Elite Core of Architects Should Make Planning Decisions
Amanda Levete argues that the planning process in the U.K. should be taken out of the hands of government and public process and handed to a panel of qualified architects.
Britain's planning process is broken, says Levete, and 'experience, talent and intellect' should be allowed to decide over democratic process when it comes to what gets built.
Levete writes, "As it stands, planning officers make a recommendation to councillors who are certainly not elected on the basis of their knowledge, education or experience in the field of design. The councillors have the power to overturn the considered opinion of their officers. You can call this local democracy and power to the people, but democracy is not an end in itself, particularly when it is used for party advantage, and in doing so misses the big picture and bigger opportunities."
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They'll be hand picked alright
They'll be hand picked alright... you know Foster and Rogers are a given as are a bunch of other ideologically pure modernists who cant comprehend materials other than glass, steel and concrete, and most definitely there wont be a single non-modernist on list (you can forget Krier). And of course this list of "experts" will select the usual suspects... Koolhaas, Mayne, Nouvel, Hadid, Piano, Foster, Rogers, Holl, Gehry, Herzog & DeMeuron, Libeskind (all of which are the entire short list for every museum expansion anywhere in the world).
Afterall as it is now every major work in England is by Fogers anyway.
At least its not just the US where democracy is under attack.
That's How Starchitects Get Their Commissions
Notice that most buildings by starchitects are museums, concert halls, or other buildings where the design is chosen by a panel made up of an "elite core of experts" in architecture and art.
Charles Siegel
Sounds good if...
This sounds like a great idea, if Prince Charles gets to pick the architects on the panel.
Bad idea!
It's a really bad idea considering how ideological the Architecture profession is in England. I can't imagine how "hip" and de-humanizing that would be for the average Englishman.
Too bad many architects
Too bad many architects never seem to figure out that the world extends beyond the property line. Which makes this a very bad idea.