Letters - Brief Article

Architectural Review, The, Nov, 2001

NO-GO ARCHITECTURAL HERO

SIR: Thank you very much for your refreshing article 'Hero today, gone tomorrow' by Edward Robbins (AR August, p78). I agree that architecture might be much more real, collaborative and user-friendly if the hero-machinery could be stopped. There is no doubt that--among others -- the architectural press and publishing bodies are playing an important role in producing and sustaining idols.

The AR consistently titles itself with 'heroes' names. If we read 'Grimshaw in Cornwall' or 'Schultes in Berlin', it suggests that the projects can be accredited to these 'icons' alone. Every practising architect, however, is aware that Nicholas' and Axel's large number of employees are not responsible solely for making coffee and buying pencils. They also design and run projects in co-operation with engineers and other professionals, often without the principal's involvement. But rarely is proper justice given in media coverage to everyone involved in a project, with key contributors frequently not credited. It is as if we wanted to retain the 'Fountain-Head' image of an architect: a white male genius. Wouldn't it be nice if we attempted to represent the reality of teams and their diversity properly? Surely, if we want to encourage more women and people from ethnic minorities to enter the architectural profession, a wide range of featured teams is needed. To contribute a valuable counterbalance, your journal could headline some Practices whose work is appearing for the first time within the AR.

Such moves might help to transform the architectural scene from one of heroes and followers, to a pluralistic community with the quality of the built environment at heart.

Yours etc

SABINE ENGELHARDT

Oxford, England

ALIEN TERRITORY

SIR: Congratulations on a finely argued editorial in AR August, 'Hitting the Headlines' (p30). The discourse led by the Review seems to be the sole thread of progressive, humanistic sanity in an increasingly alien architectural world. I would not be too defensive in response to charges of fuddy-duddyism. It seems to me that in this increasingly atomized self-referential world, an adherence to time honoured decencies such as humanism, restraint and modesty as the armature of subtle creativity in our architecture is, contrary to prevailing opinion, the progressive position -- albeit modest.

This is an article I can pass on to clients in an effort to disseminate the message to where the money is. One modest request: your philosophy of craft-based functionalism serving humanity would be greatly enhanced if you included more typical details. The Glass Pavilion in Rheinach is made much clearer with the little wall-to-roof detail. More like that please.

Yours etc

HUBERT MURRAY

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

MAASTRICHT ENTREATY

SIR: I see that our Maastricht housing is causing concern with some of your readers (AR June, p62). Institutional and poor, maybe, and it is good to receive criticism as that is what keeps us on our toes.

The housing was for one of those century-old Dutch cooperatives where members know what they want and how they want it which includes a low capital cost. The first requirement was to provide a minimum of 20 dwellings per lift, which meant four dwellings per floor. Since natural through ventilation is not required the dwellings can be deep. However, deep rooms must receive a minimum lux by law hence the large windows and care that there are no balconies overshadowing them. Some dwellings have the kitchens connected to the facades as we had designed them, but the majority of the cooperative members insisted on changing them to the inner side. This obviously has something to do with Dutch cultural values.

The whole group of dwellings contains mixed income groups, most are low cost affordable cooperative dwellings but others in the better positions were for sale according to the market prices, which are high in Maastricht. The challenge was to avoid visual segregation.

The inner court is poor because of last minute cuts by our clients especially over the lighting and filters for the ground floor dwellings. Also an independent landscape architect moved in to do what could be done on a low budget. Unfortunately, social housing is no longer the backbone of modern architecture and I believe the AR is doing the profession a service in publishing attempts, like ours, to provoke more interest and concern about this basic element of our cities.

Yours etc

DAVID MACKAY

MBM Arquitectes, Barcelona, Spain

SOUND OF SILENCE

SIR: The great risk of the cavernous wedge form of the Great Library in Alexandria (AR September 2001), in which all levels are open to each other, is that it will be acoustically intolerable. The hard timber floor surfaces alone raise fears that every footfall will be heard by everyone. So I find it extraordinary that your reviewer should eulogize its acoustic performance ('calm is emphasized by silence', p48) before the building has been inhabited ('It awaits its users', p48). Of course the building is silent! It is empty!