According to Anna Winston, the former prime minister's impact on the architecture profession was huge. With the redevelopment of Canary Wharf, for example, her administration gave a leg up to Cesar Pelli, Sir Norman Foster and SOM, among others.
Winston points five of the significant effects Margaret Thatcher's time in office had on the architectural profession:
- The privatization of local authority services led to the U.K. becoming one of the largest export markets for private architectural services.
- The Monopolies and Mergers Commission made it illegal for professional bodies, including architectural service providers, to establish or publish minimum fee scales.
- The Big Bang or deregulation of the financial sector in 1986 led to an increased demand for office space and a design response to cultural shifts toward consumerism.
- In 1988, the London Dockland Corporation broke ground on Canary Wharf, the largest commercial project in the world at the time.
- The Right to Buy program led to a dramatic reduction in public housing both for tenants and architects and encouraged gentrification.
FULL STORY: What Margaret Thatcher did (or didn't do) for architecture
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