It\u2019s not often you get to tick one of the New Wonders of the World off your bucket list, but on a recent jaunt to Peru, I decided I\u2019d go have a look at Machu Picchu. I won\u2019t get poetic, but obviously it was awe-inspiring, unexpectedly moving, and baffling to see what can be achieved under traditional procurement.<\/p>\n
But seriously, it was revelatory to see what we humans have historically achieved. The monumental moving of stone, the ambition of the masterplan, the commitment to details and hierarchy of design. Half-finished and abandoned after 100 years, quarried on-site by hand, aided by nothing but a few truculent alpacas.<\/p>\n
Returning to work from an epic trip is never a happy time, but seeing the Stirling Prize shortlist made me want to slam my forehead on my desk. Why so beige, lads? Why so \u2026 safe? I\u2019m not saying we should return to monuments for human sacrifice; I\u2019m not even saying we should build more monuments. But surely we can do better than this.<\/p>\n
It has annoyed everyone else in the office, too. The consensus is it\u2019s a caustic mix of banality, smug London-centricity and late-stage capitalism.\u00a0 <\/span>Personally, I look forward to the rants about how we reward Employee Ownership Trusts that post record dividend payouts one year and make huge staff layouts the next; how the same grey, uninspired people are applauded for the same grey, uninspired pipes underground; or how the state of our public housing is so dire we\u2019re reduced to celebrating the gentrification of 1960s social housing (again).<\/p>\n Some are finding solace in the bijoux brick offerings, which are working hard to break the monotony, but it\u2019s hard to see how we\u2019re showcasing the cutting edge of British spatial design innovation when even the hardcore fans are rolling their eyes.<\/p>\n We all know how hard it is to birth a project. The hours, the iterations, the frustrations. But this is so dry, it has to be intentional.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that long ago that we were bemoaning the boom of contextually lazy starchitecture and impossible-to-replicate showboat schools. Too flash, not enough substance! Then it was a proliferation of biscuit-coloured masonry and the inevitable mannered brick arch. Too much substance, give it more individuality!<\/p>\n Now, apparently, we\u2019ve got framework-procured mundanity and PCSA-driven design \u2018de-risking\u2019 which, as one of my students put it \u2018really takes the burden of design off the architect\u2019. Well done us.<\/p>\n Call me old-fashioned, but I reckon a bit of critical thinking might help. It\u2019s obviously good that we\u2019ve changed processes that contributed to the Grenfell disaster, both in the regulations and by closing some of the loopholes for shirking risk. It\u2019s also good that we\u2019ve boosted the baseline sustainability requirements for new buildings. There\u2019s no evidence of either on this list, but hey, the change only happened two years ago, we have time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And then it dawns on my caffeine-addled brain. We have swung too hard the other way \u2013 everyone is rigid with fear. The rules, the registers, the CPDs, the H&S workshops, the spikes in PI. Failure results in court cases, loss of life or bankruptcy. It\u2019s not worth the risk!<\/p>\n Relative to that, anonymity and bland profitability are design-by-committee success stories. Worse, all the fun stuff comes through frameworks now, which are complicated, time-consuming and rigged towards those with the largest PI or performative EDI budgets, not those with the most nuance, collaborative ethos or design acumen.<\/p>\n I should know, we\u2019ve hired three bid managers in two years. We\u2019ve tried so hard to create structure and responsibility that we\u2019ve strait-jacketed ourselves into obedience.<\/p>\n What would the Incas do? They\u2019d go big, ambitious, outrageous, elegant. They\u2019d pick a massive challenge, up a huge mountain, using the apex of their technology. They\u2019d set themselves multigenerational, civic-minded, cross-discipline projects that change how we define public space, communal housing and spaces for communities.<\/p>\n And why would they take on that risk, confront that possibility, shoulder that responsibility? Because that\u2019s the whole reason we build in the first place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s not often you get to tick one of the New Wonders of the World off your bucket list, but on a recent jaunt to Peru, I decided I\u2019d go have a look at Machu Picchu. I won\u2019t get poetic, but obviously it was awe-inspiring, unexpectedly moving, and baffling to see what can be achieved …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9844,"featured_media":752543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[101242,72352],"yoast_head":"\n