In a typically British move to celebrate the coming of Architecture Week in the uk, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (cabe) has launched a scheme to identify the most badly-designed building in Britain.
The concept behind the scheme is to identify the costs of bad design and how it can impact on every day life — with the example of Centre Point at the end of Oxford Street in London cited since it requires pedestrians to walk on a busy road to get around it. Though I agree that the perils of bad design should be highlighted, I don't agree with the idea of asking people to say what they don't like as part of a celebration of architecture in the uk. It's a peculiarly British thing to do and, instead of encouraging people to engage with the delights of architecture and the enjoyment and fascination it can bring, provides people with the opportunity to merely confirm their often out-dated view of architecture instead of challenge it.
Yes — some pretty shocking buildings were built throughout the country in the past. But no — people shouldn't be encouraged to look back at these buildings in order to engage with the current practice of architecture — and especially not during an event designed to celebrate that current practice.
