...AND NINE 9
Previously, the 2008 Stirling Prize short-list turned up a couple of colourful concepts. Westminster Academy (Allford Hall Monaghan Morris) with its yellow and green shades of banded aluminium panels to give strong horizontality is one. Also the Manchester Civil Justice Centre (Denton Cole Marshall) with its rectilinear limbs, tinted blue, yellow and green, projecting from the sides of an otherwise vast monochrome body. 2007 produced no external colour since all six buildings appear as vast sculptural forms – and sculpture is rarely coloured.
Just under a year ago, Colour for Architecture Today was published by Taylor and Francis. It really summarises all this - What role does colour play in our built environment? How are our attitudes to colour changing? What potential do new technologies bring for the use of colour and light in architecture?
This is a sequel to the immensely influential Colour for Architecture, published in 1976. Much has changed in 30 years; new cutting edge technologies and materials have emerged allowing architects to experiment with colour and light in an energy efficient and sustainable way, paving the path for a more colourful. and
exciting built environment. Combining real examples from practice with colour theory, this book helps us fully to understand the role and impact of colour in our urban spaces. And that brings us full circle back to CABE’s idea above…ie grey to green.
Housing quality And while we are on the subject of CABE it’s worth noting some good, albeit rare, news about housing. This is that 36 new housing schemes have qualified for a Building for Life standard, the national standard for well designed homes and neighbourhoods. This is a third more than last year and a record in the seven years of the awards. Despite the difficult market conditions, the percentage of schemes that achieved the standard rose from 19 per cent of the 125 Building for Life award entries in 2008, to 44 per cent of the 81 entries in 2009.
This year’s entries have a good regional spread of standard winning schemes, with every English region except the East Midlands gaining at least one standard and London schemes gaining 19. They vary in size and type, from a special needs housing scheme in London that responds well to its site and surrounding buildings, to a hospital conversion that retains its unique character
as two bedroom cottages. Organised by CABE and the Home Builders Federation, the awards will be announced on 2 December.
And finally...... Having been impressed that Mandarin and English is everywhere in China there are sometimes big mistakes. Clock this you Health & Safety buffs from the fire extinguisher boxes in the corridor and from the back of the bedroom doors in one of Shanghai’s best hotels.
Fire Exting Uisher Box Declation. Please don’t worry if fire is occurring. Our hotel have owned succor scattering facilities to sure you transmitted safety. Point profess your excellency seat.
Specification magazine is tempted to honour anyone who can offer a translation of the last line.
Interesting, huh?
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