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The age of the carbuncle? The ugly truth about architecture The age of the carbuncle? The ugly truth about architecture
(17 days later)
In 2006 Building Design magazine launched the Carbuncle Cup – an annual prize awarded to the ugliest buildings in Britain, completed in the last year. Based on nominations from the public, a jury made up of architecture critics decides on a shortlist and from that an overall winner is selected. I guess in this case, loser might be a more appropriate term.In 2006 Building Design magazine launched the Carbuncle Cup – an annual prize awarded to the ugliest buildings in Britain, completed in the last year. Based on nominations from the public, a jury made up of architecture critics decides on a shortlist and from that an overall winner is selected. I guess in this case, loser might be a more appropriate term.
Although the commentary on the nominations is pithy and humorous it belies a bleak reality. Where is the quality control for architecture in an age anticipating a building boom similar to that of the post-depression 1930s, and when there are calls to relax planning laws in order to build more, quicker?Although the commentary on the nominations is pithy and humorous it belies a bleak reality. Where is the quality control for architecture in an age anticipating a building boom similar to that of the post-depression 1930s, and when there are calls to relax planning laws in order to build more, quicker?
This year's much-publicised award went to Leicester-based architecture firm Stephen George and Partners' student housing designed for University College London on Caledonian Road. Part of the jury's motivation was that "this is a building that the jury struggled to see as remotely fit for human occupation". And that's before considering how blithe it is to its surroundings and the listed building it unsuccessfully is trying to hide behind.This year's much-publicised award went to Leicester-based architecture firm Stephen George and Partners' student housing designed for University College London on Caledonian Road. Part of the jury's motivation was that "this is a building that the jury struggled to see as remotely fit for human occupation". And that's before considering how blithe it is to its surroundings and the listed building it unsuccessfully is trying to hide behind.
Although the Carbuncle Cup is meant as a humorous response to the Royal Institute of British Architects' (Riba) prestigious Stirling Prize, like The Razzies to the Oscars, its intensions are serious. I would argue it's potentially a more effective way of opening up a public debate on the quality of the buildings in which we work, live and visit for leisure than its more highbrow counterpart. But how do we consider the important issues that the Carbuncle Cup raises before, rather than after, the fact?Although the Carbuncle Cup is meant as a humorous response to the Royal Institute of British Architects' (Riba) prestigious Stirling Prize, like The Razzies to the Oscars, its intensions are serious. I would argue it's potentially a more effective way of opening up a public debate on the quality of the buildings in which we work, live and visit for leisure than its more highbrow counterpart. But how do we consider the important issues that the Carbuncle Cup raises before, rather than after, the fact?
The now defunct Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) was the government's advisory body on architecture, urban planning and public space from 1999 to 2011 when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport cut its funding and it was integrated into the Design Council. Its website, now a relic of the recent past, is still accessible under the banner: "This snapshot, taken on 18/01/2011, shows web content acquired for preservation by The National Archives". Here one can browse its achievements, but it doesn't reveal the many mixed opinions on its efficacy. It often came under attack for not being opinionated enough, nor having any direct power to make a real difference and, above all, suffered a loss of integrity when it started offering paid-for design review services to local authorities that didn't have the expertise available in-house. In its incarnation as Cabe at the Design Council, its authority has further dwindled.The now defunct Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) was the government's advisory body on architecture, urban planning and public space from 1999 to 2011 when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport cut its funding and it was integrated into the Design Council. Its website, now a relic of the recent past, is still accessible under the banner: "This snapshot, taken on 18/01/2011, shows web content acquired for preservation by The National Archives". Here one can browse its achievements, but it doesn't reveal the many mixed opinions on its efficacy. It often came under attack for not being opinionated enough, nor having any direct power to make a real difference and, above all, suffered a loss of integrity when it started offering paid-for design review services to local authorities that didn't have the expertise available in-house. In its incarnation as Cabe at the Design Council, its authority has further dwindled.
"Carbuncle" itself is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Prince of Wales' speech on the 150th anniversary of the Riba in 1984, when he called the proposal for an extension to London's National Gallery by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", thereby stopping it in its tracks. But unlike the Prince's conservative tastes in architecture, the Carbuncle Cup is not reactionary to architectural progress, but rather a reminder of the pitiful state of oversight of new architecture in Britain. It's a statement against the bland, brittle (literally) and identity-lacking building that dominates much of the urban landscape nowadays. An architecture mostly identified by the profit that can be made from it rather than the community it can build or ideology it can inspire. The Caledonian Road UCL housing project is a perfect example of this trend."Carbuncle" itself is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Prince of Wales' speech on the 150th anniversary of the Riba in 1984, when he called the proposal for an extension to London's National Gallery by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", thereby stopping it in its tracks. But unlike the Prince's conservative tastes in architecture, the Carbuncle Cup is not reactionary to architectural progress, but rather a reminder of the pitiful state of oversight of new architecture in Britain. It's a statement against the bland, brittle (literally) and identity-lacking building that dominates much of the urban landscape nowadays. An architecture mostly identified by the profit that can be made from it rather than the community it can build or ideology it can inspire. The Caledonian Road UCL housing project is a perfect example of this trend.
In 2009 the local council rejected the plan based on poor outlook and substandard daylight for a majority of the 350 dwellings and an insensitivity to the listed surroundings it was going to occupy, but the developer appealed and the Department for Communities and Local Government appointed a planning inspector who subsequently agreed with the council's verdict but approved the plan due to the temporary nature of student accommodation. It sets a disturbing precedent for other such developments and for how the verdict of local councils can be overthrown.In 2009 the local council rejected the plan based on poor outlook and substandard daylight for a majority of the 350 dwellings and an insensitivity to the listed surroundings it was going to occupy, but the developer appealed and the Department for Communities and Local Government appointed a planning inspector who subsequently agreed with the council's verdict but approved the plan due to the temporary nature of student accommodation. It sets a disturbing precedent for other such developments and for how the verdict of local councils can be overthrown.
The past seven years of Carbuncle Cup winners and nominees now make up a significant library of architectural injustices inflicted on British society. Both the government and local councils should make it compulsory reading before further loosening planning regulations just to set the wheels of the economy moving faster. If not, the early part of the 21st century will rightly earn its name as the real age of the architectural carbuncle. But it is depressing that a magazine for the architecture trade, rather than a governmental body, has to do the job of finger-pointing. But maybe that is what David Cameron intended with his clear-out of quangos and heralding of the "big society"?The past seven years of Carbuncle Cup winners and nominees now make up a significant library of architectural injustices inflicted on British society. Both the government and local councils should make it compulsory reading before further loosening planning regulations just to set the wheels of the economy moving faster. If not, the early part of the 21st century will rightly earn its name as the real age of the architectural carbuncle. But it is depressing that a magazine for the architecture trade, rather than a governmental body, has to do the job of finger-pointing. But maybe that is what David Cameron intended with his clear-out of quangos and heralding of the "big society"?
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