This may be inviting some wild speculation, but what do you think is the way forward for our design? If modernism has generally failed and invited this reactionary desire for heritage design, how do you think we eventually find a vision again?
Is the way a continued ramble down trodden paths until we find a better way forward? Do we just need to start trying things and see what sticks? I’ve wondered about it for a while and would be interested to hear your thoughts
This is difficult to answer with architecture, because unlike consumer goods, there aren’t good mechanisms for producing a range of options that people can choose from. When there’s a housing shortage, people have to accept whatever the housebuilders give them (and design is definitely not their priority). The only way to express a preference is by blocking new projects completely. That’s how we end up with the state trying to define styles that they think will at least be palatable. The only way out I can see is to fund lots of experiments at a smaller scale and see if they produce any brilliant new ideas that people respond to. But this would also produce lots of failures, so it would require political courage!
I broadly agree with you. The issue is that a suburban semi-detached house with a garden and two cars is still what many British people want, and they don't like being (as they see it) herded into more densely populated areas. It's a very difficult problem on a small crowded island.
This may be inviting some wild speculation, but what do you think is the way forward for our design? If modernism has generally failed and invited this reactionary desire for heritage design, how do you think we eventually find a vision again?
Is the way a continued ramble down trodden paths until we find a better way forward? Do we just need to start trying things and see what sticks? I’ve wondered about it for a while and would be interested to hear your thoughts
This is difficult to answer with architecture, because unlike consumer goods, there aren’t good mechanisms for producing a range of options that people can choose from. When there’s a housing shortage, people have to accept whatever the housebuilders give them (and design is definitely not their priority). The only way to express a preference is by blocking new projects completely. That’s how we end up with the state trying to define styles that they think will at least be palatable. The only way out I can see is to fund lots of experiments at a smaller scale and see if they produce any brilliant new ideas that people respond to. But this would also produce lots of failures, so it would require political courage!
I broadly agree with you. The issue is that a suburban semi-detached house with a garden and two cars is still what many British people want, and they don't like being (as they see it) herded into more densely populated areas. It's a very difficult problem on a small crowded island.