right-wing Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) have prepared an ‘independent’ report for CABIN which attacks public ownership by saying that the Labour proposals will not work and are too costly to implement. It has been reported that an anticipated £1m is available to CABIN for when a general election is called. Jaw. Under the Representation of the Peoples Act «tt fete t £ arguments and detailed factual information supp- orting the expansion of direct labour and transfor- mation of the industry to the advantage of work- ers and tenants. The main thrust of their criticism of the industry is directed at the contracting sys- tem. Casual employment, high levels of unemploy- ment, limited training opportunities, unsafe work- ing conditions, high profits, monopolistic price rings poor quality and expensive buildings are all cited as ils haunting the construction industry as a res- ult of the contracting system. In contrast, many large contractors are shown to have made record profits in recent years (see chart). ustry. Meanwhile back at Portland Place, architectural employers at the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) are sitting on the fence even though, with the slump in the private sector, they must be as greedy for public sector commissions as their building employer counterparts are for contracts. They must be particularly worried by the proposal in Building Britains Future to establish a public The Direct Labour Collective, a rank-and-file inter- union group, have published a 100-page pam- phlet entitled Building with Direct Labour prepar- jed for them by the Conference of Socialist Econ- Q. What have Ronan Point and CABIN in common ? Michael Ball isan economist who has been doing research on the construction industry fora number of years. He is also a member of the Direct Labour Collective. 1. WHAT PELAW IS AND HOW IT WORKS PELAW is an experimental Design/Build unit, part of the London Borough of Haringey’s DLO. Like any other direct labour organisation, it can only work for it’s parent authority. Form- ally it is part of Haringey’s Building Works Divi- sion but in practice functions as an independant unit working largely in Housing Action Areas. PELAW began operations in 1975 with a des- igner- manager a foreman-manager and fonr or five manual workers and a single contract. Today it has a capacity for about 12 concurrent projects and an annual turnover of around £600,000. At present the total workforce is about 60 including 10 staff and about SO tradespersons and labourers. Specialist work is subcontracted. Many problems have been experianced with subcontractors, and PELAW hopes to have it’s own electricians in the near future. Contracts are allocated to PELAW by the hous- ing department. Intheory this should be in accor- dance with the annual programme drawn up by the unit, but PELAW has encountered some diff- iculties arising from variations in the flow of work. A steady supply of work facilitates programming and allows more efficient use of laboubry reduc- ing the ‘bunching’ of trades in particular contracts About a third of PELAW’s work has to be tender ed in order to prove it’s competitiveness with private builders. Most of the jobs are conversions of individual large terraced houses into two or three self-con- tained units. The conversion cost for a single property would probably be around £20,000 to £25,000, and the time for completion generally around 6 months. Overall responsibility for PELAW rests with its manager who is responsible, through the Building Manager, to the Borough Engineer. The Borough Engineer forms the link with the elected members’ -the councillors who make up the Highways and Works panel which is a sub comm ittee of the powerful Planning and Development Committee which also controls the Architects Department. ; Internally PELAW isdivided into two functional units and a plumbing unit, each of these having its own foreman. Other supervisory posts are those of general foreman, who oversees the whole manual workforce, and working charge-hands who number more or less one per site. This structure closely resembles that of any other building enter- prise with the four foremen being members of staff along with the designers, surveyor and man- ager. Running parallel to this structure is the ‘partic- ipation ° element in the scheme. There is a month- ly meeting of the PELAW team -the staff (10) plus 6 elected representatives of the manual work- ers (3 from each unit) following by a meeting of each unit. 2. DIRECT LABOUR IN HARINGEY The London Borough of Haringey was formed in the reorganisation of London Boroughs in 1964. Haringey began life with a Labour administration and a considerable direct labour force inherited from the merging authorities - 400 maintenance workers and 220 engaged in capital works. In 1966 a scandal erupted over alleged mis- appropriation of funds on a major capital works project which led to an enquiry and the dismissal of senior council officers. The Tories gained con- trol and seized the opportunity to close down all capital works. When labour regained control agkin in 1971 a small group of councillors, along with the Borough Engineer, felt that direct labour was a more satisfactory method for producing council housing. In the preceding years there had beenashift in housing policy nationally towards upgrading the existing housing stock. Rehabilitation implied a smaller scale of building operation which was emminently suitable for a small direct labour unit. However, the discontinuous nature of rehabilit- ation work makes normal incentive schemes diff- icult to operate and calls for a high level of super- vision. Th e profit-sharing participation scheme devised was seen as a means of increasing incentives reducing demarkation between trades and reducing Supervision. : _ After nearly four‘years, the scheme got off the CABIN SMOKE / SCREEN Jimmy McAlpine inrelaxed mood, Of the attempts by Local Authorities to reform and improve their Direct Labour Depart- ments the PELAW experiment at Haringey is possibly the most advanced. With PELAW Haringey have attempted to introduce the principles of industrial cooperatives into the or- ganisation of a part of their DLO. This approach has its benefits and its drawbacks and here, after a description of PELAW’s organisation and methods, Mal Bezant and Robin Suttcliffe exchange views over the prospect of the more widespread adoption of PELAW’s model. Picture; Associated Newspapers. ground with an experimental unit restricted to a |workforce of twenty. While the more idealistic amongst its supporters saw it as an experiment in workers self management, others accepted it as an experiment in cost-effectiveness and applauded the extension of the profit motive into direct labour. 3. PAY AND CONDITIONS PELAW has no independant source of capital. All its finaances are controlled by the local authrity in much the same way as any other direct labour organisation. Wages and slaries are paid by the Council and all employees are subject to the same conditions of service as their equivalents in other At the heart of CABIN’s campaign to discredit Direct Labour and vilify the idea of the nationalisation of the building industry is a report prepared for them by the Economist Intelligence Unit. This report commissioned to add academic respectability to CABIN’s ideas is ridden with inaccuracies, assumptions and bias writes Michael Ball. ; Co-operative Direct Labour? The Labour Party last year published Building Britain’s Future. Amongst other,well-publicised po- icies, nationalisation of a few of the big building con- tractorswasproposed. Thisfrightenedthecontrac- tors, so the two big employers organisations (NFBTE and FCEC) set up CABIN -Campaign Against Buil- ding Industry Nationalisation -with an initial £4m budget. stil, it does not explain the real nature ofbuilding jobs. Most workers are hired to doa particular task on site for as long as they are needed. The job could lastforoverayearbut,atitsend,workersgenerally have to find a new job. This is casual employment, as can be seen from the low level of redundancy pay- ments in the industry. Even the EIU has to admit that that few workers get redundancy pay. i Contractors have always been generous supportérs of the Tory Party and right-wing groups such as AIMS CABIN has now earmarked most of its money for 80 marginal constituencies to aid the Tories in the forth- coming General Election. CABIN has lobbied MPs and local councillors, and conducted a mass public- ity exercise throughout the country, and also hired the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), well-known €conomic consultants, to produce a 280 Page report for CABIN. In it Labour’s plans for nationalisation come in for attack, as do the proposals for decasual- isation and planning state construction programmes. TheEIUclaimsthatLabour’sproposalswillcost : Suchdifferencesareneverexplained. £1870m to £2745m with additional annual running costs of £395m to £522m. The EIU’s objections to Building Britain’s Future basically have nothing to do with facts andfigures. Even though it paid for the study, CABIN claims not to have influenced the conclusions reached. Asa Subsidiary of the night-wing Economist newspaper however, the EIU was hardly expected to support. Labour’s proposals. Building Britain’s Future att- empted to highlight the crucial problems facing the They rest instead on the claim that building is a com- petitive industry and that competition is necessary for efficiency. Public ownership, it says, will not be competitive, so it will not be efficient. Meanwhile it ignores the increasing evidence of price fixing and Corruption in the industry. construction industry, and it Suggested remedies for overcoming them. It did this by examining certain key features such as casual employment, slumps in output, building monopolies and subcontracting. To an extent, its analysis is limited because it didnot consider the fundamental causesof these problems. This is reflected in the limited nature of its policies. It did, nonetheless, attempt to show that theprob- lems of the industry are not isolated but interlinked In the EIU report no overall picture of the industry Most features of the industry, including employ- ment and working conditions, are the result of eco- nomic forces operating within building. They exist because of the contractors’ need to make aprofit, isigiven. Instead it tries to show that no real prob- lems exist, apart from government intervention. It tries to prove that the factual statements in Building others have to pay the cost. Incompatible conflicts of interest exist, the outcome of which depends on the ownership and control of the industry. The EIU try to show that a state owned building firm-will make huge losses. The only way they do this is to Say that working conditions will improve; costing £147m 4 year if the top ten firms are taken over. This sum isnotbased on evidence about conditions and their costs. It isjust dreamt up to create a loss. In any case, nationalisation does not necessarily result in better conditions. These come through trade un- Britain's Future are wrong. It claims thatworking conditions are good, that health and safety is not al satbad, that employment is not casual, etc. It tries eeSe eeowned,theindustryisthe uaa as al workers in nationalised industries The whole nature of the building process is the. FTheEIU’sdescriptionofthefactsishighlyslanted TealiSsue,atpresent,thecontractorsdominateand Numbers are produced to show that most workers stay with the same firm for more than one year. This 1s supposed to prove that most construction work is not casual. These numbers completely ignore the Lump and most subcontractors’ workers. But, worse determine al of it. Public Ownership can confront these issues. Unfortunately for the building employ- ers, the smokescreen of the EIU report cannot hide The EIU’s explanation of high levels of unemploy- ment iseven more incredible. Unemployment ishigh as many of the unemployed, it suggests, cannot keep ajob down becauseof their temperament, lack of ability or other personal failings! Forgotten is the fact that more construction jobs have been lost in the past four years (over 300,000) than there are build- ing workers registered unemployed. Elsewhere, numbers appear to be invented. When trying to play down the importance of the Lump, the report claims there are only 70,000 -90,000 Lump workers. Yet elsewhere, it claims that there are 200,000 Lumpers! the holes in their arguments, nor the need for change in the construction industry. article istaken. Robin Sutcliffe is director of PELAW. He was previ- ously involved in the estab- is simply the difference between the estimated value of the work done and the final cost. Association indivduals concerned would be transferred to the e appropriate Council departments. So, in the case of manual workers, ending of their secondment would mean transfer to Building Works ‘proper’. In PELAW, inter-trade cooperation means the lowering of demarcation lines. While in general tradesmen would expect to stick to their own type of work, thay might be expected to do some work normally carried out by other tradesmen,¢.g., a carpenter may have to do some plastering or painting. In addition, craftsmen are expected to do some of their own labouring while labourers carry out some of the skilled work. economy. PELAW does not challenge Capitalist norms, it consolidates them more firmly in the sphere of direct labour. council departments. All PELAW ‘staff’ (i.e. al non-manual workers) receive the appropriate salary for their grade. Manual workers have a guaranteed bonus of 50% of the nationally agreed local authority basic rate, and labourers receive the same pay as tradespers- ons. This gives al PELAW workers a broadly similar guaranteed wage of around £90 a week before tax. of DLOs, PELAW’s advocates would argue that it strengthens the case by proving the profitability of Direct Labour. However, many aprofitable DLO has fallen to the Tories’ axe (Wandsworth for instance, featured elsewhere in this SLATE )and incidentally many others have been chopped by Labour too. Far from being a counter attack on Direct Labour’s qssailants of the CABIN variety, PELAW has conceded the major points of their critiscisms. It accepts the need for DLOs tobe judged ona ‘profit or loss’ basis and further concedes that the way toincreased profitability is through the increased efforts of building workers. Most of the ‘progressive’ building industry trades unionists with whom Ihave worked have been struggling to get rid of al incentive schemes.,as the best way of safeguarding their own health and safety, while also producing good quality housing for their fellow workers. While Iwould not think that even the more idealistic supporters of PELAW believe they are building socialism in one DLO, they do, nevertheless believe that Capitalism can be dismantled brick by brick. Unfortunately, reformist approaches to the housing problem and the construction industry In addition to the guaranteed wage or salary, al PELAW members share in the ‘profits’ made on any particular contract. 20% of the profit is retained by theCounciltooffsetlosseswhichmightoccur.The GA remainder isdistributedto al the PELAW members who worked on that particular contract. The ‘profit’ shares are calculated according to the number of hours contributed to the job by each individual and paid at the same hourly rate for manual workers and Mal Bezant is a sociologist with experience of the Building Industry. While at the AA Graduate School last year he wrote an exten- sivepaperonPELAWfrom staffalike.Thetotal‘profit’and‘loss’onanycontract which the first part of this porters as a radical experiment by a progressive Labour council. They rest their casejof\the supposed benefits for its manual workers through its ‘profit-sharing’ and ‘participation’ schemes. |Despite the Left-wing pretensionsofmanyofPELAW’sadvocates,itcame into existence as a political compromise with the assistanceoflocal politicians ofalcolours. All PELAW members are employed on ‘secondment’ from the appropriate department. Although nearly al employees are recruited externally, they are, in fact ‘on loan’ from other ‘departments, so that The argument for PELAW’s inception was essentially a managerial one — that conventional incentive schemes are difficult to operate in rehabilitation work. ‘Profit sharing’ and ‘participation’ wereseenasamoreeffectivewayofboostingproduc- cannotsolvethecontradictionsofthemarket tivity, reducing supervision costs and encouraging inter- trade cooperation. How have these benefitted! PELAW’s manual workers? lishmentofSolonHousing secondmentcouldbeterminatedatanytimeandthe PELAW’s workers receive a better guaranteed weekly wage thafi most DLO building workers and the ‘profits’ after long delays, have begun to be distributed. Profits are paid out on an individual basis according to the hours put in on a particular contract and hence may be asdevisive asany bonus system. Unlike abonus scheme, where rewards are at least roughly calcualbe in advance, and received in the pay-packet two weeks later, the amount of profit to be shared, if any, is indeterminate until thejfinal accountforia job isdrawnjup some months’ Robin Sutcliffe Imust begin by making it clear that the views ex- pressed in this article are my personal views and not those of the London Borough of Haringey. In al industrially developed countries (both East and West) there has been an increase in central management and planning of economies and industry. One problem which has resulted has been the diffi- culty of creating an economy and industry capable of responding to the needs of both consumers and oroducers. PELAW is an experiment which attempts to resolve he conflict resulting from increased efficiency of scale reducing the sensitivity ofan organisation to the leeds of its workers. The mechanism of participation allows PELAW members agreater degree ofcontrol of their work experience and environment. It also attempts to respond to the needs of it’s consumers throughaclose relationship with client departments, which is possible for a direct labour organisation within a local authority. This isparticularly so within” Housing Action Areas. In PELAW the mechanism of profit sharing en- sures that any profit resulting from increased effort isshared equally between al members who contri- buted to it’s production; thus avoiding any possibility of exploitation whilst encouraging productivity. Designers have been brought into PELAW to red- uce the line of communication giving the designer and producer the opportunity of direct dialogue. Whilst this has created some interesting tensions, it has also increased standardisation and reduceddelays. One of the fundamental principles established in setting up PELAW and essential to it’s success has been an insistance on 100% Trade Union membership. In a co-operative structure the role of the shop stew- ard issometimes ambiguous. He isoften called upon to act.as the spokesman for the workers on site, and the views that he has to express are sometimes con- trary to the views he would be expressing in the trad- itional role of shop steward. It is therefore, essential that they are speaking from a position of strength. I Personally do not believe that this dilemma weakens the Trade Union movement, but that it’s resolution is essential if trade unions are to contribute to the control of production. In setting up PELAW there have inevitably been many disappointments, and many questions remain to be answered. One of the most bitter disappoint- ments has been the extent to which external influ- encies and controls have prevented members from being able to control both their own work experience and environment. We have also been disappointed that, whilst progress with rationalisation has been made, it has been slow and limited. Two questions are often raised in relation to PELAW. The first is to ask whether this type of re- form withina capitalist economy delays fundamental change? Idoubt ifrevolutionis just around the corner and therefore feel that PELAW represents as funda- mental achange asiscurrently possible. The second is to question the fairness of requiring DLOs to compete with the private sector in view of the commitments expected of local authorities as em- ployers. This requirement could result in weak DLOs being wound up on the basis of inefficiency. Ithink that ifPELAW or any other DLO isdemonstrably successful financially then the arguments in favour of direct labour become irresistable. It is because of this possibility that private enterprise has become so hysterical over possible legislation extending the areas in which DLOs might work. If they cannot be demon- strated to be financially successful in competition with private enterprise then society must know what the cost of building in safe conditions, with decent facil- ities, training schemes and so forth really is. Finally, however limited the degree of control afforded to the members of PELAW, however great the unresolved dilemmas facing trade unions, Ibe- lieve that PELAW does represent areal improvernent in the work experience of it’s members and the end product for it’s consumers and this applies here and now, not as a possible result of some future society. later, Hence some of the insecurity of the contracting system istransferred toPELAW’s workforce. Inaddition PELAW isdevided into two main functional units thus enabling managementito encourage(competition between units in much the same wayithat conventionalseparation into‘gangs’mightbeexploited. is The main sources of conflict in PELAW have been the recruitmentoflatourandthedegreeof participation. PELAW’s manager, RobinSuttliffe, holds the ___ traditional right to hire and fire ?He has been keen to hand pick the ‘guinea pigs’ for his experimtnt while some of PELAW’s workers have pushed, unsuccessfully for recruitment through trade union branches. PELAW isvariously described asa “cooperative” ‘partnership’ or ‘participation’ experiment. By differing degrees it may be al of these, but what it does not have isworkers’ control. Nor does ithave the independence usually associated with cooperatives. Executive authority rests internally with the manager and externally with Haringey’s councillors. Some PELAW workers disputed this point and ended up on the receiving end of ‘management prerogative’ when their shop steward was sacked and their unit closed down. Nevertheless, despite its many ‘imperfections’, Robin Sutcliffe would claim it as a step in the right (?) direction. In his view PELAW would form part of a strategy of creeping socialism which goes as far as one might expect in the present circum- stances, while, at the same time, being in a positign— to defend itself from attack by an incoming Tory council should therejbe a change at the next election. Inthecontextoftheoveralldeobverathtefeuture and is a strong supporter of DLO’s. Mr David Krause, Director of Construction Services at Lambeth also attended the interview to advise on tech- nicalquestions, industry has been unable to meet the requirements of the country as awhole, particularly as far as the provision of housing is concerned. We can no longer build for profit only. It is a question of building for social need and that requires the ability to turn res- ources when necessary to homes as opposed to off- ices or hotels or whatever else private industry may looktowardsforproWefexipertie.ncedaverybad situation in the early 1970's when we were unable to get private contractors to build public housing at all. We are still suffering from that, so I look forward to nationalisation taking place. SLATE: . Have you any reservations about the Labour Party’s proposals for the nationalisation of the construction industry? TED KNIGHT accountablteo the public, to district and in¢ernal aud- itors to make sure that rate-payers money is safe- guarded. No private building organisation isever sub- ject to the amount of investigation that we are. Ido not beleive that the accountibility issue is one which private enterprise can defend SLATE: How can the nationalisation of the 10 largest building firms be correlated with an extension of direct labour organisations? TED KNIGHT: Ithinkthatthereisaneedforanationalisedindustry centrally to work with local authority direct labour organisations, and there will have to be an integration between them. Isee no great difficulty in that. What it will enable us to do is to a planned programme of building between the national corporation and the local authorities. One of the difficulties at the present ontractors. There is a problem of relating trading ecounts within a framework of municipal account- bility. Here in Lambeth we do produce an annual eport describing our financial position in relation to the works which we carried out. We would hope to ring about eventually a trading account as recomm- nded by SIPFA and by District Auditors. What we re opposed to is rates which are decided by outside ‘ontractors which we are bound to. What we are in lavour of is an accounting system which will indicate hether we are carrying out works efficiently and onomically. XN ye A es some changes in the format of nationalised industries with much more consumer and worker control. We are looking for a more accountable and democratic form of nationalisation than we have at the present moment. SLATE: How would you answer CABIN’s accusation that nationalisation will lead to inefficiency and lack of accountability to the consumer? TED KNIGHT : Idon’t beleive that to be so. The nationalised ind- ustry isaccountable through parliament and through the pressure that consumers bring to bear. As to private enterprise being accountable, they are only accountable to the share-holders. Their priorities are determi>ed not on social requirements but on what is profitable at any particular time. We have found in our local government experience|that private ent- erprise is prepared to take risks which endanger the ation would work out aplanned programme which would enable the DLO to take its place in local work as well as the corporation. There would be overall control because presumably the national corporation would be as subject as we are to internal audit. We would also be able to expand the DLOs when there is a coordination and integration of work with another building organisation which is not liable to go out of business at any time. SLATE: What are the adyantages to a local authority of having its own direct labour organisation? eas such as preventative maintenance for our uilding people to be in at the design stage to give the nefit of their experiance. It is no good architects lesigning without the feedback that the builder is exp- Tiencing on the practical side. In addition, in most of ur major areas of rehab work the project team has gular meetings with residents associations in’ that irea. AVID KRAUSE: itisextremely important that the architect has Sufficient time to deal with design requirements. [think that the most importat role for an architect isin that area. Ithink that sometimes this overrun into! administration and fine detail is thwarting the arch- tect and he isdoing work that he needn’t necessar- not viable when compared with private firms. We have to tender for al our jobs and as I've said we showed a surplus in the years 1976-1977 ofa net saving at tender stage of £4million. That’s of course only one factor, there are other benefits which DLOs can bring and these have been pointed out to the council by the union, I'l say more about those later. No its Tory party policy, they're against the decasualisation of the building industry. DLOs are an obstacle to this and also an obstacle to the’ Ted Knight, Leader of Lambeth Council. A Labour Councillor’s View In the face of national pressure to wind down Direct Labour, Lambeth council has recently declared its intention to expand its DLO. In this interview Ted Knight, Leader of Lambeth Council since last May, explains why his council has taken this decision and why he is per- sonally of the opinion that all council building should be done by Direct Labour. rs. The standards of work that we get from our DLO re certainly not inferior to private contractors and e would say are much better. In fact quality control xercised by our own DLO ismuch greater. farepLet SLATE: continuation of building operations. We are contin- SLATE: Couldyoudescribebrieflythesituationin Wandsworth? Councillor Ted Knight is leaderofLambethCouncil WhatisyourgeneralviewoftheLabour uallyhereinLambeth,forexample,balingoutprivate contractors because they have stretched their resour- ces beyond their capabilities. No-one has been aware of this because there is no accountability We are often in competition with people who are just attem- and prospective labour parl- iamentary candidate for Hornsey. He was formerly chairperson of Construct- tonServicesatLambeth Ithinkit’sanecessarystep.Theprivatebuilding ptingtobuywork.Wedonotdothatbecauseweare ide,capitalworkstenderincompetitionwithoutside Forthepastsevenyearswehavehadalabour Party’s proposals to nationalise at leastpart of the construction and materials industry? AVID KRAUSE: LOs operate as a service department on mainten- The DLO in Wandsworth started in 1897 and is the oldest building works department in England. TED KNIGHT nce work with stringent controls by audit, the other council and in May this year the Tory council took over. Prior to the seven year period of labour control the Tories had run the DLO down to 200 and sold off equipment such as tower cranes, dumpers etc. at less than half their value. During the period of lab- our control the department was built up to a good viable unit of approximately 1000 which had shown asurplusintheyears1976-1977. When theTories took control in May they stated that their policy will be to completely disband the construction division and run down the maintenance division from 450 to approximately 150. The Tories have Stated that this time they will make aproper job of running down the department completely instead of leaving a basis for the next labour council to SLATE: What are the Tories’ reasons for closing down the DLO at Wandsworth? isationinthecurrentsense.Iamnotinfavourof manyinstancestothedisadvantageoftheDLO’s. idalessartificialdivisionbetweenourbuildingside STAN BUSH: merely a bureaucratic change of ownership but want We would hope that a nationalised building corpor- idour architects. We are looking in anumber of Its purely Tory policy, its certainly not that we're D KNIGHT: awhole. Idonotmyselflookforwardtonational- momentisthattheopentenderingsituationworksin elookforwardtoagreaterdegreeofcooperation Ihave no strong reservations about the proposals as TED KNIGHT: Ifavour DLOs because froma local authority point of view because they are accountable to the elected members and to the ratepayers. We are able to have a flexibility in our building programme by using DLOs hot only with elected members but with residents and we are not subject to outside market forces. We have suffered extensively in this borough over the last ten years due to the failure of private contract- AAVID KRAUSE: LATE: ‘ould you prefer DLOs to be organised as o5 any of us would like to see the eventual kingofcouncilarchitectsandworksdepart- builditupagain. ents into design and build teams. Would ‘ou be in favour of such a development? lydo. The building side should provide the practical Service. The architect should perhaps spend more time Onthe first part of what he has to do in consultation associations sc that design standards more and more meet the requirements of the people. ct at Wandsworth ab Stan Bush, Wandsworth DLO shop Steward. he local authority has the immediate facility of a ge labour force to meet any emergency that might ise. They are*able to give a 24-hour emergency rvice. We have something like 50,000 works orders year going through and you could never get a priv- Extracts from an interview with Stan Bush heating fitter and full time conyenor for UCATT, Wandsworth Borough Council DLO in which he describes the Tory Councils efforts to disband the DLO at Wandsworth and discusses the implications of this type ite contractor to meet that situation. of action in the context of CABIN’s cam- , paign. .Service departments (e.g. architects who charge the council the cost of the service) ir as .trading departments (who operate profit and loss like a contractor) Pee a CORPORATION 1139 SLATE: What action are you taking to fight the Tory council’s policies? STAN BUSH Nine weeks-ago we shut down the George Wimpey site in Battersea which employed approximately 80 men. We had definite evidence that they were em- ploying lump labour. There were only two lads there who were directly employed by Wimpeys al the rest were subcontractors using lump labour. We'd lost that tender by 5%. Its only by using lump labour that private contractors could have got the tender. We know for a fact that by working under the same conditionsasDLOsprivatecontractorswouldhave to raise their prices by some 30%. : Eight weeks ago we shut down aJ L Eve Construction job in Garrett Lane, Tooting. This was exactly the same principle again, we lost the tender by some 14% and then we find out they're using lump labour, the bricklayers and groundworkers were lump labour. We've shut down these sites by DLO mass pickets using 200-300 workers on the gate until they remove the subcontractor and abide by the working rule agreement. We're fighting for our own jobs with our own labour and at the same time not stopping any of our own jobs. To stop our own jobs would be playing into the hands of the Tory council. SLATE: Are you getting support from any of the public sector unions? STAN BUSH: The GMW pledged support they’ve got some 3000 manual workers on the council. NUPE haven’t been in contact. NALGO had a ballot for strike action by al the white collar workers employed in the building works, but it turned down strike action. However, they have offered support in other areas such as not supplying work to the private contractors and with- holding payment for work done. We also get support from workers on private sites. At the Wimpey job in Battersea on the first morning of the picket there were some 20 lads from a local Fairweathers site who are 100% against the use of subcontractors lump labour on any site. SLATE: What further action will you be taking in the future? STAN BUSH: Afortnightagoatafulcouncilmeetingwegavethe WhataretheUnionsdoingtocampaign namesofthreecontractorstotheleaderofthecouncil forthesurvivaloftheDLOs? We've given him 14 days to remove these contractors off the tender list. We had written and signed state ments that one contractor approached directly em- ployed workers from the council asking them to go sick and work for them on a cash in hand basis, evi- dence that one was actually using council labour by this method and that the other was using lump labour: |there has been the growth of what we call rank and Rank and file building workers have responded to the threat to the DLOs by enhancing \their organisation to campaign for a growing awareness of the importance of Direct Labour: to their fellowworkers. CLAWS (Confederation of Local Authority Works Stewards) was set up just over a year ago to do just this. Here SLATE interviews the Chairman of CLAWS Peter Carter. file organisation. Especially since the growth of CABIN we’ve had to develope acampaign of explaining to workers within the local authorities, the difference between working within DLOs and working for Wimpeys, Bryants, Laings or any other of the major contractors. So we've had to develope the process of consciousness raising. And we've arranged lots of meeting al over! Britain| we've formed an organisation called CLAWS, which isa national organisation set up to defend the Direct Works departments. It was set up two years ago. CLAWSpublishesitsownpaper‘DirectWords’; seniorUCATTshopsteward For All SLATE Why do trade unionists in thebuilding industry support DLOs? PETER Well, the first thing to say is that it offers a far more secure employment for our members than employment within the private enterprise system. Trade unionists have long fought for nationalisation of the constructio industry, and the Direct Works is, inprinciple, the beginnings of that process. The Direct Works departments work for the community and trade unionists are very interested in their members using their labours in a socially useful way for the servicing of the community, by doing maintainance work and building houses for people, and not for profit. Certainly from a trade unionist point of view we're very pleased that local authority direct works departments aren’t involved in the construction of office blocks or environmentally harmvul projects. the point is that with the direct works, we, ts Ihave said, haye got public ownership inembryo, very successfully in may parts of the country and for trades unionists within them not only do we have decent pay and conditions, but, also, ifyou wotk for Direct Labour you stand a better chance of living a lot longer because the accident rate is far lower than that in private enterprise. Direct works train the vast majority of apprentices for the industry and, in additio) take their quota of physically handicapped people. So| there! you see you've not only just got ajob bu you've got ajob where you can use your labour in a useful way, along with acommitment to the community. Within that commitment, of course, the direct works departments are sympathetic towards the trade union movement and trade unions can therefore grow and develope. Their consciousness can be directed over a whole range of social issues because of the continuity of employment that is associated with working in these departments, whereas, under private enterprise, as is well known, continuity is a very rare occurence. My name is Peter Carter. I am a bricklayer by trade, a member of UCATT Midland Regional Committee, and a SLATE the other hand we have to build these hospitals and pay al sorts of things for care, asa direct result in the first place of the money not being invested in a proper type of enviroment for people to live in. So, in my view you can’t have housing for profitability.if you are going into the profit market, and you're taking on housing, then you're creating slums of the future, and you're turning people into animals as we see can happen with the type of architecture and buildings that have beenbuiltinordertohousethepeople.So,Ithinkit shouldbeasocialserviceandnotbeontheprofit PETER Well, first of al, we realised from bitter experience, that if the leadership of the unions are left to their own devices they produce the opposite effect to what their members desire. So, over a period of years, Direct Works isthat itaffords every opportunity for the workforce, Labour councils, architects,” planners, tennants, the community in general, to be able to form their organisation within the framework of it in order to decide such issues aS high rise flats; to decide to {insulate buildings with 4 inches instead of 2 inches of has joined with tenants, MPs, councillors, environ- -mental groups and so on in a campaign to combat the attacks being made on Direct Works departments The third point is that we are really getting into action now. For instancei,n the authority where I work, Sandwell, the Tories have come back into power and have given away 200 modernisations. They took these modernisations of the Direct Works, put them out to tender and only last night we were told that Wimpeys have got the 200 modernisations. They have never done any modernisationbefore..TheirMImanagersaregoingto community? the the Direct Works lads on the job and asking them how at Sandwell DC public works division. it operates and so son. On topof that they put in a tender figure of £7200 for modernising whereas the Direct Works were doing them for £6300. So, you sec, these are the sort of things we are bringing together. We are having ajoint demonstration with tenantsagainsttheCouncilaroundthetheme*Hands large,justtodispelanydoubtsaboutDirectWorks, of the Directs’ This is telling the Tories, of course, ‘Hand back the modernisations’, ‘no contractors in the borough’ and ‘end the sale of Council houses’. These are the four demands and the Labour Party, the workers and the tenantsare jointly inyolved in this demonstration. And we do hope, of course, eventually our national leaders will get up off their arses and call, as many branches have asked them to for a national demonstration and lobby of Parliament as soon as it reassembles. Those are the sort of th that we are doing. Its not an easy task because the local authority workers have been the least active in terms of struggle in the building industry, as in the 1972 strike, when the local authority workers never came out. This has been the regular pattern over the years. The struggle has always been from the workers employed by private enterprise. That isnow beginning to cahnge. This is an important change because we are having to develope much more of a political struggle. Its not just a question of wages and conditions.Whenyouarefightingyourlocalauthority you'refighfortainenwgwayoflife.Youtrefighting fortheindustrytobepublicallyowned.Therefore raising the workers’ consciousness is our prime task, which cannot be done’jover night. SLATE What do you see as the future potential for DLOs? What principles should they be based on? their tenders are far cheaper and of a far better standard of workmanship than private enterprise SLATE: you anything to say on the point that at the moment they compete with private con- Have tractors on the same kind of profit basis; do you feel that’s the right way to approach it; or should they be seen more as a service to the Yes, well there are two points here. On question of modemisation and maintenance, there is very little open tendering with the private con- tractor. The tendering for work is mainly done on the new building, e.g. houses, schools and so on. There is no tendering for maintenance and by and The second point is,like the health service,hospitals, education and so on, housing should be a social service. The built enviroment should be a right of thepeople. After al, the works of William Morris, ‘useful toil versus useless labour’ is a classic example of how the built enviroment is so fundamental and crucial to people. Their daily habitat in relation to the way they develop. On the one hand you allow the system to build these cronic houses for cheapness, and yet on market. thatthebeautyof The other point is, of course, DLOs: Benefits private sector obtaining more work, particularly when work isshort. The work they envisage the small maintenance force of around 150 doing is likely to be work that aprivate contractor would turn down, awkward non-profitable work or emer- gency work, that sort of thing. Well, Ithink, the future issue facing the DLOs isone as the springboard for Nationalisation of the industry. At the moment the are 575 local authorities throughout Britain that are organised or have their own Direct Works departments employing up to 25% of the total workforce in the construction industry, something like 220000 operatives. Now the beauty about this isthat itisnationalisation, or public o' hip, in a very decentralised way. its not over centralised like the Gas Board and the Electricity Board. Here you have public ownership that is locally controlled through democratically elected councillors, apublic ownership that is accountable to the public at large. Direct Works, at the timeof local elections, usually becomes abattleground between Labour and Tories interms of the rates and al that sort of theing. So yo have a public forum as wal around the Direct Works. They are publically accountable. The books are there for people to see and they are answerable to the community. This is the type of nationalisation that Ithink we should be developing.| That is, locally based, ‘small isbeuatiful’ asthe saying goes, rather than the big, over centraliesd type of nationalisation that we have got at the moment. Claudene Eccleston, aplum ber, is one of four women tradespersons working for Camden DLO. skilled, having a craft, having tools brings men much nearer to nature. The relationship with nature is so important. That gives them, in the proper conditions, the ability to learn the appreciation and the relation- ship between al the beauties that this system has destroyed which we should be working to bring back. And Ithink that with Direct Works there isno limit to what you can begin to develop. Camden D.L.O. A Plumber’s View SLATE How many women work for Camden Direct Labour Department, and how much contact do you haye with them? C LAUDENE There are four of us; two carpenters, a labourer and myself. We work at different depots. Some of us haye met because we are friends, but not through any genorosity of Camden Council. Although the convenor’s steward has been making quite a lot of effort recently to try to organise a meeting of the four of us. Idon’t know what response he’s had from the Management. But, Ihave been told by Management time and time again, that they don’t want trainees, and that Iwas forced upon them by the Union. The union are keen to employ more women in the building department. SLATE: What do you think the main differences are between working for Direct Labour and pri- vate enterprise? CLAUDENE: Iworked for a private firm as a painter and decor- ator. Iwasn’t treated any differently by the men on site. Igot into the job alot easier than Idid into this one. The only differences were the working condit- ions — safety-wise it was rediculous. You were ex- pected to work on very dangerous scaffolding. There was no union, itjust wasn’t tolerated. There were little perks like long tea breaks, turkey’s at Christ- mas, that kept people anti-union. Although the money was excellent. In terms of efficiency, Direct Labour is much like any other firm. There is proportionally more manage- ment and there is so much administration and bur- eaucracy for ordering materials for example. But that is not necessarily the inefficiency of the foreman or whoever,it’s just acombination of things. SLATE: Are there any advantages, as a woman, to working for Direct Labour rather than a pri- vate firm? Review of ‘Building with Direct Labour’ by the Direct Labour Collective. “The profit and loss fallacy is not indulged in at Battersea. Igather that it was quite understood in Battersea that good materials, good and expeditious workmanship and proper conditions of labour were the points to be aimed at, and whether the eventual cost came out above or below estimate the comm- unity benefited thereby in the end.’ So wrote Mr. Williams, an architect, in 1898. Times have changed in Battersea, now Wandsworth, and for the first time in almost a hundred years the future of the Wands- worth Direct Labour Department is in doubt. Local building contractors, among whose number is the Leader of the Council himself, have found a willing ally in a new Tory administration pledged to dis- mantle the Wandsworth DLO. In the late nineteenth century, recall the Direct Labour Collective(DLC), authors of “Building with Direct Labour’, the question of how local authority building was to be carried out was a key political question. Little changes. Faced with widespread corruption and inefficiency among private contrac- tors, the young councils were then as now, charged with the responsibility of fairly administering the vast proportion of building carried out with public money. The unpopularity among private contractors of the answer of the ‘Progressive’-controlled councils in setting up their own building organisations, is readily understoodye,t Battersea, for example, carried out al its building by Direct Labour for many years. Recent propaganda attacks on Direct Labour Organisations by the building trade employers fed- erations are no more than an updating of a struggle which is as old as local authorities themselves. The sharp decline in private sector orders for building is the underlying reason for the employers’ present campaigns argues the Direct Labour Collective, be- cause ‘in simple economic terms, they want more work’, and that means local authority work. The demise of the DLOs would bring twofold benefit to the private sector: they would get the moderate paign against Building Industry Nationalisation) and its forerunners that DLOs are less efficient and more expensive than private contractors are squarely rebutted with extensive empirical evidence no less particular than that used by CABIN. The contrac- tors argue that competitive tendering is the best way to ensure efficiency and value for money in building To the contrary argue the DLC the principle effects of the contracting system, discontinuity of work and the pricing of tenders according to the market for work and not the cost of production results in a steadily decreasing quality of building and reliabil- ity of programme and a worsening of conditions for building workers. CABIN’s campaign against the concept of any form of public ownership in the construction indus- try has raised the question of the comparability of the two sectors. Many of the defenders of Direct Labour have responded by accepting the contractors’ definition of accountability, through the market, the tender sum and the administration of the building contract, and urge the transformation of DLOs into council-owned contractors, so making it straight- forward to prove their competitiveness and value for money. Such achange would, however, destroy many of the potential and actual advantages of a Direct Works Department allocated work directly and charging for it at cost. Submitting the DLOs to similar sorts of conditions as exist in the private sector would result in the same low standards of workmanship and conditions of employment as persists in the world of the contrac- tors. But, however,reassuring the principles of Dir- ect Labour, the problems of organising work where the profit motive is supplanted by concepts of qual- ity and service are immense, witness the occasional scandal that emerges from the Direct Works Depart- ments. This question is too large for even an exten- sive and well conceived book such as ‘Building with Direct Labour’ to tackle, but aquestion that must be high on the agenda of workers throughout the construction industry. The Direct Labour Coll- ective is a group of people working on Direct Labour and the building industry because of the current importance of this pol- itical issue for the labour movement. The Direct Labour Coll- ective :Building with Direct Labour :published by the Housing Workshop of the Conference of Soc- falist Economists (CSE): 116pp, illustrated price £1.75(incl p+p) from CSE, 55 Mount Pleasant, London WC] or 65p for orders through Trade Unions ete. Claudene Eccleston, Camden DLO plumber. the ones who decide whether or not they like you. They assume that the men won’t like you. I’m more of a threat to the Management than to the workers. Most of the men welcome women in thebuilding trade, as long as it’s not their wives or girlfriends. In the intensifying propaganda battle now raging over the future of the DLOs the DLC’s new book provides insight into the way that the Construction Industry is organised and its current crisis as well as a multitude of potent arguments useful for support- ers of Direct Labour. The claim of CABIN (Cam- insulation, contributing to energy saving: to decide SLATE: REVIEW: thetypeofopenspace,tres,necessityofwater,nurse-Yn 4+made you decide towork forCamden ries and so on. The many things that go up to making Direct Labour? the enviroment. The other point which is even more important to me CLAUDENE: isthequestionofthebuildingindustrybeingrelatively J)4socialist,andcertainlybelieveinDirectLabour. labour intensive and stil retaining its craft skills. You If Thadn't have got ajob with Camden Iwould have knowyoucanlookatanyotherindustryinBritainand appliedforajobwithanotherDirectWorksdepart the skill has gone. Its been taken over by machine. But ment. When Itook up plumbing Irealised Ipreferred in the building industry, less than it was thirty years ago maintenance work, you know. I really had in mind thereisstilanelementofcraftandart/andskilllandlits hospitals,schoolsorthecouncil.Thereweren’tan that we need to build on. We need to retain that, to im- incredible number of vacancies when Ileft my TOPS 9 prove that, because the contribution one makes towards training course. Ithink Imust have applied for fourty thebuiltenviromentisverymuchdependentonones jobs,altofirmswithvacancies.Theyalturnedme counter. | C LAUDENE: At the moment, the Council have a scheme whereby if you have worked for two years continuously you are entitled to four weeks maternity leave, and your job is kept open for you. It’s obviously different for women working as typists thanif your on a building site until your eight months pregnant. So, obviously maternity benefits are worth less to women builders in the long run. None of the private firms Iapplied to offered this. But, then, they had never employed women. percentage of Local Authority new and much larger women most of them. The men on site accept me, andarevery friendly. They are protective — in certain ways over protect- ive, but at least that is positive. The Management are information proportion of maintenance work handled by the DLOs, and ,more important, they would be free of the checks on their tender prices that the DLOs’ costs offer. own dability|and skills to make that contribution. Being down, including Camdert initially. Idon’t know why. Claudene Eccleston, aplum ber, is one of four women tradespersons working for Camden DLO. SLATE How many women work for Camden Direct Labour Department, and how much contact do you have with them? C LAUDENE There are four of us; two carpenters, a labourer and myself. We work at different depots. Some of us have met because we are friends, but not through any genorosity of Camden Council. Although the convenor’s steward has been making quite alot of ator. Iwasn’t treated any differently by the men on site. Igot into the job a lot easier than Idid into this one. The only differences were the working condit- ions — safety-wise it was rediculous. You were ex- pected to work on very dangerous scaffolding. There was no union, itjust wasn’t tolerated. There were little perks like long tea breaks, turkey’s at Christ- mas, that kept people anti-union. Although the money was excellent. In terms of efficiency, Direct Labour is much like any other firm. There isproportionally more manage- ment and there isso much administration and bur- eaucracy for ordering materials for example. But that is not necessarily the inefficiency of the foreman or whoever,it’s just acombination of things. SLATE: Are there any advantages, as a woman, to working for Direct Labour rather than a pri- vate firm? C LAUDENE: At the moment, the Council have a scheme whereby if you have worked for two years continuously you are entitled to four weeks maternity leave, and your job is kept open for you. It’s obviously different for women working astypists than ifyour on abuilding site until your eight months pregnant. So, obviously maternitybenefitsareworthlesstowomen builders in the long run. None of the private firms Iapplied to offered this. But, then, they had never employed women women most of them. The men on site accept me, andare very friendly. They are protective — in certain ways over protect- ive, but at least that is positive. The Management are the ones who decide whether or not they like you. They assume that the men won't like you. I’m more of a threat to the Management than to the workers. Most of the men welcome women in thebuilding trade, as long as it’s not their wives orgirlfriends. Claudene Eccleston, Camden DLO plumber. REVIEW: isthequestionofthebuildingindustrybeingrelatively I'masocialist,andcertainlybelieveinDirectLabour. insulation, contributing to energy saving: to decide the type of open space, trees, necessity of water, nurse- What panda you decide to work for Camden ries and so on. The many things that go up to making the enviroment. Direct Labour? The other point which iseven more important tome (7atpENR: counter-_ labour intensive and stil retaining its craft skills. You the built enviroment is very much dependent on ones own ability|and skills to make that contribution. Being skilled, having a craft, having tools brings men much nearer to nature. The relationship with nature is so important. That gives them, in the proper conditions, the ability to learn the appreciation and the relation- ship between al the beauties that this system has destroyed which we should be working to bring back. And Ithink that with Direct Works there isno limit to what you can begin to develop. If Ihadn’t have got ajob with Camden Iwould have jobs, al to firms with vacancies. They al turned me down, including Camdert initially. 1don’t know why. 7 But, Ihave been told by Management time and time again, that they don’t want trainees, and that Iwas forced upon them by the Union. The union are keen to employ more women in the building department. information SLATE: eee Ee Whatdoyouthinkthemaindifferencesare Review of ‘Building with Direct Labour’ by the Direct Labour Collective. “The profit and loss fallacy is not indulged in at Battersea. Igather that itwas quite understood in Battersea that good materials, good and expeditious workmanship and proper conditions of labour were the points to be aimedat, and whether the eventual cost came out above or below estimate the comm- unity benefited thereby in the end.” So wrote Mr. Williams, an architect, in 1898. Times have changed in Battersea, now Wandsworth, and for the first time in almost a hundred years the future of the Wands- worth Direct Labour Department isindoubt. Local building contractors, among whose number isthe Leader of the Council himself, have founda willing ally in a new Tory administration pledged to dis- mantle the Wandsworth DLO. In the late nineteenth century, recall the Direct Labour Collective(DLC), authors of “Building with Direct Labour’, the question of how local authority building was to be carried out was a key political question. Little changes. Faced with widespread corruption and inefficiency among private contrac- tors, the young councils were then as now, charged with the responsibility of fairly administering the vast proportion of building carried out with public money. The unpopularity among private contractors of the answer of the ‘Progressive’-controlled councils in setting up their own building organisations, is readily understoodye,t Battersea, for example, carried out al its building by Direct Labour for many years. Recent propaganda attacks on Direct Labour Organisations by the building trade employers fed- erations are no more than an updating of a struggle which is as old as local authorities themselves. The sharp decline in private sector orders for building is the underlying reason for the employers’ present campaigns argues the Direct Labour Collective, be- cause ‘in simple economic terms, they want more work’, and that means local authority work. The demiseoftheDLOswouldbringtwofoldbenefit to the private sector: they would get the moderate percentage of Local Authority new and much larger proportion of maintenance work handled by the DLOs, and ,more important, they would be free of the checks on their tender prices that the DLOs’ costs offer. In the intensifying propaganda battle now raging over the future of the DLOs the DLC’s new book provides insight into the way that the Construction Industry is organised and its current crisis as well as 4 multitude of potent arguments useful for support- ers of Direct Labour. The claim of CABIN (Cam- paign against Building Industry Nationalisation) and its forerunners that DLOs are less efficient and more expensive than private contractors are squarely rebutted with extensive empirical evidence no less particular than that used by CABIN. The contrac- tors argue that competitive tendering is the best way to ensure efficiency and value for money in building To the contrary argue the DLC the principle effects of the contracting system, discontinuity of work and the pricing of tenders according to the market for work and not the cost of production results in a steadily decreasing quality of building and reliabil- ity of programme and aworsening of conditions for building workers. CABIN’s campaign against the concept of any form of public ownership in the construction indus- try has raised the question of the comparability of the two sectors. Many of the defenders of Direct Labour have responded by accepting the contractors” definition of accountability, through the market, the tender sum and the administration of the building contract, and urge the transformation of DLOs into council-owned contractors, so making it straight- forward to prove their competitiveness and value for money. Such achange would, however, destroy many of the potential and actual advantages of a Direct Works Department allocated work directly and charging for itat cost. Submitting the DLOs to similar sorts of conditions as exist in the private sector would result in the same low standards of workmanship and conditions of employment as persists in the world of the contrac- tors. But, however,reassuring the principles of Dir- ect Labour, the problems of organising work where the profit motive is supplanted by concepts of qual- ity and service are immense, witness the occasional scandal that emerges from the Direct Works Depart- ments. This question istoo large for even an exten- sive and well conceived book such as ‘Building with DirectLabour’totackle,butaquestionthatmust be high on the agenda of workers throughout the construction industry. The Direct Labour Coll- ective is a group of people working on Direct Labour and the building industry because of the current importance of this pol- itical issue for the labour movement. The Direct Labour Coll- ective :Building with Direct Labour :published by the Housing Workshop of the Conferencoef Soc- jalist Economists (CSE): 116pp, illustrated : price £1. 75(incl p+p) from CSE, 55 Mount Pleasant, London WCI or 65p for orders through Camden D.L.O. between working for Direct Labour and pri- vate enterprise? A Plumber’s View CLAUDENE: Iworked for a private firm as a painter and decor- effort recently to try to organise a meeting of the four of us. Idon’t know what response he’s had from the Management. LATE: know you can look at any other industry in Britain and applied for ajob with another Direct Works depart= the skill has gone. Its been taken over by machine. But ment. When Itook up plumbing Irealised Ipreferred in the building industry, les than it was thirty years 480 snaintenance work, you know. Ireally had in mind j there is stil an element of craft and artland skilllandlits hospitals, schools or the council. There weren't an that we need to build on. We need to retain that, toim- ;--redible number of vacancies when Ileft my TOPS prove that, because the contribution one makes towards training course. Ithink Imust have applied for fourty feminism & architecture THE FEMINISM and Architecture Group has had a fantastic response from women aloverthecountry.Todatewehavea contact list of over 90 people, mostly women Several women in the group got togeth- er to produce a panel for the exhibition put on by the International Union of Wo- men Architects in Paris at the Centre Pom- pidou. The panel caused a stir on the op- ening day as it was virtually the only one of its kind at the exhibition. Many people expressed enthusiasm and hoped that more panels like ours might appear in future ex- hibitions. Atageneralmeetingofthegroupon the 31st. August it was decided to set up issue groups on the feminist approach to design, the design and build cooperative, education, and psychology and spatial perception. The aim is for each group to haveitsownsmallermeetingsandtopro- duce discussion papers to be presented at open meetings The education group isproducing a video to show to schools, and they will also be discussing al aspects of education from junior schools to technical colleges and schools of architecture and action that may be taken to destroy stereotyping of male and female roles The design and build cooperative is well and truly off the ground having received its first commission from Clapham Women’s Aid, to convert five houses into a women’s refuge for sixteen families and a playhouse which will provide creche and playgroup facilities not only for the refuge’s families but for families in the immediate neigh- borhood. The group will not just be dis- cussingthecurrentCWAjob butwillalso meet to discuss the future structure of the cooperative, the problems of unlimited liability, and the obstacles to setting up a truly cooperative design and build practice. A general meeting of the Feminism and Architecture Group was held on October 2nd. at which the constitution of the co- operative was discussed. The discussion was by no means final and further meetings on the subject are to be arranged. If any people are interested in joining in these discussions would they contact: Sue Jackson: 703 0911 18 Ph 5SINANTEVEN public design service group: latest moves ‘athe SLATER| | z 5 = S derstand that the RIBA are also submitting their own proposals. A full review of the PDS Group’s report ‘Community Architect- ure -A Public Design Service?’ will be prin- ted in the next issue. Unionisation and the Consultants’ Offices Rejecting criticism that they ignore issues in the private sector, PDS Group members inHaringeyhavegainedthesupportofthe local Trades Council in a bid to add a clause to Haringey Council’s criteria for the app- ointment of private consuitants. This clause would require consultants on the approved listtosignadeclarationthattheyallow their staff complete freedom to be members of trade unions. This, they suggest, will en- able architectural workers in the consult- ancies to appeal to both the Council and to the local Branch of NALGO in the event of victimisation for union activities. A progress report will be covered in the next issue. Reorganisation in Haringey Spare a thought for architectural workers in Haringey Borough Architect’s Service. Proposals produced by the Chief Executive for the reorganisation of the Department were voted out by the staff. At a series of departmental meetings the staff produced their own proposals for the reorganisation of their own department. These are curr- ently being considered by other Council Departments. Reorganisation in Lambeth The liaison group held an open meeting on the Sunday morning. It was a brief : chief aims is to make the Council’s services ‘more accessible and responsive to the needs of local people’. Local people, Councillors and Council staff have al been invited to contribute to the investigation. PDS Group members and NALGO staff re- presentatiyes in the Department of Archi- tecture haye submitted a report which pro- poses a Council design service in line with the ‘Interim Proposals’ put forward at the PDS conference held last May. With Ted Knight as Leader of the Council itmaybethattheproposalswillreceivea warm reception. The findings of the Special Review Commi- ttee are not expected to be announced until next summer. ae example of the new French Architecture Sociale, all the rage on the Cote D’Azur this year and funded by an experimental programme under the EEC’s Common Agricultural Policy to channel investment into retirement homes for sheep. Says architect J-L. Demagogue, pictured in front of his hill-top, post modemism- -style masterpiece: “ Designing for sheep is a challenging and rewarding new field for the, social architect. Their natural social instincts make them appreciative ofthecommunal andsemi-communal zones I like to design, and their docile and undemanding natures mean that I can experiment with advanced construction techniques for the benefit of progress in the building industry.” M. De gue waspreviouslyinvolvedinthedesignof system-built high rise flats in the Ville Ennuieuse district just outside Paris Footnote: French police are currently investigating an increasingly widespread form of fraud, poignantly dubbed La Moutonisme ( sheepishness )as homeless families roam the streets of larger French cities in flocks, on al fours, wearing sheep skin coats turned inside out. Pernod-sur-Mer, France BCaMb a CPE i oI | iBhi ke le\O ~ ey eh TNS leeds group forum The topic of the Saturday session was the NAM constitution. Everybody felt that they wanted to get something sorted out so that the annual congress would not be- come embroiled again in the anarchic, des- tructive kind of discussion that has taken place in previous years. Ten people attended the Leeds Group Fo- rum-asmallernumberthanhadbeenex- pected, but nevertheless enough to provide a range of opinion. The Forum was held in the Red Ladder Theatre Building in the outskirts of Leeds. The building used to be a derelict church hall; it has been taste- fully conyerted with a great deal of care for use as a rehearsal space for the Red Ladder Theatre Group. Some of the Leeds NAM Group worked on this project in a ful time capacity, and it gave a good feel- ing to be meeting in a building which em- bodies some of NAM’s ideals of collective design/work. Ittookussixhourstothrashoutaflex- ible minimal constitution. This, we agreed, would be changed as little as possible; we also devised a set of ground rules which could be revised as the Movement develops. We were exhausted by the end of the meet- ing, and could hardly stagger to a nearby | restaurant; however, we felt pleased that we had managed to produce a document. forum, but a productive and an enjoyable one. It would be good to see the move- ment hold more meetings like this. Lambeth Council have set up a Special Re- view Committee whose task is to examine THE PDS GROUP have submitted areport and make proposals for the overall reorganis- THE SLATER ON HOLIDAY to Reg Freeson, in reply to his request for ation and running of the Council Director- ideasoncommunityarchitecture.Weun- ateandCommitteesystems.Oneoftheir Ourillustrationshowsamostimpressive vo SULTS| ITY IN THE ENV CO bds.tass = newearchitecture movement $th coneress cheltennany & e - feminists & alternative practice education details: 9 poland st londonwt building industry nationalisation novnp Z,7A Ap. == cit > (1%n 00[AA 2 u : we aa?.,,> —- The PDS groun have continued to develop the concept of a Public Design Service, maintaining that local authority practice, if suitably devolved,contains the potential to initiate a publicly accountable form of practice, and held a major conference in April, in Birmingham. 'Community Architecture - A Public Design Service?', a report recently submitted to the Minister of Housing, providing a detailed critique of the RIBA stance, will shortly be available. Congress commences on Friday evening with introductions which set a context for the weekend's discussions, placing NAM into perspective in the profession and industry. Should light relief be needed, you can always escape into the wide tree-lined streets, promenades and parks of Cheltenham, and enjoy its Regency architecture. Developed primarily as a spa town, taking the waters did not agree with everyone, however, as a tombstone in St. Mary's churchyard attests:- "Here lie I and my two daughters Who died from drinking Cheltenham waters. We wouldn't be lying in these damp vaults." If we had stuck to epsom See you in Cheltenham. Book as early as possible please. salts Slate continues to grow in strength, providing an invaluable service to the movement, and a means of communication for all radicals in archiyecture and the building industry. On Saturday the various issue group reports provide introductions to the workshops taking place during the morning and afternoon. After the plenary sessions the evening will be left free for informal meetings and get-togethers; an open Constitution meeting is already planned, and meetings for feminists and Trade Union members have also been suggested. Sunday morning will commence with reports from the Liaison, Slate and Constitution sroups, followed by a debate on the structure of NAM, no doubt centering on the constitution. The Congress will be concluded on Sunday afternoon by the Annual General Meeting. Workshop discussions are loosely organised under the headings of Education and Ideology, and Alternative Practice and the Profession, issues which have been under discussion in NAM for some time, directly or indirectly. The question of Building Industry Nationalisation will also be raised, Speakers from outside NAM will be invited. Thus the workshops are intended both to advance the level of discussion and information to date on NAM issues, and to examine future areas of work which may be undertaken within a NAM perspective, and links which may be forged with other groups. A constitution for NAM will provide the central internal matter for discussion. Draft proposals and papers have already been circulated and have been the subject of the recent Leeds forum. A standing Constitution group will be formed during the congress, which will present a final draft to Congress at Sunday's debate on NAM structure. This year's Congress is to be held in Cheltenham, at the School of Architecture, Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Pittville, Cheltenham, over the weekend 11th,11th, 12th November, a southern location being thought appropriate after previous years in Harrogate, Blackpool and Hull. The conference fee will be £6.00, £4.00 for students and claimants. This fee covers conference documents, a free copy of the newly published Handbook, and meals on Saturday and Sunday. Bar facilities and snacks will be available in or adjacent to the conference hall, throughout the congress. Accomodation arrangements have been left more to the individual than in previous years. An information sheet piving prices and locations of cheap local hotels will be included in the conference briefing, enabling you to book in advance, or on arrival. Alternative sleeping bag accomodation will again be available at a nominal charge, but please book well in advance for this. As the college is somr distance from the centre of Cheltenham, transport will be provided from the station on Friday evening and Saturday morning, and for the return on Sunday afternoon. The Conference Papers will include papers for discussion and reports by the various issue groups on their past year's activities. In addition the 1978/9 NAM Handbook provides a concise introduction to NAM, and a survey of work undertaken by all issue and certain local groups. Congress is central to NAM's democratic structure, the means by which the work of issue groups is endorsed and tasks for the coming year determined. It serves to bring the membership together, to discuss and develop existing areas of activity, to introduce new issues and attract new members, and take care of internal matters by means of the Annual General Meeting. Significant developments have taken place in several areas of NAM activity over the past year. The ARCUK group have strengthened their representation on Council, and have produced suggestions for a new fee system, and changes in the Code of Conduct, in ‘Way Ahead', in addition to their report to the IMononolies Commission, 'Do Not Pass Go'. Both documents contain analyses of the implications that the Monopolies report and allied developments could have for the future of all salaried staff. The Feminism group has developed rapidly, with regular well-attended London meetings, and the probability that a co-operative practice will emerge from this group. NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT 4thANNUAL CONGRESS CHELTENHAM 78 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE Group 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 Undated https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/0900841ced01c11e55660478ce3478a0.pdf 40aa2bf5137158a78e9e3e6854af3817 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 10/11 Subject The topic of the resource Building Users Speak Out. Describes 4th NAM Congress in Cheltenham incl PDS Group article and comments on PDS Group Report to Minister of Housing Description An account of the resource News and features of broad interest to ndustry and to the general public are ine- jtment of each representative will be to t EDITORIAL unattached the Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK) _“Presentatives have been nominated again along with five others and itishoped to fi Help fight the RIBA Gang of Forty Oo |rae wood user , y This is the first editorial that we've written for SLATE -we thought it was time to say standards etc. are only technical problems. But to people who use the buildings its apol- Vs ‘ YZ. wy, NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, A network of 30 representatives has been A unattached numbers supressed ? NINE NAM affiliatedcandidates toallowanopportunityforotherNAM Wy A, SY gSS SLATE ISTHENEWSLETTER OFTHE REPRESENTATIVES publishedbi-monthlyandeditedbythe setupthroughoutschoolsandlargeprac- Wa Movement’sPublicationsGroup. ticesaloverthecountry.Theonlycomm- know- xyTo A seatsupforelectionon penseGUetnelorwerFoumettine CG)aN icals concerned with the industry and the environtient WORK ON SLATE SLATE is published Group by the Publicati unattached representatives on ARCUK.(One per 500 unattached architects or part there of). In view of the much publicised drop discriminates against the unattached = . Much ground has been gained via direct lan Cooper 3 Latentone SLATEe needs more workers, more t year.Amongst (Letters should be addressed to the blu ,moWiseations Writers,moreideasandmorerepsinorderPublicationsGroup) prise. However, aclose reading of other issues raised in ARCUK theRIBAhavebeenthoseofinvestmentolicy CS, C SS old, rate; icoetc, Tenco co.) Byelaw’s definition of a member of the as amember. It appears that, if the RIBA so subscription may stil be counted asmem- bers for the purposes of determining the strength of the Institute as their removal" from membership is at thediscretion ofa special RIBA committee. This directly affects the strength of the unattached as their numbers are calculated on the basis of those left on the register when members of the RIBA and the other minor bodies recognised by the 1931 Architects’ Reg- istration Acts have been accounted for. Could it be that the RIBA is deliberately not removing architects, who fall into arr- ears, from their membership list in order to suppress the true streiigth of the unatt- ached architects? To resign from the RIBA, it appears it is not just sufficient to stop paying the membership fees as many ‘ex- members’ believe but necessary to actually send in a formal letter of resignation. The means by which the numbers of unattached architects are calculated is a subject that it is hoped the unattached representatives will pursue during their next year on the Council. The last year has seen agrowth in the influence of the unattached representatives following their first year which was largely, although not entirely, spent ‘learning the ropes’. Four representatives are standing down this year, a deliberate policy in order (South African shares) a,nd job ydiscrimin- ation against non RIBA members. These and other issues which arise will be pur- 47; the NAM affiliated candidates by vot- ing for them in the coming election and thus help fight for a profession more open © and accountable both to the public and withinARCUK. aes YD I| | 1 yee | SLATE 2 POLAND STREET LONDON Wi : ! I | of the NEW ARCHITECTUTEaT nego wilh tte Office of Fair Tradifg Eddie © Marion Roberts / MOVEMENT,9PolandSt.,LondonW.1, e Roya i chitects HeROYaeacueOonasrerucectswhichisHould|beborneearlyinthisnew Sue Jacks ~teat= © !\ & CONTACT: b is F ary. vote for Tom Woolley John Murray i ‘ haye again been nominated for the affiliated members to gain a working this February z 5 During the past year they have called “TY = Bn eae se 3 or ARCUK to allow al architects equal Although there was an increase in the i 5 « (01)-703-7775 totalnumberof4384wasnotenoughtooaofthepresentFicguitableaes,BobMaltz AS£ last year of 264 unattached architects the Opportunity for ‘corporate advertising’ ir lan Tod 5givemorethanthecurre”ntnineplacesforwh:ich-hepafas sa JohnAllan repardinelarchitectsifces Helis or Walker > = NW ONEWSNEWSNEWS\’ ARCUK UNATTACHED r ELECTIONS what we think we're doing ,so you might itical question. They realise that its their lack feellikewritingbackinlettersoranywhere_ ofcontrolovercommissioninganddesign else in SLATE. which makes those buildings itito failures, We Thisissueisaboutpeoplewhousebuildings wantedthisissuetobewrittenbynon-profess. (all of us) not people who commission them, __ionals as much as possible to make that clear, build them or manage them. Designers tend to If this is a central issue for NAM, there are think that building problems of all sorts, damp, lots of ideas and views to be discussed, and questions of safety, sound privacy, low space SLATE is where that discussion can take place. workersintheprofession,thebuilding receive5copiesofSLATEeverytwo Eeeeugeoete u luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s months and to try to sell 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE All this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- to produce a better, larger and cheaper Institute reveals a very loose definition of ns On (RIBA) membership this came as a sur- small rodof soft~(clean wishes,membersindefaultoftheirannualsuedvigorouslybythoseelected,sosupp-XS ~\ [ifyouwouldtks£b0e smemboefrtheNewArchitectureMovenieatfilaltheformbelaondw send? | it together with 2 chequo/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( you're employed) or £3,00( if you're are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | London W,1, | SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable toSLATE to 9 Poland Street, W1. views and activities to the attention of the possible readership | If you would like to recelve SLATE without joining NAM fill inthé form below and sead It togeth:: withachequeo/ndpero(spatyaablletoSLATE )for£2.50SLATE\at9,PolandStrest,| newsletter. If you would like to work for _ Printed by Islington Community Press SLATE: becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon. 2a St Pauls Rd., London, NI, ‘ The copy deadline for the next issue is Friday 23rd February 1979 Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2 PROPOSALS from the Labour Party for the nationalisation of the building industry provided the topic for an evening of furious public debate when private sector mandarins and trade unionists met at London’s Conway Hall last Noyember. Partial nationalisation of the industry proposed in Labour’s pamphlet ‘Building Brtitain’s Future’ was enough to rouse cries of ‘iniquity’ from representatives of the employers’ orgariigations, while the trade unionists insistedthat total natignalisation would be the only certain answer to the ils of the construction industry The employers claimed that — Nationalisation would remove profit as an incentive to investors who would withdraw their supportand cause a slump in the industry. Because the Industry has such an important place im our economy, a slump would undermine Britain’s balance of payments and perpetuate the inflationary spiral and associated economic blight. — Nationalisation would impinge upon the intrinsic right of Man ,Free Enterprise. The trade unionists replied that — Nationalisation would benefit the worker by providing stable employment with complementary benefits — Nationalisation would aid the creation of a system of building( direct labour Organisations )which would have far greater accountability accountability Nationalisation, despite its obvious advantages over the present system, will not automatically provide an appropriate form ofaccountability whichmustbetowards formore plasterers. To put this strike in its context the re- lationship between SC and Bovis should be made clear. In 1968 Southwark building depart- ment was involved in a major financial scandal losing some £2million and called in Bovis to act as management consult- ants. It seems possible that it was on the advice of Bovis that SC was set up in 1974 to act asa private entity. At the same time it was felt by the Council that Bovis had worked so well that they should be called in to manage SC. It should be pointed out here that this situation is unique.nowhere else in the country does a Direct Labour Organisationhaveacontractwithapri- vate firm to manage it. SC has at present 3 major contracts to build new houses at Newington, Briming- ton and Consort sites. On the 3sites both direct labour and sub-contractors are em- ployed, but sub-contracting ismore exten- sive. On each site there are approximately 140 workers and I1 sub-contractors. This VAS, occupier of buildings both in terms of RIVA practice to government funding to keep themselves afloat in times of economic economics and standards of construction is streamlined, uncertainty. Economic self-interest, While the discussions about the pros and cons of nationalisation Tage on, the evening at Conway Hall was carried by the thetoric of the union speakers who Stirred the emotions of an audience mainly sympathetic tho their cause. Against this union barrage the anti-nationalisation camp, often making weak and ill-prepared statements, were reduced to the level of merely contradicting their Opponents. The private sector have, for numerous years, fpund motivation in profit and accountability to share holders Satisfactory criteriaformanagingoneofBritain’s largest and most important industries. The unions’ answer is a system ofpublic bureaucracy called ‘nationalisation’, but, if there is an iuusue to be discussed in the construction industry, it must be one of Page 4 I however, is not the only cause. Community to the user/ iig a ol. RUBBISH contractors are attacking direct labour in order to secure public sector work for themselves, so private practice architects are looking authority architecture departments and direct labour building organisations. One of the problems of this approach was highlighted in a criticism raised by CAWG ~and one that is also connected with the current debates within NAM between the PDS and Alternative Practice groups. This centres on the need for accessible, independ- ent alternatives to local authorities both before, during and after the conceived transformation of these bodies. In the short term there isan obvious need for alternatives that can help focus local Struggles and force changes upon local authorities; in the longer term such independant bodies can stil play and important role in countering abuses by or degeneration within the public sector. How this can be achieved without posing one against the other, while stil retaining STRUGGLE SUPERFICIALLY the strike at the Newington Butts’ site of Southwark Construction could be interpreted as a dispute over a small number of re- dundancies; but when the history of Southwark Construction and its ass- ociation with Bovis and Co. is re- vealed these redundancies can be seen tobe just a very small part of an attack on direct labour. The strike began on | October this year as a result of a refusal to negotiate over re- dundancy notices that had been issued to 13 carpenters and 5 plasterers on 29 Sept- ember. Although it is Transport and Gen- eral Workers Union and the Union of Con- struction and Allied Technical Trades out paying tax or insurance. Because work is done for a set sum usually it is carried out in the quickest time possible and dir- ect labour workers at the Newington Butts” site have on occasions had to rebuild walls badly constructed by sub-contracted labour. The major formal union organisation in SC is UCATT, all deductions are made at source by the management but many aren’t even aware that they belong to a union. This is coupled with a hand in glove relationship between the management and union. In June UCATT and NALGO were in- formed of the prospective redundancy of 180 direct labour workers and then in August a confidential report from SC sub- committee was leaked to trade unionists. It contained a detailed plan of reducing to zero al direct labour manual workers and running down plant by 1980. It is pres- umed that this plan was made on the ad- viceofBovis. The men on strike at the Newington Butts’ site are direct labour workers who feel that because the private company Bovis is managing SC on a fee system, therefore hiring no direct labour them- selves but sub-contracting work out, this has been one of the causes of the weak continued onp 25 the change of heart? The most obvious stimulant behind the of our proposals still reflect the professional worse workmanship and less likelihood of ideology so central to al of our educational organised trade union activity. SC have and practical backgrounds. If we ‘take this openly admitted to having a ‘hire and fire opportunity, NAM will be able to develop _ policy with regard to employment. This its growing potential for posing an proctical is contrary to usual practice in a DLO. and democratic alternative. R1IB.A.’s renewed interest in “Community Architecture” iseconomic necessity; there haslongbeenaneedforthistypeofservice to community groups, but now this need coincides with a disastrously low work load for private practice. Just as private building Due to the contract system lump labour ie. self-employed labour may be taken on. Such workers are never unionised, work the problems would be solved ifonly people could afford our professional advice. Wouldn't schools then it is to be welcomed.) it be niceif it were that easy! Other key problems relate to CAWG’s continued acceptance of the traditional ‘professional’ role of the architect; and in this context democratic accountability outside the construction process and the breaking of the artifical design/build barrier within it are of litle or no significance. These are problems to which NAM must also address itself more fully. the central importance of the public sector, policy not to accept redundancies UCATT is something which requires urgent thought ifwearetoeffectivelyinterveneingovern- ment policy. be based is architectural education. A karge number of case studies in CAWG’s report are centred on the schools, and if the R.I.B.A.’s recognition of these projects hadinthiscaseagreedtotheactionby management. TGWU and workers had ision. They also objected to the fact that while they, direct labour workers were being made redundant, sub-contractors were advertising in the Borough Job Centre meansaless restrictive policy on the It is in the similarity between the supp- osedly ‘radical’ nature of the proposals and some of our own policies that we can learn most from this report; an examination of these similarities can help us to assess which means that there is a high labour turnover, In the counter-report mentioned earlier, NAM’s Public Design Service Group argue that a fully democratic community architecture whines. BOVISINDLO.forafixedpriceandaspecificjob,with- page 5 VSONE WSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS NEWSWE\WONE BUILDING | Jan meintosh CIFLD not only workers in the industry but also the users of buildings. by public service or by private practice and it is unlikely to be met in the future unless radical changes are made.” These ‘radical changes’ take the form of central If the debate successfully avoided the importance, much as the confidential section remained much more to protect CAWG from charges of being out of touch with community activities than to protect the individuals concerned from charges of fee-cutting, Despite the report’s lack of substance itapparantly represents aradical departure by a section of the R.I.B.A. from its traditional, hierarchical approach to architectural practice. It “sets out the case for a Community Aid Fund to be established within the framework of the Government’s urban programme”; arguing that “there isastrong demand for professional help to community groups which isnot being met adequately, either for delivering the right goods at the right time; everyone knows that, government funding to small scale private practices based in the locality and offering advice and seryices to individuals and community groups, both for actual building projects and for the development of alternative, area-based plans. The proximity of these proposals to these traditionally beloved of the radical left begs several questions. What has produced awakened asmall, but significant number of architects, and a far wider public, to the just ask any young aspiring architectural!TM44equacies of the profession, many have fe not been informed of any pending redund: ( One area in which sucha service could be ancies and opposed the management's dec- FREESON GEi: CAWG student. Somebody, however, must have forgotten to tell the R.I.B.A.’s Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG). With much pleasure, therefore, those of Us connected with the much maligned Public sector, our counter-report on Community Architecture already produced watched CAWG’s inability to meet the deadline they themselves set for submission of their report on the same subject). I am tempted to think that thisdelay Tesulted partly from CAWG’s embarrass- ment at having so little of any merit or Originality to say on a topic of such ‘Teal’ issues of the industry’s dillemma, one speaker among the trade unionists at least was able to strike a relevant note. Though he clearly recognised thepresent predicament to be largely the result of the private sector’s mismanagement, he went on to lay some blame on the unions for failing to recognise their profound responsibility to struggle to influence and change the course of the industry. Perhaps if they did, the political dogmas of nationalisation would be Te-examined more appropriate avenues opened up. ent,wellorganisedandrenowned activistsofthelate’60’sonwardshave attempted to come to terms with these inadequacies without confronting either existing economic, social and political relations within society or the role of the professional in maintaining those relations. The proposals of CAWG must be seen asa result of the sometimes contradictory, Sometimes complementary stimulants of economic self-interest and a somewhat naive liberalism. Viewed in this light the deficiencies of the report become more obvious. It fails to identify the key problem of “community architecture”, that of access to and control Over resources (finance, land, materials, labour etc.) it gives the impression that al unattached news: generally dominates the first part of Council spectacular procedural contortions, meetings. Here the Council in exercise of it its powers granted under Section 7of the Architects Registration Act 1931 considers cases of architects who have been convicted ofa criminal offence -the penalty for which may be removal from the Register. Except in instances of “disgraceful”, as distinct from criminal, conduct -which are referred to the Discipline Committee (Section 7, (2) & (3)) -such cases are normally dealt with by the Council in ful session. On this occasion halfa dozen cases were referred, the first and most substantial of which consisted of hearing representations from Mr F.D. Williamson, an architect from South Wales, who in October 1977 had pleadedguiltytotwochargesofcorruption. The case had involved a “landscape study tour” to Finland in which officials of Swansea Corporation had participated at Mr Williamson’s invitation and partly at his expense. The Council, who had already been furnished with compendious document- -ation was told by Mr Williamson’s solicitorofhisclient’s“distinguished career” and “deep professional commit- -ment”’ as factors to be weighed in judging the severity of the conviction. After an hour of pleading, and a brief retiral of ‘defendant’ and Press during Council’s deliberations, the Chairman users -the prime concern in a case where 50 people died.” Consternation. (The RIBA who had formed squares for the main battle were beginning to break ranks.) less numerous after several discreet depart- —"Yes, Ithink that Principle One ismore Hawser’s Hansard an Inside View Court of the Star Chamber or the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party? “The Mikado” or . Impossible to say.) publication in the Sunday Times of an And so it came to pass, that the RIBA “MuchAdoAboutNothing”?Itisdifficult pronouncedthesentence-“Severe The next meeting was fixed for 14th March to decide exactly which metaphor comes Reprimand” -and agrateful Mr Williamson nearest to capturing the distinctive ambience departed. of the 187th Ordinary Meeting of the (Architect readers who have the mis- Architects Registration Council - the first -fortune to fall foul of Section 7 may care such meeting at which SLATE wasrepresented to be reminded that Section 9 provides a For the uninitiated it may be of interest right of appeal against removal to the to note that ARCUK meetings are held in High Court of Court of Session, whose the RIBA HQ at 66 Portland Place, (a symbolic detail that some have considered unfortunate), in an upper chamber bearing more than an approximate resemblance to 4magistrate’s courtroom -by no means inappropriate in view of the content of much of the proceedings. The honourary officers and Registrar are stationed impressivelyonthehighbench,the Chairman centrally enthroned onasplendid chair, which might well be emblazoned with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit, though possibly Tamm arte quam marte could be a more fitting substitution. The clerks’ table is placed in a central well, with the councillors ranged around in apparently random positions, the press being adjacent to the door to permit ready exit to the hot lines of Fleet Street or even elsewhere. As the minute hand reached two o'clock (1400 hours) andwithattendanceatalittleunder50,the chairman declared the 187th open -his gavel apparently mislaid. THE HOUR OF JUDGMENT order is final...) sent to the Unattached, when they could ITS A MAN’S WORLD Conspicous by itsabsence from a shortnoteintheRIBAJournalfor November on the UIFA* exhibition of women architects in Paris was any mention of the NAM Feminist Group's exhibit(seeSLATE9).Itismorethan ironic that the article goes on to bewail the small number of British exhibitors (the NAM Group and four individuals in all) whilst it ignores, in the NAM group, the only significant grouping of women architects in the country. Just another example of the way that women who \ organisetoexpresstheirideasand aspirations as women are ignored while those who accept patriarchal professional attitudes are lauded. Lncidentally ,of the four individual women exhibitors, two have partner-husbands, Innette Austn- Smith and Heather Hughes-Lomax. * Union Internationale des Femmes Architectes page6 important,” said Bil Allen. (A white haired man, whose name nobody knew, thought So too.) —(Sotto voce) — “Tea has been ready for three quarters of an hour”, someone wispered to the Registrar. —“Letusvoteontheammendment”,boome: Theloss,alas,isyoursgentlereader. the Chairperson, voicing the impatience of at The discussion on ARCUK secrecy, and least a two-thirds majority. freedom of information to the Press would —in favour 11. Against 35. certainly have been the most interesting —“The motion before us therefore reads...” and worthwhile part ofthe afternoon, and (The Registrar had nearly finished writing it would most probably have established the down)Thoseinfavour?48.Thoseagainst?Iproundrulesforthisandalsubsequent Beneath the delicate clink of unmatched the SLATER MARXIST POISON cups, and the muffled crunchingof soft biscuits, schemes were surely afoot, for when the meeting reconvened -noticeably be represented by any registered person, Unattached or otherwise. Ah, but only Unattached were entitled to nominate explained the Chairperson. But how were non-Unattached to Know they could stand shouldn’t everyone get nomination papers persisted the hapless Mr Critchlow (apparantly unaware that for the RIBA itsel the equivalent proposal would involve advising the entire population of the UK that they were eligible to be appointed ARCUK councillors). Registeredpersons were expected to know the regulations, repeated the Chairperson. who squandered his last drop of patience to declare that as far as the Unattached Elections were concericd no change of procedure was called for for less than two minutes, still. an impress gesture. The Registrar reported on the -ures — the Chairperson announced that Item 4 on theAgenda, (Architects Disciplinary Proceedings Regulations 1976. Press Rules and confidentiality generally) was to be deferred, and that a paper submitted by the Chairperson for Council’s consideration was withdrawn. Wewereintotheendgame. TheR (Three more hands had entered the chamber, reports. Moreover, after some spectacular tabled a list of the deceased. All stood apparantly — or perhaps the Press had voted — jublic threats of court martials, following quite unintentionally, through the initiative account of ARCUK'‘s position on of the Unattached, instructed a review of Summerland, the scratching of Item 4 J.CA.R. ~ the trans-Atlantic US /ARCUR ARCUK’s discipline procedures. (Christmas seemed all the more surprising. However. link-up. Mr Green, the D.O.L repres: doubtless more anon. (“The Ides of March made a brief statement confirming the Bit are come” ...etc.) (Embarassed chuckles Govyernment’s rejection of the EL ¢ dratt riddic: Q. Where is the longest distance between two points? A. ARCUK Council.) WhereamIanyway? It’stoohotinhere. It’s Sunday morning, and I’m at the NAM Congress. But enough of this reverie... The Chairperson had already lifted the bales and players had started for the samovar. ONE LUMP, OR TWO? panel, Finance & General Purposes, even the Unattached Councillors looked To judge from the 187th, the tea interval Professional Purposes... hungry. at ARCUK assumes a tactical significance The single point of interest occurred approaching the Final Test at Lords. Batting when an RIBA appointee — conspicuously orders are turned upside down, bowlers are silent hithertoo —asked why nomination Hawser Tranmion scratched, the whole field might be replanned _forms for Unattached Elections were only here,asChairpersondeclaresStanding Orders unsuspended.) DOWNHILL RACER directive. The Chairperson reported “no ne on the monopolies issue. and with papers already being pressed into brief cases. Ure last two itenis were carried by the distineti ARCUK affirmative grunt, which signifies that enough is cnough - if not more than From now on, the 187th proceeded briskly. The Chairperson of ARCUK’s variouscommittesrosetopresenttheir 1979—anhourearliertoallowextraiju respective reports... Admissions, Board of time and as we filed from the chambhs Architectural Education, Education Grants Tnoticed that it was dark outside. and that Keep your © sopen for this harmless looking little chap, hanging out in college bars and buying evervbody drinks: he’s after your money and, if you give him the chance, your mind too. Who is he? George Cameron, the hired recruiting hand of RIBA Headquaters, pledged to implement Gordon Graham's ‘get ‘em young and keep page7 (CIL: Trunnion, on his most challenging assignment yet, brings this report direct from the ARCUK Council meeting of 13th December, 1978. The quasi-judicial function of ARCUK GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS Anyway, after sundry other cases of removal from or reinstatement to the Register had been heard, the courtroom atmosphere gave way to something more akin to the Debating Society of the Lower Remove. Two motions had been tabled by the fearless representatives of Unattached Architects, both referring back to the case of Mr J.P. Lomas, the architect involved in the Summerland project, Isle ofMan, at which SO people died. The unattached, concerned at Council’s reluctance even to “severely reprimand” Mr Lomas, who had been cleared of “disgraceful conduct” by the Discipline Committee, were proposing 4 motion of censure on theDiscipline Committee and calling on Council publicly to reaffirm its faith in Principle 1 of the ARCUK code. Caught between the Scyllaof s theUnattached,andtheCunha apparantly condoning innocent deaths, the main body of Council lunged into i Opposition to the Unattached’smotions crystallised in the person of Mr Philip Groves (ex-ARGUK chairperson) with Nadine Beddington in shrill support. With the ink stil wet, a third ‘composite’ motion was read out “sharing the disquiet regarding Case 122/1/76 (cryptic reference toLomas) and instructing the Honourary Officers to initiate a study into whether the Council’s disciplinary procedures require revision, reporting back to Council at the next meeting.” “At the same time”, Mr Groves proffered, “this Council confirms its acceptance of Mr Justice Devlin’s definition of disgraceful conduct (cryptic reference to the Unattached motion and reaffirms (my talics) .....(!) its absolute support for al aspects of the Code”. But was this hydra-headed proposal really anammendment? Was itnot anew substantive motion? The Chairperson was inclined to think so. —Perhaps it could be introduced if the original proposers would withdraw their motions. —would they? —no they would not. —in which case was it not surely out of order, not having been submitted 24 hours prior to the meeting? —yes, itwas. The Chairperson offered to take the unprecedented step of suspending Standing Orders to allow the new motion to be considered ....(selective treatment?) ....No such accommodation had been offered at the last meeting in similar circumstances apparantly, when the Unattached had sought sought to put a motion from the floor.) —But wouldn’t a vote be necessary to suspend Standing Orders? (someone found 4copy) —yes, atwo-thirds majority was required. —better vote on the original motions first hadn’t we? ~O.K. Number One: “This Council... formally censures....” in Favour ? 8 Against? 38. Numbef Two: “This Council reaffirms its faith in Principal 1. ” In Favour? 10. Against? 35. (Funny, one person short in the second vote, though nobody had left the chamber. Apparently itisnotthepracticeofARCUK toaskfor abstentions in voting. Never mind -it’ll be tea interval soon.) —now, those in favour of suspending Standing Orders? 45. Those against? 1. (The ghost had returned.) The Registrar, who was stil endeavour- -ing to write it down, began to read out Mr Groves’ motion... —“We propose an ammendment...” (The Unattached weren’t done foryet) (deafening groans) —“We must especially emphasise our faith in Principal O;2e, being the only part of the Code giving an undertaking of an architect’s duty of care towards building ‘em policy . Cameron's tactics: infiltration and ingratiation. His purpose: getting architecture students into the RIBA. Be vigilant! Besides the obvious charms of his expense account, Cameron ofa master of disguises, turns up where and when he is least expected, first in Building Design, where he was pictured in a smart suit and nice boy’ haircut, Days later Cameron was spotted spending a suspiciously large sum of money on the bookstall at NAM’s Cheltenham Congress, sporting this time @ ‘soft Marxist’ style perm and a pair of faded demins. Questioned during the Congress, Cameron admitted that the RIBA were paying his expenses but ed that any report he might give them of the event would be purely on @ voluntary basis. He had clearly been sent to observe and get to know the enemy before being despatched into the recruiting field. (AM Intelligence say that this man ‘on is not Known to be physically erous. If you do come across him the best way to deal with him is to ignore him they say. USER SATSFACTION Those who are still convinced that architecture has nothing to do with politics should spare a thought for Mario Across 1. Force equal and opposite to N.A.M. ?(8) 5. Long for trendy furniture. (4) 9. Over 9. Over-publisize Oroglas? (5) 10. Deceptive appearances are the archi- tect's speciality. (7) 11. Register the importance of 1931 (3,2,7) 13. Inverted snob. (3,3) 14, Schools of Architecture Council isa failure if muddled about nothing (6) 17. Tedious outdated material lacking gravity. (5,3,4,) 20. Capital !.if they bear fruit (7) 21. Ruling that sounds weak (5) 22. Beneath aTory resting place (4) - Ruling that sounds weak (5) 23. Professional Purposes with no tone can produce adversary (8) Deorsala whose only connection with the recent Red Brigade trials in Italy was that he designed the courtroom. That was close enough for the Red Brigade, however, who clearly appreciated the significance of both the layout of the courtroom and the connections of its architect and shot him. Wonder if Rod Hackney or one of his ‘community architecture’ cronies at the RIBA would have made a better job of obscuring the power relations behind the legal system and designed a courtroom less prone to ‘user resistance’? SAGS IN THE MIDDLE Aficiandos of architectural cartooning cannot fail to have noticed that our very own Archi Tekt now has two rivals: Old Louis Hellman in the Architects Journal and now Murrayball’s new protege, the SAGS in Building Design. The SAGs are a pot-bellied, flat-footed, unadventuruous and unfunny breed who acquiesce in a grumbling sort of way to the terrible indignity of having to work for another architect. Inspite of the cartoon’s subtitle “a Saga of the Many who Work for the Few’, it goes without saying that, just as in real life, the Many never get to encounter the Few over any real greivances. In fact, after several weeks of boring jokes about contractors’ claims, professors who are never in college and boring the wife with Test your wits in the long winter evenings by trying this puzzle, which has been specially compilde by Hawser Trunnion with a distinct architectural bouquet. Completed entries should be sent to SLATE, 9, Poland St., London, W1, by the end of February 1979. For the author of the first correct entry to be drawn from the sporranalife subscription to SLATE. architecture, the Few have yet to put in an appearance. Among the SAGS’ few endearing characterisitics is that they are scared out of their wits by NAM, whose i headquaters a hapless bunch of the little fellows stumbled across the other week. The two NAM members in the cartoon were were portrayed as two Red Brigade Style gangsters, berrets, stubbly chins and al We print the frame in question below, and the Slater would like to say that he knows who these two people are, but that the sight of large sums of money occaisionally has the effect of blurring his memory. Cheques payable to SLATE WE ARCHITECTS HAVE A DUTY To HELP THESE... 4. Way of quarryihg slate, possibly? (6) 6. Fallow deerin official surroundings (2,1,1,1) Q1,1,) 7. Royal rate of progress is simply revolutionary (4,4) 8. Bread strike sounds like a problem in Portland Place. Ugh! (8,2,2) 12, Type of President that is always brooked (1,7) 15. It’s professional if disinterested, we're Art Supermarket Design role for Unions? quatting Workers Collective assured (7) as TRUNNION S TEASER Origin of much of 1. across (1,1,1,1) 2. Freedom without the law . almost arcane! (7) 3. One Monday it'lcome perhaps (3,9) w 19. Confuse trial to be reinstated (4) Designing for Co-ops Stephen Hayward is a post-graduate student and a Part-time lecturer in Art History. at East Anglia University's Sainsbury Centre for the Visuial Arts in one of last years most highly aclaimed buildings, at least among arch \itects. What architectural critics seem not to notice, however, beside the intriguing form and the perfect construction, is that the building houses a working community of students and teachers. For these people the architectural masterpiece is less than Satisfactory, as Stephen Hayward explains. the University of i The Sainsbury Centre for Visus b e for Visual Arts consists East Anglia ists in vlan of a simple rectangle. The exterior of the ART SUPERMARKET Perhaps the most serious inadaquacies are to be found in the offices and seminar rooms which are built entirely of grey stove-enamelled metal except for the entrance face which isglazed. Despite the assurancesofthearchitectitisimpossibletowork intheseroomswithout theassistanceofartificial lighting. Furthermore, there isno soundproofing so that one is destracted even by the most gentle conversations of your neighbours -and as for lively discussions, the flimsy sheets of the partitions literally vibrate! The ventilation and temperature control are so inadequate that the University has had to issue fans in the middle of Winter. As regards the furniture in the rooms only the chairs and the pinboards work satisfactorily: the tables rattle and vibrate when one is using a typewriter, the filing cabinets tip up when the drawer is opened and even the anglepoise lamps cannot be clamped onto the tables properly. The bookshelves were originally intended to be attached to the walls by magnets, but these proved to be too weak to prevent the shelves crashing dangerously to the ground when laden with books. The potential absoluteness ofthis building There are several more minor disabilities, but in order to remain within the limits of this short article it is necessary to examine the intentions of the architect towards the Art History Sector and to show how he has failed to meet, or just misunderstood, the basic requirements. The architect’s principal aim was to create an impression of openess which he has gloriously achieved to the detriment of two of the most important needs of any academic community — privacy and tranquility. The Sector is overlooked on one side by the Senior Common Room and on the other by a part of the gallery, which is distracting for both students trying to work in the central area and for people in the glass-fronted rooms, the secretaries who occupy the elevated podium are particularly distressed by their exposed position. As regards tranquility, the lack of soundproofing in the rooms has already been mentioned; in addition noise invades the sector from many angles, especially from the AS Senior Common Room and people going to and fro” x between the restaurant and the living area. The so- iN called white noise which issupposed to deaden A irregular sounds isnot only ineffective, but isa ZN particularly unpleasant distraction in itself. aN IGNORES USERS building is covered with oblong corrugated metal panels except for the two ends which are entirely glazed. The interior is shrouded with Venetian O blinds and their appearance is tastefully reflected in the carpet design which is composed of a grey background enlivened by parallel lines of pin stripes ofa lighter shade of grey. About three-quarters of the surface area is devoted to the gallery (officially described as the Living Area), the special exhibitions area and offices for the gallery staff. The rest of the building is occupied by a restaurant, the senior Common Room and the Arts History Sector of the School of Fine Arts and Music. The Arts History Sector is situated between the ‘living Area’ and the restaurant and it is the purpose of this article to examine how this part of the building meets the requirements of its users and, as it evidently fails B Works of art should be enjoyed as a pleasurable aesthetic experience Firstly, itisimportant to point out the simple The walls - they are neither substance nor reality, for they are so ethereal and filigree that they must surely hide endless layers of magic apparatus Page 11 >>> The Art History Sector therefore isvery nearly an unmitigated failure. To a certain degree this is undoubtedly due to lack of effective comm- sunication between the architect and the users. Itis impossible to discuss anydetails concerning the consultation proceedings as this would involve considerable embarassment. However, itis permissable to say that the discussions which took place between members of the Art History Sector and the architect were practically fruitless and the general impression was that the architect was only interested in imposing and defending his designs instead of taking heed of the views and opinionsof the prospective users. Invitations were offered to Foster Associates to take part in seminars and to talk to the students about the centres — both invitations were declined. This arrogance undoubtedly accountsfor the general incompatibility between the space and its users’ requirements, yet most of thedesign faults seem to stem simply from lack of research into the functional as opposed to the aesthetic aspectsof the designs and do not.even live up to-the mechanistic ideals of the architect. The overall result is an extremely dissastisfied group of people who resent the spaces which they are forced to occupy- to do this, to suggest some reasons for its short- comings. Nor do I want to be pointed out the odd technical failings for in England we are beset by architectural Jeremiahs who will gleefully remind you of drips, splinterings or sweatings The slide cabinets in the photography library are another extraordinary example of incompetent design: the drawers jam and the white paint scratches easily. The shelves which support the ; photograph boxes bend beneath the weight, making it difficult either to remove or to replace the boxes on the lower shelves. ; The lecturing facility situated in the living area is positively farcical. Itisinno way divided fromthe gallerywhichisopentothepublic,theslide ; projections are too faint and sound amplification has to be used because the acoustics are so bad. The Art History sector provides facilities for 12 lecturers _,7 clerical members of staff, 2 technicians 178 undergraduates and 14 postgraduates. There are 21 rooms occupied mainly by members of staff which flank either side of a spacious central area lit directly from above and from the south -the louvres creating a pleasant dappled effect. This central area accommodates the general office and the photograph libra;rtyhe former isoccupied by one secretary and consists of a small open office surrounded by white stove-enamelled panels. The photograph library issunk slighly below ground level with an elevated central podium where three secretaries work. and numerous errors of design and construction, Some of which might appear trivial but which are equally exasperating to the user. David Gee is the health and safety officer of the General and Municipal Workers Union “ The idea of citizen participation is a little like eating spinach: no one is against it in principle because it is good for you ”’. How can we devise user-participation systems that overcome the problems of communications between users and designers? Not all users are agreed and the time taken to make decisions can become excessively long. Perhaps an area where the idea of participation can be effectively broached is against the backgroud of the new Health and Safety legislation, argues David Gee, who goes on to urge control by workers over, among other things, the design and layout of the premises in which they work, This article is an abridged and anotated version of an article which first appeared in the General and Municipal Workers Union Journal for December 1978. As this year comes to an end, we will have produced about £140,00m of goods and services, but at a price of about 1,400 deaths from accidents and prescribed diseases, nearly 1 million reportable (i.e. 3 day )accidents and about 25 million minor accidents. Many other deaths, diseases and illnesses will also have been caused by work but they will have been missed by the official statistics. Health and Safety is about reducing this human price of production to as low as possible. That should be the aim of trade unions, and their safety representatives as the new year begins. But what strategy will be the most effective at getting us next year’s production atalowerhuman price? must be provided that allows us to be human without harming ourselves. Otherwise we will fine that not only is work restricted to certain groups of super-fit workers, but that the responsibility for remaining healthy and safe isput on workers. it becomes Our fault for not wearing protective equipment, or for failing to cope with risks, instead ofmanagements responsibilitytoprovideasafeand healthy workplace. We can accept that some risks will always remain, especially in the short term, but the present level of risk can be reduced significantly as the following comments from safety representatives show: “T work in a school kitchen -it was designed to cause accidents. ” “ The controls are at head height, and we fill up the fluid container here with a jug — the stuff just runs right down aur arms and gives us dermatitis. ” j “Yes — we al complain of the noise from the cab but we can't wear muffs — they should make quieter cabs. " “Our new hospital is worse than the old — slippery floors, poor ventilation and lousy waste disposal systems, "’ “Why don't they make filing cabinets that can’t tip over.” “ We've reduced the eye protection area by one thirdjustbyredesigningthemachine ” Workers and their representatives know that premises ,vehicles, machinery and equipment are often badly designed, and the cheapest and most effectivewayofeliminatingdangerisatthedesign specification, manufacturing or planning stage. Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act obliges designers and manufacturers, suppliers and importers to eliminate danger as far as reasonable practicable, from their products, before employers buy them. TRADE UNIONS, THROUGH THEIR SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES WILL;HAVE/TO ENFORCE SECTION 6BECAUSE 1. designers and suppliers could recommend that workers adapt to their products, instead of the other way round; workers will have to use the products and may have a different view about the risks or discomfort that they are prepared to face; .Workers with direct knowledge of the work will forsee hazards and problems that designers and suppliers won’t know about; and employers may not exert enough pressure on their, suppliers etc., without a push from the workers who will use the products, Itis not just Section 6 that needs enforcing. Any ds functions of a safety representative. + The awareness and co- operation of radical sections of the architee- tural profession would help to extend these rights and help enable trade unionists to be deliberately included in thedesign process inthe Suture. This is where trade unions would be acting asidesign critics, and could have their own fully qualified professional designers to advise them how best to feed back their views to the original designer. If accidents and ill-health are to be reduced significantly then these risks ahve to beeliminated or reduced, THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT !APPROACH TO HEALTH AND SAFETY IS NOT TO PERSUADE WORKERS TO AVOID THE DANGERS OF WORK BY BEING SUPER— HUMAN, OR ENCASED IN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, BUT TO MAKE THE WORKPLACE SAFE FOR ALL WORKERS. It is human to be forgetful, tired, less-than-super- -fit, female, old or very young, below average Strepeth or height, or just not average in any respect, and work Page 12 page 13 DESIGN ROLE FOR UNIONS? “employers shall make available information about plans... and proposed changes insofar as they affect health andsafety. " “ Where there has been a substantial change in the conditions of work ( whether because of the intro- duction of new machinery or otherwise ) . safety representatives . shall be entitled to carry out further inspection..." (Reg 5(2) of SRSC Regs } Good trade union organisation will be needed to use and extend theserights so that the trade unions are involved before decisions about new work are taken. Danger, that is risk of injury, ill-health and death, is built into work when decisons are taken to: — produce a certain PRODUCT or SERVICE with particular MACHINES, EQUIPMENT, PLANT, SUBSTANCES housed in particular PREMISES and made to work by workers with SKILLS, INFORMATION, TRAINING and SUPERVISION. “to investigate potential hazards "is one of the “employers shall make available . information about hazards from machinery plant equipment, processes, systems of work, substances . provided by consultants, designers, manufacturers, importers Eee (Reg4{1)(a)OftheSRSCRegs) (Reg 4(i) (Reg 7(2) and Code of Practice para 6(b) from SRSC Regs } decision about what is produced and how itis to be produced needs to be discussed and greed with the trade unions, so that risks can be eliminated at source. But how to we get involved in these decisions? z The Health and Safety at Wotk Act, the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations, and advice form the Health and Safety Commission give us a good start. For example, “What can be done to bring within the procedures for planning Health and Safety the cooperation of the workpeople themselves.”” (Advice to Employers — P16 :HSC) > we SS cis Bradshaw writes on 1 f the Slate Community Centre before setting up at Tolmers Square, where it’s been for years. There they have enough space to store paper ,and have a dark room as well as a print room and layout room Because of not paying for the building, the init- ial financial outlay was small, the collective bought paper at auctions, they did building work,repairs andsetupadarkroom forthemselves. They produce posters either with groups or by themselves which have wide relevance to inter- national issues. Because there.is no strong trad- ition in Britain for using posters for political purposes ,they have created their own distribution network. Theyarethinkingofnewwaysthat posters can be used and now want to start work- ing in other ways as well, for instance they have large Slide Library, have produced a magazine, are page 14 page 15 Collective Squattingasamovement isthemostpositive expressionofdirectactionbypeople whouse buildings. It ignores conventional economic and planning forces but is a response to peoples real needs in an immediate way. Rather than talking about living in a squat, we thought that we would look at working/squatting instead, and in particular the Poster Collective in Tolmers Square, to see what sort of things are possible by direct action. The Poster Collective has been together for Designing for Co-ops some years. It started in the Slade School of Art,usingthefacilitiesthere,thenmovedtoa aims. *workingonafilm,andwouldliketoproduce leafletsthatcouldaccompany theposters. Because they are not working with an estab- lished and accepted medium they think that it is essential that the posters should be cheap, and should remain easily available to people without much money. They don’t charge for labour -they have part-time jobs or are on the dole —so that the cost of the posters reflects only the use of materials andelectricity, etc, The fact that their overheads for the building are so small ,is absol- utely essential to being able to carry out their Finding the building also meant that they could al work together ,rather than in an isolated way in houses or using other organisation’s facil- aties.When they have to move, the date is unsure but probably in the spring ,they will undoubtedly have to pay for space. They want a larger space, where, perhaps, they could share with another politicallyorientatedgroup,andwherethey can extend their work into different areas. At the same time, to keep down the cost of their work, they will probably have to work outside the collective more, to pay rent etc. Squattingcanonlybeatemporyactivity,but a group which uses such direct action can estab- lish a solid basis from which it can continue to operate. Membersoftenantcooperativesareintheunique positionofbeingabletohaveaneffectivesayin the way that their homes are designed, built and maintained. Architect Barrie Hurrell, points out how the situation of the cooperative tenaut differs from that of say a council or housing association tenant, describes how the design worker at Solon Cooperative Housing Services. set out to incorpor- ate the individual and collective requirements of tenant cooperative members into their designs and sets down his conclusions and the Design Group’s experiance of several years of designing forco-operatives. Traditional bureaucratic wisdom has itthat tenant groups will never be sufficiently adept at manage- ment and making decisions to act as collective clients for their own housing developments. Their individual and collective needs as tenants have tended to be subordinated to the needs of allegedly more efficient local authorities and housing assoc- iationsforhousingthatisdesignedprimarilytofit the requirements of management and maintenance methods. Tenants needs are acknowledged only as statistically derived norms. Experiance in tenants and housing cooperatives show,however,thattenantsgroupsarecapableof formulating their own requirements and manage their own completed housing. The funding system for cooperatives is basically the same as for other forms of government-funded housing and this means that housing projects must stil be completed in the same economically viable period whether it’s to accomodate the brief of a small professional development team (i.e. non-user client) or of a collective and permanently changing client such as a housing coop. (i.e. user client) This means that the architect has the responsibility of evolving a decision-making procedure with coops which allows for coop’s full involvement without giving the funding body grounds to condemn these joint endeavors as inefficient because of delays in Programme. Maintaining an appropriate decision- making procedure is therefore of prime importance to the relationship between the two parties. 2.Proceduresthatarenotespeciallyimportantin thecaseofacollectiveclientsuchasacoop.If the architect suggests alternatives for the coop’s consideration there could be large numbers of future tenants involvedin the choice. But such choices are made internally within the coop .mem- bership and the decision making may require long deliberation. The architect must therefore make sure that these decisions (i.e. instructions to the architect) are received at the right time Also repurcussions of decisions should be made clear. Architects of the Design Group now issue coopswithalistofdecisionstobetakenbythe coop which is programmed to suit the design and build work sequence of architects and contractors. Laying out clear procedures for the coups is even more important where the coop is a new one with no experiance of development. Mutual confidence can be established between architect and coopif the coop has a clear grasp of the process it intends to control as client. It can be a painful experiance for an architect designing accomodation for ten people say to be told that some of them feel that they were uninformed for they were not made fully aware of the consequences of their decisions, especially when the architect considers that as much background information as possible has been given. Such situa- tions occur less frequently when the new coop learns how best to deal with such information prb- lems -some coops establish building working parties which act as intermediaries between architect and the coop membership of general decisions such as types of heating, types of accomodation etc. This means that more time can be given to more individ- ual consultations between coop members and the architect as such questions as finishes, fittings and decorations. Also the working parties provide the continuity of experiance required -there isoften a tendency for the individual members losing inter- est in the coop’s builing programmes once their individual accomodation requirements have been met. The following are typical options that are offered to coops by the design group architects(these mostly apply to rehabilitation schemes): 1. Choice of property - architect advises on feasib- The Design Group of Solon Cooperative Housing Services have been working with housing cooperatives for several years during which time certain suitable procedureshavebeenevolved.Theseprocedurescanbe 2.Choiceofaccomodation-architectsuggestsalter- be divided into two categories: 1.Procedures that al clients should be made aware of by the architect e.g. the coop is briefed on its client role and its relationship with the architect and contractor. Generally the whole range of approvals and contractual agreements must be understood by the coop. ifitisto obtain max- imum benefit from the architect’s services. Also Testraints of cost, planning and building regul- ations, and funding body requirements should be made clear. native “unit”’ arrangements e.g. a house after conversion could provide three two-person flats one household of five single people sharing amen- ities etc. Choice of type of conversion -a coop with mem- bers with some building skills may wish to see the contractors work concentrate on the structural side i.e. new exténsions, new opening to give larger rooms etc. ifcertain members of the coop wish to do some of the work themselves. Anoth- er coop may opt for minimum structural alter- Barry Hurrell is a mem- ber of the Cooperative Design Group ofSolon Cooperative Housing Services in London. ility of scheme for different properties available. Squatting Workers Y Page 16 Thesechoicesapplytoalschemes.Theparticular configurations of different rehabilitation schemes also allow for other choices e.g. would the co-op like direct staircase access from above ground to rear gardens, and if rear extensions are envisaged can terraced roofs be included. In general the co-op decides on what amenities and standards it wishes to achieve within the available cost limits. After looking at the background to the architect — co-op relationships and the attempts to make it effective, conclusions can be drawn from the experienceofbothco-opandarchitecttodate. Firstly, how satisfied are co-ops with the architect’s service? The answer to this question very much depends on the co-op’s expectations, and on just and complicated by the vastness of the range of considerations. In the Design Group’s experience it is fair to say that once the co-op membership realises the nature of the development system within which they are working, they value their sunday how many of these can reasonably be realised by thearchitect.Theco-opmembershiprightly wishes to achieve maximum results from its building building programme. The opportunity to employ architects and other professionals that results from their membership is in most cases an opportunity theycouldnototherwisehave.Oneoftheattractions buildingdevelopmentsisfraughtwithdifficulties Over 80 people including many new faces met together at the Gloucestershire College of Art amongst the homes of retired Col- onels. By 9.00pm on the Friday night the Coll- ege minibus had ferried sufficient numbers from the NAM bus stop at the station (a welcoming sign). Watches and time pieces were mentally adjusted, as in previous years, toenabletheeventstorunasscheduled for the following days. After abrief introduction and history of Cheltenham from our hosts Gerry Met- calf and John Hurley, there prevailed an air of anticipation and purpose that motivated the following days discussions. Referring to the tensions between long term aims and short term tactics, John Allan said ‘that while the former could not be achieved quickly, some of the obstacles barring the way could be removed immediately. Our predicament is not a question of millenium or Monday, but an affirmation of millenium and Monday.” saturday Saturday began with Tom Woolley dis- pelling the premise, had anyone had it, that Architects are shaping the environment, pointing out that only 29% of building is done by Architects of whom 75% are em- Ployees. The following workshop debates were noticeably less heated than those of the first two Congresses, reflecting the ack- nowledgedaimsanddirectionsoftheMove- ment, later to be spelled out in the adoption of a new constitution. The various NAM groups reported on their year’s activities; thesuccessoftheMonopoliesgroup-inthat thatthegovernmentfinallylooksasthough Two new groups were born at this Con- gress, a Professional Issues group to back up the work of NAM’s unattached councillors, and a Student group. Although very few students are members of NAM, those att- endingtheEducationworkshoppressedfor thenewlyappointedfultimeRIBAStu- an autonomous student group to ensure that dent Councillor, in attendance (camouflaged NAM’s views are adequately communicated in denim of course!). to the schools. A Sunday lunchtime tour of Cheltenham of co-op membership isthat the-architect must respond directly to the membership’s requirements. However, most members have no previous experience of what standard of accommodation can be realised within government funded schemes. Therefore some members initially expect to get more than is reasonable. relationship with the architect and feel a real Creche facilities are to be refined and pro- vided at future Congresses as requested by the Feminism group and those attending this Congress with their families. To avoid disappointment the architect should do as much as possible to ensure that the co-op has a clear idea of what the end-product will be. One co-op was disappointed with the standard of finishes. This could have been avoided if typical finished ‘units’ had been available for inspection by the co-op. Also there isoften acertain healthy wariness within the co-op of professionals. Therefore itisdoubly important that the architect makes sure that the co-op considers only those options that are reasonably attainable. This involves explaining what can be afforded within government cost limits and sometimes advising as how non-standard housing amenities could be alternatively financed, e.g. some co-ops want solar heating for which funding is scarce and therefore difficult to include in the building works. Co-ops want to know exactly why they cannot haye the things they would prefer. Some co-ops wanted to look at the possibility of * co-op members acting as suppliers to the main contractor,e.g.whereaco-opwishedtoemploy carpenters from its membership to produce high quality kitchen units, how could their work be integrated with the contractor’s programme. To datethissortofbuildingendeavourfromwithin theco-ophasnottakenplace,probablybecause involvement in the creation of their living spaces. It is the architect’s role in facilitating the membership’s exercise of power over their immediate environment which is probably the most rewarding aspect of working with co-ops. Full details of each group and al Con- gress resolutions are to be reported separ- ately. the interested members are deterred by the financial risk of a new work venture. However, building works for short-life have been done successfully by building worker co-ops from the main co-op membership. This isbecause the standard of workmanship need not be so skilled as for permanent rehabilitation, the programme constraints are not so tight and contractual arrangements less formal. To date, the labour contributions from co-ops in the permanent rehabilitation schemes has been clearing out the properties, the occasional piece of fitted furniture and decorating. NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT | Another lesson learnt by the co-ops is that the time available for architect co-op liaison once building work commences is less than in the precedingdesignstage.Contractorscanclaimfor delays on site and speedy on-site decisions are often required to be taken by the architect when unforseen situations occur. Notification rather than consultation sometimes occurs. Therefore a continued happy architect/co-op ralationship depends on the co-op having confidence in the architect's professional judgement when acting alone. Co-ops are now invited to have representatives at al site meetings. There also has to be a balance between the co-ops sometime conflicting requirements of extensive consultationandadherancetoatightprogramme. The Design Group attempts to operate somewhere between the businesslike office with streamlined standard procedures and the type of group that whilst giving maximum attention to full consult- -ation and being flexible in approach runs the risk of extensive delays. Congress Intro. friday The attempt to give full effective control over their environment to the co-op membership within the maze of restraints that nowadays apply to al The workshops on Alternative Practice and the injection of a punk band at Satur- andthePublicDesignService,seenasdiff- day’sdiscoaddedtotheexcellenthospit- erent approaches to community architecture. ality and fine food provided by ourhosts. The 4th. NAM Annual Congress held in Cheltenham over the weekend 10- 12th. November proved again the value of open debateindevelopingNAMpolicyandideas. inghamgroupinestablishingitself. Sunday’s AGM thrashed out the coming year’s policy and participants left knowing how much has been achieved in the three it will grasp the nettle after thirteen years; the successes of the Feminism group after only one year; the continuing work of the ARCUK, PDS, Leeds, London, Unionisation and Education groups; the decline of the Cardiff group as its members join various issue groups; and the difficulties of the Birm- years since the first Congress at Harrogate, andseekinggreaterachievementsplusan increase in membership during the next year. Over the past year the membership has grown by more than 30% at a time when RIBA membership was in decline,so it was no surprise to find George Cameron, highlighted the tension between the ideol- ogies of Public and Private sectors prevalent outside the Movement. While reform of both sectors is being sought, the two groups view- ed their task as an affirmation of the millen- ium and Monday principle. The PDS group argues that a community architectural ser- vice should be based on the Public sector, making use of a reformed existing structure and these views have recently been sub- mitted to Minister of Housing, Reg Freeson. Those involved in Alternative Practice stressed the need for a community aid fund. Eddie Walker reporting on the work of ARCAID stressed that they lacked time to explain their community role and they were indangerofbeingseenasacheaplabour ss BiSSrux force, acting as the pawn of Liberal Coun- cillors for Tory individuals in anti-CPO cases. The debates carried on into the even- ing session when participants wereshown work carried out by ARCAID in Leeds and Support in London. (A few may think that itisthe charitable names that are mislead- ingpeople).Furtherjointtalksaretotake place between these groups, meanwhile it was accepted by both groups that they would work in parallel. Reform of the Pub- licsectorwillnothappeneverywhereon Monday. ations and a higher standard of finishes and fittings. .Choice of fittings and finishes- architect offerrs choice of type, quantity and range of fittings e.g. bath or shower, more of one grade of kitch- en units or less of a higher grade of unit etc. The feasibility and desirability of retaining existing floor and ceiling ‘inishes eg. timber floor boards or plaster mouldings are looked into. 5).choice of heating -the coop’s main concern here is one of fuel bills. To date the architect advises on the relative merits of gas, electricity and solid fuel heating. Wherever possible existing fireplaces are retained when desired -insome instances aroom will have a working open fireplace plus a gas con- vector heater on the external wall. > u4th ANNUAL CONGRESS CHELTENHAM ‘78 er Student Group Students, for the most part, are only vaguely relevance to our and NAM’s situation. These (if at all) aware of the existence of the New issues were aired in part immediately after- Architecture Movement, and are thus ignor- wards, and consolidated further later in the ant of the importance and relevance of its day resulting in an evening Workshop which P.1.Group began to hum before disbanding for the Al- theory and practice. |would suggest this is ternative Practice Slide Show! struck by mass indecision due to surprise incidence of overlapping categories. Plenary session turns nasty and calls for heads of organisers! ” .Fortunately it did not aims, policies, and successes in terms of primarily due to NAM’s political stance, which in turn is strongly related to ‘real To summarise perhaps too naively, we felt NAM to be reluctantly conscious of, but notgearedto,recognitionofavastnumber world’issuesrequiringchange. Two problems immediately arise as a re- of people who, quite simply, are potentially sult of this -the ‘real world’ more often than tomorrow’s Architects -and that ishow the nothaslittletodowitharchitecturaleduc- StudentGrouphascometobeformed.Still we quote below: acheived and quite adequate.” Thankstoeverybodywhofilledonein and we hope that they will keep up the dialogue in the bunch of letters that we anticipate for the next issue. The Group also presented the financial problems affecting SLATE: about 95% of each print run needs to be sold if the issue attended by about 20people. Inevitably theinitialdiscussionwasaboutARCUK what is it for, what is it, what does it do how does it work, who runs it, what should it do, what could it do, and why the hell are we involved anyway? For a quick. crude answer, its a public interest body set up ation (despite what the Schools of Archi- tecture would profess to the contrary), and the content of architectural courses them- selves is fundamentally apolitical, one of the reasons being to “liberate the mind to fac- ilitate good design” (whatever that is), pol- iticsbeingviewedasaninsuperableandcom- isgood,bad,orindifferent-andwhy; “General impression: I’m sure it’s all very good stuff and going in the right direction. However, it doesn't actually grab me as a magazine I want to read in detail, probably because it doesn't talk to people in precisely my situation, i.e. in straight private practice andveryfrustratedwithit.However,it istobreakeven—difficulttoachieve, keepingalistosarchitects(1know, Big plex barrier which mitigates against creat- ivity 2)Asaresultof1),todrafta‘manifesto’ which will have as its base an education representing student needs and aspirations inrelationtowhattheyfeelanArchitect should be; geesSate mefofindmoreideologically evenforanestablishedpublication.Cash Deal!):ithasaCouncilmadeup cceptable employment . Ifyou were seen returns from the salespersons network h almost entirely of architects( It takes one to be more relevant to gay, feminist, libertarianbeen incomplete al ere naa Ma x to spot one! )mainly nominated by the Symbolic of this, only avery small num- ber of students attended the Cheltenham Conference, despite advertising in the arch- itectural press (which students hardly look at); most attended through an interest in andawarenessofNAM itself-othersthrough theviewtoimplementingthepracticeof Marxist(butnotLeninist)Quakers,Iwould Jind the paper facinating. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, I think it should be broader rather than narrower. Minorities within minoritieswithinminoritiesareusedtobeing out on a limb. “T welcome the development of SLATE towards a wider market (leaflets in Roof, PDC outlets, etc.) — it should therefore become more of a wider magazine without introverted architectural in-talk. It should include more regular features on topics such ashousing,community, constructionof 1000 words and some larger features and theoretical articles. Far more illustrations 8S thePublicationsDistributionCanaa RIBA;itcouldtakeastrongpublic a ‘friend of a friend’! Naturally, the Education Workshop on the Saturday afternoon seemed a ‘must’; were to al intents and purposes excluded from NAM’s view of Education, due to a seeming muddled intellectualism which ser- vedtoignoreissueswefelttobeofdirect the contents of the ‘manifesto’. Ishould immediately addthatall who are interested in this field, besides students, are debate will no doubt range over a yast num- ber of topics implicit in the word “Educ- ation’ -so much the better. Personally, I believetheGroupshouldnottreadatent- We'd also like to hear from the numerous salespersons who have neglected to return cash or their unsold copies. There’s suspicious of ‘professionalism’ and of page 18 very much in its infancy, our basic aims are: 1) To stimulate real thought ( with conse- quent questioning) by students, in all Schools of Architecture, as to what their architectural education is teaching them to become, and whether that education by parliament to protect the public by 3) To lobby all bodies responsible for the structure of architectural education with werealways about six monthsbehind publication date. Both of theed factors meant that, in ea NAM had hsidisedtheeae byaaan amount since its inception. But should SLATE aim for financial independence? We’d like to hear your views on this question. protection role but is dominated by ‘professional’ interests (ic., principals in private practice ). We are involved to callitsbluff. The words Monoploies Commission Discipline Committee, Conduct - disgraceful and code of, Advertising Jnattatched, Public Interest, Accountability Salaried Architects and Education were al heard. Whilst NAM has been justifiably Slate Group The SLATE Group had felt for some time are still needed, It should include more that they were distanced from the NAM Specific useful information as in the back membership and other readers. They therefore Of Roof... SLATE cannot be effective took the opportunity presented by the recent 4 the newsletter on NAM (which should NAM Congress to sample the views of those be done through a Liaison Group duplicated took place at al. * Cheltenham Congress attending. A questionnaire was circulated sheet every month). The editorial workers asking for a reader’s-eye view of SLATE: The will need to go out to NAM Groups to responses ranged from stunning one-liners such 8¢¢ ‘hem to write things and not expect as “Bloody good considering ...” and “I like stuff to arrive automatically and orientate itasitis.honest”,toextendedprogrammes “Heirmaterialtobereadbynon-architect happen,andtheworkshopsdid,atleast and suggested new directions, some of which readers. Bi-monthly is as frequent as can be a ‘Professional Issues workshop emerged over £100 outstanding! professional institutions, involvement inARCUK hashighlightedaseriesofissues (eg., fee scales, advertising, incompetence, 4 With workshops on Alternative Practice Professional Issues and Public Design service scheduled to take place simul- taneously it was surprising any of them Page 19 ative path steeped in diplomacy -that would engender anon-starter; instead, Iwould ad- vocate strength in thought and action, hope- fully without becoming doctrinaire! Current action iscentred around making our existence known -hence the idea of a poster to pin up in al Schools, the estab- lishment of contacts within each of the Schools, the instigation of debate through the circulation of papers which discuss architectural education from personal stand- points, and through all this the arrangement of discussion groups at venues yet to be decided. supposedly aforum for discussion and action, ¢xpected to contribute! Ithink we are aware we were disappointed to realise that students of the immense task these three points entail; SO: PAY UP OR SUFFER THE NEXT SLATE HANDWRITTEN ON THE SLEEVES OF OLD BEATLES RECORDS! 1andtraining)whichconcernthe tral worker's relationship with and at work. These issues remain en without the mystification encouraged >concept of professionalism. In battleground. Consensus was that women It was felt that the objectives of the the following werewillingtoanalysetheessentialfemale newworkinggroupshouldbecomplementary 1! Toactasaforumtodiscussthe espond. ARCUK 1d to take positions NAM's ims but with councillors have with consideration little formal discussion with other NAM members. In thisresponsewastobeinCouncil ikely that careful consideration issue would have called for broader their own fees,raised problems, but it was felt that they were not insurmountable and that such groups could be financially viable as a -community service. ion with ARCUK as just one aspect. Thu »workshop proposed that. ifNAM was smain involved with these issues, then clear family. We went on to discuss the Feminist Group’s attempt to set up a co-operative design and build practice. This has been stimulated by a commission for Clapham The workshop concluded by asking the London-based Feminist Group to try and set up some meetings outside London and Other problems were associated with roup should be formed to do so. twas done. Some filthy swine to strengthen its links with Women in Con- Struction, Alternative Practice Group The workshop was well attended and the discussion identified which issues the Alternative Practice working group should be concerned with. the search for appropriate models of formal organisation and with indemnity insurance. BDS/TASS, ICOM and people already involved in Alternative Practice are at present working to define the difficulties and the possibilities. But theirbriefis very specific and should be complemented by abroader view to be taken by the NAM Group. Interpretation of ‘community architecture’ varies considerably and the workshop that this should be examined and clarified For instance, the RIBA’s attempts to use ‘community architecture’ as a meansof increasing the supply of work toitsmembers andofjustifying financial assistance from the Government should be the subject of critical analysis in a similar way to other issues taken up and exposed by NAM. To summarise, it was felt that the new NAM Group should concentrate on nat it should be c id me that pigs in entle, fun-loy it. clean vzenic creatures but that the unsiutable conditions. Maybe Page 20 such a bad nanic | iwith the conditions o workers and the users o! i. and sp. roast swine, hog, collog.) flesh irty, sultry, obstinate or perse ele PD.S.Group Feminism qualities and not dismiss differences as ir- ationality. The workshop endorsed the proposals that had been drawn up by the London sem- These experiences could be generalised to inar relating to the percentage of women in provide useful feedback for long term architectural practices, stereotyping in the proposals. architectural press, flexible facilities for wo- Alternative groups already practicing men and men who have to care for their chil- discussed the obstacles which they faced. drenandsupportandequalityforalwork- Helpingclientstofindrescourcesforal ersinarchitecturalpractice.Surveysofwo- aspectsofabuildingproject,including men in the profession are currently taking place. ideological basis of alternative practice, and how that relates to its practice 2. To examine the relationship between these ideas and the objectives of the PDS Group .To act asa pressure group to monitor and report on Government and Local Authority interest in “community architecture’andrecentRIBA Intervention. Education Group Influences on Education All those who had any experience of the matter agreed that, contrary to accepted opinion, the RIBA does not directly control architectural education, but rather operates through tacit agreement with the heads of schools. If anything, the University Grants Commmittee could be said to exert more control. to the ideas set out by the Public Design Service Group (PDS Group), enabling ideas and methods to be tested in the short term John Murray and John Mitchell introduced the Workshop by placing the PDS Group in the context of NAM’s overall policy The workshop was attended by most of the women at the conference and four men. the desire to promote effective control by the general public over the physical environment, and by architectural workers over their own working arrange- ments. The core of the NAM Feminist Group reported on the Beauborg exhibition.They felt that doing the display had beena val- uable experience and good publicity, bring- ing them together as 4 working group for the first time. Their’s was the only feminist contribution and was almost not displayed -for being too political! The other work on show reflected women working in a man’s world. Although projects expressed a hum- ane quality they did not appear to explore the underlying social structure ¢.g. the nu- Some of those attending were repres- entatives of the ‘alternative practice* approach — architects already working with clients who would not usually be able to obtain architectrual help. Whilst Local Authorities seemed only interested in their own bureaucratic criteria, these architects had found a way to identily and respond to people's needs On the other hand, they agreed that ‘community architects’ are dependant on outside finance, often derived from Central Government. This factor had always limited their scope, yet is totally beyond their control. The importance of the PDS proposals for reform of Public Service architecture could then be grasped, in that Local Authorities administer the major channel for the redistribution of wealth in this country. Despite agreement about the need fora more accountable Public Service, there was some scepticism from those who had learnt to expect very little from Local Authorities. The PDS Group members justified their optimism by describing those few Local Authorities where direct accountability has become a reality, and concluded that the only obstacle to further improvements Is a lack of political will. Women’s Aid to convert five shortlife houses into a refuge. Some fifteen women are in- volved, 4 or 5 of whom are working on the Clapham project. The group israpidly mov- ing towaras the position where it must commit itself to some women working ful time. We discussed whether the service being offered by the Feminist Practice was any different to that of a traditional ‘male” privateoffice; those initfelt that itwas, although how much of this is inherent in its ‘co-operative’ structure rather than its “feminist” structure was not explored. The question then arose as to whether male de- sign was “thrusting, sharp andaggressive” and if so was it due to social or biological conditioning. The view was expressed that rather than concentrate on male/female differences it was the social/political/educ- ational conditioning that was the main Page 22 it policy persued is still the lted from the Oxford tac\led as an isolated issue. Despite this general uncertainty about entry to schools result ourses haracterised by elitism and isolation from immediate problems asa point of dep- arture. — Industrial and trade union pension funds as major sources of developement capital. — Commercial developement, would have found the phrase ‘Community Architecture’ a contradiction in terms. To them architects were the employees of their political enemies, ial devel and local Not only were they instrumental in the process of destructionofmanyneighbourhoodsbutalso in designing the frequently ugly and inhuman build- ings that took their place. eal we orld Aspirations The meeting aspired towards making an tionayailabletoevery ne currey lentsfromcompleting tackledbyotherNAM groups,butwith 1 different form rve the san election ualifications actuallygrown cutofan tion which was developed erested in the |services to well as in obtaining en found very difficult to awake 1NAM among students. It was at this stems form the sorts of t NAM pursues being beyond the of experience of most students. At the same time, it was hard to see in respect to their implications for the way in which architects are trained. During the coming year the NAM Education group should produce a reader for distribution to the Issue Groups, which would analyse the background to architectural education in this country, and thenattempt tosetupjoint discussion meetings. unity Land Act. — The role of the architect in theprocesscfdevelopement. — Speculation in land and the seperation of the home and work. — Developers as clients of the building industry. We would like to hear from anyone who hasaparticular interest in these issues andwhowouldliketowrite Simultaneouswiththegrowthincurrencyofthe notion of ‘Community Architecture’ has been a depoliticisation of the defineition of the role which the architect is to play in the ‘community’. This, argues the PDS Group, is partially the work of the RIBA, whose Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG) has also submitted a report to Freeson. The CAWG’s concept ."‘is one in which the socially-responsibleprofessionalattendstotheneeds of the individual poor, rather in the way that a doctorhelpsasickpatient...”,saythePDSGroup and go on to argue that the problems faced by tenants and residents in urban areas are not problems ofindividualdeprivation,butoflackofpolitical control oyer rescources and their distribution at a social level. This the community action movement acknowledged and among itssuccesses has been the signs of its influence in Government policy on the gradual approach to renewing the housing stock and who, unlike the Minister, islooking to the report — education could be ie a DON’T DELAY — ORDER YOUR COPY NOWZOponly? Letters, articles, ideas and helpers for the issve will also be welcome: contact SLATE at 9 Poland St, London W1. SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to 9 Poland Street, W1. on tenants’ control of housing through tenants’ cooperatives. Times have changed, however, and through the professional sucess of one or two of the architects involved in community action, the phrase ‘Community Architecture” has been absorbed into the jargon of the profession and the notion that architects can and should serve the ‘community” howeverdefined,hasgainedsuchcurrencythat Reg Freeson, the Housing Minister, recently called for ideas from architects on how they might” be enabled to serve the ‘community’ better. One of the submissions he received was from NAM’s Public Design Service (PDS) Group called ‘Community Architecture — A Public Design Service?’ Havingopted,andrightlyso,forthesocial/political 4pproach rather than the individ Wth Pp < one wheredoesthatleavetheP.D.S.groupwhenitcomes to answering Freeson’s question? The way to enable for more general ideas about architects and the ‘community’ and who any authors of this sort of publicly available report ignore at their peril, to lump the efforts of radical architects working outside local authorities in, for instance, preparing alternative proposals with neighbourhood groups, into the same bracket as those who support and practice the ‘individualistic’ approach. In the last analysis these peopleworkingintheso-calledvoluntarysectorare private practitioners and the PDS Group isrightly wary of supporting the idea of state grants to the voluntary sector if this is to mean a growth, dillution of energy, bureaucratisation and lack of accountability characterised by one of the other state-supported voluntary groups theHousing Acsociati But thisinterp oS the PDS Group’s position comesfrom reading There al entry and10 Time course 1eage admitted without any Thestudentsproposedtosetupa Students Education Group, with the backing of NAM, and a motion to this effect was put for SLATE. Other suggested Proposals Itwas proposed that the NAM Education Groupshouldnotnecessarilyexistinitsown urbanplanningandtheComm- right, as a separate, introverted group, but should examine the same issues that are Six detailed proposals are put forward in con- clusion, al of which relate strictly to the function- ingofLocalAuthorityarchitectsandallieddepart- ments,aimed at breaking down the ‘boundaries’ inherent in Local Authority management which inhibit fruitful liaison between council workers and the ‘consumers’ of their services in the community. puttotheAGM. topicsforarticlesarewelcome. SLATE 12 will be about comm- ercial deyelopers, the way that they operate and the effect that the commercial develop- ment of land has on the city A review of “Comunity Architecture— a Public Design Service?” Just a few years ago no one had heard of Community Architecture. Indeed many of the people, architects among them, who were at that timeinvolvedinthestrugglesofvarious neighb hood groups against redevelopment or road schemes architects to serve the community better is through the reform of their relationship between local authority architects and the tenants, workers and others who use the buildings they design, cutting away ineffective layers of bureaucracy and opening h Is of direct bility to the ity. Architects who work in the private sector are not wellplacedtoservethecommunitybecause,says the PDS Group, ‘Control of land and finance is . the primary issue’ and for most people the only meaningful means of such control is through lective d icpi inlocalandcentral government and not through private ownership. The strength of ‘Community Architecture — a Public Design Service?’ however, lies not in the questionofthemeritsofitsproposalsbutinits arguements against the myth that what the “commun- ity’needsistheservicesofindependentprofessionals to solye the architectural problems of its individ- ual members, this isthe view promulgated by the RIBAwhenitarguesforagovernment-financed fund which would pay architects fees for poor people who could not otherwise afford them. The report’s weakness, on the other hand, isthat itseems, at least from the point of view of the general reader reviewed for SLATE by Giles Pebody. as a whole. In particular we ¢nierence:strirntrequirementsfor formagroup.andtotaketheir hopetoexamine thatentailedwholesaledemolitionoftheirareas the way forward, the students wished to b the lines of °C: A : 22pp:£L.00 from NAM, 9, Poland St. London, WI. NAM PDS Group: “Ce CaO Design Service?” page 23 NEXT ISSUE prgate practice on ‘aie public purse ? It would have come over more clearly had they spelt it out. TM The strikers are calling for a mass picket in the New Year to close the site, clean the place up and get their jobs back. They appeal to al trade unionists and building workers for support and feel that the out- comeofthisstrikeiscrucialforthefuture of DLOs al over the country. They need money and active support. private sector as well as improvingtheir TheNAMPublicDesignService tatteredpublicrelationsimage.Sowhy consider the relationship of local authoritiestocentralgovernment,their structure and their financing. Although it is understandable why they did not publish a critique of the role of local government in their report, it would seem that sucha critique could have informed their interim proposals, both in theirextentandtheirtermsofreference. For, whilst there is no doubt that the allocation of and use of public capital should come under more democratic anddetailedcontrolbytheworking class and that this is vitally important; nevertheless, the struggle between public and private capital is stil going on. This struggle effects local authority architects in particular as local authority building programmes are closely controlled by central government, as the CIS report, Cutting the Welfare State, who Profits? reveals: “ The capital spending of Local Authorities on building and other major projects is controlled by the centre. Although the Local Authority raises its own loans, the project must first be approved by government. As central government funds, themselvesar,e a product of a clash between the IMF, the City, and the government in the form of public sector borrowing requirement, these resources are the product of the struggle between public and private capital.” Group report “ Community Architecture — a Public Design Service ?” has caused some controversy within the New Architecture Movement. Here Marion Roberts and Mark Gimson bothwithexperiencein‘“Comunity Architecture ”, put their personal views on the report. Mark Gimson The PDS document ‘Community Architecture -A Public Design Service?’ is a welcome contribution to the debate, and the general aims of the PDS group are to be supported. The reform of Local Authority architects departments is long overdue -many Local Authority arch- -tectural workers will enthuse about any- thing which will improve their working context and relieve their immediate frustrations. Also, because of widespread public disenchantment with architects in both private and public sectors, such reforms are attractive to politicians at the moment. bring them into the section entitled ‘Community architecture - a definition’? In the second edition the demolition of the RIBA’s Community Architecture Group (a comparitively easy task) should be confined to the final section. The report of the NAM Public Design Srrvive (PDS) Group to the Minister of housing and Construction, Reg Freeson, But, as pointed out by Cynthia Cockbum necessarily lead to the progressive funda- -mental changes which the PDS group seck. The danger isthat proposals such as these will be adapted by the establishment to make managerial adjustments without changing real power realtionships at al; for example decentralisation of some public sector offices is already going on. It is crucial therefore that the PDS group concentrate on developing the alliances which architectural workers can make - with the users of buildings (e.g. through thetenants’movement),withother construction workers (e.g. in the fight to defend and devélop Direct Labour Organisations),andwithotherLocal Authority workers (e.g. in Housing, Planning and Social Services.) This is because support from the working class and other progressive sectors will be essential ‘if any really radical reforms are to be achieved. The PDS document gives too much space to the RIBA and is too defensive towardsthem. TheRIBA,astheyrightly point out, are just trying to jump onto the bandwagon and create jobs for the One of the most far reaching suggestions that the report makes is for the introduction) working class, but, as Cynthia Cockburn “points out, between the local authority anditslocalworkingclass. Thus a radical local authority architect is inevitable placed ina difficult position, On the one hand s/he is concerned with the sensitive distribution of local authority resources |,on the other s/he would presumable be in solidarity with the tenants’ and residents’ groups who are Campaigning to get a larger share of the Tesources. Solidarity with these groups wouldmeanthatalocalauthority architect would be placed in direct confrontation with her/his employer. Withoutvigorouscampaigningoutside the local authority and strong union Organisation inside it, any opposition on the part of any individuals to the local authority would be dangerous. One example of this kind of confront- ation isover defects inrecently built council houses. As resources for council housing are scarce, local authorities are extremelyunwillingtorectifydefects on these estates. It would be very difficult each have been held and one day about 60 workers on Moss’ site near Newington Butts shutdown andjoinedthepicket. Drivers for Readymix and Pioneer, suppliers of concrete, London Brick, Blue Circle and Tunnel Cement, Romriver Steel, British Gypsum Plaster and Evertidy Cabinets from Wolverhampton are refusing to drive through the picket line -this has obviously Page 24 Theyshouldalsobemorespecificabout on“Communityarchitecture”isawell what Local Authorities and the present Labour Government could do. Given the politicalandprofessionalcontextademand thinkingandactivity.However,the for a number of Local Authority pilot report does have two serious deficiences fruit. If which can possibly be atributed to the this happened such experimental schemes _ fragmentary nature of NAM itself and schemes to be set up might bear would vary, but the more radical ones could undermine some of the established power relations in their particular localities. Even one or two examples like this would be real progress and would achieve much more than minor general reforms. through the wish of the PDS Group to be a local authority group. People who work in Support andsome other architectural agencies do so, not because they want to attack the public sector, but because the potentials for making alliances with progressive sectors of publically paid and therefore publically society seem to be greater outside than inside Local Government. It must be admitted, though, that being in the private sector of architecture leads to some _ capital which can finance the land and »ther problems. The PDS group accept that buildings necessary. Consequently it would seem that whilst the struggle between public and private capital continues, (and also after it when such alternative groups have helped to The report makes criticisms of stimulate proposals such as theirs. Similarly, existing local authority architects the internal reform of architects departments Support, for example, has to keep closely departments, in particular of their ofaccountability. This sort of thing has representatives from the trade unions, ilready happened with Housing Associations. tenants and residents organisations and the NAM is the obvious forum in which neighbourhood’s conncillors. The rest of adicals in the public and private sectors can the interim proposals that the report have access to expert advice as a right. It should be noted here that these pick- How this could be set up should hopefully ets have had threats on their lives, been beamatterofdebatewithintheMovement toldtheywillneverworkinLondonagain An independantly administered state fund thus implying the existence of some kind could be set up to which tenants’ and of blacklist among employers, had messages residents’groupscouldaplytopayexperst senttothembytheNationalFront,had fees. Alternatively we could campaign for can get together to coordinate their activities.Thisprocessstartedatthe Cheltenham Congress -we should take it further and undermine attempts to devideandruleus. Z makes are reliant on the provision of this thirdtierandencompassthesettingupof of area multi-disciplinary design teams with members directly accountable to theneighbourhoodcouncil,alevelling of the hierarchy, and direct links with the Direct Labour Organisations. This model for a public design service is extremely potent, and the arguement for it is carried through positively and logically. The pervading ideology behind the arguement, however, is that their is no conflict between State provision and theneedsoftheworkingclass. The PDS Group kept strictly to their briefin the report and did not the funding of architectural workers to work in law and housing aid centres alongside other voluntary sector workers. This latter suggestion could also set up a useful liaison between local authority architects departments and the community groups outside. their car smashed up bya lorry from the site, and been attacked with an axe by a lump labour lorry driver. produced and presented document. As such it is a substantial advance in NAM’s The report was written as an Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG) ‘antidote’ to the RIBA’s and contains a critique of that Report. The main thrust of the PDS Group report is to argue that, for architects to service the needs of the community (ie., the working class )they need to be accountable, that is, local authority architects. Local authorities also have contro| of acertain amount of public at the NAM meeting on November 20th, mentsalongthelinessuggestedwillnot intouchwithwhatishappeninginthe remotenessfromtenantsandusers’groups. notbetweentheStockExchangeandthe isaneedforavoluntarysector.BythisI wark.Twomasspicketsof150people public sector because there is a real danger of being used by reactionaries as a stick tobeatLocalAuthoritieswith.AsPDS point out there isthe danger of diverting grass roots pressure and demands to the private sector and voluntary agencies, which would let Local Authorities off the hook and would consists of neighbourhood councils and would diminish the already low level based on each locality, made up with It also critiscises the non-productive administrative layers contained within thelocalauthorityhierarchy. : mean a sector serving not the interests of private capital, which includes private architecturalpractice,butasectorwhich serves the needs of the working class in seeking to extend the provisions of the State. This sector already exists in the form of law centres, housing aid centres, welfare rights and housing rights projects. As socialist architects,I feel that we in NAM should be pressing for State funding, so that started to disrupt work and will hopefully that groups within the working class may act as an agent to start negotiations. of a new tier of local government. This tier OLPLINION NEWS) continued trade union organisation on the site. It is partlyduetothisweaknessthatSChas been able to adopt a “hire and fire’policy and envisage and start to carry out redund- ancies on their own direct labour workers. It seems that Southwark’s DLO is, with the consent of councillors ,gradually being eroded from within. The6strikersaredemandingreinstate- ment not reemployment, proper trade union organisation on al sites, safety stew- ards in accordance with the Health and SafetyatWorkAct,Bovismanagementto end, no sub-contracted work and a proper DLO to start functioning. They believe DLOs to function better as building units than private contractors because they offer more likelihood of job security, trade union representation, essential and adequate health and safety precautions and paid sick- ness and holidays after 6 months employ- ment. The pickets have received support from Southwark Trades Council and the Direct Labour Collective who have set up an act- lon committee with stewards to stop the running down of SC and to question the role of Bovis. They will be publishing a broadsheet on the situation in the New Year, available from Southwark Trades Council. The strikers have received money and Support from rank and file workers on both public and private sector sites in Lon- The interface of this struggle is, however, looking at the USSR and China!) that there don and social workers on strike in South- DIFFERENCE OF Marion Roberts for a local authority architect to support a tenants’ campaign on this issue by, say, appearing a&an expert witness in court. ’ Which leads on to the other weakness in the PDS Group’s report. Itisassumed that the neighbourhood council would be acatch-all for pressure groups within alocality. However, itislikely that the area based teams would be introduced, as has happened in two boroughs already, but without the neighbourhood council. Thus the area teams would be faced with the problem of making alliances with community groups within the locality. This is aserious problem which merits farther discussion. Thus Ifeel that the PDS Group’s report does not inclide this important area of concern. This perhaps should be an issue for further discussion and liaison between the PDS Group and the newly constitued NAM Alternative Practice Group, in order to make some progressive proposals about what to do about community architecture in the local state of today. However, this is not to be overtly chary the PDS proposals are to be heartily applauded, and we hope put into practice; and NAM should campaign vigoruosly for this to happen. Empirical historiography, or the Whig interpretationasitusedtobecalled,evol- yed from the liberal approach to history which emerged in the 19th century. Its main characteristics were described as: a belief in the primacy of observable facts implicit theories containing assumptions about the goals of society; the individual- isationofhistoryandtheisolationofthe area being studied from other contemp- orary and historical events except by way of cause and effect. Despite the influence of historians like Tawney, and more recently Hobsbawm and Stedman Jones, al of whom have rej- ected fact accumulation ,moralising and liberal variants of the idea of progress, the main stream of British historiography (typified by ‘The Victorian City’ — edited by Dyos and Wolff) has remained stead- fastly empirical. FINAL PART identification of problems in history there- fore acts as a defence of the present society by reinforcing its values. It is a statement not only about the past, but about the present and the future. Certainly,EPThompson (2)haspoin- ted out that the majority of present day academic historians transfer their sensibil- ities and goals to the society which they are studying. These goals change as the society changes. The current goal is social justice. ‘The belief in the possibility of social reform by conscious effort is the dominant currentof the European mind: ithas superseded the belief in liberty as the one panacea.” (3) Social justice involves the idea of allocat- ing burdens and benefits in an equitable way.Itattemptstolaydownethical S s Inthis,thelastessayinthisseries,Lampard’s principleswiththefulforceofmorallaw. Cynthia Cockburn was the speaker at one of NAM’s best attended and liveliest London Group meetings in November at the Architectural Association. Author of ‘The Local State ’(reviewed inSLATE 6 ),she opened by describing how workers in Local Authorities and communities can unwittingly extend and validate the oppresive aspects of the modern state, help to ameliorate the harsher realities of Capitalism and serve to support it by nurturingtheworkingpopulation.She advisedradicalsintheseareastocreate what she termed their *oppositional space ’and suggested that, faced with inadequate resourcesth,estateworker can ‘refuse to manage( with the resources )’ and highlight the cut backs that force them to implement the lowering of the quality of state support. Applied to architects this could take the form of active resistance to the cuts in budgets for housing, schools and other local amenities and the moves made by Tory boroughs towards the privatisation of housing. She argued that, although the form taken by the local state( for instance area based, function based or a combination of the two ) was asignificant area of campaign, workers inside and outside Local Authorities could, at the same time, establish direct links with user groups and support their efforts to fight inadequate state provision. She suggested that by reachingouttomassgroupingsoftenants and to trade unions, *oppositional space °can be reinforced and empowered ‘As well as alliance with Council building departments she saw it necessary to identify with the industrial action of other groups of Local Authority workers such as the social workers currently on strike in several London boroughs. NAM’s PDS Group, representatives of which were at the meeting replied to Ms Cockbum’s paper and the discussion was taken up by the audience, many of whom were newcomers to NAM events. Although the gathering was expectant with sectarian mutterings the showdown didn’t, in the event materialise, despite some prodding. Ms Cockburn deftly side-stepped one f flashpoint in the evening by opening up the discussion to the NAM Feminist Group, amember ofwhichdescribedtheirsetting upofawomen’sdesigncooperativenow designing a women’s aid hostel in Clapham. Some people said that after reading *The LocalState”theywereleftfeeling confused as to what was *the right thing to do ’and how to apply Ms Cockburn’s analysis. The dilemma was not totally resolved by the meeting, and rightly so. Ms Coburn pointed out at the start that she would proceed as il addressing 2 socialist audience, and one felt that the key to confusion during the evening was NAM’s elevation over. that level of political identity. statement that ‘the attention (of empirical urban history) has been focussed on the problemsratherthantheprocessofsocial change’ (1), will be examined briefly and it will be suggested that this is one of the ways in which empirical history controls the meaning of the past for the benefit of the present social arrangements. PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: The identification of social phenomena as ‘problems’ carries with it certain implications. Problems are implied to be aberrations in an otherwise satisfactory arrangement. They appear as disfunctions. Their rectification or eradication, it may be assumed, will result in the system con- tinuingtoexistasitdidbeforetheprob- lem put in an appearance. In that case the identification of problems suggests that not only are their social norms, but that the identifier has a goal in the path of which the problem appears as an obstacle. Events will thus be classified in relation to the extent to which they support the ex- isting arrangements and its goals. The These principles, like the moral values of the 19th century historians, once estab- lished,canbeusedtoevaluateeventsand activities in history. It can be seen, that where the distribution of resources in the urban past is not in accordance with present ideas of social justice this will constitute a problem for the historian. Social justice then isanormative concept. Itlooks for‘what ought to be’ rather than ‘what is’. The gap between what ought to be and what actually is, will appear as a problem. ‘Problems’ are therefore inherent in a historical approach based on implicit goals. ‘The Victorian City’ is replete with examples. Inithistory isregarded asa series of static events, not as a dynamic process. PROCESSES: To describe historical change as a process implies that there is a relationship and a continuity between historical events. They are not random and discrete but part of a pattern.. If this is the case there is the further implication that there exists a ‘mechanism’ which generates this process, page 26 a mechanism furthermore, which is inyisi- ble. That is, we can see and recork visible evidence but not the generator. If we are to accept that a process is at work, and if we are to understand history ,the facts of history become secondary to the generat- ing structure. They are merely the out- ward appearances of it. But the generat- ing structure itself can only be discovered by hypotheses or theories. This is the method employed by al scientific enter- prise. As far as problems are concerned, it follows that if a visible social phenomen- onwere tobedefinedasa‘problem’by adherents of a theoretical approach to history, the origin of the problem would be sought within the structure of society. In a theoretical approach to history there- fore, the structure of society is not immune from searching investigation. The empirical approachontheotherhand,investigates and records only the visible facts; as was described in the previous essay. Some of these necessarily appear as problems in relation to an implicit goal. From the foregoing it seems clear that history would be advised to direct its attention towards an examination of social processes. In this respect EP Thompson has stated categorically that, ‘The central concern of history as a relevant humane study (is) to genera- lise and integrate and to obtain a comprehensionofthefullsocialand culturalprocess’.(4) If that is the case, and the empirical app- roach does not give an adequate account ofhistory,itmaybewonderedwhyitis so prevalent or indeed why it is employed at al. History however hands down tradition, and tradition means the carrying on of the past into the future. History transmits social knowledge which includes society's perception of itself. Itisthe contention of these essays that only the empirical approach can convey society’s image of itself unaltered. Since it is necessary for any society at any stage of its develop- ment tobelieve initsown stability and continuity, its institutions and ideology will tend to further the existing arrange- ments and inhibit opposing expressions. In which case it will be difficult if not impossibleforacapitalistsocietytoaccept the Marxist approach to history, in part- icular, it will find it unpalatable to re- concile itself to the Marxist belief in historical progress; namely that our pres- ent arrangement is one stage in the histor- ical development of production, the mode of production being the hidden ‘generator’. It proposes therefore that capitalist soc- ietyistemporary. Thereisthefurther argument that the society itself engenders this change through the resolution of a continuing series of internal contradictions. (These are likely to be regarded as problems by the empiricists). Marxist theory also poses another and particularly acute problem for a society based, as ours is, on the requirement of minority ownership relying for its wealth and existence on the surplus generated by the majority. For within this society there exists a body of theory which postulates that the present arrangement prepares the ground for the transfer of ownership to the majority. “(It) engenders the material conditions and the social forms necessary for a reconstruction of society.” (Marx) Marxism, as a scientific historical theory, therefore,cannot be divorced from Marxism asapoliticaltheory,whichattacksthe basis of the society. The tmpirical interpretation however, preserves capitalist society’s mirage of itself intact.Whenhistoryisapproachedwithan unconscious implicit theory, the facts which -are selected will tend to confirm the received wisdom. There is an inherent _ circularity in the method. “The ideological assumptions of an age slide into historiography...... not generally as strident assertions of ‘partipris’ (those who contest the dominant ideology are accused by its defenders of this) but in certain selectivities and abstentions...... two of these absentees (from empirical history) are captalism and class conflict.” (5) CONCLUSION Thus the empirical approach to history acts as a powerful defence of present day Society. By its very nature it controls the meaning of history in a way that reinforces our society’s perception of itself. But because the empirical historians simplicitly transfer their own sensibilities and goals to the society which they are studying, their histories become outdated as society progresses and adopts new goals and defines new problems. That is why history is Tewritten. REFERENCES (1) E. Lampard “Urbanisation and social change" from “The Historian and theCity" Eds. Handlin& Burchard p. 226 (2)EP.Thompson “ResponsestoReality” New Sociéty 4th October 1973 (3) E.H, Carr “What is History?” (4) E.P. Thompson op.cit. (5) E.P. Thompson ibid. and highly readable would be : E.H. Carr “What isHistory?” o Pelican 60p of Capitalism” RKP paperback £2.75 2 LONDON GROUP OPEN MEETING = y 4 Reading Urban History At the end of the first of these essays inSLATE 7anumberofsuggested histories and authors were listed as helpful starters. An even shorter list, definitely recommended The previous two issue in this series sugg- ested that the dominant and most influent- ial approach to Urban History and indeed to history in general in this country is the empirical approach, based on knowledge derived from observation. It was contrast- ed with the theoretical approach which is based on knowledge obtained by the con- scious application of explicit theories. The most important and well developed of the second isto be found in Marxist histories. Maurice Dobb “Studies in theDevelopment - * Recent research carried out by the Economist Intelligenc . .. * *ero Unit has shown that this judge isactually out of the country at the moment, the organisers apologise for the bias confered on the panel by virtue of this persons absence. page 28 S$ dye-caste, hand-tooled 1:500 model of shhh-you-know-who’s helicopter. hew!, I’m glad to be o Actual Project. mn at least 5 phs and shou ntry requirements and programmes are availa any branch of MAR LEYPILKREDLAND Ltd's retail outlets; ‘‘Do-it-yourself we're buggered if we are” at £600.00 (including vat) (easy payment scheme availab from MARLEYPILKREDLAND FINANCE COMPAN ém‘s memoirs- face” ined from rtland Place — ‘| SLATE COMPETITION! — ———e commission. l SSSSee == = ~The Competition willbe judged by: — __-Roddy-_Llewelyn:_night-club owner = | : Vincent“ten wilt fiver’ Marleypilkredland (no ar | | Vitruvius: registered architect* ; | The Slater: architectural critic of SEATE the sponsoring company wha he Economist Intelligence Unit Sponsored by MAR LEYPILKREDLAND Ltd, (adivision The sponsers offer the following suggestions for the of United Dog Foods Inc.) Entries are invited for the different ways of rehabilitating the decaying premises of a faded London club at 66, Portland Place, W.1. The entries should be hgaded by one of the following key-words.: “InnerCity”,“small”,“sensitive”,‘“‘infill’’,“revitalising”, re-use of the property: -advertising agency -Chilean restaurant ‘ te! e (BMsee egcornce ideo of 2 weeks in the Seychelles paid for yants, Cabin, to be announced. e money owed by the Arts Council to the Natio “nice”, “community: "or"! Dp”. -temporary headquarters for the chinese trade NOTE: This competition is closed to all (male : unity Architecture Workii Ifo Mc APH. Creeohsed_ WI)Li nalrlel~}| ofF Ai = Zi e” eZ ks|<]A}CO]OBS wlvy}>}-}ut} SSBe <fe Zz <i |J]X]av}Ye)—}EJA]oft O <i <a pO]itt)WE S|Ola} x eSee a a By — 4 & ef|S]wySf=} st]a}wz] 5 JN-9rQY ot]Z||uw]Oo]+] S|<x]w] la y==° Ly -[2]<« a eS?]|SiS] 2 zie z ie Zi a. 9° < W ofa Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE Group Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray & John Allan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10 November 1978 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/22035a5079935979cb9778364b482d94.pdf 627dcd9779581fd58a747d29f661865e 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 13 Description An account of the resource nena ener ee EDITORIAL! G2 aa ee ps) p4 velat Siar!) SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and te the general public are inc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues anid to bring the Movement’: views and cetivities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership. WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more writers .more ideas and more reps in order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. [f you would like to work for SLATE: become a rep., join the group, sendinarticlesorsuggesttopicsitshould cover then contact us soon. the copy date for the next issue is Friday 27th July. SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT,9PolandSt.,LondonW.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group) Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1. Trade Distributionby Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2 SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to 9 Poland Street. W1. Dluish or, 2. adj. (Made) oe esp. es roofing; het ao)late f. OF caslates fern, of e. It is not possible to talk about any housing problems these days without referring to the ‘govern- ment or the ‘State’ either as a provider of housing and housing finance or as preventing houses of certain types or in certain places from being built. State intervention in housing is not new, nor is it something that politicians are liklely to be able to will away, however much they protest that they can and will. The role that the State has taken upon itself is one of trying to bridge the gap between the housing people need and the housing that would be provided for them by the free market, officially acknowledging, in the process, that decent housing is a necessity for people if they are to lead sane and healthy lives. Current approaches to housing problems frequently fail to ensure decent housing. General experience bears thisoutandthearticlesinthisSLATE reflectitfrom variouspointsofview.Inordertounderstandwhy housing policy fails we would argue that it is necessary to understand the economic forces that underpin our social system and how they impinge on our housing problem. The economic function of housing is two- fold: firstly asa commodity which can be manufact- ured and traded, either by sale or rent, for profit; secondlyasanenvironmentinwhichpeoplecanlead healthy and sane lives in order to be fit to produce wealth. As early as the middle of the nineteenth cent- ury the contradictions between these two functions became apparent and at first private philanthropists and later the State intervened to ensure that neither one of these functions was eliminated due to excesses of the other. In nineteenth century society it was the ‘capitalists’, the few who owned the vast prop- ortion of the country’s wealth who sought to promote housing asa commodity and working people who campaigned for better housing more appropriate to their needs. The compromises that ensued from this continuing conflict shaped and continues to shape government housing policy. Our explanation is symplistic but hopefully provides a link between the articles which follow and which alillustratethiscontinuingconflict,andthecomp- romisesthatensuefromit. Onethingiscertain,if progress is to be made towards better housing then the emphasis must be less on housing as a commodity and more on houses provided for peoples needs. GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER PUBLIC HOUSING Government ploicyis effected through aseries of controls which determine the FORM of local authority housing. PRIVATE BUILDERS’ PUBLIC PERFORMANCE — p6 Private builders distort the supply, cost and quality of public housing. Council house sales deny housing opportunities RISINGDAMP Tenants’ campaigns demand housing defects justice. An interview with Seagull women’s housing co-operative, REVIEWp32see 2). THE SLATER —— NEWS NEWS FROM NAM pl4 ear pl9 p22 i221 EI2S Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so. SLATE 13 PAGE2 sla’ oN} mefapp.f.preo.} elite’, n., a, & v.t. 1, Minds of grey, grecn, or blulsh-purple rock easilysput HOUSING PEOPLE AND HOUSING PROFITS pate antepEioern Plates; pleco of lato a3 roofing-material sar framedtn wood used forroleectit with~-pencilorsmallSS (ean the ~, rid oneself of or renounce soles: tions); ~-black, -blue, -grey, mi ¥these tints such as occur in~; I~-cluby “valbenefitsocletywithmae suthons; ~-colour(ed), dark vreeniah greys hence Greet o Cover with ~s S "Slaven n. (MB slate’, v.t. (collog.). Critictze wuvereiy~ ea panes in reviews), scold, rate; minate,profporoffsiceeeto,Hence CONTENTS WOMAN|S|PLACE.eeeee po) How design guides reinforce sexism in house design, ALESTOGKSMUSTGOSaez WOMEN'S RIGHT TO HOUSE = pl7 EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775 Douglas Smith is an architect with the London Borough of Camden. Although public sector housing is known as ‘council housing’ local councils have little choice in the sort of houses they build. Central government policies effectively determine the form of council housing. Doiglas Smith describes how the State controls council housing and explains why such controls are necessary The last few years have witnessed a dramatic shift in the forms of housing provided by Local Author- ities. From the high-rise blocks of the '60's, councils are now building 2 storey houses: the grand schemes have given way to infill development and rehabilita tion. This article aims to relate the changes in hous ing policy to the political needs of the State and the economic needs of capital in the more lucrative areas of commercial building, Even as late as 1968 the Government stil believed that tenants were satisfied living in tawer blocks, and it was only after the collapse of Ronan Point in 1968 which halted the policy, when stringent and expensive safety measures were introduced. It was well after the end of the high—rise policy that this form of housing became a target for popular press Each council is now responsible for the manage— ment of funds limited by the Government which are inadequate to meet their own definition of need. Councils wishing to maximise their allowance are obliged to seek the cheapest possible solutions to satisfy their stated policies. Instead of redeveloping they are encouraged to rehabilitate, which is cheaper in the short term, or to buy cheap housing from the market. Where new building is demanded councils will seek to reduce costs by any means permitted including the reduction of space standards or by employing developers and design/build contractors. In one Local Authority the standard council provision is for low—cost semi’s built at 14% below Parker Morris’ standards.(6) After reducing areas, housing layouts are simplified and the quality for external finishes reduced. These Government policies direct and control those councils determined to improve their housing provision, while others are quite happy to reduce their responsibility and sel off their stock. It can be seen that these policies determine not only the less housing development in the cities. In order to simplify procedures and place some responsibility for financial managemerit in the hands of the Local Authority, the Government introduced its Housing Investment Programme (HIP) in 1978.(4) Each council made a ‘bid’ for funds for the next year oased on housing statistics and policy statements projected forward three years. However, on average, the councils received only 70% of the bids made, even though many councils are notoriously un— enthusiastic about building houses. The money allocated can be used flexibly by the authorities within the areas of new build, rehabilitation and acquisition of existing properties.(S) number of houses provided but also affect its form. Low density housing was introduced asasurreptitious way of cutting housing expenditure rather than to improve standards. Housing policy is determined by the needs of finance capital rather than public debate. The form of housing raises many questions concerning allocation of resources, tenants needs, standards and ideological aspects of family life none of which have been discussed here. These questions should continue to form part of NAM’s development of an alternative determination of the environment and the forms it should take. References 1. DOE. ‘Residential density in development bricfs HMSO 1976 Development advice note Z DOE Housing: needs and action HMSO 1975 DOE Circular 24/75, 14p 2, AJ 18.5.74 p1009 AJ 28,1.76 p169 AJ 11.8.76 p242 3. Figures from DOE White Paper on Public Expenditure 1976, quoted in ‘Upagainst a brick wall 'by NUPE & SCAT 4. AJ 13,7.77 pp55—56 5. Crofton Bernard, ‘Housey housey New Society 23.2.78 p428 6. AJ 31.5.78 pl0s4 SLATE13 PAGE4 SLATE13 PAGES Public housing is not only a service essential for the reproduction of labour but-also plays an active part in the reproduction of capital. As well as being Government used a system of subsidy introduced a hard -won benetit for the working class (though constantly under threat), it also provides for builders, high density development within a low—rise form. bankers, who finance projects and developers who provide the lind. Government policy and controls intervene to ensure that these contradictory forces are resolved to provide maximum profits as social and economic needs develop. Government policy is effected through a series of controls which collectively determine the form that Local Authority housing should take, i The first set of controls outline the basic social requirements for housing. Building regulations attempt to ensure that simple health and safety requirements are met, and Parker Morris standards ensure that enough spaceis allowed within the dwelling for tenants tosleep, eat and watch the telly. It embodies the need to maintain discreet family units and it is the next level of controls, However it was not long before the economic recession demanded severe cut backs in public expenditure. In 1975 regulations were introduced which prohibited the provision of family dwellings off the ground and limited the permitted density of development.(1) The main effects of thispolicy were the reduction of building volume and therefore overall costs and delays imposed by having to redesign existing schemes to conform with the new policy, thereby making immediate cuts in spending. The housing minister, Reg Freeson, introduced these policies by acclaiming the improvement of housing standards, but he was taking advantage of public criticism of tower blocks to impose drastic cuts in housing provision. Most councils accepted these intentions.(2) This policy continues today to limit the extent of new housing provision and the essential result has been a massive cut in capital expenditure of 40% from 1974/5.(3) Current low—density policy also has several secondary effects. Councils are encouraged to sel difficult or expensive sites, or to consider subsidiary commercial development to pay for them. The small number of units permitted on these sites especially in inner city areas, do not justify the costs of acquisition or redevelopment. Secondly, councils are encouraged to rehabilitate rather than redevelop wherever possible because more units are allowed at existing densities on a particular site than if the site isdemolished and new housing provided. Finally councils are encouraged to provide more non—family Units (mainly for old people) because slightly higher densities are permitted than for family units. The net result is fewer new houses, less family units and abuse. Even though high—rise policy was abandoned, the in 1967 (the Housing Cost Yard Stick) to encourage This kept the building industry profitably employed by building fully on available sites and allowing a more flexible approach to construction, though prefabricated systems were still often used. GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER PUBLIC HOUSING mainly financial .which determine how units relate to each other, additional amenities, and what form the housing must take Government housing Policy iseffected through a system of subsidies and ‘circulars’ which determine new stundards. The strength of these controls is illustrated by the fact that during the °60"s every council was compelled to build tower blocks and now fo build little houses. The changes over the last 20 years represent housing solutions to new economic, political and social demands Just before the economic €xpansion of the “60's the building industry was undercapitalised and threatened with labour shortages. Itwanted to encourage investment in new machinery, plant and building systems, thereby reducing theinputby skilled workers. The Government responded by demanding that Local Authorities build high—rise blocks by industrialised methods. The architects Provided an image of the benefits of the “modern world’ which politicians accepted as a demonstration of the strength of their Policies. The anticipated reduction in cost never materialised 4s contractors later sought to apply their newly acquired methods Andy Brown isa member of the SLATE Hditorial Committee. Most new local authority housing isbuilt by private contractors. The remainder isbuilt by local authorities’ own building workforces (Direct Labour Organisations) whose mode of operation is modelled on, and determined by, the private contritcting systen). Private contractors claim that an efficient building industry is dependent on competition between firms and that any contin- uation or extension of public ownership will reduce efficiency ae Over the past fifteen years there have been two main responses to the need for public sector house building by the private sector. Firstly there was the widespread use of industrialised systems by large contractors during the 1960s. Secondly, in more recent years there has been a return to trad- itional methods of construction applicd to low rise housing on smaller sites by small- to meduim- sized contrictors, Both responses have risen and declined without giving satisfactory results. FAILURE OF INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING The idea of industrialised building methods, of which tower blocks are a product, was to reduce to public sector housing. Andy Brown describes some of these effects and shows how the contract. ing system distorts the supply, cost and quality of new council houses. building costs by lowering the amount of work required on site through the mass production of large standardised components in factories. Favourable adjustments were made to the council house subsidy system by central government in order to promote the use of industrialised sytems by local authorities. The use of industrialised building methods i1 new local authority housing rocketted during the 1960s reaching a peak in 1967 when tenders for over 70,000 industrialised dwellings in England and Wales were approved (see chart). In their eagerness to exploit the new technique, hastily designed and unresearched systems were drawn up by large contractors with little or no regard for quality or users’ needs Predictably the idea did not work .Large numbers of firms each developed their own system with the result that only a few of them were applied on a large enoughscalefor the potential economies of mass production to be realised. A monopoly situation quickly arose which lasted throughout the industrialised dwelling ‘boom’. In London alone, three contractors shared 374% of the market in 1967, 20% of which were contracts won by Laings and 12% by Wates. In 1969, 62% of industrialised dwellings in England and Wales were built by only four contractors, namely, Wimpey, Concrete Ltd., Wates and Laing. Tenants and local authorities are still living out the legacy of this failure. Repair and maintenance costs on industrialised dwellings are about three times as high as for traditional housing, and continue to increase. Media coverage of conden- sation problems, structural collapse and defects, vandalism,expensive heatingsystemsandinadequate inadequate facilities has been extensive. It is interesting to note, however, that the social unacceptability of industrialised dwellings was not the major reason for their decline. The special subsidy for industrialised high-rise dwellings was scrapped before the infamous progressive collapse of Ronan Point in 1968. In reality they were simply ho cheaper to build than dwellings of traditional construction. During 1969-1970 demand fell by over a third and, as new industrialised council housing diminished as a growth area, so the large contractors interest in the market tailed off. SMALLER FIRMS TAKE OVER Council house building in more recent years has occured in a different form with a marked change of contractors. In the early 1970s large contractors dropped out of the public housing market altogether prefering to concentrate on more profitable forms of construction, suchas offices and overseas work. Public housing construction was was taken over by small- to medium-size contractors. Emphasis was placed by ‘cal authorities on building low rise dwellings on smaller sites using traditional methods of construction. Many of the smaller firms expanded veryquickly with the new found source ofwork and stestched their rescources too far. Local authorities were awarding large contracts worth over £1million to firms with capital assets well below that level. If contracts went wrong, severe consequences occured. The number of bankruptcies and liquidations in 1976 for example, totalled over 1500. Contractors were, and stil are, no longer effective risk bearers for local. Others soon learned the necessary tricks of econ- omic survival and profit maximisationTh.e practice of subcontracting large portions ofa contract by building firms who are not equipped to undertake the ergi required variety of work has become common place. Asa result local authorities exercise little or no control over those firms who actually do the work. Virtually al building firms employ experts whose job itis to read the small print of the building contract in order to identify areas where claims for more money cannot be legoly resisted, irrespective of whether the additional costs have actually been incurred. There is evidence to suggest that many firms, particularly medium sized firms who are also 4 involved in other more profitable work, use local authority housebuilding to regulate their workflow. Such firms frequently switch their rescources in mid- contract to the more lucrative work, as, and when it siuts them. Excessive and bogus contractual delays and claims are then used to ensure that no losses are incurred. Cost and time overruns for housing contracts completed for the London Borough of Islington in 1977-1978 were at a staggering level of 40% and 52% respectively (Islington Gutter Press, September 1978). The situation has become so bad that poor site performance is the accepted norm for local authorities. COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY MYTH Contractors claim that competition within the private sector of the building industry keeps down prices and ensures good standards and efficiency. But the way in which contractors tender for local authority work brings none of the advantages claimed for open-market competition. Until the 1960s local authorities were required to publically advertise every building job and chose the lowest submitted tender that is, work was con- tracted through open competition. The Banwell _ Report (1964) published by the Ministry of Public Building and Works was very critical of this method of tendering. It argued that too much competition allowed large reputable firms to be undercut by new and less established firms and, thereby reduced the level of quality and profitability. It claimed that open competition had a harmful effect on local authorities who, by accepting the lowest tenderer had become involved in additional costs above the tender price through time delays, defects, u1com- pleted work and unsettled claims. By reducingthe level of competition it was believed that the large, reputable contractors would increase qualitywith MF Nae otna Sevres Mourn andConstrvetionstanatey weaeeSereee enSeaia aisigeast SLATE13 PAGE6 SLATE13 PAGE7 PRIVATE BUILDERS’ PUBLIC PERFORMANCE The majority of council houses are built by private builders under contracts with local authorities. The contracting system is biased towards private sector operations and has perverse effects when applied SAAQy Old Boiley prosecutor alleges thot Architect's career ‘ruined'—judge eer inNorth-East Bryant jurytold Frenchhelpspolicewith of £100 drinking motorway contract probe sessions Police allege fraud on road improvement jobs greater profitability .Local authorities were required to distinguish between good and bad builders by drawing up alist of approved contractors based on past performance and financial stability and to limit the number of firms invited to tender for each job through selective competition. The building industry isnot made up of ‘reputable firms’ and ‘cowboys’. In reality, building firms are al very similar because of the way in which they make profit under the contracting system, namely by skimping, excessive sub-contracting, denying local authorities effective control over costs and deliberately switching their rescources away from local authority work to other more profitable work. Selective tendering assists the operation of build- ing monopolies in local authority work. In the London Borough of Hilligndon for example 40% of all contracts for several years were won by only three firms. In the London Boroughof Islington six firms, from 1975 to 1976 won 75% of the value of large building contracts. The limited number of builders used by local authorities makes it easy for exchange of information and ‘informal arrangements’ to be set up between firms. Collu- sion between contractors on the same tender list can lead to'pricerings’ where, by mutual agree- ment, one firm is designated to win the contract by the others who deliberately submit a high price. The practice of price-ringing reduces competition, raises prices, protects less profitable contractors and stops building industry from rationalising itself, all at the expense of local authorities and tenants. AWOMAN'S PLACE ‘A woman's place is in the home’: this concept, firmly established in Victorian Britain, isstil perpetuatedtoday.Houseworkandchildcareare sex-stereotyped activities: the privatisation of women’s work is reflected in many typical house- cauad4 Before the Industrial Revolution, the tamily constituted the basic productive unit in the economy. The privatisation of the child-centred nuclear family developed with the separation of home and work, reproduction and production. Wife battering and child delinquency are con- sequences of the tensions created by stressing emotional relationships within this privatised family unit. The role of housewife, as Ann Oakley? says, developed ‘to reconcile the two opposed structures in modern society: home and work. Industrialisation which calls for the concentration of economically Glasgow hospital jontrials corruptio) TENANTS PAY THE PRICE ence within any one building firm will vary from job _ Both the large contractors with their industrialised between the private economically should be away from the kitchen equipment not under her feet’.> and There is no evidence to suggest that a distinction between good and bad building firms can be made. More often than not the level of technical compet- and salary-earning work’. Feminists have consistently questioned conventional assumptions about the role of women in the home and family in two main ways: those demanding wages for housework, and those encouraging men to assume an equal shareof house- work and child rearing. The convergencoef these to job just as much as the difference in technical competence between firms. Also, financial vetting isineffectve because annual accounts are not an accurateindicationofafirm'sfinancesandare invariably out of date when published. CONTRACTORMAY FACE £200,000REPAIR BILL systems and the smaller contractors with thei insubstantial means and excessive ubscontactin exhibit the worst traits of the contracting s ca Inthecaseofindustrialisedbuildingseats 2 the government sought to increase efficiency in local authority house building through technical innovation without changing the contracting system. As a result, any genuine benefits from innovation, such as higher standards, lower building costs and reduced rents were not possible. The need of the contractor for a quick turnover of capital in order to make profits prevented a thoroughly researched and considered approach to using this technique from taking place. Competition between the large contractors ended in the creation of monopolies and the loss of control of the product by local authorities. At the end of the day the tenant is left to pay the price of this failed venture in higher rents and the problems of living in an unsatisfactory and ,often, technically unsound environment. _ Similarly, the unacceptably high cost and time overruns, high tender prices and work-switch- ingwhich have resulted from new council house building by the smaller contractors in recent years 1S,eventually, transfered to the tenant in higher rents.The inefficiencies of private builders operating under the contracting system continue eel the already long council house waiting Ss. £1m repairs on omeTaneseeee Thenatureofthebuildingindustryandgovern- Theseparationofthesculleryfromlivingroom, teheeSSeaae sae ment policy have ensured that public demand for council housing has not been realisable. and provision of separate bedrooms resulted, with a reliance on the woman as an economically SLATE13 PAGES SLATEI3 PAGES out- side the family is the primary agent in this opposition andwherehewilnotdisturb sleepingchildren’; productive effort in large-scale organisations mother needs to be able to see them from the kitchen, but they hh 6m The separation of the house into rooms with particular functions isarecent innovation. In pre-industrial Britain, in farm and town houses activities such as eating, sleeping, cooking and tasks associated with farm or trade, took place in a single space — “the home’. Separate kitchens first appeared in aristocratic houses in the late 16th century, and in middle class Victorian houses became the realm of the domestic servants, predominantly women. As the number of domestic servants decreased, so the kitchen became identified with the housewife. The ‘Model Dwellings’ movement was an influential force in the application of these ideas to working class housing. The concem of the housing reformists to improve the quality of life and educate the poor to a ‘socially accepted’ standardof living was seen as improvement through health and sanitary reform. non-productive life of the home, and the public world of the wage a fit) differences in housetypes relate to the physical categorisation of space, (narrow/wide frontages etc) or the numbers of groups (such as one, two or three person dwellings). Designed for recognised groups, primarily the nuclear family, single people and the elderly, they do not reflect alternative patterns of living such as communal organisations or single parent families. The text reinforces sex-stereotyping of tasks and division of the house into men’s and women’s realms, e.g. ‘when father makes or repairs something he needs to be out of mother’s way in the kitchen, Sue Francis is doing research at the Royal’ College of Art and isa member of the NAM Feminist Group. and ‘when the children play indoors ‘Years of corruption gave Bryant £100m jobs’ through the roof | ~of questions isheavily influenced by 19th century Rates gloom as eae plans, whether of tower blocks or detached houses. Even the most radical architects continue uncon- sciously to maintain this stereotyping. (Could it be you?) two campaigns, through collective action, could lead to a change in attitude towards women’s work, and demands for different kinds of environments in which domestic work takes place. The baby needs aplace where itisquiet to sleep. The toddler needs a place for play, where toys and other playthings can be concentrated, so the housewife does not have to be for ever tidying up. Meanwhile, design guides produced for architects and builders continue to reinforce these sexist notions about domestic work and the design of the home. ‘Housing the Family’? isastandard text, reprinted in 1974, which is in current use for both public and private housing. It is the result of more detailed research of the sort that ‘Homes for today and tomorrow’ made fashionable. The family is portrayed as leading a typical white middleclass life not dissimilar to thatof ‘Janet and John reading books. There is an air of unreality about the way they live reminiscent of the glossy images printed in the Sunday colour supplements. User research isso detailed, and the comprehensiveness of design guides, means thatif al their requirements are met, the designer prescribes astandardised solution. The selection buildingcostsgoea morality (can you hear the toilet flushing in the hall), and 20th century notions about efficiency in its most banal sense. The nature of design guides in thestandardisation of user needs and requirements reflects broader issues in the control and provision ofhousing: notably the structural separation within the building process between designers and users. The only SLATE13 PAGE10 “There are no true walls or doors; The woman in the beautiful electronic kitchen isnever separated from her children’ In what is basically one free- flowing room, instead of many rooms separated by walls and stairs continual messes need continually picking up." SLATEI3 PAGEI1 The assumption that the drudgery of housework can be eliminated by the provision of efficient, easy to clean surfaces and easy to reach storage permeates design guides. Underlying this, however, is the notion that the kitchen is controlled by the woman alone: food preparation is not a sociable activity in which every one can participate. Give us a big kitchen table we can al work at, and not a laboratory bench where we stand, isolated, facing a blank wall. ; Mechanisation of housework has led to the decrease of certain tasks, but at the same time, the development of new ones (e.g. cleaning and sweeping fitted carpets). The nature of housework asalabour-intensiveactivitymeansthatitexpands to fil the time available. Although technology and careful planning have removed to some extent the exhausting physical labour of much housework, basically the job remains the same. The average number of hours spent on housework was recorded inasurveyundertakenin1975,asseventy-seven per week., Acknowledgement in contemporary society of theneedofeachindividualforprivacyisnot reflected in the woman’s selfless position in the family. Whilst thought to be tied to the house more than any other member of the family, itisassumed that she spends her time in spaces which service the family, whether it be the kitchen or the ‘master bedroom’. Virginia Woolf's slogan “A Room of One’s Own’ applies equally to any person, whatever sex, if they are to establish some independent identity within the nuclear family.° Betty Friedan comments on the contemporary trend for open-plan living giving the illusion of visible space, freedom and non-segregation of activities, thus: “There are no true walls or doors; the woman in the beautiful electronic kitchen is in this country, re—emerging with experiments of squatting groups and students in the 1960's, where the relationship of home and work within the context of organisation of society were fundamentally questioned. Socialist housing policies of the post war years glorified the nuclear family, ignoring the criticism of capitalism which regards it as an integral part of that system. The provision of day—care facilities for children in socialist countries has enabled women to spend more hours in the factory but has not altered their role in the home. “I'm not your little woman, your sweet heart or your dear, I'm a wage slave without wages, I’m amaintenance engineer!’ never separated from her children. In what is basically one free-flowing room, instead of many rooms separated by walls and stairs, continual messes continually need picking up. A man, of course, leaves the house for most of the day. But the feminine mystique forbids the woman this.”© Acknowledgement in design guides of the relationship between the inside of the house and the world immediately outside is reduced to watching children’s play, adequacy of car parking, and accessibility of house for frequent and occasional visitors. The importance of social relationships and communal activities,particularly for women at home, are ignored. Domestication ofpreviouslypublicactivitiessuchasbaking, washing, bathing, are truly enforced in the privatised child-centred nuclear family. Experiments in the collectivisation of domestic work and childcare enable us to imagine some- thing different. It was an essential part of the organisationofmany utopiansocialistcommunities Co-operative housekeeping was promoted by Raymond Unwin in ‘The Art of Building a Home’, published in 1901.(7) These ideas were put into practiseinEbenezerHoward’sschemesinLetchworth 1.Oakley,Ann,Housewife,PelicanBooks,1974p.10 and Welwyn Garden City with the provision of communal dining and kitchen facilities. Accommo— dation provided by various ‘Female Planning Improvement Corporations offered shared facilities in housing designed specifically for working women.(8) The continuity of this utopian vision was then lost 2. Housing the Family, Design Bulletins. MTP Construction, 1974 3. Homes for today and tomorrow, HMSO 4. See :Cowan: Industrial Revolution and the home Technology& Culture : 17 (Jan 1976) p.1- 26 and Oakley, Ann op cit . Wolfe, Virginia ‘A Room of Ones Own, Penguin . Friedan, Betty, The Feminine Mystique. Penguin . Unwin R, The Art of Building a Home, Longmans Green & Co, 1901, 2nd Ed . Hayden, Dolores, Collectivising the Domestic Workplace, Lotus, No 12, 1976. Sept, p 72 89 Women are demanding radical changes both structurally and in attitude, towards the definition of their role in society. Architects can respond to these demands by refusing to design spaces which idealise theprivatisationanddomesticationofwomen in the home. References IDM o “Only ‘he’needs aroom ofhisown. Why deesdhe woman need space to herself less than the others though she is expected to be at home more?” Mark Lipson isa member of the Battersea Redevelopment Action Group. SLATE13 PAGE12 need. anyway. Perhaps more important stil is the fact that Council houses are, or have been on the market in Wandsworth for sale not just to sitting tenants with money, but to Housing Associations and private individuals too. Now, under aThatcher Government, propety speculators will be given an opportunity to enter this market. The result of al this is tnat the most desirable houses and flats with gardens will be creamed off the top of the Council’s housing stock, which, when combined with the total stoppage of new building and the acquisition of houses, begun in earnest by the previous Labour administration, spells out disaster for those that are “stuck” in Council flats in unsiutable, substandard or simply miserable conditions. In Wandsworth the average price ofa 3-bedroomed house isabout £35,000. The Council offered up to 20% discount on this price, but must now be about to adopt Thatcher's 50% where necessary — “all stocks must go” will be the new attitude. Even so, there are very few families in the Borough who want to move into the owner-occupation sector, and who have noy already done so, who could afford even a £17;500 house. The household income necessary to repay 4 100% mortgage on such a house would be at least £8,000 per annum, and that doesn’t take into account the £2500 in cash needed to put down a deposit, pay solicitors’ and surveyors’ fees, and insurance. Yet, in December 1978, 88% of male workers in Wandsworth earned less than £6,000 per annum. Of the 12% or less that SLATE13 PAGE13 ‘DEFEND! |HousinG OPte!‘HIGH Re RISE § TRANSFERSN —_——— aNowe of ‘distress’ (where Council bailiffs remove possessions in lieu of rent arrears). There will soon be no housing Stock left in the control of the Council other than in the ghettoes of misery that no one wants and no one can get out of. Mrs, Thatcher and.sher colleagues will soon claim that Britain isonce again a free country, andthat everyone has equal opportunity. This is as clearly untrue as the idea that there isno housing problem. might have been able to sign acontract of sale, mostwould probably already be owner occupiers. The much-heralded ‘homesteading and ‘equity sharing’ sohemes, both of which Wandsworth Council has been attempting in addition to outright sales, snffer from the same problems ‘At the time of writing, a house needing £11,000 of work is being offered for homesteading at £14,000. Who can afford that, who couldn’t afford an outright purchase? Certainly not the working class handyman that the scheme scheme was supposed to be aimed at! Before the General Election, Wandsworth Council was not doing too well on its sales policy. In February 1979, 535 properties were being processed for sale, with only 48 to sitting tenants actually completed. 220 homes had been lying empty for over 9 months as a direct result of the sales policy. No homesteading sales had been completed, although 62 were in the pipeline. Importantly, no flats or maisonettes in acquired properties had been sold, but 4 newly built Council houses with gardens had. The Tory Couneil has just broken al records for the number of vacant homes in the Borough; they achieved this scandalous state by pulling out al the stops to sel off homes before Peter Shore’s last significant act of curbing sales came into force. During the last few days before Shore’s curb there were queues outside the Housing Department of people who had been told that this was their last chance. No evidence has emerged that any of those in the queue were actually in housing need. Whilst the charade goes on, and presumably gains momentum with its new-found Central Government support, thousands of families in Wandsworth’s high rise flats of which there are 51 blocks of over ten storeys — will suffer. Many of them already have to put up with severe condensation, unworkable expensive heating systems, lack of playspace, lift breakdowns, mental braekdowns and now even the use of the ancient law ALL STOCKS MUST GO The new Tory government is committed to selling council houses on an unprecedented scale. Many of the policies to be implemented nationally have been tried in the London Borough of Wand sworth ata Since the General Election the issue of Council local level. Martin Lipson looks at the experiences of tenants and prospectice buyers in Wandsworth and explains how Tory policies will fail to satisfy housing house sales has come once again into the limelight It is not an issue about which one can be unequivocal because it raises questions that the Left cannot always satisfactorily answer indeed in many areas Council house sales have been proceeding for years with no resistance from Labour parties. To understand why wholesale freedom tosell, now being put forward by Environment Minister Micheal Hesletine, is wrong, it is necessary fo look at the problems of housing need ona broad basis. It is policies begun last year. A third of the Borough’s households are tenants of either Wandsworth Council or theGLC, or Housing Associations. Of the Borough Council tenants, over a third receive rent and rate rebates, or have their reat paid by the DHSS, and it is these people who are at the blunt end of the policies designed to “offer tenants choices they have never had”. in such areas as the London Borough of Wandsworth, where a local sales policy has been in force since May 1978 when the Council was won by the Tories, that the damage is being seen to be done. Wandsworth is a working proloiype for many inner city aregs that will NOt start to be hit by Thatcherite policies regardless of local needs, and so it may be useful to place the argument against blanket sales in this context being cut off entirely. There is no doubt that many people aspire to owner-occupation as the form of tenure that offers most. It offers security, freedom of action, very generous mortgage tax relief, freedom from Capital Transfer Tax and attracts improvement grants. However, access to this coverted status is restricted to people with cash in hand for a deposit and good stable incomes. Property values in Wandsworth are high and income levels are relatively low. So it is clear that the few Council tenants who can avail themselves of the Tories generous offer of homes for sale are the ones who have money The waiting list for Wandsworth in 1978 was about 21.000 people (7500 families). Of these. the vast majority live in overcrowded conditions or without proper amenities. 5,500 families living in private housing approached the Council’s Housing Aid Centre in the previous year: for half of them the only solution was rehousing. A further 5,500 families who are already Council tenonts are registered on the Council's transfer list, because the conditions they have to tolerate are little better thanthe slums from which they were rchoused. Nearly half of Wandsworth Council’s housing stock is in blocks of four or more storeys (now accepted as the definition of high-rise flats) and 6.000 of its flats are in unmodernised very high density estates with room sizes well below Parker-Morris satndards. 3,500 single people sought assistance from one housing organisation in the Borough last year. This then is the human side’ of the problem — an enormous a:d growing need for decent housing. It causesa crisis because there is a massive shortage of siutable housing accommo- dation — an estimated 10,500 homes short in July 1978. It causes a crisis also because the physical condition of much of the housing stock is poor (16,000 dwellings substandard in 1978) Sut, most important of all, it causes a crisis because of restricted access to decent housing. It is on this question of access that the policies of the local authority can perhaps make most impact. In Wandsworth the attitude towards the private and public housing sectors has shifted suddenly and catastrophically as a result of Tory What isreally happening isthat for thesepeoplethe choiees-are FOR != Rise ALL as Tom Woolley is a member ofSupport and the NAM Alternative Practices Group The problems of defects in Couricil and housing association housing are rapidly growing to enorm- ous dimensions. One article in a weekly trade paper listed examples of housing estates with serious def- ects and talked of £200million to be spent on remedial works and it seems likely that in national terms the costs will be much greater. The reasons for these problems should be well understood by most architects but the profession has failed to take any serious steps to stem the tide of complaints from tenants. Problems include structural inadequacies that sre are usually revealed to tenants through water penet- ration, drafts ‘or alarming cracks. Even more wide- spread are problems of dampness and condensation. Tenants also complain about high heating bills, faul- ty refuse systems, cladding dropping off windows that won’t work and so on. The list is endless. Bad design ad defects are also linked in many caseswith social problems where unpopular, particularly high- density estates become unpopular and heavily stigmatised (with abad name) are causing meny managemenet headaches. Those local authorities who are demoloshing estates are doing so because of a combination of physical and social problems: the Piggeries in Liverpool; Noble Street in Newcatle; Oak and Eldon Gardens in Birkenhead. Demolition is also being talked about for Hulme in Manchester, Tower Hill in Kirby, Red Road in Glasgow and so on. Many more recently built housing estates are being includede in modemisation and improvement pro - rammes only a few years after their completion. There are many more estates where conditions for tenants often seem worse than the slums they used to live in because of dampness. Recently about 75 tenants met from all over Britain (from Aberdeen to Portsmouth) at a conference of anti-damp action groups in Birmingham. They plan to launch a special national campaign to get government recognition of the problem. One group represented at the conference from Hutchestown in the Gorbals, Glasgow also featured in ‘Grapevine’ on BBC television recently. Their estate ,a deck-access system-built job (developed SLATE13 PAGE 14 Rountree House. Oldham. The scaffolding and platform are a permanent feature of this tower block to prevent picces of concrete from falling on passers-by. Picture: Oldham Chronicte. SLATE13 PAGEIS eesEl “Condensation problems vary between dwellings of the same design and construction and with quite similar locations. This suggests that the role of the householder can be crucial in influencing the extent of condensation problems. ..But itdoes; not mean that itis always the householder who is to blame or who shoulders most of the responsibitity.” Domestic Energy Note No.4 DoE Feb ‘79 The myth that condensation isn’t really dampness continues to be fostered by landlords, ably abbetted by architects and other experts. While tenants call in their own experts to survey their houses and prepare counter reports, these advocates areoften at a disadvantage. With no right of access to drawings and specifications and the obyious impracticality of dismantling bits of the building itisoftendifficult to give a definite statement of the causes of many defects. Groups like Support, which advise Law Centres, tenants associations and so on on technical problems are in danger of being overwhelmed with requests for surveys and advice. Increasingly groups are taking igal action under the Public Health or Housing Acts and there ida growing demand for experts who can give technical advice to support the tenants cause. But even if legal action is successful there is no guarantee that adequate remedial work will be done. The local authority may have to sue architects or builders or it may have to find the money from rates or rents. The local authority itself may have been negligent in approving poor designs or passing poor work. The council’s own architects, building inspectors or direct labour force may have been at fault. Often this leads to a refusal on the part of local authority officials admit that seriuos problems exist or to co-operate with tenants. lenants on the recently completed Church End estate in Brent have been complaining about high heating bills for their all-electric ceiling heating in poorly insulated, system built mais - onattes, for three years. After a year of inaction by the council the tenants, through the Law Cente and Support brought in an expert who produced a report. Asa result of bus loads of tenants arriving at the Town Hall to back up the report the council agreed to install new heating systems and double glazing (costing £%million) Yet bt March this year the local paper was stil carrying reports of tenants unable to pay quaterly electricity bills of £291 because the improvements had not been carried out. The tenants were further angered by the vice-chairman of the local housing committee claiming that “the great bulk of the tenants are delighted with their houses.”” The same councillor went ona couple of weeks later to claim that “For many years it used to be thought that damp conditions in which people lived was the fault of jerry built housing or poor landlords. Our modern exper- ience isthat itisoften 4direct consequence of the way people live.” Yet, incredibly, in the same letter (to a local paper) he admitted that design and structural faults were often to blam e giving the example of Church End where there were gaps in the roofs and problems of ‘cold bridges’ in north walls How have these design and building faults come about and who is to blame? The key can be found in the relationship between the privately RISING DAMP originally for the Coted’Azur!) was opened by the Queen in 1975, but complaints about dampness, mould mildew and extortionate heating bills have Jead to an imaginative and vigorous campaign by tenants, including rent strikes, which so far has lead to over 200 tenants being evacuated to houses all over Glasgow. Another group in Sandwell in the Midlands has linked up with workers from the local direct works departmer.t to set up a council workers/tenants’ liaison committee which has been active in anti- dampness campaigns — including preparinga tech- nical report about the report about the problems on estates. The tenants have been supporting the workers in an attempt to stop remedial work being given out to private contractors. While pressure of this kind might prove to be the most effective political pressure, many tenants groups have to call in technical experts or take legal action because their complaints are ignored by housing managers. The most common area of cont- roversy is over condensation. Despite the fact that the governments own documents make it clear that condensation results from inadequate heating, in- sulation and ventilation, usually as a result of poor and low cost construction, many housing managers stil continue to blame the tenants for the problem: Recent reports have quoted a figure of £200 million as the cost of putting right defective design and construction in council housing . This figure only goes some way [0 reflecting the inadequate housing : conditions in which a vast number of council tenants are forced to live’ Tom Woolley catalogues the defects and the campaigns that the tenants are mounting in an effort to have them rectified. He goes on to suggest why the defects arose in the first place. Le SLATE13 PAGEL6 particular single bedsits and similar restrictive accomodation. Both in the private and the public sector of hous- ing we are descriminated against as single women. Barbara How did you start? Helen Ann Three months ago we got a short-life, 4 bedroom maisonette. In a fortnight we shall get a con- verted house with Sone bedroomed flats on a proper management agreement. Denise EAT {excerpt from another draft statement to the Housing Corporation.) Ann Also, communal houses are notoriously dil- icult to manage. A DOE circular for communal houses has already been withdrawn because of this. For instance, there is the problem of mobility . ‘Vith co-ops of different interests, there is not the structure of transfers that there iswith local authorities. There is the bias in favour of small fats in the grant system .and the assumption about nuclear family structure in Parker Morris standards. After the nuclear couple, every- one else is supposed to be a child. There is the waste of space with corridor planning, problems of self containment of flats and how fair rents are allocated. Barbara Denise Arnold and Barabara McFarlane are members of the NAM Feminist Group. HING of How differently would you us a standard house conversion as a group of women? How far have you persued communal housing? Ann There are many constraints andthe problem of standards’. None of the flats so far have been planned for two women sharing, as bedsits for example. The rooms are too small. You need at least two bedsits and a kitchen you can sit and eat in. Yet we have two bathrooms and two small kitchens between three of us. We can use one bathroom as a communal utility room with awashing machine, but all the tidy driers in the Ann Because of shortages, we have become really conservative, because we have to live some- where emotionally aswell as everything else for sometime. Our battle for communal AW ak its. Barbara If you were funded as a self-help co-op or funded for design services rather than asa managem nt co-op, would you have greater freedom? Helen We are funded through Housing Association Grants (HAG) through the Housing Corpor- ation which will come directly to us when we are registered but goes to NHHT as our second- ary co-op until that time, and we have a management agreement with them. All the limits are with HAG restrictions. out of the whole government funded market and to get houses with private money. Helen . ind even then ,improvement grants are directed towards Parker Morris standards and values. Ann Ann pees havealreadygonebecauseofcost Theonlywaywecangetrealcontrolistogo In Council housing, priority isgiven to families. As women we earn considerably less than men and are therefore condemned to less adequate hous- ing than men can afford. The Equal Opportunities Commission notwithstanding, womens earnings are 0 g currently falling in ratio to mens. Obviously more than legislation is needed to effect real change in womens status.’ y of types of housing in a local area for women at a drive for a mixtuze different stages in their lives with different needs. housing isnow rather Marion We would of course like utility rooms, work- rooms, playrooms for children, but how are these to be funded? SLATE13 PAGE17 womens right to house site operitives: Bye | technical expertise and community groups in tackling the problem. hard to understand; a complete lack of knowledge of maintainance requirements of modern buildings; graft and corruption and so on Architects should take their share though by no means al of the blame. Often when investigat- ing defectize buildings it is hard to understand how certain details were thought up. Organisations like the National Building Agency and the Building Research Establishment are now employed by local authorities to investigate defects in buildings whose technology they were once involved on promoting. They uncover many common faults: condensation, ‘cold Sridges, rain penetration, curious asphalt work, attempts to seal everything with mastic, porous brick-on-edge copings and cills and so on Such mistakes are not confined to ‘systemTM building but more recent so-called traditionally constructed 2-story terraces also suffer. It is not unusual to pick up a trade, daily or local paper and read reports of tenants complaining of damp or of hundreds of thousands of pounds being spent on remedial works, However, it is not safe to assume that the problems are being overcome and that recent demands are being met. So far only the tip of the iceberg is being dealt with. There isagreat need for an alliance between architects and others with owned construction industry and the State. The greater proporticn of current defects are to be found in system built and low standard housing built during the 60s and ‘70s. Untried and The Seagull Co-op started meeting in May 1976. Squatting was no longera viable source of cheap housing for poor single people in London . During the early 70's several women squctting clusters had developed and a support network had grown up. This way of living gave people the flexibility to experiment with different life styles and many felt distressed at having to return to the isolation and expense of compteing for There are also fire and public health regulations which reinforce corridor planning. unproved techniges were welcomed by governments anxisus to Increase production and satisfy quantit- ative housing need. This was accompanied by graeter greutcr monopolisation in the building industry and a reorganisation of the labour force (de-skilling craftspeople for instance): At the same time architects offices were also being restructured in the name of good management, greater division of labour between the bosses and the pe ple responsible for the the technical details. The whole process combined to produce very poor buildings 10 situations where no one was Jy concemed about standards and quality. The fact that good quality building continued in a traditional way during this period only reinforces the bad deal that council tenants got. 5 Many mistakes were made. The technology of heavy systems and prefabricated components was poorly developed and not understood by architects. Supervision was often lacking on site both by architects and building inspectors. fn Building Disasters and Failures Goet identifiesa number of key reasons for these problems declone in siteskills (Specially with lump labour; kick of site training: the demise of the Clerk of Works; the gap between design and ‘aws and Codes of Practice to DAMPWALLS, FLAKING PAINT, PEELING WALLPAPER, MUSTY SMELL Itstarted with ashortlife house from Notting Hill Housing Trust (NHHT) where a group of women were living communally. Ann had had some experience of Housing Associations and we asked for NHHT's support if we started a housing co-op. Other women who had been squatting in insecure accomodation, or in mixed houses ,joined us. wae The hous: and work split is fundamental. For instance, Iwould like to have a type- setter on the ground floor. it would make such a difference for women to be able to have children around anda small buisness on the premises. But housing legilation completely Rising Damp SLATE13 PAGEI8 Helen It seems better at present fo get unconverted houses and to adjust them ourselves. With conversion they are cut up into bits — its Tragic Denise Helen as a co-op Denise Helen Marion: We have subcommittees for special topics — a rules group, an education group,a design group, a finance group, etc. Every so often, we have educationals where the groups report to each other what they are doing. There are occasional confrontations, espec- ially about practical things, getting to know the jargon and so on. for these exciting and rewarding posts. Applicants to join the eight-person group needn't necessarily be able to spel or t ype but a keen interest in the sort of questions that Slate’s about and adesire to take a full part in deciding the policy and future of this leading alternative magazine are essential qualifications. The work involves a weekly meeting and one weekend every two months. Please write to Slate, 9, Poland St.,W1 or telephone 01-703 7775 ifyou're interested. Barbara How have you dealt with problems of power and control amongst yourselves? Helen: But those who have been here the longest, and know the most, are forevever attempting to devolve power, rather than others applying to do the work. The subgroups have been very usefull in sharing of work and learnirig factual information. General meetings are held every fortnight, and subgroups when necessary. Barbara What stage isyour application for registration at present? What problems have there been? Marion: Most of the problems have come from being ‘women only’, and whether we contravene the Sex Discrimination Act. We have had to pre- pare a case based on discrimination against women in housing jobs, etc., why we need to support each other, share childcare and so on. We have had to make a political stand. A Pakistani co-op is starting, and al the members are men, because that is how their sociaty and family structure is organised. Because they are not making a political statement about being ‘patriarchal’ they are all right, they are the norm... Ann: If we were privately financed, there would <ot be so many moral judgements about us, or political statements made. We would only be questioned about our financial viability and our ability to pay rents. We would not be accountable to the public and there would not be worry about newspaper headlines. Most of the early womens housing co- operatives were financed privately, even by Suffragette money .. .but we are past the days of housing for ‘fallen gentlewomen’. activities they grudgingly concluded that things can’t go on like this much longer. Two Advertisements are to be placed in all leading daily newspapers for TWO new committee members but Slate readers are to be given an early opportunity to apply review On the face ofit it is a good idea to own your own home.Popular mythology has itthat home owner- ship means the power to control your own housing circumstances and statistics show that the great majority of people want to be owner occupiers. At Westminster the Conservative government is pursuing policies aimed at wholesale transfer of houses into owner-occupation while the last Labour government’s Housing Policy Review leant significantly in the direction of the promotion of home ownership. Market research and Westminster rhetoric aside, the rapid growth of owner occupation and and its financial institutions, the building societies, over the last twenty years isamost significant trend at the heart of our society’s eco- nomic and political life. In his new book Owner Occupation Martin Pawley shoulders the task of accounting for the current predominance of home ownership and its concomitant ideology over other forms of housing tenure. To unlock his problem Pawley turns to the familiar twir. keys of govern- ment policy and common-sense economics. The strength of Pawley’s book lies in its fascinating account of the motivation for home SLATE13 PAGE19 Ann: Thankyou. So workrooms are an essential requirement. Decisions are made by thegeneralmeeting. This is a problem for registration negotiations as we don’t have a committee and they have to to deal with ten of us at a time! We want to stay small enough rof too need a committee. 18 is a manageable number. About ten people attend each meeting. Weexpect each other to be involved. We can’t cope with people who are never around. We don’t want to expand over 30 people. subs shocker rules this out. Its difficult legally for Housing Associations to let shops, so they do not buy them, even though there are many in this area that have been empty for year at Single person housing is so often seen as an extension of transient student residencies. You sleep ,wash and study in a tiny space. The home in Parker Morris is seen in the same way. There is no space to do other things than prescribed activities. You do those other things outside the home and women with children cannot get out to do them. Outstanding subscription renew- als are causing headaches at NAM HQ.IfyouareaNAM member and you hayen't paid your NAM subscription please do sowithout delay so that the LiaisonGroup can continue to support the valuable work of the NAM groups. Ashen-faced Slate committee members at last decided at their meeting today that they must have more PEOPLE on the committee.With numbers savidgely cut by College commitments and other revolutionary opportunities Would you have more opportunity to decide what you want if you were an ownership co-op? There would be the same costs limits andstan- dards if it was done through the Housing Co ‘ poration. We have started to investigate Bui ding Societiestoseeifilspossibletoget mortgage How did you set up your management agreement and what sort of problems arose for you as femin- ists? We studied many forms of managment agree- mants from different co-ops, then the one trom Notting Hill Housing Trust. There were many things that we changed. and the Trust accepted the changes. Wechanged all references to “workmen? to ‘workpeople’, We set up a liaison group between NHHT and Seagull rather than allowing staff members of NHTT to have automatic rights to join the co-op. All ‘hes. were changed to ‘shes’ in the tanancy agreement, the management agree- ment and the Constitution .Children may live in the co-op under their mothers tenancy until they are 18 years old. When children reach 18, mothers have the option of keeping them under their tenancy. Girl children may apply for membership of the co-op. We have discussed the possibility of developing an exchange system with mixed co-opsfor women who wish to marry. OWNING YOUR OWN ownership: in the mid-nineteenth century it was a Martin Pawley: Owner“ way of imposing sobriety and thrift on the ‘artisin Occupation: Architectural classes;nowitsisameansforplayingthehousing dd eeeDoe marketforpersonalgain.Inparallelrunsa Sa description of the building societies’ transformation Birmingham Community from the local and often corrupt organisations of earlier periods into the preeminent financial insti- tutions of today, supported with numerous anec- dotesandawelterofstatisticsandpercentages. — pie Scen All this is quite absorbing but readers hoping for juserated: £1..00, athorough-goinganalysisoftheroleofthispart- —_paperback icular form of tenure in our social structure will (Ounthanks to Birmingham bedisappionted.Forastartsasearchofthebook COS Coe for an attempt at establishing why as opposed to factions a how home ownership is so widespread reveals that Pawley puts forward no better answer than the Reviewed for SLATE by words he quotes from Richard Crossman: “...the GilesPebody. provision of houses for sale to the potential owner occupier is a response to a deep call of human nature ”. Human nature establishesa demand which democratic government aids enlightened s*lf-help to satisfy. This reasoning might account for the activities of the building societies in the nineteenth century but is scarcely adequate now, at a time when, as Pawley points out, governments of both political complexions are committed in some Development Project Final Report No. 5. Leretoe Leo SLATE13 PAGE20 Under- leaseholder iD f a week a safety committee was set up and publisher and Micheline Wandor reinforced His jVaiuer) Direct Labour — Rebuilding SC’ out— lining the proposed reduction of SC to a quarterofitsturnoverby1980,explaining theworkforce issuedwithaseriesofChics hisviewthattheharshrealitiesoflifeoften the consequences of extensive subcontrac— ting which Bovis management introduced suchaspoorsiteorganisationandthe hamperingofbuildingduetosubcontractors withthecounciltoappealagainstSC's ialdistributionandalargerfeeorwitha claimsandcounter—claims. Theyargue that there isno real basis on which to cut sc since the borough stil has 8,000 people on its waiting list, the current stock of housing is deteriorating and figures produced by the Housing Department predict that there wil be an increase of Buyi e300 in the number of households in pouty overthenext5years.Apart aoe the new housing that is required ; could also be included in the large ousebuilding programme at Surrey Docks, our Freeho SLATE13 PAGE21 JSNEWSNIEWSNE NSNIEUS strike left in print The ‘blue spring’ of 1979 saw Thatcher cruising to power onatide of public opinion eased to the right by a national press that was largely owned and controlled by the Tories. The struggle for survival as a Direct Labour Organisation still continues . Since the controversial leak to the press in August of details of an overall labour could not do this work. but itisbeing excluded onthe grounds that the work isunsuitable. There isno substantial evidence to prove that direct ;The broadsheet was sold on SC’s3sites indanuaty and on the 21st there wasa | The established newpapers and publishers in Britain operate an ideological monopoly reduction of Southwark’s workload over the next 2 years to a quarter of itspresent size, 180 redundancy noticeshavebeenissuedand4 pee onyeeio Na verylimitedtotaleiatiodindcanty aePence aeSe isbrokeninafew ara t ont placesby ahandful of publicati a ji :ao53 maderedundantinOctoberlastyear. panese eaeWorksea (RPG)FascasCSalbersigeltatif plasterers and 10 carpenters were lo thisarguing that to backed by the Transport and General transfer arecognised steward without Workers Union was called and isstill priornegotiationwith theunion wasin loose s , ishing z CTE pee teeth acute tothebougeois information machine. RPG ismade pu from publications suchas ‘the A Leveller’,‘RadicalScienceJournal’,‘Spare Asa result of this an official strike redundant inspite of the fact that other workers had been employed in their place, and would not con— not agree and his case was sent to the DisciplinaryAppeals Committee which consists of3 councillors. Bob argued The morning session opened with perspec- tives from RPG’s constituent publications Charles Langley of the “Publications Distribution Coo ive’ ke of pee sabotaging unionorganisation. He ayiges outthatinhistermsof inprogress. Management reaction was adamant. They refused to re— instateworkerswhohadbeenmade. agreementtotransfer.Managementdid entitled‘TheLeftinPrint’ meee ployment there was no contractual Rib’ etc. and last February held a conferenc Constructioncouldfunctionasaviableforgrossmisconducton6April.Heintendslimitationson ane aeie publications: the large distributors, apart from any political misgivings they might have, are sceptical of themarket potential of left materials. David Wells of the Cénference of Socialist Economists -Books MP’s and local tenants association.In resolved, but nothing was done. Asa result discussing their work. Bob Young of the Januarytheypublishedabroadsheetcalled theofficialsafetystewardwrotetothe_ RadicalScienceJournalbroughtintofocus organisation in its present form. In response to this situation a committee was formed by trade unionists at SC as well as representatives from other industries in the borough and members of Southwark Trades Council to try and prevent SC being run down. They have been publicising events, trying to activate the labour force, to take his case to an industrial tribunal andappeal under the Employment Protection Act. ne Efforts to better safety conditions at the NewingtonButts site and introduce safety committees in accordance with the —_ explain=d the policies of his group in tryin, Health andSafety at Work Act, asaresult to breach the gap between the writerand afte ofa factory inspector's visit in December _ readership through the creation of inter— have been no less fraught. The inspector —_related publications around aspecific theme negotiatingwiththecouncilandcontacting listedanumberofpointshewishedtosee andbysendingouttaperecordingsofwriters inspector explaining the situation. Within the dilemma faced by the writer in choosing for meetings forseveral months ahead! —_forced the left writer to approach non-left Southwark Construction Trades Council —_yblishers — ‘whether to go out under i Committeearenowtryingtoget4hearing traditionalpublisherwithalargepotent- rundownbuttheyrealisethatSouthwark radicalpublisherwithasmallerdistribution isnot an isolated case and that their support and hence ahigher cover price (or no paper- is also needed for other DLO’s which are back edition)’. Spare Rib seemed to ns ee only group represented that was distributed by one of the ‘giants’ — Smiths. likely to be attacked under the new Tory government. The next session looked back at radical publishing in the nineteenth century. This had flourished prolifically, as James Curry explained,buthadbeencrushedbythenew technologies transforming the printing industry with their high capital costs. The CC degree to giving people the choice to be owner- occupiers but nor the choice to adopt any other form of tenure. At least the book provides some of the information necessary for an enquiry into the reality that underpins its own assumptions about housing and “human ‘ature’: firstly it charts the extent of government intervention to prop up the house market through a series of financial deals with the building societies; secondly it points out how home ownership in the 1970s has become a form of speculation ;thirdly it touches on a more fundamental political issue in describing how, in 1917, the chairman of the Building Societies Asso- ciation declared that the societies “*. . must not prejudice the high position in which they stood among the financial institutions of this country ” by mixing themselves up in the provision of houses for lower paid workers. As an arm of finance capital searching to extend its market the societies have found themselves needing to do just that aided and of interest to speculating property companies who stand to make vast profits if redevelopment becomes possible. abetted by a series of governments who at frsst underwrote their financial respectability through guarantees and subsidies and are now tending to offer them a virtual monopoly of the housing finance market by ensuring that through the run down of council housing that more and more people will tum to owner-occupation in the search for a decent house According to the books authors there is nothing unique about the situation described in *Leasehold Loopholes’. Many late Victorian houses in our inner city areas were built on land leased for 99 years from large landowners and bought singly by owner- -occupiers or in small numbers by small landlords, often with building scciety finance. Today, almost all privately devloped new hoases, but not flats, are sold as freehold property so, like the private land- Leasehold Loopholes, a recent pamphilet by the stall of the Birmingham Community Development Project (CDP) also fooks at the question of owner- occupation but from quite a different point of view They have written a microcosmic study of the problems facing the people living in Saltley, an inner-Birmingham neighbourhood, whio live in Ieaschold houses the leases of which are about to expire. The phy sical and social decay of the area 1s the result of the leasehold system itself which, as leases near expiry, has the effect of reducing the assets of the leascholder (the right to repair the house and the duty to repair it)in favour of the increasing value of the asset of the freeholder (the ultimate ownership of the land itself and the right to exploit it as he or she will once the lease has expired). In these circumstances leasehold prices fall and leasehold owner-occupiets are reluctant to invest in repairs or modernisation of their homes. In the meantime large freeholds, some inSaltley comprising up to 40 acres of housing land, become > lord the iniquitous leasehold system has been effect- ively banished. This does not help the residentsof Saltley and people like them but it will prevent situations such as these arising in the future. But leaseholding is only one facet of the direct depen- dence of householders on the large institutions of Capital. Their dependence in increasing numbers on the building societies, with their need to protect their their * ...high position ... among the financial institutions of this country ”, is another. It is Legislation, in the form of the Leasehold Reform Act has been enacted in reponse to the plight of leaseholders, but, as Saltley residents and the Birmingham CDP discovered the right contained in the Act for a leaseholder to convert his asset to a freehold is not the key to security that it appears to be. Ni the first place the comparative economic strength of the freeholder enables him or her to exact a high and sometimes unreasonable price for a freehold. Also, the several layers of lease interest in any property al have to be purchased by the would be freeholder and this process involves extensive and costly legal work. TheSaltley residents responded by organising a collective » campaign to support individual attempts to buy freeholds which the authors of ‘Leasehold Loop- holes’ go on to describe in detail. often argued that owner-occupation offershousing rights that other forms of tenure cannot in terms of security and individual control of housing. While owner-occupiers’ rights are achieved by entering into an individual relationship with major financial institutions, the extent and price of those rights will be determined by the market and the supervailing strengthofthe institution rather than the needs of the householder, and the price may well be too high for many to afford. southwark construction template the arguement that Southwark his case but was rejected and dismissed SLATE13 PAGE22 the SLATER johnson epitaph ig F> The Cambridge University Architecture faculty Two NAM members made unusual guests England may have gone to the Tories but not so Scotland reports Mick Broad. A new NAM group has been formed in Edinburgh. which has never been without its elitist tendencies has now got truely entrenched into its ‘oh-so-academic -approach ’, entirely disreguarding the few mangled students who got squashed on route. Until this year the approach to the diploma years was that a student could retum automatically unless he or she was a third. If this was the case the student would have to resubmit some new work before being allowed back. This year, however, more than a third was reintervieyed while those with low I 2s were reinterviewed but most were not taken back. This is a policy which isobviously short-sighted since two people who gained Is in the fifth year had been readmittedwithlowII2sorllIs. Nor should the situation be seen purely intermsofacademicexcellence,orthe lack of it. Often those who got alow mark in exams were the people who at a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) branch meeting.in Nottingham last month. They had been invited to debate whether the RIBA represents the views and aspirations of British architects. Also on the platform were RIBA stalwarts BobGiles,SalariedArchitectsGroup(SAG) architecturalworkerstojointheUnion leader, and Nottinghamshire County were not prepared to conform to the often restrictive demands of Cambridge. In terms of the ammount of notice which thestudentsweregiven,Cambridgeacted offeringa‘newdeal”tosociety,basedon irresponsibley towards the students, who had only six months in which to find an alternative diploma course. Cambridge also seems to have chosen a time during the term when the workload was high to minimise the student protests. The only justification that the the Cambridge faculty could present on this subject was that they had written in Nov. Good Luck, Edinburgh! asanexcuseisdemonstratedbythefact that there has been no response to a letter addressed to Professor Wilson from 2nd year-out students. Our Sandy mayhaveafinger onthepulseofthe British Library but does he care a **** about what happens to Cambridge. theRIBA should,letalonecouldordoes, represent the views and aspirations of British architects, and indeedwhether such a body should offer or attempt to Pp thei group as architects. futurestrategies. They alsopropose the introduction of a public debate and more visual material about NAM. New Architecture movement, a 9,PolandStreet,London, W1 4 ee) Pe toreturncontrolovertheirenvironmenttoordinarypeople,andsocial responsibility and accountability to the work of architects....... to fund- -amentally change the existing system of patronage . to return a voice both to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use its products. nottingham edinburgh showdown new group Architect Henry Swain standing in for RIBA President Gordon Graham. NAM member David Robuck opened the discussion by suggesting that the interests that the RIBA represents are those of the owners of private architect- -ural practice in both the services it provides and in its attitude to architects" position in society. Typical of this was the RIBA’s case for the intention of a mandatory feescaleforarchitects’ services which had been shown to be basedona“hollowbargain”. Bob and get to know NAM. Numbers were limited becuase, according to Mick Broad, most of the circulars sent out to Edinburgh practices ended up in partners’ waste bins! However, a small NAM group is now meeting monthly, making fresh contacts and becomin gnvolved in local housing issues the city’s Trades Council. Plans are being made for a series of open discussionmeetingsintheautumn. NAM members and other pepple interestedinNAM activitiesinthe Edinburgh area should contact Mick Broad (tel: Ford 320564) or Alan Edwards (tel: 031-447 9650) congress79 Plans put forward by NAM Liaison Group members for the 1979 NAM Congress are for a very different type of Congress from those of previous years. The proposals, for discussion at Giles prefaced his talk with a cal for unity among architects behind the RIBA and forms of practice which allow ful professional responsibility to al architects, through the RIBA, should seek to rehabilitate their public image by the concept of individual professionalism. Taking up this point Giles Pebody, also from NAM, reviewed the history of the RIBA and showed that, each time it had sought to reform the profession's intemal arrangements and consolidate its collective power, the RIBAitself had been stripped of the Liaison Group meeting in July, would part of its authority. The way that the Registration of architects had been made make for a Congress more understandable and accessible to non-members by centring ona discussion of the Movement’s fundamental aims. Such an emphasis would, the proposers say, also help NAM the responsibility of a body seperate from ,the RIBA was a case in point. X 1976 to college tutors saying that the faculty had no obligation to take students back after their year out. However this wasnever-publicised.Theweaknessofthis discussion,thatitwasquestionablewhether toassessitsachievementsandestablish A substantial consensus seemed to emerge from the two hours of energetic tsofsuchadisp Aproposed Congress Agenda has been irculatedtoLiaisonGrouprepresentatives The Congress is to be held in London in mid-November. Local TASS officials provided the backing for a first meeting which was held on 11th March to encourage _SLATE13 PAGE23 NEWSNEWSNIEW: ARCHITECTS at the London Borough of Haringey recently gained approval for reorganisation proposals that will establish a more direst working relationship between the architect, the client and the com- munity. This reflects the Council’s committment to a greater involvement and consultation in the community, especially in relation to housing. The development of ideas for more direct and co-operative working in alocal authority office coincided at Haringey with an enquiry into the management of the Borough Architect’s Ervice by the Cheif Executive. Proposals were made by him but were rejected by the staff as arbitrary and unrelated to project orcliat client needs. Counter proposals presented by staff representatives to the Public Works Committee were agreed in prin ciple. The final scheme emerged following a period of discussion and negotiation in- volving the Chairman of the Public Works Committee, the Borough Architect and staff representatives. The Service reorganisation iscentred around the concept of ‘area teams’, each consisting of about seven persons, inclu- ding an administrator, and a team leader. The team leader, who works as a project architect has an additional coordinating role within the team. However, each project architect has a direct respon- sibility to the service committees, the Client committee and the building users in the community. Each team has a nodal point of working but within losely def- ined geographical limits and will carry out al building projects in the area wherever possible. The management of the Service is considered to be a collective respons- ibility and members of staff are to be elected to a management team. This aspect of the proposal isstil under dis- cussion with the local branch of NALGO. haringey shake-up cambridge sacks students The latest ‘ism’ to hit architecture as the panacea for al social ils appears to be ‘paternalism’. Philip Johnson, famous establishment American architect, has had various ‘isms’ attached to him by architectural pundits. A list would be as long as his buildings are tall, but to name buta few: internationalism, modernism, pluralism smonumentalism, post- -modernism, neo plagiarism (!), eclecettcisim,cetciissm,m, etcism. ..- His latest utterism, delivered at a recent discourse at the RIBA, isthat unemployed workers could find happiness carving ornaments and mouldings on rich men’s buildings (his sexism)! Not surprising from onewhowashanded abundleofstocks by his father, a rich Cleveland lawyer, enabling him to trayel the world freely, buy his way through Harvard and attempt, in 1936 ( imbued with fervour for German Nazism )to set up a_ splinter fascist party in America. Its time to bury this old man inaChippendale coffin under the foundations of his latest monum2nt, a 200 metre high ‘Chipendale’ skyscraper inNew York. growth of advertising revenue as a lynch- pin in print economics also meant that advertisers ayoided publications with a low income readership because they were not ideal consumers. He gave the French paper ‘Liberation’ as an example of the successful social ownership of a section of the press. Mike Kearney of the ‘Federation of Workers Collectives’ stressed that the working class had been left outof history and he supported the writing by, and about ordinary working people. After lunch the conference split into workshops and SLATE attended two of them. The first of these was ‘The Labour Process in Publishing’. Here it was felt that the RPG’s members should offer an altern- ative to the straight press both in process as well <s product. Tight production schedules tended to militate against collective working and truncated discussion on content. The new technologies on the printing horizon were extensively discussed and experience from the Nottingham Post confirmed that capital intensive processes tended to place more power in the hands of the editors. Apart from reducing employment these processes also robbed the print workers of their skills and therefore of their labour bargaining power. An interesting characterisation of the dif- ferent arms of the radical publishing scene emerged; on the one hand the (mostly) voluntary labour involved in writing/pub- lishing meant greater independence but irregular work flow whilst the typesetting/ printing end of the process tended to be operated by people dependent on the work for their income. The political contradiction of a left publisher using badly paid typesetters and printers was acknowledged although it was held that most left journals would cease to exist if obliged to use commercial printers. Some concrete proposals came out at the end of this workshop: —to set up a National Printiag Board to support non-commercial printers —to create anational distribution network —to set up an advertising deficit board to compensate publishers who suffered from a policy of not accepting advertising. SLATE concentrates on the social and economic factors that shape our environment and determine the w ay that buildings are commissioned, designed, built, and used SLATE 6 SLATI full of useful information and opinion from workers in building construction and design, tenants, Women who are builders. Training architects community groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are more attuned to their needs SLATE isan independent magazine published by agroup within the New Architecture Movement, which aims to promote effective control by ordinary people over their environment SLATE 9— The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private enterprise? SLATE 10/11 People talk about the buildings they use SUBSCRIBE! | NAME cSeeersrecteete |ADDRESS SLATE ; = a bi-monthly magazine about building and buildings SLATE ? Can architects help the ‘Community’? SLATE 5 — Monopoly in the architectural profession SLATE 7 — Making public building respond to people’s needs SLATE 8 Feminism and architecture SLATE 13— An issue on housing you're employed) or £3.00( if you're are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | London W.1. If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fil in the form below and send ittogether SLATE aims to bring together ideas and experiences from people who design buildings, people who build them and people who live and work in them : . , SLATE 3— Myth and ideology in the architectural Profession SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND SLATE 12 — Commercial development, the tommunity and the building industry If you would like to be a member of the New Architecture Movement fil in the form below aad send | | itCogether with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00 (if withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.50toNAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE Group 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 Undated https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/27236971ee842226bdd1646541678f3a.pdf 48c45a71ca7a227217907d1b48db2323 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 14 Subject The topic of the resource Building Quality, Skills, Education, Ideology, Materials, Production, Design Description An account of the resource es |oa 7a A iso:ae a i Bai ve BUILDING MATERIALS: Se TTea 35D BUILDING QUJALITY? NEVER MIND THE QUALITY _______________ Page 7 Monopoly fe scales operated by architectural selat Srarty SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are included to stimulate general debate ona wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attentionof the largest possible readership. WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more writers, more ideas and more reps. on order to producea better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE, becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon. The copy date for the next issue is: 6th December 1979 SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London, W1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publication Publications Group). Printed by Islington Community Press, 2A St. Paul’s Rd., London, N1. Trade distribution by Publications Distribution Co-operative, 27 Clerken- well Court, London, EC2. SLATE may beavery slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE” 9 Poland St., W1. There are those who think that the ‘quality’ of a building can only be evaluated in a subjective way. In recent years, however, attention has been focused by the media on several| notorious cases of a lack of quality in biulding: the collapse of Ronan Point multi-storey flats, the fatal fire at Summerland leisure centre, the social problems of blocks of flats in the Wirral which were recently dynamited and everywhere problems of condensation dampness and structural decay in system-built dwellings. Each case picked up by the media has been treated as an isolated scandal and little attempt has been made to uncover the underlying causes of these failures to provide even basic quality. Above all little or no attention has been paid to the nature ofa construction industry that creates such low standards. Processes of building design and construction can only be understood against the background of the economic realities that shape them: simply put, the search for ever increasing profit from the building process on site leads to the speeding up of work, corners are cut, standards of training are depressed andthesupervisionofworkisminimalised.Fallingstandards of workmanship could be compensated for to some degree by building materials of higher quality, but the production of building materials takes place under the same economic circumstances as construction itself. The building materials industry is more rationalised than the construction industry which has enabled attempts to be made to control the quality ofbuildingmaterials butthemonopolisticpositionofthe building materials aglomerates has enabled them to exert adequate pressure to ensure that standards of product quality remain minimal. In architectural education and design the operation of market forces are less obvious, although their effect in speeding up production of design work in architects’ offices cannot but reduce the amount of care that can be given to either technical or aesthetic matters. Beyond that, the function of architectural training and work in creating designs whose ultimate role is to support the conditions under which other sections of Capital can flourish inevitably distances building designers from ordinary people who must be the final judges of buildingquality. _ We have not been able to. explore all these questions in this issue of Slate but hope that we have pointed oft some ways in which quality in buildings can be viewed from a material as well as subjective viewpoint.and indicated some of the ways in which the current economic and social structure militates against good building. A radical redistribution of econamic and political powerinsocietycannotguaranteebuildingqualitybutitmay well prove to be a precondition for any improvement. firms discourage care and quality in building design TRAINED TO MAKE A KILLING Architectural training and ideology enforce thedistancingofbuildingdesignersfrom building users NEWS Coin Street — The battle for an inner London housing site Page 9 Page 12 NEWS:EROMNAMss sn age14) LETTERS Page 15 Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi tectureMovement unlessstatedtobeso. sh or plate’, n., a, & v.t. 1, Minds of grey, green, oF blulsh-purple rock caaily aplit, into flat smooth plates; plece of such plate used es roofing-material; ploceofIt ‘usu. framed in wood used for writing on with ~-pencil orsmall rod of soft ~ (clean, the ~, rid oneself of or renounce obliga. tions); ~-black, -blue, prey, modifications *these tints such as occur in~; ~-club, BUILDING UALITY? O ~al benefit soclety with small “utions; ~-colour(ed), (of) darie reenish grey; hence slat’y? a, *~. 3. y.t. Cover with ~a oo slit’er‘ n, (ME o ne a 2. adj.(Made) OL esp. 88 roofing; heri aic)late£.OFesclate,fem.of> mut. l ui slite*, v.t. (collog.). Criticlze severe” (esp. author in reviews), scold, rates *ocminate, propose for office eto. slat’inc'(1) n. (app. f.prec.] SLATE14 PAGE3 S S ST ue CONTENTS EDITORIAL Page 3 BUILDING SKILLS, Page 4 How the contracting system for building construction forces a decline in the standards of building workers’ training EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775 SLATE14 PAGE2 John Keene is a building worker who has recently completed a6 months full time TOPS course in bricklaying at one of the Skill Centres run by the Government and is now employed as a bricklayer. and controlled and more stable union organisation _ determination overides not only the financial SLATE14 PAGES Building skills In this article John Keene loks at the variuos ways in which building operatives are trained and employed by the contracting industry during their apprentice- ships. He argues that conditions in the building industry training and hence quality. militate against proper training and hence reduce the Any discussion on the quality of the built environ— ment must take into consideration the standard and quality of building industry itself. Iwould like therefore in this article to attempt a look at the quality of that training based on my own experiences which the reader should bear in mind are limited. This is not therefore a scholarly report but rather a review of mine and others experiences in the industry and an attempt to draw from them an overall view of the situation. The most obvious way of learning a skill is to do ted toimprove an apprenticeship. Apprentices Another more basic method of learning a trade is to merely purchase a kit of tools and go with a friend who is a trades person already. Under his/her guidance and protection you try and pick up the essentials of the craft until you feel confident to strike out on your own. Theoretical study if are indentured with 7 any is usually aquestion of purchasing the odd book is possible whose vigilance ensures proper training facilities, Some exceptional firms exist who believe they have an obligation regarding apprentices and some lucky people get with them. Other firms under pressure from strong on site union organisation can be reminded of their obligations and fortunate apprentices receive their due instruction. On one such site that I was on, the Stewards Committee ensured that apprentices were instructed in and carried out allshe craft operations, and were not used as teaboys, semi—labourers and the like. Anothermeansoflearningabuildingtradeisby _ofthecasualstructureoftheindustrythatsuch taking a TOPS course. These are six month a method exists and is pursued by reasonable numbers fultimecoursesrunbytheGovernmentwhichhave ofpeople. become increasingly used in the last ten years or so. They stick very closely to the City & Guilds syllabus giving a good grounding in the theory but with a stronger emphasis on the practise. The TOPS course Iattended in bricklaying Ienjoyed very much and found the standard of instruction very high. However that being so it is impossible in six months to learn a trade: the skill centre I attended certainly tried its best but the time limitation is too great. Also the skill centre, try as it may, cannot capture the reality of site work and ex—trainees like myself have a real struggle surviving on sites afterwards. In fact officially you are not regarded as a trades person for another 18 months and your rate is supposed to be set lower accordingly, but few firms take people on on this basis and you are left to make your own way. Although aTOPS course will come nowhere near ahalf decent apprenticeship, agood TOPS course is far better than a bad apprenticeship. Quality in terms of appearance and technical correctness are stressed before speed (although the shortage of time puts pressure on this attitude and is one of the courses contradictions) and the theoretical grounding isquite wide and ful. Youactually get to perform most craft operations. In brickwork Icovered from a manhole to a Florentine arch, but again the problem is that you only usually have time to do each job once whereas craft knowledge and skill require repetition. Therefore although TOPS courses can’t and shouldn’t be allowed to replace apprenticeships they do provide a service for peoplelike myself who missed the opportunity of an apprenticeshipand who now wish to learn a trade. The best TOPS trainees in my opinion are usually ex—labourers whose self difficulties (you only receive an allowance — far below normal site earnings)but also the pressure of the course and the army type running of the skill centres themselves. on the craft. That this method of learning a trade is totally inadequate is obvious but it is a function SLATE14 PAGES that only by changine the structure Of the buildi industry will the opportunity be crea a building firm for three years under an approved scheme, with certain regulations concerning the apprentices Position and general wellbeing. There is a board regulating the scheme,consisting of both union and employer's representatives, The apprentice is expected to receive the necessary craft training usually under the wingof an older tradesperson or foreperson. He/she is also expected to receive day or block release at a technical college where craft theory is brushed up on and a check made on his/her progress. This sounds and would be fine if this situation was true for al apprentices, however it is not and experience shows in fact that it is only true fora possibility of producing quality work, Heconcludes small proportion. This isbasically because apprentices are and have always been in this industry and others, a supply of cheap labour. They are viewed by employers Iwas on, the main contractor M JGleeson hadsub- let al the brickwork toa subby whilst also having two bricklayer apprentices. The subby wouldn't allow the two lads near any brickwork at al, other than making good and Cutting away, Iwas on that site for 15 months and whenI left there was nothing to suggest that this would change in the next 15 months. not as the necessary new blood for the industry whose training costs are an essential investment but rather as another group to be exploited, Employers profits on site are often tied to completion dates which makes speed the key factor. Time for on site training istherefore greatly reduced. ; The exceptional apprentice who can keep up with high production gangs is welcomed — doing a craft job for les than the craft rate, But the average apprenticeis put on nonproductive work because of hislack of speed and Knowledge and spends his day doing work that is useful to the employer but not to the apprentice. For a young carpenter this means that his/her apprenticeship might consist solely of cutting down scaffold boards, Precuttin, timber for production Bangs, erecting huts etc The widespread use ofsubcontractors by : employers also aggravates this Situation not only in that they very rarely take on apprentices and thus don’ t put anything at al back into the industry, but also In some situations being so piecework : orientated refusing to have anything to do with even directly employed apprentices. Thus one site As one can see from al this the apprentices lot is not generally a happy one, poor pay and debilitating work result in a high number of apprentices leaving completely or going straight on the tools — in- experienced though they may be. However there are exceptions to this general picture. The largest being in the public sector. Here in the Direct Labour departments the Department of the Environment , it is commonly accepted by all sides of industry that a good apprenticeship is the norm. The reason for thi is due to the difference in set up and organisation within the public sector. Here work ismore regulated SLATE14 PAGE6 have had it all their own way and chaos and anarchy rulealongsidetheprofitmotiveinthejunglewe y cal the building industry. The only real threat to this state of affairs being trade union organisation which has fought long and hard battles against employers that make the likes of Grunwicks and Garners management look like benevolent societies, In their struggle they won many things but the lar, a battle is stil going on and that is for control. Fer the only solution to the problem of apprentices, poor quality work is the same solution to al the ils that beset the industry and that is nationalization, Only under acontrolled building programme carried é out by registered building workers, stongly unionised can true regulation and improvement occur in craft training. On sites with no subbies with continuity of work good pay and conditions one might see designers ; willing the sort of buildings we now no longer take for granted but regard as works of art, once again springin, up in this country. But be that whimsical or not it is : a fact that only under direct state intervention wil any real improvement be made in training. Failing that we can only look forward to more of the same —tory destruction of the DLO’s, destruction of the one section where good apprenticeships are the norm, companies dropping back on their numbers of apprentices, and the constant growth of subbies with their shoddy work and even shoddier employment methods. Never mind the quality.. The architectural profession is controlled and minipulated by the Royal Institute of.British Architects (RIBA). They claim that, in return for employing a private architect, a proper regard for the interests of the client. isguaranteed. In the following article, however, John Murray demonstrates how the RIBA’s system for charging fees (Conditions of Engagement) encourages the architect to reduce building quality. publicarchitectshaveneverproposedanalternative JohnMurrayisa method of programming and costing which would reflect the different form of service carried out by in-house architects, Chief architects seem to be firmly wedded to the idea of their departments being similar to those of independent and private practitioners, but with some extra unquantifiable practice stil provides the norm. It defines the context in which public architecture is practised. In niether case does quality of service feature, except as an exhortation, in the discussions on programming and productivity. Yet there isaclose representative of ‘unattached’ archuects on the Architects Registration Council of the UK and has been active in the NAM Profession..." Issues Group. Some firms occasionally take on improvers and this is another way of learning a trade. They are usually people who have been with the firm as labourers and who have shown an interest in acraft. Paid more than labourers but less than the craft rate they are open to exploitation and the employer has not real obligation to proper traingin no real obligation to proper training and day release. Other courses exist for learning a trade under the Construction Industry Board (CITB) but I’m afraid Iknow litle or nothing about them. Also another very important fact when talking about training and quality is that labourers receive no training whatsoever. Anybody who believes they are only performing unskilled work anyway should try it sometime. Labourers are expected, with no training other than years of experience (sometimes the wrong experience) to perform operations as different as trench digging, cutting Both private and public offices use the RIBA fee scale as a device for programming and for measuring productivity. As successive NAM reports (1) have pointed out, this method of payment, which is based on apercentage of final construction costs gives rise to excessive profits and is a barrier to the achievement of quality in building. away with machine tools, kerb and pipe laying. Bad habits learnt when young remain forever. Thus the building industry has a whole section of the workforce who are instrumental to the building process who receive no proper instruction at al. The only conclusion one can make from al this is that craft training in the industry is generally in a sorry state. The reasons for this are to be found in the system itself. With so litle direct state intervention in the industry the employers and mysterious qualities surrounding the fee scale. It is rare either the percentage or the basis of the scale to be questioned in the offices. One might think that when enough. The available fee is divided up into a proportitportion of the fee will be twice as great. Yet labour Salaried architects will be familiar with the awesome and irksome additional tasks thrown in (4). Private arm and the RIBA Conditions of Engagement under the link between productivity and quality. And it is the Moses came down from the mountain he carried the tablets containing the ten commandments under one other. Yet it seems reasonable to speculate thatthe present fee scale emerged when a small number of partners in private practice sat down in Portland Place one afternoon and figured out how much profit they could get away with based on the amount and type of work a medium sized practice could produce in a year. They would also have had to assume a relation- ship between staff salaries and final construction cost. ‘As NAM’s original report to the Monopolies Commission (2) has shown medium and largepractices (over six staff), while accounting for some 36% of practices, nevertheless handle just over 80% of work by value and employ 80% of salaried architects in the private sector. An analysis of the make up of the RIBA Council and ARCUK will show that these bodies are dominated by partners from thosepractices practices (3). As far as the way the fee is to be distributed is concerned al architects will know of the famous three thirds ideal - one third salaries, one third over- heads, one third partners profit. While the definition of each of those may vary, the concept -of unknown origin -exercises apowerful hold on the minds of partners and staff alike. A sample survey of different offices suggests that this is rarely achieved in practice. Yet each office will have its own norm for different types of work which is applied to every project in the office. It is simple proportion for salaries, for overheads and for partners expended could have remained constant. This profit. Staff salaries are divided into the portion allotted for salaries and the amount of hours tobe spent on the job appears as if by magic. distortion will also occur if twice the quantity of material is specified. For chief officers in the public sector the fee scale is the yardstick by which they can provethat they are just as efficient as the consultants or that they can provide a cheaper service. As far as is known, As far as the client is concerned, the existing fee arrangement gives no direct incentive to the architect to reduce either the quantity or the cost of the work because this would reduce the fee income. Thus the RIBA fee scale may be summarised as SLATE14 PAGE7 promise of quality, in aesthetic, technical and social performance which is the claimed basis of the architects’ bargain with society (5). Quality is a social concept. It varies in place and time. Its definition is elusive and the subject of debate, yet its achievement has been the central concern of architectural practice for centuries. Ifquality asaconcept isproblematic, less arguable is the proposition that the quality of the end product isclosely related to the labour spent on it. While the quantity of time taken to achieve quality in a given piece of work wil vary from individual to individual, what is beyond doubt is the fact that therwillexistaminimum time.Iflessthanthisis expended, loss of quality follows. This si not to say that time spent guarrantees quality, but that quality can only be achieved when a certain amount of labour has been expended on the product. Time spent may be said to be the only reasonable means whereby the conditions under which quality can be achieved can be quantified. Time therefore represents the quality element in any pricing system. In the case of the’present RIBA fee scale this quality element is concealed. In addition the architects’ reward from the fees varies not in relation to quality but in relation to quantity and cost of building materials. Thus if an architect specifies a material of twice the unit cost of an alternative that SLATE14 PAGE8 SLATE14 PAGE9 livlihood itwould seem that they devalue itattheir peril. References (1) (a) ‘The Case Against Mandatory Minimum Fees’. NAM Report of the Monopolies Commission 14th May, 1976. (b) ‘Do not pass go.......do not collect 6%: AdoubleNAM reportNovember,1977. (c) ‘Way Ahead’: NAM/Unattached Architects report July, 1978. (2) As I(a) & (b) above. (3) Unpublished NAM report 1979. (4) May, 1978 Public Design Group’s Conference Report. (5) The argument that follows was first published in ‘Way Ahead’ July, 1978, Architecture students are force-fed on the notion that the design of buildings is an arcane knowledge with the power to solve all our problems, a notion that they find hard to shed once they start work. This is no accident, argues Rob Thompson, as the architectural profession exploitsthismythtodefenditsprivi- ledged position, to excuse itselffor itsfailure to design good buildings and to diffuse crticism None of this is good for the rest of us. the ultimate judges of building quality. Iasked my wife to briefly define ‘an architect’. ‘Someone who designs buildings’ was the reply. I asked the man in the off-license the same question and received the same reply. My next door neighbour (a teacher) also considered an architect to be ‘one who designs buildings’. Requiring further confirm- ation, Ilooked up ‘architect’ in the dictionary, and once again was confronted with the same words; ‘a designer of buildings.......’ (1). Four sources, four almost identical definitions. The same unity of definition does not exist, however, for the word ‘architecture’. The people mentioned above produced answers that varied from “buildings designed by architects’ to “everything that is built’, and the dictionary definition was -......the art of designing buildings; style of building......’ (2) I find it significant that society has a clear picture of the architects’ ‘job description” but not of the extent of his or her field of work. Significant because sustaining the situation requires the ‘expert’ to exist whilst allowing the result of his or her “expertise’ to be difficult to question. The definition of ‘architecture’ appears to be as vague within the architectural profession as it is with the lay-puplic. When approximately 80 students of the Architectural Association were asked, prior to a debate on ‘architecture’, ifanyone would like to define the field of their chosen profession, there was silence (3) Whethearn architect iders thephysical realmof architecture to be wide or narrow by executing the design of any building type s/he is contributing to the ‘backcloth’ over which s/he has no control. The built environment is not the product or the architectural profession’s decisions but is determined by market-forces, seemingly democrat- ised by political backing and presented ‘gift-wrapped’ by ademocratic planning process. Ifone uses an analogy of the ‘backcloth’ in theatrical terms the role of the architect is one of colouring in, rather than forming the scene. That the public should be confused about the architects’ field of work is an important protection for the profession against direct questioning about where their responsibilities lie. That the public should be unaware-of architects’ similar confusion is essential for the architects’ self- respect. The uncertainty of both sides regarding the field of operation of the architect is a relatively contemp- orary state and appears to coincide with the strength of voice of ‘the people’. Historically related to aprivileyed sector of society: architectural history, as we know it.....amounts architect, recently to little more than a who's who of architects who qualifie.1. This article commemorated power and wealth; an anthology _ isan edited version architecture is of buildings of, by and for the prvileged - the houses of true and false gods, of merchant princes and princes of the blood -with nevera word about the houses of lesser people’. (4) The growth of socialism in the latter half of the 19th century saw a change in attitude (of some of the powerful sectors of society) towards the ‘lesser people’, from total indifference to liberal paternalism and with this change in ‘client attitude’ came the alteration of focus of the architect. The paternalistic attitude of the architect deciding what was best for society continued through our century, until the late 1960's when the voice of public opinion was strong enough to openly question the ‘right’ of the architect to impose his or her product upon the user. With the growth of public questioning the scope of ‘architecture’ and of architects’ responsibilities has appeared to become (conveniently?) vaguer. The public questioning of the role of the architect in the late 1960's placed the architectural profession’s official body (the RIBA) in a dilemma. To deny responsibility for the built environment by passing the buck to the professional Planners, Engineers or Government Legislation etc. would be to lessen the importance of the ‘architect’ within society. ly the RIBA decided to put its head and try to weather the storm, which it suceeded in doing. Public questioning of the social responsibility of the architect inevitably lead to soul-searching within the profession. This in turn has resulted in an increased need by the majority of the architectural profession (the salaried architects) for a pair of blinkers to direct their attention from clashes between conscience and the realities of working as asalaried architect. As has already been shown the lay-public con- sider the architect to be a designer of buildings, an artist rather than abusinessman. As the RIBA isthe mouthpiece of the profession it can only be con- cluded that such an image is put about by the RIBA. The public might become concerned if it were informed that the environment was determined by the callousness of business efficiency rather than a concern for beauty. Ibelieve that not only is the above image of the architect sold to the public, it is also sold to the d of archi and impl dso deeply of part of his final thesis. Rob Thorson isan one which does not contain an incentive to reduce building costs, but which does contain an incentive to reduce building quality. It is questionable 2 whether this is a suitable basis for society’s bargain with the architectural profession. Ifindeed quality is the cornerstone of the professional service it would seem to be at least logical to establish as the basis of any pricing and programming system the only quantifiable element to which quality can berelated. Therefore itissuggested that the elementoftime should be brought to the forefront and costed, and an indice established for different types of work, so that the salaried architect as well as the client may compare and monitor the amount of time spent on the job. In the argument about quality v productivity, there is more than service to the client at stake. By agreeing to the continual reduction inquality, salaried architects devalue their own skill and the skills of building workers. In so far as both parties are dependent on the scale as their sole means of Trained to make a killing It is probably only within the last 15 years that the architectural establishment has had to concen- trate on the selling of an image to the general public ments. To concentrate on the production of in order to protect itself from the threat of extern- ally enforced change. are presented to students depends to a large extent on the interest of their tutors, who are encouraged by the RIBA through the educational establishments to actively practise architecture therefore ensuring that they are an integral part of the existing architect— establishment is never going to stress the moral ural establishment. The tutor’s interests generally lie in the smaller scale ‘design’ orientated schemes rather than the commercial or industrial corporate image/cost—effective projects. The majority of schools clients. in the country present their students with a variety of size and type of projects likely to be experienced in practise, in fact failure to do so would be failingintheirtasktoproduce‘architects’thatfitted into the existing system. They do not however, present an accurate picture to the student of his/her future role in bringing such projects to fruition, concentrating on the ‘design’ aspect rather than the co—ordinator/administrator role of the architect, nor do they attempt to develop any kindof ‘social conscience’ regarding the trust placed inthe architect by society for its environment. This last point can hardly come as a surprise if one turns to page 4 of the ARCUK Code of Professional Conduct. (ARCUK also being a body with a RIBA majority on its _ Council) Principle 1 states that: An architect shall faithfully carry out the duties which he undertakes. He shall also have a proper regard for the interests both of those who < commission and of those who may be expected touseorenjoytheproductofhiswork.(5) re ThereappearstobenoregardinthisPrinciplefor fxs, yi those who object to an imposed change in their The ‘community action’ movement (which seems to have been the result of the increase in confidence of the public voice) focussed attention on the fact that the architect/client bond was considerably stronger than the architect/public-need relationship. Architecture was beginning to be seen by the public as nothing more than a business. Allegations of corruptioncombinedwithdis-satisfactionof buildings by their users, together with the overall environment spawned by the building boom of the 1960's left only one course open to the architectural profession if it were to maintain any public respect; self-flagellation. The RIBA were not slow to realise that architect’ public credibility, and through this their stability, depended upon being seen to serve public rather than private interests. Almost like a gift from above a virtually unknown architect named Rod Hackney began to be talked about. A small urban renewal scheme had been carried out under his supervision and designed with the participation of the local residents. This scheme, known as Black Road, Macclesfield, appeared to have everything the RIBA needed to promote the image of architects being ‘socially aware’. However one considers the resulting design, for the RIBA it was perfect for the task in hand i.e. to show obligation of its members in preference to their obligation to design, as by so doing it would be working against the interests of its traditional the public that the architect was there to respond to the RIBA continues to ‘approve’ education courses their needs and wishes, and had the specialised by maintaining its control over the ARCUK Council. . “- discipline, bring under control Little Oxford Dictionary A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access. Nietzsche ‘Ecce Homo’ (1888) translation by Anthony M Ludovice. Istated in the Introduction that Ibelieved the image existing, and perhaps loved, environment, but who are not wealthy enough to purchase land, buildings or professional aid to block such a change. The way schools of architecture present an un— realistic view of professional, practise can best be summed up by the following: They are playing (most of) the right notes but notnecessarilyintherightorder. (6) If you don’t know what something sounds like you are unable to question the authenticity of your first hearing of it. For a few students however Suspicions begin to creep in that there might be certain omissions or bias within the ‘score’. For its continued survival in its present form, and at its existing level within society the architectural profession needs to be viewed as ‘special’. The intangibility of an‘ability’ to design ensures this. The image that is sold to the public is surviving, and it seems unlikely that the establishment will have to undergo the pressures on this of the early seventies for some time to come. It is the image that itsells itself that requires the constant attention, because itisupon this that the status quo or the architectural establishment is maintained. The architect is trained to believe that his responsibility is to the God of ‘Design’. As long as this training is continued the architectural ‘status quo’ will be maintained.Everyman’sresponsibilitymustbe in whatever way he can, to work tawards freedom and justice for the members of his own society. I of ‘designer’ is planted so deeply into the minds of ae students of architecture that even after registration as There is no ‘national syllabus’ followed by the schools of architecture. There is however, a gerera generalpatternwhichincreasesthescaleofthe projects undertaken by the students as they progress through the school in order that on completion of the five years of study they will be ‘competent’ (?) to handle the size of schemes required by theprofession over this task. If‘design’ isthe weapon chosen to Practice;v.t........imposeupon.LittleOxfordDictionary.chitectsthisimage itsvividenoughtoover—ride clashes between conscience and working reality, conflicts, that, if not pacified might lead to a demand for radical change of architectural practise from within the profession. There is however, a second fundamental requirement of the schools of architecture,namelytotrainstudentstofitintothe existing fields of architectural practise, comfortably. There is then an immediate contradiction of require— believe there should be nothing that takes precedence ‘designers’ is contrary to the requirements of the majority of the larger clients that the profession serves. As Charles Jencks stated in Building Design: The architects who get the most work provide the most unidentifiable buildings (4) And yet the belief in ‘design’ is the architectural establishment’ssafeguardagainstforcedchange. Design is the basis of the architect’s public and self—respect, it makes him ‘special’ and provides him witha‘skill’ that is undefinable, making arguments against the results of his skill (buildings, environments) extremely difficult even for other architects let alone lay—people. 1am now going to concentrate on the relationship between RIBA and the schools of architecture and the way in whichI believe ‘correct stability’ within the schools, regarding students’ attitudes to their profession, is maintained. The following section of the text will focus on the way in which ‘design’ is developed and marketed without contradicting the require— ments of the professions clients. The foundation upon which the future retention of the ‘status quo’ rests, for the architectural establishment, must be the ‘correct’ training of its student architects. Fourty one years later, despite having lost its majority on the ARCUK Education Committee, There is a quotation: “The Status Quo does not abdicate in the face of logic’. The architectural This delegated right of ‘approval’ is one of con— siderable power. The whole basis of *statutory grant’ funding to enable students to undertake advanced educational courses in this country requires that these courses are ‘approved’ by a ‘recognised’ body. The withdrawal of approval of a course automatically removes the right of a student to a‘statutary grant’ and consequently reduces the number of students financially able to attend such a course, even if it were to remain open. A further guarantee that, for example, an architecture school would have to close with the withdrawal of RIBA approval is that, no matter how long a student studied there he would be unable to register as an architect. The one possible exception to the statement above regarding guaranteed closure is the Architectural Associatiotn is the Architectural Association, and the reasons for this will be explained later. There is an irony within the situation of statutory funding for advanced architectural education. The general policy of Socialist—controlled Education Authorities (which, despite the recent change to a Conservative Government, have increased in number) _to award grants to students for ‘public—sector’ education dictates that architectural education can only be gained at schools approved by the RIBA. _ traditional clients, i.e. commerce, industry, local, be used by the architect towards these ends then care regionalandnationalGovernment.Thewayprojects mustbetakenthatitremainspointedintheright direction and that it stays ‘a means to an end’ rather than becoming an end in itself. = Ee “oyoom olin wledge and capabilities to protect their eaeThecoverageofthisschemeinthe public media was extensive and notonly got into| ‘Good Housekeeping’ and ‘Ideal Home’ but was given peak—viewing time on both ITV’s ‘Today’ and BBC’s ‘Nationwide’ programmes. Itwas awinner from every establishment view point, even the self—help/indepen— dence aspect was present. The ‘community architecture’ image promoted by the Royal Institute has not only quietened public concern but has thad the added advantage of making attacks upon the RIBA from within the profession less credible with regard to criticism of lack of public accountability. School; v that, after qualification, the belief inbeing a designer over-rides any other contraryexperience. : The questions that were taught to be important: form, function balance, etc. take second place to ‘timescale’, ‘price per square meter’, “units per hectare’, etc. The words that were used to show one’s knowledge of architecture (eg. constructivism, post-modernism) mean nothing to either client or user. An entire terminology; upon which five years of acedemic training has been based is found to be totally useless, that is, until one is with other architects, when (once more) the phrasescan be uttered, the names dropped andone’s “true knowledge of architecture be appreciated by others. Rarely are leading architects, past orpresent, associatedwithpoliticalorsocialbeliefs.Their , aesthetics are of prime importance, their motivations secondary or never mentioned, unless they happen to be complimentary to the fashion within aplace 4 of learning, What must be remembered is the “design It is this that is pushed forward and it is this that is analysed. And yet for many of the traditional ‘greats’ of architectural design their aesthetics were the result of their strong social beliefs, which also provided their prime motivation for design. Architect; n.......One who drafts a plan of your house and plans a draft of your money. The Devil's Diction ary by Ambrose Bierce 1881-1911. clei |iz V eyvifecsLnS ATTEMPTS to build Britain’s largest office block near Waterloo in London have reached fever pitch, with the arrival of new proposals from developers Greycoat London Estates on the table of the Coin Street planning enquiry. If this initiative is successful the last link,in a chain of large scale commercial and institutional developmentswi,ll be in place stretching along the South Bank of the Thames from Southwark Bridge to Vauxhall. Standing between the developers and their goal are two obstacles: Lambeth that this unusual step was taken at the behest of the Tory GLC, who favour office development on the site but were anxious that the commercial proposals under consideration at the start of the Enquiry were so appalling that they stood little chance of success. Greycoats’ intervention has come in the form of proposals for an integrated development of offices with attendant restaurants, pubs, shops, some housing and a small industrial unit all designed by architects Richard Rogers and Partners. Greycoats wona place at the Public Enquiry the Coin St. Enquiry could benefit the formal battleground between the commercial developers as a whole! so the developers and the local people, when their development lobby must be content that the »4 /\ _, View from the North Bank of 4 _Y,Greycouts’ proposals Industry: Totalling 30,000 sq ft Rogers’ role as Greycoats’ architect is to arrange this floorspace in a way which is at once viable commercially and acceptable to the public in the forn: of the Enquiry, although no designs were submitted with the outline application. As Simon Jenkins pointed out, this paper exercise is within . the now discredited traditionoflarge scale modern town planning and architecture?: a new ‘pedestrian spine’ links Waterloo Station with the river wall where anew pedestrian bridge leads over the river to an inappropriate joint next to a multi-level the sites can be used if the local community is to survive and the loss of an important part of London to a commercial ghetto is to be avoided. GREYCOATS INTERVENE warehouses in Cutler St to yield 800,000 square feet of offices and a £20m. office development about to start construction on the controversial Tolmers Square site. Both schemes have been the object of bitter struggles with conservationists and local communities. Greycoats’ tactics for the Coin St. Enquiry rely on a mixture of ‘public participation’ directed at the local community and, to defuse criticism from professionals, the employment? ofa young but respected architectural Greycoats hope that Rogers’ design will be judged by the general public and the Enquiry in the light of the success of the Centre Beaubourg, as‘... a place where al classes and al ages can participate’, rather than on itsown merits. The bald facts of the apportionment of space in Greycoats’ outline planning application are less attractive to Public Opinion: WSUS THE DEVELOPERS Planning precedents which may arise from Council's propesals for the Waterloo area embodiedinastatutoryDistrictPlan newoutlineplanningapplicationwas lotofpromotingtheprincipalcommercial practicetoplanthedevelopment. mies1,317,670sqft(equivalent trafficjunctiononthenorthbank.Oneither approved in mid-1978, and the local people. represented by their Neighbour- hood Council, the Association of Waterloo Groups (AWG). The District Plan sets aside the Coin Street sites for housing for families and that, argue the local people. is the only way that ‘calledin’byEnvironment Secretary Hesletine, during the course of the Enquiry. Already under consideration were housing schemes from AWG and Lambeth Council and office proposals from the Heron Corporation and Commercial Properties. AWG iscertain schemes has fallen to Greycoats, who have builtupareputationforexpertiseinhand- ling opposition from local groups and conservationists. They are leaders in a new wave of sophisticated commercial developers who have successfully evolved new approaches, inaclimateofpublicopinionandaplanning THEIR ARCHITECTS Richard Rogers and Partners’reputation rests not on commercial buildings but on theirdesignfortheCentrePompidou ay toaboutnineCentrePoinPointsisi:zeoffice Housing: Not exceeding 300,000 sq ft Leiesure/restaurant/shopping/ Recreation: Notexceeding250,000sqft side of the walkway are ten to thirteen storey office blocks with a small area of housing to the south, and the other ‘uses’ strung out along the walkway. The gap between the reality of the proposals and Rogers’ description of them, which has been accepted without question by the architectural press4, gives the lie to the KEY TO COIN STREET AREA LT 1Lendan askend Television IC +Intarnatienal Publishing the "kings: NT +National Theatre want tte site, moved out of Londen Plan of the Coin Street sites showing current uses SLATE14 PAGE12 Larecty sitesi 163 6CarParke SOUTMMAAK SITES 647 4Dereitet 2+Printing werkt 9 5Bark, pub, ofices, incvetey, works! yrelopes te Te oF Elevation from the Thames View of the scheme for family housing submitted to the enquiry by the Association of WaterlooGroups Model of Greycoats’ proposals SLATE14 PAGE13 Offices: Totalling 1,317.670 SqFT CNEWSNEWSNE Heads you win, tails Ilose # NEWS) EWSNEWSMIEWSN systemhardenedagainstcommercial culturalcentreinPlaceBeaubourg, Paris, pour bytheeventsoftheearly70s.widelyconsideredtobeanexcitinganf woof their Successes’ in London are the successful building ina revitalised central progressive demolition of a group of historic area of the city. In employing them. Plan of Greycoats’ proposals suymitted to theEnquiry Head S you win (cont.) New Architecture movement, &s _toreturncontrolovertheirenvironmenttoordinarypeople,andsocial -amentally change the existing system of patronage to return a voice both to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use it We were pleased to see Tom Woolley’s article “Rising Damp’ in Slate No. 13. But we do have a complaint about the way you edited out some of the information we know Tom included in his copy. Tom mentioned the anti-dampness meeting (the first of its kind ever held) in Birmingham,andsomeinformationabout the worker/tenant committee in Sandwell. As he said, a national campaign against dampness is to be launched, and SCAT is helping the Working Party set up in Birm- ingham to do this. To this end, we are aiming to contact every anti-dampness (ortenantsassociationtakingupdampness, article‘RisingDamp’bySLATEan’ technique that the developer's architect adopts to mystify the real nature of his client’s proposals: the ‘social magnet’, the provision of facilities for the whole city, the ‘multi-pupose enclosed framewor! for working, living, recreation, shopping and bultural activities’, but most of all the idea that the ‘scheme’ hasalife of its own, and ismuch more than aresponse to a developer's brief{ acknowledging, almost with regret that it is ‘offices that are paying for this scheme’. The designitself has been the subject of ‘WORKING IN ARCHITECTURE’ is to be the theme of a conference and exhibition to be mounted in Venice next year. Planned for March the five day conference will form part of the Architectural Section of dampness ANTI—DAMPNESS PACKAGE A set of papers about all aspects of dampnessandcampaigningagainstit has been published by Services to Community Action and Tenants (SCAT) ‘The papers cover such issues as: Canpaignstrategies,demandsand victories; causes of and remedies for dampness; how repairs are paid for; direct works and the private contracting Please send me: others. cases) in the country, and to obtain basic information on every estate with damp houses or flats. Unfortunately your articlehadnomentionofeitherthe contact address for the Working Party, or the set of papers we produced for system; health and housing; joint action by tenants and building workers in can only assume you must have seer: earlier draft we did not possess. Thanks for providing the additicn- informationwhichispr. «uelow: Slate committee. Dampness meeting held in April 1979 will be also sent to tenants associations, anti-damp paigns, law or centres,tradeunionsandotherlabour movement organisations. (Only available while stocks last). SEND FOR YOUR COPIES NOW‘ AND TELLOTHERCAMPAIGNS,RESOURCE CENTRES AND LAW CENTRES ABOUT THIS UNIQUE CAMPAIGNING PACKAGE’ Venice _ Biennale NAM Congress 1979 NAM’s fifth annual congress, to be held in London on the 9th, 10th and 11th November, will be of special interest to people who want to find out more about the views of the movement and to new members as well as to long standing membets. The Agenda has been framed té enable a thoroughgoing assessment of NAM’s aims andprogressinthelightofexperiences from outside as well as inside the Move- ment. The congress opens on the Friday night with a dicussion with leading critics and architectural practitioners and Nothing was left out of 7om Wooll. context with participants drawn from the building industry people involved Boaction over housing, industrial and planning issues as well as from the architecturalfield. In al the debate surrounding the social and aesthetic merits of the various schemes it is easy to forget the issue at stake at Coin Street isnot which of the various schemes will get built, for it is unlikely that any of the proposals will be realised in its present form., The real issue is to what use the land will be put, land most of which was acquired very cheaply many years ago for the building of public housing. Society’ followed on Saturday by work- shop sessions grouped under the headings “Accountability to Building Users’ and ‘Democracy in the Building Design and Construction Industry’. The Sunday sessions are devoted to planning NAM’s future role. Food, a bar and entertainment complete the bill. Conference registration including meals is £8 for earners and £5 for non-earners. Day registration isavail- able for the Saturday sessions for £4 including meals. Entrance to the Friday discussion is free. Further details and registration forms from NAM 9Poland St., London, W.1. Two more papers have now been added to the Package and are available separately to people who already have the other eightpapers—Paper9onobtainingand using technical help, and Paper 10 which is a list of useful publications. A full report of the National Anti- to this tendency in the form of a serrated skyline on otherwise sheer blocks does nothing to accomodate ithe needs of people for intimate. as well as large seale spaces. The design\has been likened to a twelve-storey high Berlin Wall and the Royal 4" international exhibition of radical Fine Arts Commission which advises planning @Pproaches to architecture’and urban authoritiesontheaestheticaspectsofmajor issues.Alsoformingpartofthecircuit projects is said to have serious reservations about the scheme. section of the Biennale is an exhibition mounted by feminist architects It is hoped to organise a package-deal €XCursion to Venice for the Conference details of which will be available later. NOTES 1. Slate 12 ‘Planning System on Trial’ 2. Greycoats’ pamphlet: ‘South Bank Development — Proposals for an “Area in Crisis"’’ 3. Architects Journal, 15th August 1979 4. ‘Bright Future for the South Bank’ Architects Journal, 8¢ hAugust 1979 SLATE14 PAGE14 SLATE14 PAGEIS Venice Biennale. Preliminary dicussions among the considerable criticism, failing, as it does, to acknowledge what progress has been made in Italian organising group also attended by inofficedesigninrecentyears.Thesuccess French,GermanandBritisharchitects of recent designs has been the abandonning envisaged the event as an international of the gaunt, sheer walled slabs of the early >xchange of ideas and experiencesof ; 70s in favour of lower buildings with stepped those concerned with the social, political facades creating spaces of more human scale. and cultural role of the architect's work. courtyardsandterraces.Rogers’concession Thequestionistobeexaminedinawide theoristsonthetopic“TheArchitectin Sandwell; and the limits and p legalactionondampness. ial of Concurrent with the conference will be to return control over their environment to ordinary people ,and social responsibility and accountability to the work of architects. to fund- amentally change the existing system of patronage to return a voice both to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use it a NTS, Peta Sissons, Services to Community Action & Tenan‘s EWS SfNW aka |] 9, Poland Street, London, W1. Praca) From: Services to Community Action & Tenants, 31 Clerkenwell Close, London EC] anti-dampness campaigns (and which include a description of the Sandwell committee). Dear Slate, Would you like to help us to reach more anti-dampness campaigns through NAM members who may be giving tenants some help, or working in local authorities with dampness problems. You could do this by including the information cut out of Tom Woolley’s article, and by mentioning the Dossier on Dampness form which isbeing distributed to tenants organisations. responsibility and accountability to the work of architects....... to fund- Campaigning against copies of the Anti-Dampness Package at 60p per copy to tenants associations and anti-dampness campaigns nd at £1 per copy to all copies of Papers 9& 10 at 20p for the two. Please make cheques and postal orders payable to Services to Community Action and Tenants. Bulk rates are available for individual papers. I/we wish to be included on the ‘Dossier on Dampness’, please send details. (Delete ifnot applicable) Gut out and sendto SCAT,31 Clerkenwell Clase, London EC1 RIBE [iryoyuouwouldliketboe amember oftheNewArchitectureMovementfililnthfeormbelowanndsond it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( if you're employed) or £3.00( ifyou're are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at9, Poland Street || London W.1. || NAME... || | |ADDRESS | |If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together | |withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.50toNAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1. | | i SLATE abi-monthly magazine about building and buildings SLATE aims to bring together ideas and experiences from people who design buildings, people who build them and people who live and work in them. SLATE concentrates on the social and economic factors that shape our environment and determine the way that ‘buildings are commissioned, designed, built, and used SLATE full of useful information and opinion from workers in building construction and design, tenants, community groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are more attuned to their needs SLATE is an independent magazine published by a group within the New Architecture Movement, which aims to promote effective control by ordinary people over their environment ~ SLATE 2— Can architects help the ‘Community’? SLATE 3 — Myth and ideology in the architectural Profession SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND Women who are builders. SLATE 5 — Monopoly in the architectural profession SLATE 6— Training architects SLATE 7 — Making public building respond to people’s needs SLATE 8 — Feminism and architecture SLATE 9 — The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private enterprise? SLATE 10/11 People talk about the buildings they use SLATE 12 — Commercial developmenth,e tommunity and the building industry SLATE 13 - An issue on housing Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE 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 Undated https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/8e871306fcab770f26305efa280aba78.pdf 4431b1759b869b6fa89c35f683cb63dd 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 15 Subject The topic of the resource Includes Hellman cartoon on RIBA control of ARCUK Description An account of the resource I THINK THE TROUBLE WITH ARCHITECTS ISTHEVRE ALWAYS DESIGNING MONUMENTS i \ SCKCLZ apotqies 10 WHOSE PROFESSION IS IT ANYWAY?_____ page 3 People think that the letters RIBA signify ‘architect’ — this isn't the case SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are included to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement's views and activities to the attention of the largest possible readership. WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more writers, more ideas and more reps. on order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE, becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics itshouldcoverthencontactussoon. The copy date for the next issue is: SLATE is published by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London, WI. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications PublicationsGroup). Printed by Islington Community Press, 2A St. Paul's Rd., London, N1. Trade distribution by Publications Distribution Co-operative, 27 Clerken- well Court, London, EC2. SLATE may beavery slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE 9 Poland St., W1. Many people think that the initials ‘“RIBA’ signify a qualification in architecture and that only those who wear them after their name are professional architects. This is far from the case, as the ‘unattached’ councillors on the Architects *Registration Council of the UK explain What raelly distinguishes ‘unattached °architects is that they alone have the right each year to nominate and electtheir own representatives to "ARCUK’. You've probably heard little of ARCUK — the Architects Reegistration Council of the U.K. — because ever since it was established by the Arch- itects Registration act of 1931 to regulate the architectural professionin the public interest, the RIBA (whose would-be monopoly of ‘architecture was rejected by Parliament) has stopped at nothing in its attempt to suppress public knowledge of ARCUK and to prevent it from effectively carrying out its role. The RIBA controls ARCUK at present by packing it with owners of architectural firms pledged to follow the orders of a small clique of fanatics associated with the RIBAs ruling council. Although anyone can practice architecture, only people whose names are on the register of Architects maintained by ARCUK may legally call themselvesarchitects.Insomerelatedprofessions hip ofthe rel ,charteredinstitution functions as the as the recognised professional qualification, but the professional qualification for corporate’ membership of the RIBA are no higher than those of registration with ARCUK. Of course no RIBA member can use the title ‘architect’ unless he or she isregistered with ARCUK. UNATTACHED NEWS RIBA railroading of Registration Council revealed NEWS Whose (SAC) Conference was It Anyway Vote for the Public Interest RIBA Snubbed inSurvey THE SLATER NAM CONGRESS “79 Full Report on this Year's New Architecture Movement Congress SUMMER SCHOOL STUDIES URBAN QUESTIONS Report of the Bartlett Summer School which investigated the ‘production of the city’ REVIEWS Two books on Housing LETTERS NAM-—A Way Foward; SAC Conference; NewYorkContacts page 5 page 6 page 9 page 10 page16 page 21 page 22 place. Socalled‘unattached’architectsarethosewho Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi tecture Movement unless stated to be so. afite, ee (colloq.).Gece,wovereyy” (erp.authortareviews),scold Hed over the last few years. ‘Unattached architects work in al sectors and include young and old, employer, employee and self -emlpoyed architects( though like the profession as a whole, 80% are employees). Some ‘unattached are strongly opposed to the RIBAs relentless persuit of the self- interest of the few architects who are employers in private practice,its hypocritical contempt for the public interest, its undue influence over architectural education or its reactionary political position. Others simply find it bad value for money. In 1980 architect members of the RIBA will be asked to pay an annual subsciption of£64. For what? For,a mere £12 ayear anybody can receive the RIBA journal and al unattached can receive the Buiding Design free each week. At the same time fewer architects are interested in having theinitialsRIBAaftertheirnamewhichforanarch- itectsignifiesnomorethanRACafteranameofa licensed driver. responsibility. Some architectural firms or public authorities try to force the architects they employ to join the RIBA. Such undemocratic employer imposed *closed-shop” contravene the provisions of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act of 1975. Any architect facing dismissal, or victimisation short of dismissal ( such as refusal of promotion otherwise justified ), for refusing to join the RIBA( or maintain RIBA membership )should appeal to an Industrial Tribunal. An architect faced with similar discrimination in applying for ajob should enlist the support of his or her Trade union. At present, unattached architects have nine etected elected representatives on ARCUK. Any of the architects listed below, all of whom have represented unattached architects on ARCUK, willbehappytotrytoansweryouequestions concerningtheroleofARCUKandoftheRIBA ‘nominate,proposeforoffietcc,eHi aiueise'd ae Tapp. f.preo.} WHOSE PROFESSION IS IT ANYWAY arenotmembersofthefive ions(includi theRIBA) listed in the schedule 1 of theArchitects! Registration Act of 1931, which specifically recog- nises the right of architects to remain ‘unattached’. Of course ‘unattached’ architects may well be mambers of a trade union, such as NALGO 4x IPCS in the public sector or TASS in the private sector. Many feel that being amember ofa union isamore effective way of defending their livlihood and gain- ingcontroloftheconditionsunderwhichtheywork +responsibilityforrecognisingcoursesinSchoolsof and the quality of the work they do. Architecture as qualifying for admission to the Nearly 5000, or 1inS architects are now Register.For many years however. the RIBA has ‘unattached and the number has dramatically increased prevented it from effectively carrying out that Because itmust decide who will be admitted to the Register of Architects ,ARCUK has by law the me (CIL: CONTENTS Some architects, employers of architects, archi- tectural students and users of architectural services stil believe that a qualified architect must be a member of the Royal Institute of British Archi- tects (and, conversely, that a member of the RIBA is necessarily an architect). In fact an architect need not be a member of the RIBA (and thousands of RIBA members are not architects). More and more architects are choosing to be ‘unattached’, either resigning from the RIBA ornot joining it in the first EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775 registering as an architect and being or becoming ‘unattached’. They would equally be pleased to talk on those subjecte to groups of architects , Students, trade unionists and others interested. John Allan,67 Romily Rd, London, N4 (01-734 8577) Anne Delaney, 196 Albany Rd, Roath, Cardiff. (0222 492047) Susan Jackson, 4 highshore Rd, SE15. (01-703 C911) Alan Lipman, UWIST, Cardiff. (0222 24732) Bob Maltz, 14 Holmdale Rd, London ,NW6. (01-340 3288 x281) IT'SRUMOUTRHAETDTHEMUPPARETMEASLY MAMPULATEO DOLLS . John Murray, 37 Landrock Rd, London N8. (01 340 8031 x280) Marion Roberts, Stephen George and Ptnrs, 5 Drvden ST., London WC2 , (01-240 2430) David Roebuck, 25 ST. George’s Ave., London N7, (01-267 5604 x34) Ken Thorpe, 109 Cadogan T., London, E9. (01-985 2676) lan Tod, 19 Wellington Chambers Aire St., Leeds |. (0532 635274) Eddie Walker, Leeds (0532 635274) Tom Woolley, 27 Clerkenwell Close London EC1. (01- 251 0274) RIBA application of any independent criteria to the Register entry qualifications. Alas ho progress in reforming this state of affairs can be reported for the 1979-80 session, thou he Unattached have tabled a question as hether ARCUK appointees to the visiting boards have ever included a non-RIBA memeber. No awards for guessing the answer SPERM BANK IS A LOAD OF PRAP Talking of awards. itn recalled that the 1969 Registration Act established an ARCUK Education Fund for ‘the provision of scholarships and grants ... the furtherence of education and research ... and the disemination of teaching.” (Section! , subscction4) Responsibility for the sdministration of this fund falls mainly on the Projects and Research Awards Panel, Known as PRAP — an unfortunate abbreviation which, in the indifferent accoustics of the Council Chamber can occasionally be misheard. On PRAP’s advice ARCUK has allocated funds to the tune of £56 000 since 1975 to the York Centre for continuing professional aducation (contributions from other institutions such as the RIBA, RICS, 1OB, CIBS efc., have averaged about £200 p.a.) The results of investment in this agency, in effect an RIBA sperm bank* lave been modest, if not invisible, considering the input. Unattached Councillors have been vocal in arguing that funding of the York Centre must be discontinued and putto better use, and were apparently vindicated when, at the October Council meeting it was confirmed that no further grant was expected. With deft footwork however the December Council approved a new BAE proposal to fund the York Institute the sum of £15, 000. An Unattached amendment to reduce this contribution was, of course, defeated. 5 SLATE aims to provide an effective means of communication for the “unattached ” members of ARCUK through these columns and letters page. So if you feel strongly about these issues, don’t hesitate to write to us. For the lay reader of SLATE “ ARCUK ”is the Architects Registration Council of the U.K. It was set up by the Architects Registration Act of 1931 to control the entry of people into the profession and itor their conduct once registered. It is posed of S main constit- uent bodies; The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), the [AAS (The Incorp- arated Association of Architects and Surveyors), the FAS (The Faculty of Architects and Surveyors )and the AA (Architectural Association ). any part of Council sessions. Quite what would constitute a ‘special occasion’, is not clear but the majority ensured ample license by voting that the Council could resolve itself into committee and place the Press on trust whenever it might fecl reporting to be undesirable. Included was the provision for committee members RAILROAD Following his impressionistic picture of the December 1978 Council Meeting, Hawser Trunnion brings you this round up of ARCUK news over the past year. Councillors representing the Unattached Architects in the 1979-80 session have, as usual, been well exercised in monitoring difficulty that was partly alleviated by andwherepossiblechallenging,the activities of those intent on preserving the status-quo behind ARCUK’S flickering illusion of change. This well trained house poodle of the RIBA now enters the 1980s al st-t to carry off yet again’ the top award for obedience and decorum in the Cruft’s contest for professional dressage. A yariety of issues have predominated in the session from March to December 1980, of which the following are perbaps of most interest. ARCUK SECRETS — THE BLUNT TRUTH The old chestnut of Council Con- fidentiality isalways readilily available for further roasting. Following ‘leaks to the Press’ in 1978 in connection with the Summerland case, the Council has made several attempts to limit Press reporting and the freedom of disclosure of Council business by members. The complexion of the more devout blimps, however, moderated from deep purple to blushing pink when it was realised thet an initial proposal to administer oaths of secrecy on Councillors was too |fatuous to be taken seriously. In the event Council voted 27 to 9. at its June meeting to adopt the following measures for a trial one year period: that except when in its quasi-judicial role (eg considering removals from the Register for crime or disgraceful conduct), or other ‘special occasions’, Council would not exclude the Press from meansoftheannualquestionnaire which has more recently been included in the election mailing. At the October Council meeting a sinister event occurred. With to discuss Council business with their nominating body — no mention being made of those wishing to obtain feedback from their electorate — (ie., the Unattached) This relates closely to the wider issue of communication between Unnattached Councillors and their electors — an ongoing a degree of vulgarity which until recently might have seemed untypical a squadron of RIBA voting fodder — defying Standing Orders with the Chairman’s consent— introduced a motion to prevent the Unattached obtaining their electorates views by means of this questionnaire. The motion was, of course, carried thus closing even this rudimentary channel. In contrast the Council, in June, generously sanctioned Press photography — though as one Unattached Councillor observed, the prominent RIBA insignia that embelishes the throne on which the chairman isinstalled could mislead the uniniated into believing that the panorama represented a sub-committee of the Institute! EDUCATION — DUTY FREE It may not be well Known that the 1931 Registration Act placed a “duty” upon the Board of Architecural Education (BAE — Schedule 2) to recognise siutable examinations for qualification, to recomend the holding of any examinations it considered suitable and, indeed, to hold examinations itself (Section’ 5). An exotic metamorphosis has transformed this stat- utory duty into the chummy excursions of-the RIBA visiting boards, effectively removing from ARCUK itself the The application of ARCUK’s con- siderable rescourcesjto assist prospective students in need of financial help was another important power conferred by the 1969 Act. Unattached Councillors have been concerned at the low take up of such grants, amd at the December Council asked what steps outside actual schools af architecture ARCUK took to publicise their availability, Clearly there must be many a bright school leaver unable to obtain a suitable grant who remains quite ignorant of the possibility of ARCUK funding as wil his career advisors - if the Council does not widely advertise among schools and 6th form colleges. The Regis rar however confirmed that no such information was made available CONDUCT UNBECOMING The accusation that RIBA in ARCUK fthe tail wagging the dog, is ed ‘in disciplinary matters by the observation that its bark is worse than its bite. Feeling itself powerless und angry” at the outcome of the Discipline Committes investigation into Summerldnd , the Council at its June meeting ordered a review of the ‘tasks and obligations of the Discipline Committee”, and of how” ARCUK’s procedures compared with those of other such statutory committees under the aegis of the Privy Council. However, when the report was presented at its Octiber meeting the Council was evidently reconciledito its powerlessness and anger, as an Unattached recommendation to improve the Discipline Committee demonstranly the poorest constituted amongthefourcompared(doctors,DentistselectionofUnattachedRepresentativesto permitarchitectstopracticeas A NEW WAVE of national activity among student architects took a tentative but short step forward at a recent student conference in Sheffield. Challengingly entitled ‘Whose Education is It Anyway?’, the con- ference was organised by the Schools of Architecture Council (SAC) whose chairman since last spring has been prominent radical lecturer Brian Anson. Scen as SAC’s response to the call for greater student involyement in decision making implicit in Anson’s election ,the conference was aptly subtitled “A Wood- stockofArchitecturalEducation’ embracing, as it did, a wide variety of alternatives in Architecture. Events were only loosely tied together and ranged from a seminar with architect, Derek Walker, member ofa newly founded international design consultancy, to workshops put formity across the country and discourage free inquiry und any questioning of the nature and social role of their subject. This view was supported by many of the students at the conference in private conversation: some deplored the narrowness of the ‘training’ that they were given; others complained of a lack of scope tr learn about the building industry, work directly with community groups or simply to learn about the aspects of architecture that particularly interested them. What was to be the solution? Inspite of the conference structure, which was stated and restated as relying on participation for achievement, only the most elementary steps towards progress were put forward in the open sessions. Among the ideas to gain the widest assent was a call for better communication nication between the students in different schools, appealing as it did to both those who felt that salvation could be found by changing to a “better” school. if they could find one, and those who feltitaprerequisite toaconcerted Student campaign for a better deal. In contrast some maintained, atter the example of students from Hull, that Students in cach schoul should deal with their own problems rather than be side tracked in activity at a national level Only two measures were put to the Conference forashow-of-hands vote Anson won support for his proposal to reform the constitution of SAC which currently gives students, staff and the head of cach school one seat cach. I the Sheffield resolution is ratified hy SAC’s AGM, each school would, in future, send three students, two stall and the head of school, giving students an cqual voice, The resolution of support for the staff andstudentsoftheCheltenham School of Architecture, which has recently been instructed to shut its doors to new students with # view to complete closure in about two years, fitted well with the feeling running right through the confer- ence in favour of diversity in architec- tural education. In the discussions preceeding the vote the complexity of the forces that control the schools became eveident as the machinations between the DES, Gloucestershire County Council, the CNAA and the School's parent college were explained. Several speakers deplored the RIBA’s unwillingness to unconditionally Support the School, inspite of the fact that they formally recognise the standard of its courses. In the end most of the participants seemedtotakeawaywiththemmanyofthe frustrations they had brought to the conference venue at the top of Sheffield University’s 19-storey Arts Tower, and to a degree that was inevitable. The organisers it and Vets) — received no support whatever. ARCUK Council. The size of the electorate and the nember of councillors is of course governed by the provisions of the Ofthetwentyorsodifferentevents \ie only a handful dealt directly with questions of architectural education: Anson debated with Architectural Mono- graphs editor Davil Dunster whether courses should include material on the social implications of design or con- centrate solely on developing design ability in an abstract, formal sense; Jane -Darke, a student activist during the 1960s outlined the achievements of the now defunct British Architectural Students Association; NAM members lead a popular seminar aimed at identifying the problems facing architectural education as seen by the students themselves. In his opening talk Anson recalled how, during his first six months in the chair of SAC,hehadvisitedoveraquaterofthe UK schoolsofarchitecture. His impres- sions Were ofa student body cowed by staff who promulgate a formalistic app- roach to design with a remarkable uni- Meanwhile expensive prosecution of architects committing trivial or merely technical Code offenses continues unabated. Thus. while an attitude to fier precautions described as casual in the ex- treme and involving the deaths of 50 persons equitable, however, isthe method of falls short of “disgraceful conduct *being Yes No Undecided 65% 24% 11% engaged as the director and secretary of a company developing abuilding site, although “in fact ho client or other person suffered damage’ therefrom, does not. In the latter case, by a nice irony of timing, it appears that the ‘guilty’ architect may be struck of by the same[ Council meeting at which the RIBA lobby will vote to allow directorships. THEARCUK MACHINE —WELL OILED OR OILY? This necessarily breif resume would be incomplete without noting the hazards of the procedural thicket the Unattached 6 determining how many members exist in each constituency. Every year on the 31st October an ARCUK computer print out provides the names of al those on the Register. The number of Unattached, the seeimd kargest constituency, is, inpractice determined by means of the RIBA vetting a 2. Should ARCUK follow the recommen- dations of the Monoplolies Commission by changing its Code to permit architects the option of not using the RIBA Conditions of Engagement? BAD AT FIGURES 1931 Registration Act and adjoining Regulations. The rule of“one repreesentative per 500 members or fraction thereof would seem sensible sn¢ simple enough. Less -The opinion survey was carried out with the assistance of ‘Building Design’ magazine. We publish the results below: In conclusion, the phrase “casual in the extreme. could, with some justification, be applied to the administration of the annual ST SAG USAC TOS a jeage o eeftheunattachedlistsand a copy deleting Yes No Undecided 64% 30% 6% al those that it claims eee 2 ames, depriving reduce diby theconstituencyofafurtherplace Council and on nominees, adding one extra to the RIBA’s Unfortunately no counter-check is Yes No 2% Undecided 2% carried out, nor are any Bodies RIBAUAAUE 96% ee as its Own members. 3. Should ARCUK take stronger measures to help end descrimination in employmentagainstarchitectswhoare not members of the RIBA? oftheieconstituent AS, etc., obliged to provide the registrar with an updated copy of their membership list. It is obvious that it is disadvantageous to inform the Regis. trar of membership decline — as the Pre SS “ informs us is happening in the case of the RIBA. Equally no strict criteria is applied todetermine when anon- -subscriber actually ceases to be a member of such a body, thus enabling the Institute to carry any number of passengers for the ARCUK count. Disparities between the Institute's own names and subscription income apparently indicate a passenger list of several thousands. CALL TO ARMS — MORE LEG WORK NEEDED Notwithstanding their modest achievemen| the NAM Unattached Representatives — as listed elsewhere in this SLATE — brace themselves for another year of opposition and hostility and in doing so invite the good will and support and interest of al unattached architects in this endeayour. RIBA SNUB IN SURVEY THE UNATTACHED Councillors on ARCUK have recently canvassed their constituency on some important issues facing architects at present. 1.ShouldARCUK changeitsCodeto limited liability companies? on by Glasgow based community archi- tectsgroupAssist,withrepresentativesof U TEAT~ECTA.| TOATT” almost every shade of theory and practice inbetween. EE , must perforce negotiate to register their views. It is well understood in most democ- ~ racies that Standing Orders exist to protect the minority who would oferwise simply be crushed by a majority claim thet ‘might isright’. In the case of ARCUK, standing orders can dissapear taneously created with conjuror’s ease. Thus the requirement of 24 hours notice for motions in Coi#ncil not arising from committee reports can be waived or overlooked to set asude an Unattached motion submitted in proper order (Mach Council), or to introduce a resolution to suppress the questionnaire that is unre- lated to the Committee report (October Council). In december Council a more ingenious novelty appeared, namely that any resolution to ammend or omit a committee recommendation isout of order, and that Council's only power is to ‘refer back’ the entire report. Moreover the Chairman is well versed in the ‘Nelson touch’ when it comes to Unattached Councillors endeavouring to catch his eye. The solubility of democracy iscompleted by the Chairman’s now freq -uent practice of resigning his role of impartial arbiter altogether and asking Council asawhole whether itwishes to hear the Unattached contribution — such enquiry invariably being answered by bovine roars of "NOY By way of explanation the Chairman has often declared himself the ‘servant of this Council’ Unfortunately he is only prepared to be servant when the RIBA is master. —_orbe spon- KEEPING THE NEEDY IN THE DARK ONE WSIDAASNEWSI Whose (SAC) conference was it anyway ? t good intentions to bring together the maximum number of students lead them to rely on an invited galaxy (albeit small) of architectural *stars’, leading personalities in the profession, to attract the crowds. As a result the experience of the conference tended to replicate the experience of the educational process itself, with the students’ role unconsciuosly classified as that of receiving the wisdom of the design ideologies February 7th. annual ARCUK retention feehas just been raised to £7 50) to pay the bills for the RIBA’s pet projects and slow the decline in the Institutes membership. To continue the struggle for a demo- cratic and open ARCUK anda publically accountable profession, unattached architects are urged to VOTE FOR Bearing the burden of the architectural professions’ conscience seems to be getting too much for the RIBA’s Salaried Architects Group, whose increasingly appropriate acronym is SAG. The Group, which purports to represent the interests of employe, as oposed to employ architects on the RIBA’s Council, has always held that the way to liberate their constituency from the iniquities to ditch two of the three main planks of the Code of Conduct which effectively prohibit advertising by architects and their taking of directorships in building firms. As the owners of private architects firms go about restructuring the rules of their game so that they can make more profit the SAGs are stuck in the position of being in dispute with their patrons. Architectural punters who had failed to notice until then the cracking facade of their ‘united profession’ had it rubbed in their faces Foster Imposter There isan old joke about public participation which runs something like this: ‘The Council is seeking the views of local residents about the route ofa new motorway. Please indicate which of the following three routes you prefer: through your front garden, through your back garden, or through your and professional mores of practitioners and academics. Under these circumstances it would have been an immense step for the studentstohavecollectivelyshedtheeffects ofseveralyearscachinthesortof environment that Anson described at the openingoftheconferenceandtohave madeaconcertedchallengetothe NAM members presently hold eight of these nine seats representing ‘unattached’ architects, i.e. those architectswhochoosenottobe membersoftheRIBA,theAA,orone of the other minor bodies cited in the ArchitectsRegistrationActof1931. Theunattachedaretheonly MarionROBERTS professionalresponsibilityasdefined architects entitled to elct their own representatives to ARCUK. controllers| of their education. Some questioned whether SAC, even “balanced” under its proposed new constitution, could be a vehicle for student-centred campaigns for reform and Jane Darke was among several speakers who argued for a national architectural students organisation with no staff membership. Nevertheless the conference did provide the “marketplace” of alternative ideas that had been promised and known to be incraesing in numbers. David ROEBUCK Dave SUTTON Eddie WALKER by his or her Code of Conduct. If this results inaconflict between professional obligations and doing what the boss tells you then the salaried architects’ interpretation of the Code would have to rule. Until recently this policy has been popular with the RIBA’s controlling group, the owners of private architectural firms, who have favoured several SAGs with appointments to high places in the Institute's hierarchy, in return for their support for the Code and hence their reinforcement of the myth of a ‘united profession’. Times change, however, and a 1980's wind of commercialism is blowing through the upper echelons of pennydreadful Building Design, that the proposedchangesare* lusivelythe concernofprincipalsinprivatepractice and the reported opposition of a few salaried architects in public employment isirrelevent and impertinent’. There is little doubt that Bryan Jefferson, fellow private practice boss and current RIBA President, would support this view. Small wonder that SAG leader, Bob Giles, has recently been seen wandering the corridors of the GLC with his head in his hands. The Slater's advice to Bob and thousands of other salaried architects is to get out of the RIBA and show it up for what it always will be and when you need to protect yourselves from the iniquities of employment do it through your union, like the rest of us. Transport site in central Hammersmith is fullocalpeoplecouldwellbe faced with asimilar participation excercise over who should design the scheme. In this case the wording might be ‘The Council intends to permit the building of several hundred thousand square feet of offices. Please indicate which of these two architects you prefer: Foster Associates or Elsom Pack and Roberts’. The campaign lead by RIBA Journal editor. Peter Murray, was sparked off by the dismissal of Foster as architect for the redevelopment of the island site around Hammersmith underground station in the Summer. At the time Foster had little work and the move resulted in extensive redundancies in his office. However, it appears that the people of Hammersmith are not being fooled by the pro-Foster campaigners and are not letting any fuss about who designs the redevelopment to confuse their opposition to the scheme in principle. At a ‘packed’ public meeting called by the campaign, abstentions were the rule of the day; 43 people voted for Foster and 12 actually voted against his reinstatement. Not that Foster himself islikely to be that worried now: his appointment as architect for a multi- million pound bank development in the seeds of questioning ,sowed and nurtured According to ARCUK the RIBA in individual minds may flourish. One accounts for 78% of al people on Sheffield student has been reported as saying the Register. The reality is probably that his school will never be the same again. under 70%. Although around 80% of architects are salaried employees, nearly 80% of architects on the Registration Council are bosses. This We would like to add that, as the question of is because the RIBA Council, which communication betweeh students in yariuos is free to nemniate anyone — laymen schools was one of the themes of the conference, we should remind everyone involved in architectural education that Slate only because of the: presence of NAM is in the libraries ofa good few schools of architecture. Ifnothing grander isforth- coming then Slate would be happy to carry articles from students and perhaps help take the first steps to improving the communication that was called fro so widely at Sheffield 8 ee members representing the unattached that there are even 20% employee architects on Council. During the past year these NAM members have continued to struggle against stepped up harassment, abuse, bullying and obstruction from RIBA’s ARCUKmafia(seereportinthisi to ensure that ARCUK acts in the public interest and not asarubber stamp for the RIBA’s dubious policies and as a means of getting al architects (whose TK HongKonghasjustbeenconfirmed. {Raab Vote for the public interest ‘UNATTACHED’ architects have nominated nine NAM members as candidates for all nine ARCUK seats up for election Ballot papers are being sent out to al ‘unattached’ architects by the Architects Registration Council and are due back by Sagsing |The Slater the RIBA and preparations are underway Although the RIBA publically acknowledges that its membership is in decline and at the rate of at least 2% per year, the RIBA-controlled ARCUK has decided to give the RIBA Council one more place on ARCUK this year and no more to the unattached, who are and to get the freinds and colleagues who are ‘unattached’ to vote for them also. Every vote counts this year as ther is again some reason to believe that some of the nore fanatical membersof the RIBA may be trying to putup @ puppet slate of RIBA supporters to contest this election, despite the total failure of such an effort two years ago. included — to its seats on ARCUK this year appointed 90% bosses. It is John ALLAN NormanARNOLD MickBROAD David BURNEY JohnMURRAY of salaried employment and, at a stroke, thepublicfrom of archi 1 thoughtlessness,istoreform architectural practice so that each architect,bossorminion,hasfull when respectedpastp ofthe frontroom’.Ifanewcampaignover RIBA,EricLyons,wroteinthearchitects theredevelopmentoftheLondon () Ofje p C- NEWSSNEWSNIEWESN Told enc _.RIBA Council member Archie Tekt guns down theSAGs inSLATE 9(Summer 1978) Slates’ address is 9, Poland St., London, W1 Articles and helpers welcome! 10 & aN These are some of the more important campaings and activi ties NAM has mounted or been involved in over the past four years: — The . = - — ~ — — - Reflected in this list is the diversity of interests embraced by NAM. At the time of NAM’s found- ation many of these issues were as relevant as they are today. NAM’s achievement has been to draw together the individuals and groups cncerned into an organisation which can debate and refine understanding of the questions by linking them together, and provide support and a base for widening individual campaigns. This diversity means that a cemtralised organisation with an ‘executive committe’ isinappropriate. NAM has developed a federal structure, for which the only decision making event as far as NAM as a whole is concernedistheAnnualCongress.BetweenCongresses the non-policy affairs of the Movement are co-ordinated by an elected ‘Liaison Group’. Policy and campaigns are the prerogative of separate local- and issue- based groups whose only duty isto report and stand accountable to the Annual Congress. NAM provides for its member groups and indivicuals an opportunity for broader discussion at local and special national meetings and through Slate, financial support for particular campaigns and acchance to win the support of a wider body through resolutions at the Annual Congress. Continuing debate and a widening of spheres of action are essential to NAM’s future. It is currently involved in a process of reviewing and refining its policies and startegies which has become the more vital in the face of recent political clanges. Member- ship is open to al. FORWARD with thought was the message from the 1979 New Architecture Movement Congress held in November last. Speedy react- ions to the grim prospects facing architectural workers and the users of the buildings they design could prove counter-productive. Instead NAM committed itself to a short period of consolidation followed by a a major meeting early this year to launch thought out alternative approaches asa basis for a campaign agianst the feffects of Westminster policies on architects and Architecture. Already one NAM group has started the process. The Public Design Service Group recongnised in their motion to Congress, the importance of demonstrating that Public Sector design is capable of greater sensitivity to people’s needs if staff in public architects offices are to win the popular support they need to ward off redundancies. On architectural education NAM expressed unanimous support for the students snd staff of Cheltenham School of Architecture in a motion opposing any attempts to close the school. NAM members who represent the ‘unattached’ architects on the Architects Regis- tration Council of the UK also won ful support for their efforts to ensure that Council acts in the publis ir public interest. But proposals for action must always be made from from a thourough understanding ofthe nature of the ‘problem’, and, in the informal sessions of the Congress, NAM set in train theoretical work on the relation of enconomic and social factors to the design of housing. Contributions from the NAM Feminist Group demonstrated how design standards tend to reinforce the role of women as housewives and hinder progress towards equality. Others. pointed p out that th motive of the State in financing council house building wasto secure a healthy and compliant workforce for industry rather than any altruism. A stude group to look further into the question was The ‘Green Ban’ campaign between trade unionists and environmentalists to save Birmingham Post Office building. Trade Union organisation within the hitherto largely unorganised field of private sector buildingdesign. Nomination and susequent election of councillors on the Architects Registration Council of the UK and subsequent campaigning: within the Council to ensure that itacts in the public interest. Preparing and campaigning for the reform of Local Authority architects offices and ,more more recently their defence. Working towards a feminist perspective on building design and setting up a cooperative practice to design for women’s groups. Publishing the magazine Slate. Submitting evidence to the Monoplies Commission against the mandatory minimum fee scale promulgated by the RIBA and ARCUK. Working towards an understanding of the relations between architects and building users, particularly in the practice of ‘community architecture’. CONGRESS REPORT set up and will meet throughout this year. Other group discussions considered the effects of design decisions on the health and safety of working people, the problem of defects in housing, the principles of direct labour and the need to strengthen architectural practice through increasing democracy within offices. NAM CONGRESS 79 INTRODUCTION TO NAM People are often mystified by initials. Many readers of Slate will bave been wondering what NAM stands for. The initials stand tor New Architecture Movement. NAM stands for real control by ordinary people over the processes that form their environment, but also believes that changes are necessary in the way that architecture is practised and the building industry organised, These two ideas are interdependent. ‘At the moment the majority of new buildings and other changes in the fabric of our cities and towns work against the interests of the majority of people. NAM sets out to understand why this isthe caseand particularly in what way building design and construct- ion are responsible for this situation. As we see it, in broad terms, building projects are initiated, designed and then constructed and managed exclusively by a tiny minority in society, managers of corporate private enterprises, local authority bureaucracies, private architects firms and building contractors. Quite naturally they work in their own interests, so wider social considerations are neglected. NAM members, most of whom work in the field of building design are no longer prepared to remain uncritical and inactive. And not only because they object in principle but also because they find the conditions of their work implicit in the current set up are unacceptable. Itisagainst this background that NAM emerged spontaneously ataconference inHarrogate in 1975. NAM isprincipally about the process that gives us buildings. Because the majority of its members are involved in architecture NAM’s work has tended to concentrate on that part of the process calledbuildingdesign. ThisisnottosaythatNAM feels that building design is of paramount importance but the last four years have proved how difficult it is to make links through the walls of our social pigeon holes. Things are changing slowly and NAM is beginning at least to talk to builders, housing workers, economists and others. The morning plenary was reported by Sarah Gillam and covered workshops on planning and people, housing form, housing standards and industrial buildings and health and safety. The afternoon plenary was reported by Tony Brohn and covered workshops on housing form, design and build and direct labour, and trade unions and architecture/democracy in architects’ offices cannot be spent on areas other than those stated, so Ee a)thattenant’spreferencesmaybeignored.Itwould tend to see it as a worker's problem, while architects see it as an obstacle to design. He felt that these attitudes desperately needed to be altered so that users could participate at the design stage to eliminate resks. To do this trade unions and architects architects need to co—operate_more fully with one another. One way of achieving this might be to try and demystify the architect's job by producing pamphlets which explain technical building and design terms, the type of problems which architects face and the design process. He wanted to locate someone in an architecture schoo! who might like to do a project along these lines. So if you're interested contact David Gee via Slate. Housing form R E e e ee Jos Boys introduced the workshop and discussed housing form asatypeofsocial control —through housing tenure and the layout of estates, but also questioned whether form is a result of the social structure or vice versa. The group looked at the design process and discussed to what extent class—based stereotypes are transferred from middle class homes to working Classones The second part of the workshop was introduced by Su Francis and based on a slide presentation of women’s quarters through the ages. Su showed how sex stereotyping exists in design guides and housing layout. Although the pre—capitalist economy was house centred, the woman's role was slightly less defined than later periods. In middle class Victorian homes there wasa strict division between domestic servants (mostly female) and the master and mistress. The servant’s role of cooking, cleaning and making the beds was replaced in the 20th century by the wife/mother, whose role it is to rear children, run the home and replenish her husband's needs. The kitchen is now the main spatial area allocated to the wife — previously the servant's domain and this space segregation has tended to accentuate women’s oppressive containment. The third part of the workshop was given by Doug Smith. He explained how housing form is being designed and built around the stereotype of the nuclear family in an inflexible permanent way and criticised the pseudo—scientific approach of Parker— Morris standards which tries to justify a series of minimums. He also described how building form can be used for general social control and gaye Haussman’s radial street design in Paris as an example. Similar radial designs exist in some prisons. Ultimate— ly, the group agreed that a part from design problems there just isn’t enough housing available — state provision is inadequate while private housing is beyond the reach of many people. NRAeaeSCSIGERILCR an SES Housing standards eeeee) Marion Roberts gave the workshop on housing be better if legislation ensured that buildings are wind and weather tight so that tenants may decide their amenities for themselves. Examples were given to show how some legislation isinadequate. Thermal heating standards don’t allow for different weather conditions in the UK, so that money which should go on additional heating has to be spent elsewhere. In new build housing spatial standards are minimised to those of Parker Morris, whilst the cost limits in rehabilitation tend to result in high maintenance expenditure — somethingwhichcouldbereducedbyinvestingmore some initially in building materials and design. The trend ienesw) purchase by the state, and by trade unions through pension funds. While state purchase was seen as a potential area it was felt not to be feasible for the next few years! Trade unions. however, possessed a substantial amount of money which could be used Positively whilst still providing a return on income. Nobody knew quite how this could be achieved but il is certainly an area for exploration. Housing is already being provided by trade unions in Germany and Sweden, so it was thought that thes examples would be good to look at Trade union involvement in local CUM paigns. throughthelocaltradescouncilwasrecommended by several people in the group to widen the issues and gain more support Many felt that architects and planners were still working on amenity/conservation issues either than for the services of a community and questioned why this was happening. A suggestion to include architeet’s fees in Urban Aid Grants might be one way of solving this problem. Some people felt that if social need was to be met at al architects should organise in amuch more radical way, and put themselves at the disposal of those who needed their services rather than continuing alor the lines of existing Structures. standards. She said that Marion said that with rigid statutory legislation, money prevailing attitudes in industry. The establishment towards rehabs has sometimes gone too far, with local authorities preserving the unpreservable. It was suggested that architects should be allowed to conduct comparative feasibility studies of new build and rehabs instead of simply one or the other. Most people thought that large scale redevelopment projects should be planned in phases so that commun— ities aren't destroyed. An example was given where one community was relocated in tact, so that people stil lived next door to one another. The group felt that there was a need for a resource centre which published information on faulty design and standards. This could act as an information service for joint discussion between tneant’s assoc— iations and building workers examining proposed building designs. Planning and people a ) Industrial buildings and health and safety EAE David Gee, ahealth and safety officer, began the workshop byconsidering some of the problems of implementing health and safety regulations. He standards can be used as a represented moral rectitude.explained that part of the problem stems from 5 Martin Lipson from the ‘Planning and People’ workshop outlined the problems of redevelopment on privately owned sites, discussed the possible ways that the state and trade unions could remedy such situations and proposed alternative ways of meeting social need for the future. He illustrated the problems by first giving an acoount of the Battersea Redevelopment Action Group’s efforts to oppose the construction of luxury flats and offices on a site occupied by a disused warehouse. He explained that the area surrounding the site was dominated by 31 high- rise flats, had little open space and was mainly populated by low income industrial workers, who, owing to the lack of industry in the area were forced to work elsewhere. Objections to the scheme grew and an alternative plan for the whole area was devised by local people together with some architecture students. The plan covered a 30 acre site which included 3 or 4 other redevelopment projects and incorporated badly needed oped space They made two planning applications on the grounc of social need but these were both rejected. When a public enquiry was held, people chose to give evidence rather than be represented by a lawyer, feeling that their views should be expressed directly. At one point they staged a mock enquiry as part of their evidence to illustrate the way in which the wholeprocessworkedlikeagameandwouldhave a determined conclusion. Opinion in the workshop diverged at this point. Some people felt that professional help should be enlisted to begin with, and that total participation by the community was only possible once some victories had been gained. Others argued that by participating fully those involved would be far more ‘ware of the whole political process. Martin pointed WORKSHOP REPORTS out that while they had lost the site in Battersea they had gained the involvement of people in the locality as a result of their participation. Others Suggested that this was insufficient and that people’ awareness and strength would evaporate without tangible success. Another area of discussion was the way in which property developers cab bide their time since their Property is ever increasing in value whilst the reverse is true for communities. In Battersea the Project was stalled for 7 years whilst Proceeding were carried out. But during that time both the local council and Government turned to Conservative and the climate for private speculation became far more amenable. The building programme isnow underway. Everyone agreed that ownership of land wasa vital area and discussed the possibilities of and Trade unions and architecture/democracy in architects’ offices There were 3 workshops in the afternoon session: ‘Democracy in the Workplace/Trade Union organis- -ation”, ‘Design and Build/Direct Labour anda continuation of the moming’s workshop on ‘Housing Form’ added to the afternoon programme y popular demand. _rene Murray from N.A.M.’s “Public Design Service’ group introduced workshop one with a 13 political weapon to restrict or enhance and showed how in the 19th century they 14 Having failed to determine a clear course for the future, the Congress resolved that the discussion be continued at greater length at a special meeting to be called in the Spring. All NAM groups were asked to submit papers and proposals to the Liaison Group in preparation for the special meeting. Such a debate on NAM’s future must clearly be fuly informed and the Liaison Group would welcome contributions from al interested parties 4s soon as possible. Written material should be sent to 9 Poland St., London, W.1. that besetts al state spenders: that of fitting a rolling programme of work into the local authority financial year. This Congress supports the efforts of NAM representing unnattached architects on the Architects Registration Council of the UK in their efforts to An interesting question was posed in the workshop: what limits would be i dupona left-ori d department ideologically committed to expansion? The answer given was that the Borough Architect could block the expansion beyond ‘establishment’ size (a scale determined in conjunction with the DOE). At present quite a high proportion of state-funded work is dominated by capitalism and patriarchy as was crisply farmed out to private architects. Considering the policies demonstrated by Su Francis in the morning workshop. expose RIBA abuses of ARCUK. This Congress requests Sltac to publicise the NAM Mate for the forthcoming election in 1980 in carly January of some local authorities this is not an altogether a bad thing but at a time when local authority building is seriously threatened by cuts it provides an easy way for those in favour of privatisation of the State by the private sector without attracting too much attention. The theory is that the private sector mops up the excess that the public sector can’t handle. It was suggested that a local authority department should be able to work for another local authority in order to match shortfalls of work in one with excesses in another. It was proposed that a joint “Fighting the Cuts” conference sponsored by both the public and private sector unions be called to link action on this crucial issue. Cost limits, design guides and their own prejedices confirm their political role. . c. Discussion of building form is dogged by ip terminology used by architects and their commentators. This severely limits public debate to a fairly elitist plane. The professional institutes do little to improve this situation. Public response should be encouraged a great deal more by the use of the popular media. There have been three further open discussions that have developed themes from the workshop. A third is planned for 10th January 1980 at 5, Dryden Street, at 7.00. All are very welcome. It is intended to to publish material to represent these discussions in the form ofa NAM booklet. di the future to be held in the Spring. ies of NAM in The morning’s ‘Housing Form’ workshop had raised so many important issues that an afternoon slot was hurriedly organised. The-interest gener- -ated by this workshop could be partly due to the fact that NAM had up to then consciously avoided entering into debates about building form, principally because the world of architectural journalism dwells extensively on “what buildings look like” to the virtual exclusion of “whether buildings work” or “whose needs do buildings satisfy”. NAM has avoided repeating the obsession and instead has concentrated on the political and social conditions that produce buildings. The‘Housing Form’ workshops established that enough grass-roots interest existed for nettletobeformallygraspedatlast. The afternoon workshop asked firstly in what proportion housing form was determined by architects or economic constraints. Three fundamental problems were rounded upon: a) Archi fi ly fail at the job they are supposed to do, at the level of basic competance e.g. leaks, bad damp-proof course detailing, specification errors like Sumerland, etc. private practice to help the public sector unions in resitsting attempts to cut the public sector. 2. UNIONISATION This Congress urges al workers in al sectors of building design work to join and organise within their appropriate trade union. In the cise of private sector building design, yhis Congress endorses the conclusions of the May 14th b) They cannot opt out of their ideological context The final session of this year’s NAM Congress was devoted to a discussion ambitiously titled ‘Future ' Strategies’. Its purpose was to review the current strength of NAM and initiate discussion on the future direction of NAM sponsored action. In the event discussion remained fragmented and unfocussed but it is clear that such a self examination is now crucial to the development of any future programme. Throughout the last four years NAM has consist- ently developed its ideas on a range of issuesand established its authority as an alternative voice in the profession. Yet its membership remains small and its resources limited. Debate centred on how NAM should seek wider popular support and, in particular, whether it remained realistic to expect it to grow into a mass movement in membership terms. It was proposed that NAM might broaden its appeal by embracing less purely ‘professional political’ issues but it was questioned whether it possessedthemanpower todoso.NAM shouldlook outside of itself, it was suggested, both by addressing itself more directly to those unattached architects who regularly voted NAM-affiliated candidates onto ARCUK Council, and by seeking to make alliances with other organised groups of working people.Inthiscontextthequestionofwhetherand 4.ARCUK members how NAM should respond to the changed political context was discussed and in particular the need to oppose the proposed public expenditure cuts was raised as a potential centrepiece for action. IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL NAM MEMBERS AND GROUPS Don’t forget to send your papers and proposals to the Liaison Group as soon as possible for the Special Meeting to NAM’s 1979 Annual Congress passed the following resolutions: 1. PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE This Congress endorses the work carried out by the PDS Group in the last year In addition, this Congres« a) supports the the PDS Groujys proposed conference to be held in Spring 1980 to which al appropriate unions will be invited to send delegates, to asses the progress made in the democratisation of publis design offices, and the relation of democratisation to the defence of public architectural practice, b) recognises, (i) the unique potential of publis design offices to provide a democratic design service, (i) the ideological and economic attacks on these offices by the present government, largely supported by the RIBA, and, c) supports appropriate action taken in the defence of these offices by public sector unions and calls on salaried building design staff in Conference that al workers in that sectorshould organise in AUEW/TASS. Tis Congress urges cooperation at al levels between public and private sector trade unions with building design staff in membership to defend and enhance the quality of the workinglives of building design staff and the quality of the design work they produce. 3.CHELTENHAM SCHOOL O1 ARCHUITECTURI NAM Congress opposes any attempt to close Cheltenham School of Architecture, Dbelicving: option that this action would eliminate a progressive in architectural cducation. It expresses its support for the staff andstudents in the school in their fight against closure. description of the reorganisation of the architects’ department.at the London Borough of Haringey where he is employed. The basic idea behind the reorganisation was to create an area-based set of design teams that can develope a good understanding of their locality and a sense of responsibility to the people who live within it. In addition each ‘team Design and build and direct labour leader’ actually partisipates in the designitself. This arrangement isaconsiderable improvement over the conventional pattern of local authority architects’ departments where jobs are allocated to designers on a fairly random basis with the result that there is little continuity over a period of time between designers and users. By making the team leader an active member of the design team they avoid team and group leaders becoming petty bureaucrats dealing mainly with council committees and in the process losing touch with the problems faced by the team. At Haringey each team is offered each new council-funded job in its area and decided which ones to farm out. Inter-team liaison exists although this is not allowed to take on too much power. John Murray touched briefly on a problem workers can come together to discuss projects. They had also elected delegates on an area basis to represent users’ views. A planned building programme gives them the opportunity to work closely and constructively together. (Apologies for the brevity of coverage of this workshop please see SLATE 9 fora fuller description of events at Hackney.) The Design and Build Collective’s Dick Watson introduced workshop two. He saw their work as a genuine alternative to the conventional designer separated from builder set up. It is organised as a non-hierarchical cooperative rotating jobs such as book-keeping, job-running, trade skills, etc. Asa result there is little specialisation and each person gets to know something about every aspect of the job. Gross turnover is in the region of £60,000 to £70,000. They carry out mainly community- based projects such as play groups, day carecentres, craft and trade centres, ahandicapped building centre and private conversions of.which “there is an almost unlimited supply in London.” They encourage people they’re working for to learn building skills and participate as far as possible. Tom Bulley from Hackney’s architects department described the DLO’s predicament there. They are trying to restructure it along the lines proposed by the NAM PDS group. They have ajoint shop stewards’ structure where architectural and building Other matters dealt with during Congress were: SUBSCRIPTIONS NAM subscritions are now as follows: £8,.00 for working members and £3..00 for unwaged members, both annually. Both classes of subscription include copies of Slate. This isthe first increase since theintroduction of subscriptions folllowing the Ist Congress NAM GROUPS The following Groups received endorsements from Congress as required by Working Rule 2: Professional Issues Group, Alternative Practices Group, Feminist Group, Public Design Service Group, Slate/Publications Group. Any other se groups should inform the Liaison Group of their existence immediately to aid communication. Frok each of these groups a delegate is to beapp- ointed to form the quaterly Liaison Group meeting. LIAISON GROUP OFFICERS The following officers were elected by Congress: Mick Broad (Edinburgh), Teck Ong, Ken Pearce, Barry Shaw (al London), and Dave Sutton (Bristol). FUTURE STRATEGIES RESOLUTIONS Freemnmemesrncessoneaca Housing form continued A TWO WEEK summer school was held at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, Uni- versity College London, during the first twoo weeks of September. Called ‘The Production of the Built Environment’, it took a novel and importantly distin- ctive approach to urban issues. Its nove?ty was an attempt to xeplore the possibilities of an ex- planatory framework for questions of urban change and development which related a historical analysis of the construction industry -that isthe changing conditions in which buildings and the physical structure of cities are produced. The schoolwas jointly organised by taeching and research staff from different departments within the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, together with help from and co-operation of others outside the Bartlett. architects, planners teachers, researchers students, etc.. Participants thus together represented the many separate disciplines and occupations related to urban issues, both theoretically and practically. More than thirty people from the UK and abroad attended, hearing nearly the same number of people give papers, and taking part in discussion and study groups. The programme of the School presented material that allowed the possibility of analysing the production of the built environment in terms of the changing relations between land, capital and construction in cities. The physical formof the city could be viewed asa an account of the Bartlett The first week covered three areas: firstly the process of capital accumulation in the construction industry; secondly the relevence of history and of theories of scientific knowledge to environmental studies, and thirdly a critical appraisal of methods and techniques used in the field, drawing on examples at the level of implementation. It was intended to draw up in a tentative way a theoret- ical framework and possible methods of analysis, identifying the levels at which they operate. The second week was more concerned with identifying ways in which this framework might be applied in practice. This was seen in in terms of the organisation of prod- uction in construction, and in terms of State intervention and policies. Throughout the two weeks project groups held working seessions and helped to make the School part od a process through which some of the directions adopted were criticised and clarified, and new lines formulated. It is hoped that the Summer School, together with the publication of its proceedings in January, will be the first step towards developing a coordinated body of work in this diraction. The progress that has been made can be evaluated at next years Summer School. The first has been concemed with processes of distribution and re- distribution of resources within the urban physical structure. Whilst rejecting the explicit functionalism of earlier work it contains inherent assumptions which maintain a dichotomy between social and physical elements as a non-social variable in patterns of access and inequality. The second is an approach to urban studies which has emphasised the relation between social infrastructure and urban development. Harvey’s re-assessment of the relevance and assumptions of previous studies rejected the notion that spatial forms and social processes are in contin- uous interaction. He nevertheless adopted an approach that maintained their conceptual separation, mapping onto the urban landscape the distribution networks arising from the overall process of capital accumulation. His work importantly explored the use of new categories capable of explaining urban change, particularly Marxist thinking, and intro- duced a historical dimension lacking in earlier work and in subsequent work by the French school. Harvey saw ‘urbanism’ as originating in the transformation of economic integration from one based on reciprocity (exclusively associated with egalitarian social structures) to one based on redistribution (existing in rank or strati- fied social structures). This transform- ation was identified as crucial to con- centrating surplus into a few hands and a few places. Processes of redistribution and reciprocity were however in many senses seen as synchronic, since these categories were not taken as historically specific, and the actual process of change was not theorised. That the categories of reciprocity and redistribution were selected as being critical to the emergence of ‘urbanism’ followed from his original starting point of explaining relations of distribution as distinct from relations of production. The same focus led Harvey to stress the role of finance rather than productive capital, in other words the ways in which surplus is realised rather than the means by which itisgenerated. Conflicts based on finance capital in property speculation and land were thus attributed a force dominating the city and supplanting the importance of conflicts in the work- place. The circulation of commodities, including buildings, and particularly housing, together with the finance necessary was regarded not only as primary to, but separate from their actual production. The third approach was associated with the French School and in particular Castells, and viewed urban problems as a phenomena of collective consumption. By this it suggested that the economies of the advanced capitalist countries rest more and more on the process of con- sumption. By this it suggested that the economies of the advanced capitalist countries rest more and more on the process of consumption; that this is increasingly organised ona collective basis controlled by a financial super- structure; and that the purpose of such organisation is to ensure the repro- duction of labour power. Like Harvey, the realisation of surplus value and the consumption ofcommodities issingled out as the main focus for an explanation of urban problems. More explicitly than Harvey though, Castells adopts an ‘underconsumptionist’ view. Suburban development for example, is seen as a deliberate capitalist creation in order to combat under consumption and as an aid to political control. The present crisis of capitalism isinterpreted not intermsof the long term inadequacy of the rate of profit to fal, but as the result of the inability to sel goods and insufficient demand. A growing social, economic and political crisis isseen to surround the financial superstructure — the mechanism of controlling under consumption — which iscontrolled by state expenditure and unproductive consumption. This kind of analysis centres on the concept of the reproduction of labour power, and unlike the approaches typified by Harvey or Pahl appears to incorporate the process of both production and exchange of commodities ratherthan being solely confined to consumption. The process of actually producing Urban studies has too often been a field that has been integrated in name alone; Summer ita disciplines often remain separate. The Summer School was an attempt to change this It was an experimental form of teaching within the Bartlett which, hopefully to be repeated, demonstrated the potentials of much current research work at present without a teaching out- let. It also served as a pilot project fora possible post-graduate course at the Bartlett. The School tried to integrate the the work of individual specialists in a way that went beyond the format of a conference. As a School, the aim was to put the individual contributions in a framework which could give theoretical continuity while at the same time relate to practical issues. Many participants found it a useful form of overcoming academic and professional isolation. The Summer School was taught by people who together represented a wide range of specialised interests: eceonomics, planning, sociology, architecture, geogra- phy and more. It was attended by a complimentary variety of people, 16 product of the construction industry and of the different ways the buikding process is organised in relation to the State. This was not a purely technical view, but one which saw urban change as a social process manifested at the local levek in the physical and social changes that transform urban localities. The construction industry was seen ,as a mediator of the social processes, to be the key to understanding the way cities change. The physical elements of the city, land and buildings, were thus taken together. Thier organisation could then be seen as a reflection of historical changes occuring, for example, between landowners and builders,between building workers and contractors, etc.. The rationale which the summer school has begun to develop although it is not claimed to be a comprehensive theoretical approach to urban questions, can be seen as distinct in the context of existing work. The revival of academic interest in urban studies that has School nt {developed in the 1960's and particularly lin the 1970's has produceda diversity of approaches. To some extent the activities ‘ofstate planning has determined the ‘need for a theoretical framework through which urban processes might be examined, and policies formulated and implemented. Yet the realities of compounding ‘urban problems’, the UK property boom of the early 70’s, continually rising land values, housing and redevelopment issues, etc., demonstrate that there are long standing problems of applicability for those areas of knowledge that deal with urban issues. On one hand there are those practical, instrumental knowledges which daily inform al levels of environmental action ranging from the production of individual buildings to the structuring of large urban localities. Without aconceptual basis these tend however to be of limited use for explaining why cities come to be as they are, and thereby lack an essential precondition for generating effective change. On the other hand, analytical approaches which attempt to conceptual- ise the processes through which cities are transformed, have often in practice generated normative frameworks for environmental action, or functional descriptions too generalised to find application at the level of production. The field of urban studies that developed in the 1920's and 1930's had aperspective that explained changes in cities in terms of a ‘natural’ evolution analogous to biological change. Social processes were empirically observed, described and ‘mapped’ onto urban space. Urbanism became an autonomous object defined through itsobservable spatial characteristics of size, density and heterogenity. Within asimple function- alist framework the Chicago school developed a theory of the city which conferred ideal ecological forms on to the physical products of historically specific social processes. Social relations were often seen to be largely determined by the physical characteristics of cities. In more recent years, urban studies have shared anegative consensus critical of the Chicago School legacy. Emphasis has turned towards developing abetter understanding of the social relations operating beneath observable physical appearances. The view that urban socio- spatial relationships constitute an onto- logically distinct object of study has been challenged from within the field best described as urban sociology. Urban studies isnot atheoretically homogenous discipline. As Ray Pahl has observed, itisnoted more for the cogency of its internal criticism than for its capacity to generate significant con- cepts. It is however possible to identify three distinct critical trends which are typified by the work of Ray Pahl, David Harvey and Manuel Castells respectively. HE PRODUCTION OF THE CITY buildings is not however an integral part of the framework adopted, since by reproduction of labour power is meant the consumption of such necessary commoditiesashousing,togetherwith theconflictsorurban socialmovements which arise from their distribution. At the root of these approaches is a search for an explanation of the way in which cities are transformed so that present urban issues can be better under- stood and means of making effective change developed. But in the form of an implicit quest for a general theory of the city they can often become simply an exercise in classification. Categories are deployed from outside their relation to history and remain unrelated to definite stages of social development. However if the focus of new work, aiming to avoid this difficulty, becomes the historical transformation of the urban rather than the conceptual deployment of given categories, the same problems need to be confronted. As Eric Hobsbawm has noted, the subject of urban history is a container with ildefined, heterogenous, and sometimes indiscriminate contents. It does not have a given unity, nor is it a ready-made paradigm for examining social change. The reason for pulling together a diverse array of urban studies in the programme of the Summer School was to begin to search for explanations of the way in which cities change. As outlined above there have been a number of. attempts to analyse the way in which cities are transformed. These have pre- supposed a particular identification of the source of problems as concerned, for example, with the distribution and redistribution of resources within the urban-territorial structure, with the construction of social infrastructure, with the phenomena of collective consumption. The School, on the other hand, was concerned with overcoming through a production-oriented framework some of theproblemsinvolvedinconfining analysis solely to an examination of the distribution of built form seen as isolated from the process of actually producing buildings. The first problem with confining analysis of the city to particular relations whether these be of distribution, exchange, or consumption —is that social classes, as defined through their relation to the production process, cannot be explained. A social class, for instance, cannot be defined according to its distribution within alocality or by a Particular object of consumption such as housing. Secondly, itisnot possible, by restricting analysis, to explain the relation vecn urbanisation and the general + sess of accumulation of capital. The latter entails an understanding of the multiple determinants of the cycle of 18 reproduction of capital in which the production process, as a generator of. surplus, acts as mediator. With a production-oriented approach itwasseenasnecessarytoviewthe processofurbanisationasahistorical process of generating, realising, distri- buting and consuming surplus. Viewed in this way, urban change is given a material form and is part and parcel of the overall process of accumulation and its different stages. For the city consists of a conglomeration of buildings which are ascribed to a variety of different uses; these buildings are not simply distributed and consumed, before this they must be produced and are therefore basically a product of the construction industry. Historical change in urban development could thus be seen to reflect changes in the construction industry and to be related to the overall process of accumulation. 1. The Process of Accumulation and the Peculiarities of Land What are the peculiarities of accumulation in construction, what barriersdoeslandpresenttothisand whatmechanismshavebeendeveloped by the state in response? This first area consisted of a critique of neoclassical economic methods in the light of a detailed examination of the process of accumulation within the construction industry, and the peculiar part which land plays in this. As an illustration of this, Michael Ball looked at the relation between production and exchange in construction. Complement- ary to the theoretical arguments presented, John Sugden succeeded in demystifying the traditional neoclassical approach by showing empirically that the construction industry does not act in passive response to demand, but that its organisation is oriented towards an active engagement in determining the structure of its market. This active involvement does mean that the industry itself is fundamental to changes in the formation of different localities, to their deployment, to the provision of housing and other social amenities. With the approach to the process of accumulation presented, the construction industry was seen to be a prime determ- inant in the different stages of urban development. This does, of course, raise the question of the part which land plays in development, and Michael Ball pointed out that an explanation of urbanisation which includes the process of accumu- lation in construction is necessarily contrasted to explanations which place emphasis on the importance of land rent in determining the nature of building. Only within speculative development as opposed to building to contract does land rent present a major problem for the building capitalist. History and Theories of Scientific Knowledge Whatbodyofknowledge is tobuildupaframeworkforarationale of production to explain change in the built environment? This part of the course situated theories concerning change to the built environ- ment within the development of scientific knowledge, it outlined a particular approach to historical method and examined examples of change in the construction industry and land in relation to this. John Musgrove began by examining how the concept of change has developed in different theories of knowledge, and the classificatory ideas applied to the environment which have stemmed from these. He argued that, in order to give a temporal dimension, the process of material change must be taken into account in studies of environmental development and that this could not be achieved through a synchronic view. Linda Clarke then followed from this theme by outlining the importance of a particular historical approach in over- coming the opposition between synchronic and diachronic analysis. She pointed out and demonstrated with examples the historical approach necessary to explain why the con- struction industry has developed — through an emphasis on change in the organisation of production not on static description within a uniform path of development. Michael Ball carried this further by examining the impact of changed pro- ductive relations (accompanying the early development of capitalism in housebuilding) on exchange relations. He pointed out that if housing provision is seen only as an issue at the level of reducing practical problems to subsidiary technical ones. James Gough continued thisthemeintermsoflarge-scaleurban modelsappliedbylocalauthoritiesand the ideological apparatus erected to support the relationships which these are used to express, These contrast with the simple less operational optimisation models based on a neo-classical economics. Jenny Thornley, Nick Sharman and Terry Hargraves explored the relation of practical local problems of employment and housing to intervention at different levels of political involvement, thereby re-examining the context in which such models are applied. Jenny Thornley described attempts by the state to merge public and private interests thereby evading the practical problems of the development functions within local authorities. Nick Sharman similarly illustrated the impotence of the state and local authorities to deal with the problems of high unemployment and physical dereliction of Docklands. Terry Hargrave then showed how change can be effected when practical problems are mediated by political involvement, giving examples of the techniques successfully employed by Central Camden Tenants Association. 4. The Organisation of Production in Construction What are the specific contradictions within the organisation of the production process in contruction; between organised labour, the concentration of capital and technological change? And how is the organisation of production acting as a barrier to technical change? This section of the course examined how the organisation of production, Following this general unifying objective a number of questions are raised concerning analysis of urban change. The subject areas of the Summer School were chosen to help answer some of them in the light of the contributions made by speakers. They are set out below. This part of the course was concerned with unravelling the links and differences between the technical and political solutions posed to practical problems at a concrete local level. This included critically exploring a variety of quant- itative methods and then re-examining the local situations in which these are implemented. The subject was first tackled through a discussion by Colin Thunhurst of the relation between practice and technique using the example of operations research (OR). He explained (following upon a theme of Jonathan Rosenhead’s) how the application of OR to planning and build- ing and the approach to it often involves Doreen Massey examined further the questionoflandanditsrelationtothe PROCEEDIN general process of accumulation of capital, suggesting barriers which the private ownership of land could present for capital. Mike Edwards then explained how the immediate needs of capital are reflected in the planning activities of the State, pointing out that the planning and local government system are ofgreat importance in determining the total scale ofpubliccontractsandtheallocationof work. Zoning mechanisms, for example, can benefit the profits on building capital and speculative gains on land. . Methods, Techniques and Forms of Practical Intervention What is the relationship between practical, technical and political problems and their levels of resolution in effecting change to the built environment? “Urban Studies has too often beena field integrated in name alone .the Bartlett Summer School was an attempt to change this. It was an experimental form of teaching.whichcouldgivetheoretical Pleasesendme.CopiesofthePROCEEDINGSOF continuity while at the same time relate to practical issues.” The proceedings of this important event are to be published in January — they will contain al the papers given during the two weeks of the Bartlett Summer School, plus records of discussion and study group material. Name «-sesesnensecones Order now ORDER FORM To: Bartlett Summer School (Proceedings), Schob! of Architecture and Planning, University College London, 22, Gordon St., London, WC1 THE BARTLETT SUMMER SCHOOL 19 exchange then its relation to the accumulation of capital isprimarily idered asa problem of‘finance capital’ and an overemphasis isgiven to tenures. Through examining exchange relations, the paper linked thisearly development of the building industry to changes in the form of land purchase. The speculative builder, instead of a portfolio of contracts (as with the contractor), had a portfolio of sites for steady accumulation so that no necessary correlation existed between land purchases and output of building. This mismatch between output and gains on land was also seen in the early 1970s property boom and the changing nature of land use and ownership which accompanied this boom were described by Alex Catalano. w y 1enclose acheque/postal order, value £......... payable to University College London. Price: £3 00 per single copy ; £2.50 per copy for orders of two or more copies Plus post and packing to UK address £0 30p per copy stemming from the process of accum- ulation, acts as a barrier to: 1. Labour organisation, the reproduction and development of skills, and to healthy and safe working conditions; and 2. technological advance and the co-ordin- ation of construction in terms of the concentration of fixed capital were exemplified both by the levels of development of fixed capital and the results of mergers by construction companies. Janet Drucker’s paper on the history of Trade Union organisation in contruc- tion showed how the different craft traditions in the face of technical re- structuring have influenced the present framework of organised labour in the industry, although the craft/non-craft tradition is now blurred. The case of the ‘lump’, the problems it raises for centra- lised trade union organisation and for standards of training in the industry ~ were discussed by Terry Austrin. Stewart Burchall described the state of training in the industry. Tim Lobstein’s paper on health and saftey on construction sites demonstrated the potential import- ance of this issue for organised labour’s fight to reverse the consequences of casual employment. The poor record of construction in this respect in comparison with other industries was demonstrated with detailed statistical material. Mike Cooley showed the contradic- tions that now existed between the productive potentials of the engineering industry and what it actually produces when serving the interests of capital. Ftr The technological potential of the industry's skills and machinary was not fully used, or used for the best skilled workers were unemployed and plant closed down in the face of pressing needs, for high technology medical equipment; for example many forms of automation mis-applied the potentials of new technology and degraded skills and work; the anti-social use of science and technology had given science itselfa bad name in the eyes of the public. He showed how at Lucas Aerospace the workforce haddemonstrated its potential to overcome these contradic- tions and produce socially useful pro- ducts. A vital issue was shown to be one of the workforce’s control over what is produced, In Mark Swenerton’s case study of the decline in housing standards between 1918 and 1921, the demonstrated poten- tial of the construction industry to produce housing of high quality was shown to be subject to the political calcu- lations of a government which saw that ‘homes fit for heroes’ were no longer a necessity. Graeme Geddes raised the question of design and the control of production in the construction industry, 20 andtothekindsoftheoryandknowledge that informed building design? How might the experience of the engineering industry be related to the contruction industry? Graham Ive showed that contruction is unique within British industry in terms of its relatively low levels of fixed capital. He argued that this sectorial backward- ness could be related to (although not necessarily explained by) the contracting system within the industry, Andy Cullen described the takeovers, aquisitions and joint ventures within building capital during the 1970's. And the industrialisa- tion of housebuilding was used by Richard Hill as a case study to examine the pecularities of construction, in relation to the accumulation process. State Intervention and Policies for Land and Construction What are the differences between political intervention in land and construction at the local and national- levels? And how have local authorities contributed historically to transform- ing the structure of land ownership and use, the organisation of the construction process and the built product itself? The final subject area initiated a discus- sionofthe policies towards public owner- ship as these are manifested and imple- mented, in order to understand the conflicts between public and private ownership of land and construction. John Foster using historical examples discussed the idea of the local state —it was he thought, a weak concept. He argued that the history of local state institutions showed that their emergence was intemately related to class struggles over local ‘environmental’ issues. But that these institutions have at all times been cohesive with national state institutions, iulthough not necessarily in complete political alignment with the latter. Steve Merrett presented a detailed account of the state’s longstanding policies of financial intervention in both the production and realisation of owner occupiedhousingaswellaslocalautho- rity housing, pointing therefore to the complexity of the situation that socialist policies for further intervention in housing must face. Drawing on her earlier paper, Doreen Massey showed on the basis of an analysis of post war state interventions in land ownership, and particularly the Community Land Act, that the specific contradictions between forms of land ownership needed to be understood if successful policies were to be implement- ed. Full nationalisation of land could overcome the problems posed by the private ownership of land by capital, but that political struggle over use would remain although in fundimentally new conditions. Bob Colenutt’s account oftheconflicts surrounding the development proposals for London’s Coin Street Site illustrated the importance of the local level for raising issues of principal over the opera- tion of the land market and the role of local authorities in this process. Paul Lowenberge’s earlier paper also related to this issue. The contradictions within state policies for regional development were analysed by Ray Hudson through the example of Washington New Town. And Graham Ive in a contribution which examined urban and industrial spatial restructuring in Mersyside argued for an understanding of the locational aspects of urban and industrial change which took account of a variable relationship between industrial capital. Both papers raised issues for the development of political policies to tackle uneven regional development. Steve Drewer's criticisms of the tradi- tional approach to analysis of the cons- truction industry were based on their in- adequacy to analyse the range and variety of its operations. What sort of analysis of the industry would show how its often unsatisfactory performance could be improved? A discussion was opened up in which it was suggested that the Labour Party’s proposals for building industry nationalisation — “Building Britain’s Future’ —in justifying social ownership on groundsof efficiency in the industry, neglected the social and political desirability of social ownership. Caroline Bedale, Mike Paddon and Peter Carter argued the case for making Direct Labour Departments a central part of the campain to effect socially desirable change within the construction industry. Against the background of these subject areas there were study groups which met to work on a number of distinct topics which could relate parti- cular interests to the more general framework of the course. The topics were: Land Rent and Development; The Organisation of Production—Design ind Construction; the State and Housing; The Historical Pecularities of Construction and the Position of Labour. The work that thestudygroupshaddonewerepresented at the end of the two weeks, raising more questions than theys olved but suggesting useful directions for future work. It is hoped that the ultimate success of the course will be measured through the theory and practice that it helps to develop. ofEasternEurope,Politicalinesencethis criticism has no substance in fact. Monotony can be alleviated by variations in surface treatment, articulation and landscaping. The authors at times seem to be looking for non-existent problems rather than realizable solutions. Would anyone object to the abolition of al makes of ‘standard’ car ifcheap and economical variations of the Rolls Royce were the only vehicles Challon available? The authors also miss the point that alot of so-called Architecture was, and is, being done by non-architects. These include employees of Local Authorities, engineers, surveyors, estate agents, builders and amateurs of al kinds. The authors flirtation with theories of professionalism and the effects of society upon them is, in the case of the architects, aslightly irrelevant exercise in which the architects apparently are accused of being out of step. Of course itsuits Capitalist society to have ‘professionals in straight-jackets, self made though these garments may be. One might as well blame a mad man for wearing a real one! What the authors don’t seem to have realised is that because of this Straight-jacket -sometimes refered to as the Code of Professional Conduct -they are in an unenviable and humiliating situation. With touting for work ,forbidden, they must and do resort to al kinds of dubious methods of getting clients. Its no wonder that corruption is rife -with onle occaisional exposure. Some alternatives may be worse, of course, but what justification ,for instance. can there be for rules which forbid and architect to do building, or dealin property or building materials? Only that he may be dishonest. The RIBA appears always to hey been in the position of throwing the first stone -ahighly questionable activity. The authors show that, in addition, the Code prevents an architect from publicspirited activity in the community. Ofcourse al professions have Codes of Conduct - but it has always seemed to me that the architects’ Code is the most punitive of al, effectively segregating him within an industry in which co-operation is a paramount necessity and putting him at the top ofa dung heap from which descent could be very mucky. As an architect and planner, |have rushed in where others might fear to tread, since the authors themselves are architects and planners. The status of architect sislow and has been for some years now, not because of questions of design -which, in my opinion are a distraction -but because ofgeneraltechnicalincompetence,alleviated “only by a new ‘low grade’ architect, refered to as an architectutal technician -a vocation which was created by the RIBA after the War and which has effectively weakened and has added nothing to the status of architects, This will be corrected (one day) when Schools of Architecture ,(if they exist) insist ona first degree in Building Technology for all entrants’ The Schools would then become post-graduate establishments -whereatalent for design in the Heavy Crudist Style would be no substitute for expertise in building. - It would then be reasonable for non-archite cts and amateurs to be forbidden to design building -work above a certain cost. The authors point out that -try hard though REVIEW OF ‘WHO NEEDS HOUSING?’ If you are a reformer, rebel or revolutionary, or merely a member of the Conservative Party this book will give you a cbmpendious view of housing problems in Britain. The authors investigate alt aspects of the housing crisis -relevant and some irrelevant. They consider the advantages and disadvantages of the major forms of housing tenure -owner-occupation and council housing - and consider the situation of those on the fringes of the housing market — the squatters, the gypsies and people in institutions. They look at the building industry and explain why building workers are not more militant and . why the large construction firms are so alarmed by the prospect of nationalisation. Planners, architects. housing managers and pressure groups are all-criticised for their limited understanding of the real roots of the housing crisis, The authors, justifiably in my opinion, criticise the unrealistic and unsympathetic Architecture of Heavy Crudism in housing by contemporary architects. They say, ‘‘In the face of the rather marginal contribution that architectural design can make to net human happiness, architects maintain a collective self-image which stresses their social value to society, their role in creating ‘communities’ by design and their desire to serve their clients. In practice, however, most architects are more concerned to impress their fellow architects than to satisfy the users of their buildings.”"It is possible here that the authors have mistaken the dictates of fashion in architecture, the desire of the individual architectto justify his or her existence, to make his or her personal mark in the townscape and a concern to impress alandsundryfortheverylimitedobjectiveof pandering to fellow architects. By hitting out in al directions rather like the proverbial bull in the china shop the authors tend to invalidate their criticism of architects, much of which isjustified. Architecture and Planning could make a substantial contribution to human happiness. Architects coul d antl should be concerned to serve and know the -wishes of the community and of the occupants of public housing. In any event there are those who are of the opinion that the fact sof housing could best be gathered by social workers for inter- Pretation of the drawing board. The authors’ criticism of the ‘standard house Plan’ is similar to the anti-socialist accusations= of ‘monotony’ levelled against the housing estates 21 JaneDarkeandRoy Darke : ‘Who Needs Housing?’ :Macmillan Press :£2.95 :Paper Reviwed by Ivor it wn Socialist Housing Activists Workshop: ‘Socialism and Housing Action: The Red Paper on Housing”: published by the authors at arrogant bastard should be exposed!” So the passions were there al right, but our stage-managed debate wasn’t going to bring them out. have offered to co-operate. Then there was the workshop offered by Portsmouth, and the collection of alternative prospectuses they may -the planners cannot avoid the political implications and influences al around them. I should say, in addition, that though, with hands on hearts, they may be planning for the public good, capitalists and capitalism are planning for private profit and until Socialism arrives to revive them the planners are being counted out of the ring. What is to be done about the housing crisis? The authors, in an excellent final chapter, show how existing organisations, pressure groups and even legislation can be used in the fightfor better housing. The deepening energy crisis is, however, hardly mentioned and it may come to exert the greatest influence on questions of housing and town planning. Altogether Ifound this book to be ful of information which isboth fascinating and useful. A book not to be missed by anyone interested in housing,oneoftoday’smajorpolittval issues. It has always been with us and will not go away and is likely to remain with us for many years hence. To quote the authors: “Homelessness and inadequate housing are endemic in Capitalist society.” REVIEW OF “SOCIALISM AND HOUSING ACTION: THE RED PAPER ON HOUSING” At the end of the Red Paper the collective of authors say: “we offer (this paper) in an attempt to start the debate. We welcome criticism and comment. We welcome anybody who wished to join us to further NAM - a way forward FROM: Mick Broad Dear Slate The fifth congress asked “which way is N.A.M. going?” but where was the member- -ship to give their reply? The answer is of course, onwards, but how. Here isjust one suggestion. N.A.M. has members in Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield and elsewhere supporting the Movement but relying on Slate for contact. It is now time for the membership to invite further contact and generate new activity by forming local groups throughout the country. No great leaders are required, merely contact with thelocalAUEWTASSandNALGObranches Hellman, Thompson and al the other ‘stars’gatheredtomakeSheffieldlikean possiblyadvocatethatwithoutfirst architectural Woodstock. The audiance was having made bloody sure about his social everywhere, hanging over the balcony, responsibilities. There was enough being entwined in the spiral stair, getting up the microphone and generally oozing the question'“when exactly does the revolution begin? ” When itwas my turn Ileaned forward and began........ “Comrades! me and saying “If Dunster was in my school it has expanded and other worthy people vue’ (Well, if this isn’t a struggle what on we wouldn’t allow him to teach”; “That earth is?) Iread aquote of Cedric’s Ihad discovered that morning whenI was eating my cornflakes, It was from an old Archigram of 1970, the one that gave a free packet of seeds. He had written: There isno reason to suppose that itis best to receive between the ages of 17and 25 and to dispense at any time beyond that breathing down each others’ necks, perched participant left with that tingling lecling age, The receiving/dispensing equation is one should never be written, CLASSIFIC- c/o Tyne-Wear Rescource Centre, 13, Swinburn St., the work that has been started here.” It is in the Then there was the big N.A.M. meeting held upstairs in the most wonderfully cramped corner of the studio. We were al ideas born at Sheffield that have every chance of being realised. Well, the Festival is over. In my mind its success was obvious: apart from the heroic scheines I've just mentioned (and there are others), every Gateshead: £1 00 inc. P & P: paperback Spirit of these remarks that Iwish to congratulate the authors on producing a comprehensive, well-researched and gripping document. Itisaclear account of the many issues that confront socialists and housing activists;issuesofgreatcomplexityinvolving economicandsocialtheoryandtheevidenceofour schoolsofarchitecture,aroominapub,and bloodyconvenientforlazyadministrators havetheSameparentageastherevitalised answer: WHERE INIIELL’SNAME WAS Review by Marion Roberts ATION OF PEOPLE RELATED TO PARTICULAR OPERATIONAL MENTAL PATTERNINGISFALSE. However,itis on the edges of drawing boards.... aha! here is the germ! It was clear to me theat the New Architecture Movement should, by the end of the Festival, have an initiativeoneducation.Itdoes,afteral, that something was happening in architect- -ural education that might help to solve some of their very deeply rooted frustrations. One question remains, and as amember Iwouldbeverygratefulforan own eyes and experience. The authors state who they are and why they wrote it. The document is written by socialists and housing activists who wish to bring housing back intothearenaofsocialistdebateandaction. In doing so they meet the issues head on — chapters are devoted to current housing policy, a history of publichousing,capitalism,thehousingmarket whichincludesthebuildingindustry,tenantsand owners, and the family and personal life. The penultimate chapter is a courageous attempt to describe a vision of housing under socialism — an attempt which isnormally sidestepped by the more abstract theoreticians. The final chapter is the one which aroused most sympathy however, and which confirmed some of the doubts and reservations I felt| towards the rest of the pamphlet. The final chapter deals with the way forward for community action. It examines the short comings of community action — the brevity of campaigns, their localised base, and the lack of coherent political perspective. It also considers the lack of interaction between the labour move- -mentandcommunityactiongroups,andthe necessity for and complexity of such an interaction. In doing so, I feel the chapter raises issues which had been simplified out of the earlier chapters S.A.C. in the figure of Brian Anson, and NAM? Slate did carry Rob Thompson’s article “Trained to make a killing” in its 14th notice ofyour first meeting in B.D. or A.J. After that the new group exists and continues to seek further contact while developing both local and national issues. If the answer to the first question is North, thentheEdinburghgroupispleasedto have been chosen to host the sixth annual congress and will be glad for any Suggestiononcongressformorcontent frombothexistingandpotentialgroups during the coming months. See you in Edinburgh witha friend, there’s no better place to take one!’ SAC conference FROM: Thom Gorst REFLECTIONS ON SHEFFIELD, or WHERE WAS NAM? TheSheffieldS.A.C.Conferencewasthe first time in my embryonic architectural career that I had shared a platform with anyone, let alone Anson, Cullinan, Price, and cowardly academics. Here we were, nearly ten years later, grapp- -ling with exactly the same problems. Somehow Sheffield was going to solve them, issue. The notint of radicalism in education New York andIwasn'tkeentoleaveuntilithad. hadbeengivenagoodairingbeforethe That afternoon Igave my little sideshow — Festival began, with advance publicity in the distasteful inner secrets of a particular Building Design and the Architectural Press. internationalmagasineIhadbeenincontact Thequestion“Whoseeducationisitanyway? with,butwealknewthattherealbusiness would be achieved the following day, when we gathered around’ the rostrum again to Pass resolutions, set up organisations, leave the world with our mark. Before this could happen there should be some groundwork: EDUCATION, INCREASED SOCIAL meetings and heated discussions about AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY IN SCHOOLS, UPROOTING US FROM OUR OWN EXCLUSIVENESS and so on. What happened? The mecting started at square one; no assumptions and no direct- -ion. Here was the one mass alternative architectural organisation saying “come on Dear Friends education; Brian wondered how he could our own plans? Ihad found, early in the Festival,thatIwasexchangingalotofideas with Rob Thompson of the Architects Revolutionary Council, and by the middle of Thursday we were together in the Festival office toying with the idea of forming a new school of architecture - a “school without walls’. The idea survives: offered to start the debate of debates, yet only a few members of the audience came forward, timidly. It wasn’t until it was over that Ifound people coming up to wasringingineveryone’smind,theproblems were well known to us al. FAIR REPRE- -SENTATION ON THE SCHOOLS OF ARCHITECTURE COUNCIL, FREEDOM 20 Brokaw Lane, Great Neck, N.Y. 11023 FROM THE RIBA’s MONOPOLY IN FROM: Eugene and Toby Glickman U.S.A. architectural education. apparent when we gathered into our Broupstogetonwiththegroundwork. Was that nothing was going to be achieved. "chaired adebate early on the second Morning between Brian Anson and David Dunster.Wesatinthemiddleofthemarke telN.A.M.we'reinterested!,insteadof Placesurroundedbyaboutfiftyenthusiasts puttingforwarditsowninitiativesand andthetwospeakersworkedovertimeto offeringstrongsupporttoS.A.C.whichso Betthediscussionontotheflocr.Brian badlyneededit.Isitanysurprisethatthosearchitecture,weareturningtoyou. me David a“shallow intellectual”; i Vid didn’t rise to it. David advocated of us who came to Sheffield to achieve samething should find ourselves sitting in tiny offices with like-minded souls making Do you know of any individuals or journals in the United States that we could get in touch with? Ormalism as a useful tool in architectural What became My wife and Iare writing a tourist guide to Manhattan which will have a radical, class- conscious perspective. We know of no architects who have any sort of left politics in our part of the world; yet we believe that the architectural dimension of a city ought to be an important part of our book. Because we ourselves are ignorant of contact Poland Street, London W.1. SLATI to bring together ideas and experiences from ople who design buildings, people who build them ind people who live and work in them SLATE yneentrates on the social and economic factors that hape our environment and determine the way that suildines are commissioned, designed. built and used SLATE : full of useful information and opinion from workers in building construction and design, tenants, ommunity groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are re attuned to their needs SLATE in independent magazine published by a group within the New Architecture Movement, which aims to promote effective control by ordinary people over their environment SLATE 2— Can architects help the ‘Community? SLATE 3 Myth and ideology in the architectural Profession SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND Women who are builders SLATE 5— Monopoly in the architectural profession on capitalism and the housing market, The chapter on capitalism presents the contradiction of capital in a rigorous and forceful way. However at the end of it one is left with the feeling that the economic system under which we now live came about in an arbitrary fashion and was not the result of an historical dialectic. The progressive elements of early capitalism, the increasing of the productive forces and the increase in the nature and number of commodities isneither recognised nor drawn out. There is no feeling of history as a process, that within the womb of capitalist development the institutions are formed which may become subject to conscious democratic direction and control. Asa consequence the authors offer a somewhat utopian vision of ‘community control’ of housing without reference to the existing structures of local and national government. Council housing isseen by the authors as a coercive means of ensuring the reproduction of the labour force — the progressive elements of council housing are not expounded nor are further aspects of those progressions explored, A similar blank spot occurts in the papers attitude to the Labour Party. The Labour Party has grown up as the political wing of the labour movement. It seems contradictory to me to recommend on the one hand increased links with the ‘labour movement’ (ie trade unions) and at the same time to reject the Labour Party because it is seen as:— “managing and strengthening capitalism rather than dismantling it’. The role of the Labour Party and the labour movement over the last fifty years has been tortuous.and raises contradictions for activists However the Labour Party is the only embodiment of the mass interests of the entire working class a that exists in this country at the moment: it is the party of local if not national government, and the party to which trade unions are affiliated. To dismiss it as ‘strengthening capital’ seems to me (as a member of that party) not only theoretically incorrect but tactically dangerous. Itiswith these reservations that Iwould urge Slate reader to buy a copy of the Red Paper and read it, extend and refine the argument, discussion and above al the action. SLATE 6 SLATE SLATE 8 Training architects Making public building respond to people's needs Feminism and architecture SLATE 9— The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private enterprise? SLATE 10/11 People talk about the buildings they use - SLATE 12 — Commercial development, the tommunity and the building industry SLATE 13 — An issue on housing you'reemployed)or£3.00(ifyou'rearestudent,claimantorOAP)toNAM at9,PolandStreet London W.1. NAME ADDRESS. 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Title A name given to the resource SLATE 16 Description An account of the resource ain aaIN: SY Z the TE en d of ide 35p S paghts;ee Pepeoe Sa pe oad: | CONTENTS PUBLIC HOUSING— THE POLITICS OF AESTHETICS a.discussion of the design of council housing HOUSING CRISIS DEEPENED the real effects of the State’s further retreat from housing UNATTACHED NEWS ith, a ~, rid oneself of or renounce obit This is the last issue of Slate to be put together by the original Editorial Collective and, we regret, it shows. After three years and sixteen issues Slate needs new ideas and people to take it to the next stage in its development. At a meeting in March the first steps were taken to bring together a new collective and we have had several discussions about editorial policy and the mechanics of producing the itself then there will be a future for Slate but so far the new collective would be best described as only embryonic.It is in need of several more people who would like to join and take part in editing and producing the magazine and in laying down its future direction, still very open to discussion. The point of this item isto appeal to.any of our readers who want to get involved in any ori every aspect of running the magazine to contact the new collective and come to their open meeting at 9, Poland St., London, W1 on June 18th at 6 30 pm. To contact the new collective ring Nick Coulson 01-607 6061 (evenings) Good luck and goodbye The old editors. Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi tecture Movement unless stated to be so. SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement'’s Publications Group. News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are included to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attention of the largest possible readership. WORK ON SLATE SLATE needs more workers, more writers, more ideas and more reps. on order to producea better, larger and cheaper newsletter. Ifyou would like to work for SLATE, becomea rep., join the group, send in.articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon. SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London, W1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group). Printed by Islington Community Press, 2A St. Paul’s Rd., London, N1. Trade distribution by Publications Distribution Co-operative, 27 Clerken- well Court, London, EC2. SLATE may beavery slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE* 9 Poland St., W1. Oo mul. contriu Dluish or, 2. adj. (Made) or - esp.a8roofing;eae { EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775 SLATE 16 PAGE 2 SLATE 16 PAGE 3 ions); ~-black, -blue,-grey, modificati cethesetintssachasoocurin~; f~-cl val benefit soclety with small utions; ~-colour(ed), (of) dark vreenishh Brey: hanes slit’y? a, ~3. v.t. Cover with ~= “"sikt'ent n. (MB sola atat') f. esclale, fe: ut. (colloq.). TOrticize Ptvereiy~ vies in reviews), scold,ere Propose for offiectec, Hence slat’mo) n.(app.f.preo.} If the new collective ds in establishi he New Architecture Movement fill In the form below and send | ifyou wouldlike tobe amembeofr¢ If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.to5N0AM at+ SUBSCRIBE! hi Poland Street, London W.1. Jane Darke is a lecturer atSheffieldUniversity Department of Archi- tecture, She is co- author of the recent book, Who Needs Housing? This paper attempts to broaden the narrow frame- SLATE 16 PAGE 4 SLATE 16 PAGE 5 PUBLIC HOUSING: POLITICS OF AESTHETICS to be said because of the neglect of any thorough discussion of architecture in recent thoeries of aesthetics. Unlike the situation in literature and fine art we would maintain that a building which fails to please its public cannot be regarded as admirable. Yet to rely purely on the opinions of the public could lead to a populist position where we endorse the most gratuitously dressed-up kitsch product of the speculative builder. Instead, we should try to understand the meanings these preferences carry, in the context in which they occur, as social constiucts connecting in a comprehensible way with other values. This is an undeveloped area of analysis: most recent Marxist work on art and media has concentrated on the producers rather than the users (4). Such an analysis might go as follows. Since paid work under capitalism is characteristically limited, monotonous and unsatisfying, the worker seeks an escape in his or her home life. For the wife and/or mother, of course, the home is also at least one of her work- places (5) and the image the home presents to onlookers will be taken to reflect in part her competence at this work. Both sexes we suggest, willwantthehometoexpressanalternative reality to their actual social situation of power- lessness. It is hardly surprising if this home has applied to it escapist symbols such as Mediterranean details recalling the hedonism of the brief fort- night free of work, coach lamps supplying an instant sense of history and referring to the conviviality of the Christmas card scene, or cottagey elements speaking about an imagined organic community in an arcadian past. Of course, the tastes of other sections of society could be analysed in a like manner: their expressive intentions can be expected to differ according to their particular social and occupational position. Architects, we suggest, address their buildings not to the public in general or-the users in particular, but to fellow architects. We maintain that, whatever their stated intentions, architects typically aim at achieving a “discussable aesthetic’ in t! eir buildings, aim in some way to respond to a self-conscious line of development (or perhaps-several different strands) that form the main subject matter of various specialist magazines. This discourse is remote from the aesthetic evaluations of the general public, as shown in the following contrasted quotations on the subject of the Smithson’s public housing scheme at Robin Hood Lane,inLondon’sdockland.Thefirstisashort sample from a lengthy review of the scheme in AD: “Theiconographyofabuilding’ssurfacehasbeen a continuing preoccupation for the Smithsons. It is manifested in their search for a ‘generalising aesthetic’ for ordinariness as a norm. It is seen in the concern to resolve ‘a sort of anonymity of styling. depends for its iconography upon a high degree of resolution in the facade; a resolution of the demands for both a generalising aesthetic and a high degree of internal flexibility. The Smithsons attempt this resolution through the useof a ‘skin’. A ‘skin’ as opposed to a facade should most properly be conceived of as a taut membrane without apparent depth, which seems stretched over the internal frame. The idea of a ‘skin’ is clearly closer to Mies’ aesthetic than to Golden Lane and Le Corbusier's idea conveyed by the image of the wine rack asa cage.....But unlike Mies, where the ‘skin’ is often a complex screen which remains neutral, Robin Hood Gardens Tepresents a search for a ‘skin’ which is at once seen as generalising and at the same time functionally and iconically expressive of the disposition of the internal elements’(6). issocially permitted, for example in the furnishing workwithinwhichpublichousingisusuallydiscussed ofhomesinapersonalappearance. in the architectural journals. It presents the beginnings of an analysis which includes a discussion of the relationship between aesthetics and other aspects of form, the aesthetic attitudes of users andarchitects,andtheexternalpoliticalandecon- omic influenceso’n form which limit the architect's freedom of action. Since these topics have received very litle discussion, the paper is more a sketch of a possible approach thanafinished product, and I hope itwill serve to provoke criticisms and rejoinders that will help to establish a frame of discourse in which such topics can be more adequately analysed. ‘Aesthetics’ as a category We should analyse the notion of ‘aesthetics’ as an aspect of artefacts which can be discussed independ- ently of other aspects. Itis’significant that the discussion of ‘aesthetics’ in this way emerged at the heydayofcapitalistexpansioninthemid-nineteenth century. The polarisation of‘aesthetics’ and ‘utility’ took place at a time of increasing differentiation of many aspects of life: the division of labour, the polarisation of gender roles, the separation of different human needs and their satisfaction in different places (home, workplace, art gallery, school, etc.) the multiplication of building types to meetthesedemands,thedifferentiationofcityspace in zones each catering for a single type of use, the evolution of various academic disciplines with distinctivesubjectmatter,andmanyotherexamples. It was opponents of capitalism who perceived that theextension of _ capitalist economic relations into al spheres of life was depriving the people of creative potentialities. Marx believed that man possessed innate creative capacities which were atrophied by the capitalist system. For Morris, the increasingly ugly environment is seen as resulting from a production system where people no longer have control over the products of their labour, while increasing scale and specialisation rob them of control over their living and working environments. Creative capacities are evident in those spheres. where the exercise of aesthetic choices Williams notes, however, that the differentiation of aesthetic from other qualities leads to the view that it is peripheral; ‘there is something irresistably displaced and marginal about the now common andlimitingphraseaestheticconsiderations especially when contrasted with practical or utilitarian considerations which are elements of the same basic division’ (2). A similar point is made by Berger, who questioned the specialised nature of art criticism by noting that it can mystify rather than explicate the relevance of a work of art to lived experience. “The emotion provoked by the image... (is reduced)... to that of disinterested ‘art appreciation’. All conflict disappears. One is left with the unchanging ‘human condition’ and the painting considered as a marvelously made object’ (3). This elevation of formal qualities above matters of content or the historical context surrounding the artist, his work and its production or the relevance of the artefact to lay observers is symptomaticofanapproachtocreativitywhich corresponds to current notions of ‘great art’. Whose aesthetic preferencies? There are clear examples of the contradiction betweenspecialistappreciationandlivedexperience in the field of architecture.and urban design. A tradition of formal architectural criticism exists moreorlessindependentlyfromutilitarian considerations, social research or public reaction. Although the synthesised nature of architecture is recognised in aphorisms such as ‘form follows function’ or the appeal té ‘firmness, commodity and delight’ the evaluationof architecture is extremely narrowly based. It is discussed in a mystifying way, with specialised jargon to repel the uninitiated, in a similar manner to other branches of the arts. We propose, by contrast, that architecture should be considered as a special case within any theory of aesthetics. This is not because of some special Status elevated above the other arts but because of the inevitable visibility of the architects work which we experience as passers by and users of buildings. Although this may seem prosaic it needs h me Hany H The second isa selection of comments by occupyers interviewed on the estate: ‘It looks prisonified. Too much concrete -it’s like Alcatraz’. “There’s no brightness. It’s drab and dull’. “The designer made a hash of it’. ‘It looks like something from a communist country’. “People would have more pride in itifthe outside was nice like the inside. What was the designer thinking of?’(7). mm H aT il ALT SLATE 16 PAGE 6 Similarly contrasting examples would be easy enough to to collect for other schemes. The frame- work within which architects and critics make their aesthetic evaluations is separated from the users’ evaluations but, we suggest, does mot separate appearance from other aspects of the building: rather their aesthetic evaluations encompasses the way the design integrates different aspects of the architect’s task (e.g. planning, structure, servicing, access, relation to the site, etc.). Richard Hil has pointed out how coherence in the process | one of the things that determines how architects.....design buildings is that their should be a coherence and a structure in the process of design itself.....This coherence and structure, it must be stressed, is in the process of design, not inthearchitecturalprocess consideredasthe interaction of the user with the building. A coherent and highly structured building in this sense may appear incoherent to the user. at one level it is not a question of there being different aesthetic frameworks of values held by designers and users, but rather that often designer and user have been interested in two utterly different processes.....What this starts to bring into focus is the very deeply set values of consistency and coherence which are at the basis of the professional ideology of architecture (post-modernism, eclecticism, etc., notwith- standing), values which accrue to the designer and not necessarily to the user (8). The determinants of form Architects see themselves as particularly equipped to make this coherent synthesis of the conflicting requirements and regulations that condition the form of buildings, and as having some scope for exercising autonomous choice in determining form. Their own perceptions of their degree of autonomy are not necessarily accurate: they too are products ofa professional ideology inculcated during training. Anearlier version of this paper adopted a vulgarised basefsuperstructure model of capitalist society which was based on imperfectly understood ideas from Althusser. This located art in the cultural/ideological sphere which was seen as part of the superstructure, connected to yet enjoying relative autonomy from an economic base constituted by the systemof material production. We would now regard sucha a model as problematic following several critiques of Althusser (9), but stil find it useful to see-artistic creation as resulting jointly from the decisions of the producer (artist, architect, etc.) who exercises some autonomy, and from economic and political forces. The actual degree of autonomy, the limits of artistic freedom’ and the nature of the other forces involved clearly require a detailed discussion of a sort we can only briefly develop here. Architectural criticism has tended to emphasise the architect’s role and to ignore other forces that that contribute to the determination of form — unless it is to deplore the limitations on the architects scope imposed by cost yardsticks, building regulations or develop- ment control. Yet we believe’ that the various styles of public housing since the War can be ‘read’ for the ideologies and political attitudes they express, as well as embodying particular architectural ideas which have developed in interaction with these other forces, The ideological and political forces a@t through the architect by in- fluencing or limiting his or her decisions through constraints such as housing Standards set centrally and interpreted Postwar housing styles and policies To begin to explore some of these interacting influences, we briefly discuss how they were worked out in public housing since the second world war. We would suggest that the immediate postwar period was marked by asense of common purpose with a closer similarity between the ideologies of the government, the architectural profession and the public than than at any time since. Public housing built when Bevan was the minister responsible was to be to excellent stan- dards (space standards were considerably higher than they had been before or have been since) (12). The Labour govern- ment also removed the stipulation that council housing was for the ‘working classes’; it was to be available to al with parity of esteem with the private sector. The amount of building in the private sector was strictly limited. Council housing of this period does not attempt to look like private housing: the appearance is frankly and proudly thatof an excellent public sector. This does not preclude sensitive acknowledgement of regional formal traditions. (13) For a variety of reasons, however, housing output under the Labour government was low. We have not the scope here to give a detailed account of postwar housing policy’(14) A major reason for the 1951 Conservative victory was their pledge to build 300,000 homes a year; this was achieved by slashing standards. With lower standards in the public sector and a relaxation of controls on the private sector ‘parity ofesteem’ quickly evap- ourated and we see a gradual move by both parties and by the public to the view that owner occupation is the preferred tenure and that the public sector sector is for those who are not competent to provide for themsteves in the ‘normal’ way. Stylistically and formally, there was a trend away from the strong, plain semi-detached houses of the Bevan era to more terraced houses, cheaper materials, and the use of gimmicks such as ‘con temporary” style porches or ofdesign isamong the architect’s objectives: SLATE 16PAGE 7 locally, building regulations, cost of materials, components and methods of construction, subsidy arrangements, skills available in the labour force, preferences of elected politicians on thehousing committee, campaigns in the media, the state of public opinion on councilhousing and so on. Clearly these factors add up to a much stronger constraining influence than do any equivalent influences on the other arts (10) giving the architect less auton- omy than other creative artists. Jones and Hill have discussed some of these deter- minants. They attempt to treat form(to use a well known aphorism) not as a thing but as arelation, and unlike thepresent paper are not concerned with the stylistic appearance but with more functional concepts of form. They show how, as a result of beliefs about users, and, more importantly, particular changes insubsidy arrangements and building regulations, the characteristic form of council housing (particularly, it seems, in inner London) changed from the four to five storey walk up block to the six storey block with one lift, then to the eleven storey block and later to twenty of twenty-two storeys. (11) The present writer would criticise their paper for the fact that changes in subsidy’ patterns or legislation are made to appear out of the air, rather than resulting from political pressure and negotiation between local and central government and other interest groups (the. building industry, the farming lobby, academic experts on housing, professional, etc.,) in a series of varying relationships with each other. Thus they fail to discuss the changing political priority given to housing and the different views taken as to who are the potential recipients of public housing. SLATE 16 PAGE 6 Similarly contrasting examples would be easy enough to to collect for other schemes. The frame- work within which architects and critics make their aesthetic evaluations is separated from the users’ evaluations but, we suggest, does not separate appearance from other aspects of the building: rather their aesthetic evaluations encompasses the way the design integrates different aspects of the architect’s task (e.g. planning, structure, servicing, access, relation to the site, etc.). Richard Hil has pointed out how coherence in the process *..:.0ne of the things that determines how architects.....design buildings isthat their should be a coherence and a structure in the process of design itself. This coherence and structure, it must be stressed, is in the process of design, not inthearchitecturalprocess consideredasthe interaction of the user with the building. A coherent and highly structured building in this sense may appear incoherent to the user.....So at one level it is not a question of there being different aesthetic frameworks of values held by designers and users, but rather that often designer and user have been interested in two utterly different processes.....What this starts to bring into focus is the very deeply set values of consistency and coherence which are at the basis of the professional ideology of architecture (post-modernism, eclecticism, etc., notwith- standing), values which accrue to the designer and not necessarily to the user (8). The determinants of form Architects see themselves as particularly equipped to make this coherent synthesis of the conflicting requirements and regulations that condition the form of buildings, and as having some scope for exercising autonomous choice in determining form. Their own perceptions of their degree of autonomy are not necessarily accurate: they too are products ofa professional ideology inculcated during training. An earlier version of this paper adopted a vulgarised basefsuperstructure model of capitalist society which was based on imperfectly understood ideas from Althusser. This located art in the cultural/ideological sphere which was seen as part of the superstructure, connected to yet enjoying relative autonomy from an economic base constituted by the system of material production. We would now regard sucha a model as problematic following several critiques of Althusser (9), but stil find it useful to see-artistic creation as resulting jointly from the decisions of the producer (artist, architect, etc.) who exercises some autonomy, and from economic and political forces. The actual degree of autonomy, the limits of artistic freedom’ and the nature of the other forces involved clearly require a detailed discussion of a sort we can only briefly develop here. Architectural criticism has tended to emphasise the architect’s role and to ignore other forces that that contribute to the determination of form — unless it is to deplore the limitations on the architects scope imposed by cost yardsticks, building regulations or develop- ment control. Yet we believe’ that the various styles of public housing since the War can be ‘read’ for the ideologies and political attitudes they express, as well as embodying particular architectural ideas which have developed in interaction with these other forces, The ideological and political forces agt through the architect by in- fluencing or limiting his or her decisions through constraints such as housing Standards set centrally and interpreted Postwar housing styles and policies To begin to explore some of these interacting influences, we briefly discuss how they were worked out in public housing since the second world war. We would suggest that the immediate postwar period was marked by asense of common purpose with a closer similarity between the ideologies of the government, the architectural profession and the public than than at any time since. Public housing built when Bevan was the minister responsible was to be to excellent stan- dards (space standards were considerably higher than they had been before or have been since) (12). The Labour govern- ment also removed the stipulation that council housing was for the ‘working classes’; it was to be available to all with parity of esteem with the private sector. The amount of building in the private sector was strictly limited. Council housing of this period does not attempt to look like private housing: the appearance is frankly and proudly thatofan excellent public sector. This does not preclude sensitive acknowledgement of regional formal traditions. (13) For a variety of reasons, however, housing output under the Labour government was low. We have not the scope here to give a detailed account of postwar housing policy’(14) A major reason for the 1951 Conservative victory was their pledge to build 300,000 homes a year; this was achieved by slashing standards. With lower standards in the public sector and a relaxation of controls on the private sector “parity ofesteem’ quickly evap- ourated and we see a gradual move by both parties and by the public to the view that owner occupation is the preferred tenure and that the public sector sector is for those who are not competent to provide for themsteves in the ‘normal’ way. Stylistically and formally, there was a trend away from the strong, plain semi-detached houses of the Bevan era to more terraced houses, cheaper materials, and the use ofgimmicks such as “con temporary’ style porches or of design is among the architect’s objectives: SLATE 16 PAGE 7 ee eapcenanlaces aiminiontir i6c oa locally, building Tegulations, cost of materials, components and methods of construction, subsidy arrangements,skills available in the labour force, preferences of elected politicians on thehousing committee, campaigns in the media, the state of public opinion on council housing and so on. Clearly these factors add up to a much stronger constraining influence than do any equivalent influences on the other arts (10) giving the architect less auton- omy than other creative artists. Jones and Hill have discussed some of these deter- minants, They attempt to treat form(to use a well known aphorism) not as a thing but as a relation, and unlike thepresent paper are not concerned with the stylistic appearance but with more functional concepts of form. They show how, as a result of beliefs about users, and, more importantly, particular changes insubsidy arrangements and building regulations, the characteristic form of councilhousing (particularly, itseems, ininnerLondon) changed from the four to five storey walk up block to the six storey block with one lift, then to the eleven storey block and later to twenty of twenty-two storeys. (11) The present writer would criticise their paper for the fact that changes in subsidy patterns or legislation are made to appear out of the air, rather than resulting from political pressure and negotiation between local and central government and other interest groups (the. building industry, the farming lobby, academic experts on housing, professional, etc.,) in a series of varying relationships with each other. Thus they fail to discuss the changing political priority given to housing and the different views taken as to who are the potential recipients of public housing. SLATE 16 PAGE 8 SLATE 16 PAGE 9 Festival-of-Britain detailing, perhaps to distract attention from the poor quality of the product. Particularly after the restart of slum clearance in the mid 50s there was progressive paring and cheapening’shown in the barrack-like five storey maisonettes found in many cities; agrudgingattempt tolimitprovision to the b are necessities. (15) Architects, meanwhile, had become bored with suburban densities and forms; many were inspired by Le Corbusier or had even been to Marseilles to see a building for the new age rising above the trees. The building industry (the large firms at least) were only too eager to develop skills in high building which were shortly to be put to use in a more profitable sector of construction, With the emergence of ‘Brutalism’ and debased versionsof it, popular and architectural tastes parted company, If suitably manipulated, the people, still desperate for more housing, could almost believe that they would like concrete high rises. On Parkhill flats in Sheffield a resident social worker helped smooth over initial problems successfully enough to get the design a massive endorse- ment from occupiers; of its successor, Hyde Park, she said. “ In ten years time there wil be no question of adjusting. Hyde Park will be accepted. That is really the goal we are working for. ” In reality this estate has become a major problem. Userresearchatthistimewasstil concerned with issues such as the number of dayrooms required, whether families wanted:to eat in the kitchen, and the need for a second WC; feedback from occupiers of flats was totally inadequate. A few academic studies, often in rather inaccessible sources, were published in the early sixties; (16) the Ministry of Housing research team did not start their social study of flats until 1963 and this was not published until 1970(17) when flat building was already declining due to the changes in subsidy arrangements, the swings ofarchitectural fashion and the Ronan Point collapse in 1968. User’s reactions to appearance were similarly ignored until another DoE study eventually showed that, of the factors they studied, the one showing the strongest correlation with tenants’ overall opinions of their estates was attitude to is appedrance.(18) Thus the views of the most important peopleinvolved,actualandpotentialusers, were prevented from taking their place among the other influences on the architects’ decisions. The mean maisonettesof the fifties and the system-built estates of the sixties are monuments first to governments relying on dogma rather than observed needs, and then to a government which assumed that solutions were technical matters. The changes in political and architectural fashion that followed the high rise phase were no more soundly based. The architects of tworof the first notable low-rise high-density schemes appear to have chosed these forms for visual rather than social reasons, to cope with the ugliness of parking provisions around tower blocks and to return to atraditional townscape of streets and squares. (19)'The high density low-rise phase had rather a brief flowering period in the late sixties and was soon attenuated when the 1970 Conservative government switched priorities away from new council housing towards rehabilitation, intending to reduce councils’ spending on housing stil further with the “Fair Rents’ legislation. Soon the DoE set lower density norms and the Design Guide movement idealised an aesthetic :reminiscent ofa traditional unquestioned ideology of community (20) giving rise to the rather quaint neo-vernacular estates currently appearing up and down the country. These appear to reflect architects’ expectations of‘what people want’. The mainstream of the profession has torn itself away from the modern movement and has returned to populism, at a time when both major political parties are treating council housing as a residual tenure for the poor or the incomp- etent. Althaigh the new-vernacular estates bear some slight resemblance to the council houses of the Bevan era ( and the implicit Beyanite paternalism has been commented on by Wier) (21) their ideological basis is very different. The yardstick was progressively squeezed under the Labour government and now the Conservatives have abandon .ed Parker-Morris spacestandardsaltogether,so the hontely appearance belies a skimpy reality. Visually these homes are trying to pretend they are not council houses at al. This is not the aesthetic of a tenure with parity of esteem: it is the aesthetic ofa tenure that has become an embarassment. Concluding remarks We have tried to show that, although the aesthetic preferences of the public are themselves distorted by the relations of production and thus cannot be taken at face value, there is an unnecessaty wide gulf between architect and user. Architectural practice in the design of public housing is the meeting point for a seriesof ideol- ogical and political values; to an extent that the architect is an ‘agent’ through which these values express themselves. We should make it clear that we do not adopt a simplistic view that the main problem with councilestatesisthattheyarevisually unappealing: this would be to ignore more important determinants of popularity such as the status of the sector as a whole in relation to other sectors, and hence the social composition of the public sector. The Bevan estates were popular not only because they were to high standards and looked domestic, but because they were available to al classes rather than beirg only for the socially inadequate. It may be that the only possible course of action for architects at present is, firstly, to refuse to design sub-standard shousing, arguing from the lessons of history when standards were lowered in the past (22), secondly, to see the attack on public sector housing as part of a general attack on the social wage, and, thirdly, to support their local campaign against the cuts. These conclusions are more pessimistic than those of an earlier version of this paper, which was written before the last election, and spoke of examples of new approaches to practice by Erskine, ASSIST and SOLON. While architects can liberate themselves from the incul- cated attitudes of professional aloofness and mystique and become aware ot the liberating and fulfilling potential for both designers and users of creativity and collaboration, there are dangers if this relationship is used to secure consent for levels of provision so low that everyone should refuse to implement them. Perhaps others who respond to this paper are able to extract less pessimistic conclusions so that some more positive suggestions can Be offered to those attempting to resolve these contradictions at the drawing board. (23) NOTES 1. This paper isa completely rewritten version of a paper by Jane and Roy Darke given at a British Society of Aesthetics colloquium in April 1979. The author would like to thank in particular Richard Hill, also Giles Pebody and other members of the ‘November 21st’ group for their constructive criticisms of the earlier version, and Roy Darke for his comments on the present version, Raymond Williams: Keywords; Croom Helm 1976 P. 28 (also in paperback) John Berger: Ways of Seeing; Pelican 1972 plz An exception, and not recent, isRichardHoggart’s The Uses of Literacy, Chatto and Windus 1957 (also in Pelican). Media studies must be cited here because of the attention that has been paid to issues that are also of interest in studies of arts, such as ideology and degreeof autonomy of the producer and the degree of economic determination. See the writings of Stuart Hall and Raymond Williams, also john Clarke, Chas Critcher and Richard Johnson (eds), Working Class Culture, Hutchinson 1979 ( especially Clarke's essay); variuos essays in Carl Gardner (ed), Media ,Politics and Culture, Macmillan 1979; essays in Micheal Barrett, Philip Corrigah, Annette Kuhn and Janet Wolff (eds), Ideology and Cultural Production, Groom Helm 1979 (especially the essay by Golding and Murdock). 5 See Hannah Gavron, The Captive Wife ,Pelican 1968 and Anne Oakley, The Sociology of Housework, Martin Robertson 1974, for accounts of the work of housewives ai Eisenman in Architectural Design, September 1972, p.590. Interviews with a random sample of households on the estate were carried out by the author in 1976, as part of her doctoral research. 8. Richard Hill, personal communication, 9 EP Thompson, The Poverty of Theory Merlin Press 1978 see also the references cited under note 5. above. 10 See however Raymond Williams’ comments on limitations to the length of novels in Politics and Letters New Left Books, 1979. 11 Micheal Jones and Richard Hill, ‘The Political Economy ofHousing Form’, inPoliticalEconomy oftheHousing Question, Conference of Socailist Economists 1975. 12 See appendix 3 in Stephen Merrit‘ State Housing in Britain, Routledge and Keegan Paul, 1979. 13 See pp. 106-117 and many of the other illustrations ih the 1949 Housing Manual (Ministry of Health HMSO). This ought to be compulsory reading for al those who have forgotten what an excellent public sector can be like. 14 Fora popular account of this see Jane Darke and Roy Darke, Who Needs Housing? Papermac 1979, especially pp. 24-34; for a more detailed account see Merrett, op. cit., especially chapter 9. 15 See Benwell Community Development Project, Slums on the Drawing Board 1978. 16 For example Center for Urban Studies ‘Tall Flats in Pimlico’ in, London, Aspects of Change, Mc Gibbon and Key 1964; Willmott,p. and Cooney, E W, The Architect and the Sociologist: a Problem of Collaboration in Architectural Association Journal vol.77 no.859, 1962, pp. 172-186; Maisels, J, Two to Five in High ‘Rise Flats, The Housing Centre 1961; Skone, J F, ‘Health and Welfare Problems in High Flats’ in Proceedings of Public Works and Municipal Services Congress November 1962 pp. 225-51. 17 Ministry of Housingind Local Government Families Living at High Density, HMSO, 1970. 18 Department of the Environment, The Estate Outside the Dwelling, HMSO 1972. 19 The author interviewed John Darbourne and Michael Neylan, among others, in the course of a research study to be presentvd asa doctoral thesis in 1980. What was not fully clear from these interviews was whether the architects had any expectations regarding the aesthetic preferences of users, and, if so, whether and how they took these imputed preferences into account. 20 See Colin Bell andHoward Newby, ‘Community, Communion, Class and Community Action’ in Herbert, D Tand J Johnston, R J (eds), Social Areas in Cities, John Wiley 1978, and Alan Lipman ‘Professional Ideology:‘Community Ne iS BN and‘Total Architecture” in Architectural Research and Teaching, Vol 1 pp. 39-49, 1970. 21 Stuart Wier ‘Part of a Heritage’ in Architects Journal, 17th January 1979 p. 124 te seq. 22 See Community Development Project, Whatever Happened to Council Housing? CDP Information and Intelligence Unit, 1976. . 23 There isan excellent discussion on the contradictory position of socialists working for the State in, mand ‘Against the State, London Edinburgh Reform Group 1979. HOUSING CRISIS DEEPENED WHAT ARE THE POLICIES OF THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT TOWARDS PUBLIC HOUSING? During the coming year, due to cuts in capital spending, work will be started on only about 22,000 new flats and houses. This compares with an equivalent number of about 134,000 ‘starts’ about five years ago. RENT Reductions in revenue grants to Councils and Housing Associations will mean increased costs to tenants either directly through rents or indirectly through rates. In Hackney, for example, council tenants face rent rises of about 20% and rates for the whole community, including Council tenants are rising this year by almost 50%. Housing Association tenants will be even worse off. Even with drastic economies in Associations’ running costs, including house maintenance, the will face even greater rent rises over the next two years on rents that are already higher than those of Council tenants. The sale of the most desirable Council and Housing Association houses will also affect rents by increasing the burden of maintaining the older, less desirable housing to be shared between the remaining tenants. Those tenants who are able to and decide to buy a house or flat as a way out of the declining public housing sector that their mortgage repayments will far exceed the rent that they currently paying and that, as owner occupiers, they do not enjoy the solidarity of organisation which has been used to defend the interests of public sector tenants in the past. Owner occupiers enjoy, or suffer, an individual relationship with market forces in the form of interest rates. CONCLUSION Conservative policies on housing are are aimed at stigmatising Public Sector tenure as a ‘second class’ way of life, offering poor accomodation at high prices. The effect of this will be to weaken tenants’ organisations and rupture the links between them and trade unions. It will also disrupt trade union organisation itself as many of the new home owners will be tied down by massive mortgage repayments and be understandably reluctant to lend their weight to industrial action. WHAT WILL THESE POLICIES MEAN FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE? THE INNER CITY build on scarce agricultural land while land in inner cities falls out of use as dereliction spreads. TRANSPORT AND OTHER SERVICES Accelerating the trend to suburban isation will further accentuate the division of cities into different zones. The extension and consolidation of REDUCTIONS in capital expenditure Meanwhile the existing stocks of by Councils and Housing Associations public housing are being eroded by the Recent years have seen the increas- ingly wide acceptance of an ‘inner city problem’ resulting from the decay an obsolescence of the inner Victorian suburbs of our cities. separate ares for offices, shop and on new housing provided either by new buildings or by conversion and modernisation of old buildings. REDUCTIONS in revenue grants to Councils and Housing Associations which offset the costs of managing and maintaining public housing. PROMOTION of owner occupation as the ‘normal’ form of house tenure and encouraging the sale of public housing. ENDING exemption from Develop- ment Land Tax (currently a60% levy on land deals) for land bought by Councils. ENDING Government insistence on minimum space and heating standards for Council and Housing Association new houses, ENCOURAGING private house building by insisting on hatty approval of structure plans and by’ vetoing Councils’ plans for the extension of Green Belts. AVAILABILITY SLATE 16PAGE 10 deterioration of older buildings and by the sale of houses to the private market. It is likely that Conservative policies will result in a net reduction in public housing stocks and that new tenancies will become virtually unobtainable. STANDARDS Over one million dwellings in England alone are in need of extensive repairs costing £2,000 or more. Of these a substantial proportion belong to Councils and Housing Associations, The costs of carrying out these repairs are paid by both Councils and Housing Associations from ‘revenue’ accounts, which currently receive a subsidy from the Government. In the case of Councils, this subsidy, the Rate Support Grant, has been drastically cut, particularly for inner city Councils which generally have large and expensive to main- tain housing stocks. The equivalent subsidy to Housing Associations, the Revenue Deficit Grant, is to be withdrawn altogether in two years. The money available for repairs will be strictly curtailed while the stocks of more desirable houses in good repair will be depleted by the sales drive the Government plan. The result will be to reduce the already limited chances for public sector tenants to get transferred to better homes. The abolition of minimum standards for Govern- ment financed housing willtempt Councils and Housing Associations to build houses that are smaller and worse equipped in an attempt to nee up the numbers of houses built. Councils and Housing Associations hhave played a major role in revital- ising such communities through the redevelopment or rehabilitation of inner city housing, in many places enabling inner city communi- ties to survive. In al but a few cases of particularly attractive and well situated neighbourhoods, the cost of this work is too great for the private sector to undertake it profitably. The reduction in capital and revenue grants to Councils and Housing Associations working in inner city areas will result in accelerated decay of these areas coupled with a collapse in the morale of communities living in them. The ending of Councils’ right to buy land exempt from Development Land Tax will exacerbate this decline. | LAND Conservatives hope that private housebuilders will solve the problem of the shortage of housing in decent condition. Private housebuilding can only provide cheap housing on land that is both cheap and easy to develop.-This isgenerally virgin agricultural alnd situated on the suburban fringes of our cities. The _ Governmentijhas already declared its intentions to encourage suburban development by vetoing plans for Councils in the South East to extend Green Belt areas where no devlopment is permitted. Private housebuilders will be encouraged to entertainment, industry and housing will place additional strains on buses, trains and roads. Private housebuilding on suburban land also involves other indirect costs to the community as a whole, for example, for the extension of drainage, gas, water and electrical services as well as the provision of schools and other welfare facilities. But these services cannot fall out of use in the inner city and the costs of supporting declining inner city communities in terms of policing and social work will continue to escalate. CONCLUSION up about 20% of the building industry’s workload and accounted for the jobs of about 300,000 of the industry’s total workforce of 1.5 million. Although difficult to assess, current employment in the industry could be at least as The cuts in housing ¢Xpenditure and other moves made by the present Tory government may well result in a housing crisis as severe as any this country hias known this century. Here we print in full a report by the London Building Design Staff branch of the union AUEW-TASS on the likely effects of the new housing policies on every aspect of society. TheLondon BuildingDesignStaffBranchisa specialist branch of AUEW-TASS for all workers in private sector building design offices in London including architects surveyors, engineers, planners, and administrative secretarial and technical staf. Conservatives claim that their policies on housing will reduce costs high as 200,000 before the current to the community as a whole by reducing the barden of taxation. Besides the costs of the services necessary to support private house building, borne from the rates and from taxes, considerable social costs interm of dereliction..and misery are likely to result. WHAT WILL THESE POLICIES MEAN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION TION INDUSTRY? EMPLOYMENT IN CONSTRUCTION In 1976 housebuilding and main- tenance for the public sector made capital cuts take effect. At atime when orders for construction work for the private sector are falling off due to high interest rates, the effects of the reductions in capital spending on Council and Housing Association housing islikelytobeadramatic increase in unemployment among building workers. The situation facing individual building workers will be more severe in the coming months than in previous recessions in construction activity due to the run down of other industries, ship- building, steel and motors for example, which have provided alter- native empoyment for building workers in the past. cont.on p.14 SLATE 16 PAGE 1 WHAT WILL THESE POLICIES MEAN FOR TENANTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING AND THOSE IN NEED OF HOUSING? Currently over one million h - holds afe waiting to rent aflat or house from alocal Council or Housing Association. Of theseover 50,000 are registered as ‘homeless’, THE 1979/80 ‘UNATTACHED’ COUN— CILLORS GO OUT IN A PROCEDURAL MASSACRAET THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING OF THE YEAR — SLATE WAS THERE TO RECORD THE SCENE” Briefed to expect a packed Council Chamber for the 192nd ARCUK Ordinary Meeting on March 12th 1980, the last of the 1979/80 (an RIBA nominee) sits on the high bench his head flanked by the rampant lions of the RIBA crest set into the back of his chair. The Registrar, not a member of MOTION NUMBER ONE session, your reporter arrived in good time at 66, Portland Place to secure a good vantage point from which to record the cutandthrustofdebateonthefivemotions Council,scurriesbusilyonthechairman’s ARCUK CODE CRUMBLES — EXCLUSIVE At the last Ordinary Meeting of the year the chairman of each Committee submits his Annual Report of the Committee’s work for Council approval. The first of Thopmson’s eligibility for admission. Speaking the Code. A recent poll of unattached to the motion councillor Walker called on the architects had shown great division on under which section Mr. Thompsonhad applied themselves were not in agreement on all and whether he was eligible. Mr. Thompson’s of the issues but they felt the time had directorship was notrelevant to that question, come for ARCUK to take the lead in he said, and the Admissions Committee debating these matters. Thus when appearedtobeexceedingtheirpowersby askedbythechairmanifhewould refusingtoconsiderMr.Thompson’s application simply because he was a director. As the Committee vice-chairman (by now a deep red) blustered that the ‘case’ was still ‘under consideration’, the chairman ruledelectedCouncillorWalker’smotion ‘out of order’. Whilst elected Councillor Walker thumbed through his copy of Standing Orders to discover how the chairman could manage this vanishing trick, the vice-chairman pulled out the procedural knuckle-dusters and moved ‘next business’. A chorus of RIBA grunts proved sufficient to the chair and the meeting moved on without avote. 1motion down, 4 to go. FOUR INTOONEWILLGO As the dust settled from this opening fracastherelativelyblandreportsfrom the Board of Architectural Education and Finance and General Purposes Committee received approval without a vote.The Finance and General Purposes Committee reported that the total now on the Register is 27,012. The first sign that a total rout of the elected councillors was planned came curiously enough from the Chairman of the Professional Purposes Committee (no irony intended?). He followed a dull introduction of the Professional PurposesCommitteereportwiththe astonishing proposition that the four motions concerning Code changes (to appear later in the agenda) be included in the Professional Purposes Committee report he had just given, as an item to be considered at the next Professional Purposes Committee meeting. Reports on the Common Market (do they mean the EEC?) and Monopolies Commission chance for the elected councillors to regroup in time to suggest one or two improve- ments to the draft Annual Report, the next item on the agenda. submittedbytheelectedcouncillors. ‘The main event of the day promised to lefthandlikethewhiterabbitatAlice’s trial, whilst the vice-chairman and heads of committees (al RIBA nominees) fil Bythistimemanycouncillorswere withdrawthemotion,thefirstofthefour, growingimpatient—the48thAnnual An air of expectancy had been abroad But the RIBA group would have none from the start as councillors filed into the of it. The man was a director and rules are RIBA Council Chamber where ARCUK also tules. Mr. Webb was removed for 12 months meets, If the nine elected councillors needed — votes for 33, against 9. In any event the any reminders of the RIBA dominance of Registrar had thoughtfully dug a ‘grave’ ARCUK theaides-memoirewerealaround forMr.Webbintheformofablank paragraph in the draft Annual Report — to be put before the Council for approval later in the agenda of just the right size don’t hesitate to write to us. Architects Registration Council of the U.K. The 4 motions proposed deletions and amendments to the Code to permit architects to advertise, to form limited Your reporter, however, might have saved First item on the agenda concerned one I L Webb, Architect, whom theDiscipline Committee chairman moved be removed from the Register for ‘disgraceful conduct? on the grounds that he is a director of a company of the kind proscribed by Principle 2 of the Code, Only the elected councillors spoke against the motion, pointing out that alarge section of the profession are now in favour of changes in the Code to permit architects to become to defer al 4 motions to the Professional Purposes Committee..Elected Councillor Maltz protested that this was in flagrant disregard of Standing Orders. Had not Council recently increased the notice required for motions to 48 hours? Did not a motion have to be voted on unless withdrawn by proposer and seconder? Were the rules not the rules? Well no, old adversaries the vice-chairman rose to give the only reply Councillor Maltz was to receive — a valedictory address in praise of the outgoing chairman —in its way a ‘policy statement’ for the coming year. BLEAK PROSPECTS FOR 1980/81 From ine depths of the 192nd Ordinary Meeting the conduct ot ARCUK Council meetings can surely only go up. But 1980 promises to be a difficult year for the ARCUK iseffectively ahome fixture for the RIBA group. In the walnut-panelled chamber portraits of past RIBA presidents adorn the walls, the chairman of the Council to record confirmation of his demise. case,hehadtabledamotioncallingonthe directorsofbuildingfirmsandthelike, ARCUK ANNUAL REPORT Admissions Committee to report on Mr presently proscribed by Principle 2.1 of be a ‘package’ of motions proposing changestotheARCUKCodeofConductto theremainderofthebench.Arounda allow architects to advertise, form limited square table below and in front of the liabilitycompanies,andbecomedirectors benchsitthestenographerandofficers thesewasfromtheAdmissionsCommittee, elected Councillor Maltz refused. Meeting stil to follow on the heelsof this This threw the RIBA group on the horns one would leave precious little time for of a dilemma for whilst they could shopping. No RIBA members raised any in attendance. On either side of this table sit the councillorosri benches at right angles to the Chair. In the back row of three tiers of benches opposite the chair sit the nine elected councillors. A few sympathetic non-RIBA nominees siton the lower benches, significantly close to willed, or held the majority, to do so would be to defy their instuctions — to keep the matter off Council until the RIBA Council had decided what it wanted ARCUK to do. If the RIBA group abstained wasting’ and ‘nit-picking’ by some RIBA the motions would rest solely on the votes councillors, all the proposed amendments of the elected Councillors (unthinkable). were accepted by Council without a vote. For the RIBA group any kind of vote meant of building firms or building materials firms. These are the issues that have run white hot in the profession in the past year and upon which debate in Council was expected to reflect the doubts and divisions and passions felt throughout the profession. Potentially the most important changes in the profession since the 1931 Act, the elected nine. The two or three members time applying for re-admission to the the shit really hitting the fan, and being stil ANY OTHER BUSINESS in the walnut panelling for the next RIBA Councilmeeting.ButMr.Maltzwouldnot Inalaterallyunder‘anyotherbusiness’ theses proposals had never previously been debated by ARCUK. Instructed to await a ruling by the RIBA Council, the RIBA ‘Gang of Forty’ had constantly postponed debate;buttheelectedcouncillors,anxious to ensure a full debate by ARCUK itself, had tabled the four motions proposing changeinordertobringthequestiononto EMBARASSING? the agenda. withdraw his motion. Aftermuchwhispering(wasthisan elected Councillor Maltz pointed out that5motionsstillayontheagenda awaiting a vote. Was now the best time? Would the chairman call ayote? As Council of the Press huddle on a short bench conveniently near to the door to the chairman’s right — they may be asked to leave. Register (see Building Design 7th March 1980: *ARCUK Code Crumbles’) The RIBA boys want to keep him off, but, under the Act he has only to meet the admission require- ments(whichsaynothingaboutdirectors) to be entered on the Register. Elected councillor Walker, a member of the AdmissionsCommittee,voicinghis dissent from the entire Committee report, asked why Council should be denied a report of this application when it was already public knowledge via the pages of Building Design. Was the vice-chairman trying to suppress news of the committee’s work? Was the committe trying to take on a disciplinary role? By now quite pink with anxiety the committee vice-chairman had nothing to add to his report save to ask the gentleman who leaked the story to Building Design to come forward and own up ‘DISGRACEFUL’ OR JUST adjournment?) the chairman conjured anew motion from the mouth of the ProfessionalPurposesCommitteechairman awaitedthefinal‘highnoon’betweenthe the bus fare for, within the hour, the RIBA nominated chairman had strangled debate on the motions by a brutal travesty of standing orders which did full justice to the so-called procedural ‘guillotine’, In fact no debate or voting took place on any of the five motions submitted by the elected councillors as they were bundled clumsily from the agenda by the chairman even before they had been reached in the orderofbusiness,drawinggaspsandeven directors.WouldtheyfindMr.1LWebb’s (derisorysmiles). not any more itseemed. Any further pretence by the chair toimpartiality had disintegrated as quickly as as the IncredibleHulk’sshirtafteraparticularly electedminorityonaCouncilsoreadyto a fewaabstentions from those nominated councillors who could stil remember democratic procedures. SLATE 16PAGE 12 conduct ‘disgraceful’? Mr Webb might be “Bounder of the Year’ but was Council justified in striking a person off for contravening a principle they might be about to abandon? Would the Council then accept this vice-chairman’s minority report complete with full omission of the one major contro- versy before the committee this year? Vote for:33 votes against:8! provoking attack. He would hear no more debate —votes for: 35, votes against: 9. flaunt democratic procedure when the majority sees fit. If S unattached motions are swept from 'the agenda at every meeting, public pressure must suiely grow to ‘clean- up’ ARCUK. recommended in a nervous summary by its vice-chairman. But where, asked elected councillor Maltz, was the Committee’s report on the case of Ian Thompson, recently shouted from the front page of Building Design? Mr Thompson isanother of those wicked architect/directors, this councillors to prevent many errors and omissions (even misquotes of the Act itself) from finding their way into print. Despite muttered-accusations of ‘time- But councillor Walker was not finished yet. Foreseeing the supression of the Thompson liability companies and to become easily defeat the motions thus deferring comments as the report was covered page anychangeintheCodeforaslongasthey bypageanditwaslefttotheelected SLATE 16PAGE 13 UNATTACHED NEWS SLATE aims to provide an effective means of communication for the “ unattached ” members of ARCUK through these columns and letters page. So if you feel strongly about these issues, For the lay reader of SLATE “ ARCUK ”is the It was set up by the Architects Registration Act of 1931 to control the entry of people into the profession and monitor their conduct once registered. It is composed of 5 main constit- uent bodies; The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), the [AAS (The Incorp- arated Association of Architects and Surveyors), the FAS (The Faculty of Architects and Surveyors )and the AA (Architectural Association ). Committeecairmantocomecleanandreport thesequestionsandtheelectedcouncillors £1,weqofferinglitlethatwasnewsanda (CIL: (CIL: RIBA JACKBOOTS STAMP ON ELECTED COUNCILLORS Thus 5motions submitted by the minority elected councillors, left the order paper without debate or vote. The oligarchy is not subtle but it is effective HOUSING CRISIS cont... NAM SLATE VICTORIOUS NAM MEMBERS haveagain captured seven of the nine elected seats on the Architects Registration Council (ARCUK). In recent elections among nearly 4400 architects whom the RIBA-control- led ARCUK considers eligible to vote — the so called ‘unattached’— the four NAM incumbents standing again (John Allan, John Murray, Marion Roberts and Eddie Walker) were al reelected, former Councillor David Roebuck was elected again after a year’s respite and newcomers Norman Arnold and David Burney join them on the 1980-1981 Council. NAM members have been contesting the ARCUK elections for four years now and have yet to receive anything less than a vote of confidence from the architectural electorate, This vear’s success isparticularly significant for two reasons: Firstly, for the first time, after considerable pressure from the elected councillors, ARCUK sent out ballot papers sufficiently in advance to reduce the number of disenfranchised voters on ARCUK’s ‘voters list’. The result was that the number of voters casting ballots was up 26% on previous years (to 22% of those to whom ARCUK claims itsent ballots). In this relatively heavy polling, and ina field of 15 candidates (up from 13 the previous year), NiMM held its own, itsvictorious candidates obtaining from 400 to 564 votes. Secondly, this year, following a recent change in ARCUK’s Regulations, was the the first in which candidates were permit- ted to include in the information circulated are 907% management, mostly from the to voters a breif statement of views. The NAM candidates, much to the chagrin of thePortlandPlacefanaticswhostil cannotquitecometotermswiththe standing generally on a platform of an open, democratic and publically account- able ARCUK free from the puppet strings Councillors might not so spinelessly follow SKILLSANDMANAGEMENT Building construction still relies extensively on manual skills, esp- ecially in housebuilding and repair, yet, even in times of high unemploy- ment, the industry is dogged by shortages of skilled labour. This problem can be ascribed to two factors, both caused in turn by the unstable nature of demand for building work: firstly, a reluctance by building firms to train appren- tices, particularly true of small and medium size firms, and secondly, the reluctance of men and women to train for skilled jobs which offer little security. Management of building contracts also suffers from the stop-go nature of the unsteady flow of work resulting from the contracting system. Because the demand for housing is regulated by the Govern- ment rather than the market system. Because the demand for Concil and Housing Associations housing isregulated by the Government rather than the market it could offer a steady andplanned workload for the industry and give real incentives for improved training and efficiency. Instead the Conser- vatives are bent on minimising the benefits of a public sector workload for the industry. EMPLOYMENT OF ARCHI- TECTURAL AND ALLIED STAFF sectorofficescombined.In1978 the Government invested about £2,000 million in housebuilding and the repair and conversion of old houses and this work accounted for the work of about 8,000 salaried architects, architectural assistants and surveyors in both sectors. At that time, roughly half this work was carried out by private architects’ and allied offices. If, as expected, the output of Council and Housing Association flats and houses falls to 22,000 units this year that will mean jobs for at most 4,000 architectural and allied staff, a loss of 4,000 jobs in two years or about 10% of al architectural and surveying jobs. Coupled with this will be a corresponding reduction in the number of jobs for secretarial and administrative staff. The effects will be felt worse in local authority architects’ offices where public housing work makes upa large proportion of the workload in many cases. Staff in several local auth- ority architects’ offices have already responded by negotiating, through their unions, a ban on the employ- ment of private architectural or surveying firms on any new projects, This will worsen the plight of private practice which will also be faced with a falling workload due to the effect on private sector clients of high interest rates. CONCLUSION Conservative policies on housing willmean,intheshortterm,a disasterforemployment atall levelsinthebuildingindustry, and, in the long term, a further dispersion of skilled workers from the industry and disincentives for proper training and efficient methods.Thereductionsin spending on public housing are particularly ill conceived DearSLATE, Iwould like to correct two mistakes which appeared in your articles in SLATE 15 concerning ARCUK and ‘unattached’ architects: Firstly, in your introduction to the report on the December meeting of ARCUK you State that ARCUK ‘is composed of 5 main constituent bodies: RIBA, IAAS, FAS and AA’. That you list only 4 is not what concerns me. I am concerned, however, that you should be propagating the RIBA’s totally unfounded ‘model’ of the structure ofARCUK: thatARCUK is‘composed of? architectural ‘constituent bodies’ of which one alone, of course. is of any significance (guess which?). ARCUK issupposed to be constituted in accordance with the First Schedule of the Architects Registration Act 1931 which provides for the appointment of members by various bodies and government ministers as well as for the direct election ofsome members by those architects (mostly ‘unattached’) which it entitles to vote. In fact, 12 not 5 bodies appoint members of ARCUK, the Act gives no greater importance to any nicmber as opposed to any other, and the term ‘constituent body’ appears nowhere in the Registration Acts or ARCUK’s own Regulations. Itisworth noting that when ARCUK was first constituted in March 1932, only 23 ot 42 members were appointees of the four bodies to which you referred and in 1940, shortly after the 1938 Act had made registration mandatory, only 27 of 49 were. Perhaps in those days seats on ARCUK were apportioned in accordance withtheAct. Secondly,inyourreportonthereSults ofthesurveycarriedoutbytheelected ARCUK councillors you stated that itwas carried out with the assistance of Building Design magazine. Although BD had indeed published the results of a previousquestionnaire,itwasinfact of no assistance whatsoever in carrying out or publicising the survey to which you referred. FROM: BobMaltz Four NAM members who had teen representing unattached architects on ARCUK did not stand again: Bob Maltz and Ian Tod after serving for three years, Tomm Woolley after serving two and Sue Jackson/afterone- phe mu non-NAM candidates elected this year were incumbent Peter Cutmore and newcomer Peter Howe, both of whom are unlikely to fal into line behind the RIBA Council-appointed majority which stil rules ARCUK. Thisyeartheannualretentionfeewhich every architect must, by law, pay to the Architects registration Council (ARCUK) goes up to £7-50. How much o, that is being chanelled by the RIBA- controlled Council, through investments, into right-wing political organisations? As reported at its December meeting, half of ARCUK’s £63,000 worth of investments are in 16 private-sector companies. The list of companies bears astriking resemblance to the list of major company cotributors to the Tory Party and right-wing bodies like the Economic League, Aims of Industry and British United Industrialists which, in turn, channel funds to the Tories. Topping the list of ARCUK investments was Commercial Union, 15th on the list (topped by construction giant Taylor Woodrow) of company donors to the political right. Second on the list was Marks and Spencer, 13th on the list of donors Imperial Tobacco was third on both ARCUK” ARCUK’s list and the list of donors to SLATE 16PAGE 14 at a time when interest rates are at record two NAM candidates who failed to get elected were Dave Sutton ,who didn’t mention his NAM affiliation, and Mick Broad,whofailedtosubmitastatement of views. high priests of Portland Place, who have conspired for'fifty years to subvert the Architects Registration Acts. Portland Place isthe street inwhich the RIBA headquaters are situated. levels. i WSONEWSINIEWSON oftheRIBA’sarchitecturalemployers.The thepartylinehanded downbythe While the ‘unattached’ architects are obliged by the Architects Registration Act 1931, which establisehed ARCUK, to nominate only ‘registered persons’ (¢.g., ‘architects’), the RIBACouncil isfree to appoint anyone, lay or professional, RIBA member or not to the 41 seatsthatARCUK apportioned it this year. Once again, however organisations. But, whether a statutory however, the RIBA Council has appointed exclusively RIBA members and again these body such as ARCUK should similarly private sector, despite the fact that over support the right wing through its investment of the annual retention fes isa more dubious matter. Slate readers will recall that, two years 495,pressurefromNAMmemberselected toARCUKforcedtheCounciltodivest itsofeslhafresinConsolidatedGoldfields. apillar of apartheid in South Africa. Consolidated Goldfields, which also operates in the British construction industry (ARC Conbloc etc.,), isnow 11th onthelistofcompanydonorstothe political right-wing, contributing heavily not only to the Tories but also to the infamous National Association for Freedom. Is now the time for ARCUK to further limitits‘undesirable’ investments? 70% of the RIBA’s members are staff, with halfthesefromthepublicsector.Ofcourse theRIBACouncilcouldallowitsUK these seats but, no surprise, has never chosen to do so. Perhaps elected the Economic League, known for its blacklists of trade union activists. Shell, which tops the list of Economic League contributors, isalso amajor ARCUK investment. Other major Economic League contributors among ARCUK’s investments include Legal and General 'Insurance, GKN (7th among the contri- butors to the Tory Party) and National WwestiitasfenBanie The RIBA, as a private club, has every right to support right-wing political SLATE 16PAGE 15 IWS SUBS. FUND RIGHT WING INTERESTS widespread support for the NAM candidates members freely to elect people, lay or let alone the idea of an independent ARCUK professional, RIBA members or not, to The reductions in capital spending on Council and Housing Association housebuilding are likely to hav an early effect on employment in architects’ and allied offices. Statistics are not readily available for the workload of these offices but it is likely that, in 1976, public sector housing accounted for about 20% by value of the workload of public and private THE NINE architects elected to the Architects Registration Council to represent their colleagues who do not belong to any of the professional institutes have won a masssive vote of confidence in their policies in a recent opinion finding questionnaire. O rganised by several of the councillors the questionnaire was circulated in the Architecs Journal and elicited over 500 responses. Most forceful of all the trends underlying al the responses were the differences of opinion on professional matters between employee architects and their bosses. The elected councillors and NAM continuously argue that ARCUK is unrepresentative of the majority of architects, let alone lay people, who also have a crucial interest in the standards of architectural work. The Council is currently’ in the pocket of architectural bosses who, through nomination arran- gements, fil the vast bulk of the 41 seats allotted to the main professional body, the Royal Institue of British Architects (RIBA). Employee architects are clearly not happy with this situation: 91% of them responding to the Questionnaire were in favour of direct elections among architects for al the seats allocated to architects and 80% were for proportional representation on the Council for employee architects. Architectural bosses were more cagey about direct elections (64% in favour) and opposed to proportional representation (36% in favour). Attitudes to the policies of the ruling group on ARCUK showed up the results of this lack of representation: 93% of employee architects wanted the circ- ualtion of annual reports and surveys from the elected councillors to continue, a practice recently ruled out by the RIBA group. A substantial majority of The chairperson should be neutral. Council business should be conducted in an impartial manner. The chair of all committees should be rotated among their respective members on a meeting by meeting basis. All Council meetings should be held at a neutral venue, not at RIBA headquaters. All ARCUK committees, visiting boards, selection panels, delegations and other bodies should be so constituted that their representation reflects accurately the composition of the Council, that is, elected architect members, nominees of professional associations, Government nominees and non-architect members from other professions, and other bodies. The Council should strictly observe its standing orders and its Regulations, for example those governing the apportioning of seats. Votes taken in Council and committees should be properly conducted, with the names of those voting for, against and abstaining accurately recorded. Full minutes of the preceeding committee meetings should form part of the committee reports to the Council. ARCUK should provide elected councillors the facility to report back to and obtain the views of their electorate in order properly to discharge their responsibilities. The Council’s Annual Report should include a minority report when necessary. Past reports have not accurately reflected diversity of opinion within the Council. The misuse of ARCUK funds to subsidize RIBA activities should end. ARCUK should ensure that it takes the leading role in all activities that it sponsors and for which it has statutory responsibility. All Council meetings, committees, boards and panels should be open to the public. SLATE 16 PAGE 16 S\WSNEWSNIEWSN NEWS| ARCHITECTS CONDEMN ABUSE OF REGISTRATION COUNCIL them were in favour of changes in the ARCUK Code of Conduct to permit architects to become directors of building and allied firms, an issue the RIBA group is not even willing to debate at at present. But the most swingeing indictment of RIBA group policies came in two questions concerning whether their continuing domination is in the interests of the public and the prof- ession. An astonishing 87% of employee architects said no in the first case and an even more astonishing 83% said no in the second. On both counts boss arshitects held the opposite view. In the long term the majority of the elected councillors aim for reform of the Architects Registration Acts so that the spirit of the original legislation which set up ARCUK can be put into practice :the regulation of theprof- ession in the public interest. In the interim the domination of the Council by the RIBA effectively ensures that the main interest that isserved isthat of private sector architect-bosses, argue the elected councillors. Only since the election of the first NAM members in 1977 has the extent of RIBA manipulation become fully apparent through the unravelling of the Council’s Byzantine procedures by the elected councillors .Matters came to a head at the March meeting of ARCUK, reported elsewhere in this issue. In repsonse to what can only be seen as sharneful abuse through the undemocratic administration of a public body, the majority of the elcted councillors have now put their weight behind a ten- point programme for immediate reform of'the Council’s procedures. What they wantisforARCUK tofollowaccepted fundamental democratic practices and to carry on its affairs in an independent and open manner. This is their Ten Point Plan: Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE 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 Undated https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/f6b1c8aea67361c5316074820e0aac11.pdf 6976000df5a72cf0a21ac85fc825d74d 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive 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 SLATE 17 Description An account of the resource SLALE THE RADICAL PAPER ON ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILDING INDUSTRY ISSUE No17 TS BETVER From Edinburgh Liateon Group Member, Mick Broad, Dave Jenkine and Dave Lookhead Dear Slate This year's NAM Congress marked the start of the movement's sixth year, in itself evidence that NAM is here to stay and to continue its radical opposition to the minority interest of the established professional bodies, and to actively seek and promote alternative design services. The Edinburgh members of this year's Liaison Group feel that the policies being pursued by this government threaten the quality of life for many of our population. We in Edinburgh, who are incidentally representative of architecture, planning and landscape architecture, wish to build an organisation which can actively campaign against these destructive policies. We trust that such a campaign will help consolid- ate NAM, clarify our aims and objectives, and encourage new members. To this end the Liaison Group will give its full support to all indiv- idual members wishing to promote the establishment of new groups. We call on existing members to use the pages of Slate to campaign against lower- ing standards of provision and to bring to the attention of the Liaison Group issues on which NAM can make national representation in the fight against cuts in quality.In addition we urge all readers to fight the cuts in quantity through the appropriate trade unions, and in conjunction with construction unions, councillors, tenants and ratepayers associations and other pressure groups, in a broad alliance. Finally we wish to hear from the Liaison Group representative of each Issue and Local Group,and from all those interested in the formation of a@ new broad based Edinburgh Group. Mick Broad, Dave Jenkine and Dave Lockhead PI Grou Eight of the councillors elected (on.a 24% turnout) onto ARCUK by "unattached architects’ are NAM members - one more than last year. They are : JOHN ALLAN, NORMAN ARNOLD, MICHAEL BROAD, DAVID BURNEY, PETER CUTMORE, GILES PEBODY, DAVID ROEBUCK, EDDIE WALKER. The other two unattached members are Peter Howe and John Gibb. There has been some questioning by NAM members of whether or not John Gibb, who is a member of the RIAS should be standing as an unattached candidate. The annual meeting of the ProfessionalIssuesGrouptook inrelationtoNAM'sbroad andbybuildingallianceswith slate Slate has been going through a period of transition as a, new editorial collective has taken over fromthe old. ‘the first ixteen issues of Slate which the previous collective produced have provided us, by example, a magazine’ to follow. However, achange of editorial collective will inevitably have implicat- ions for the content and style of Slate, and continual discuss- ions about its future has delayed the appearance of this issue to such an extent that it perhaps is only of historical importance. After all, it's better late than never. The struggle to produce this issue has enabled each member of the collective to reformilate degrees of commitment to Slate and to its deadlines. It must be obvious by the delay of this issue - 'the 1980 NAM Congress issue’ = that the necessary self- discip ine to meet production deadlines has yet to be developed. Now, however, the future is ass- ured and subscribers can sleep happily in the knowledge that future issues will be produced regularly and frequently. Future Slates will, we hope, stimulate dialogue and radical political and asthetic theory,” generating new creative energies amongst building workers, design- ers and users. ‘That may be a tall order, but we can begin by broadening our definition and understanding of the function of architectureandtodothisa (apmeemrbearttheoe collective with varied interests is necessary. The new collective's members share an interest in architecture and society, and individually are socialists, marxists, feminists and any offers of distribution. code. The fundamental institutional ARCUK. changes resulting from this have revuer..... and anarchists working in the fields of architecture, design and build, landscape architecture, architectural education, community radio and development, and comm unity architecture. : Slate will tend to reflect the anterests of the collective and so, to counter this, editorial/ evaluation meetings will be held regularly on the first and third Monday of every month(starting in October), at the Islington Bus Company, Palmer Place; London, N.7., to which all inter— ested persons will be welcome. Already agreed areregular columns on hazardous materials and dangerous work practice, defective detailing and bad work- manship(invaluable for both the installer and specifier) - issues over which we would welcome close liaison with building workers, trade unions, Direct Labour Organ- isations and tenants federations. Slate will develop an alternative trade bibliography and directory of radical organisations within the building industry, eg. design Co-ops, building co-ops, design and build, unionised rTJaS bys in practices etc. We will continue with the News from the Unattached(ARCUK) to work within ARCUK was the most profitable way to achieve NAM's aims. The Group took the opportunity of restating its objectives : that ARCUK should be a public interest body and not a front for the RIBA; that lay representation should be strenghened to ensure public accountability of the profession. In the long term this would NAM councillors aimed to bring the consequences of these changes out. Some argued that they were beginning to do this and to drive a wedge between ARCUK and the RIBA. The result is that ARCUK has now recognized 'de facto’ the unattached constituency as the second largest and most powerful group. Consequently NAM councillors incorporation and support was needed for any substantial changes. and News from NAM. With architectural education there is mich to be said and Slate intends to cover the debate and be educational features of historical and theo- retical relevance to us today. wet all, "those who do not itself, with Other PIG members argued that the work as ARCUK councillors tied up NAM's more senior members at the expense of the development of NAM. The emphasis on working within ARCUK and on ARCUK's terms tended are condemned But for now, think about attend- place at the Islington Bus Company on St. Valentine's Day. The background to the meeting was one of a significant ARCUK year but a rather uneventful NAM year. The question that was central to most of the day's debate and left unresolved was whether the resources and committment devoted objectives. Discussion focussed on associated bodies, this argumentbe ARCUK's close involvement in the continues. ARCUK status should status, form and content of its used to pursue objectives new to ing the editorial ing in October, send subscriptions meetings start- 5 require a reconstituted ARCUK (and one where architectural representation more accurately reflected the composition of the profession as a whole). In the short term we should be attempting to strengthen lay representation of to distort councillor's overall the Board of architectural perspective, some argued. The ARCUK education, one third of whom are objectives should be pursued nominated by lay organisations. Other initiatives must be assessed through the press, privy council by arguments over the rights and wrongs of and been camoflaged advertising, directorships limiting liability. UR The group would welcome the views of NAM members in order to set out priorities and objectives for the coming year. OMY LOGE sketches out a for sadical architects a9 nun 1 ie i or are economic argunents enough. The role that oth factors such as our environment play ae not neutral. They are an’ essential sSuprport totonethe edo!nonic notivesiof the But the major'contradictions can only be resolved by a transfer of power to the blocks with cottage-type housing may reduce Buildings profit 3. Nor is there anything italist in propo alternative produc ily raise of'market economic >ffects the producti It effects the way of the systen to respond to us. The envizonrent as a whole is planned in a way that doesn't respond to our needs. Instead it reinforces divisions and helps to contro] isolate and segregate people. Often they a act to define and restrain the sort of ~ activities that can happen in a particular space.MostrecenthousinginBelfasthas been planned 2o as to breakdown the close links necessary for retaliation against — the state; almost all housing is designed are used inherent anti-cap- For people working in architecture this means examining ip to the people priorities and initi & major shift in our We are all designers We are led to believe that design is a skill learnt only through years in college WE ARE ALL DESIGNERS. The planning and use of technical knowledge in the production of a neal follows, to use an example everyone masters, the same process as any other design activity. One difference lies in the raterials and tecniques used. Whereas "meal designers’ rely on direct experience of the ingredients, mst building designers feel quite confident atout selecting naterials for their buildings without any 4rst hand experience ( and without consulting material specialists ). he contradict ent in the builc one hand and ina tation; they ifuse tobeclearstoutthepoliticalrole roposals in making us more avare of + impossibility in a talist society unded by demoralization and insecuri Aty what can people in architecture do ? Obviously we must organize against 1: offs and threats to our employnent. We have to organize for better conditions of work. Aid at the same time we have to remenber the implications of our struggle for other workers in the industry. How can ve extend our denands and breakdown ‘visions which isolate us from each nitiatives which bring together d eraups : tenants, housing S, design and building workers like COUNCIL HOUSE SALES a dity of the contradictions Detxeen the needs for work and decent for the British Standard fanily. Bosses rule Is Hi nthe other. nce with Council or landlord. There are good reasons for not letting experts have the sole prerogative of desi- ging. Deaigning is intriguing, creative, and fun. It is away of making alot of ante on these issues the importance of good ©of us with technical The planned fragmentation of our surround- ings leolates women in the hone. We should be thinking of ways of organizing our hones to support ideas atout sharing donestic work and childcare - we should challenge the view that this is the blolog: ical mother's role by including men, women low tech dreamlands or foisted on us their work collectively. llect the necessary adirect it atthe right clear to ourselves and others. It gives forced to working class. There sltematives for running capitalisn. Only a creche and somewhere to meet and chat. ....and at home panacesas avoid and obscure the political assumptions which they toth incorporate. It is easy to fall into the trap of consun- erisn which concentrates on the product and not on the alienating nature of production. Overemphasis on the product can lead to a sort of architectural opportunien ( in a socialist countries as well ). There is to change society through the preducts of designing and planning. Self-appointed ex- aged, to make decisions and plans and to perts have given us their visions of hi tain their fight for are no socialist for decent living Ort At work.. usefulwecan esoate put our misplacedsentimentalitybyrevvingthe B On and use the letters ; If we can learn to share Alls, we too can lear with "geod old days’. By pretending to know consciousness ts far ganize together. politics 5 z stock of housing. It works to legitinise who gp®s on the housing list, who gets a mortgage, and who ts rejected by both. It makes collective housing almost inpossible When wo ng forced back into the dathe @overnnent's solution to ation is used to ration the nt is to tell us tomve our home to where the work is, then we cannot ignore fousing as an urgent yolitical question. socialien the changes we want. But, unless we rehearse and make plans which will become the basis for change, the only precedents can provide the opportunity for ARCHITECTURE are just as appresive if we impose then on others. The only solution is to radically change the product and the production proc- ess and the way we design buildings. : reinforce status. It could probably be smaller and closer to hone. It could include the synptoms of high-rise living. But these andchildreninourplans. While we decorate our homes we ne glect the environment of collective activity - accept- own class interests. ing fourth rate surroundings. We neet in the back roons of pubs or in institutions acce- pting a totally inadequate environment for important political initiatives. iiding ‘aestetically interesting’ factories surrounded by gardens, may give the people inside a better view. Replacing tower what For those who have spent years learning divine right and all the answers, it means rejecting this individualism and seeing our own exploitation as it really is. Our fidelity to the system 1s tought with promises of professional status which If we throw out the iies, then we can see behaviour or alleviate social problems. Bu- Alternatives are only viable politically if that we have interests in common with But good or bad buildings do not deternine they develop fron the pressure of working other working people, toth blue and white people and are under their control. However collar. If we can climb dow off our well meaning socialiat designer's ideas, they shaky pedestals we have a lot to gain. opportunities which are usually discour- conflict. ‘ARCHITECT’ The title impresses asvailabnle) to us are capitalisstt and reflect long history of architectural utopias aiming our ideas concrete, and making then more 4s good for others they are protecting their to be ‘professionals’ with some sort of Options under capitalism st0winneverseniors. British Standard (B.S) nuclear family “nen putting demands to theauthorities we ought to bebe clear aboutt the limitation SEEEE The places where we work reflect the interests of the bosses and it follows that Been ace nunea to maxinise productivity. xeeacties are provided for our well- Hs ng, it is ir version of what is good or us. In other words: an indirect invest~ maa to prevent absenteesisn or reduce job puro ery ete. Space is also used to rein- Pee hetrachies and on a larger scale to Mer erseely, )cut us off from our conn- rate ive should extend our notions of ae ves to work to include the work “vironment. It doesn't have to be dirty, Foisy, dangerous and inhunan. It doesn't have to cut us off fron one another and DIRECTLABOUR neal pownalll of the direct ai. yon readers labour of slate construction becomes a possibility. The existence of a seperate architects’ department is only needed under the contracting system. Design and production can be integ- rated within the building department." As long as the Tories are in power the prospects for planned building programmes are remote. But there are a number of steps which involve local authority architects which should be taken now, both to prepare for the possible election of a Labour Government committed to expanding public housing and to minimise the harmful effects of the Act. I. Joint Trade Union Committees number o oca jority trade unionists have found that the best way to discuss defending local auth- ority services is to form joint trade union committees involving representatives from all trade unions organising local authority workers. These are usually completely independent of the joint consultation structure, and do not place a high priority on discussions of wages and conditions. 2. Joint Tenant-Worker Groups n increasing number 0 oca authorities now have groups consist- ing of representatives from tenants’ organisations and trade unions where a wide range of problems are discussed without the intervention of bureaucrats or councillors. arts andsociety Scruton and Watkins are histerians who have come out of the bach current revival of consery tismUntil recently there has been 1 way of analysis and criticism of their work.On mayy29th over 5! ple heard 6 critiques of their position at the Bartlet School of Architecture. Tim Benton explained their links with Geoffry Scott through some of the buildings conveniently le:ft out o Rodney Mace attempted to undermine the technocratic education,but Richard Hill pleaded for chnology to agenda,arguing that the right deliberate], The day was organised by the Art: been going for 3 years,‘and the links between art and society from hoping to organise an exhibition at the Fift. at Brighton Polytechnic in November. The theme for this will be the way in which B tish Inper its ceremonial space, comparing Lend on with Calcutta,Del the way the Brit interested in the workshop get in touch with Hannah Mitchell Ae ana government servi see Meals on Wheels to make as much money as Trust House Forte, and even architects’ departments having to all their work in open come and make profits Of direc oncern to local authority departments is the way ch the Act will affect their tionships with DLOs. Until now, most DLOs have rarely pursued claims against architects' department because the only result would been a book entry in the authority's accounts, transfering costs from one department to another. June 1976: Camden DLO workers’ dty ofxction egeinst the Lump, altewnative ARCAID Of the organisations making architectural skills available to community and tenants groups ARCAID is the foremost in the York- shire/Lancashire area. It is the one most closely and regularly involved in giving advice to tenants groups campaigning to get repairs done. author- a and authority: a) have a safety policy approved by the council; bd) train at least the same proport- ion of apprentices to tradesmen as the DLO; c) do not use labour-only sub- contractors; d) submit tenders based on the design-and-build principle. receive'all source "funding, grants from charitable sources, itwild with DLOs under threat of re by the Secretary of State th consistently make profi expected to pursue architects’ depart- _vigourous sly, because ; lues based on tender plus agreed claims will make nue side of the profit THE! WAY FORWARD utiding with Direct Labour argued r planned local authorit TOgraianes such a system "the rch= genuine community groups and (sometimes) individual Activity is mainly directed towards those initially lacking finance and/or organisat- probably be necessary to constitute two don and whose fall outside the scope of aspects of ARCAID : advice and service. services provided by the local authority or The advice agency will be registered as 4 the conventional form of private architects Charity. A service company could be establ- practise. ished as a wholly owned subsidiary ( trad- IS ARCAID AN ADVICE AGENCY OR AN ARCHITECTS ing arm ) of the advice agency, but with ical Separation t of design andnd prod- There is at present no national joint union campaign to defend direct a: Provision of free advice in an area not labour. If such a campaign does come funded by public authorities or private into existence it will have to be built up from local groups, and b: Provision of full conventional architect ARCAID CONTACTS : Norman Arnold, Eddy uction (with architects having.pro *inai say) is no the architects committed to the provision ural service, funded by payment of fees of public housing designed and built (probably by a grant or trust fund). by local authority workers will be essential members of these groups. ‘THE NEED FCR ARCAID +: This is widespread. Walker, Tan Tod at 4 Corn Exchange, Leeds LSI 7BP. Tel. © 0532 445795. longer necessary. integration of design and their standing orders to defent the ona voluntary,basis; the |DoE having with- Employees will be architects and associated people who will be exployed by the manage- ment committee. STRUCTURE AND FINANCE : ‘The arthitectural advice aspect of ARCAID will be dependant on external support .Therefore gains made by DLOs in health and safety, training, and the eliminat- ion of sub-contracting. This would involve insisting that any contractors doing work for the local to work with ( rather than for ) local WHAT IS ARCAID : Areaid is an organ- dzation that has evolved over the past four years in response to the need for community MANAGEMENT : Management will buildings in Leeds. We aim to provide prof- essional, managerial and technical skills, enabling groups to build or buy accommodat- don and to maintain it, together with the be by committee ( a steering group having already been established ) incorporating substantial representation from build: user-clients acting together with relevant 3. Using Standing Orders Either or both of these types of groups are now in a position to put pressure on their councils to change surrounding landscape. We operate largely professional andpublic interest bodies. drawn ‘Inner City finance’ awarded to us by the City Council in 1979. WHO DOES ARCAID AIM TO SERVE : Arcaid aim SERVICE ? There are two distinct as- peots of practice, both of which ARCAID has been asked to fulfill by community groups and to which it has responded. These are = practice. Separate management, possibly co-operative. ARCAID LATEST : Arcaid has again been awarded an Inner City Grant by Leeds City Council ( Septenber 1980 ). This time of £2000 Capital costs and £12000 revenue. But the DoE has yet to approve this. far more than we can cope with while ing adequate finance. We ave asking for letters of support from those with whom we have already worked and others who could use ARCAID if 4t was fully operational. An organization active in Liverpool under the name COMPECHSA Ltd ( ty Technical Services Agency )is funded by Liverpool's Inner City programme. lack- SIXTH CONGRESS ‘80 EDINBURGH "NAM seeks through the collective action of architectural workers and other concerned people,to play an active role in radically altering the system of patronage and power in architecture.It seeks an architectural practice directly accountable to ail who use tts products and democratica-— tly controtled by the workers within it, thereby to promote effective control by ordinary people over their envtronment and by architectural workers over thetr working lives." QUESTIONS Now that we in a period of economic recesSion,practical proposals for the restructurir oS the system of patron- age are nec y and these need to I presse dec herently in order to ritiate action to build a democratic environment.The question then for NAM waS;is NAM to be a movement or is it to remain a pressure group.If NAM was a movement ,what issues would it’ order for the future to be discussed the several points to in common with other confronting the present and unity need to draw us together and build a socialist movement. What attempts have their been at co- e exercised operation between socialists and what can we learn from them. What immediate tasks can be undertaken locally and nationally. etal quicker ion.Sinc of ironment eds and asp- belief in grass roots democracy and that by involving the users the disasters of the past would be avoided This stuned potential critics into questio 1g whether the Labour party able to respond to this type of democracy and could parliamentary institutions respond to democratic grass roots socialism.This argument for a radical approach ue housing and the environment was taken up by Jim Stocks UCAT Edinburgh Regional Organiser who declared that"extra Parliamentary politics will undoubt- } getting back to wh government left off. WORKSHOPS The Workshops were arranged into broard areas to try and av limiting discussion to narrow fields of int ich may be of concern to NAM activists but at large. buildings The opening key debate of the Congress edly looked at the state of the nation and count in particular the state of the building opposed industry ending up with possible to build senarios for the future.George Roberton There M.P.Opposi n Spokesperson on Housing it in Scotland began by the cuts will hit Scotland.When questioned on housing provision,remote housing management SRAiReE It was could > government. After and hostile housing types(a legacy of the boom and high rise)he reafirmed his point in expendir which did not at first sigh which face today.The Congre was yided into three areas;The relevent the problems building industry OPENING DEBATE s= ) The Building Industr Action.It became orientate building quanitiy D1¥ of producers with such groups were seen as an was a congenital handicap to work architectural designers who found they had to acquire skills and know- ledge as best they could from practice, having failed to find them in the schools. sive dsolation of the schools from the community and th constuct- ustry.It was agreed that part group. T a t be for,and if carried out will be a‘giant ste; to the workers of life which had their working lives', adop the following cognises that we have now ectural _practice- wholly out of touch with the realities of architec- tural workers in the construction process.Democratic change within the schools was blocked by the hierarchic Aneueerys and the Trade Union movement EDUCATION MOTIONS has no eon maaice in tructure of and calls of the nee solely ° i is been struggled ull entered a period where the welfare structure of control lead by a despo- ate is under the greatest attack ds its inception. Cuts in public tic "head of school'.The schools were BSS oE, programmes for the provis- insulated from outside influence and healt h and education freed from public accountability by ing the qual- the system of'self certification’ of workers whereby the RIBA-who effecti ives of ‘unattached ARCUK and the ard of Architectural Education to work for a return recognition procedure to the of Architectural Edu ation, and for all vi ng boards to be fully representative of the membership of the board in Architects Re, The existing schools of architecture students should be acively ‘en- CUTS werecriticisedaspurveyingrestri- Ae heduce MOTION In order to further NAM's ote effective democ ected and inadequate knowledge - especially lacking in the areas of community needs and the construction process. Whilst many students and staff were aware of the deficiencies, the schools resisted change, Debate on architectu has been contained wi Alliances reward movement. and by all de 1and construction é gst educationalists,staff and students and it was felt that NAM the conference Slate. This congres system whereby given to archi on the basis of the recommendat siting boards. T congress calls upon the MOTIONS DEFENCE y &11 people over their environment enforcing a model of the profession = the RIBA ideal of private archit- hould in future widen its for. nto lude practice he ‘construction EDUCATION UNATTACHED ded are worth resisting att in the i further ed together of CNAA degr certification bandoned in favour of aStudy be Education related both involved in vision of public services nd with the people ent provision of rvices he appropriate a union olitical and commun- ity groups with all those who produce ma ind use housing and public buildings WORKSHOP The "Educ tion workshop discussion at the Edinburgh Congress found congress ca on the whole ership, indi idually and through This Congress Supports the efforts t with most aspects of the i structure of architectural Cups to; Encourage far greater career guidance in girls' education towards careers in the building industr. To prom with the building unions to fac- ate more opportunities for tical training for women and 2 on site. _encourage more mid-career ing and flexible working eon architects who are NAM members represen’ unatta ched L ects on the Archit Regi stra~ tion Council of the U.K.in their efforts to expose RIBA abuses of ARCUK and to promote the public fuction of Tl but seanee there hele lenty of energy ive to be tapped within the and sufficient of both within NAM to demand the re-forming of a NAM education group to work towards an alternative policy for architectural education. Thé education workshop arose spont- aneously from the ‘official’ Building Industry workshop which began the day. The estrangement of design education from the construct- ion process was so often referred to by the participants in the general discussion of the Building Industry that education was chosen as a topic for more detailed discussion in the afternoon session. The ‘profession- alisation' of architects as a monopoly group with supposed mystic abilities unconnected with methods of construction or community needs greater communication control the their dards y idea of an enti new indepenc i d popular,and at lingered on- ri Tuc funding. Tt was concluded that y Bartlett as of knowled evance of a 5year full-time tectural education was questio- ned, being seen largely as a social- ising process responsible for the a ing the following pprinciples That the present artif ictal limits of architectural nqu ni commendation i dents provi ce with the on Act. ywas “De gn to the requests the Liaisor Group to encourage a broad education 8 @ way ‘to the Con: y Training Board w This AGM requests the incoming Liason This Congress supports the work of the Group.te@ report back to the members: Professional Issues Group to explore sufficiently in advance of the next aang upon men students, arch- the professional issues ra by the Congress on; ts and builders to support unattached representativ n ARC women colleagues in peveks and specifically requires it to promote an ARCUK code of conduct independant of the R The Congress mandat a further year co'opt nd to take in furtheran the proper preparation of motions £ the AGM and their re on tothe Congres the ques of whether NAM ution ought to be altered to to affiliate to other organisa r m and pleasant land. insupport and special inter Scene RCP ENENReemeentansnecseemeen women 1s vit that presented an alternative educational environment for. women to the largely capit- alist patriarchal schools of planning, architecture and the building trades in the U.S.It is not a typical year round School in a set location rather it meets for two weeks anually in differerit parts of the country,networking throughout the rest of the year. Previously the majority of the participants have been from the U.S and Canada.However this year two of its past co-ordinators attended the Mid-Decade Forum on Women and Development(U.N. International Womens Decade) 4n Copenhagen Julyl4-24,1980 and began an international network of women involved in the built environment field.Such a network will help WSPA to better carry on the dialogue that it began at its 1979 session on personal and professional ressorces to (98,400) were 30 per cent down o 1979. This compares closely itheeL 33 per cent drop starts (53,600). in public sect mann ee and no ess,” obs in China, ’ the rive: r bi Proposal and a number of gehaee developments getting approval recently. He's even been awarded We are working mostly with womens groups a crumb in the shape of the vast of muted groups and especially of women. The ways we work are defined by our under- ‘The reason we became involved with particular standing of socialism and feminism and the groups is never straightforward.Each project relations between.then.They are not based on is an experiment in some way or another wld I should watch closely to see readers they try getting into continues in this downward if he the last NAM Congress,the feminist to tap available resources,to enable them to offer our experience to help other women. acql the power to change their own circum- stances.We are working on two fronts-offering AG Bashing is not a favoured NAM pursuit. But its members do sometimes get up to things that set in the Guardian mentioned "The the morals a-quiver. Ms.Frankl was Jarvis Lecture Hall, 66 Portland elected on the SAG ticket,to the RIBA Place". Now why wouldn't they {ficient professional service capable ~gthe bureaucracy on the client's ed on our experience in conventional Baltinore,Maryland 21218. BUILDING DESIGN STAFF The Building Design Staffs section of TASS/AUEW London branch have rejected a motion which called for the branch to cease and amalgamate with STAMP,the white collar section of UCAT.In rejecting this winding up motion the branch passed an amendment which opened the way for investigation and co-operation with other groups of Building Design workers.The reasons behind this motion of dissolution lay more with the dissappointingly lowmenbership- within the union,of building design workers dispite the years of campaigning within the NOT FOR REA council. +hen was appointed the SAG us it was the RIBA. Surely theytell practice,and nlso as a responsive team which involves the clients and users in the implic- ations of decision making. architectural scene is fairly abysmal for a so called radical magazine. First of all we had the puff for Bofill ( Thanks to Hellman aoe chewing their ear off in their letter page ). The latest issue contains this comment on the RIBA's Current exhibition of a few British eens ‘Thiscountryhasalarge SAGgers?Inaword....yes.TheSAG REPORT WSPA As with all the groups we work with,we ere architects. Now Daddy has tossed him wo believe that the way in which buildings very aware of the impact of cuts on building the global transitions which need to be Docklands new Press) scheme on Surrey Docks. production.However it is essential not to are planned and their appearance,reflects stop thinking how buildings can and should made if the world is to survive and truly ‘develop’ for all hunan kind. A proposal has been put forward to fund an 4nternational WSPA session in 1982-probably 4n Germany .Since many of the current devel- opments in the built environment-in both urban and rural areas,in both industrialised as well as underdeveloped countries-have a photos showed him sinking mud came up round-his neatly as and reinforces patriachal social organisation being Polished black shoes.Slate notions on offering proffessional services to community groups.Beyond struggles for equal particularly negative impact on women as a rights for women lies the opportunity to define class,there 1s a need for women.who share a feminist world which is radically different in the ways we organise and how we relate to ‘a concern about those developments to define direction. HELTER FR STORM especially in discovering sympathetic ways of working with groups-of using drawings, of talking about buildings and of making collective decisions. MITRA Both groups are now engaged in seperate grou] hes changed its emphasis from an open projects.Mitra is holding small dis who now both wish to consolidate their our energies in the development of our own to an expansion of theissues,the is We wish to develop an architectural service group,and at next years Congress we hope to and the strategies.For further information on which will give women's groups the expertise report on our successes and failures,and maybe the session write to:WSPAs;250lErdnan Ave,B u sbbtuilding, would seerm to be each other. and analyse them and develop counteracting strategies.Anyone interested in shaping the agenda for such a session in a socialist feminist direction should contact Mary Vogelc/oMary Sell;223eKalmia Ave, Boulder, Colorado80302,U.3.A. For those wishing to sake more immediate contact,the next session of WSPA will take place in Weshington,D.C.in co-operation with the National Congress of Neighborhood Wornen (a ner Pp a working class,neighborhood activists).Topics will inolude;Commnities:housing and women; Transportation:impact on woren;Influencing Acaderia:towards a feminist perspectives Alternative TechnologysAccess to Moneytecon— omic development.While this session will 11 wongoube the first step will be to bgarionresstiacAscquiescen. ce of the buiilding ITELLA YA Q. Oh I see, private sch Wonen's: Project in Brixton to find premises the property- We hope to involve the client intimately in projects.The two groups are now called Watrx and Mitra.Our group,Mitra,is concered with the developing and understanding of our- the design and also involve as many women selves as women, a8 socialists and as archit- as possible in the building process. ects,and being small enough to establish a We want to maintain our links with NAM alth- many of our problems under a declining working group based on trust and mutual ough we have little fully formilated to offer capitalist system are similar.International support. at present.Over the next year,we will employ participation will be welcomed and could lead In the summer, the Clapham Battered Wives Project has been completed and 4s running successfully.The Lambeth Womens Project has been completed,and there have been proposals for the Stockwell and Vauxhall Neighbourhood HealthCentreinwhichbothgroupswereinvo- industry.Itwasrecognisedthatsuccesslaywithorganisingdesignstaffin lved. Fellow SAGger Mike Moxley next moved in to work with Frankl, forming a partnership, and they are now working on “a number of projects” as a private firm. Are they still These projects,in which we worked as a larger group,changed our attitudes to methods of working.Problens arising from our working together and communicating as a large group made us rethink the feasibility of trying to change our attitudes to the client,users and ourselves in sugh a large group. ome union and dispite an active BDS/TASS branch this has not happened. The branch will meet with design workers in other unions within the private sector offices to push for a union for the private sector. - ‘Ser of unusually imaginative architects like Richard Rogers ppeaubourg and Lloyds= to be its eendon equivalent), their main ane Foster Associates, Farrell The Voren's School of Planning and Archit— ecture(WSPA)is a feminist network of women dealing with built environment issues.It originatedintheU.S.in1974asaschool Privatesectorstartsin19800S likely focus on U.S.institutions and policies Recent DOE figusurres haheve Smashed the mpybtihaintheat cuts in co)council house SONOF SEIFERT couslaughing would be made up b increases in private } - i drast cally reduce building e to standards HESELTINE'S WORK EXPERIENCE architecture A. Well sort of. NORTH OF WATFORD ime out‘s awareness of the old guard might be forgiven a bleat at the way they have so blatantly been used to gain an entrée into the gentleman's club of the RIBA council for the furtherance of their careers. Perhaps someone should put a black ball into the sagbag next time such opportunists court it. can't be ashamed of Opening their doors to the nuclear shelter lobby. et srinshaw, now split into two ch Hopkins and Neave Brown’. 3Se Midlands rep.However while this was happening she applied to and got a job with Hackney, and resigned her Birmingham job. Did she resign her post as SAG's midlands rep. In a word... no. ioddy's imprimatur in the Guardian 5 @ second Robert Adam. But age prongs the question of a successor © pass the empire on to. As Dadd: retires to his home and gar D attractively illustrated re the colour magazines) cently in pondering the he ma wisdo; mo: e fy? o Son of Seifert ieee eer rish, narrow minded at the Bartlett. He Kapbalccercee his fellow students, bringing his Own sandwiches so that he didn't have to mix at lunchtime with other The RIBA was very coy about of its facilities. The ad. fonts Brains Trust" on nuclear shelters FEMINIST GROUPS MATRIX the ideas of the Womens Movement means real- ising how we can make our skills useful as un-arrogantly as possible.It 4s easier on us because we do not stand to loose much= but harder for the groups we work with. So it is important to go carefully but it {is also important to discuss and make known ‘womens 'experiances of buildings.That woren think differently about buildings comes from our own experiance-but it 1s being continually strengthened by working with other womens We are currently working on a touring exhi- bition sponsored by the Arts Council on Women and Housing.It is partly analysis- looking at conventional housing design and the muclear fanilyjand partly trying to form- ulate alternatives by working with four very aifferent womens groups and seeing what they need in their situation.Working with these groups is leading us beyond the exhibition and into practice. Matrix de a collective of women all active rent ways in the women's movement ernea with buildings.We three work ther women working on part- ‘This support from other to our idea of what Matrix Looking for ne? ways of working which reflect We have made a definite choice to support ourselves mainly from work outside Matrix mudlding,tenching and research)rather than take op conventional 'private'architectural work.We feel good about this because these commitments,together with involvement in other ns,political and community eroups are essential to the evolution of our work as feninist designers and builders.This also reflects one of our basic aims is to breakdown the division of labour between those who think and make,and between those ‘oduce and consume buildings. oppressing and obscuring the needs and demands be changed. nUnG) q Pe,duri et se FROM THE TORIES that P-R. blurb about Lioyds London's Beaubourg again — co: Suggest that the building Be Heseltine axe again..... P+aHcowisdoarchitects withOutwork A. By their employees...ur..1 by their students. ae cussion group to two smaller working groups groups and fs involved in helping the Asian positions by immersing themselves in practical and mobilise Inner City Funds to renovate For a Government dedicated to when it's finisshed. I bet it'll have e s o us ap W e e e r e m p l o n n y 5 oc c ep tme o ing publ e i n “than“there arg eo ease p r i p ( i y ol i t e Eue a Si t o c a l l en,e t nor s yees heee i f e r t 's: o f f i cie. g it Sei u ar d Oh for lateral thinking. archi will never beinempl aed if tee think laterally. Isn't it wonderful the way we're all génning up about nuclear shelters. There have been pal ee dozen seminars in so many acnatchsi.a..at Leed S school,C and CA Eds. note: Oh Michael, don't for. to tell the RIBA so that they ora recognise these courses. (B.A.Seifert ?). Readers interested to know which practice offers educational facilities’ should write to Slate enclosing S.a.e. SHE FRANKLY RANKLES NEWS It appears as if the g ent! calculations that a raigiareenneis house building would increase dena d in,and therefore stimulate the private sector, are completely failing. "The private sector,” explains Valerie Karn from the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, "will not Provide housin; if a profit cannot be made- no . matter how adversely affected the public rented sector becomes F matter how numerous the honed overnment shoul a ali that to attack the Rue reece itis pEesens form may be as counter- presuats for capital as it is for reducing public expenditure and to The Heseltine axe works cutti buildingwork,-andsetentteoes left for architectural competition. The military library competition, the second of these, is pulling in unemployed architects by the ane Oe Over 450 architects visited fe site on the two permitted days and hundreds more are expected to enter. We offer them our commiserations. Can nobody f more worthwhile activity eae : architects than designing a library (events officers in the arts 8. of war, and then seei drawings With a 99.8% cerca consigned to the SCrapheap. Ass 4sstillpresentinthousandsof Councdl flats warns Shelter's housing magazine. All forms of asbestos - blue, brown and white- can cause cancers if they are disturbed and the dust breathed in. The suthér of the article, Alan Dalton, 48 a lecturer in industrial health and safety. He explains how easily asbestos fibres can unknowingly be released into the air with some case histories. One tenant didn't mich like the corrugated surface of the fire- place panel in his sitting room. Bit by bit he sanded it down, releasing deadly asbest- 96 fibres into the air. Yet no evidence was for at the time to connect this with uent death from cancer. tells how workmen arriving at y 1979 to install central holes in asbestos panels der her windows in orde: fix radiators e didn't know that the dust left on the know the US government were making a study of PCP let alone that it would conclude that the chemical can cause cancer. They are now going to examine the US study. PCP is extensively as a wood preser- ¢ in Britain. Nobody manufact- 5 it here but over 400 tonnes were imported in 1979. Its most common use in the home is for the treatment of timber for dry rot and woodworm. PCP is the main ingredient ain consistuent in such’ well S as Rentokil, Protim and most worrying feature of the spread use of PCP is its entry © the human foodchain. In 1977 an international symposium discussed the environmental effects of PCP. The participants agreed 'Contaminat- ion of human populations with PCP at a level of 10 to 20 parts per lion is quite general in industr- ised countries.' The most likely rce of this contamination appears to be foodchain exposure to PCP treated wood products. Monsanto manufactured PCP in Britain until 1978 when production was disc- ontinued for health and commercial reasons. The company agrees that PCP is contaminated with hexachlorodiox- in to a level of 10 parts per million and with octochlorodioxin to the much greater level of 5 ta 10 thousand parts per million. Other countries have acted on PCP. As early as 1970 Sweden became alerted to its hazard when its use @s a control agent in paper manufac- turing was shown to be upsetting the ecological balance of nearby rivers and lakes. Its use for this purpose was banned. Later Swedish studies revealed that timber workers were being affected by PCP while dipping wood and inhaling PCP in sawdust. Since the beginning of 1980 PCP has been banned in Sweden as a wood preservative. W © through site ve feirly well understood, and i es not appear to be display © environmental effects.! Yet less than two weeks later the American government announced that the ingredient, pentachlorophenol CP), causes cancer. The US Envir- ital Protection Agency are now vely considering withdrawing PCP's licence for use. The tests undertaken by the National Toxicology Program of the US Depart- ment ‘of Health and Human Services, released on 9 December, revealed the contaminants found in ail commercial PCP caused liver cancers in male and female mice and female rats. Comp- es found to be carcinogenic in @ are generally regarded by the overnment a8 causing cancer in humans. ADDRESS TELEPHONE H W IN ADDITION TO OR IN PLACE OF BECOMING A NAM MEMBER I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE s WORK.I ENCLOSE A CONTRIBUTION TO NAM I WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO SLA SIX ISSUES.I ENCLOSE £3.00). tog, and along with the had the same work done the mess taking no special estos is a costly operation ls find difficult to afford now pudget has been slashed. housing work. ghborough Estate with asbestos. it by the L.C.C. in ties end early sixties were built to fons. The work of remov- " y beginning. Fox, then Secretary for esked whether had any plans to use of an active ingr- Rentokil to treat dry rm. Fox said no. The sehaviour, he replied WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN SELLING PROMOTING AND CONTRIBUTING ACL? The contaminants are various forms of hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (HCDD) a close relative of textrachlorodio- in. In Britain DoE officials admit when they answered the parlia- mentary question they did not even NAME ADDRESS TELEPHONE H OVERSEAS SUBSCRIBERS PLEASE ADD POSTAGE FOR SIX ISSUES. CONTACTS NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT 9,POLAND STREET,LONDON WIV 3DG. LIASON GROUP 4,COCKBURN SQUARE,PATHHEAD,MID-LOTHIAN,SCOTLAND. EDINBURGH ditto LEEDS 2,StMARTINS TERRACE,CHAPPLETOWN ROAD,LEEDS 6. LONDON 127,FAIRBRIDGE ROAD,HOLLOWAY,LONDON,N19. BRISTOL 149,LOWER CHELTENHAM PLACE,BRISTOL BS65ZB HULL 238a,SPRINGBANK,HULL,E.YORKS. PROFFESSIONAL INTEREST GROUP 9,POLAND STREET,LONDON W1V EDUCATION 175 ,HEMMINGFORD ROAD,LONDON N1. NOVEMBER GROUP 54,SOUTHWOOD LANE,LONDON N656B. MITRA 6/7b,LANGFORD ROAD,LONDON SW 6. MATRIX 33,DAVENANT ROAD,LONDON N19. SLATE 57,CARLETON ROAD,LONDON7N. future issues REGULAR COLUMNS IN FUTURE ISSUES WILL DEAL WITH HEALTH AND SAFTY MATERIALS SPECIFICATION,A DIRECTORY OF RADICAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY. WE INVITE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE DIRECTORY FORM ALL GROUPS INVOLVED IN RADICAL ACTIVITY FOR EXAMPLE DESIGN CO-OP's, BUILDING CO-OP's etc. WE ALSO INVITE PUBLISHERS TO SEND PUBLICATIONS FOR REVIEW. THE FORTH COMING SLATE WILL FEATURE ARTICALS ON,LUBETKIN WRITTEN BY JOHN ALLEN, FINANCIALLY TO NAM Pat" i iiia scm ameaancrteiaaanataeian, | i AL HOW TO JOIN NAM Th uilding Industry is one of the ats ; ee ways to earn a living. e common due to poor ions and the daredevil ion workers T WOULD LIKE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT AND ENCLOSE THE SUM OF £8.00) or £3.00 FOR CLAIMANTS sSTUDENTS ,OAP' s. ONE YEARS SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES SLATE FREE FOR THAT YEAR. NAME SUBSCRIBE TO SLATE TE.A SUBSCRIPTION ENTITLES ME TO SUBSCRIPTION TO OFFICES ,LIBRARIES ,AND ORGANISATIONS etc £6.00 FOR SIX ISSUES BACK COPIES 2-16 £1.00p EACH COPY To eo AND ARCHITECTUROEF THE SPANISH REVOLUTION COMPILED BY THE SLATE COLLECTIVE. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO AVOID DISSAPOINTMENT ing Industry is one of the us ways to earn a living. due to poor recautions and the daredevil Yet less than two weeks later the American government announced that the ingredient, pentachlorophenol (pcP), causes cancer. The US Envir~ ntal Protection Agency are now ely considering withdrawing licence for use. The tests undertaken by the National Toxicology Program of the US Depart- ment ‘of Health and Human Services, BOOK «SQUATTING REVIEW A review by Marian Biernat. s of construct the imp y building workers OWN» at. the architect is sDBES Tes: Asbestos ig still present in thousands of Sounc4} flats warns ROG elter's housing magazine. All forms of asbestos - blue, t and white- can cause cancers if they are disturbed and the dust breathed in. ce and female rats. Comp- ound to be carcinogenic in : Jou whie, Sauat The suth article, Alan Dalton, 18 lecturer in viustrial health and safety. He explains horm easily asbestos fibres can inknowingly be released into the air with some ease histories. One tenant didn't mich like the corrugated surface of the fire- place panel in his sitting room. Bit by bit stells how worknen arriving at flat in July 1979 to install central drilled holes in asbestos panels er windows in order to fix radiators read use of PCP is its entry human foodchain. In 1977 an asbestos is a costly operation eils find difficult to afford now ~ housing budget has been slashed. be foodchain exposure to PCP reated wood products. it doesn't treat squatting simply as housing politics and economics. Squatting wos and is about much more than waiting Squatters, this book should nevertheless be essential reading for anyone contemplating direct action action in housing. For the rest of us, it will make an excellent addition to the bookshelf- between the VW manual and the vegetarian cookery books. —— money has been found work has held up by the ban on housing work. Monsanto manufactured PCP in Britain until 1978 when production was disc- ontinued for health and commercial The company agrees that PCP edwithhexachlorodiox- evel of 10 parts per million and with octochlorodioxin to the much greater level of 5 to 10 thousand parts per million. Other countries have acted on PCP. y as 1970 Sweden became erted to its hazard when its use control agent in paper manufac- turing was shown to be upsetting the ecological balance of nearby rivers and lakes. Its use for this purpose was banned. Later Swedish studies revealed that timber workers were ng affected by PCP while dipping d and inhaling PCP in sawdust. ce the beginning of 1980 PCP has nned in Sweden as a wood preservative. properties, and statistics of housing need and provision. Many people were attracted to squats because they allowed them to develop a lifestyle unrepressed byBuildingSoofeties,privatelandlords, and Councdl Housing Department officials. Mary squats, became the sort of thriving 2 to the Loughbi hEstate is riddled with asbestos. owned by others. Nevertheless, as is made Clear, certain political developments in 1968 combined with the hysterical media reactiontothehippysquatsof1969,set the tone for the events of the last I2 years. It is on these events of the last 72 years that the book concentrates. There and dynamic communities planners and ‘News ON eOfwer tatesbuiltbytheL.C.c.in and early six e seme specifications. The work of remov- asbestos is only beginning. are nevertheless, chapters on the history of squatting, and,a regretably short, chapter on "the rest of the world”. Despite the consistent raw deal that squatters have had from the media, one gets the impression after reading this book, that it would be wrong to see this Sirply as the natural reaction of a right- wing press against the threat to property rights, and against a "dangerous " alternative lifestyle. In fact, some of the most objectionable anti-squatter tactics were perpetrated by solid Labour Councils such as Lambeth and Camien. These included the gutting and demolition of houses specifically for the purpose of keeping out squatters. architects often dream about, yet usually fail to achieve. Yet large sections of the Left fafled to See anything positive in these develop - ments. For them, direct action and self- help, were merely a nuisance which hindered development plans and upset the sanctity of the Council Waiting List. The fact that many squats attracted more than their fair share of drug-pushers and petty criminals, and the atmosphere of tolerance to these people, did nothing of course to improve the squatters’ image. Add to this the reaction, in sone cases, of local residents conditioned to expect squatters to be anti-social bums, ami we can see why yet another natural alliance of the Left never came about. ix weks ago Marcus Fox, then ry Under-Secretary for npent was asked whether d any plans to 2 of an. active ingr- over pecif EDITED BY WATES CHRISTIAN WOLMAR jour Cy home to treat dry id no. The he replied 4 on 9 December, revealed the ts found in ali commercial d liver cancers in male and the real story » ‘Ousy sate\(oe t e are generally regarded by the US government a8 causing cancer in humans. of hexachlorodibenzo=p-dioxin (HCDD) a close relative of textrachlorodio- xin. In Britain DoE officials admit that when they answered the parlia- mtary question they did not even e US government were making a study of PCP let alone that it would conclude that the chemical can cause cer. They are now going to examine the US study. PCP is extensively as a wood preser- in Britain. Nobody manufact- it here but over 400 tonnes e imported in 1979. Its most common use in the home is for the treatment of timber for dry rot and woodworm. PCP is the main ingredient and main consistuent in such’ well prod! as Rentokil, Protim and BANNED SWEDEN ost worrying feature of the Compiled by Nick Wates. Published by Bay Leaf Books. Dec I980. Paperback £4.90. Hardback £11.50. ",..parasitic deviants who steal people's houses and constitute a threat to everything decent in society..." As one might expect, this book tries to question and undermine the popular myth of squatting and squatters Mercifully, {t stops well short of proposing an alternative mythology. Indeed, one of the things I liked about this book was the way it's structure and presentation undermine the lie implicit in the title, that there is a "real story" of squatting. The book is a compilation with contributions from nineteen authors (most of them squatters at one time or another, and therefore mostly sympathetic to the Squatting movement), yet writing from a variety of perspectives, and in a variety of styles. The written contributions are well supported by a lively melange of poems photos, graphics, and newspaper cuttings. We are thus, not presented with a single image, but encouraged to see the “truth” of squatting, as never more than the sum of images which we absorb at any one time, whether these are the images Presented to us by a reactionary and sensationalist press, or by leftish Journalists. ther THE PRESERVER 1€ contaminants are various forms international symposium discussed ronmental effects of PCP. The participants agreed ‘Contaminat- n of human populations with PCP at el of 10 to 20 parts per on is quite general in industr- lised countries." The most likely urce of this contamination appears One of the successes of the book, is that Not intended as a D.I.Y. guide to NICK & you \Maereaway Squatting, we learn, "is the oldest form of tenure in the world", and "We are all descended from squatters". Squatting is certainly nothing new, the essential ingrediants being simply the existence of lists, redevelopment plans, empty homeless people and empty buildings Mette, wipe tickt Het nH nih ¢ ii } eH ithtuey Hk i re ] pal ae i tu ea From Melman ArchitectsFormal NAM holds hisite of any ong architect- meani Pu a er either the condit- nd organise ir appropriate Trade reflects, in its hierarchy, ed by the first 4 n s nico i te then, th are in venent among 980 Annual Congressarchy dominates the Registration economic term: of their work is »such agitation 5;as employ- that all hould join king peo A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED by Giles Pebody Council by a hugh majority and makes just further policy remai the intention -New Relationships their living ~ to urge that ectural work on the me houl round around the concept of pyeunnse service, in s% is practiced. m outside the profession 1 architectural their fellow their's is an society at large. for any camp- reorganisation of working and the re- ms of control and between architect- d people affected by architects These groups aim to resist the process by which professionals exploit their claimed body of specialist knowledge to secure aprivileged social position by being painstakingly open about the reasons benind the advice that they give. The object of architectural func= NAM became compulsory in Britain in ly3d. Many of its political supporters Saw the Bill's arrangements a5 4 form of ‘This last and most complex set of issues under pins the others and embraces the ways in which the attitudes of arch- itectural workers are moulded to ensure their acceptance of the material and intellectual conditions of architectural work.Schools of architecture play an important part in promoting the value systems necessary for the current forms of architectural practice,but they do not train the'technicianswh'o make up a sizeable proportion of the architect— ural workforce;neither do they have an extended relationship with pract- joners in order to influence the contin~ ual reformation of values and attitudes. Activity for these groups is centred on the architectural journals and the so called*learned society'functions of the RIBA through local and national meetings and conferences.NAM recognises the importance of these questions but has found it more difficult to formulate an approace to them,probably because they are more complex thoeretically than the other areas of the movements activity. Conversely the lack of ability to address adequately the question of achitectural ideology has hampered NAM's success in its other campaigns. What work has been done in this area has been by way of providing'alternatives' to established activities,open meetings andthe publishing of a magazine. NAM is currently attempting to Set up an education group.iIt is envisaged that this group would organise around a rejection of the uncritical methods of architectural education practiced in most schools. Giles ir in the issue of work. It ig Practice are, or have been, associat- NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT only way to restore the true of Registration, would be to i a Council in which lay inter- hold a majority, rather than & t n role. Again, such a change will not come through the agitation of architectural workers alone, but it is important for them to work to reorganis— actice in cres a climate for change througn ty expe g the inadequacies and contra- dictions of the workings of the con- temporary professional institutions, and supporting and encouraging lay pressures for change. tat the outcome of the current ©° with NAM. Generally speaking, n architectural work can only they offer services to the users environment and, while the right to carry out such transformations rests almost exclusively with dominant social interests, architectural work carried out for working class groups becomes part of a wider political atruggle for resources and social justice. These new relationships throw into relief the political nature of all architectural work, a reality generally obscured for architects by the fundamental coincidence of their interest with those of building owners,and for working people by the claimed'neutrality'of profess- ional advice. AM'S aims are an interpretation lof socialist principles applied practice of architecture. public control over the profession. ver, 2 ethat i 1 fone This spirit survived into the Act in the camp=- the form of the arrangements for the is more t change pressure by ar composition of the Council(ARCUK), set up to administer it, which, alth- ough somewhat dominated numerically y architects, does have lay members. fessional association among architects,’ the hier- employment in the profession, s. NAM takes the view that the concept of registration of certain groups of professionals is reasonable, provid- ing the process ensures that they pratice with particular skill, com- petence and care. Otherwise registr- ation can, and has been, exploited by architects for protectionist ends. The Royal Institute of British Arch- itects, now the most powerful pro- such exploitative use of it. workpla aries of traditional architectural r architectural workers if i r Y - and, in particular, to tenants in in working class neighbourhoods. In so doing, they are instrumental in beginning the redistribution of ex~ pertise in society, both through the fact that they are serving working class clients and by their way of working. They also frame the problems and issues to be faced by acchitectural workers generally as they move to- wards increased public accountability in their work,and the groups practicing in the new relationship hold out technical and organisational models for wider consideration. Training and Ideology eral architects and groups of be baseaarchitects who work outside the bound- rather than the owners of buildings the public sector and community groups istration of work is the transformation of the NAME ADDRESS TELEPHONE 4H NAME ADDRESS TELEPHONE 4H CONTACTS W W HOW TO JOIN NAM I WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO SLATE.A SUBSCRIPTION ENTITLES ME TO SIX ISSUES.I ENCLOSE £3.00. OVERSEAS SUBSCRIBERS PLEASE ADD POSTAGE FOR SIX ISSUES. SUBSCRIPTION TO OFFICES LIBRARIES AND ORGANISATIONS etc £6.00) FOR SIX ISSUES BACK COPIES 2-16 £1.00p EACH COPY IN ADDITION TO OR IN PLACE OF BECOMING A NAM MEMBER I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY TO NAM’s WORK.I ENCLOSE A CONTRIBUTION TO NAM SUBSCRIBE TO SLATE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT 9,POLAND STREET,LONDON WIV 3DG. LIASON GROUP 4,COCKBURN SQUARE ,PATHHEAD, MID-LOTHIAN ,SCOTLAND. EDINBURGH ditto LEEDS 2,StMARTINS TERRACE, CHAPPLETOWN ROAD, LEEDS 6. LONDON 127,FAIRBRIDGE ROAD,HOLLOWAY,LONDON,N19. BRISTOL 149,LOWER CHELTENHAM PLACE BRISTOL BS65 ZB HULL 238a,SPRINGBANK,HULL,E.YORKS. PROFFESSIONAL INTEREST GROUP 9,POLAND STREET,LONDON W1V EDUCATION 175 ,HEMMINGFORD ROAD,LONDON NI. NOVEMBER GROUP 54,SOUTHWOOD LANE,LONDON N65EB. MITRA 67b,LANGFORD ROAD,LONDON SW 6. MATRIX 33,DAVENANT ROAD,LONDON N19. SLATE 57,CARLETON ROAD,LONDON7N. I WOULD LIKE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT AND ENCLOSE THE SUM OF £8.00) or £3.00 FOR CLAIMANTS ,STUDENTS ,OAP's. ONE YEARS SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES SLATE FREE FOR THAT YEAR. future issues REGULAR COLUMNS IN FUTURE ISSUES WILL DEAL WITH HEALTH AND SAFTY ,MATERIALS SPECIFICATION,A DIRECTORY OF RADICAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY. WE INVITE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE DIRECTORY FORM ALL GROUPS INVOLVED IN RADICAL ACTIVITY FOR EXAMPLE DESIGN CO-OP's, BUILDING CO-OP's etc. WE ALSO INVITE PUBLISHERS TO SEND PUBLICATIONS FOR REVIEW. THE FORTH COMING SLATE WILL FEATURE ARTICALS ON,LUBETKIN WRITTEN BY JOHN ALLEN, AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE SPANISH REVOLUTION COMPILED BY THE SLATE COLLECTIVE. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO AVOID DISSAPOINTMENT WENEEDYOURSUPPORTINTON PROMOTING AND CONTRIBUTINGSate Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE Group Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived John Murray & John Allan (2) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/f6a1dfc37651ce05b2aa8b00dc02a770.pdf 5684cfc91e1e83bb0b4a2fd2d1635d57 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NAM Calendar 1977 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE 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 1977 https://nam.maydayrooms.org/files/original/67bf42b336728d76884def3b6009c8e3.pdf 18efd6224d1c11fd1feea0fd1e8b145b 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 SLATE Description An account of the resource To help promote its work and reduce dependence on the established professional press, NAM created its own newspaper SLATE. The editorial group met bi-monthly to gather together latest events, activities and ideas emerging from radical critiques and challenges to the established order of architectural practice and education. The content of each edition was collated, and cut-and-pasted into layouts of the magazine which typically ran from 16 to 28 pages. Each edition included a brilliant cartoon by Andrew Brown who emerged as a clever graphic artist synthesising NAM's radical ethics. SLATE's production ran to 17 issues in total. The SLATE Group also produced occasional annual calendars, of which three survive Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NAM Calendar 1979 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource NAM SLATE 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 1979