April 26, 2021
There is no greater public expression of ideology, culture, or society than the architecture that we live with and see daily. President Trump acknowledged this with his executive order to “Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.” Britain also notes its importance with the inception of the “Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.”
Surprisingly, such attempts to restore and revive classical architecture have spawned a culture war in the field of architecture. Within 100 days of taking office, Joe Biden has already rescinded President Trump’s executive order, striking a victory for modernist and brutalist architectural designs.
This battle, in which classicists argue for more Western-classical buildings instead of contemporary styles, is unique amongst other cultural struggles. Why? Because, at least in this case, “conservatives” are on the offensive.
Church of England and its affordable housing ambitions
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By Julia Park2021-03-11T07:00:00+00:00
Policy Exchange wants to give residents a vote over demolishing their own streets. Julia Park spots a few flaws in their arguments
Densifying the suburbs is not a new idea, and not a bad one. We’ve felt for a while that “the compact city”, espoused by Richard Rogers back in 1999, has worked rather too well in London and that it’s time to look at the compact suburb. But it’s not easy, politically or practically.
The risk with piecemeal intervention, as advocated in
Supurbia, is that it makes everything messier. Inserting new homes at the bottom of deep gardens is usually a compromise in terms of access, servicing and outlook, and risks annoying the neighbour whose garden backs on to it. Ad hoc street infill and random “top-boxes” are equally tricky, and as soon as you start slotting in new homes, wider development becomes more difficult. That’s why I lean towards larger, planned interventions; selective demolition of the mo
Agency faces triple threats of market uncertainty, fire safety and net zero if it wants to deliver homes
The resignation of Homes England chief executive Nick Walkley last week came as a surprise to both his staff and the industry. Widely seen as having transformed an under-performing Homes and Communities Agency with the creation of Homes England in February 2018, Walkley will leave the agency at the end of this month with his reputation at a high watermark.
Overseeing the administration of Help to Buy and the £12.5bn affordable housing programme, alongside a raft of other initiatives and deals, Homes England enables the construction of more than 40,000 homes a year. While the agency’s chief investment officer, Gordon More, will take temporary charge, Walkley’s departure leaves the body without a permanent leader at a crucial moment as the country emerges from the pandemic, with the housing market facing huge challenges. His eventual successor will have big shoes to fill.
Central ‘Office for Place’ to steer work on local design codes
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is to set up a new ‘office for place’ to help communities develop design codes for all new developments in their areas.
Building on proposals put forwards in its planning white paper, MHCLG has confirmed it will create an office for place within the next year in order to support local communities to turn their local design codes into the standard for all new buildings in their area.
The government’s ambition is that every council will produce a local design code and guide which it claims will give residents have a “real say” in the design of new developments in their area. Despite the legislation for the planning white paper not being expected to be brought forward until the Autumn, the ministry is already encouraging all councils to publish their design codes.
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