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A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE DESIGN OF MILLENNIUM BUILDINGS The John Wood Lecture on Architecture
Professor Hodgkinson, a distinguished architect and a nationally recognised expert on housing, was introduced by Victor Suchar. The speaker has a taught at the University of Bath School of Architecture for 15 years and has written extensively on the subject. In the inaugural John Wood lecture on Architecture, the speaker selected for appraisal some of the millennium projects that had received substantial funding. Prof. Hodgkinson started by describing the architectural scene in the l950s when he began to practice architecture. Then the craftsman still played a role and some of the giants like Frank Lloyd Wright were still living. Le Corbusier's influence, however, changed the direction of architectural design. Alvar Aalto still believed the building must be suited to the occupants' needs but increasingly the highly technical building came to dominate. This was seen early in the 20th century by Rennie Macintosh, who complained that modern materials do not satisfy, unlike stone which provides enough mass. As the speaker emphasised traditional materials also improve with age which concrete rarely does. Prof. Hodgkinson gave two examples of modern architecture that he believes do work well: Lloyds building in London designed by Richard Rogers, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building in Hong Kong by Norman Foster. Prof. Hodgkinson's choice of millennium buildings are all located in London. 1 Tate Modern. Here he feels the large size posed a problem not solved by the Swiss architects selected to design this project. He finds the interior detailing does not have enough interest. 2 The Dome. The structure was designed by the architect Richard Rogers and the structural engineers, Buro Happold, based in Bath. The speaker considered the design highly interesting, but the interior banal and generally unattractive. Politicians should not get involved in designing exhibitions. 3 The Great Court of the British Museum. Here the tragedy is that the round reading room is no longer a functional library and the roof gives one the feeling of being in an airport. 4 Jubilee Line Underground Station at Canary Wharf. This kind of project accommodates high technology architecture and the speaker praised the design. 5 While not a millennium project, Prof. Hodgkinson, wanting to end his talk on a high note, recommended the new Parliamentary office building, Portcullis House, designed by Michael Hopkins. "It should be called `Open House' where the people can go to talk to their MP's" said the speaker. The building works, in the sense that its spacial arrangements and its structure are very much in tune to its use and its exterior is in harmony with the nearby buildings. It was also designed for energy efficiency, which meant a relatively high initial investment, hopefully to be offset by relatively low operating costs. During the questioning period the speaker was asked if the problem of dealing with the provision of services had been solved. He responded that workmen were now generally able to make repairs without disturbing employees and this was a great improvement. Another member of the audience asked about the life of these new buildings. Mr. Hodgkinson answered about 25 years. The reaction of the audience to this answer was that such a short life did not justify the initial high cost. A comment was made that the structure was likely to last considerably longer than this, but the mechanical and electrical equipment may have to be replaced after 25 years and that is a very expensive proposition. In response to a question about the Millennium Bridge he felt it should have been left to sway as it would then have become a tourist attraction. Regarding the use of computers and their role in design, the speaker said he favoured the approach of a conceptual design coming first and the computer used as a tool subsequently. A member of the audience felt the speaker was being too nostalgic in his preoccupation with craft and that image was more important today for communicating, for example, when using the media. The speaker admitted to being old-fashioned. Victor Suchar thanked the speaker for illustrating both the recent changes in architecture and the kinds of buildings supported during the millennium celebrations, and hoped that the future John Wood lectures would become annual events of similar calibre. Betty Suchar |
