The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has savagely attacked Westminster council’s proposed building design policy.
According to CABE chief executive Jon Rouse, the policy would turn Westminster into “a museum piece” through “slavish imitation of the past.”
The government’s architecture watchdog claims that the proposed “totally inappropriate” policy contradicts the council’s UDP commitment to “innovative architecture” and would “reduce the chances of good buildings being built in Westminster.”
In an open letter to the council, CABE claims that the document appears to be based on “the depressing assumption that we live in a debased architectural culture which has little hope of measuring up to the best of what was achieved in the past. Of course, an examination of recent new buildings in Westminster might tend to support this view. Unfortunately, some of the worst examples would not necessarily conflict with the advice given in this document.”
For the full text of CABE’s letter to Westminster council, click here.
EGi News 08/05/01
