Architects Datafile - 08.2019

(Darren Dugan) #1
4NEWS

WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF AUGUST 2019


FROM


THE EDITOR


A


combination of feelings have been experienced by yours truly on the reality of Boris Johnson taking the
reins of power – a mix of accepting the realisation of the seemingly inevitable, the undeniable shock of
actually seeing him in Downing Street.

The worth or otherwise of his previous achievements remain something of an enigma, and as yet we’ve heard and
seen little more than words and gestures. Was his attempted Heatherwick-designed garden bridge just a vanity
project or a heroic failure? Is he a liar or a bumbling optimist? In our regrettably polarised times, it increasingly
depends on who you ask. What we do know is we again have novices in charge of the only Government
department dedicated to construction (MHCLG), who will need all the advice and strong encouragement the
industry can muster to cut through the Brexit noise.

Boris has said little about construction since entering the office, but one of the shocks in his initial purge of
Remainers was the sacking of Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, who was in charge of housing. Only in
the job for just over a year (not a bad stint by the standards of some predecessors), he was active in tackling the
post-Grenfell fallout, and issues such as residential leaseholds. However his ban on combustible cladding over 18
metres was seen potentially as a knee-jerk reaction sounding the death knell for CLT in tall buildings.

New man Robert Jenrick is a novice in housing. At 37, the ex-solicitor was the youngest Minister in Theresa May’s
Government, and has few claims to fame beyond owning a few properties in his own right. Apparently he is
something of a champion for protecting ancient buildings, but while at the Treasury was also a key figure in
pushing huge amounts of new housebuilding in the ‘Oxford-Cambridge arc,’ to the consternation of protestors.

Esther McVey, replacing Kim Malthouse as Housing Minister, has a much higher, not altogether healthy public
profile – mainly from her controversial work on Universal Credit at the DWP. She does however have a background
in construction, although her family’s firm specialised in demolition rather than building. She’s the tenth housing
minister to go through the revolving door in a decade.

Boris will talk big on continuing to prioritise housebuilding, but we need to face the facts that there’s only one
problem he’ll be focusing on in the next three months. The task will be down to Jenrick, who will need to edit
down a colossal to-do list, as the construction industry lobbies him and his team round the clock. The target
remains 300,000 homes – currently the industry is averaging 177,000 a year over the past 10.

He’ll need to ensure that no deal Brexit planning includes measures for ensuring that construction sites don’t
rapidly grind to a halt in the aftermath of a chaotic no deal, as already acute staff shortages are exacerbated. The
industry also needs help in terms of how it will be able to mitigate further increases in materials costs from a
weakening pound, rather than just passing them on to customers.

The plight of SME contractors, the dearth of apprenticeships, the hollowing out of local planning departments, not
to mention the struggle to retain good
architectural staff post-Brexit – these are
just some of the issues on the new
Secretary Jenrick’s desk. Hopefully he
doesn’t need too much sleep!

James Parker
Editor

ON THE COVER...
Inspired by the ‘Bamboo Forest’ of a nearby national
park, the Wuxi Tahu Show Theatre designed by Steven
Chilton Architects has been shortlisted
for the Future Project Award (Cultural) at
the World Architecture Festival.
For the full report on this project, go to page 32
Cover image © Steven Chilton Architects

08.

WUXI TAIHO SHOW THEATRE, CHINACreating a canopy inspired by the Sea of Bamboo
ONE HEDDON STREET, LONDONBarr Gazetas turns an unremarkable ofce building into awellness-driven coworking space for The Crown Estate

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