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This month’s question: Will a change in government better our British architecture?

This months’ question is short and simple. The face of our government is currently (at the time of press) a blurred vision of three main men who stand, ready to lead our country into a better future. Or so they prom- ise. The main agenda’s, national debt, immigra- tion, the war in Iraq, taxes, climate change; the list is endless and we expect answers for all. In The Times ‘arts & ents’ section, Tom Dyckhoff has been dis- cussing the history of our government and the state of architecture through the years com- bined. Labours’ rule has seen little improvement in our architecture industry, but is considered by Dyckhoff to be a better rule by a very slim margin.

So, will a change in government better our architectural industry? Or will we see no change in the prospects of architecture for the foreseeable future?

DICKON HAYWARD

ASSOCIATE AT RICHARD HYWEL EVANS A AND D LTD

Taking a train in to Liverpool Street from Hackney, you can’t help notice the enormous great swathe of luminous blue that forms the flank wall of the Moss- bourne Academy. The Academy sits on the site of what was Hackney Downs School – once an excelling grammar boasting Harold Pinter and Steven Berkoff as alumni, but latterly a consis- tently failing and crumbling comprehensive. The school be- came exemplar of the urban decline that Britain witnessed throughout the successive Tory governments of the 80s, and was quickly marked by the incoming Labour government as a target for change. Lord Rogers – the archi- tect perhaps most comfortable with the chattering Islingtonians of the new front bench, was ap- pointed chairman of the Urban Task Force, wrote the influential ‘Towards an Urban Renaissance’ and landed the gig of re-designing the school as a flag waver for the new Academies program. Five years after opening we have a

Our industry experts provide a compelling insight into the design issues surrounding today’s

architecture

handsome and innovative addition to the city, a building apparently enjoyed by pupils and staff alike and top league academic results. Labour came to power promis-

ing great things for the built environment. We had talk of sustainable communities, the cre- ation of quangos like the Homes and Communities Agencies and CABE, lottery funding for brand new public buildings and even the fabled Eco Towns promising to transform our whole concept of urbanism. Thirteen years later there are impressive legacies to the Cool Britannia enthusiasm – the Tate Modern and the London Eye. Furthermore it is also possible to argue that there has been a shift culturally within the UK, paying more respect to design and allowing more creative flour- ish then ever existed throughout the Thatcher / Major years. But while Mossbourne repre- sents what Labour said they would do and what increased education spending should do, on closer inspection it appears to be more the exception rather than the rule. You don’t have to stray far from Hackney Downs to wit- ness lesser examples of the urban

THE EXPERT...

DICKON HAYWARD

ASSOCIATE AT RICHARD HYWEL EVANS A AND D LTD

Dickon studied at Manchester Uni- versity and the Royal College of Art. He has worked as Project Architect on a wide range of projects from large-scale residential and commercial developments to luxury penthouses, clothing stores and restaurants. Currently, he is mainly working in the hotel and travel sector, building a large marina and hotel development in Grenada.

renaissance. Shabby yet brand new buildings house health cen- tres and nurseries, paper thin and stingily detailed schools provide stark comparison – they try hard but seem to have been too squeezed by the restraints of the overly structured procurement routes of PFI. In addition the private funded new housing, so much in demand within the borough, is often an architectural disgrace, providing little more than a clear foresight of how developer greed generates the slums of tomorrow.

So could the other parties do better – I’m not convinced. It is hard enough to define good design, let alone propagate it. There are too many conflicting interested parties listened to by our politicians, creating a jumbled mess of policies that lack the conviction and direction for a real improvement. Add to this the eco- nomic doom and inevitable drops in spending and there seems to be little cause for optimism. At least we can look back and say New Labour tried and occasionally succeeded. Whoever takes over, probably won’t even have the incentive to pretend. ■

Our panel of architects are experts in their field and have experience in a vast area of architectural design including; landscape, public sector and private residencies. If you would like to contribute as a panelist

email:

jade.tilley@onecoms.co.uk

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