<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 1 ';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' The (Unionisation) Organising Committee of the New Architecture Movement calls a Special, One-Day
Is there an answer to...
..redundancies?
..-declining standard of living? ...shoddy design and cutting of corners? ++-secretive and arbitrary management?
YES!
cS
\\ People in architecture and the ‘_...
es EAPCHHUSE Bue nr \\ ee| AONION FOR ?!!
related building professions are becoming aware that their EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, their STANDARD OF LIVING, and the WHAT, HOW, and WHY of the work they do, not to mention the quality of the environment they share as members of the commu- nity, are as much at the mercy of the market as those of any other working people.
IF you work in architecture, surveying, structural or building services engineering, quantity surveying, town planning, etc.,
AND you want to begin to gain control over your working life by helping to build a strong, active, democratic and unified trade union organisation among your 50,000 colleagues in \"private sector\" firms and departments,
THEN join us to collectively decide on ONE UNION for architectural and allied workers in the private sector, to consider priorities for union action and to initiate a serious organising campaign.
ONE-DAY SPECIAL CONFERENCE ON TRADE UNION ORGANISATION IN ARCHITECTURE AND THE ALLIED BUILDING PROFESSIONS
Closing date for receipt of application forms for conference credentials is Wednesday, 4th May.
(Unionisation) Organising Committee, The New Architecture Movement, 9 Poland St., London Wl.
P.T.0.
Conference on Trade Union Organisation in Architecture & the Allied Bldg. Professions
LONDON Saturday, 14 MAY 1977 10am to 6pm
Why a Special Conference?
The Organising Committee calls this Special Conference to answer the crucial question, \"WHICH UNION?\" with a collective, democratic decision, as broadly-based as possible. Those who participate in the decision at the Conference will be expected to support it and join the union.
The conference will also discuss priorities and policies for union organising and action as well as means for co-ordinating and strengthening trade unionism among architectural workers in both private and public sectors.
Why now?
In response to growing concern that the present employment crisis in architecture as well as the more profound crisis of confidence and identity in the profession requires some form of bona-fide trade
union organisation, the Unionisation Working Group
of Central London NAM produced its Draft Report, \"Architectural Workers and Trade Unionism\" after six months of research and discussion.
The Draft Report was presented to NAM\'s 2nd National Congress in Blackpool, November 26-28, 1976, where it was enthusiastically received. The Congress set up an enlarged, national Organising Committee to (a) develop a campaign for the organisation of the nearly 50,000 people working in the almost totally unorganised private sector of the building profes- sions, and (b) co-ordinate trade union activities among architectural workers in all sectors.
Since the Congress, the Organising Committee has been busy investigating all reasonable alter— natives for dealing with the difficult task of or- ganising in the private sector. These include orga- nising within ONE of the unions considered most relevant (with whose officials we have had further, more detailed exploratory talks) or starting from scratch and building a new union especially for workers in the building professions.
The Draft Report emphasized that unless archi- tectural and allied workers in the private sector are organised into ONE, and only one, union, \"The result will be that the inevitable organisation
will proceed slowly, sporadically and hesitantly, will be unnecessarily protracted; will remain in- complete; and will never be able to contribute to the workers, professions, industry and community what an effective, coherent union could.”
Costs
The Revised Report
The completely revised, enlarged and up-dated \"second edition\" of the report on trade union organ- isation, essential background for the Conference, will be available by the end of March from the Or—- ganising Committee and...
..-discusses the reasons for organising, ...-critically examines the history and current
state of organisation in architecture, in both
public and private sectors,
..-evaluates the feasibility of an organising
drive now,
...surveys the various types of trade unionism
Full Conference fee including Briefing and Revised Report is £3.50 for employed people and £2.50 for claimants, accompanied by completed appli- cation form for conference credentials. (Cost of Conference includes buffet lunch.)
Revised Report only is £0.65, postpaid.
(N.B.: The Organising Committee may be able to arrange limited overnight accommodation where necessary. Please enquire.)
All orders, requests for further copies of prospectus or for credentials application forms, enquiries, and completed application forms (before May 4 )to (Unionisation) Organising Committee, The New Archi- tecture Movement, 9 Poland Street, London Wl, enclos-— ing check or postal order payable to The New Archi- tecture Movement.
possible, and +..cOnsiders how
The Report
ment of a \"grass-roots\" alliance of trade union- ists in architecture, regardless of sector or union (of which there are at least eight which have achieved recognition in ‘the public sector) to aid organisation, encourage active trade unionism, and co-ordinate and strengthen trade union activities and policies among architectural workers. It is expected that this will also be discussed at the Conference.
Conference Briefing
A full Briefing package for the Conference, including results of the research into the unions considered relevant and detailed Conference par- ticulars and procedures will be available from the Organising Committee by mid-April.
organisation could proceed.
also proposes the establish-
(3/77)
Is there an answer to...
...redundancies?
...declining standard of living? ...Shoddy design and cutting of corners? ...secretive and arbitrary management?
YES!
quantity surveying, town planning, etc.,
AND you want to begin to gain control over your working life by helping to build
50,000 colleagues in \"private sector” firms and departments,
to initiate a serious organising campaign.
LONDON Saturday, 14 MAY 1977 10am to 6pm Wednesday, 4th May.
People in architecture and the related building professions
are becoming aware that their EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, their STANDARD OF LIVING, and the WHAT, HOW, and WHY of the work they do, not to mention the quality of the environment they share as members of the commu- nity, are as much at the mercy of the market as those of any other working people.
P.T.0.
The (Unionisation) Organising Committee of the New Architecture Movement calls a Special, One-Day
Conference on Trade Union Organisation in Architecture & the Allied Bldg. Professions
IF you work in architecture, surveying, structural or building services engineering,
a strong, active, democratic and unified trade union organisation among your
THEN join us to collectively decide on ONE UNION for architectural and allied workers in the private sector, to consider priorities for union action and
ONE-DAY SPECIAL CONFERENCE ON TRADE UNION ORGANISATION IN ARCHITECTURE AND THE ALLIED BUILDING PROFESSIONS
Closing date for receipt of application forms for conference credentials is
(Unionisation) Organising Committee, The New Architecture Movement, 9 Poland St., London Wl.
Why a Special Conference?
The Revised Report
The conference will also discuss priorities and policies for union organising and action as well &s means for co-ordinating and strengthening trade unionism among architectural workers in both private
And public sectors. Why now?
In response to growing concern that the present employment crisis in architecture as well as the more profound crisis of confidence and identity in the profession requires some form of bona-fide trade union organisation, the Unionisation Working Group
of Central London NAM produced its Draft Report, \"Architectural Workers and Trade Unionism\" after six months of research and discussion.
Costs
Full Conference fee
tecture Movement.
Conference Briefing
A full Briefing package for the Conference, including results of the research into the unions considered relevant and detailed Conference par- ticulars and procedures will be available from the Organising Committee by mid-April.
(3/77)
The completely revised, enlarged and up-dated \"second edition\" of the report on trade union organ- isation, essential background for the Conference, will be available by the end of March from the Or- ganising Committee and...
-.-discusses the reasons for organising, +--critically examines the history and current
state of organisation in architecture, in both
public and private sectors,
--.€valuates the feasibility of an organising
drive now,
++-Surveys the various types of trade unionism
possible, and
++.considers how organisation could proceed.
The Report also proposes the establish- ment of a \"grass-roots\" alliance of trade union- ists in architecture, regardless of sector or union (of which there are at least eight which have achieved recognition in ‘the public sector) to aid organisation, encourage active trade unionism, and co-ordinate and strengthen trade union activities and policies among’ architectural workers. It is expected that this will also be discussed at the Conference.
The Organising Committee calls this Special Conference to answer the crucial question, \"WHICH UNION?\" with a collective, democratic decision, as broadly-based as possible. Those who participate in the decision at the Conference will be expected to Support it and join the union.
The Draft Report was presented to NAM\'s 2nd National Congress in Blackpool, November 26-28, 1976, where it was enthusiastically received. The Congress Set up an enlarged, national Organising Committee to (a) develop a campaign for the organisation of the nearly 50,000 people working in the almost totally unorganised private sector of the building profes- sions, and (b) co-ordinate trade union activities among architectural workers in all sectors.
Since the Congress, the Organising Committee has been busy investigating all reasonable alter— natives for dealing with the difficult task of or- ganising in the private sector. These include orga- nising within ONE of the unions considered most relevant (with whose officials we have had further, more detailed exploratory talks) or starting from scratch and building a new union especially for workers in the building professions.
The Draft Report emphasized that unless archi- tectural and allied workers in the private sector are organised into ONE, and only one, union, \"The result will be that the inevitable organisation
will proceed slowly, sporadically and hesitantly; will be unnecessarily protracted; will remain in- complete; and will never be able to contribute to the workers, professions, industry and community what an effective, coherent union could.\"
Revised Report is £3.50 for employed people and £2.50 for claimants, accompanied by completed appli- cation form for conference credentials. (Cost of Conference includes buffet lunch.)
Revised Report only is £0.65, postpaid. necessary. Please enquire.)
(N.B.: The Organising Committee may be able to arrange limited Overnight accommodation where
including Briefing and
All orders, requests for further copies of prospectus or for credentials application forms, enquiries, and completed application forms (before May 4. )to (Unionisation) Organising Committee, The New Archi- tecture Movement, 9 Poland Street, London Wi, enclos- ing check or postal order payable to The New Archi-
While architectural management ner-
youlsy awaits the increasinly inevitable
NAM AFFILIATED ARCHITECTS effort to reduce running costs at Portland Place HAVE BEEN ELECTED to six of
NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT MARCH 1977
EXCLUSIVE NAM ALMOST RULE O.K! ARCUK after 40 years in the wilderness
trade union organisation among architec-
tural workers, more and more staff at the tions among the army of foot soldiers so meces-
London headquarters of their own Royal
Institute of British Architects have been
joining a union to begin collective negoti-
ations with the RIBA over pay and condi- tation and no assurance was given that further
tions and to prevent further redundancies redundancies would not follow.
without consultation. At that point, a nucleus ofstaff joined the
Organisation has been accelerated by the un- Association of Scientific, Technical and Mana-
stripping’ reductions in some RIBA services in an tion and negoiating rights.
(e.g. AA, IAAS, FAS, ABT). ARCUK is the body set up by
WOULD YOU PUT IN AN ENTRY TO AN ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION IN CHILE OR SOUTH AFRICA? Where DO you draw the line between career and conscience? The Iranian Government, described by Amnesty International as
having the worst human rights record in the world, have recently announced a competition for the design of a 100,000M2 ‘Pahlavi National Library’ to be sited in Tehran.
If realised, this will be another concrete symbol of the dictatorial power of the Pahlavi dynasty that has ruled Iran since 1925: it will be a formalist gesture in the same vein as
‘Brasilia’.
‘The Iranian dictatorship is among the
most repressive and reactionary regimes in the world. The most blatant and outrageous violations of basic human right are
becoming the daily practices of thisbarbanc
regime. Having no popubr support in the country the Shah\'s dictatorship can only maintain its reactionary rule by terror and repression. There are now more than 40,000 political prisoners in the regime’s jails, the
vast majority of whom have never been tried publicly, or secretly, nor even charged with any offences. These prisoners are members of political organisations opposed to the dictatorship, workers who have fought for
the interests of the working class, militant stodents and artists, intellectuals and moslem clergymen who have refused to put themselves at the disposal of the regime’ . from a leaflet published by CARI (Committee against repression in Iran).
Since the C.I.A. organised coup in
53 the government have tried, through
a massive public relations exercise, to cover up the truth about the gross
denial of human rights and the polarisation of wealth in Iran. Participation in this competition by professionals outside Iran is as much
a reinforcement of the Shah’s regime as the supply of armaments and information technology by the western countries. So where do you draw the line?
Parliament under the Architects Registration Acts of 1931 and 1938 to ‘regulate’ the profession, presumably in the public interest, by restricting use of the title ‘architect’ and controlling the standard of architectural education. It has since inception been totally dominated by the architectural
This year will be the first time since 1941 that there will be no RIBA member representing unattached architects.
Until 1941, the unattached architects representation was dominated by
members of the Institute of Registered Architects, a body which avowedly represented the interests of principals
in private practice and which later
merged with the Faculty of Architects
and Surveyors (FAS). [see col3 P.2
and thus keep the RIBA’s subscription level be- low that which might spark off full-scale deser-
the seven seats on the Architects Registration Council (ARCUK) which have been allocated to ‘unattached architects’ for 1977-78. Balloting took place in
sary to the archi-Generals’ public credibility. In August 1976, three members of HQ staff
were made redundant. There was no prior consul- January and February among the
gerial Staffs (ASTMS) and by now recruitment
more than 3,000 registered architects in the U.K. who are not members of the Royal Institute of British Arhcitects
rest at the Prtland Place HQ setoff by the
appointment last yearof a ‘chief executive’ for
the RIBA. It was feared that cuts would be made ten to wait until a majority of HQ workers are ‘constituent bodies’ of ARCUK in some departments and there would be ‘asset- union members before seeking union recogni-
has reached about 30%. The organised staff in - (RIBA) or of the other, smaller
employers’ association (RIBA). °
unattached architects This year, for the first time in ARCUK’s history, only truly unattached architects will be representing the unattached architects. Despite their being incumbents, the two RIBA members who were running for election by unattached architects finished last in the balloting among the eleven candidates.
ORGANISING PORTLAND PLACE
WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE?
slate’, n., n., & y.t. 1, Kinds of grey, green, or blulsh-purple rock casily eplit Jato flat smooth plates; pleco of such
‘¢used ns roofing-material; pleco of It t
Ifoforrenounco oblign-
~dlue, -grey, modifications ssuch ns occur in~; l-~-clud, al benefit soclety with small weekly contributions; ~-colour(ed), (of) dark Dluish or greenish groy; hence slat’x? a,
2. adj. (Made) . 3.¥.t. Cover with~3 roofing; henco slit‘eR‘ n, (ME .OF esclate, fem. of esclat stat*)
v.t. (collog.). Criticize severely or in reviews), scold, rate; Propose for office etc, Henco
n.(app.ft,prec.]
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER
OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly by the Movement’s Liaison Group and edited on its behalf by an adhoc committee set up in January 1977..
News and features of broad interest
to workers in the profession, and the building industry and to the wider
public are included to stimulate debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attention of the widest readership.
-. help build SLATE’s readership . help to build NAM . subscribe to SLATE . show it to your friends
. become a local rep to distribute SLATE in your office, school or
town . ask for SLATE in your local bookshop .getyourschooloroffice to subscribe.
.AND THE FUTURE
For SLATE to grow asalively reflection of the views of radical Architectural Workersandothersconcernedwiththe Processes which shape our environment, accountability of editorial decisions to the members of the Movement is essential. This year four further issues are planned. Each one will be proceeded by an open meeting with the Editorial Committee. Come and express your views and criticisms at these meetings or through
the letters column of SLATE. Next
year it is suggested that the adhoc committee should be disbanded to be replaced by an editorial committee elected by and directly responsible to the annual congress of the Movement.
The first SLATE open meeting is in London on 4th April 1977.
WORK ON SLATE
SLATEneedsmoreworkers,more writers and more ideas. This issue was put together by a committee of seven. A largercommitteewouldmeanabetter newsletter; so would more writers, illustrators, cartoonists and photographers, and simply more Suggestions for stories and features.
If you would like to work for SLATE,
join the committee or suggest topics it should cover, then please write in soon. The copy deadline for the next issue is Friday 22nd April.
OUR HIGH COVER
PRICE 40p is a lot to pay for a newsletter this
from page |
The unattached architects, who make upagrowingproportion(nowaneighth) of all ‘architects’ in the U.K., are the only
ones allowed to elect their own representativestoARCUK. Allthe others are appointed by the Councils of their respective ‘constituent bodies.’
While the unattached architects are required by the Architects Registration Acts to elect registered architects as their representatives, the ‘constituent bodies’ are free to appoint whomever they please. While they could, therefore nominate members of the lay public
or un-registered members of the profession, they al nevertheless consistently appoint only RIBA members. Even the Architectural Association’s Council, now dominated
by a ‘reform slate’ of A.A. students, has again appointed RIBA members to al four of its seats on ARCUK. All four are members to al four of its seats on
seatsonARCUK. Actually,from1942 to 1949, one of its seats was occupied by Emo Goldfinger, DPLG (the French equivalent),whodidn’tjointheRIBA until 1948 and has become a well-known principal inprivate practice.
salaried voice louder
While the election of six NAM nominees to ARCUK may give a greater voice to grossly under-represented salaried architects, the RIBA main- tains its overall control of ARCUK
Of the sixty architect members of ARCUK last year, 56 were RIBA members, The six non-architect members of ARCUK were al appoin- -ted by other ‘professional’ or em- ployees’ bodies in the construction industry. None were laymen, let alone ‘workers*.
Whatisevenmorenoteworthyis that while salaried architectural workers make up at least 76% Of registered architects, they had only about 15%
of the architects’ representation on ARCUK, Architectural management, hardly aquater of registered architects, had over %4’s of the representation on ARCUK, Nearly 60% of the architects on the Council were in fact bosses in private practice.
A report presented to NAM’s
second Congress last November called for the reform of the Architects regis- -tration Acts to make ARCUK more accountable to both those who use the
SOCIALISM
environmentaswellasthosewhowork in architecture. It proposed a reconsti-
tuted Council with a truly ‘lay’ majority andan‘architectual’minoritydirectly from within each of the major interest groups among registered architects (workers, employers,self-employed, and salaried management ), with representation of each group to be based on its numerical strength in the profession. The report isnow available from NAM ( 30p, postpaid ).
carriesonmostofits business through committees. The
Board of Education’s task is to recognise architecture schools whose “examination ought to qualify persons for registration’. The admissions Committee considers the applications for registration, while the Discipli Committee considers any allegations against an architect of ‘conduct disgracefultohiminhiscapacityasan architect,” grounds for removing his name from the Register.
The Professional Purposes Committee also involved in ‘discipline’, deals with the ‘Code of Professional Conduct’, now identical to that of the RIBA which in effect defines what the Council considers disgraceful. The
Code establishes the principle of control ‘in the public interest’ by ARCUK over what forms of practice are permitted among architects; how architects may get work; how
architects may relate to one another and
totheiremployees,inbusinessand professional terms; and the architect’s responsibility to ‘those who may be expectedtouseorenjoytheproductof his work’.
The ARCUK Code of Professional Conduct includes mandatory adherence to the RIBA Conditions of Engagement and Scale of Fees, now under study by the Monopolies Commission, to which NAM last year submitted evidence.
The Finance and General Purposes committee ofARCUK dealswith, among other things, the amount of the ‘retention fee’ (currently £5) which architects must pay to stay on the Register.
The first act of the new Council will be to elect members to al these various
i for the coming year. Already RIBA and AA members have collaboratedtoputforwardjointslates consisting exclusively of RIBA members, for each committee. Only the NAM - affiliated unattached architects are offering any opposition to it.
The first meeting of the 1977-78 Council, which meets quarterly, will take place on March 16. Venue:
66 Portland Place, London W1, by coincidence, HQ of the RIBA. After the meeting, the members have been invited to ‘take wine’ at ARCUK’s office around the comer in Hallam Street,
in celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee.
big. The funding of SLATE is connected
to the funding of NAM as awhole, and
last year the Movement ran up substantial debts.Thisyear’sliaisongroupdetermined ARCUK, Allfourareownersof that that situation should not arise
again and fixed the subscription rate accordingly, both to the Movement and the newsletter, in the knowledge that insolvency would never help the Movement to grow, and in the conviction that NAM’s Strength will lie among people who are prepared to support its activities to the ful. The annual subscription to SLATE, for five issues, is £2 00. If circulation rises then the choice is open for SLATE
to become larger or for the subscription to fal, but for the moment it must not get into debt.
ADVERTISING
At an carly meeting the committee
decide not to take commercial adver-- tisements in SLATE. Advertisements from alternative groups and personal small ads are, however, welcome. A small charge wouldbemadebutthecommittee reserves the right to turn down any advertisement
COPYRIGHT
Any article or part of an article or part of an article in SLATE may be freely but accurately reproduced, providing that SLATE is credited as the origin of any material used.
LASTLY...
AsubscriptionformforSLATE anda membership form for NAM are included on the last page. Please indicate also if you would like to distribute SLATE in your office, school or town. SLATE is free to all members of NAM
SLATE is published by the LIAISON GROUP of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9, Poland St., London. W1.
Typesetting by Julia Wilson-Jones
Printed by WOMEN IN PRINT, 16a, Iliffe Yard, London, SE17.
private practices.
The Association of Building
Technicians, recently absorbed into STAMP, the non-manual section of UCATT, is the only trade union directly represented on ARCUK, haying collaborated with the RIBA in the passage of the Architects Registration Acts. The ABT Council has also appointed RIBA members for the last 35 years.
While the ABT now represents hardly 200 architects, form 1942 to 1954 it represented over 500 and thus had two
PLANNERS FOR
i
SOME 250 PLANNERS GATHERED
recently in London to set up an
organisationtospreadsocialistideals Discussionsonastructureforthe committees
in the planning field. This first meeting of the Conference of Socialist Planners bore out the view thatthereis,inplanning,‘avacuum which hopefully can be filled by a socialist analysis of the problems which beset our society’. Participants came from Local Government, the academic
world and priyate practice.
Urged on by the morning’s speakers, inclydingPeterAmbrose(co-authorof “The Property Machine”) and economist
Stuart Holland who stressed the political nature of planning decisions and the need
for a politicisation of the planning process
the meeting settled down to the difficult
task of swallowing sectarian differences
and constituting an organisation which
would enadle ‘a hundred flowers to
bloom’. i
Emphasis was laid on the need for a | broad-based organisation to combat
the divisive effect on those concerned with | planning of a social and economic system
in which the “totality of social relationships are truncated and depoliticised’, The Conference would
Conference lead to a view of the Conference itself as an ‘umbrella’ group embracing groups working on national issuesaswellasgeographically-based regional workshops, aconcept that gave the meeting an opportunity to carve up the country with an almost unhealthy planner’s zeal. Relations would be established with fraternal groups but the idea of formal affiliation to particular political parties was rejected.
Participants who waited patiently throughthemeetingforadiscussionof just the issues that the Conference was set up to treat were frustrated by the overbearing need to consolidate the vehicle through which ideas would be disseminated and campaigns mounted. Hopefully their patience will soon be rewarded as the CSP at national and regional level builds its strength and
tums its attention towards the politisation politisation of the planning process.
Not easy, but their first meeting was a good start.
Further information about the
Conference of Socialist Planners
and regional workshops from +
CSP, 54, Addison Gardens, London WiI4.
address itself to lay people and politicians as well as planning professionals.
STOP PRESS!...STOP PRESS!...STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS
Souvenir from NAM\'s first ARCUK meeting: The letter was sent to all RIBA members on ARCUK in a blatant attempt to prevent NAM members from getting on*-
page 2
€ eZed
=“TRESPASSER—S adopting law and order for their main the Law Commission returned to the 4. ‘trespass on embassies’ of the work they do and increasingly as
I RENT, YOU BUY,
WE LOSE, THEY PROFIT! A review of ‘Profits Against Houses’
If you have ever wondered why an anvanced industrial country such as Britain remains incap- able of providing adequate housing for a large pro- portionofitspopulationthislitlebookwillsup- plyatleastsomeoftheanswersasitguidesyou through the forest of myth and mystificstio
that is the world of housing finance. Through
the mist of estate agents’ sales talk and govern- ment propaganda the real forces that shape the housing we buy /rent or wait for are scarcely visible.
Inspite of the highly political nature of the ‘housing question’ and the struggles of workers and tenants for better conditions, housing in the mixed economy is still dominated, in the public as well as in the private sector, by the search for profit and the forces of the market. Coalitions of interest between property deve- lopers house builders, solicitors, surveyors, estate agents and housing architects form a powerful lobby to resist change.
Research for the book was done by workers in several of the Community Development Pro- jects set up by the Government in deprived areas throughout the country. The Home Office, the department in charge of the pro- jects, decided to close them down in mid 1976. Profit Against House. CDP Information and Intel- ligence Unit, S6pp, Sept.1976.
(SOp from CDP, Mary Ward House, 5, Tavistock Place, London WCI H 955)
institute. Such rules obviously limit the role that staff associations could play in the reform of the professions and an architect interested in broadening the class base of his profession would not want to be compromised in this way.
Half aloaf isbetter than no worker organisation at al but the question remains as to whether staff associations will hasten or delay the emergence of real organisation among professional workers and the integration of these workers with the labour movement asawhole.
theme in 1970, the Tories were - WILL BE influenced by Nixon’s successful
Lord Chancellor (who was at that time guess who? -yes, Lord Hailsham again) for a rebriefing to “consider in what circumstances entering and Temaining on property (ie trespass) should constitute a criminal offence.
This then is the background of the billgoingthroughparliamentatthe moment. Thefiveelementsofpart11 of the bill (the section dealing with criminal trespass) are :
1. the ‘forcible entry’ law would be repealed and anew offence -
trespass on already occupied premises- would replace it. This element has been proposed as a direct response to the tiny and grossly exaggerated proportion of th recent squatting cases over the last couple of years -largely contrived by the newspapers and local authorities as a softening up campaign to artificially create a need for C.T.L. The practical import of this offence revolves around the wide open interpretation of “occupied eg.
‘occupied’ (e.g. a landlords bed could be claimed to constitute ‘occupation’.
2. it would be an offence to committ ‘violent entry’ with the exception of the displaced residential occupier.
3. to trespass with an offensive weapon “the precise nature of an offensive weapon is left sufficiently open as to provide a carte blance for the swelling fraternity of overzealous policemen.
5. it would be an ‘offence to resist a county court bailiff and bailiffs vested with the power of arrest.
CA.CT.L.
An attempt has been made to use the recession and the cracks in the fabric of Britainssocialdemocracy thateconomic
members of the labour movement, should act jointly with fellow trade unionists students and squatters in opposing this legislation. C.A.C.T.L. has been supported by 30 trades councils, by
trade union branches, 21 constituency labour parties and many community groupsandatnationallevel,byNUPE ACTS,NUS,LPYSandtheannual Trades Councils Conference of 1976 have opposed the C.T.L.
campaign in 1969 and student militancy —— CRIMINALS _ in the late 60’s. In the face of
PAUSEFORAMOMENT AND REFLECT upontheamountof time you spend on someone
elses property -a very large proportion you\'ll find, even ifyou are a home owner. For the first time for 900 years there is now a bill before parliament which will advance the principle that certain acts of tresspass are criminal offences. This bill, the ‘Conspiracy and Law Reform
Bill’ was given its second reading in the House of Lords on December 14 last year.
Should the bill become an Act of Parliament it will affect squatting and the occupations of factories, colleges and hospitals alike. It will greatly extend the power of the police and bailiffs to carry out evictions and enable them to prosecute people who resist them.
law and order Criminal Trespass Legislation
started life as a twinkle in the (right) eye of the Tory Party as it put together its platform for the 1970 elections. In
and top party officials decided to adopt therecommendationofQuintinHogg andmakecriminaltrespasslegislation one of the main planks in their election platform. But they baulked at a ful frontal attact and decided in the end to ask the Law Commission to ‘update’ the the statute of forcible entry.
Meanwhile a group of Sierra Leone students, who had occupied their country’s embassy in protest at their government’s treatment of dissidents,
had been charged by Sir Peter Rawlinson the Attorney General, with the new crime of ‘conspiracy to tresspass’ -a crime which even the legal establishment could not find on the statute books at the time
lords appeal
Their case was taken to appeal in the House of Lords where the conviction
was upheld, principally through the judgement of Lord Hailsham (formerly . Quintin Hogg.) This put the Law Commission in a quandary :their recommendations were to have been made on the assumption that tresspass neither was, nor should be, a crime -
a fatuous task once Lord Hailsham had conjured a criminal tresspass offence out
of the common law of conspiracy. So
stringencyhashighlighted,todivert
peoples attention from the course of
the bil through parliament. The
attempt has not succeeded; a
campaign has been set up to oppose the CONTACT ADDRESSES FOR LOCAL GROUPS proposed legislation, the Campaign
|opposition from the mainstream of |} Tory legal opinion the shadow cabinet
Against the Criminal Trespass
Legislation (CACTL), which has found support in many areas of society.
Trade unions: the T.U.C. general
council yoted on 26 January to oppose the introduction of al of the offences except that of threspassing on embassy properties. Students: 30 student unions and the NUS are opposing the legislation and the National Executive of the Labour Party is likely to oppose part I of the bil.
legal punch Architects must see that the
individuals and groups within society who often act as their clients want greater legal punch for their claim to the exclusive right of determining the way in which their buildings will be used. Architects, as individuals, by virtue
JOIN THE PROFESSIONALS
TIMES ARE SLOWLY
CHANGING FOR ARCHITECTS, who have traditionally remained
on the fringe of the labour moyement. Architects at Sir William Halcrow and Partners, a large international engineering consultancy, are setting up a branch of the newly formed staff association for workers in their department. A similar staff association has recently been set up in the office of the Edinburgh practive of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners.
Staff Associations recruit members only from among the employees of the firm to which they are attached. The Halcrow’s Association’s constitution lays down its aims as the ‘enhancement’
of its members’ position in respect of salaries and conditions and provides a procedure for the resolution of grievances. So far the association
has recruited 600 out of a total of 1800 workers throughout Halcrows.
collective choice
For architectural workers in the
private sector who want to go beyond a staff association, the choice is between the white collar trades unions (ASTMS, TASS etc.) and industrial unions (UCATT T&GWU etc.)althoughitmay
ultimately be more effective to collectively decide upon one union. The prospect of nationally organised unions becoming involved with their practice will not be welcomed by many of the employers in the profession: it is likely that the partners at Halcrows are relieved that ‘workers organisation” has come in such a palatable and ‘familiar’ form.
code takes precedence Further, the staff association’s rules are written in such a way that a member
may decline to take industrial action if he feels that he would, by doing so, contraven the code of his professional
|USEFUL WORK versus USELESS TOIL |
;by William Morris
Fascimile edition of a Hammersmith Socialist Society pamphlet originally printed by William Morris
in 1893.
William Morris was born on 24th March 1832, Take the day off work and celebrate William Morris Day by purchasing a copy of this limited reprint.
Fill in the form below and send it together with a cheque/PO (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for 60p to NAM 9, Poland St., London, W1.
NAME,
ADDRESS.
,c/o 108 Bookshop, 108 Salisbury Road. LIVERPOOL: c/o 39/41 Manesty’s Lane, Liverpool 1.
N.LONDON: 161 Hornsey Rd., N7.
For details of contacts in other areas contact London CACTL at
BRIGHTON: c/o Open Cafe, 7 Victoria Road, Brighton Sussex.
Cavendish Street, Manchester 15.
NOTTINGHAM: c/o 15 Scotholme Avenue, Nottingham.
CANTERBURY: c/o 7 York Road, Canterbury, Kent
LONDON:
c/o 1 Elgin Ave., W9.
MANCHESTER: c/o SCA, Students Union, Manchester Poly,
OXFORD: c/o 38 Hurst Street, Oxford.
c/o 6 Bowden Street, SE11 or phone (01) 289 3877.
BRISTOL: c/o 6 Westfield Park, Bristol 6.
S. LONDON: Union Place, 122—4 Vassall Rd., SW9.
E. LONDON: Dame Colet Hse., Ben Jonson Rd., E14.
SE LONDON: Deptford HAC, 171 Deptford High St., SES,
SHEFFIELD: c/o 1 Portsea Road, Sheffield 6. SWANSEA: c/o 79 Brokesby Road, Bon-y-maen, Swansea.
W. LONDON:
|
| |
| Je
ASPECIAL CONFERENCE to initiate a trade union organising
drive among the nearly 50,000 people working in the as yet
unorganised private sector of
architectureandthenee
building professions will be held
in London on Saturday !4 May.
The Conference has been called by the (Unionisation) Organisin
nowastrong,militant,democratic
y 8 Committee of the New Architecture Movement to make acollective
EOe
those workers in the building
8
NAM’s 2nd Congress late last November,
emphasized that unless architectural and
allied workers in the private sector are organised into one, and only one, union, Sha verultenill bethatiheinewtahle
organisation will proceed slowly, sporadically and hesitantly; will be
industry and community what an
1
Since Blackpool
The Organising Committee pas seUne by the Congress, which declared trade union
organisation a major priority of NAM, to develop an organising campaign. Since then
most relevant.
Opinion at the Congress was divided
between those who thought that organisation in the private sector could best be achieved within one of the existing unions and those who thought architectural and allied workers should start from scratch and build their own union. It has been questioned however.
es
[ir youwouldliketobeamemberoftthheNew/‘ArchitectureMovement|fillin|theffoormbelow:andsend
ittogetherwithacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNewArchitectureMovement)for£5.00(if you\'re employed) or £2.00 ( if you\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street
| whether thelatterisarealisticalternative | given the acknowledged difficulties of
‘ >,
Leese\" H‘ATRHE2ARAYPERO\'UBLRSESMIN HE ora |
Look,man,eo
u lorg enough ferlousy
ARCHIE — foes est HAS ABIG
Laver
that management\'s strategy in trying to prevent effective organisation in architecture will be to encourage a proliferation of unions in the field in order to delay the emergence ofa
unified organisation among al workers in architecture and the allied building professions (quantity surveying, structural
andbaltalrgerateesengineering,landscape and unified trade union organisation, _ architecture, surveying, town planning, etc.).
DO sentnnge (WD} “oe, (Oven |Wanted \\...\\Now Ive
professions qo want to help build
various types of trade unionism possible (opting for what might be termed a ‘workers’ control’ model), and considers how organisation could proceed.
next step
Also available from the Organising
Committee are the prospectus for the forthcoming Special Conference and application forms for it. ( stamped, self- -addressed envelopes appreciated ). The Committeewouldliketohearfromal who are interested in unionisation with ideas, experiences, situations, comments or criticisms of its Draft Report, etc.
TheSpecialC isalso exp d to discuss the problem of co-ordinating trade union activity among architectural workers in both sectors, regardless of union affiliation. Because of the split
of the profession into public and private sectors (as well as the presence ofa
sizable number of architectural workers in industry, commerce, education, and the ‘voluntary sector’), combined with the pattern of trade union development in Britain, there are now at least eight TUC affiliated unions with an architectural membership which have achieved recognition in the public sector.
In order to aid organisation, encourage active trade unionism, and co-ordinate
and strengthen trade union activities and policies among architectural workers,the Organising Committee’s Report proposesthe theestablishmentofa‘grassroots’alliance of trade unionists in architecture,
regardless of sector or union. This is
of asbestos received encouragement earlier this year when the most populous of the United States, California, banned the use of asbestos in construction, following mul- timilliondollarlawsuitsagainstthe
giant Johns-Manville asbestos firm. Mean- while, the management of Britian’s major
scompanies hayesteppedup
their massive, slick and deceptive adver- tising campaign in both the trade and nat- ional presses.
In its recent submission of evidence to
the Government’s Advisory Committee on Asbestos, the TUC emphasized that ‘a number of large trade unions and trades councils
have expressed serious concern over the inaccu- racies, misrepresentations and misleading advice concerning asbestos hazards contained in a re- cent series of full page advertisements in the national press. These have already attracted a great deal of outside criticism, including that of the Advertising Standards Authority’.
In its evidence, described as ‘excellent’ by Nancy Tait, author of* Asbestos Kills’ (25p from Exchange Publications, 9 Poland Street London W1), the TUC called for a‘planned programme for the progressive compulsory sub- stitution ofalasbestos applicationsinthe UK.’ Eventheslightexposuretoasbestosdustcan cause slow and painful death not only from as- bestosis (an untreatable form of pneumocon- iosis), but also from lung cancer, mesothelioma
Up against many of the same problems which face architectural workers (even if not threatened with redundancies on such a massive scale), legal workers in London have quietly begun organising a trade union. Last Novemeber they established abranchoftheTransportandGeneral
The TUC also emphasized that ‘it and its affiliated unions are highly dissatisfied with the exceedingly low levels of fines imposed by magi- strates for breaches of the existing Asbestos Regu- lationsandtheFactoriesActanditsotherregu- lations. In some cases, employers have been fined £5 and less for breaches of safety laws which have endangered the lives and health of workers.’ Not quite the picture that the propaganda of the as- bestos companies’ “Asbestos Information Commit- tee’ and “Asbestosis Research Council’ would have the public believe. The TUC pointed out, further- more, that the present Asbestos Regulations are \"totally inadequate to provide protection against cancer risks’ and do not even provide effective protection against the risk of development of asbestosis.
Nearly 80% of the asbestos used in the UK
is used in the construction industry, where ‘pra- ticable and safe’ alternatives are already available. More substitutes, such as various ceramic fibres products, are well along in the r—and—d pipe-line.
Meanwhile, the Green Ban Action Committee in Birmingham is arranging a seminar in conjunc- tion with the local UCATT office on the subject
of asbestos. The meeting, Saturday, Apnl16, will involve workers from the construction, heating and ventilating, and car industries; medical wor- kers; environmentalists and people from the con- sumer movement.
Further details from GBAC, 77School ’ Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 8JQ.
(tel: 021-777-5726).
tor and for an increased voice for legal workers in the decisions which affect their working lives. Like architecture, the law is characterised by a
needlessly hierarchical structure and agreat dis- parity between the earnings and work pace of the bosses and the workers. The ultimate goal is to break down the divisions between ‘professional’ and‘non-professional’work.
strongly based on the ‘shop floor’ (ie. the office).
Hence the need for solidarity from the start, beginning with a collective, rather than individual, decision as to ‘Which
‘Architectural Workers and Trade Unionism’,aDraftReportpresentedto union?’
| withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNewArchitectureMovement)for£2.00toNAMat9, |WorkersandTradeUnionism’.The
organisationwillcontinuetoclaimto ‘speakfortheprofession’,tothe detriment of architectural workers, the labour movement, and the community.
The question of trade union organisation in architecture and the
allied building professions will also be one of the main topics of discussion at a
NAM seminar being held at the Polytechnic to Central London on Saturday 23 April, beginning at 10.00 am.
In the meantime, the union will also be seek- WorkersACTS(‘white-collar’)sectionfor ingamongotherdemands,anendtounderstaf-
Poland Street, London W.1. NAME
ADDRESS.
completely revised and expanded ‘Second |Edition’willbeavailablebytheendof | March from the (Unionisation)
| Organising Committee, N.A.M.
9 Poland Street, London W1. (65p post- | paid). The Report discusses the reasons
for organisation, looks into the history | and current state of organisation in
I the feasibility of anorganising drive now, discusses the
‘all workers in solicitors’ firms’ (eg. ‘sec- retaries, receptionists, telephonists, gene- ral dogsbodies, articled clerks and assis- tant solicitors’) and arealready close to achieving union recognition in at least one firm.
fing (and until then overtime pay for overtime worked), the right to strike without Law Society ‘professional’ reprisals, adequate work space and equipment, and ‘open books’ concerning the 0 firm’s finances and management. =
al
The TGWU was chosen on the experience of
The union will be pressing for adoption of its ‘524 Branch’, which has grown rapidly among 2%
|
|
I
|
| |
autonomy and identity within one of the
the same as you YSZ ou whenTasyou\"AEG cee)
KILLER MATERIAL BAN SPREADS
Slowly but surely gathering momentum, (‘a painful, untreatable cancer of the membrane the international campaign to end the use lining of the chest or abdomen’) and other
of al building materials containing any type cancers.
local government salary levels in the private sec- workers in the ‘voluntary sector’,
|
activists. Furthermore, itmay well prove possible to achieve a sufficient degree of
institute’ istotally dominated bythe
London W.1 el.
a veer organising among people working in the building professions and hee
G meeditare Ro tannch
;
considered particularly necessary in
|
| NAME
:5
| |
ADDRESS.
anorganisingdriveaswelastofalback upon incaseofdisputeorofthe inevitable victimisations ofunion
prcnate ey oe apaththrougha teritory’ofahalf-dozenunionsand
ARCHITECTURAL WORKERS — “‘wceiinscomitsexecs
| TELEPHONE (HOME )”.
(WORK ).
existing unions.
small minority of the profession who are employers. Until the 90% of the people
|IfyouwouldliketoreceiveSLATEwithoutjoiningNAM filintheformbelowand
send ittogether
The Organisng Committee has also een updating itsDraftReport, cite :
speak clearly, and forcefully
|
on professional, industrial, environmental and Iissues, the empl
architecture, where the typical career
where the existing so-called ‘professional
ingrchitectute who are workers an
AS. c
the Committee has been investigating al
Gecisionion neprones NEniCS for organisation. The Committee
unnecessarily protacted; will remain incomplete; and will never be able to
reasonable alternatives. It has held a series of fruitful exploratory discussions
hopes for the participation of all
contribute to the workers, profession
with officials of the unions considered
Clericals and Clerks
eeeeee
CHANGING HORSES AT THE S.E.S.
set of skills, they should specialise also in build- ing climatology, building practice, cost-benefit analysis, landscape design and so on. Others would develop managerial skills and learn to
act as co-ordinators. The intention was that the meaning of ‘architect’ would come as broad as the common understanding of the title ‘engineer’. In short, architects would not al be trained to do the same kind of things in the future, though they would al hold a common interest in the building as the product.
“The School’s answer to these aims was to establish specialists in different disciplines, and so environmental engineers, a structural engineer, building economists, a psychologist, a historian and a landscape architect were brought into the School. (Previously these subjects, iftaught at al had been taught by architects). The curriculum was changed so that more time was spent by stu- dents on these subjects, and less time on tradi- tional drawing board design work, in the recogni- tion that this would form only one among many architectural specialisms in the future. The
RIBA accepted these changes, though the inia- tive for them had lain very much with the School. For students at the School, the significant dif- ference was that it was now possible to qualify for exemption from RIBA Part! by taking any, or almost any, of the courses within the School, with only a minimum amount of design work:
it was accepted that a high level of competence at architectural design need not be the only possible criterion for qualification.
Bringing back Architecture Astragal’s recent comments suggested that the School is moving away from this pattern. To
some extent Astragal seems to be right: the amount of architectural design work expected of students has increased over the last few years, and the opportunity for students to pursue other specia- lists subjects has inevitably been reduced as a result. The School is returning closer to the con- cept of the architect as a person with a unitary
set of skills in architectural design. The Profes- sor of Architecture has been heard to say that he is ‘bringing back Architecture’—but clearly he isbringing back only onekind, and isdiscard- ing the notion that there might be several sorts of architect,
It is well known that the RIBA (or rather certain parts of it which have become powerful lately) favour this return to a single role for archi- tects. Eric Lyons in his President’s address in 1976 expressed this view strongly. But, is it really necessary for the schools to change be- cause of what certain parts of the RIBA think, particularly since their statements seem to re- present more of a gut reaction than any reasoned or logical view. No good evidence has been given that a multi-specialist profession has or islikely to fail, and the reaction to the educational trend of the 60s seems to be just one manifestation of the general panic response of the profession to the heavy public censure it has received. We have no proof that going back to the old days is going to help architects wriggle outof a tight corner. While itistrue that the conditions of theearly 1960s, when the image of a multi-skilled prof- €ssion was projected, are no longer the same,
have things changed so much as to make the conceptinvalid? Itisstilthecasethatdemands on the architect are changing, and they are likely to go on changing in the future, and it would seem valid therefore to increase the diyersifi- cation within the profession, which the SES
in common with other schools has been work- ing towards.
Why isthe SES tending away froma diversi- fied, multi-disciplinary pattern of education. This is not an easy question to answer, particu- larly as the recent changes in the School have been the result of executive decisions taken without open debate, unlike the original reforms which took place after wide-ranging debate, involving al staff and often students as well. However, itisclear that the causes liewithin
and outside the School. The tendency towards 4 unitary notion of the architect is not unique to the SES, but is to be found in many other schools, which are also bumping up the quantity
of architectural design work they expect from theit students. That this is happening in so many different schools must be the result of at least indirect pressure from the RIBA, particularly after its threat two years ago to withdraw recog- nition from several schools. But why then should the RIBA be calling the tune? In the 1960s, as we saw, the Bartlett initiated and the RIBA followed—and presumably this could happen again if the schools chose to take an innovatory linc. In the SES’s case, that this is not happening must be due to some change of heart ‘vithin the School itself.
The Safety-Net
The SES has been through a number of changes
in the last few years, some of which have had im- portant effects on the School’s style of education. Firstly, two years ago the School moved into Wates House (‘the last new university building’), which physically united the previously separate planning department with the rest of the School. Secondly, over the last two years the School has lost by retirement, death and emigration, six of its senior staff, al of whom had been involved in the innovatory experiments at the School. Coinci- dentally, al of those staff, with the exception of Professor LLewelyn Davies (the School’s founder andfather-figure) were non-architectural specia lists. Thirdly, the School has been hit by the cuts in university expenditure, which have meant that only one of those losses has been replaced. (Pro- fessor Smart has succeeded to the Chair of Urban
Planning and Headship of the School).
The loss of these professors clearly weakened
the position of the specialists subjects within the department, and made it that much easier for
the architectural staff to strengthen their control over the curriculum, and restore the unitary model of the architect. But why should they have wanted to do this? In fact, there had been open disagree- ment about the precise functions of the specia- list subjects within the department from long before the loss of the senior staff. Many of the architectural design teachers, themselves trained in the traditional architectural pattern, have
never accepted fully that somebody could be an architect without haying a high level of compe- tence at architectural design; while the specia- lists have been reluctant to get interested in the sort of design problems relating to architecture, and have stuck to a rather traditional approach
to their own subjects, which was hardly approp- riate in the context ofa school concerned with developing the role of technical specialisms as
a part of the design process. Why the partner- shipfailedtoworkispartlybecauseLLewelyn Davies chose the wrong people, people who were ultimatley more interested in training special- ists of their own mould than in developing new species of architect. The result within the depart- ment was that the specialists dug into entrenched positions, and co-operation between different specialists and architectural design failed to occur beyonda certain point in the undergradu- ate course. The specialists subjects have more and more been treated as ‘service teaching’ an atti- tude for which the specialists themselves are partly responsible through their reluctance to become involved in and initiate the teaching of design from a technological, sociological or psychological point of view. Many of these sub- jects are not regarded by architectural teachers as a valid part of architectural education, but merely a ‘safety-net’ for students who find they do not want to conform to the unitary architec- tural design pattern of architecture.
Dissension within the School over the propo- sal to change the name suggessthat the limited unitary view of architecture is far from unanim- ously accepted by the staff. In particular, there are many younger staff who joined the School more recently, and joined it precisely because
of its multi-disciplinary potential. On the whole they are either committed to the original polciy of admitting non-archtitectural design special- isms as a legitimate part of architectural educa- tion within the terms of RIBA Partl, or they would like to see the undergraduate course ex- panded into ageneral environmental degree.
In practice, the cuts on university expansion haye made the original aimof a diversity of disciplines impossible:two or three specialist lecturers in a subject like landscape design are not enough to mount a full-blown specialist course on its own, and can only act by provid- ing some specialist teaching within another disci- pline. The limitations on university expansion have prevented the appointment of more staff to overcome this problem.
The second alternative of general undergrad- uate degree makes better sense given.the econo- mic constraints: itisalso an alternative which Teceived asubstantial boost when the former Bartlett School and the University College Town Planning Department merged in 1970 to form
the SES. Although the planning staff did not want to teach a ful undergraduate course in planning (the M.Phil. is the only course in the SES leading to a degree in planning), some of them wanted to teach planning and related subjects within
the undergraduate course, with the effect that the scope of the course was widened consider- ably. This has been a continuing trend, with more undergraduate options taught by planning staff. Unfortunately senior architecture staff have refused to accept these courses as a valid part of architectural education. The insularity of the architectural position within the School, which will be further polarised by the proposed change of name to ‘Bartlett School of Architec- ture and Planning’, seems particularly mistaken in view of the fact that planning as a discipline
isbecoming increasingly inyolved with plan eva- luation and impact analysis; techniques which applied on a small scale would be of great bene- fit to architectural design.
Hope yet
Whatever happens, it is time to end the ‘safety- net’ approach to non-architectural specialisms.
Multi-Disciplinarianism
rears its head
Whatever it means, the multi-disciplinary
approach at the SES has been a major source of the School’s reputation, and has exercised a strong attraction on many applicants to the school. Multi-disciplinarism at the SES has been understood by many people in many different ways, and indeed part of the School’s internal difficulties must be put down to the ambiguties and contradictions contained in the idea. How- ever, out of the confusion one meaning—the one that guided the school in the early 1960s—stands out. The Bartlett School (as it then was), started to change after the appointment of Richard
LLewelyn Davies as Professor of Architecture in 1960. The central idea that was developed in the School—following the line of thought of the Oxford Conference —was that the role of the architect in society was changing, It was thought that the traditional working-drawings- type skills would no longer be a necessity for alarchitects (though clearly they would con- tinue to be so for some). It was argued that in- stead of al architects needing to have the same
‘Travelling Backwards’ was how Astragal : in the AJ recently described the changes in training at the School of Environmental Studies (SES) at University College Lon- don. (UCL). Astragal was commenting on the proposal to change the School’s name to the ‘Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning’, and on the effect that the loss in rapid succession of three professors and one senior lecturer, all from non-architectural special subjects, might haye on the School. Is it true, as Astragal suggested, that these changes mark the end of the multi-disci- plinaryapproach? Ifso,doesthatalso mean that the School’s experiments in ar- chitectural education are at an end? These are interesting questions, and they are of more than parochial significance as they raise issues about the state of architectural education in the rest of the country. Are the RIBA and the architectural profession
dissatisfied with the results of the RIBA Education Conference at Oxford in 1958? The conference proposals, which were
for a less narrowly vocational approach to architectural education, with more sociology and technology content to courses, received their first and most com- plete testing at UCL. It may be that the profession’s apparent disillusionment with
the way that architectural education has gone will be reflected in the changes at the School of Environmental Studies. If this is so, and if it is true that the profes- sor of Architecture, Professor Watson, is aiming to establish a form of education closer to the RIBA’s present views, it
may be that the SES will once again find itself in the van of architectural education, though this time travelling backwards.
page 8
6 eded
It is an attitude which is humilating to students who have decided not to concentrate on archi- tectural design, as it implies they are failures, or have ‘fallen-off’; and itisinsulting to the staff who teach the courses, because it gives them only a second class status within the School. Besides, it seems a bad use of the School\'s re- sources for its specialist staff to be teaching so- called ‘drop-outs’, particularly at a time when there are many students who are interested in awide range of subjects, and who do not take the narrow view of architectural design at pre- sent being advanced in the School. Ultimately, it is an attitude which will be damaging to the architectural profession, as itwill prevent the profession from developing competence in al
aspects of the building task. The profession’s panic reaction to unemployment among archi- tects has been to want to cut down entry into the profession, but a more realistic reaction would be to look for ways of making architects
more employable. One reason why unemploy- ment isso high isthat the present range of skills within the profession would mean that more architects would be able to do useful work in society, and it would actually be possible for MORE peopletobecomearchitectswithout over loading the profession.
The opportunity exists for the SES to deve- lop an integrated curriculum, of which architec- tural design would be an important part, but which would also concede equal importance to technology, the social sciences and economics as part of an architectural education. The RIBA Visiting Board inspected the School recently and it will be interesting to hear their comments; but let us hope that the School will not give way to demands for purely more architectural design and will square its shoulders to the
RIBA, and persist with the innovatory line it took in the 1960s when it set out to broaden architectural education.
NEWS FROM
CRISPIN AUBREY, A JOURNALIST WITH LONDON’S ‘TIME OUT WEEKLY who has written widely and sympathetically on squatting, property speculation, planning and redevelopment, is one oftwojournalistsrecently
arrested under the long-discredited Official Secrets Act. Any architectural worker involved
with a Government project
is doubtless familiar with this
Act.
The move has been widely
interpreted as part of the Government’s campaign to deport without trial,
under the equally discredited Immigration Act, the two American writers, CIA critic Philip Agee and ex-‘Time Out’ reporter
Mark Hosenball, with whose defense Aubrey and his co-defendant, ‘Time Out’ and ‘Undercurrents’ writer Duncan Campbell, have been associated.
spec connection
This is perhaps not a very auspicious timetolaunchaprogressive,‘alternative’ architectural newsletter — not only in view of the attack on “Time Out’ but also Jimmy Goldsmith’s attempt to smash “Private Eye’ and Clive Jenkins’ recent ‘success’ in suing ‘The Socialist Worker’
forasum,includingcosts,ofupto £10,000. Thesuitwasforlibelfollowing satirical article and cartoon of ASTMS
costa del clive
cheap Spanish holidays offer made back in February 1975 while Franco was stil alive and in power.
In the latter case, according to the Guardian, Mr Jenkins’ Lawyer explained that “The Socialist Worker was primarily read by shopfloor workers, men and women of variable intelligence, some of whom might not find iteasy to decide the meaning of workds’. After the trial, defendant and ex-editor of the
Socialist Worker Paul Foot said, “We don’t have any money. We are asmall socialist paper selling among working people. Satirists
NAM _GROUP CONTACTS :
ARCUK Group, NAM, 9, Poland St., London W1.
Liason Group:
The Secretary, NAM, 9) Poland St.,
London,W1
National Design Service: NDS,NAM,9,PolandSt.,
London, W1.
Projects Group:
Daviv Roebuck, 25, St. George’s
Ave,, London, WI
Unionisation Organising Committee,
NAM, 9, Poland St, London, WI Publications Group:
Editorial Committee, NAM, 9, Poland
St., London, W1
Cardiff Group:
Anne Delaney, 196, Albany Rd.,
Roath, Cardiff Edinburgh:
David Somervall, 22, Penmuir Place, Edinburgh 3
Hull:
Tan Tod, Hull School of Architecture,
be agood idea for members of the NAM EDUCATION GROUP to liase with one another, and contacts for each of these places are listed below.
Although Membership and Newsletter SUBSCRIPTIONS are coming in steadily, itwould be greatly appreciatedif those who have not returned their forms would do so as soon as possible. Forms are available from The Secretary, NAM, 9, Poland Street, London W.1.
ED AND THE PROF
*.ifwewishoureducation tobemore closely related to the need of students and individual people for whom they intend to design, any changes must take into consideration the influence of the educational and professional institutions. They must losentheholdofthetraditionalteaching establishments, so that skills amy be learntfromanyoneandevryonewhohas
the ability to teach and demonstrate them, and they must loosen the power of the the profession so that the relationship between users and designers is nolonger clouded in the myth of professional expertise and competence.” (
education Group, November 1976 ) The Education Group has been meeting regularly since last Autumn. At the Blackpool National Congress we presented a short paper on the situation in architectural education which ended witha serues of propo- sals for action. The proposals were necessarily in an imperfect form — some were dubious, some impractical and some downright scurillous. We want to clarify our direction and strategy and for that reason we shall
PUTTING THE NAMIN NOTTINGHAM
A new NAM group isnow meeting regularly in the University of Nottingham. In opposition to the policies of the establishment within the school of architecture there, the NAM Group want to break free from from the narrow, sheltered confines of campus life. A public meeting is tobeorganised off-campus inthe city to mobilise a nucleus of interested people in Nottingham
and to raise pertinent issues. In cooperation with Shelter, the
Group is carrying out measuring work foraNottinghamtenants’cooperative. Therearealsoplansforthesettingupof an advice, design and building team attached to a community group. A small group of Year-out students, and two or
three unemployed building workers or school leavers and, possibly aqualified architect to provide continuity, would cooperate in the project which could be extended to include rehabilitation schems schemes for student housing and the provision of workshop space in the Old Lace Market. Funding would come from the Job Creation Programme.
The Group is also planning a ‘counter course’, aimed at their fellow students and placing architecture in a wider social and political contaxt than the official University lectures.
Kingston-u-Hull Regional College environmentalissuesforthelastfive andcartoonistseverywherewill ofArt,BrunswickAve.,Hull
Aubrey has been covering
anopenmectingorganisedbythenewly bejoiningintheNAMOPENSEMINAR NAMgroupswantingtocontzibuteinformationon
years and has written features on Tolmers Square, Docklands, and the Hyams/Seifert property speculation/ architecture connection. He has also written a couple of stories for the old “RIBA Journal’ (tenant control of housing).
defence committee A committee has been set up, to
defendAubrey,Campbellandco- defendant John Berry, an ex-serviceman who has been refused bail. Contributions should be sent to ABC Defence Ctte., c/o Time Out, 374 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1. Itisnot known whether the RIBA Journal will be supporting
the Defence Committee.
satirists beware ! have to draw in their horns as a result of this case.’ Good luck, Hellman.
No doubt architectural workers considering whether ASTMS might be the best vehicle for an organising
drive in the private sector will be impressed by the union‘s legal back-up. Some, however, may be hoping that afterwarmingupontheleftpress,
ASTMS may turn now to some of
the right-wing giants of Fleet Street, perhaps a better match and more fitting target ofr the 380,000 strong white-collar union.
Leeds:
Pete Forbes, Parkview, Weeton Lane,
Hoby, Leeds 17
London Group:
Douglas Smith, 17, Delancey St.,
London, NW1
Nottingham Group:
Dave Green, 44a, Bramcote Rd.,
Beeston, Nottingham EducationGroup:
Edinburgh: David Somervell
Hull: Jane Bryant, Hull School of Architecture.
Leeds: Pete Forbes
Nottingham: Dave Gree
London: Andrew Fekete, Flat 5, Bentley Court, 72/74, Kensington Gardens Square, London, W2
formed NOTTINGHAM NAM GROUP on 2nd March. Over 30 people were present and afterwards an introductory talk outlining the work of NAM
present and after an introductory talk outlining the work of NAM, a general discussion was held and a further meeting arranged at which specific working groups are 10 be set up. Other new NAM groups are hopefully emerging in Manchester, Hull,LeedsandEdinburgh.
The Green Ban Action Group is spreading its wings by taking on new live projects and as a result now callsitself the PROJECTS GROUP.
Since there are NAM members in education in Nottingham, Leeds and Hull as well as London and Edinburgh it may
to be held in London soon. Ther are heavy goins-on in architectural education and we must arm ourselves appropriately before we do battle with the major institutions. Will you bring your ideas and experience to the London Seminar?
Until April 23rd free copies of the paper *Education and the Profession *are avialable by sending astamped addressed envelopeto:NAMEduactionGroup,
9, Poland St., London, WI
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
theiractivitiesshould fettheircopy toSLATE by 22nd April 1977 for inclusion in the next issuc.
NAM\'s 2ND LONDON SEMINAR
is being held on Saturday April 23rd between 10am and 6pm at the Polytechnic of Central London, Marylebone Road, Wl. (Baker St. tube)
Topics to be discussed: Unionisation, ARCUK and Education. There will be
buffet lunch and a party 3 with bar afterwards at a
NAM
Jonata dnuerabicanchtecdoe~
LIAISON
The present NAM LIAISON GROUP was elected at the second congress held in Blackpool last November.
In addition to the normal liaison duties of coordinating activities
and answering correspondence, its six members were asked by congress to collect subscriptions, establish a newsletter, stimulate local seminars and organise a 3rd annual congress.
So far Newsletter and membership subscriptions have been fixed, a separate PUBLICATIONS GROUP hasbeen co-opted to produce SLATE and alocal seminar to be held by the London Group is provisionally set for Saturday 23rd
April at the Polytechnic of Central London.
constitutionforNAM?
Earlydiscussionsonthe3rdANNUAL CONGRESS have already taken place and any suggestions for a venue, date and agenda are welcome. One item already Suggested is the presentation and sanc- tioning of a NAM constitution. A new group is urgently needed to study the issue of whether or not it is practicable or desirable to continue as a movement without a constitution, in preparation
for the next congress.
Another new group is needed to
produce next year’s CALENDER, and it would be a great advantage financially
if at least one of its members had-free access to printing facilities. Last year’s calender cost £150 to produce 350 copies and priced at 50p/copy it has made aloss!
Two Liaison Group members attended
NAM\'s Second National Conference, Blackpool, November, 1976.
NAM\'s new postal address
is 9 POLAND ST. LONDON W1 around 8.30pm.
ENVIRONMENT JOURNALIST HELD
page 10
LAMBETH STOWIPS ON!
social workers, and numerous front page articles in the press and finally a High Court injunction halting the demo- lition, havr forced the Council into
a serious evaluation of their options.
singularly homeless
For London’s single homeless policy has certainly been limping behind: hardly any provision has been made by the Borough for this expanding group in society. The Housing Committee was forced by the Finance Committee in May 1976 to transform the ‘cuts * into a repressive policy towards the homeless in general, and a blanket rejection to the single homeless in particular. The latest claim by the Housing Committee to have reduced the the homeless problem isentirely er- roneous: having redefined ‘homelessness’ and turning away agreater proportion of persons from the Homeless Families Unit than before, the Committe is claiming that the problem isreceding, whereas what isreally happening isthat a larger proportion of the problem has been shelved.
In the background the professionals -architects and planners -have kept a low profile, with a few exceptions:
Colin Taylor and Tom Wooley of
‘Earth Resources Research Limited’ -
an arm of ‘Friends of the Earth’ have produced a comprehensive report © evaluating the rehabilitation option from a resource debit/credit angle. The Council do not have a democratic consensus to their decision-making at this time: the split among the ruling labour group is a sympton of this absence. Architects and Planners have ademocratic base only in as far as their Local Authority employees secure assent from the constituency. The council isalienated from itsborough; professionals share this alienation and the rumbles of the ‘inner city’ are further muffled by the hegemony of the professionals and the language they use.
House of Hollamby Edward Hollamby, head of
Development Services, isapowerful individual on council committees. Although Architecture and Planning have their respective heads he has cultivated atrancendant influence over the presentation of projects to the council. He hasa large budget and even larger ideas; he has been actively
in favour of the policy of deliberately letting areas of council housing decay in order to support arguments for comprehensive redevelopment. This is
a typical example of the power that technocrats hold over lay decision makers.
Negotiations with the Villa Road squatters over rehousing have broken down and the council is hoping that, by evicting, they will be able to offload the problem onto other London boroughs. By supporting the Criminal Tresspass Legislation, currently in the Lords, they hope to provide a bite to match the barks that are ringing out over Lambeth these days.
Wwe THOUGHT LAaBOURS TO: . ‘WAS SMASHING
rather than adhering to development plans, particuarly whether the councils in urban areas like Lambeth should make more use of their empty houses as short life rehabilitation projects? Secondly, do local authorities answer the housing need for thessingle homeless -a group that, in the private sector, has been victim to inflated property values and the
perverse legacyofthe rent act.
waiting listcon-trick
More than 17,600 people are on the council’s waiting list 6 3 new tenancies are created each year. At this rate some people will be on the list for years. There have been cuts in the budget of every department and these have been
accepted totally passively. There will be a small increase in central government subsidies this year but it will inno way cope with the magnitude of the local housing crisis.
In St Agnes Place a scheme has been presented to the council by Lambeth Self-Help Building Cooperative for the rehabilitation, on a 5-year life basis, of 22 of the houses using money from the central government funded Housing Corporation and Manpower Services Commission’s Job Creation Scheme. It was turned down on the last occasion largely because a reversal of policy was seen as a loss of face.
There has not, until recently, been
a serious enquiry into the options open to the Council at St. Agnes. The arguments have been raging during planning and housing committee meetings, quite often in an unin-
formed and emotive atmosphere. Now petitions from many local groups in- cluding one signed by a 100 of Lambeth’s
Dave McKay
THE BARRICADES ARE GOING UP ONCE AGAIN IN VILLA ROAD ROAD-timber posts and
corrugated iron -a familiar scene
in Lambeth and many other parts of London these days with so much land in limbo. But this time they are being erected by squatters in anticipation of an eviction attempt by bailiffs and the police. Meanwhile, a half a mile away in
St Agnes Place, this Georgian terraced street displays the
battle scars of the recent
partial demolition by the council of ten roofs on one side of the street.
As social conditions change in London planning schemes and housing policy seems to limp behind averting their gaze from the real problems; in Villa Road the land isrequired for badly-needed open space: a ‘green finger’ in the planners’ jargon, to run alongside the A23 insulating the new council housing development from the arterial road joining the commuter suburbs of Streatham, Norwood and Croydon to thecentreofLondon. InStAgnes
Place the land is required to join two
small parks into one large space, when the G.L.C. has declared itself in favour of small evenly dispersed open spaces. But although the planning issues are there to be questioned and evaluated, especially in the bizarre case of St Agnes, mw they are dwarfed by larger considerations
TM Firstly, should the choice of planning
© strategies and priorities in an economic, a recession be flexible enough to cope with . the practical problems ‘on the ground’
ONE UNION
conference organisers :Unionisation Organising Committee of the New Architecture Movement,9, Poland St., London, Wi. further information and application forms ( to be returmed by
lth May 1977 ) from the Committee
PLEASE DISPLAY THIS HANDBILL
ERY
KEPog i
;
SoS - RO
=
ae:
IDOCH) |== fs
GIN Doby WANT A ONION FOR ?!
=N=| sol
Ri A 7.é—
}N- \\YN x
ye: Creag : ;
a \\ <=
()
Vv $
Ces
t ‘
= ———__
}
;
i pron Ritts
LE
|
—, AFOO=
he.byioe
A SPECIAL ONE DAY CONFERENCE ON TRADE UNION ORGANISATION FOR EMPLOYEES IN ARCHI TECTURE AND ALLIED BUILDING PROFESSIONS
WHO WANT TO SE EFFECTIVE UNIONISM LONDON 14th MAY 1977 10tod
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Murray & John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'March 1977';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 2';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' ISSUE NO2
NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT
UNIONISE THE DRIVE ISON NOW
NEW JOBS
JOIN TASS! That was the message which emerged from behind closed doors in London on May 14th when a New Architecture Moyement- sponsored conference of building
design employmees decided to launch a long-awaited Trade Union Organising drive in the unorganised private sector. TASS, the 160,000 member, autonomous Technical Administrative and Supervisory Section of the AUEW, Britain’s
second largest union, was selected in a secret ballot, clearly ahead of ASTMS. STAMP and TGWU.
Launching the Branch
Rapidly following up a resolution ‘urging al people employed in private sector offices where no union is recognised to organise within TASS?
a ten person committee set up by the Conference met on Monday evening,
May 16th with Harry Smith, TASS National Organiser, to begin planning the campaign.
On Thursday, May 19th, the TASS | Executive Council approved the
establishment of a new Building Design
Staffs branch in London for employees
special branche jiimilar to.the London one will be set up. M ile, aNational Advisory Committee ank-and-f
TASS members employed in the
CONTRACTS of employment for architectural workers are being re-written unilaterally by principles in several private practices. New contracts, tantamount, in many cases, to a “new jub’, invariably mean worse conditions for
employees.
One large London firm has abolished paid overtime and now insists that its
mployees seek permission before
aking On “private job itside the
office enter architectural competitions
Another practice, with three offices nationally, has halved the rate of pay
for overtime work, cancelled the workers’ entitlement to private health insurance, and reducec ithe period of full pay during sickness to thirteen weeks
Similar events are reported from the RIBA itself where Portland Place staff are faced with a wide ranging and secret management ‘review’ of staff responsib- -ilities and salaries, aptly named “GRASP”
What can be done? According to one trades union official such unils ral ammendements ofcontractsofemploy- -ment are illegal under the Contracts of Employment Act of 1972 and more recent legislation. Correct procedure, he maintained, in cases like these, is for employees to be laid of, with full redundancy pay, and then offered re- employment on a new contract and at a new salary negotiated accordingly. At
the RIBA, members of staff who are ASTMS imembers (see SLATE no. 1)are opposed to regrading under GRASP plan
and accuse the RIBA management of ‘minimal formal consultation’ with the staff. The well organised ASTMS group hope for success in their recruitment campaign so that union recognition can
continued on page 3
in architecture, quantity surveying, structural and building services engineering, town planning, etc. An open meeting to launch the branch will be held on
Tuesday evening, May 31st at 6.30 p.m.
at the New Ambassadors Hotel, Upper Woburn Place, Euston, WCl.
Employees outside London can join the general TASS branch in their locality and as TASS strength in the building professions grows in other urban centres,
THE COMMUNITY CLIENT -4 revolutionary professicnalism or just more work for private architects
BUILDING COOPS- taking control
|
“RADICAL ARCHITECTS’ - at work in the Colne Valley
We
‘professions will co-ordinate the
drive nationally and articulate the particular concerns of their ‘constituency
continued on page 3
LW ARCHI E\\(TURE
of the building process
A ‘COMMUNITY DESIGN SERVICE’ - its rise and fall in Cardiff.
6
7
ganising
FOR OLD
&., & vit, 1, Kinds of grey, © bluish: purple rock easily eplit smooth plates; plece of such plate used as roofing-material; piece of It ‘usu. framed {n wood used for writing on with ~-pencil or small rod of soft ~ (clean rid oneself of or renounce oblign= tions);~-black, -blue, -grey, modifications ofthes©tints:such‘asoccurin~; |l~-cltb, snutualbenefitsocietywithsmallweekly
contributions; i
RECOGNITION for their Union has has recently been gained by workers in an international civil
and environmental engineering consultancy.
It came after they had achieved 90% membership of the Technical, Admini- -strativeandSupervisory(TASS)section of the AUEW in their department of
W S Atkins and Partners’ Middlesborough office. They are now in the process of negotiating aprocedural agreement with the management.
into
!
to, propose for office etc. Henco NGI) n. {app f. pree.]
idc7e Se
“oeEthe SLATER Surveys, surveys... first the RIBA
earnings survey, coming soon their ‘Structure of the Profession Survey’, and, just launched our own AJ’s survey There’s a crisis on, we’re told, so something must be done about it. Itmustbesurveyedjustlikeasite. After alwe must know the ground
More open ended discussion in the afternoon session centred around priorities for union action. While the increasing threat of redundancies was clearly the primary concern of many present, the continuing decline of real income among architectural employees and the increasingly unfavourable relation of private sector salaries and conditions to those in the public sector were also singled out.
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OFTHENEW ARCHITECTURE
Success came in the sixth month
fight for recognition after the Union had
invoked section 1 of the recent
Employment Protection Act under which
theUnionmayapplytotheAdvisory
Conciliation and ArbitrationService
fora dation that er prepared for Conf partici by of understaffing, excessive overtime (often should be granted. A spokesman at TASS
head office said that he regretted that the
Union had to resort to ACAS p d
‘We would rather use the more traditional
industrial muscle to force recognition’,
he said.
rises then the choice is open for SLATE awiderangeofissuesandtobringthe tobecomelargerorforthesubscription
This second agreement reached by TASS in aprivate engineering practice
While so far the NAM initiative for a unionisation drive has come mainly from salaried architects, TASS, with its strong
Moyement’s views and activities to the attention of the widest readership.
.help build SLATE’s readership .helptobuildNAM .subscribeto SLATE . show it to your friends
. become a local rep to distribute SLATE in your office, school or
town . ask for SLATE in your local bookshop .get your school or office to subscribe.
to fall, but for the moment it must not get into debt.
ADVERTISING
At an early meeting the committee
decide not to take commercial adver-- tisements in SLATE. Advertisements from alternative groups and personal small ads are, however, welcome. A small charge would be made but the committee reserves the right to turn down any advertisement
closer. While TASS only claim less than 10% membership throughout W S Atkins 6 U.K. branches employing about 2,000 staff, the achievements of workers in one small department will hopefully demonstrate the potential and benefits of organisation to their colleagues inside, and and outside buat. se TASS.
amongst clerical as well asprofessional workers, is in an ideal position to help achieve the kind of multi-<disciplinary, ‘vertical unionisation’ which the (Unionisation) Organising Committee\'s report, ‘Working For What?’ (65p post paid from NAM, 9 Poland St., London W1) considered essential to successful organising in the building professions, which are characterised by small offices, often arbitrary status divisions, and overlapping occupational boundaries.
Choosing TASS ThoughtheMay14thConference
participants were overwealmingly ‘professionals’, several technicians and secretariesalsoparticipated.Architectural employees were in a clear majority, but quantity surveyors, engineers, and town-
i were also present. InchoosingTASS,theConference
rejected the Organising Committee\'s recommendation in favour of the TGWU, a minority report for ASTMS, and vociferous support for the STAMP section ofUCATT, which theCommittee had consideredunfeasiblealongwiththe
EPEA (EngineersandManagers Association, formerly the EPEA, Electrical Electrical Power Engineers) and the formation of an entirely new union. But there was little opposition to the Committee\'s view that organising should includewithinoneunionalbuildi
design staffs: professional, technical and clerical workers from al the disciplines.
of agency staff and the ‘architectural lump’ on both salaries and quality of work was also stronly criticised.
Discussion of organising strategy stressed stressed the need to achieve union recognition in particular firms and
institute collective bargaining to demonstrate what organisation can
achieve. It was felt that concentrating on recruiting only scattered individual members, without recognition in offices, could soon result in the same decline which doomed ‘craft union’ attempts like the ABT and the AOA.
Beyond bread and butter There can be litle doubt about TASS\'s
abilitytoprovideeffectivesupportto architectural and allied workers trying to organise. But in looking beyond the immediate ‘bread-and-butter issues to broaderquestionsofworkers’control, community accountability, job satisfaction, and conversion to socially useful production, building design staffs
settingupa‘unionwithintheunion’ shouldmakesuretodevelopastrong ‘shop-floor’organisationabletoholdits own against the well-oiled TASS machine for which they have quite understandably opted. Itisthrough rank-and-file organisation, oftne against opposition from highly-centralised union
ies,thatsuchpi ingtrade union initiatives as the Lucas Aerospace
Shop Stewards proposals for fighting
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more writers and more ideas. This issue was put together by acommittee of seven. A larger committee would meana better newsletter; so would more writers, illustrators, cartoonists and photographers, and simply more suggestions for stories and features. Ifyou would like to work for SLATE, join the committee or suggest topics it should cover, then please write in soon. Thecopydeadlineforthenextissueis Friday 24th June 1977
OUR HIGH COVER
PRICE 40p is a lot to pay for a newsletter this
big. The funding of SLATE is connected to the funding of NAM as awhole, and last year the Movement ran up substantial debts.Thisyear’sliaisongroupdetermined that that situation should not arise ©
ORGANISATION
continued from page J
The Long Hard Haul Over sixty people attended the May
14th Conference, called by NAM’s (Unionisation) Organising Committee. The Conference organisers considered the turn-out to be ‘the tip of the iceberg’, but have few illusions about the long, hard task of organising which has hardly begun.
In a turbulent morning session, the Conference heard arguments in favour of joining unions representing building workers but opted for TASS on the strength of its record of successful organising amongst engineering
design staffs, its steady progress in the difficult field of organising in professional engineering consultancies, and the excellent back-up provided by its officials and its widely-respected research, publications and legal departments. TASS wasoneofsixoptionsoutlinedina comprehensive, confidential Briefing
individual capacities, the 145 member Staff Association of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners Edinburgh office, Scotland\'s largest firm, sent a deligate who reported that since its inception a year ago to fight redundancies, the RMJMSA has been increasingly interested in unionisation. TASS already represents several technicians in the office.
eens Priorities
MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly again and fixed the subscription rate on which we stand just aswell as
Despitetheprofession\'sdeclining work load, several architects complained
by the Movement’s Liaison Group and edited on its behalf by an adhoc committee set up in January 1Otiee
News and features of broad interest
to workers in the profession, and the building industry and to the wider
public are included to stimulate debate on
accordingly, both to the Movement and the newsletter, in the knowledge that insolvency would never help the Movement to grow, and in the conviction that NAM’s strength will lie among people who are prepared to support its activities to the full. The annual subscription to SLATE, for five issues, is £2 00.If circulation
the ground on which we build.
But ifthe RIBA and the AJ don’t know quite how shakey the ground is, redundant building workers and underpaid architectural workers do. They want action not surveys. Surveys are a ready substitute for DOING, and they do have the potential to show the lie of the land alittledifferentlyfromreality. Could it be that the RIBA and the AJ don’t really want to DO anything anything about the crisis at all? scrap
From the world of architecture as fine art, news that the struggle continues. International projects require international Architecture
so the United Nations commissioned Giancarlo de Carlo and Jim St rling
to cooperate in the design of their new UNESCO headquarters in Nigeria. Afficiandos of the two Masters will realise that their styles
the (Unionisation) Organising Committee,
without pay), and resultant decline in
the quality of service provided for clients and users. A number of speakers suggested suggested the importance of pressing demands for ‘open books’, as it was felt that in many firms, despite the partners ‘crocodile tears’, the financial resources were there to support adequate staffing levels and that productivity was rising
COPYRIGHT
...ANDTHEFUTURE Anyarticleorpartofanarticleorpart areasincompatible,wehear,as
For SLATE to grow asalively reflection oftheviewsofradicalArchitectural Workers and others concerned with the processes which shape our environment, accountability of editorial decisions to themembers oftheMovement isessential. This year four further issues are planned. Each one will be proceeded by an open meeting with the Editorial Committee. Come and express your views and criticismsatthesemeetingsorthrough theletterscolumnofSLATE. Next
yearitissuggestedthattheadhoc committee should be disbanded to be replaced by an editorial committee elected by and directly responsible to the annual congress of the Movement.
ThenextSLATEopenmeetingisin London on 13th June 1977 at the *Roebuck’ -108A Tottenham Court Road London W1
SLATE2 nave2
of an article in SLATE may be freely but accurately reproduced, providing thatSLATEiscreditedastheorigin of any material used.
LASTLY...
A subscription form for SLATE and a membership form for NAM are included on the last page. Please indicate also if you would like to distribute SLATE in youroffice,schoolortown.SLATE is freetoalmembersofNAM
their personalities. So the project
was split into two parts, the mojor andtheminor.Nowtheyare scrapping over who should design which part, each supported by his small army of trusty retainers. Itsalpolitics,butwhowasitwho
said that the conditions in Architecture Architecture are feudal?
salvage
Yes, we\'re jumping on the bandwagon. Salvagecanbe progress.Hereareafewitems whichweconsiderworth
adding to the AJ’s list: the jobs of tens of th ds of design and construction workers throughout
a
ition on
SLATEispublishedbytheLIAISONGROUP theindustry;thestandardsof oftheNEWARCHITECTUREMOVEMENT, provision,constructionand
continued from page J
be achieved before GRASP is implemented unilaterally. They will then be able to resist the unacceptable aspects of GRASP froma position of strength.
Questionedonthegeneralissueofthe re-writingofcontractsinprivateoffices amemberofthe14thMayUnionisation Committee (formerly NAM’s Unionisation Organising Committee) said, ‘legislation like the Contract of Employment Act is al very well, bu tthe individual is in a badpositiontoopposetheemployer whenredundancyisjustaroundthe corner, even when the law seems to be on his side. To police any Acts like these you need to be organised with your fellow workers.Thisistherolethattrades unions can play- they have both the expertiseandthemuscle.”
9, Poland St., London. W1.
Typesetting by Julia Wilson-Jones
Printed by WOMEN IN PRINT, 16a, Iliffe Yard,London,SE17.
design of houses and facilities for working people. The right of icommunities to retain their integrity
[rs inthefaceofdevelopment private and public, and, oh yes, a few ices andfinnialstoo.
redundancies by converting to socially participantscamefromoutsidetheLondon usefulproductionhavebeenmade.
SPREADS
which based itsfindings on nine ears of sh, which included expl
talks with a half dozen TUC affiliated — unions.
base among drawing office staffsin
inthe BuildingP: i g ing andits growing h fasterthansalaries.Thedepressingeffect
brings the reality of Trades Union
Over a quarter of the Conference London area. While nearly al came in
SLATE2page3
Feature
in Slate :
Todaythereisextensiveliteratureonthe word community, much of itwarning of the dangers of careless use of the word. Having ignored 99% of this careful thought and experience, architects are now bandying about the word
community through the notion of ‘community architecture’. This new term needs to be critically examined before we too slide into its use, adding to the confusion. Tom Woolley examines different community architecture phenomena, developing an analysis
which warns that merely adding the word community to existing forms of practice should not be enough to ensure our support.
° . community action
Community action was recognised during the 60s as a largely localist moyement involving working class people with support from many intellectuals who were disillusioned with the institutional left. There had, of course, been much significant social protest throughout the 20th century, outside the sphere of production (the 1915 Glasgow rent strike, squatting after the war and the St. Pancras rent strike in 1960 being famous examples). But in the \"60s we can see the growth of organisations concerned with awider range of issues in the sphere of reproduction . from playgroups to food co-ops, motorway resistance, the women’s movement and countless
Many groups were concerned with architectural and
buildi BP blems but the invol of architects was marginal. Notable except- -ions included the work of architecture students inMASHA (Manchester and
Sal ford Housing Action) and in Covent Garden. Itis important to note, however that while some lawyers, public health inspectors and other professionals established counter organisations to support this movement, architects did nothing and as a result have very little credibility among working class groups.
Equally important during this period was the rapid extension of complex state measures to cope with social discontent and other social problems. Many government agencies were set up or extended to deal with race relations, housing advice and community work.
The so called voluntary
movement in housing was tightened up through the Housing Corporation and now retains merely a veneer of
voluntary independence. Investment by the state in this network is a feature of its role in maintaining capitalism through the reproduction of a healthy labour force force and its careful regulation and control. The recent CDP pamphlet ‘Community Work or Class Politics’ is one of many documents which explains how the role of community work isone of social control . ‘the integration of the poor and discontented into existing patternsofsociety.’Thisanalysisofthe
state needs greater elaboration than is possible here but is amplified by John
Be ington .....‘the economic crisis which now confronts al advanced capitalist economies and the U.K. in particular
has resulted in a major shift in the state’s role in the pattern of public expenditure. As multi national capital withdraws from British manufacturing industry in search of more profitable areas of investment, the state is increasinly moving in to cushion and mask the most blatent consequencies (mass redundancies, soaring
unemployment, sudden decline of whole communities’)etc.
Community action has developed either in protest at the nature of the State’s measures or in attempts to win resources for a particular locational or interest group. That such action often fails to politicise those involved is evidence evidence of the success of the aptly named named ‘soft cops’, community workers and the like,who act as intermediaries in the process.
civil servants of the
streets
It is in this role that we find the first
‘community architects’. Urban problem solvers who become more sensitive to the needsofordinarypeople,abletopresent a more acceptable face at public meetings and able to abandon the old bulldozer/ high flat mentality of most public architects of the time. One of the earliest examples of architect involvement in a social control experiment is the Shelter Neighbourhood Action Project in 1970 mirrored in a less heavy handed way by the ASSIST project in Glasgow. Both
set up neighbourhood offices advocating rehabilitation to hostile local authorities and suspicious local people bu twith encouragement from central government. An analysis or SNAP is particularly useful as its literature presented a classic pluralist anlysis of inner city problems including the revealing notion of professionals as ‘civil servants of the streets’ that led to Hilary Rose’s description of the SNAP report as a ‘Blueprint for bureaucrats’. Other limited experiments were to follow
with much talk of ‘participation’ such as Byker and Swinbrook but were largely concemed with more effective manage- -ment of problems like rehousing. They were progressive in that they brought architects into contact with ordinary people for the first time, but with the aim ofimplementing mare smoothly, schemes which had been determined and were controlled by the authorities, not the people affected.
Itwould be possible to trace the development of ‘community architecture’ in the early’70s, but it is in 1977 that the termhasachievedcommon usage particularly with the RIBA which has jumped on the community architecture bandwaggon by setting up aworking party to gather information on what is going on. To this end it called ameeting in Birmingham on February 17th attended attended by about 30 architects and academics, to discuss the subject. The main pre-occupation seemed to be with rehabilitating the public image of the architect through the increased involve- -ment of private practices in community (i.e. public sector) work.
At one level, thereforetheprivatepracticionersatthe
meeting were concemed with ways of winning more work from the public Sector, perhaps through supporting community action groups in struggles with councils and,if successful,picking up the commission as a result. A number of ar-hitects there claimed that they were subsidiring their community work, such as fighting a public enquiry over clearance for a residents group, from other more profitable work. They only collect fees if the residents win and the State pays
Black road to Hackney Changesinthecodeofprofessional
conduct are critical issues for private architects attempting to find more work. No-one knows this better than Rod Hackney, Britain’s best known ‘commun- -ity architect’, who from being reported by his local RIBA chapter has risen to become a leading light in the RIBA, chairing its Birmingham meeting, a candidate for the RIBA council and winner of a gold medal, proudly mounted on his office wall. He gives hope to aspiring young architects, who stil think they can make their fortune through private practive. From nothing, Hackney has built up a successful practive in 4 years years with 5 offices largely on the reputation of the famous Black Road
THECOMMUNITY housingactiongroups.
their costs. Despite suchphilanthropic
motives their main concern is with getting
the architects’ code of conduct relaxed
so that touting for work and speculative
work (i.e. not charging in the hope of
gettingfeeslater)willbegiventheofficial scheme inMacclesfieldCheshire.The stamp of approval. The problem for the
CLIENT
Rls. is how to make contact with more cliznts of this kind. One answer has been to establish schemes with Citizen’s advice bureaux.
corner shop RIBA
In small towns and rural areas the
C.A.B. is usually the only place to go to for help with a wide variety of problems and they normally maintain lists of professional people prepared to give (very) limited advice free of charge. Local chapters of the RIBA are now Organising rotas of architects to be available to C.A.B.s to give advice, Not only will they pick up work from people normally intimidated from approaching
architects, but the RIBA will have points of contact with the extensive world of social services and voluntary organisatiosn. Organisations. RIBA spokesmen deny so frequently that this isajob getting exercise that their motives become fairly obyious. By and large the C.A.B.s are concerned with individual case work and do not make any efforts to encourage community case work or political work to tackle the causes of the problems which they are trying to solve.
. one skillpool goes fishing
As work is harder to find, many architects are establishing similar schemes to make contact with new clients or share work around. One such group calling itself Skillpool has been formed by architects, many of them women in London. Despite their talkof ‘serving the community’, they are primarily concerned concerned with finding work for their members and establishing aconstitutuion approved of by the professional establish- -ment, yet allowing them to advertise for
work. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with trying to find useful employment, but the occasional use of the word ‘community’ is not enough evidence ofa commitment to benefit the mass of the people.
myths surrounding Black Road need more thorough treatment than is possible here, but Hackney took advantage of a backward Tory Council to implement a General Improvement Area in away that isundoubtedly impressive. Costs were low, old age pensioner tenants became owner occupiers, self help techniques were used, standards relaxed and Hackney the architect worked on a day to day basis with the local residents association. It isn’t surprising that the scheme has attracted massive interest from both self help pundits and local authority officials and brought Hackney speaking ivitations
by the dozen. His ability to beat the council and manipulate the complications ofimprovement grants and other finance
won him further housing work in Birmingham (Saltley) and in Cumbria as well as other non housing work. But it is important to remember that however competent Hackney is,he isdoing little more than implement existing housing provisions, stimulating a few procedural changes perhaps. The successful community architect of this type makes others dependent on his control of the information and is not accountable to local residents. Hackney’s employees in
his offices up and down the country are answerable to him, not the local community where they are working.
They may be more acceptable to the
local people but in Hackney’s second major scheme, in Saltley, his main client isalarge housing association, COPEC which which is not controlled by the residents. The radicals in the local residents group were isolated and the people split into factional interests. A promising building co-op scheme failed, but Hackney isstil there. Hackney dominated the RIBA Birmingham meeting using it as a platform for his views that the RIBA conditions of engagement are ‘not relevant to
Community Service’ and that architects should have more freedom in interpret- -ing the building regulations.
This paper argues that “
architecture’ is a catch-all title applied
a wide range of activities many of which weshouldatleastcriticiseifnotrejectin our search for socially responsible architectural practice. These activities are largely in the public sector and fal into three main categories.
1. An attempt by more progressive
sections of private practive to win work from the public sector.
The growth of new kinds of technical experts who work at the interface between public authorities, housing associations etc, and the public.
Both of these have led to the encouragement of non-political involve- -ment of architects and architecture students in so-called community action in the search for work or experience. 3. The activities of misguided radicals
who enjoy the bright lights and publicity of ‘community’ struggles against bureaucracy but who fail to locate their work in a broader strategy for political change subscribing, instead toa pluralist analysis of society.
All three forms of activity can be caracterised as reformist and are motivated motivated bya liberal social concern and the architects desire to do something practical disregarding theory or analysis. They become part ofa process which channels protest and discontent into activitieswhichmaybenefitafewinthe short term but do not contribute to longer term structural changes which benefit the many. There are alternatives to this. Iam not arguing that we should confine ourselves to purely theoretical
or analytical work or reject the role of the architect. Instead we should endevour to establish new ways of working that become part of a political movement. Members of ‘Support’ which is briefly referred to below, are attempt- -ing to do this.
to
forced to manipulate Caught between the pressure of
residents on the one hand and ahierarchy of decision making on the other, the local authority community architect will be forced to manipulate people into accepting what has already been decided by those higher up, distributing limited resources. The system will exploit the social conscience of the young radical professional letting him win the confidence of local people.
While the exponents of community architecture scramble for the limited rehabilitation jobs that are available there are innumberable struggles through- out the country about housing and building where groups cannot find an architect or ot her technical experts to help them. Whilst Iwas typing this article I had two phone calls, one from a tenants association in Manchester
wanting to get in touch with anyone with information on a dreaaful concrete system that creates dampness and appall- -ing living conditions. Another from a group in South East London asking for advice where the GLC wants to dump responsibility for managing their estate, on the tenants. There is litle likelihood
of getting fees for such work nor is there much likelihood of the glamour of television and media coverage. To help such groups needsa political commitment which is not shared by those people hitching themselves to the community action bandwagon. Indeed the people in the best position to help such groups are
architects and others within local govern- -ment departments. They know about the corruption and sloppy building that goes into public housing, they have access to documents and drawings which are
kept secret from people who have to live in these disasters.
SLATE2 page5
COMMUNITY
ARCHITECTURE
Several members of the ASSIST staff also attended the Birmingham meeting. Much of their work issimilar toHackney but they have avoided becoming aprivate Practice in the conventional sense. Their members are much more self critical and awareofthe dilemma oftheirsituation. They too are working in an area where a backward local authority was, and stil is, unable to implement rehabilitation effectively. ASSIST isdoing thejob for them and inevitably taking pressure of
the local authority. There seems little doubt that many more enlightened
local authorities would like to adopt their shop front office style ifthey
could persuade their staff to work in them, but in ASSIST the staff can at leastclaimtobeindependentofthe local authority. The front line official cannot and can easily find himself in an imposs- -ible situation
N
Whether through leaks ororganisedsolidaritywiththetenants’
movement, local authority employees have a moral duty to help people they see having a rough deal. There may be risks involved but many may be made redundant tomorrow anyway.
A further vital job for architects is to
build up research and information about
ion about respective roles whether members are being paid or not.
Thirdly, to develope straightforward practical competence that is of use to others combined with agitation for political change, one cannot be an excuse for the absence of the other.
There is much that needs to be done involving practical intervention in community action and NAM should be
offset by the labour subsidy from the ‘Job Creation Programme’ but there remains the tensionofconstantlyworkingontheedgeof economic insolvency. The Coop’s overheads are low by the Building Industry\'s standards but stil account for a fifth of the grant.
a conditional existence
The Coop is also aware that their existence is conditional upon good relations with
COMMUNITY DESIGN SERVICE IN CARDIFF
In December last year the Cardiff NAM group’s application for a grant under the Job Creation Programme to set up a Community Design Service was rejected bu the Manp Services Commission. Here we publish the first part of the Group’s account of the evolution of their proposal, its development and eventual failure. Part two, in the next SLATE, deals with the problemsencounteredbytheGroupoverthe question of professional indemnity and with the vacilating response of the Commission’s officers. It also speculates on the reasons
able to offer, and since we were hoping to use any responses we might get to back up our application, we asked respondents to say IF they would use such a service if it existed, and also HOW they would use it. The letter was circulated to residents’ associations, community groups, and voluntary organisations in South East Wales. Through the West Glamorgan County Council’s Community Resources Centre, and South Glamorgan Council’s
Ci R Centre, and South Glamorgan Council\'s Community Liaison Section, we made contact with groups not known to us personally.
Response was extensive and positive, from abstract encouragement to concrete requests forhelp,someofthemurgent. Itcamemainly from the run down older residential areas of Cardiff, and from the mining valleys to the north and west, through organisations like the South Wales Anti-Poverty Action Group based in Merthyr Tydfil; Ty Toronto of Aberfan, a community work and resource organisation for the valleys; the Prince of Wales Committee, aims: ‘to encourage, help, and advise
The Prince of Wales Committee concluded their letter: ‘Manyof these groups would appreciate the kindof esristance which you are offering. Some needskilledhelptoimaginethepotentialforimprove -ment in their neighbourhood, Others need advice with plans for specific schemes, Almost all could nor afford to pay professional fees for specialist advice of this sort because of their own limited resources. Your scheme could be the means of providinga valuable impetus and greatly needed additional service to thore interested in improving thetr environment.’
These responses raised questions about the categories of work which should be undertaken by a design service such as the one we had proposed. Should we be helping residents’ groups to ‘provide voluntarily’ and out of their own pockets, what government resources shouldbepayingfor,ordesigning“kitchen/ toilet facilities’ for the Church in Wales? These are questions we had not even begun to discuss. Neither had we considered in any detail the ways in which the nature of the design service we would be offering would differ in essence
from the sort of design service the RIBA might envisage. For example, if we were to provide encouragement to groups who need “faith in their ability’ to undertake work which would not probably be undertaken without active encouragement, would this be touting for work? And what kind of work which we might under- take for those groups who ‘could not afford to pay professional fees’ -JCP money would enable us to providea free design service (for a year) but how would they, and the RIBA, fel aboutusgettinginvolvedineffortstoraise money for carrying out projects, especially when that may mean advising residents groups
building design, systems and failures that
canbemade availabletoc ity involvedin gingthiWesm.ust ManpowerServicesCommission
groups The study of Clorius heat meters whichledtoanationalcampaignby tenants groups disatisfied with district heating schemes is a good example ofthis. Campaigns should be organised with tenants for building regulations to be tightened up so that standards and
safety are improved, particularly in public housing. We should oppose giving more freedom to people like Road Hackney to find ways around the regulations.
radical rhetoric
This is going to involve consistent
be careful, however, to discriminate between our pursuit of socially responsible action and the bandwagon
of‘community architecture.’
Tom Woolley has been involved in housing and ‘community’ action with tenants and residents groups in Scotland and London since 1968. While qualified as an architect he has worked for a period asa community worker. He currently taches part time at the AA, isa member of the executive of the Brent Federation of Tenants and Residents and isa member of the Support group.
LAMBETH
COOPERATIVE
and the Association itself
Lambeth Council have taken a ‘tolerant’ line withtheCoopsofaralthoughalnegotiations have been characterised by prolonged yet strangely superficial ‘consideration’ of the
Coop\'s needs. The Council gets a good deal
from the Coop. Each house completed costs them nothing, increases rates revenue and
means a potential shortening of the housing
list, Nevertheless the Council have so far only allowed two years life on any house handed over thus restricting the Coop to the minimum *MiniHAG’ grant of £800. The money isnot paid directly to the Association but to Solon who qualify for the grant because they are a registered housing association. Solon receives a management fee of about £115 for handling the grant and checking the standard of rehabilitation. Solon have experienced ‘bridging fi ance’
prob sincetheHousingCorporationhave not kept to their quarterly payment arrangement. It is unlikely that the Coop could survive for very long on the present subsidised basis and moves have bezn made towards tendering for outsidework.Solonhaveagreedinprinciple
for the project’s failure, showing how, to gain
acceptance, it would have been necessary to
set up the project within the established
structure of the RIBA and the Local Authorities. individuals and groups of people living in
politicalorganisingwhich fewarchitects
haye shown interest in. The radical
thetoric and occasional confrontation
with local authorities of groups such as
ARCmayseemconvincingtooutsiders makeendsmeetasitdoesupshortlife
butcanbeanembarassmenttolocal propertyinLambeth.Inadequatehousing toincludetheCooponitstenderlists.
the various parts of the article were prepared by individual members of the Group and do not necessarily represent a collective view.
While the Cardiff NAM group was stil in the throes ofdiscovering just what it was supposed to be about and where itwas supposed to be going, other things happened which led to the idea of a community design service. As the word spread that agroup of radical architectural workers had come together, communitygroupswerecontactingusandit quicklybecameevidentthattheywere primarily interested in us as a source of acvice andexpertise,interestedinusinour professional capacity, that is.
NAM nationally had already initiated discussions about what a national design service might be, and it seemed that, at that time, we in Cardiff were in a position to initiate some such scheme. In view of the potential clientele, there developed the idea thattheprojectcouldberuninacompletely different way to traditional practices. The only thing in the way of setting it up was the small matter of money. An apparently readily available source of finance at the time was the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) who were financing certain projects under their Job Creation Programme (JCP). What we hoped to set up was a prototype community based design service which would begin to look
at what terms like ‘accountability’ and a’more democratic architecture’ were really about.
Theformingofsuchaservicewas,asfaras Iwas concemed, an extension of the work I had done in my final year at college, the emphasis being on ‘demystifying’ the profession, andhowthiscouldbetackled.TheJCPmight provide the money to start us up, buthopefully although we had no idea how at this stage, we would come up with some method of self financing to enable the project to continue. I also assumed, somewhat naively perhaps, that the people eventually employed by the service would share my initial concept of the project. To me, the important aspect of the scheme was that itwould be ameans of teaching US to teach others to help themselves with regard to the built environment. I feel there was a danger of the project being viewed as a cheap professional service, tiding over out of work architectural workers until something else tumed up.
Community Design
Service Needed In order to approach the MSC we needed
todemonstratethatapotentialdemand existed for the sort of design service we were proposing. We prepared a letter outlining the range and broad type of service we would be
Wales, wishing to carry out projects to improve their surroundings on avoluntary basis’; and various other community associations and resource centres.
The range of work we were being asked to deal with is best illustrated by quoting from some of the responses we received.
“We are trying to improve the vilage. We want someone togiveusfaithinourabilitytodothixWecould wait until the JCP gets off the ground bus the inirial enthusiasm might have disappeared by then.
people. It certainly doesn’t provide a consistent approach which is going to involve more radical professionals. Brian Anson and George Mills cling to the notion of communities when they themselves admit that ity feeling has been destroyed by the plan- ners at Ealing or in the Colne Valley. Handouts from the Rowntree Trust may give them employment, but to claim
that this will lead to the residents of the Colne Valley being able to dictate their
own future is at best niave.
a class analysis itisnecessary to reject ARC\'s
pluralist approach and replace it with class analysis. We must understand the wayinwhichcapitalistsocietyorganises the production of buildings and how
this can be changed by the working class.Indefiningourroleasprofessionals within this struggle we must work to break down the false status of professionals and replace it with mutual trust among all people with REAL skills and expertise.
Support
This is the basis of the work of Support which is a small group of architects and builders with a wide network of contacts which tries to find sympathetic and responsible experts to respond to the endless demands from local groups, but also tries to develope principles which will have political results. These principles
include firstly working together as an identifiable group that will share experiences and publish these for the benefits of others. Secondly, it aims to establish clear agreements with client groups that are based on careful discuss- SLATE 2 page 6
grants and sparse cooperation from the Council contradict:the fact that the Coop provides useful houses and also illustrates the way that local initiative is both
coopted and forced to work ‘on the cheap’.
The future offers family squatting associations dealingwith‘shortlifes’twooptions:gounderfrom the stress of direct immersion in the housing
crisis at street level OR to extend their control
of their own housing situation. Seven months
ago Lambeth Self Help Housing Association
took up the second option. ‘MiniHAG’ grants
were arranged through the Housing Corporation, wages for half the members came from the Manpowers Services Commission’s Job Creation Scheme’ and a building cooperative was formed.
directaccess
This has provided the Association with a
direct access to the building process, a luxury reserved only for a tiny proportion of today’s tenants,publicorprivate.Eachunitis completed for under £800: this buys basic service installation and anything else required other than decorations. By comparison the council reckons on spending £100 per room per year of life. A seven-roomed house would qualify for £1,400, £630 more than the Coop spends.
incentives
The wages are low for the eight members of
the Coop - U.C.A.T.T. minimum -about fifty pounds a week gross. Hence the economic motive is clearly not the prime incentive for the members as corresponding wages in the private sector would certainly be higher. But as compensation the Coop offers the freedoms and responsibilities that go with employment outside of a dominant management structure.
With 17 units completed, the Coop is stil sortingoutmany problems: the‘MiniHAG’ (mini, meaning short-life, Housing Association Grant) is too small: £800 per unit was dubious in 1975 but in 1977 it is grossly inadequate. Part of the loss through inflation has been
self perpetuating housing needs The Association itself started out 5 years ago
by getting houses from the council and
upgrading them through self-help and contributions paid by members. It currently
has over 300 members al over Lambeth. In order to break out of the self-perpetuating housing need that the short-life field entails, theAssociationhasdecidedtoapplytothe Housing Corporation for ‘Housing Cooperative’ Status. This will enable them to buy houses on the open market and to rehabilitate them with a 90% grant. Two other squatting groups have done this: Lewisham Family Squatters and Islington Community Housing.
urban stress
Lambeth has recently been designated in a
government report as an urban stress area and therefore worthy of a financial shot in the arm, althoughnoconcretestrategieshavesofar emerged. Strangely in contradiction to this honourable intention, central government subsidies for local authority rehabilitation workthroughsection105ofthe1974 * Housing Act have been cut by £3m in Lambeth. In apportioning these cuts the Housing Dept have reasoned that since housing association grants are trickling into its short life finance that it will cut council spending on short-lifes from £235,000 to £80,000 this year: H.A.G. finance in no way makes up for this cut and it has clearly been seized upon by the council as a way of avoiding its responsibilities in this area.
So while the financial responsibility for Lambeth’s housing problem ricochets between local and central government the Building Coop are quietly putting on average one house a week against Lambeth’s aiting homeless figures.
The breakdown of the extra cash to finance inner city building work was announced at the end of April. £5 million will go to Lambeth who will be asked to submit lists of the most desirable projects.
DISCEPTION PY CHOOSING SurTAsiB JOBS.
cA
Y THOSE MySLIMS Realy GoToo
Lambeth Self Help Housing Association member, Tony Brohn, describes how a local building cooperative struggles to
Hesekearets,19me
AGAIN! You mow, NOW Tast QUITE FRANKLY,
Lambeth Council Housing Dept Housing Corporation
TAM A MAN OF (orton) PRINCIPLES
|Wie NOT BE A PARTY To BLocpsHiD— To THE BviL AMBITIONS
OF PMAOCGRAISNHISM
Shemees peamers
Anse! TEV ree
o> !-.-No!AenrEcrvRas4
CONTAMETS OF A PEACEFUL Nani,
designing an extension (kitchen/totlets) (0 an church hal”
are ier 7\\|1WoutNever ineDUTYTeUteMoeat ON DESIGNAPRISON!
(om
\\
J
FAR WITH THER PUNISHMENTS.
SLATE2 page7
‘on the most effective way of getting local and central government resources allocated (or reallocated) to the project.
The difficulties and shortcomings of the sort of service we proposed would be enormous, but
Ithink itcould be said that the demand forit had been firmly established.
Corridors ofPower —MSC We agreed that in order to !2am more about the mechanics of subinitting a JCP
application we would need an early informal meeting with someone from MSC. Two of us made an initial approach along the corridors of power. Our first meeting was with the assistant to the MSC Cardiff area assessor. After outlining who we were and who we representedwe, tried to put across what our embryo design service was al about. We identified the need for a design input by the community groups we had contacted, and the linked need for employment in South Walesfor architectural workers. To our surpnise, response
was enthusiastic. He thought the idea ofa
L... possibly the design of an existing church building to be converted intoa residential youth centre for holiday use (though the building as such is srill being sought) *
+... planning a housing community scheme in thit
grea to show to the local authorities shar it is viable.’ “There are many Welfare Halls in che valleys that are not being fully utilised, these could be made into
useful centres if the opportunity arose 10 aquire them. The possibility ofgetting such places for community use depends a great deal on the ability of people to improve the property. The kind of service you offer ‘could prove an incentive 10 this end, there are many empty buildings in the valleys that could be made use
of provided they were brought up to the required standard.”
*_. school groups interested in landscaping creat Seeee ncconumaaTionfortheelderlyuu.and keen to create murals on exterior walls ofvarious public buildings, including their own schools,
*scone residents on large housing estateseho ae prepared to do something themselves fo relieve monotonous eppesrance..... the advice of a landscape architect or an architect would be invaluable.\" “Residents in the valleys often wish to tackle the problems of unnightly back lanes ‘and eyesores created by gaps in rows of houses or ends of terraces where buildings have been demolished.”
COLNE VALLEY
the answer? SowhatIsleft?Anageing
population, no jobs for the young, dilapidated transport and communications systems, dereliction and polution on an unprecedendted scale. And the Local Authorities’ answer?
Tourism, conservation and museums of industrial archeology and other cheap but negative solutions. For the people of the Valley, who are conscientious, warm hearted and proud, these ‘solutions’ are a blatant insult. Kirkleen Metropolitan Council, who are charged with responsibility for the wellbeingofthearea,ignorethe fate of local people and hope that enough commutors from Leeds, Bradford and Manchester will settleintheValley,dotherehab andspendthemoney.
The Community Architecture Team Team sees the local people as the area\'s major res ource, along with
any redundant buildings and derelict sites, empty through the neglecti,n acapitalist economy, of areaswhichlosttheirabilityto compete in world markets. In terms of its people the Valley stil has great potential, but a potential which must first be exposed and the then worked on, not with a view to profit,butwithaviewtopeople changing their own lives.
autonomy Eachoftheiveprinciple
vilages which make up Colne Valley retains some degree of social and cultural autonomy, something which socicties striving for a facade of ‘equalisteeya’s quaint but primitive and backward, We work on the premise that such autonomy is the basis for the future of places such as
Slaithwaite and Marsden, for it is
in this locality that British working men and women first organised themselvesinpursuitofabetter life. Our work attempts to weld autonomy, people, buildings and ideals into a potent social force, unbending to the perogative of management, unions or Government
People may see al this as utopian. In places like the Colne Vallcy utopias have been visualised and aimed at for centuries. It is in the nature of people like those in the Valley to have their dreams and occasionally, on aparticularly strong impulse, to embark on them as if they were a clear cut reality merelyastepaway,
local newspaper As part of a process of
rebuilding the strength and impetus 0Sacommunity wesetupasmall localnewspaper. Itissteadily growing in circulation and with
each issue moreof it iswritten by the people up and down the Valley, not by people in our office. We stil use the paper as vehicle for ideas about what to do with redundant buildings, disused sites andoutmoded planningstructures. We have no tangible proof that our work is having any effect, but we have constant hints and expressions
of faith that we are being positive inthefaceofapredominantly negative society. We are stil gaining the trust of the people locally, but small groups -f activistsareformingwith theintent of rebuilding their area along THEIR lines, not those set down
by Local Authorities, Capital
or anyone elsc. Hopefully,
once the Newspaper is established it will finance our continuing work, which must remain in its infancy until it is fertilised and fired by the imagination and desires of the people of the Valley.
continued from page 7
design service for community groups was very worthwhileandanapplicationalongourlines was well worth attempting. He was ful of” ideas of how the project could be set up and along what lines it could progress, he even supplied us with the names and addresses of people and groups we should contact for letters of support.
After the outline discussion we got down to talking about more detail, specifically:
. Could we employ an administrator/
coordinator in advance of 5 technical staff in order to tie up al the loose ends? This was acceptable.
Would the application be approved if premises were not finalised? Yes. Wouldithelpifwelinkedtheprofessional training requirements of architecture, planning etc. into the training emphasis of the JCP? Yes, this would be excellent, especiallyifyoucouldusetheRIBA trainingguidelinestostructurethetraining element in the service. The approval of the Welsh School of Architecture Practical Training Officer would be a big help in any application.
._ How flexible could our expenditure estimates be, did we have to itemise every piece of of equipment or could we put ina lumpsumtocoveralmaterials?Thereisa degree of flexibility in the scheme; money underspent in one area could be transfered to other categones.
. Do we have to detail the jobs applied for or will an overall job description suffice? A generalsubscriptionwoulddo.
Would asingle scale of salary for al employees be acceptable? MSC would prefer a differential between the architect andcoordinatorandthetrainees.
If revenue was generated by the scheme how should it be used and what effect would it have on any MSC money? Revenue generation if acceptable as long as profits are not made and the money is used for purposes other than those financed by MSC but stil within the context of the scheme. With the answers to these questions and the
attitude of this member of the staff, it appeared that our application had a very good chance indeed of being accepted by the committee (comprised of local notaries, councillors, professionals) to whom the MSC staff made their recommendations, and our design service idea seemed to take a great stride forward.
The Application
It was only in attempting to fulfill certain
conditions which we thought, correctly or incorrectly, were required by the MSC, that some of us feel our original intentions were compromised.
Although it was probably necessary to play down the possible political implications of such a project, we made the mistake of not confronting and fully discussing these implications amongst ourselves. MSC required that al JCP projects submitted to them should be sup b i
Our apeteatan to JCP was for money to employ 6 workers, a total (labour costs plus 10%) of almost £15,000. For two reasons
we specified that one of these workers should be a qualified architect. Firstly, it had been implied that out application would be looked at more favourably if we offered some sort of training opportunities. We approached the
Practical Training Officer at the Welsh School who thought it would be possible to consider work with the scheme suitable experience for 4th year students. This required a qualified
rvising architect. In retrospect, some of felt that this made us even more dependent than we needea to have been on the goodwill of the professional establishment. Secondly, we had understood that the employment ofa qualified architect would be necessary to enable us to obtain the appropriate insurances. Subsequently, we found that this is
not the case.
REVIEV
REVIEW OF ‘TAMING THE CONCRETE JUNGLE’
Green Bans, the widely feted culmination of the actions of Australian Building Workers, are only part of the story told in this book.. Journalist Pete Thomas, writingonbehalfoftheBuilders’ Labourers Federation of Australia, tells how the union has also seized many opportunities to take imaginativedirectactiontoerode theauthorityofbuildingmanagement management over questions of site safety, scheduling of work, redundancies and working conditions conditions.
A rank and file lead takeover of the union leadership by progressives in the early 60’s signalled an onrush ofNewUnionismwhichtookasits sphere of concern and action the whole state of the Australian Construction industry.
Automation and industrialisation had brought about collosal increases inproductivitywhileby1972the practice of sub-contracting had reached such proportions that the ratio of wage eamers to sub- contractorswasonlythreetoone. These developments added new safety and health risks and further job instability to the building workers more traditional problems, hostile working conditions and
casual hourly employment.
The response of the building
workers ranged from the scurillous: taking a shower on the steps of Newcastle\'s city hall to draw attention to inadequate sanitary facilities on site - to the revolutionary revolutionary -one site electing their own foreman, in response to police harassment, and continuing work under self-management for
the remaining months of the contract. Many individual manifestations like these spread a consciousness of the workers’ own collective authority throughout
the union.
Approached by local
residents for assistance in their attempts to save from development Kelly’s Bush, an area of open land near Sydney’s city centre, the Builders’ Labourers readily
dedtheideaofworkers’ control beyond the immediate concems of the pay packet and the site. No further construction would take place on any of the developer\'s other sites, decreed the Builder’s Labourers, ifhe persisted in his plans for Kelly’s Bush. The Green ban was successful as were many subsequent bans in New South Wales and other states.
British readers may feel remote from this swashbuckling tale of workers’ struggles in the Antipodes. Our building industry, in many ways as primitive and harsh as its Australian counterpart, is generally stil bedevilled by the remnants of
continued on page 10
WORKING FORWHAT?
PROJECT
George Mills describes the work of the Community Architecture Team in the Colne Valley against the background of the aspirations of an isolated working community. CA was set up by the Architects Revoi iticnary Council in 1976
The Community Architecture team’s work in the Colne Valley, near Huddersfield, is still in its infancy. Setupbymembersof the Architects’ Revolutionary Council (ARC) in 1976, the project is a response to a problem whichthemajorityofplanners electtoignore,theyfecl industrial districts made so economically weak by the erosion of their markets that they can no longer support themselves in any tangible way
Textile manufacture was the Colne Vall industry. At the heyday ofthe ourandahalf mile long valey’s productivity something like 50 mils flourished, each employing between 100 and 2000 workers. When an erea this size is devoted tooneindustryno aroefalife isunaffected byits industrial decline. Textile manufacture
still has astrong presence in the Valey,but themilsthemselves
ti sons for a.chaic achinery and
production methods parts of the world
THECASEFORTRADEUNIONORGANISATIONINARCHITECTURE AND THE ALLIED BUILDING PROFESSIONS
REVIEW OF ‘WORKING FOR WHAT?’ Sunund Prasad, Edward Cullinan Architects, writes,
Few people who wish to see a radical (democratising) change in the existing process of making and providing buildings will doubt thatifArchitecturalWorkerscombinewitheach other to further their interests and ideals, potentially a huge and necessary step would have been taken in the right direction.
The thoughtful, well argued and deeply feltNAM report‘WorkingforWhat’should dispel doubts, where they do exist, about the desirability or possibility of this
The challenge is where do we go from there; firstlywhetherwecanlearnfrom200yearsof often cautionary union history (builders, incidentally, were amongst the first workers to organise) and secondly whether we can persue political effectiveness while not, for one moment, losing a passion for the quality of what we build and a desire to build it.
The report, though necessarily not very analytical about the history of Trade Unionism, meets well the first challenge especially in the series of questions headed ‘which union’ at the end, and in being enthusiastic about the examples set by Australian building
labourers and Lucas Aerospace workers in breaking out of the ‘Sheer Economism’ of modern Trade Unionism.
Iwish though that even in a report such as this the second challenge were somehow acknowledged. At one point itis stated ‘there are very few problems facing Architecture today that trade union organisation and action could not come to grips with and make a real contribution towards resolving’. Clearly this will need a radically new unionism not shy of addressing architectural issues and willing to develope critiques of recent movements and trends which are far less crude and ill-informed than the report’s brief forays into this terntory. Only recently has it become possible for reactiontomakestickachargeofphilistinism on the ‘left’. This tragic reversal must not be allowed to stand by default. One of the crucial tasks in this connection is to show that “democratic alternatives to the market system’ are as capable and more of generating quality. invention and style.
Finally, as a member ofa practice of the kind referred to in the Appendix “Alternatives to Unionisation?’ Iendorse the reservations about ‘one-off progress but would like to express our conviction that itisimportant
to have a dream about where you are going and not merely wait for your arrival there
New Architecture Movement, (unionisation) Organising Committpe: ‘Working For Whet?- The case for Trades Union orgenisation in Architecture and the altied building profersions: ANAM report: 1977:6Sp post paid.
SLATE 2 page 9
bear witr
theindustry” condit
incapeable
dem in other
eos
=s
w»
nen ee
continued from page 9
old fashioned craft unionism and dominated by old fashioned union leadership. Extending the concept of Trades Unionism beyond the confines of wage negotiation to assert the workers’ authority over the whole production process and the product itselifs an idea which isslowly gaining credence here, amongst scientific workers at Lucas Aerospace and construction workers in Birmingham in particular. Pete Thomas’ book, for al its unquestioning enthusiasm for the Builders’ Labourers cause and actions, is as good an explanation ofwhat workers’ control means as any theoretical treatment of the topic, and is exciting with it.
COMPETITION CORNER
Pete Thomas: ‘Taming the Concrete
CENTRAL SQUARE BLOCKS1&2 &0.17
OPPOSITION «mong architectural workers is one aspect of the much publicised recent GLC ‘in-house’ competition that the Council’s public relations machine chose to ignore when it leafletted the press with pretty drawings like the one above.
In a resolution proposed by the Architect’s Department Committee, NALGO’s GLC Executive Council called
A CALL for clearer political perspectives was the recurrent conclusion of the New Architecture Movement’s Second London Seminar.
The open seminar, held at the Polytechnic of Central London on Apmil 23rd focused on the issues of ARCUK, unionisation and education.
Tom Woolley, speaking first,outlined the rise of NAM against the background of the spreading acceptance of the idea that architectural ideas and attitudes were strongly influenced by economic forces. Even the RIBA was shedding its liberalism and could no longer tolerate radical critiscism.
InconclusionTomWooleysaidthat structural chance in society could only be the result of political action, and it was within this tramework that NAM should see it’s role. Rodney Mace added that NAM was the only group correctly placed to provide acoherent analysis and political directions forarchitectural
professional organisation, ARCUK isapublic institution, and NAM should work to increase ARCUK’s public accountability.
Questioned on their accountability to the Movement, NAM’s representatives on ARCUK agreed to meet to discuss policy through consultation with members and are considering holding a conference for al unattached architects.
Unionisation
The next discussion was opened by a member
who described the enormous resistance of employerstotheideaofunionisation. The threat of being sacked was strong enough to prevent radical architects broaching the subject openly or putting their names to published statements.
Organising architectural workers was a fundamental point in NAM’s programme, and thatTradesUnionactionbeextended
beyond pay and conditions at the workplace into environmental and social issues. Itwas here that
i would have to offer the Trades Union movement. This ‘New Unionism’ wasillustratedbyreferencetoLucasAerospace, where shop stewards, in the face of threatened redundancies,haddrawnupaplanfor maintaining employment by producing ‘socially useful’ goods instead of military hardwear, within the existing capabilities of the plant.
Unionisation should not be seen as an easy insurance against increasing unemployment, low wages or unsatisfying work, but as part of a general political struggle. We should aim to achieve a single union for al workers, including technical, administrative and managerial staff in al offices. The meeting was wamed against RIBA or employers organising tame para-unions to defuse the issue.
Against the proposition of shop-floor organisation put forward by the principal speakers, certain factions held that architectural work can only be seen in the context of the construction industry, and that the correct continued on page 12
Jungle’:New South Wales branch
of the Australizn Building Construction
Employees and Bulders\' Labourers Federation: Sydrey :1973: £1.00
NAM _GROUP
SPIANTCHEEHOME 261 Hangng Space
ARCUK Group, NAM, 9, Poland St., London WI.
Liaison Group
The Secretary, NAM, 9, Poland St.,
London, W1
National Design Service: NDS, NAM, 9, Poland St.,
Students and tutors at Nottingham
School of Architecture, who have
already established an active NAM
group both on and off the campus, are toholda‘counter-courseevent’over workers. the weekend of June 25-26th. All those
7a wa onitsarchitecturalmemberstoblackthe London,W1.
y \\
|
Archi
7 4
i
[acre eal (ie wane)
Kingston-u-Hull Regional College
of Art, Brunswick Ave., Hull Leeds:
Pete Forbes, Parkview, Weeton Lane, Hoby, Leeds 17
London Group:
Douglas Smith, 17, Delancey St.,
London, NW1
Nottingham Group:
Dave Green, 44a, Bramcote Rd.,
Beeston, Nottingham Education Group:
Edinburgh: David Somervell
Hull: Jane Bryant, Hull School of Architecture.
Leeds: Pete Forbes
Nottingham: Dave Green
NAM groups wanting to contribute information on their activities should get their copy to SLATE by 24thJune1977forinclusioninthe next issue.
NEXT WEEK: 26.2Spacein‘hegaschamber
REHABILITATION NEWS . Architectural workers at Richard Sheppard Robson & Partners refused to work on drawings of amultiple execution chamber for a so called rehabilitation centre in North Africa, reported London lettertotheGUARDIAN recently.
SLATE 2 page 10
Fill in the form below and send it with a cheque/PO (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £2.95 plus 10p post and packing to NAM, 9 Poland St., London WI.
NAME.
2000 |
Hulul:
Ian Tod, Hull School of Architecture,
competiton shortly after its announcement. Support was not forth- -coming however, from the parallel branch of the GLC Staff Association, when NALGO wrote suggesting joint actionovertheblacking,vitalforsuccess in the capaign.
Reasons for blacking the competition were given as:
- It is using work normally carried out by the Architect\'s Department, which could be better utilised by giving employment to one of the many architects at present on the dole,
- It aims to induce our members to carry out duties outside working hours without pay.
- In the present climate of cutbacks in GLC expenditure, staffing levels, livingstandards
and promotion prospects, it can only be seen at best asa spoonfuolf sugar.
- Staff are being encouraged to carry out this exercise even though there isa complete lack of consultation with the staff on their future and particularly on the issue of viable housing
briefs, future level of housing production and staffing levels,
support witheld
Staff Association support was with-
held on the grounds that some of its members may wish to enter the competition. Only 5 entrants put in schemes in the end -how many of these were GLCSA members is not known.
Even with only 5 entrants, the competition, with prize money of £250.00 was cheap exploitation. The passive stance of the TUC affiliated Staff Association in not supporting its sister union, NALGO, comes as less of a Surprise in view of the compromised positionofstaffassociationsgenerally. (See SLATE no 1).
Projects Group:
David Roebuck, 25, St. George’s
Ave., London, W1
Unionisation Organising Committee,
NAM,9 PolandSt,London,W1 PublicationsGroup:
Editorial Committee, NAM, 9, Poland
St., London, W1
Cardiff Group:
Anne Delaney, 196, Albany Rd.,
Roath, Cardiff Edinburgh:
interested in obtaining further details should write to NAM Nottingham Group, 14DerbyGrove,Nottingham.
SLATE isnowcontributingto invisible exports after receiving a subscription from Iceland. The Publications Group will be monitoring its performance under sub-zero temperatures in the hope of a warm response!
Contrary to previous reports the
New Architecture Calendar for 1977 has showna profit. The final account reveals an overall surplus of £2.06. As this seems to be a potential money spinner (in NAM’s terms anyway) would anyone willing to produce a sequel for 1978 please write
to The Secretary, 9 Poland Street,
London W1
Only one suggestion for a 3rd Congress venue has been received so far and others must be sent, also to the Secretary, before the summer so that the Liason Group can get on with the long task of organising the event.
The Liason Group backs the decisions passed at the NAM Sponsored Unionisation Unionisation Conference held on May 14th May 14th and urges al readers working
in the private sector to organise within
the chosen union TASS.
Finally, our condolencies to founder member Morris Williams on his recent redundancy -we urge him to join TASS withoutfurtherdelay.
ARCUK
CONTACTS :
David Somervell, 22, Penmuir Place, Edinburgh 3
NEWS FROM
NAM LIAISON
Recognition of NAM\'s contribution to important issues concerning the building industry and related professions is steadily growing in the Schools of Architecture. Most recently three NAM members. attended a symposium held for day release
d at London\'s Polytechnic of the South Bank where they led alively discussion on Unionisation, ARCUK and the role of professional institutes and the concept of a National Design Service. Should these and other issues currently being developed by NAM be of interest to other schools, requests for visiting speakers are welcomed.
~Jonadremndcrsaticarctalectiore-
NAM’s Second National Conference, Blackpool, November, 1976.
NAM SECOND LONDON SEMINAR
ARCUK and the
Acts were the first topics of the day\'s debate. HistoryshowedthatwhiletheActsclaimedto protect the public from impostors by registrationandexamination,itwasobviousto many, even at the time, that the legislation served only to maintain the power and prestige of the profession. As the statutory link between the profession and society, ARCUK is the controlling body for al architectural practice, but its statutory independence, under the Acts, was soon lost and its claimed intentions sabotaged, by the RIBA, its main protagonist, who compromised with the ‘public interest”
as they argued and lobbied the acts through Parliament. The Institute remains in control of ARCUK.
‘The question was raised whether NAM, which is fundamentally opposed to the RIBA and its legitimising agent and partner ARCUK, should consider the reform of an employers’ organisation. One answer put forward was
that while the RIBA isexclusively a
aeAer a.PAHVFfamWAMT|
A collection of cartoons by Louis Hellman | | Hellman takes a stab from the inside at the seemicr side of the buildingprofession. |
|‘Feloffmy bike with laughter’... Prof. Reyner Banham
| | | |
|
nit SQUATTERS ORGANISE
continued from page 11
political perspective for unionisation and al our campaigns was solely in alliance with organised building workers. Rodney Mace spoke against patronising the unions by running to them for help in times of crisis. Unionisation would be a long hard struggle during which architectural workers would have to develop discipline and respect.
Education
On the subject of education it was stressed
that education played a central role in the
inculcation of professional myths and attitudes. The courses were competitive, nonanylitical and anti-political.
Rodney Mace suggested that there had been little progress in the demands made by students in the last twenty years. Architectural education is of little effect in developing political consziousness, which was more likely to come from students’ activities outside school. Educational hegemony would only be challenged by forces outside schools, in
alliance with students within. He concluded
by pointing out that there was still a bias towards accepting students from public schools and against women for first year entry.
Constitution for NAM? In the final session general proposals were made for an Asbestos Working Group to seek
ways of advising architectural workers on how to avoid the use of asbestos in buildings. The mecting also called for consideration ofa constitution for the Movement in order to reinforce internal democracy, coherent organisation and a credible public face. Objections from the floor that this was a betrayal of NAM’s loose-knit federal structure were countered by the view that organisational clarity would benefit al NAM groups
Guest speakers at the London Group\'s open seminar were Tom Wooley, member of the Support Group,
and lecturer at the Architectural Association who has been involved in radical movements in erchitecrure since the mid 1960: and Rodney Mace, historian. lecturer at Kingston Polytechnic and member of the Communist Porty’s Built Environment Group. Report by
Douglas Smith
Y: fit.
Sa Oe
JACKSONS LANE COMMUNITY
CENTRE, ARCHWAY RD.N.6.
|centralised ‘Squatters’ Union’.
Much of the conflict arises from past hostility between the libertarian
cooperative Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS) which attempts to respond to requests from individual squatters and local groups, and the more militant Squatters’ Action Counail (SAC) which produces a weekly newsheet and believes in taking initiatives to expand squatting and expose the chronic
housing crisis
While the debate continues, however
the passing of the Criminal Tresspass Legislation gets nearer, and the need for
squatters to organise themselves against becoming homeless and/or criminals becomes more urgent
Ifyyoou would like to be a member of the New Architecture Movementnt fililn the form below and send || it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( if
IN THE FACE of the impending Criminal Tres pass Legislation, which will make certain types of squatting a criminal offence, attempts are being made to forma national squatters’ organisation to defend the rights of squatters and the homeless.
Two open conferences have already been held in London, but so far no agreement has been reached on the type of organisation which should be formed. A third conference is planned shortly.
The main debate is between those who would like to see a ‘Squatters Federation’ which would have little centralised power, but which would coordinate and assist autonomous local groups, and those who want to form a more powerful and
For further information and advice contact ASS 359 8814 SAC: 701 7644
SUBSCRIBE!
£ fitz £. £eeet
|you\'re employed) or£2.00 (ifyou\'re arestudent, claimant orOAP) toNAM at9,Poland Street
feee tay Efe SY
SLATE’s next issue will feature a major article on the changes at Architectural Design, what they mean for Architec- tural journalism and how they reflect a change in spirit running night through
| biggest crisis since the War.
Among the pioneers of progressive
Poland Street, London W.1.
NAME ADDRESS
architectural journalism, AD featured
radigal technology, community action, |squatting and sociological and political | analysis alongside Conceptual
Architecture, shining new factories and | Archigram in a mixture which raised the consciousness as well as, sometimes, the
| confusion, of its readers. No more.
| Professionalism :the myth and the idevlogy.
eh SseRa ag268 Roaee VU
ooh bEeeee £efe LELELE
|
| the profession as society faces its
ARCUK :whorunsitandhow. J SLATE THREE
|
¥ ft.
|LondonW.1. ane 4\\4O ca fo a ph
| NAME s0cucenseosoccsccconnascosopeeepescoso04eee5e |ADDRESS.
|
|
| TELEPHONE (‘HOME)) rccecccsccscscsaserscsettereene (WORK ). oe eeeeewnceesucess
| If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fil in the form below and send it together withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement)for£2.00toNAM at9,
The politics of registration :the background to the Acts.
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'May/ June 1977';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 6';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Education Special';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'fk 31a
A’S os ALE
\"62\" THERADICALPAPERONARCHITECTUREANDTHEBUILDINGINDUSTRYD5 \'78)
theadventuresof 3yNeioa iss DOUGLAS ¢thetwofresherseosceeccee
DOUGLAS WILL CATCH IT 1B PROF, MARKUS SEES NIM READING THAT SLATE,
W. C.
.
BUYOnE le,V
STILL|WISHIHAD ENOVEN CASH TO
—~{
=_v= UsHALL!
spe
rh
ae AND LOTS MORE
WHoops\'twe }cROmas! my WIND HAS SLATE\'S FLOWN, WAFTEO ITMY
TRUTN FULLY SAY { MAVEN\'T GOT
OHO!WHATSALLTINTS WAYBLESSMySouk/THISAO
A FORBIODEN RADICAL RAG ABO?
11k CONFISCATE IT.
ARCHITECTURE MMOEMENT MAS SOME VEAY @00O /OFAS AFTER ALL! { MWST SET A SUBSCAIPTION FOR
[THE L/GRARY AND MYSELF I!
al
i for writing on dofsoft~(clean
henco S fe, fern. of
(1) n. {anp. ft, pree.}
SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industryandtothegeneralpublicareinc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide rar e of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attention of the largest possible readership
REPRESENTATIVES
A network of 30 representatives has been
tup throughout schools and large prac- al over the country. The only comm-
itment of each representative will be to receive 5 copiesof SLATE every two months and to try to sell 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE
Al this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
57 members of the staff have already confirmed their interest in voluntary redundancy, and there has been “natural wastage”. But another 40 architects, 37 QSs and some engineers are expected to be out ofa job by the summer.
Atthesame timetheToriesaretrying to reduce the GLC’s housebuilding pro- gramme by about half, to 2000a year. And all of these will be in inner London areas of existing stress, especially in housing. Gone isthe policy of trying to spread the housing problem between the deprived inner areas and the prosperous outer London suburbs.
But according to architects within
the department it seems unlikely that theTorieswillachievethescaleofrun- down at the rate they want. For the depleted workforce isalready having problems in meeting existing commitments.
Working Party secretary Charles McKean to
theArchitectsJournalinwhichheaccused 1200thisyear.Evenschemesatthetender
NAM SWEEPS BOARD IN ARCUK POLL Those who fear that the NAM members
writers , more ideas and more reps in order
toproduceabetter,largerandcheaper ==————S=S==S=a_=_=_=_=== newsletter. If you would like to work for
SLATE; become a rep., join the group,
send in articles or suggest topics it should
cbver then contact us soon
Signed by the Society’s Honorary concernwillincludevirtuallyno ofanaggressivelycompetitivefirm = SecretaryHughKrallithasbeensentto
The copy deadline for the next issue is Friday 24th March 1978
SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the
Publications Group)
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1.
Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2
Tories’ knife poised over GLC architects
speakers who are personally and actually involved in the inner city crisis and will be punctuated by slide shows glorifying recent formalist architectural triumphs.
SLATE has acquired the early committee papers, which show that once again the conference isbeing planned virtually exclusively by architects for architects- the blind leading the blind. And far from being about the inner cities it will end up being about architects, too.
The conference isplanned for agood image-building grass-roots venue, Liverpool. But the only local speaker yet proposed
is the city’s bishop - no sign of even a trades-unionist, social worker or local industrialist, let alone a local resident.
And between sanctimonious breast- beating sessions planned on such subjects
marketing unnecessarily decorative furniture.
Onasecond day devoted to housing the light relief- or reminder of what the organiser’s( and probably the delegates) persist in believing is the real business of architecture -isprovided by snaps of World’s End and Marquis Road, Self-help or co-operative housing, although on the agenda and rather more relevant to the conference’s nominal subject matter - tend not to be as pleasing to the eye.
Editors of twoarchitectural journals, Monica Pidgeon and Peter Murray, have been involved withthe conference plans, presumably to ensure that even ifthe conference doesn’t convince the outside world of the architect’s social conscience it will at least sel the RIBA’s to the profession, But there’s another journal that won\'t be taken in -this one-
al RIBA Council members. It represents, says Mr Krall, the conclusions of the Society’s Executive Committee on “the relative roles of the RIBA and ARCUK”.
Other conclusions of this surprisingly radical paper are:
“that responsibility for conduct, edu- cation, conditions of engagement, building contracts and scales of fees should be transferred to ARCUK;
“that the RIBA should revert to its proper function asa learned society; “that the subscription rate should be altered accordingly, say £100 pa for ARCUK and £3 pa for the RIBA;
“that any necessary legislation should be sought to this end.”
In effect, the Society is agreeing with the first stage of reforms suggested by NAM
for reconstituting the structure of the
SLATE 6PAGE 2
SLATE 6PAGE 3
NEWSNEWSNIEW
THE RIBA is ina state of confusion about how it should deal with the proposal thatlistsoflocalarchitects should be made ayailable at Citizens’
Advice Bureaux.
This confusion came to light in a statement from RIBA Community Architecture
Alan Lipman
John Mu,
Tore sep) 498
NAM of delaying the resolution of whether such a list would contravene the architects’ Code of Conduct.
As members of the Architects Registration CounciloftheK (ARCUK ),someNAM members would have a say in the debate,
but can hardly be accused of delaying tactics. when the ARCUK sub committee due to discuss the implications of the ‘lists’ was postponed by its chairman, himself an
RIBA member. The meeting, due to be held on March 2nd, was postponed, according to the committee’s chairman, because “there was not enough business on the agenda”.
The Slater writes: Either the RIBA’s lefthand,ifithasone,doesn’tknow what its right hand is doing or Mr McKean isbeing plain mischeyious. Which isthe more likely Iwould hestitate to guess,
Stage are having to be suspended, due to a combination of changes in policy and problems with staffing.
And things could get worse. Briefs are currentlyavailableforonly400houses for 1981, which should by now be at the drawing board if they are to stand a chance ofbeingcompletedontime.
Staff at the department are very worried about their future and thatofthe department. But militant action has been more prominent among the housing managers who are also affected -by the Tories’ new policy of transferring management responsibility to the London Boroughs. They are operating an overtime ban and refusing to cover for unfilledvacanciesinprotest.
But staff action is having little effect. The Tories have refused or ignored representations with the staff. They have, however,justacceptedthatthe fundamental four-division structure of the department must remain if confusion isnot to deteriorate into chaos.
The irony of the whole situation is that the Tories have recently appointed Sir Frank Marshall to prepare a review of what the proper functions of the GLC should be. But they seem to have decided for him what sortof housing responsibil-
402 397 371
areanxioustoensurethatnewNAMrep- resentatives are returned at the next election and that the Movement as a whole should have a greater say in the selection procedure.
W London RIBA
slams RIBA!
“ARCUK, not the RIBA, should be the mouthpiece of the architectural profession.”
This view comes. astonishingly, in a paper not from NAM but from the West London Architectural Society, itselfa branch of the London Region of the RIBA.
And because of al the disruptions, the
Bop ,, lley Robi,
Mipy
490 464
V4
level of housing starts could plummet to
Not elected
JohnAllen Mike Purdy David Robson
ities itshould have.
°
Typesetting by the Publications Group and Maggie Stack.
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not ; necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so.
NAM CANDIDATES haveswept the poll in the elections for the unattached seats on the ARCUK Council.
Out of the nine available seats, eight were taken by NAM-affiliated candidates. Only one NAM candidate failed to be elected and, significantly, only he omitted to de- clare his involvement in NAM on the polling sheet.
With votes cast up by 35%, this is a mass- iveaffirmationofsupportbyunattached architects in NAM policies. NAM can truly claim to represent the views of unattached architects on ARCUK.
The only non-NAM candidate to be elected, Robin Phillips, has seven years standingontheARCUKcommittee,andis therefore thought to have been able to count on considerable personal support.
Votescastwereasfollows: Elected
areformingacartelonARCUK similarto that of the existing bodies may be pleased to learh that many of the NAM members
RIBA innercity as-accordingtothecommitteepapers- the ‘Imageofthe City’ and ‘Working
conference sop planned
THE RIBA isplanningitsannual conference for 1978 on the theme of regenerating the inner cities, but this conspicuous display of public
Communities’, there will be slide shows of buildings famed for their contribution to the inner city crisis as Foster’s Willis Faber, Piano and Rogers’ Centre Pompidou, and Farrell and Grimshaw’s Hermann Miller Factory,
The only contribution these buildings have made to the inner city crisis is to helpperpetuateby,respectively,glorifying the imageof a firm of insurance brokers, by mystifying and formalising ‘Parisian’ culture, and by prettying up a factory
568 eran y 524
ne
:aid RoebTM
tanTod Ken Thorpe
ck
522% 507 518
|scoop!
NEYSNEWSNEWSNEWS) 2)
NAM notguilty on RIBA-CABx charge
(CIL:
THE NEW TORY administration | in the Greater London Council isproceeding apace with itsplans
to dismember the GLC Architects Department, and with it the GLC house-building programme.
This time last year the Department employedastaff of 2855. But the Tories
want to see this reduced to 2507 by this March.
profession. Itundoubtedly accepts one tenet of NAM policy; that the RIBA remains, quite without justification, the power behind the ARCUK throne.
NAM should beware, however, of deriving too much comfort from this apparent-if unlikely -source of support. For the motives of the West London Architectural Society do not appear entirely altruistic.
“We see this as the only solution to the present anomaly as a result of which the profession isdefecting from member- ship of the RIBA while retaining membership of ARCUK and by so doing obtaining the benefits of the Architects’ Registration Act without paying the true cost,”’ they say of their proposals.
In other words, members of the Society resent their hefty RIBA subscriptions being used to pay for services from which unattached members are deriving the benefit without payment. Looks like
a touch of the old enlightened self- interest from our friends in the RIBA.
RIBA insecond SAC conference volte-face
The January Council meeting of the RIBA reversed its earlier decision and voted to send an official RIBA delegation to the Schools of Architecture Conference after al, inthelatestinstallmentofthiswillthey/ won\'t they cliffhanger.
By the time Slate 5S had gone to press the rapidly changing situation concerning the RIBA/SAC Conference on education had altered in that the RIBA withdrew its off- icial report, but yet again the RIBA’s pen- dulum swung the other way.
The background to this turn-around was that SAC(or at least its chairman Tom Markus) expressed the view that the RIBA had lost faith in SAC and was cold should- ering the Conference, because of its with- drawal. Inasurprisingly liberally-toned statement to Council, Gordon Graham explained that the RIBA had withdrawn because of misgivings about the organisa- tion of the conference, and that he would
like to have seen a wider representation of views, even to the extreme of inviting NAM(shock, horror), adding that their withdrawal from the conference was in no way a condemnation of it. One would
SLATE 6PAGE 4
ARCUK’s callousness aroused shock reactions among architects, who wrote in their scores registering their disapp roval. Eventually ARCUK Registrar Kenneth Forder said that the offending shares had been sold because they showed a good quick profit on the Stock Exchange.
Yet the surrounding events make such a cosy account of the reasons for sale somewhat improbable. For just before Forder’s announcement the RIBA President Gordon Graham revealed that the Institute had sold its shares in South Africa.
The RIBA does not appear to have evenattemptedtocoveritsactions
with a smokescreen of philanthropy -
and even if it had done no-one would } have believed it. For on what seems ! to have been the same day as the i Institute said it would sel its South
African shares and examine its invest- ment portfolio, the Nigerian Gove ment announced that it would take a dim view of construction interests with political involvements with which it does not approve.
Nigeria is of course to be the location of the next Arab-type construction boom, and al self-respecting speculating interests -including, itwould appear, the RIBA -got the message long ago that it was likely to generate more construction royalties than South Africa in the foreseeable future. Henceforth, the Nigerian Government has made it plain, it is calling the tunes for European construction interests to dance to.
It does not appear unlikely that ARCUK as well as the RIBA (and thanks, maybe, to a tip-off?) got the message that, far from investments in South Africa being goodfinancialsense,theycouldturn out to be just the opposite. But where as the decision to buy shares appears to need ARCUK Council approval, the decision to sel can, apparently, be made by the Registrar. Constitutional?
There is no doubt that a large number of architects were surprised to find ARCUK buying shares at al, let alone
in South Africa. Why, they asked them selves, should a registration body specu late on the Stock Exchange with their money?
And a large question mark looms over the involvement of the new Registrar Kenneth Forder in the whole affair. As if having been a magistrate in Rhodesia does not sufficiently discredit his credentials for the ARCUK job in the first place -not to mention suggest a personal disposition towards the South Africa affair - he seems to have been caught with his trousers down
in the political climate in Southern Africa and Vorster’s continuing relentless handling of internal political dissent. Indeed, so well are South African
shares doing that it is said that, rather than selling, stockbrokers Hill Samuel actually advised the RIBA to invest more in South Africa only a matter of a week before the Nigerian Government put paid to al that.
The Financial Times Wee
JUSTRIALS—Continued It fed Dt! eres “| Xe
ARCUK and
s. Africa the unanswered questions
Whilst it appears that Mr Forder has attempted to gloss over this remark in private, he does not appear to have attempted to redress it in public. Which rather implies that he stil agrees with it.
One savage irony of the affair is that, by and large, South African investments are indeed showing well on the Stock Exchange, due to the improvement
140 17,0] 29] 69 | 37 460 2 42/77 |% 6 3.8)13.7] 19] 43 | 30 3 3,614.0] 20] 36 | 2% a3 O.8)1 85/144 | 68 220 35{18) 24] S72] 33
Oe Va
DEMOCRATIC DESIGN A New Role for the
Local Authority Architect?
CONFERENCE Birmingham May 6th 1978
ane
ARCUK may havesolditscon- troversial shares in South Africa, but several consequential issues remain unresolved.
The story so far: at the last meeting of ARCUK the unattached representa- tives were horrified to find, in the financial small print, the proposal that the Council should buy £158.10p worth of shares in Consolidated Gold Fields, a firm celebrated for bringing the prac- tice of ‘separate development’ to unfor- seen depths.
The unattached group sought to Oppose the proposal on moral grounds, but were astonished to find their motion defeated by 26 to 7, with 13 abstentions. ARCUK Council members made it plain in debate that they con- sidered sound business sense beyond moral considerations.(See Slate 5 for a fuller report.
- How can the local authority architectural worker influence office policy?
-Is the present pervasive sense of remote- ness and powerlessness inevitable?
-Are local authority architects’ departments second-rate versions of private practice? -Are building work departments similarly pale counterparts of the private sector? -Where do these ideas come from and why do they presist? What is the evidence? -Are local authorities apotentially radical structure through which architects can work for the public interest?
- What personal experience of directly working to briefs prepared by local organisations can public architects share? -What new structures and methods of work should be considered?
These are some of the questions which we will be consideringat the first NAM Public Design Service conference in Vay.
For further information and application forms write to:
s. | 53 - il
SOUTHAFRICANS Ba
105 = | 47} 30, 370 1.3) 46] s9%| se? 107 t162.805|64 203 10. S| 47 |2
50 22/140) 3.2145 [iC “a 3.4) 67] 44] 62
SD I. 14145] 49/171
109
72
187 TEXTILES [12 1st
Scene of SLATE\'S first experience of censorship — NAM\'’s stand at last November\'s Interbuild exhibition
picture, John Allan
\\AlliedTextile| 67 28|2341201 © *rhine Per 7
VSNIEWS
The Secretary PDS Group NAM
9 Poland St London W1
SLATE 6PAGE 5
NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS] SNEWS ONE
have thought that any Schools of Archi- tecture Council that valued independence would have jumped at this chance todis- cuss education freely, but the SAC-primed
council members and RIBA education hardliners moved that the RIBA send an official delegation and only the two student members voted against.
So the slim chance of a wide-ranging and uninhibited discussion at this important conference disappeared. In fact, judging by
by SAC’s attitude to the issue from the outset, it was never there at al.
Over remarks in a trade press interview before he even took office.
Mr Forder said he thought the un- attached architects ‘misguided’ in their attempt to attack the decision to buy. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of
his comment (on which further comment isunnecessary) and his credentials at the time to judge the issue at al, the
question was quickly picked up as to precisely what right he had to pass opinion on the matter in his profess— ional capacity whatever,
After al Mr Forder is paid to serve the wishes of the Council. His job will prove rather difficult - or he will find it rather difficult to do his job - if he intends to enter into controversies within the profession.
Sez
The RIBA
The RIBA’s education policy is formulated by its Education and Practice Committee (EPEC).
This committee of seventeen
people, which includes five heads of schools and two students, receives reports, papers and representations from individuals, special conferences (such as Oxford in 1958) and from theteneducationalcommittees responsible to EPEC. These committees cover the Visiting Board, the pattern of courses, practical training and
Part 3, European Affairs and Research Steering.
There is also an EPEC Steering Committee which (presumably)
decides thegeneraldirectionof
EPEC’s policy. This is made up of six people; Wells-Thorpe (Chairman of EPEC), Kenneth Campbell, Andrew Derbyshire
(of advertising and monopolies fame), Bob Maguire (well-known architect and headofOxford Polyschool),Tom Markus (Chairman of SAC and head
of Strathclyde school), Ken Martin (head of Liverpool Poly school).
Recommendations from EPEC go to Council where, if agreed, become policy, and are put into effect by EPEC and its committees.
The visiting board and the
pattern of courses are the most important of the EPEC committees.
The latter advises on the changes and addition to existing courses or totally new courses and decides if the RIBA is to recognise these. It is made up of the
EPEC steering committee plus two members of ARCUK’s Board of Education (also RIBA members).
The visiting board is a pool of twenty or so RIBA members, six of whom visiteachschooleveryfive years (and, increasingly, every two years after for a ‘checkup’). One
of the six is from the region in which
SLATE 6PAGE 6
the school issituated, one represents ARCUK and a school can request a student member too. At the school theyinspectwork,talktothehead, staff and students and snoop around generally. The end result is a corporate view of the board in the form of aconfidential report to the head of school, which makes recommendations on standards and conditions, and a recommendation to theRIBAonwhetherrecognition should be continued or not.
The visiting board holds the
same power over existing courses as the pattern of courses holds over new. or altered ones. Apart from recommendations, their weapon is the refusal to recognise a course. RIBA
recognitionmeansthatacoursegives exemption from the RiBA’s Part I
and Part Il examinations which have
to be passed in order to take Part Il and become an ARCUK-registered architect. As an unrecognised course isprettyuselessintermsof‘entry
into the profession’, by withdrawing recognition from a school or threatening to do this the RIBA can force the
school to alter its course or face closure, although some schools (Hull, for instance) have resisted this pressure and survived to be returned to the f6ld.
Limits to control
The RIBA’s control is, however, strictly limited to some extent by the strength of the educational institutions. For instance, if the RIBA were to withdraw recognition from, or recommend a reduction of intake to, a university course it would be jumped on by the University Grants Council and
university authorities, as any reduction innumberswouldreducethemoney going into the university and cause redundancies among the staff. The RIBA has been known to capitulate under such circumstances.
But outside these restrictions by large institutions, the RIBA thas fairly comprehensive control. It argues thatinfactitsstandardsareeasily reached by the schools, and that outside the standards issue the school has a free hand. The point is, however,
that the RIBA’s standards, due to its restricted view of the architects’ profession, are not necessarily those which are to the good of the profession orthecommunity asawhole.
Further, upholding the RIBA’s standards can infer changes of
anything from intake policy, to course content, to final examinations. It is, however, worth noting that because theRIBA’sreportisconfidentialitis easy for a school to blame the RIBA for restricting courses when it is in fact due to the school’s (or its head’s) lack of
commitment.
The RIBA policy
Among present RIBA concerns the ‘size of the profession’ study is probably of most import and concern to radicals and educators. This study was written by Kenneth Campbell and Suggests various ways of reducing the size of the profession by reducing the numbers in education.
These include ‘culling’ (ie booting out) after Part Iby imposing stricter standards for entry to Part I. This would leave students with a useless first degree, but was supported by RIBA regions and, although initially rejected by the RIBA, is rumoured soon to be put into effect by some schools.
Tougher standards to be introduced
by visiting boards and closer control of education by the RIBA were also proposed and supported by the Regions. The effect ofthisoneducationinprogressive
courses in particluar is obvious, and althoughtheRIBAhasnotactedonthis as yet, stil stands as a proposal.
The one proposal suggested by the RIBA and already put into effect by
the Strathclyde school (Tom Markus)
is to reduce the numbers entering schools from the sixth form. Without going into any detail, any reduction in numbers has seriousimplicationsforeducation.Itwill mean the sacking of staff and reduction of resources available to schools, probably the withdrawal of recognition from
and closure of the more radical and interesting schools, and give the RIBA greater control over the content of courses. The overall effect will be to limit the rangeandchoiceof educati ilabl
to students, and an even more select
elite actually becoming architects.
This demonstrates the RIBA’s blinkered approach to education, in that rather than attempt to expand the roleofthearchitectintomoresocially us¢ful areas, it merely seeks to reduce numbers, ostensibly to protect the salaried architect, but in tact to preserve the status and position of the principal.
ARCUK and SAC
The Architects’ Registration Council of the UK and the Schoolosf Architecture Conference are the other two bodies concerned with architectural education.
SAC isabody set up seven years ago to offer a corporate view of the schools of architecture regarding educational policy. Itismade upofone representative of the students, one of the staff and the head of each of the thirty-eight schools, with an executive of seven members of each group (staff, students, heads). Itholdsannualconferencesand
regional meetings.
SACpridesitselfonitsdemocratic nature, theoretically representing staff, students and heads equally. In practice it does not quite work out like that, as there isatendency for staff to vote with their head of school (job security before principles!), for students to be disorganised and somewhat inarticulate, andfortheheadsofschooltohave somewhat greater influence within the
RIBA due to their presence on EPEC and council.
SAC has had a stormy relationship with the RIBA despite the heads’ influence. At the 1976 conference the students proposed that SAC should
b a i ber ofARCUK and commit itself to returning control of education to that body. This was narrowly defeated, but it was agreed
to set up a working party to investigate the education implications of the RIBA/ ARCUK setup.
Unfortunately, the students have become noticeably less radical since then and the issue has dribbled away. A severe dent to the SAC’s credibilty came when despite the student body’s rejectionof the RIBA’s offer of representation on the visiting board, none of the SAC
members said a word when the RIBA decided to find its own students by Screening and interviews.
ARCUK, in the form of its Board of Education, ismerely arubber stamp for
_the RIBA’s education policy. The situation is so farcical that the visiting board\'s pool of RIBA members “also includes members of ARCUK”(quote from EPEC document). So members
who represented the RIBA on one visiting board can, as necessary, represent ARCUK on the next. To quote fror’ the SAC working party report previously mentioned (by John
Frazer) “it isclear that the delegation of responsibility for architectural education from ARCUK to the RIBA was in defiance of the Architects’ Registration Acts. Itiscertainly
oh andpossiblyinbreachofthelaw. jaw”.
Action forNAM and individuals
Ona political level, NAM’s strategy
of seeking to achieve control of the profession by a democratic ARCUK obviously encompasses education. But asyetNAM hasnoalternativeeducation policy to offer as a co-ordinator of opposition to existing forms of education. This has been exposed by frantic efforts to organise some response to the forthcoming SAC conference, which
has shown thata rational policy can
only be achicved by research into the motivesandreasonsbehindourpresent system, resulting in a coherent programme and plan of action. This must be considered the first priority of the education group.
For individuals, it is worth rememberingthatyoucanfindout your SAC reps are and let them know your opinions, If there is no SAC rep, and no established from of electing one. organise representation through any school society that exists or, at worst, call yourself the SAC rep and let the
EDUCATING ARCHIE
CONTACTS
NAM Education Group: Hugo Hinsley 01 251 0274
RIBA Student reps: Judi Loach, 25A Bolton Gdns, London SWS
01 373 2763
Dave Breakell, c/o 173 Lozells Rd, B\'ham B19 1HS
SAC (general): c/o Dept Architecture & Bldg Science, Strathclyde Univ, 131 Rottenrow, Glasgow G4 ONE
041 552 4400 x3001
SAC (students): Alastair Metcalfe, c/o Scholl of Environmental Studies, University College, London WC1
SLATE 6PAGE 7
EDUCATION SPECIAL
The RIBA’s control over architectural education has become increasingly important since the late fifties because entry to the profession is almost exclusively through schools of architecture, enabling the RIBA to monitor intake, standards and the content of courses. At the Hull Congress the NAM education workshop expressed concern that there is ignorance amongst students and some staff as to the means by which the RIBA controls education, how itarrives at educational policy, other bodies involved in architectural education and how grass roots opinion can be voiced. This brief guide
isby DAVE BREAKELL, student representative on the RIBA Council.
(HOW THE RIBACONTROLS
EDUCATION
The RIBA has no explicit education policy as such. Its policy is made upof al the papers, etc, that have been set over the years, plus educational aspects of the RIBA’s general position, such as maintenance of the traditional concept of professionalism, of the hierarchical profession and continuing thepolicyof high academic qualifications for entry.
Elizabeth Layton, head of the RIBA’s Education Department and advisor to EPEC, has the most comprehensive knowledge of RIBA education policy. This fact, allied to her intelligence
and articulate debating ability, explains her considerable influence over EPEC in this area.
The problems ofarchitectural education are often seen as either of ‘controlo’r ‘content’, an approach which results
in attempts to reform one or other aspect
The current squabble between the Schools of Architecture Council and the RIBA over the ‘Making of an Architect’ conference, which was outlined by Dave Breakell in Slate 5 (p.10), is important in that it serves to raise yet again the ‘education debate’ which is given a periodic airing at times of crisis or re- direction but is otherwise left to the internal ministrations of the RIBA,
operation or boycott ifthere is support, or of asking the right questions and raising issues. The result of not organising is usually dead silence or the board delivering acomplete corporate lecture. It might be advisable to
contact NAM or the RIBA student
reps (who are sympathetic to NAM)
to discuss issues.
of the system. Here Hugo Hinsley, AA lecturer and member of Support argues that an analysis of every aspect of education is an essential starting point for any progress.
of the present machinery of educational conditioning, It is the machinery we should examine, not the bickering.
Structure
The issue of education is inextricably
linked with the beginnings and growth
of the profession. It is vital to anew profession, in establishing credibility in society, and thus a privileged position for its members, to control entry into the profession and to set up an academic respectability for its field of activity.
holding examinations (if it so chooses)
or of recognising other examinations it thinks fit. In spite of a long struggle before the 1931 Registration Act, the RIBA did not succeed in persuading parliament that it should be the regist- ration body or that the practice of arch- itecture should be protected - the Act only protected the title ‘registered arch-
itect’, later broadened to ‘architect’. However, the RIBA successfully circum— vented this failing by dominating the structure of ARCUK, to the extent that
‘unattached’ representatives on ARCUK, is the balance being redressed. It is interesting that there is now a ‘trong lobby in the RIBA for handing back the administration of education to ARCUK, as it costs around £40,000 a year. This shows partly how confident some in the RIBA are of being able to manipulate ARCUK, and partly how vulnerable
RIBA feels to complaints from the mem— bership about ‘exemption fees’. These
are paid by those joining RIBA and go towards its education budget. Those who register with ARCUK but ignore RIBA, as many younger architects are doing, pay only the registration fee One of ARCUK’s great weaknesses has always been that, though it is the stat— utory body, it has generated no finance to fulfill its obligations, preferring to
leave them to RIBA. If ARCUK is to take on its responsibilities it will have to change, and NAM must keep up the pressure to make it an accountable and representative body.
It is perhaps too cynical to say that ‘the RIBA is not interested in education and its activities in the field of education are a quest for status, both economic and academic status’ — but it is clear that the RIBA’s interest has not been impartial and has had a stultifying effect. The proposed York Conference
into an elitist profession and to build
up its model of a standardised, techno— cratic and stratified training process.
By the time of the Cambridge Con- ference in 1970 the RIBA was confident enough to demand a ‘concentration of courses’ and the rationalisation of teaching into a few ‘large multi-discip- linary centres’ — and to flex its
muscles over the ‘recognition’ of schools. Though having no statutory powers, the RIBA could effectively close a school
by withdrawing ‘recognition’ of its exam-
inations and so remove its sources of financial support. Between 1962 and 1970 the number of schools offering courses in architecture fel from 64 to 44, and most of the part-time courses were crushed. In the summer of 1971 the RIBA attempted, not entirely successfully, to close 5 more ‘unrecog— nised’ schools.
York conference
The ideas being floated for the York Conference this year, the 20th anniver- sary of Oxford, may continue the erosion
of diversity, freedom and relevance to architectural education. There will be strong emphasis on the need for technology and scientific method, and a powerful lobby to remove the vocational first-degree course in preference for a general academic course,
ollowed by a post-graduate course with a ocational and professional bias. “This rrangement would suit both major parties. twould give the schools the academic free-
BCIAL
kers even further and to continue the de- skilling of architectural production. Oxford established the sub-species of technicians or assistants -those who did not clear the hurdle of A level entry -and set up the architect as ‘team leader’ figure, though without consulting the other skills in the
team. Now there are those who would like to see a master race of PhD architects se- lected (one wonders by whom) after Part 1, leaving a middle area of generalised “Bach- elors of the Environment’ who will, no doubt, make ideal bureaucracy fodder.
This is a grotesquely limiting view of ed- ucation and of the role of those with archi- tectural skills in our society, but it is a natural step in the entrenchment of the profession. Even this brief synopsis of the ‘education debate’ shows that education isnot aperipheral issue but has avery central position. It is of fundamental con-
cern to NAM, being the starting point of the present system for the production of architectural workers and for the definition of their status. We need to question not just the furm, content and administration
of education, but also the assumed role of the profession.
Neither education nor the structure of the profession nor the design and product- ion of buildings can be seen in abstract; they are al effected by the social, political and economic framework of our society, and a part of education is to consider and question this framework.
Education is not just the imparting of skills and techniques in a supposedly neu- tral form. Whether or not there is a con- scious intention, education is also about
Although the preconceptions exposed by
this squabble should be looked at in
detail and challenged by al people con—
cerned about the production of architects The young RIBA first introduced an exam- many architects, let alone thegeneral
dom and status they seek and provide the
RIBA with a way of limiting entry to the _ forming and testing values and ideas. This
in our society, this must not be allowed ination in 1882%‘ according to a standard to divert our attention and energies from to be fixed from time to time by the
a more fundamental debate. The bickering Council” It is ARCUK, established in we are seeing is between administrators 1931, that has the statutory duty of
public, have assumed that RIBA is a professional qualification rather than a gentleman\'s club. Only recently, through the efforts of NAM members as
NEXT DAY AT THE RIBA
srofession by restricting entry to the post- yraduate courses.’ The effect of such pro- yosals will be to stratify architectural wor-
can be an attempt at social conditioning
or it can aim to develop the tools for quest- ioning and change that are relevant to a
ARCHIE TEKT|\\ Everything okniger|
LATER...
so uniting
EADLC ;
How To
PINKO (DGALIST RuppisH. (Give
FLEECE BY a.TeKT):
can be seen as the next step in controlling the education machine
and thus the profession. A major break- through for RIBA was the Oxford Conference of 1958 which established the two A-level minimum standard for students, the dominance of full-time university courses and the run-down of part-time vocational courses. The RIBA sought to use education as a hurdle
for 1978
EDUCATION
school know (and therefore raise objections). SAC exists to represent grass roots opinion.
If a visiting board is visiting your school, it will hold a meeting between itself and students alone. It is essential for students to prepare a strategy in advance, either one of non co-
WHAT THE EDUCATION
DEBATE’S
ABOUT
.togetherness... close
commercial built with domestic
social
Gor iT
T .\\ LECTURE
created a homes romaine
TODAY
SLATE 6PAGES
SLATE 6PAGE 9
, ee
wider analysis of the society we live and work in. It is not surprising that a profess- ional institution which has managed to attain effective control over education will have a strong bias towards the former of these two approaches.
However, there are examples of schools, or parts of schools, which see their respon- sibilities as not just training for profession- al status but as providing education in its broadest sense. They have developed con- tacts with the world outside their doors and attempted to locate their work and their learning in a real-life context, and some have achieved alevel of socially responsible and accountable work. In Hurley and Metcalfe’s article “Appropriate
social architecture as a radical alternative to normal professional practice are concern- ed at the RIBA’s swift move to en capsul- ate the field, anda critical analysis of the ‘community architecture’ bandwagon by Tom Woolley was featured in SLATE 2. A meeting of teachers and students at Glouc- ester to share experiences of new ways of working (reported in SLATE 5 page 5) has sent astatement to the RIBA Community Architecture Working Group resisting any attempt to ‘impose or even suggest a uni- tary approach to this, or any other, aspect of architectural education.........so called Community Architecture should not just become another subject in the curriculum. This would be to misunderstand the nature of the radical commitment required’.
WHY ALTERNATIVES CAN\'T COME FROM THE SCHOOLS
Slater now worse than Scorpio!
Dear Sir,
Since inaccuracy, or at least blind bias,
isthestuffofpolemics,Idonotexpect stories in The Slater to be correct, neither I suspect, do your readers.
However, for the record, Iwould be glad ifyou would allow me to comment on your story “Tassgirl”’ (Slate 5) concern- ing Building Design’s refusal to carry an advertising brochure from BDS TASS.
The BD advertising manager did not
“String” BDS TASS along, nor did he say “no”,
Thetruestory isasfollows: Itisa rigidly held po icy of mine that no advert-
6th March
PUBLIC SECTOR ARCHITECTS FACE REDUNDANCIES -Members of the GLC Architects Department talk about the attempts by the new Tory Administration to devolve their responsibilities to the p private sector and to other local authorities in the GLC area. The demantling of the housing, architects and direct labour departments of the GLC may be the pattern other Tory authorities will follow after the May elections.
6.30 at 36, Bedford Square, London W1
One way for ‘progressi’n Architectural education which has been widely mooted is the inclusion of ‘community architectureo’n the curriculum. In this article Jim Lowe, who has experience
of community projects in schools, outlines
the problems of such departures from a political and an organisational point of view.
| have without defining the term
munity Architecture” attempted to
look at the problems involved in engaging in any form of radical alternative within architecturaleducation. Thereisageneral confusion as to what is implied by
Community Architecture’? — everyone has their own definition. I am certainly confusedastoexactlywhatismeantby the term, as this article may reflect. The article by Metcalf and Hurley(1) gives the only review of the current situation within architectural education. Certainly it illuminates the scale and diversity of involvement
It is generally assumed that in any discussion centred around radical alternatives that the schools of architecture are actually suited to attempt this. But, Isuggest, it is important that we start by first questioning this basic assumption. Most documented projects appear to be concerned with
helping the working class — the inhabitants of threatened inner urban areas, the
housing poor, those denied help through
lack of finance. Macdonald (2) Ifeel
rightly questions whether the schools of architecture wich are middle-class
SLATE 6PAGE 10
participate in the past may question why bother doing itnow. This general dissat- isfaction with modern architecture and participatory exercises is never going to be expressed in a call for changes in our institutions — changes come from within.
Istipulated that if the offending leaflet was overprinted with an explanation we would send itout. However, TASS were
All day, Birmingham. Detail from the Secretary, PDS Group, NAM, 9 Poland Street, London WI
8th May NAM London Group Meeting:
THE ARCHITECTURAL PRESS
6.30 at 36, Bedford Square, London WI
All events open to anyone to attend, unless otherwise indicated.
UNPUBLISHED ARTICLES
The following articles have been received by the editors but have not been included for lack of space. The editors appologise to the authors of the various pieces:
ARTICLE ON THE ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION AND EDUCATION IN HOLLAND
ARCTICLE ON NAM HULL GROUP
FIRST ARTICLE IN THE SERIES ON URBAN HISTORY
‘SLATE 6 PAGE 11
institutions, certainly in terms of intake
and will continue to be so, are at at all
able or equipped to form any lasting
relationship with the working-class. He
continuesbyadvocatingthatcoursesin timeandnothavingbeenexpectedto
6th May NAM PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE CONFERENCE:
A MAJOR CONFERENCE TOWARDS A NEW ROLE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY
craft subjects and environmental education
based in the inner city schools may perhaps
be more likely to produce radical alternatives.
I would also suggest the Workers Educational
Association, which is sadly neglected, as
another organisation that could provide
the basis for community work. This would
bye-pass the middle-class institutions.
Therefore, for most students who do wish
to involve themselves in radical alternatives
Isee no reason why they must be carried
out ina School of Architecture. The act of
committment to the client is the proof
offaithinaradicalalternative-not
looking to see how it can be manipulated into is the educational value, in every way the
you are dealing with. They won\'t be sympathetic and won\'t be prepared to read anything, they want to glance at drawings. It is not good getting angry about this.
The system is there and you have to present work to it.” (3)
Students who seek radical alternatives will have to draw up their own guidelines and establish the level of their i
and commitment to their ‘clients’. Visit other groups involved in attempting radical alternatives in architecture — changes are possible, The following points were agreed bythe“Community Architecture”in Sthools of Architecture meeting held in Gloucester December 1977.
1.Community Architectureisaterm which increasingly signifies for many the institutionalisation of radical activity in architectural practice.
. The RIBA should not impose or even suggest a unitary approach to this, or any other, aspect of architectural education. Diversity and flexibility for each school to respond in its won own situation is imperative.
So oalled community architecture should not just become another subject in the curriculum. This would be to misunderstand the nature of the radical commitment required.
continued on p15
unable to comply in the time So there!.
Peter Murray.
ditor. :
Building Design.
READING URBAN HISTORY
availabl
into the architectural course programme. Even though the academic institutions
seemideallyplacedtoofferaserviceto community groups their timescale does not respect the needs of those groups — residents meetings, planning meetings still have to be attended despite long academic vacations. Involvement cannot end with the arrival of the end of the academic
year. When the students move off, the ‘clients’ are always left to carry on. This continuity is perhaps the major difficulty facing the schools providing such a service to community groups.
‘live situation’ is a more valid and rewarding way of learning. If then, schools are to provideaservice,andIamstilluncertain
in my own mind whether or not they should, let us look at the schools.
The greatest obstacle to students wishing to carry out community projects are the schools of architecture themselves and the attitudes taken by a majority of the staff towards any form of radical alternative
Most schools are so bureaucratic and courses so tightly structured as to make it impossible for students to engage in any community project work. Students generally have little
SLATE 7 sees the start of an important new series of articles by John Murray on Urban History, which traces the evolution of theories of urban development since the early nineteenth century. This essentially teoretical series, which takes the form of a comentary on the work of various authors, will be accompanied by a book list, so that readers can follow the development of the ideas
and arguments in the original texts.
Architects along with the planners, public OF no say in their education. They have no
health officers and engineers have been knocked off their pedestal, they have failed to provide the City beautiful and good.
The dissatisfaction with modern architecture has led to the call for greater participation. Yet it should be remembered that people do not expect to be consulted and feel
choice in selecting projects — when they undertake certain types of projects, the nature of those projects and their duration. Therefore, the structure and programming of courses within schools must be questioned. Flexibility and diversity is important in order that the educational programme can respond to the needs of the
inadequate when faced with professionalism. Most people are unfamiliar with the idea of questioning planning decisions. They, like studentsar,e participating for the first
there are problems. This is reflected in
Tom Wooley’s advice to his student present-
-ing his work for assessment within the
relative freedom of the AA’s ‘units’ system.
“..... in addition the work you do will
often have to be re-presented for your AA
portfolio. Other people who assess it will
oftenbemoreignorantthanthelaypeople ratherthanaE DesignStaff. ARCHITECTS’
So far Ihave questioned the role of the institution and it may appear that I do not favour the involvement of the schools. If some schools are to encourage students to provide a service to community groups and there is a genuine involvement in radical alternatives then those schools will have to changetoallowthis.WhatIdonotquestion
student at any time. Students must have a greater freedom in directing their own education. It is too casy to lay the blame on CNAA or university regulations for not allowing change. Itherefore would argue that for those students, and it is usually only a few, who wish to become involved in radical alternatives, then it is the schools that must allow them the opportunity to do so. This work must be seen and treated as a legitimate part of an architectural course.
Further pressure is put on, particularly final year students, by the staff to undertake the ‘traditional’ complex design project asking where is the ‘architectural’ or ‘design content’ in community projects. The entrepencurial nature of architecture
is rejected by many students who seek radical alternatives, and yet this right is denied them by the staff. There is too oftenafailuretostafftounderstandthe aspirations of students and to motivate
them. Those who seek radical alternatives are too often penalised. This work must first be encouraged by the staff and schools and treated by RIBA visiting boards and external examiners as a legitimate basis
for individual projects. If we consider that 80% of the built environment isresidential how many courses in architecture respond to the needs of that statistic or to the needs ofthecommunities?
NAM London Group Meeting:
Even where the school is structured
to allow involvement in community projects} ising matter should appear in the paper
MONTHLY MEETING
6.30 at 9 Poland Street, London WI
14th March AUEW/TASS London Building Design Staff Branch
Meeting. PROFESSIONALISM? - A talk by guest
speaker Anne Delaney
6.30 at PCLSU, 108 Bolsover Street, London WI
10th April NAM London Group Meeting:
THE MONOPOLIES COMMISSION REPORT - AN END TO ARCHITECTURE AS WE NOW KNOW IT?
6.30 at 36, Bedford Square, London WI
which the reader might confuse as editor- ial, and it was Iwho insisted that we should not mail the particular leaflet that BDS TASS had produced because of the way itwas designed. Since our names are similar, the circular looked as though it came from Building Design newspaper
7th March
~==NAM Feminist and Architecture Group.
EDUCATION SPECIAL
Education’ they quote their survey which revealed that 5 of the 38 schools operated some form of ‘community design’ live pro- ject work. One of their conclusions is that ‘to sustain the practice of social architect- ure and achieve appropriate confidence, education must include projects which are real, live and socially committed’. The RIBA has picked up some sense of these develop- ments and has adopted the term *commun- ity architecture’ to cover such activities in
schools and in practice. Recognising a growth area, the RIBA has been eager to explore and define ‘communityarchitect- ure’ and to see it as an option among any architect’s polychrome skills. Those in the schools and in practice who are developing
Organisers wishing to advertise their events in SLATE please note that due to printing and distribution schedule, events should
be notified to the editorial committee three months inadvance ifpossible.
\\
WRITE TO SLATE‘, 9,POLAND ST, LONDON, W1.
a
Ss)
1
Councd regret that, ow: a areadanag
Cockburn, published by Pluto Press paperback£2.95
royed’ bureacracy and the community, it is employedbytheStatetoreinforcethe particular social fabric that underpins moderncapitalism.Sheshowsinthefollow- ing extract how the widespread notion
that ‘small isgood’ weakens the potential of community action for structural change: vate “There isin the idea of Community Action the idea of smallness up against big- ness. We are asked to think of the David of the small council estate taking on the Goliath of the town hall. ‘Small is beaut- iful’.Itisanimage which totallyrulesout the reality of class struggle in which huge and powerful forces are ranged against each other, not momentarily, but over centuries\"” This book has arrived at a timely moment: We see a resurgence of interest in local democracy. Perhaps this has been precip- itated by an awareness that the local state
has, in urban areas, failed in it’s allotted task of providing the essential facilities of housing, health, child-care etc. and how this failure has been compounded by a silent acceptance of cuts in government spending. Ifever you saw your local auth- ority as a model for the decentralised soc- ialist state that we\'re al working for then ‘The Local State’ is an eye-opener.
It poses 2 questions that SLATE readers will need to confront:
1. Is the local authority Architects Department theembryo ofanation- alised or socialised design industry oris it the unwitting servant of the State ?
eS ‘THELOCALSTATE’byCynthiafrombridgingthegulfbetweenthe‘newimp-
London BDS branch of TASS got to hear about the project and their immediate reaction to the proposition was to ask whether the workers in the design con- sultancies concerned are unionised. No replies yet, but suspicions are that they are not. Will the Labour movement set aside its traditions of solidarity and dip its hand in its pocket to buy bricks, and pay the fees associated with them to non- unionised firms? The London BDS branch of TASS hopes not and would like to hear from any other trade unionists who feel as they do.
WEALTHY
Ifeel sorry for RIBA president Gordon Graham -he doesn’t get paid for his four-days-a-week stint at Portland Place. But Isuppose there issome consolation for him in that he can stil afford a chauffeur-driven Mercedes for that tedious drive back to his Leicestershire- based practice. Judging by the amounts of gin and tonic he gets through, he needs it.
PRICEY
Andreas Papadakis, entrepreneur-peddlar of architectural gobbledigook, has just launched the architectural glossy to end all glossies. Architectural Monographs, it’s called. Readers who are about to reach for their cheque books to sign away twenty- four pounds to Mr Papadakis for a four- issues subscription, might spare a thought for the fact that that little fortune would get them copies of SLATE delivered to -heir breakfast tables for the next TWELVE YEARS!
Cheques payable to ‘SLATE’ please.
| SS eaetie
re a Rupertissingle,black,38yearsold.Hehas
Hl
4
just successfully concluded aone-man picket outside Lambeth’s Rates Office. The Borough had refused to recognise Rupert’s living situation -ahouse shared with other single people, and had continually sent the rates demands for the whole house in his name. Holding aplacard saying““THE COUNCIL ISRUN BY FASCISTS’ and after 6 cold days of being gazed at by bemused passers-by and various officials they agreed to his demands (though not to his analysis of the political leanings of council officials), and sent separate rates bills. Rupert had realised that after letters and representations through very friendly councillors, that direct action was the only language that was understood. He had ques- tioned the inaccessibility of the modern local authority.
Cynthia Cockburn’s ‘THE LOCAL STATE?’ looks past the baroque portals of Lambeth Town Hall and precisely enquires as to the nature and origin of that inaccess’- ibility. She concentrates on two movements that have transformed local authorities since the late sixties; Corporate Management and Community Development. Lambeth adopted new management techniques dur- in a spell under the tories and began to streamline it’s hitherto fragmented organ- isation. It started to measure its ‘effective- ness’by the the same means as would a large corporate business. The number of
committees was reduced from 17 to 11 and they were interwoven into a tight unitary form that would be capable of integrated ‘intelligent’ behaviour. The author con- tends that these changes were promoted
by central government committees ex- pressly in order to bind local authorities to the implementation of centralised policy.
She then turns her attention to Commun- ity Development’ and describes how, far
the offices of power: local or central ?
Building design professionals in the public sector have emerged from the same educa- tional and class background as have the planning officials, corporate managers and public clients they deal with in their pro-
London’s sunny Walworth Road- see the equally tasteful architect’s perspective above. Apart from the architectural merit of the project, on which this column would not presume ajudgement, one or two other questions spring to mind, the first of which is the siting of this monu-
. By initiating or participating in
community-based projects on the
lines descibed in SLATE 2 are we
merely helping to mould society
into a form that is easily controlled
and manipulated by central govern-
ment; Do we thereby make the impl-
ementation of state policy smoother
by employing our professional status
to‘legitimise’thesepolicies? OFFICIALDOM
SACRILEGE
| fessional life. Although they may squabble over planning apllications, regulations etc.
Readers of the Association of Official Architects’ newsletter ‘Public Eye’ were treated to no-holds-barred attack on journalist Anne Karpf as they flicked through the pages of the paper’s December issue. Ms Karpf’s offence? She had the
THE INCORRUPTIBLE—
The RIBA bookshop seems to have a closed door to certain publications. Asked recently if the New Architecture Calendar was for sale, bookshop supremo Ron McKie said ‘no, but I’ve got a copy that Hellman sent me personally, it’s very funny.’ When pressed that as it was funny shouldn’t the bookshop stock it, he replied with ‘why should the RIBA support a subversive organisation that seeks to overthrow it?’ Obviously the calendar didn’t subvert him.
On another occasion one of the suave assistants, standing near the ‘radical’ section, was asked for a copy of Nick Wates’ The Battle for Tolmers Square, ‘I don’t think we\'ve got it’, Well, were they going to get it? ‘No’ said the ass- istant, looking through shelves stacked with Charles(RIBA) McKean’s Fight Blight and the odd copy of Colin Ward’s Tenants Take Over, ‘there’s not much demand for that sort of thing.’
“Any practitioner interested in | there is little doubt that they share the temerity to write an article for the AJ on ment to the power of labour. Why is it to receiving an invitation, and anyone
|NAME,
|ADDRESS. theiralignmentintheprivatesector. Steel,SecretarySAC...”
| If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fil in the form below and send it together |
Unfortunately, perhaps, for the SAC some NAM members took this at face value and wrote away. The result? - nothing. Absolute silence.
Whilst the Slater appreciates that thiscoynesscouldhavebeencausedby the chaos into which the organisation oftheconferenceappearstohavedis- i d I :your
please.
SLATE 6PAGE 13
| NAME. |ADDRE
SLATE 6PAGE 12 a
| |
predominant interests of this social democ- racyofours.This‘oneness’isparalleledby
Pressure groups in Architecture in which shedevoted1100wordstoNAM and only 250 words to the poor old, unpro- nouncable AOA. Gross injustice, screams Public Eye, we have 700 members where- as that bunch of upstarts only number 100. For those who, in spite of Ms Karpf’s Stirling efforts on its behalf, have never heardoftheAOA,itisa(very)small trade union for a small number of local authorityarchitectswho considerthat NALGOistooleftwingforthem,and which lodges at the RIBA headquarters
be in Walworth, easily two miles from the motherofparliaments?Doesthismean,as many people already suspect, that the Party is quite happy to let Westminster and Whitehall get on with the job of governing without any democratic inter- ference? Well, at least land down there is cheap, which isas well because part of the fundsfortheParty’schangeofstatusfrom lodger at Transport House to owner-occu- pierinWalworthisbeingraisedby appealingtolocallabour isationsto buy bricks. It was in this way that the
wanting more information about the conferencepleasecontactGordon
in Portland Place. And why was it so un- fairly neglected in the offending article? Probably because it is a particularly un- original and reactionary body, feeding on individualistic architects’ unthinking fear of trade unionism and looking suspiciously like a branch of the RIBA set up to counter the growth of any idea or action which might prove embarassing to the Institute’s establishment. In fact the only positive thing that the AOA appears to stand for ithas borrowed from the Salaried Architects’ Group in the RIBA (see elsewhere in Ms Karpf’s article), the idea that the employed architects should enjoy ful professional status. No doubt
the little bit of NAM-bashing in Public Eye was inspired from elsewhere too. Full marks then to the AOA for boredom and to Anne Karpf and her editors for recognising it.
OWNER OCCUPATION
AL AP AY lla
Architects
Russell Diplock Associates
Local Labour Party and Trade Union
branches have recently been circulated
with a brochure about the proposed new
Party Headquarters to be tastefully carved
fromadecayingRegencyTerraceon FootnotetotheSACaffair:whilethewill
we/won’t we RIBA/SAC tie-up cliffhanger for the York conference is well detailed
in this and the preceding isuue of SLATE, one interesting addendum follows from the press release announcing the conference which carried this footnote:
REVIEW tocat autHority?
nN
mans
with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement )for £2.00 to NAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1.
We must ask ourselves whether it is necess- ary tostep down from our traditional bourgeois Stratum and identify more closely with the struggles that this stratum has, up to now, ignored.
[it you would Tikefobe amember oftheNew Architecture Movement filintheTormbelowandsend? | it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( if |
you\'re employed) or £2.00( if you\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | London W.1.
—-| SUBSCRIBE
__NEWS FROM
might be. As far as the review body w: concerned it was regarded as essential that it should represent consumer- as well as producer-interest.
The draft proposals for the new fee arrange- ments centred on the principle that archit- ects should be remunerated on the basis
of the amount of work they did ona project, rather than on the contract sum. Some members felt that the overall applic- action oftime-based charges to architects work implied that creativity is quantifiable, whereas, in fact, itisnot. The majority at Cardiff, however, agreed that a system that enabled the consumer to evaluate the amount
of time spent on a job would be instrumental in dispelling some of the myths that clouded the production of designs and would improve the bargaining position of staff. An analogy was drawn between the proposed system and tendering procudures for building contracts: firms would quote for work on alabour,
or democracy would not be enough. The The forum showed itself to be a very
FIRST NAM QUARTERLY FORUM MEETS IN CARDIFF
The highlights of the day were certainly the discussions on education and NAM’s
eps in its involvement with the
ies Commission The unattached
architect-councillors on the Architects
Registration Council of the UK (ARCUK)
the great majority of whom are NAM mem- a response merely in terms of its legitimacy
A stimulating debate on a mixed bag of
topics resulted when NAM members met
together in the Movement’s first quarterly overheads and profit basis. The ratios of forum at the end of last month. Held in
Cardiff, the meeting attracted about thirty
Tnembers from al over the country
bers, had been successful in gaining an in- dependent voice in the forthcoming hear- ings with the Commission and had been called on to submit their suggestions for the body to be set up to review the pro- fessions fee arrangements and their pro- posals for what such new arrangements
PDS GROUP DEFENDS LOCAL AUTHORITIES
As the Hull Congress noted, Local Authority architecture departments
and direct labour organisations (DLOs) have come under attack from the National Federation of Building Trades Employers (NFBTE) and the Tory Party. This may
ave been the least popular resol- 1atHullasLocalAuthoritieshave
been severely critiscised by NAM members las Tory Party members, albeit with
itriol (notably Douglas Smith’s article in SLATE4)
The Public Design Service group of tee that Local Authorities are
idea that NAM’s best tactic at the present is to boycott the Conference met with general assent but some regrets, but the spectre of both the Conference and the RIBA’s persistent dabbling in “Community Architecture” had catalised the formation of a loose group of radicals in architectural
therefore be not whether Local Authorities are desirable or not. but, what their potential is for change, and exactly how we would like them to be changed.
The anti-Local Authority reaction is well known: Local Authorities are large bureaucratic institutions, interwoven with many similar institutions that abound in this country. However, history has shown
that, as the lowest tier of government
Local Authorities are susceptible to vigorous pressure from below, and are, indeed, more easily influenced than private industry and private professional practice (except by trade unionism).
However much NAM members may at present differ on that point hopefully the form that an altered Local Authority system
useful memium for the interchange of ideas, but most of al as an opportunity
for members to come together on a Nation- al basis and reinforce the essential idea of the Movement as a whole. Attendance at the next Forum is stronly recommended
to all, and is not restricted to members.
and architects, the disbanding of architecture departments and DLO’s makes the objectives of accountability and control even further away.
The fight for the architecture departments and DLO’s isabove alademocratic fight. It is a fight that is far from dormant, and
it will certainly intensify at the time of the Local Authority elections in May.
The PDS group therefore believes that NAM cannot sit back and just note the attacks,itmusttrytocounterthem. It Cannot just express support for the demo- cratic fight for the DLO’s. It’s support must be an active one.
The first major step the NDS group is taking is the organisation of a conference
(as mandated by Congress) in Birmingham on May 6th, to try and develop at least the potential for a joint action counter attack
nature to become identified in Leeds with us. Four people in the group had initially met through their involyement in the renovation of the head quarters for the Red Ladder Theatre Company based in Leeds. (To be screened on BBC t.v.’s ‘Arena Theatre’ on 29th. March) , A third group has now formed as the LeedsbranchofTASS-BDS. After considerable effort in publicising the initial meeting, which included pushing leaflets around many private practices and even having leaflets inserted in the RIBA Yorkshire region monthly, there was a disappointing turnout which we feel was the result of only one of us actually working as an employee in a private practice (and that isin Hudders- field). Nevertheless Leeds now knows of BDS-TASS and our efforts may bear fruit in the future. *
like *no politics here’ and *couldn’t you find something useful to do’.
In most cases it was impossible to get to the staff without going through a principal or receptionist.
these elements in the charge would indicate where good value lied.
The sexism in architecture group has
broadened considerably in interest and membershipsinceitsinitialmeeting. There TimeOutandAJ. isacollective feeling that the problems we
should be looking at are more fundamental
In debating education the meeting was
clearly overshadowed by the forthcoming
Schools of Architecture Conference (see
elsewhere in this issue). Doubts were
expressed over NAM’s capability to respond attempts are underway to reorganise. The tothiseventconstructively. TheConfer- Nottinghamgroupispresentlyveryactive encewastobeabouteducationpolicyand inarrangingtheforthcomingPublicDesign
Future meetings will be advertised in
‘ ts of social control. But the
grouphasalwaysheldthatLocalAuthorities shouldtakeislesscontentious. MostNAM amonglocalauthorityarchitecturalworkers,
Now that we have two groups dealing
with specific issues within the scope of
NAM, the question arises, what is the role
of the NAM local group? Do we
publiciseNAMnationissues?Dowe
create aforum fordebate on local issues
or do we just continue in those with
whichwearecurrentlypre-occupied? articlesonNAMactivities,bothnational intheArchitectsJournal19thOctober1977
are the main ,and often the only.structure
through which the majority of people can
exert demands and gain access to land
financeandotherrescourcesnecessary Thedetailsofwhathasbeentermedthe totryandgiveformtotheconference,
for their housing, health and education requirements. Indeed Douglas Smith pointed out that owner-occupation can only be made available to 50% of the population. The important thing to remember is that Local Authorities are not an arguable alternative in architecture but a necessity.
The poini of contention must SLATE 6PAGE 14
National Design Service need a lot of working out of course, but it’s essential
held-amongst NAM members.
whilst in no way imposing a final outcome onit. At the same time it is hoped that sufficient numbers of local authority architectural workers will attend, to enable several more PDS groups to work jointly
One initiative taken by the group to try and spread awareness of NAM’s existance was for each member to pur- chase and distribute two copies of SLATE. A further task undertaken was to visit many architectural offices in Leeds to try and obtain signatures for the petition against ARCUK investment in South Africa. This turned out to be arather fruitless task (apart from the
and local. The problem stil remains, how- ever, of our lack of communication with the average conventional private practice.
Further information for people in Leeds or anywhere in the North East can be ob- tained from:
Norman Arnold 9 Midland Road Leeds 6
West Yorkshire
p. 761-767
(2) R. MacDonald “Meaningful relationships with the Working Class” paper presented at ‘Community Architecturei”n Schools of Architecture Meeting Gloucester 10th December 1977
(3) T.Wooley “\'Live Project Guidance Notes for Students” in paper presented at “Community : Architecture”inSchoolsofArchitectureMeeting
Gloucester 10th December 1977
SLATE 6PAGE 15
members would think of, concepts such
as accountability and user control, of ideas such as neighbourhood based design offices.
tenants federations, appropriate trade unions and DLO’s. The group is discussing and investigating the issues as deeply as possible
(1) G. Metcalf and Hurley “Appropriate Education”
The reason that the PDS
onded to the attacks on Local Authority architecture departments and DLO!s is that these attacks are in direct opposition totheseessentialprinciples. Thehiring
education who are now meeting on a regular basis. The Meetingwelcomed the formation of this group, many of whose members are also in NAM and felt that NAM policy on‘education should be based on a thorough critiscism of the role of education in both the material and ideological aspects of the profession and should be worked out in cooperation with this new group.
Oneof the other debates during the afternoon centred on the topic of union-
The Leeds NAM group has been loosely in existance for about a year. It consists at present of seven members, although there are no formal membership requirements. Attendance at meetings tends to fluctuate and meeting dates have been erratic but
we now try to get together on the first Tuesday of every month.
Members of the group have avaried back- ground in private practice, employment on construction sites, involvement in ‘Women in Manual Trades’ ( formally ‘Women in Construction’), ARCUK Council, NAM Liason Group, design and construction work for theatre ity centres and ahousing co-op, landscape work and schools of architecture. *
Some of these activities come under the
umbrella of another informal organisation
glibly labelled ARCAID. This group was
reallythefore-runnertotheLeedsNAM
group and consists mainly of NAM people.
ARCAID helps grant aided organisations
to finance, design and construct or
refurbish accommodation for their use.
Many of the projects evolved before
ARCAID formed but subsequent adopt- being shown the door with comments ion of the name enables work of a similar
than merely overt sexual descrimination in the profession, Rather they involve cruc-_ ially the relationship between architecture/ design and feminisma;n awareness that is not for women simply to slot into a male established profession, but rather to play their part critically, and with an under standing of themselves.
Our first aim is to gather articles for a Slate 8 issue concentrating on Feminism and Architecture. So far, we have been considering the following aspects:-
1) women in education, conditioning
and discrimination from school to college. 2) A feminist approach to design, an exploration of potential with reference
to other and differently structured
societies.
3) A historic understanding of the relationship between sex roles and building, in particular housing.
4) Women at work, discrimination in practice and the pressures of working in a male-dominated situation.
Of the local groups, representatives came from Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Cardiff and from London, where strictly speaking,a local group scarcely exists but
group has resp- after the conference. The support of and imput from other NAM members as
usual will be essential. Dave Green,
PDSGroup.
February 1978.
local authority offices), several of us
Contact: Frances Bradshaw, 14 Duncan Terrace, London, N.1. Tel no. 278 5215.
continued from| p11
On the subject of local issues, we feel that manyof us are already very active by actually working with grant-aided groups. Areas in which we will possibly become involvedcoversuchissuesaslocalhousing policies, local planning policies, the finance and organisation of building co- operatives, community facilities and tenants groups. Some work in the latter has already been done and we are in the process of drawing upa contact list of people on the remainder.
Atpresentthegrouphasnoformal structure and no set policies. We appear to be of the collective opinion that import- ant issues will make themselves apparent given time and that we should not chase around ferreting out more than we could handle at this stage. We are at the same time systematically publicising NAM’s existence and policies on national issues. Leedsisfortunateinhavinganalternative fortnightly newspaper with awide circu- lation and it is intended to submit some
4. Those people who wish to engage in such activity must have the opport- -unity to do so. The development ofthisworkcanbeencouragedif Visiting Boards and External Examiners Examiners treat it both as a legitimate part of an architecture course and as
REFERENCES
a legitimate basis for individual projects.
Local brances of the RIBA can support the work of schools, or at least not raise objections to schools offering servicestothecommunity.
isation when some members critiscised NAM’s apparent policy to encourage the setting up
ofspecialist Building DesignStaff(BDS) branchesinTASS. Theyregardedthis method as only a half-way-house to trade unionism, which they saw as an alliance of al workers, epitomised by the general branch. Other members, from the BDS branch in London, argued that themajor point of action for trades unionists was at the workplace and that this form of action was best sponsored by specialist branches.
In the morning the Forum heard reports from various issue-based and local groups.
a
principles are clear and virtually unanimously
out of local authority work to private builders
THERE IS A SOOTHING POULTICE spreading over the south London squatting hot-spots of Villa Road (Brixton) and St Agnes Place (Kenn- ington). With the approach of local council elections Lambeth Council have decided to steer a safe course, avoiding adirect conflict with these vociferous groups, and are arrang-
ing short-life license agreements.
question of Local Authorities and their role in the provision of building and architectural services.
Should Local Authority Architects’
and Building Departments be expanded? What services should they provide, and how?
What is the scope for ensuring real user control over building design and development through Local Authority departments?
Also in SLATE7, the first article ina major new series on Urban History.
SLATE 6PAGE 16
NEXT
ISSUE SLATE7 takesasitsthemethe
LAMBETH BUYS OFF ACTIVISTS
publicity. They have hitherto refused to accept any responsibility for the rehousing of single squatters: Their current offer is seen as a major victory although it is clear that the principle motive behind the appa- rent concession is the decanting of the south side in preparation for demolition
License agreements are a less immed- iate prospect for St Agnes Place. After an attempt last year by council workmen to demolish these houses, halted by an injunc-
Over 30 people are to be rehoused in other parts of the borough, from the south side of Villa Road with management hana- led by Lambeth Self-Help Housing Assoc-
In the long term Lambeth are suggest- ing that these two squatting groups amal- gamate with Lambeth Self-Help and form a housing cooperative: head-aches over these activists would finally end and Lambeth’s squatting groups will take their first steps on the rocky road to the self-
SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
lation. This offer came after 4 years of negociation, attempted evictions and wide
management of permanent properties
9 Poland Street, W1.
tion, the Housing Department are insisting that Lambeth Self-Help are registered as a conventional housing association before being allowed to carry out rehabilitation work
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'March/April 1978';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 7';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Building for Whom ? Includes John Murray article ( first of 5) on Reading Urban History';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' INAPROPRIATE POLICIES
Local Govt. Officer: Here is the arm I have been asked to give you
Working Man: But, Jneed aleg
Local Govt. Officer: Yes, but it is more than my job’s worth to give you one of them,
JIDNYOo 249 1AFO
green,
foto fat
plate used ns roofing-material; plece of It usu. framed In wood used for writing on
SAC conference
fails to convince
THE ‘MAKING of the Architect’ Conference at York in March, given the build-up of the biggest_ happening in architectural educa- tion since Oxford, fizzled out almost entirely, overburdened by the vastness of the task and the weight of paper that went with it.
There were, however, one or two high points amongst the plethora of academic outpourings, apart from ARC’s interven- tion (see elsewhere in SLATE). The first pf these was a report by the Schools of Architecture Council working group on RIBA/ARCUK relations that came before the S.A.C. AGM preceding the conference proper. This proposed that the Visiting Board’s role should be advisory rather than dictatorial, applied only to Part I and Part III of the course, and that the validating body should be ARCUK and not the RIBA. The report went on to stress the need for a democratic reconsti- tution of ARCUK along the lines proposed by NAM. This brought howls of outrage from the RIBA ‘observers’
and even members of ARCUK council! However,amotionofnoconfidencein Professor Gosling, the leader of the working party, received no support. Gosling’s paper was unfortunately not discussed fully at the seminars, perhaps because it was reported that the RIBA had asked for it not to be brought up in the discussion groups.
Other worthwhile papers were those by Jim Johnson and Colin Ward. Johnson proposed that schools should be involved in, and accountable to, the local commu- nity, with shorter but less rigid courses, a wider intake, and final examinations jointly by teachers and community representatives. Colin Ward discussed environmental education insecondary schools and questioned the need for
Typesetting by the Publications Group and Maggie Stack.
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so.
architects at al. Yet discussion around these papers achieved little. Dominated by academics and principals from prac- tice, the subjects were discussed in an abstract fasion divorced from the wider contexts of the social, political and economic frameworkof society and a radical role for architects within it, and thus became meaningless.
The lack of any conclusive outcome from the conference or of any worth- while discussion within it, justifies NAM’s position of silence on the issue. But it was made clear that recommendations will be made after the next six months
of ‘wide-ranging debate’, and already
the S.A.C. regions have announced that they intend to hold more discussions soon that will make recommendations. The failure of York has made the educators and the RIBA even more determined to ‘get results’.
NALGO blacks GLC housing
transfers
NALGO BRANCHES arehitting back at the plans of the Tory- controlled GLC to disperse housing functions -including design -to the London Boroughs.
A recent circular to al NALGO branches from the Secretary of the GLC NALGO branch advised branch
secretaries to tel their members
“not to deal with work arising from housing estates transferred to your authority from the GLC until absolute guaranteesof job security and job
salary protection are given to GLC employees affected”. As detailed in SLATE 6the Tories want a rapid rundown of the GLC housing departments.
The circular advises that with over 200,000 properties affected *the process of the transfer of estates is likely to be a gradual one and branches will have to remain vigilant for a number of years”. GLC estates are found throughout the country, not just in London -for example its seaside retirement homes.
BUILDING FOR WHOM?
RESPOND TO PEOPLE’S NEEDS
Estranged from the ublic and cradled by the ‘local state’, architects in the publilic sector face massive cuts in public spending. As a primer to the NAM PDS Grou s conference - ‘Democrati: Design’ -SLATE has brought togeth er five articles. Each examines a key aspect of the debate around the role played by the ‘other’ direct labour department -local authority architects.
A PHOENIX FROM THE COUNCIL ASHES?
-purple tock casily split oth plates; pleco of such
mall rod of soft~ (clean or renounce oblign= ifcations
hor greealsh grey; hence
(Made) of~. 3. y.t. Cover with~s
- .eS roofing; hence slat’en\' n. (MB
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Moyement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are inc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attention of the largest possible readership.
REPRESENTATIVES
A network of 30 representatives has been set up throughout schools and large prac- tices al over the country. The only comm- itment of each representative will be to receive S copies of SLATE every two months and to try to sell 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE
All this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
writers ,more ideas and more reps in order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE; become a rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon.
The copy deadline for the next issue is Friday 26th May. 1978
SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group)
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1.
Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2
SLATE 7PAGE 2
A GLC architect describes how the decline of the GLC’s once-mighty department ischanging thinking among those affected about local governmentstructure.
Tory crusade
The architects department of the Greater London Council (GLC), once not only
the largest but the most prestigeous local authority office in the country, is reaching apoint where itscontinued existence is in doubt. Two years of continued
public controversy have so depleted resources and morale that, with the recent resignation of departmental
chief Sir Roger Walters, there is inevitably speculation that it may go the way of Hillingdon, York and Oxford.
The immediate cause of this crisis stems from the May 1977 elections which gave control of the GLC to anew Conservative administration. The GLC’s housing programme, which provided the largest part of the architects’ workload, was drastically revised in accordance with the new inistration’si P ation of its electoral mandate:
“We regard it as a primary objective for the Council to direct resources into the inner areas where housing stress and dereliction are largely concentrated. To this end it is necessary for the Council to divest itself of committees at variance with its strategic role and which dissipate its resources in areas where other
agencies are available to meet housing requirements.”
In spite of the reference to
currently fashionable ‘inner city’ theme theheartofthisnewpolicy quickly provedtobeelsewhere.Staffunions saw it above al reflecting the new
Tory ideological crusade for owner- occupation, self help and private enterprise, as well as the traditional entrenched resistance of the outer London boroughs to the building of public housing for those migrating from the inner areas.
Severe cuts
The effect on GLC architects
was severe. Firstly, an enormous cut in the quantity of work: from an annual programme approaching 6000 homes to one of 2000. Secondly
there was a major shift in the type
of work with an immediate stop on al work in the outer London boroughs (approximately 50% of the old workload). 500 of the remaining
progr were al d to the Thamesmead development leaving
a target of 1500 inthe inner city itself, which represents a cut of
50% even here.
The balance in this reduced work- load has shifted heavily towards more small, more difficult and often polluted sites, and this has coincided with renewed accusations about the
department’s productivity. It is an awkward,ifso farunacknowledged contradiction, however, for Consery- ative ideology that the Department has been able to demonstrate conyin- cingly an enormous fee saving over consultants for the past 15 years.
The staffing cuts that have come
with this cut in workload represent
15% ofthe total establishment. That figure however conceals the large effect on architects posts as a large number
of the department\'s posts consist of building control and district surveyors’ staffs. The reduction in professional
and technical staff in the new housing divisionsisinfact73%.Oneparticularly damaging effect of the new administration’s approach to staffing has been the imposition of traditional across-the-board cuts in al departments quite unrelated to workload and justified
only by a conviction that any teduction is beneficial.
For a department with both statutory (building control) and contractual duties like the Architects this seems utterly unacceptable. That it has been allowed to happen is seen bystaff as an indictment not
just of the council, but also of chief officers. Similar feelings are prompted
by the use of the voluntary redundancy provisions of the Employment Protection Act to shed ‘surplus’ staff faster than falloff in existing workload.
The pessimism about the Department’s continuing viability isbased on the
SLATE 7PAGE 5
NEWSNEWSNIEWS
ATE SLATESLATESLATESLATE
MAKING PUBLIC BUILDING
Tom Bulley of Hackney Council Workers’JointTrade UnionCuts Committeedescribesactiontaken by NALGO and the building unions to protect and expand the work taken on by Hackney’s direct labour organisation.
SLATE 7 PAGE 6
Union action
Theunions’initiativesinresponseto potential reductions in the council’s
operated with the building workers’ unions to prepare joint representatives
to put to the council. On hearing of
this initiative the Officers’ Management Team(iechiefexecutiveanddirectors) Tequestedameetingwiththeunions prior to the unions meeting with the council. The unions agreed, and it became clear to management that unions were aware of real problems and were putting forward constructive prop-
osals.
The joint union representations were
put to the council unaltered on 31 May. Council members expressed their whole-
stems from the May 1977 elections which gave control of the GLC to a new Conservative administration. The GLC’s housing programme, which provided the largest part of the architects’ workload, wasdrasticallyrevisedinaccordance withthenew administration’sinterpret- ation of its electoral mandate:
“We regard it as a primary objective for the Council to direct resources into the inner areas where housing stress and dereliction are largely concentrated. To this end it is necessary for the Council to divest itself of committees at variance with its strategic role and which dissipate its resources in areas where other
homes to one of 2000. Secondly
there was a major shift in the type
of work with an immediate stop on al work in the outer London boroughs (approximately 50% of the old workload).500oftheremaining
only by a conviction that any reduction is beneficial.
For a department with both
statutory (building control) and contractual duties like the Architects thisseemsutterlyunacceptable.That ithasbeenallowedtohappenis
seen by staff as an indictment not
just of the council, but also of chief Officers. Similar feelings are prompted
by the use of the voluntary redundancy provisions of the Employment Protection Act to shed ‘surplus’ staff faster than falloff in existing workload.
The pessimism about the Department\'s continuing viability is based on the
SLATE 7 PAGE 5
exercised by architects.
It was the period when the
criticism of some forms of public housing had reached levels that made councillors and housing managers into much less benevolent clients and serious critics of housing design.
More fundamantally there was a perceptible move in housing policy away from the purely physical solutions to the housing programme that characterised the post-war era of slum clearance and reconstruction. Full analysis of the reasons for all these changes isbeyond the scope of this article. But it can be sensed that there were many complex political, ideological and economic trends being felt -some genuinely
progressive, but others rooted in the developing economic crisis, particularly as it manifested itself in the crisis of public expenditure, in the land market, and in the building industry.
New roles
What is of immediate relevance
is to analyse the responses of
architects to these developments and
to articulate new roles and new alignments. In the profession generally there is a pronounced and unattractive tendency to self-pity, to blame externals..
LOBBYING COUNCILS FROM THE INSIDE
It seems necessary that while local ~ authority architects must be far more realistic about the limitations imposed by the context in which they find themselves, they must also realise
the potential for development even now within the local authority structure.
At the technical level there exist largely unrealised possibilities for exploring design and build, and inter-disciplinary integration with direct labour organisations and other consultants.
The scope-for reforming the organisational structures isalso great. The existing hierarchical
and narrowly specialist framework seems to be increasingly unsuitable, generating apathy and frustration. More open and democratic models are required which would increase contact between officers and councillors; and between officers and a wider range of popular representation.
Local authority architects must
take amuch more consistent interest
in policy questions and particularly take up the defence of space and con- struction standards currently under attack, and above all the underuse
of resources in the building industry.
All these changes will have to be fought for: through unions, professional bodies, political parties, and within
the structure of local government itself.
SINE
sure that the council is aware of the potential effects that changes in the building programme may have on the employment of building workers and staff in the Building and Architecture and Planning Divisions.
This joint activity has helped to avert the immediate possibility of a major rundown of the building work, but there is stil much to be done to make sure that Hackney has a properly organised overall building programme in the years to come.
SLATE SLATE SLATE SLATE SLATE
level of building are beginning results.
to achieve
progr were al dtothe Thamesmead development leaving a target of 1500 in the inner city itself, which represents a cut of 50% even here.
For the past year the building workers’ unions (UCATT, TGWU, EEPTU) and NALGO have worked together to exchange information about the building programme and to make
The balance in this reduced work- load has shifted heavily towards more small, more difficult and often polluted sites, and this has coincided with renewed accusations about the
BUILDING FOR WHOM?
RESPOND TO PEOPLE’S NEEDS
Estranged from the ublic and cradled by the ‘local state’, architectcs in thepubli lic sector face massive cuts in public spending. As a primer to the NAM PDS Group’s conference -‘Democratic Design’ - SLATE has brought together five articles. Each examines akey aspect of the debate around the role played by the ‘other’ direct labour department -local authority architects.
A PHOENIX FROM THE COUNCIL ASHES?
A GLC architect describes how the decline of the GLC’s once-mi department is changing thinking among those affected about local government structure.
Tory crusade
The architects department of the Greater London Council (GLC), once not only
the largest but the most prestigeous local authority office in the country, is reaching a point where its continued existence is in doubt. Two years of continued
public controversy have so depleted resources and morale that, with the recent resignation of departmental
chief Sir Roger Walters, there is inevitably speculation that it may go the way of Hillingdon, York and Oxford.
agencices are available to meet housing requirements.”
In spite of the reference to
currently fashionable ‘inner city’ theme the heartofthis new policy quickly provedtobeelsewhere.Staffunions. saw it above al reflecting the new
Tory ideological crusade for owner- occupation, self help and private enterprise, as well as the traditional entrenched resistance of the outer London boroughs to the building of public housing for those migrating from the inner areas.
Severe cuts
The effect on GLC architects was severe. Firstly, an enormous cut in the quantity of work: from an
department’s productivity. It is an awkward, if so far unacknowledged contradiction, however, for Consery- ative ideology that the Department has been able to demonstrate conyin- cinglyanenormous feesavingover consultants for the past 15 years.
The staffing cuts that have come
with this cut in workload represent
15% ofthe total establishment. That figure however conceals the large effect on architects posts as a large number
of the department\'s posts consist of building control and district surveyors’ staffs. The reduction in professional and technical staff in the new housing divisionsisinfact73%.Oneparticularly damaging effect of the new administration’s approach to staffing has been the imposition of traditional across-the-board cuts in al departments
In view of the serious threat that
existedinMarch1977,NALGOco- Theimmediatecauseofthiscrisis annualprogrammeapproaching6000 quiteunrelatedtoworkloadandjustified
growing realisation that theCouncil\'s commitment toretainaconstructional role, whether newbuild or rehab, through its own architects is at best lukewarm. Already amajor shortage
of new briefs has developed. Having stopped al the outer London schemes | regardless of abortive cost, the Council has also stopped many inner schemes as well.
So the fate of the GLC Architects Department isclearly linked
in a special way to local political factors, including the role of the Council itself. Neither is it the only department affected or even the most severely so, assuming that the intended transfer
of housing management goes through. Yet the relative ease with which
this only recently respected department has been carved up, together with the pattern being established in other authorities already referred to,
Suggests other les parochial factors
at work.
Even under the previous Labour
administration, which was committed to an expanded housing programme, the Department became involved in bitter disputes of which the most important was responsibility for building defects. During this period, too, a major shift in inter-departmental influence began with the Housing Department taking on more and
more of the programming and project management roles formerly
MAKING PUBLIC BUILDING
Tom Bulley of Hackney Council Workers’JointTrade UnionCuts Committee describes action taken by NALGO and the building unions to protect and expand the work taken on by Hackney’s direct labour organisation.
SLATE 7PAGE 6
Union action
The unions’ initiatives in response to potential reductions in the council’s level of building are beginning to achieve results.
For the past year the building workers’ unions (UCATT, TGWU, EEPTU) and NALGO have worked together to exchange information about the building programme and to make
a Se ee
exercised by architects.
Itwas the period when the
criticism of some forms of public housing had reached levels that made councillors and housing managers into much less benevolent clients and serious critics of housing design.
More fundamantally there was a perceptible move in housing policy away from the purely physical solutions to the housing programme that characterised the post-war era of slum clearance and reconstruction. Full analysis of the reasons for al these changes is beyond the scope of this article. But it can be sensed that there were many complex political, ideological and economic trends
being felt -some genuinely progressive, but others rooted in the developing economic crisis, particularly as it manifested itself in the crisis of public expenditure, in the land market, and in the building industry.
New roles
What is of immediate relevance
is to analyse the responses of
architects to these developments and
to articulate new roles and new alignments. In the profession generally there is a pronounced and unattractive tendency to self-pity, to blame externals..
LOBBYING COUNCILS FROM THE INSIDE
ca =
Itseems necessary that while local ~ authority architects must be far more realistic about the limitations imposed by the context in which they find themselves, they must also realise the potential for development even now within the local authority structure.
At the technical level there exist largely unrealised possibilities for
exploring design and build, and inter-disciplinary integration with direct labour organisations and other consultants.
The scope-for reforming the organisational structures is also great. The existing hierarchical
and narrowly specialist framework seems to be increasingly unsuitable, generating apathy and frustration. More open and democratic models are required which would increase contact between officers and councillors; and between officers and a wider range of popular representation.
Local authority architects must
take a much more consistent interest
in policy questions and particularly take up the defence of space and con- struction standards currently under attack, and above all the underuse
of resources in the building industry.
All these changes will have to be fought for: through unions, professional bodies, political parties, and within
the structure of local government itself.
SANE
sure that the council is aware of the potential effects that changes in the building programme may have on the employment of building workers and staff in the Building and Architecture and Planning Divisions.
This joint activity has helped to avert the immediate possibility ofa major rundown of the building work, but thereisstilmuchtobedonetomake sure that Hackney has a properly organised overall building programme in the years to come.
In view of the serious threat that existed in March 1977, NALGO co- operated with the building workers’ unions to prepare joint representatives to put to the council. On hearing of this initiative the Officers’ Management Team(iechiefexecutiveanddirectors) requested a meeting with the unions prior to the unions meeting with the council. The unions agreed, and it
became clear to management that unions were aware of real problems and were putting forward constructive prop-
osals.
The joint union representations were
put to the council unaltered on 31 May- Council members expressed their whole-
hearted commitment to direct labour and the DLO, but saw that there were difficulties and agreed to follow through the unions’ suggestions for remedies
to overcome the decline of the housing redevelopment programme (with the exception of one proposal which would involve the political difficulties with sregard to Hackney’s opposition to the Conservative Greater London Council),
Work flow
The building trades’ operatives’ main point was that the work of the architects’ department should be planned so that
it could make available to the direct labour organisation a planned flow
of work, taking into consideration the need to provide continuity of employment for the labour force. The unions agreed that there were difficulties and suggested that there might be a need for additonal staff. The point was made that advance design work on potential building projects
could help overcome unavoidable fluc- tuations of input to the committed building programme.
questions to answer, particularly with regard to the overall building management.
At this meeting with council management referred to the Housing Investment Programme, which central government had introduced to allow greater central control over local authorities’ overall capital spending, whilst at the same time allowing
local councils greater flexibility within the overall limit. Inasmuch as they were asking for the council to prepare a programme, the government were making the same demand centrally as the unions were locally. As they had responded to the authority of management Hackney’s management were thus able to assure the council that a programme was in pre- paration, but were not able to give details at that meeting.
Now that the Housing Investment Programme bid has been submitted to central government, it is clear that
the unions were right to be concerned about council building and the related employment. During the current year and over the next few years the HIP shows a massive shift of emphasis
away from new building towards rehabilitation. It also shows a drop of about £4million in overall building
work between 1977-78 and 1978-79. The inter-war estate rehabilitation programme will not nearly compensate for the rundown of development, and the council will need to step up its property acquisition policy very rapidly.
The unions do not wish to spread wild rumours, but are aware that the effects of the newly-proposed HIP need to be worked out without delay.
Working party
The building workers at their joint works meeting with the council therefore
suggested that a Joint Working Party ofcouncillors and trade union delegates (with Staff Side NALGO members from
Building and Architecture & Planning invited) should be formed to investigate the building programme and to report its. implications to council ,particularly on employment.
The first joint Working Party meeting was held in December 1977. It was seen that the council\'s political commit- ment to the DLO needs to be supported by an accurate knowledge of what is programmed and of what is actually happening, and of the implications
for its workers (and all residents
of the borough) of changes in its building programme.
The Joint Working Party has a big
job te do. The building workers’
unions initiative -the Joint Working
Party -is a means of co-operating
with the council to ensure the continuation of a building programme that will benefit Hackney with its products and services and will allow continuity of employment to its
workers. The unions are pooling their knowledge through the Joint Unions
Cuts Committee, which has set up a Building Sub-Committee to meet regularly and to exchange detailed knowledge of problems. These resources are being brought to Joint Working Party discussions from the union side. Councillors have shown committment
to the DLO by setting up the Joint Working Party and working on it.
“ ‘Fhe unions also put forward specific Suggestions of possible ways of bringing
in work to compensate for the severe drop in the newbuild housing programme. These included ways that the council might be able to build advance factory units for leasing to small industrial
firms, and suggestions that the council should draw up an adequate programme of property acquisition for rehabilitation and conversion in preference to encouraging large-scale housing association activity.
At the joint building works meeting with the council on 13 September it became clear that although action had been taken on some of the specific requests, management stil had many
LOBBYING COUNCILS FROMTHEOUTSIDE
Extracts from an interview with Irene Brennan of Brent Federation ofTenantsAssociationsinwhich she describes the attempts made
to involve the clients in the design of sdhemes produced by the London Borough of Brent.
SLATE: How did you first approach the local authority ?
“* We wanted to have an opportunity to seetheplansandmakecomments.Now,
we have a negotiating procedure with the council which is a sub-committee of the housing committee which is called the Tenants Consultative Committee and so
we raised it with them. The councillors themselves were fairly unsympathetic saying “you wouldn’t understand -there’s so many things to be taken into account” and they\'re al experts you know....but we pressed away.
SLATE 7 PAGE 7
growing realisation that theCouncil’s commitment to retain aconstructional role, whether newbuild or rehab, through itsown architects isatbest lukewarm. Already amajor shortage
of new briefs has developed. Having stopped al the outer London schemes regardless of abortive cost, the Council has also stopped many inner schemes as well.
So the fate of the GLC Architects Department isclearly linked
in a special way to localpolitical ; factors, including the role of the Council itself. Neither is it the only department affected or even the most severely so, assuming that the intended transfer
of housing management goes through.
Yet the relative ease with which
this only recently respected department has been carved up, together with the pattern being established in other authorities already referred to,
suggests other less parochial factors
at work.
Even under the previous Labour administration, which was committed to an expanded housing programme, the Department became involved in bitter disputes of which the most important was responsibility for building defects. During this period, too, a major shift in inter-departmental influence began with the Housing Department taking on more and
more of the programming and
project management roles formerly
And then they said “OK we\'ll give you a
training session and then we\'ll take it from
there”..,.. eventually we al trudged up
there and there were these matchstick
models of al the developments that they
weredoingintheborough.....whatitworked TheFederationgottheplansofFryant
outaswasmoreofapublicrelationsexercise Wayandafterbeingsuperficiallyimpressed
ment we wanted to see and then we wanted
to see the plans before they went to housing
committee so that we could comment and
get our comments incorporated before it
went to housing.And the officers were bas-
ically saying “Well our staff won\'t stand for from the architects -it was ridiculous, six it and they\'d leave -all this interference - sets of plans and 24 hours to comment on they won\'t tolerate it’. We thought we were them. Lucky for us we knew, between us, going to get nowhere! but then... every one of the developments and so we
accumulation,
In recent years it has stimulated
At that point the Director of Housing inter- could comment. vened and because of some personal friction
between Director of Development and him-
self, decided to support the Federation in
their claim to ‘say’ at these two stages.
The plans come to housing committee for approval as, sort of, the client and they get seen about 10°30 at night after along meet- ingandthey’reuponthewall-itsopento the public but the public rarely go and any- way its on the floor of the council chamber and the public gallery is so far away. You couldn’t really get a good look at it..... the councillors would just walk up and have a
participation, democratisation in some
activities and financed community work
and’ ‘radical’ professional agencies such
as law centres. It is not inconceivable
that changes in the provision of arch-
itectural services will take place because own independent ‘expert? advice. of the widespread disatisfaction with the Many end up going to a liberal existing local authority and governmental socially conscious, or just straight architecture. forward commercial * community
SLATE 7PAGE 8
SLATE 7PAGE 9
SLATE: Did you find different resp. onses at a lower level in the
Architects Department?
When we were talking to the people that were actually doing the designs we found that they were really nice people...,.the people on the drawing-board so to speak were really trying to help us......but it’s al the ‘dead wood’ above them that needs to be cleared away !
We had an architect in the federation and
that was really valuable, if we didn’t have
him they would just have said “for tech-
nical reasons” or what have you..... having
somebody who was aprofessional helping
us to do what we wanted to do..... we were
then able to draw up our alternatives which we A number of things need to happen if ord- were basically a street layout with improved
look and that’s it, they had to decide from just a look whether they think its good or bad, and invariably they say yes -it looks very pleasant lots of trees, gardens -yes we\'ll have that!
al of these very nice models and grand plans that were stuck up on the wall. Any- way after that whole exercise it got left and we were pushing and pushing and meeting the officers ourselves. Then what happened is, we have a law centre in Brent and so we asked the law centre to actually find out what were the planning procedures that
were followed in the borough so that we could intervene and find out what would be the best time to put in our
and so they worked on that and then something else happened which helped in the whole process of setting things up.....
She then described how, by supporting the council in a contentious local open-space issue that eventually culminated in a pub- lic enquiry the federation were able to com- promise the council into putting forward Fryant Way, a small mixed development,
as a first trial for the new consultative pro- cedure.
“When we got the stuff from the law centre “we were in quite a good position to go back
to them and we started then seeing the Director of Development and Chief Arch- itects and they were absolutely!.....you wouldn’t believe the comments they were making -“We have enough trouble with the councillors -they interfere quite enough”, “the timing of al this, we can’t afford any delays”, that was their main thing, delays - interference, they were the professionals
we couldn’t possibly offer anything that
the professionals didn’t know already...
we explained what we wanted was to be
able to come in at two stages: one was when
the brief came out of housing and we want-
ed to be able to say what kind of develop: and comment on it. Then the architects subcontractors and the quality of work is reproducing the conditions of capitalist of the architect’s department causes them
with the carefully drawn plans they looked more closely and found major orientation and sunlight mistakes, ‘hankerchief’ sized gardens, no enclosed play areas, no shops with group car parking in front of the old peoples flats
Based on his experience at Support, Tom Woolley ies the case for setting up alternative agencies runningin parallel with the radicalisation of the public sector.
Alternative services
orientation and enclosed play areas, a shop and a community centre. We felt that the community centre would draw people together. We then confronted the counc- illors with our suggestions..... but their whole motivation, because they’re from a different class perhaps -they just don’t think or feel the same way as people they’re designing for.....‘people must adjust”’..... well Ithought design was al about making something fit for the purpose your going
to use it for.,....and what they were saying was everybody’s got to fit into our design. which isjust bad design to me !
After a minor concession of one shop the federation began to lose hope and they decide to approach the councillors directly in order to ‘equip’ them with their sugges- tions
inary people are going to have a say in the
environment. Fora start the officers have
to show willing, willingness to listen, we
should be able to sit round a table and talk
about it. It would be much better to have
street meetings and bring along the alter-
natives -that’s another thing !people don’t
know the alternatives, they ask for public fully this would also provide a precedent politicisation, changing the actual nature be followed by a more formal
So what we\'ve got now is a new procedure whereby Director of housing aquires some land and says “yes, we\'ll have that” and then draws up hisbrief and we see the brief
council generally employ ?
debatable !, we want a much larger direct works department
SLATE: Why do you think that the Direct Works dept. would
give you a better deal ?
More control, Subcontractors often use lump labour and we\'re opposed to lump labour for a start, At least when you have the unions in you have a decent standard of work, doing agood job not just rushing in and out again,
We haven\'t got that much muscle as tenan\' but we have got avast of experi and a lot of ‘people-power\' and we ought
togettogetherwiththetradeunionists, like Isay we\'re trade unionists when we go to work but we\'re tenants when we come home. We ought to be concerned with
one another because our inter- ests are really the same.
Local State changes
“with grants, self-help labour job creation or their own limited funds, the list is endless.
do a set of plans that they wouldn’t norm- ally draw, and these would come to the federation and we\'d send them back
with our comments to the housing comm- ittee. When we eventually got the plans back’
to look for independent advice.
Such organisations would no doubt
support demands for changes in the provision of local authority architectural services but they cannot afford to wait. They can have more immediate success in finding resources to pay for their
SLATE: How do you think thesystem of involvement could be imp-
royed ?
The system as its set up isn\'t working. The officers themselves don’t want it to work,
‘While I would support a long term campaign for the democratisation of ‘public’ architectural services I feel that it is important that we should realise that alternative architectural agencies can be set up right away. Such agencies
opinion but people don’t know the altern- atives, They should bring along alittle diagram and little models (laughter) and get people to feed in ideas and say well “what do you like about this street ?””.... sit round the table and shove the models around and I\'m sure that they’d come up with some- thing ‘architecturally feasible’,
SLATE: What sort of builders do the
for those calling for reform in local government.
The two things should go in parallel, but both have obvious pit falls. Operating inevitably in the
‘private sector, the new architectural ‘agency could easily become a ‘com _
munity architecture’ practice in the ‘RIBA style, whilst those working for
change in the public sector, involved in defence action against the cuts may see limited reforms as progress.
of the professional role and winning changes in the role of the local state AS A RESULT OF PRESSURE FROM ORDINARY PEOPLE
The demand for a new kind of architectural service already exists. Tenants struggling against defective council housing, other tenants criti- cising or campaigning for involvement
in design, user organisations wanting to participate in or control the production or rehabilitation of facilities, orgavisations
We have been trying for some time now to get the direct works department brought up to scratch, its understaffed. They do use
Nearly al have some degree of
can provide a model for the way the
ideas of a ‘public design service’ might
work in practice. By functioning success holds much greater potential for
of practice as a loose association to
organisation, that can be controlled by the organisations which use its services The services are charged for on the basis of time, how much it costs to run the agency and the incomes of its members. With the removal of the fee scale there will be no barrier to this. The only problem remains the appropriate legal alternative to partnership so that the client/user organisations can own and control the agency. Precedents for this in the Law Centre field do exist.
As the agency developes it can publish its experiences and describe its techniques as they differ from the conventional professional approach, work that will help other groups. Demands made on local authorities by community
organisations to pay the agency\'s fees will not always be successful but will lead to a questioning of the adequacy
of the local state’s own provisions. Trade unions will also have to justify using non-unionised firms of consultants.
Setting up such an agency would
be hard work, ofcourse, with little job security or certain income and attract the dislike of professional colleagues. It is easy to see why many prefer the tedium and frustration of working through local government and trade union channels, passing resolutions
land so on. But even here there are possibilities for more direct action. A small group of 5 or 6 local authority architects, if they stuck together when say, faced with redundancies, could start offering a service directly to the
public from their office, If they won support from local working class organisations then their position would be a strong one.
In fact the local state is continually
changing and developing appropriate forms involvement with the local state and in
‘of institution to carry out its role of most cases their experience or opinion
Such reforms imposed from above are architect’. As yet there is a complete unlikely to result in any shift of control lack of agencies which provide a
of the process of the production of
buildings to working class people or a
‘Greater understanding of the oppressive
ideologies of profe i They will
make the local state more effective however.Inmyview,(havingworkedfor Settingupagencies four years in local authorities and been an
active NALGO member) this is the likely Qutcome of attempts to change local authorities. Setting up independent agencies right now on the other hand
The experience of the members
of Support is that it is possible to set up such an agency. A year of preparatory discussions, a further year
continuing service backed by political committment to social cliange and are openly critical of the professional establishment.
NEW CHANNELS FORUSER CONTROL
SLATE: How sympathetic were the Councillors ?
Well we were arguing that they didn.t have enough opportunity to study the plans and we\'d be able to help them: They took this as an insult.....we weren\'t saying that they weren\'t looking at them carefiully we were saying that the whole system isn’t set up to
allow them to do a proper job.
And then they said “OK we\'ll give youa training session and then we\'ll take it from there”’,.... eventually we al trudged up there and there were these matchstick models of al the developments that they were doing in the borough.....what it worked
out as was more ofa public relations exercise al of these very nice models and grand
plans that were stuck up on the wall. Any- way after that whole exercise it got left and we were pushing and pushing and meeting the officers ourselves. Then what happened is, we have a law centre in Brent and so we asked the law centre to actually find out what were the planning procedures that
were followed in the borough so that we could intervene and find out what would be the best time to put in our
and so they worked on that and then something else happened which helped in the whole process of setting things up.....
She then described how, by supporting the council in a contentious local open-space issue that eventually culminated inapub- lic enquiry the federation were able to com- promise the council into putting forward Fryant Way, a small mixed development, as a first trial for the new consultative pro- cedure
“When we got the stuff from the law centre “we were in quite a good position to go back to them and we started then seeing the
Director of Development and Chief Arch- itects and they were absolutely!.....you wouldn’t believe the comments they were making - “We have enough trouble with the councillors -they interfere quite enough”, “the timing of all this, we can’t afford any delays”, that was their main thing, delays - interference, they were the professionals
we couldn’t possibly offer anything that
the professionals didn’t know already.....
we explained what we wanted was to be
able to come in at two stages: one was when
the brief came out of housing and we want-
ed to be able to say what kind of develop-
ment we wanted to see and then we wanted
to see the plans before they went to housing
committee so that we could comment and
get our comments incorporated before it with our comments to the housing comm-
ittee. When we eventually got the plans back” from the architects -it was ridiculous, six sets of plans and 24 hours to comment on
SLATE: Did you find different resp. onses at a lower level in the
Architects Department ?
When we were talking to the people that were actually doing the designs we found that they were really nice people.....the people on the drawing-board so to speak were really trying to help us......but it’s al the ‘dead wood’ above them that needs to be cleared away !
SLATE: How do you think the system of involvement could be imp-
roved ?
The system as its set up isn’t working. The officers themselves don’t want it to work. A number of things need to happen if ord- inary people are going to havea say in the environment. Fora start the officers have to show willing, willingness to listen, we should be able to sit round a table and talk about it. It would be much better to have street meetings and bring along the alter- natives -that’s another thing !people don’t know the alternatives, they ask for public opinion but people don’t know the altern- atives. They should bring alongalittle diagram and little models (laughter) and get people to feed in ideas and say well “what do you like about this street ?”.....sit round the table and shove the models around and I’m sure that they’d come up with some- thing ‘architecturally feasible’.
SLATE: What sort of builders do the council generally employ ? We have been trying for some time now to
get the direct works department brought up to scratch, its understaffed. They do use subcontractors and the quality of work is debatable !,.we want a much larger direct works department
SLATE: Why do you think that the Direct Works dept. would
give you a better deal ?
More control, Subcontractors often use lump labour and we\'re opposed to lump labour for a start, At least when you have the unions in you have a decent standard of work, doing a’good job not just rushing in and out again.
We haven\'t got that much muscle as tenants but we have got a vast amount of experience and a lot of ‘people-power’ and we ought to get together with the trade unionists, like Isay we\'re trade unionists when we go to work but we\'re tenants when we come home. We ought to be concerned with
one another because our inter- ests are really the same.
NEW CHANNELS FORUSER CONTROL
went to housing.And the officers were bas-
ically saying “Well our staff won\'t stand for
it and they\'d leave -al this interference -
they won\'t tolerate it”. We thought we were them. Lucky for us we knew, between us,
Such organisations would no doubt
support demands for changes in the
provision of local authority architectural unions will also have to justify using services but they cannot afford to wait.
They can have more immediate success
in finding resources to pay for their
own independent ‘expert? advice.
going to get nowhere! but then.....
At that point the Director of Housing inter- vened and because of somepersonal friction between Director of Development and him- self, decided to support the Federation in their claim to ‘say’ at these two stages,
The plans come to housing committee for approval as, sort of, the client and they get seen about 10:30 at night after along meet- ing and they’re up on the wall -its open to the public but the public rarely go and any- way its on the floor of the council chamber and the public gallery isso far away. You couldn’t really get agood look atit..... the councillors would just walk up and have a
every one of the developments and so we could comment.
Many end up going to a liberal socially conscious, or just straight
job security or certain income and attract the dislike of professional colleagues, It is easy to see why many prefer the tedium and frustration of working through local government and trade union channels, passing resolutions
land so on. But even here there are possibilities for more direct action. A small group of 5 or 6 local authority architects, if they stuck together when_ say, faced with redundancies, could start offering a service directly to the
public from their office. If they won support from local working class organisations then their position would be a strong one.
SLATE 7PAGE 8
SLATE 7PAGE 9
After a minor concession of one shop the federation began to lose hope and they decide to approach the councillors directly in order to ‘equip’ them with their sugges- tions
The demand for a new kind of
architectural service already exists.
Tenants struggling against defective
council housing, other tenants criti-
cising or campaigning for involvement
in design, user organisations wanting to
participate in or control the production
or rehabilitation of facilities, organisations in the Law Centre field do exist.
So what we\'ve got now is a new procedure whereby Director of housing aquires some land and says “yes, we\'ll have that” and then draws up his brief and we see the brief and comment on it. Then the architects
“with grants, self-help labour job ~creation or their own limited funds, the list is endless.
As the agency developes it can publish its experiences and describe its techniques as they differ from the conventional professional approach, work that will help other groups. Demands made on local authorities by community
do a set of plans that they wouldn’t norm- ally draw, and these would come to the federation and we\'d send them back
Nearly al have some degree of
involvement with the local state and in
most cases their experience or opinion
of the architect’s department causes them organisations to pay the agency\'s fees to look for independent advice.
Based on his experience at Support, Tom Woolley argues the case for setting up alternative agencies running in parallel with the
radicalbsatt> n of the public sector.
Alternative services
‘While I would support a long term campaign for the democratisation of ‘public’ architectural services I feel that it is important that we should realise that alternative architectural agencies can be set up right away. Such agencies
can provide a model for the way the ideas of a ‘public design service’ might work in practice. By functioning success fully this would also provide a precedent for those calling for reform in local government.
The two things should go in parallel, but both have obvious pit
falls. Operating inevitably in the private sector, the new architectural agency could easily become a ‘com _
‘Mmunity architecture’ practice in the RIBA style, whilst those working for
change in the public sector, involved in defence action against the cuts may see limited reforms as progress.
Local State changes
In fact the local state is continually changing and developing appropriate forms
‘of institution to carry out its role of reproducing the conditions of capitalist accumulation.
In recent years it has stimulated
participation, democratisation in some
activities and financed community work
and’ ‘radical’ professional agencies such
as law centres. It is not inconceivable
that changes in the provision of arch-
itectural services will take place because
of the widespread disatisfaction with the
existing local authority and governmental forward commercial * community
architecture. architect’. As yet there is a complete Such reforms imposed from above are lack of agencies which provide a
unlikely to result in any shift of control of the process of the production of buildings to working class people or a ‘greater understanding of the oppressive ideologies of professionalism. They will make the local state more effective however. In my view,(having worked for four years in local authorities and been an active NALGO member) this is the likely Qutcome of attempts to change local authorities. Setting up independent
agencies right now on the other hand
continuing service backed by political committment to social cliange and are openly critical of the professional establishment.
Setting up agencies
The experience of the members
of Support is that it is possible to set up such an agency. A year of preparatory discussions, a further year
holds much greater potential for politicisation, changing the actual nature of the professional role and winning changes in the role of the local state AS A RESULT OF PRESSURE FROM ORDINARY PEOPLE
of practice as a loose association to
be followed by a more formal organisation, that can be controlled by the organisations which use its services The services are charged for on the basis of time, how much it costs to run the agency and the incomes of its members. With the removal of the fee scale there will be no barrier to this. The only problem remains the appropriate legal alternative to partnership so that the client/user organisations can own and control the agency. Precedents for this
will not always be successful but will lead to a questioning of the adequacy
of the local state’s own provisions. Trade
non-unionised firms of consultants. Setting up such an agency would be hard work, ofcourse, with little
look and that’s it, they had to decide from just a look whether they think its good or bad, and invariably they say yes- itlooks very pleasant lots of trees, gardens -yes we\'ll have that!
The Federation got the plans of Fryant Way and after being superficially impressed with the carefully drawn plans they looked more closely and found major orientation and sunlight mistakes, ‘hankerchief’ sized
gardens, no enclosed play areas, no shops with group car parking in front of the old peoples flats
We had an architect in the federation and that was really valuable, if we didn’t have him they would just have said “for tech- nical reasons” or what have you..... having
body who was aprofessional helping
us to do what we wanted to do..... we were then able to draw up our alternatives which we were basically astreet layout with improved orientation and enclosed play areas, a shop and a community centre. We felt that the community centre would draw people together. We then confronted the counc- illors with our suggestions..... but their
whole motivation, because they\'re from a different class perhaps -they just don’t
think or feel the same way as people they’re designing for.....‘people must adjust”’.....
well Ithought design was al about making
something fit for the purpose your going to use it for.....and what they were saying was everybody’s got to fit into our design. whichis just bad design to me !
SLATE: How sympathetic were the Councillors ?
Well we were arguing that they didn.t have enough opportunity to study the plans and we\'d be able to help them: They took this as an insult.....we weren\'t saying that they weren\'t looking at them carefully we were saying that the whole system isn’t set up to allow them to do a proper job.
oeae
==)
ee fh
The effective splitting of the public sec-
tor housing effort has also had the effect of diffusingpopularcriticismofhousingpolicy. illustratedbytheinstanceof
Workers in private sector building design and construction engaged in producing Government financed housing are finding that an increasing amount of their work is for housing associations. Giles Pebody charts the rise of the so-called voluntary sector in Honea and examines the motives of the makers of housing policy in encouraging this trend.
Policies of consecutive governments, both Labour and Conservative, have now ensured the housing associations a promin- ent position among the housing providers in the 1970\'s. The contemporary signifi- cance of their activities may be illustrated by some simple statistics: in 1975-76 app- rovals for housing association developments were for a total of 45,000 new dwellings, representing over 30% of the national Local
yened to encourage their undertaking work that local authorities were reluctant or un- able to do at the time. Intervention came in the form of special subsidies for ‘repair and conversion’ projects, at more fayour- able rates than the ‘discretionary grant’ then available to private householders and landlords for house improvement work. It was on the strength of this arrangement that many of the major urban housing ass- ociations were floated and began to grow.
As the provision of low cost rented housing isunprofitable only old-established and well-endowed housing associations could undertake limited unsubsidised deve- lopment funded by capital accumulated from rents from old estates and from char- itable sources. For growth in the sector to occur on any scale, direct government sub- sidies were a necessity. Up til the 1972
Housing Finance Act the only way that housing associations, other than a small num- ber of ‘cost-rent’ and ‘co-ownership’ socie-
by their intrinsically better landlords than local authorities, which have far more active tenants’ groups.
The policy of the removal of housing ass- ociation activity from the sphere of political control was specifically furthered by the 1974 Housing Act which concluded an era during which formal relationships between housing associations and the local authori- ties in whose areas they work were progre- ssively severed by subsequent Acts. Local authority nomination rights, mandatory for association projects funded by them under previous legislation, are now determined in- formally for Housing Corporation schemes funded under the 1974 Act. The Corporation does, in practice, ensure that association
h pond with local housing pol- icies, but again, only on an informal basis under its discretionary powers.
essentially inadequate to satisfy
tenant needs in terms of accommodation, finishes and imaintainance standards.
a
Authority programme of 155,000 new
dwellings .This comparison, however, does
not describe the rapid growth of housing ties, could receive development capital from to create a subsidy system tailored more
The distancing of one whole sector of state-financed housing activity
association housing stocks, which far out- strips that of local authority stocks. The latter increased by one new dwelling for every forty of the existing stocks during
1976 while, in the same period, the rate for housing associations was, on average, one per eight .
Third Force grows
The rapid growth in both the number
and size of housing associations may be
the government was through Local Author- ities, who were empowered to make 100% loans, passing on any subsidies they them- selves were entitled to. This chain of fund- ing clearly hampered the development of housing associations as a ‘third force’ in housing independent of local authorities. The 1972 Act extended the powers of the Housing Corporation to enable it to make loans to al classes of housing associations
and provisions were made for the payment of subsidies directly by the Department of the Environment(DOE). The Housing Cor-
directly to its needs. These proposals were incorporated al but wholesale into the Labour 1974 Housing Act, which is stil in force. The generous provisions of this act ensured the subsequent rapid growth of housing associations by embodying the principle that a once and for al grant would be paid by the government to make up the difference between a loan which could be
raised on and payed off from rental income, minus expenses, and total capital cost on a project by project basis. This subsidy,
known as the Housing Association Grant (HAG) was to be supplemented by a Reve- —
mediate position between private develop- ment on the one hand and Local Authority public sector housing on the other. In one sense this description iscorrect and that is in the sense that housing associations com- bine public sector finance with private sec- tor management methods. It has clearly been in the interests of consecutive govern- ments to foster the private sector ideology and practices of the associations, as a way of depoliticising the question of housing provision. Although they use public funds, the popular image of housing associations
intervention at the national, and especially the local, level isone of the principal characteristics of the housing
association movement. The Housing Corporation isan executive arm of the Department of the Environment, and the management committees of housing associations rarely have tenant members and even more rarely are tenant representatives elected to them.
The implication of this extended bureaucracy isthat itserves prefer- entially the interests of the providers of housing to those of its users or consumers, as it offers no means
in fact, to meet the state’s housing needs as well as those of their tenants. These two will not always be in harmony.
HOUSING PANACEA —
poration in an executive capacity .The Cor-
poration also controls applications for HAG
for individual projects financed from its
fundsandinterpretsbothcostlimitsfor
HAGslaiddownbythegovernmentand -TheStatehasslowedthegrowthofgrass- standardsinhousingassociation design and improvement standards for new
ciations were concerned, however, was the subsidy system which it set up. This treated housing association and local authority housing alike, and incorporated the ‘free- market’ assumption that low-cost housing could be provided by the market without
the need for subsidy. It was held that rents for government-financed housing would rise sufficiently to cover costs after ten years and so the annual subsidy set up by the Act would be progressively phased out over that period. Few housing associations were prepared to undertake large scale dev- elopment against such an insecure back- ground.
Subsidies
By late 1973 the Conservative Govern- ment had been made aware of the damage that the 1972 Act had done to the ‘third force’ and had drafted proposed legislation
stil increasing costs has been to
traced directly to government endeavours
toestablishandendowa ‘thirdforce’in poration,acentralgovernmentagency,had nueDeficitGrant(RDG)toprotecthousing isasprivatecharitiesorjustbenignprivate throughwhichusersneedscanbe
housing which would represent a coalition of public and private sector interests. The mid-60\'ssawtheassociationssingledout for special treatment for the first time. The early work of housing associations concen- trating in run down urban areas had shown them to be amenable to then progressive
ideas in housing and the government inter- SLATE 7PAGE 10
been set up in 1964 specifically to foster the growth of cost-rent and co-ownership societies.Thechoiceofagovernmentage- ncy to fund housing associations ensured direct government control of their activi- ties.
The almost disastrous shortcoming of the Tory 1972 Act, as far as housing asso-
association accounts from the fact that both their income and their expenditure are largelydeterminedbyfactorsoutsidetheir control.
Housing Corporation Parallel with the development of the
landlords, and their direct relationship with the State through the Housing Corporation permits and them to develop corporatemanagement structuressimilarto those in private enterprise with no demo- cratic interference. As long as the associations continue to deliver the goods, and they re- ceive disproportionate assistance in this
task, defenders of capital can point them
articulated and accomodated
This, coupled with the almost total depend of housing iati onstatefinance,haspushedtheminto the position of executors of government housing policy above
al. Deliberately or not, and pure considerations of the accountability of public expenditure apart, the
state has acquired the means of
SATE SLATE SLATE 7PAGE 1
housing jations has been a expansion and growth in authority of the
out as that the private sector has a major role to play in the provision of hous- ing. Such an assertion is, of course, contra- dictory but it does serve to obscure the ac- tual crisis of the adequacy of the State’s housing policies, and of the accountability of its makers.
Criticism
regulating a growing sector of public financed housing with litle or no democratic interference at any intermediate level, and hence the potential of managing it directly
in the interests of capital.
The mounting criticisms of
housing associations in terms of the housing they provide, the tenant groups that their work favours and their management practices may be analysed in terms of their role in the state’s housing policy. This argument iswell
Housing Corporation. The Corporation, whose powers had been increased in 1972 , was further strengthened in 1974 and char- ged with registering housing associations. Only registered associations are eligible for HAG and are required to satisfy certain re- quirements laid down by the Housing Cor-
and rehabilitation projects. The Housing Corporation itself has grown into a substan- tial bureaucracy with a network of regional offices. It is accountable directly to central government by way of the DOE and enjoys extensive discretion in the way it orders its affairs and carries out its work.
From its origins in nineteenth century philanthropy, the Voluntary Housing Move- ment has developed into amajor agency for the provision of housing financed by gover- nment funds to the extent that the descri- ption ‘voluntary” has al but lost its meaning The generous and specific provisions of the
1974 Housing Act have had the effect of making housing associations almost totally dependent on government funds and have created a new way for the direction of State subsidies and investment into housing, par- allel to and substantially independent of the local authorities. Since the 1974 Act there is evidence of some transfer of funds from local authority housing into housing association work, witness the fact that in 1970 of a total government capital invest- ment in housing of £2025m, £74m went
to housing associations whereas it is pred- icted that in 1977 they will take up £484m of the £1925m available for i
(constant prices) .
rehabilitation work. The HAG limits for rehab projects were first established in connection with a technical
brief from the Corporation, but have now remained constant in the face
Governments have claimed that housing
associations offer the best of both worlds,
public and private, coining the phrase ‘third
arm’ to describe what is seen as their inter- from democratic contro] or political
The 1974 Housing Act was hailed (by
the DoE itself) as a ‘new charter’ for
housing associations, who would then be able to play ‘an extremely useful partin meeting housin, needs’ (9). A more searching analysis of the ‘part’ now played by housing associations must ask whose housing _ needs are being met, Part of their job is
roots tenants’ action among highly organised
local authority tenants’ groups by ‘hiving
off quite a high proportion of its new ten-
ants into the new form of tenanthood.
Organisation among housing association ten-
ants is notoriously weak, witness the fact
that of the associations active in London
only one tenth have any form of tenants’
association. This weakness has been explained revised technical brief incorporating by the geographical dispersal of housing ass- lower standards in mid-1977. The
ociation properties and the newness of the
majority of their developments ,rather than produce, in many cases, housing
of at least two years’of rapid building cost inflation. Rather than raise the HAG limits the Corporation issued a
effect of lowering the standards and
erence ee
ASSOCIATIONS- THE HOLLOW
(as i
neeTYPSNM
Notes 2
1,2: derived from figures in Mary Smith’s ‘Guide to housing’, Housing Centre Trust, 1977.
3: Housing Subsidies Act 1967 s12.
4!Housing Finance Act 1972.
5: Housing Act 1974 s13. Critena issued by Housing Corp, Jan 75. 6: ‘Guide to housing’, p214. 7:Derived from figures in ‘Guide to housing’.
8: Dudley Savill, National Tenants Organisation, atarecent National Federation of Housing Associations conference.
9: DoE circular 170/74.
—eee
RED CITY Review of Red Bologna
So little new building interrupts the
lines of the arcaded streets that form the historic centre of Bologna that visitors might imagine themselves to be in a charmed city, somehow spared the attentions of the profit-hungry developer. Yet Bologna is the capital of one of Italy’s most presperous regions but also it is
a city which for more than thirty consecutive years has had a communist majority
The renowned success of policies towards the city’s historic centre is
only one aspect of the the story told
by the authors of “Red Bologna”,
which catalogues the achievements of Bologna’s left-wing administrators.
The book enthusiastically (perhaps excessively so) tells how each of the problems identified in the city is analysed in terms of the “class struggle” through an intricate procedure of research and neighbourhood debate, expert
advice and consultation. The policies which result are typically simple to understand but difficult to implement as they are often in uncompromising conflict with big business interests and the central government in Rome,
which has been dominated by the right since the fall of Mussolini.
Bologna’s town planning policy is based on the principle of equal access for al of the city’s population to its facilities. The council sets out to encourage uniform development throughout the city in opposition to the centralising effect of the land market and profit-onientated development.
This process of decentralisation is enforced by the adoption of low planning densities in the city centre and a “positive system” for listing building. Only listed buildings may be demolished -all of which, unsurprisingly, are modern ones.
Even if it is dealt with first in
this book, the building fabric of a city isonly one part of the factors that condition its social life. Equally
-radical initiatives have been taken in health care, education, traffic planning and welfare of al kinds. The Bolognese communists come out of the book’s analysis well, due in some part to the sympathies of its authors, but also to the humanity and sound social reasoning that forms the basis of their attempts to redress the excesses of Italian capitalism.
Italy is not a developed welfare state in the sense that we understand it in
this country. Most of the business of securing a healthy and well-educated population is in the hands of the church, private charities and insurance schemes. On the one hand this means that the Bolognese receive little encouragement from the central government, but on
the other it leaves them free to determine their own local approach to policy and the control of services in a way which acentralised welfare state rarely tolerates. Yet, although Bologna’s situation is contradictory and unique,
the attempts and successes of its council to apply progressive ideas in a practical context are refreshing and
a potent example.
Max Jaggi, Roger Muller and Sil Schmid: Red Bologna: Readers and writers Publishing Cooperative: 207pp, illustrates: £1 95
NEW
‘PROFESSION’
Review of Urban Design Forum
This year’s new paper on the left specialising in architecture and town planning is a potential heavyweight called Urban Design Forum which sets out in the words of its editors, to “create links between the scattered
Organisations and individuals active in
this undefinable arena of interests”. The arena is Urban Design, a term conjured by academics to describe the post graduate courses they are running for architects
and the like. Besides an inevitable bevy of articles setting out to define that undefinable arena of interests the journal also features more valuable pieces on
the interpretation of the urban environment and on the contemporary fragmented approach to the analysis of the city and an article by Bologna’s city architect (yes—they stil have onel )
Urban Design Forum is published by a bunch of students and lecturers at the joint centre for Urban Design at Oxford Polytechnic. It is worth a read. Beware those attempts to define the undefinable and note how most of the authors describe themselves as ‘urban designers’ and one throwaway line in the editorial reads “ As yet there is no urban design profession and there are few positions for urban designers” It al adds up to make this journal look like an attempt to establish the bona fides of yet another ‘profession’ complete with al the paraphenalia of the ‘undefinable’ in train to enhance the mystique essential to any professional group.
Urban Design Forum: published occasionally from the Joint Centre for Urban Design Oxford Polytechnic Nol February 1978 64pp. £2 .00 + 20p postage
poration in an executive capacity .The Cor- poration also controls applications for HAG for individual projects financed from its funds and interprets both cost limits for HAGs laid down by the government and design and improvement standards for new and rehabilitation projects. The Housing Corporation itself has grown into a substan- tial bureaucracy with a network of regional offices. It is accountable directly to central government by way of the DOE and enjoys extensive discretion in the way it orders its affairs and carries out its work.
major role to play in the provision of hous- ing. Such an assertion is, of course, contra- dictory but it does serve to obscure the ac- tual crisis of the adequacy of the State’s housing policies, and of the accountability of its makers.
Criticism
The effective splitting of the public sec- tor housing effort has also had the effect of diffusing popular criticism of housing policy. The State has slowed the growth of grass- roots tenants’ action among highly organised local authority tenants’ groups by ‘hiving off quite a high proportion of its new ten- ants into the new form of tenanthood. Organisation among housing association ten- ants is notoriously weak, witness the fact that of the associations active in London only one tenth have any form of tenants’ association. This weakness has been explaine by the geographical dispersal of housing ass-
financed housing with little or no democratic interference at any intermediate level, and hence the potential of managing it directly in the interests of capital.
The mounting criticisms of housing associations in terms of the housing they provide, the
tenant groups that their work
favours and their management
practices may be analysed in terms
of their role in the state’s housing policy. This argument is well illustrated by the instance of
standards in housing association rehabilitation work. The HAG limits for rehab projects were first established in connection with a technical
brief from the Corporation, but have now remained constant in the face of at least two years’ of rapid building cost inflation. Rather than raise the HAG limits the Corporation issued a
[ivtouwouldTikefboeamemberoftheNewArchitectureMovementfilintheformbeloawndsend}
Notes
1,2:derived from figuresinMary
to housing’.
8:Dudley Savill, National Tenants
ofHousingAssociations’
it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( if
you\'reemployed)or£2.00(ifyou\'rearestudent,claimantorOAP)toNAMat9,PolandStreet | London W.1.
| NAME.
| ADDRE
| {| 1
representatives elected to them. ‘The implication of this extended bureaucracy isthat itserves prefer-
entially the interests of the providers of housing to those of its users or consumers, as it offers no means through which users needs can be articulated and accomodated This,coupledwiththealmosttotal
s
If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fil in the form below and send it together |
withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.00toNAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1.
| NAME |ADDRESS.
ments to foster the private sector ideology and practices of the associations, as a way of depoliticising the question of housing provision. Although they use public funds, the popular image of housing associations isas private charities or just benign private landlords, and their direct relationship with theStatethroughtheHousingCorporation permits and them to develop
those in private enterprise with no demo-
cratic interference. As long as the associations all. Deliberately or not, and pure
The generous and specific provisions of the
1974 Housing Act have had the effect of
making housing associations almost totally
dependent on government funds and have control was specifically furthered by the
created a new way for the direction of State subsidies and investment into housing, par- allel to and substantially independent of the local authorities. Since the 1974 Act there is evidence of some transfer of funds from local authority housing into housing association work, witness the fact that in 1970 of a total government capital invest- ment in housing of £2025m, £74m went
to housing associations whereas it is pred- icted that in 1977 they will take up £484m of the £1925m available for investment (constant prices) .
1974 Housing Act which concluded an era during which formal relationships between housing associations and the local authori- ties in whose areas they work were progre- ssively severed by subsequent Acts. Local authority nomination rights, mandatory for association projects funded by them under previous legislation, are now determined in- formally for Housing Corporation schemes funded under the 1974 Act. The Corporation does, in practice, ensure that association schemes correspond with local housing pol- icies, but again, only on an informal basis under its discretionary powers.
The distancing of one whole sector of state-financed housing activity
from democratic control or political intervention at the national, and especially the local, level isone of the principal characteristics of the housing association movement. The Housing Corporation isan executive arm of the Department of the Environment, and themanagement committeesofhousing
The 1974 Housing Act was hailed (by the DoE itself) as a ‘new charter’ for housing associations, who would thenbe able to play ‘an extremely useful partin
Governments have claimed that housing
associations offer the best of both worlds,
public and private, coining the phrase ‘third
arm’ to describe what is seen as their inter-
mediate position between private develop-
ment on the one hand and Local Authority
public sector housing on the other. In one
sense this description iscorrect and that is
in the sense that housing associations com-
binepublicsectorfinancewithprivatesec-
tor management methods. It has clearly associations rarely have tenant members beenintheinterestsofconsecutivegovern- andevenmorerarelyaretenant
meeting housing needs’ (9). A more searching analysis of the “part” now played by housing associations must ask whose housing _ needs are being met. Part of their jo! is,
depend of housing iati | corporate management structures similar to ‘on state finance, has pushed them into
conference.
9: DoE circular
continue to deliver the goods, and they re- ceive disproportionate assistance in this task, defenders of capital can point them
considerations of the accountability of public expenditure apart, the state has acquired the means of
outasevidencethattheprivatesectorhasa regulatingagrowingsectorofpublic
From its origins in nineteenth century
philanthropy, the Voluntary Housing Move-
ment has developed into a major agency for ociation properties and the newness of the effect of lowering the standards and
stil increasing costs has been to majority of their developments , rather than produce, in many cases, housing
the provision of housing financed by gover-
nment funds to the extent that the descri-
ption ‘voluntary’ has al but lost its meaning local authorities, which have far more active tenant needs in terms of accommodation.
by their intrinsically better landlords than essentially inadequate to satisfy
tenants’ groups.
The policy of the removal of housing ass-
finishes and imaintainance standards.
ociation activity from the sphere of political
the position of executors of
170/74.
SLATE SLATE SLATE 7PAGE 1
government housing policy above
q. revised technical brief incorporating lower standards in mid-1977. The
in fact, to meet the state’s housingneeds as well as those of their tenants. These two will not always be in harmony.
REVIEWS
housing associations has been aconsiderable expansion and growth in authority of the Housing Corporation. The Corporation, whose powers had been increased in 1972, was further strengthened in 1974 and char- ged with registering housing associations. Only registered associations are eligible for HAG and are required to satisfy certain re- quirements laid down by the Housing Cor-
Smith’s ‘Guide to housing’, Housing tre Trust, 1977.
SHae Subsidies Act 1967 s12. 4 Housing Finance Act 1972. _ 5! Housing Act 1974 s13. Criteria issued by Housing Corp, Jan Tas 6: ‘Guide to housing’, p214. _ 7Derived from figures in ‘Guide
Organisation, atarecentNational Federati
REVIEW
This process of decentralisation is
NEW
‘PROFESSION’
Review of Urban Design Forum
This years new paper on the left specialising in architecture and town planning is a potential heavyweight called Urban Design Forum which sets out in the words of its editors, to “create links between the scattered
organisations and individuals active in
this undefinable arena of interests”. The arenaisUrbanDesign,atermconjuredby academics to describe the post grad
courses they are running for architects
and the like. Besides an inevitable bevy of articles setting out to define that undefinable arena of interests the journal also features more valuable pieces on
the interpretation of the urban environment and on the contemporary fragmented approach to the analysis of the city and an article by Bologna’s city architect (yes—they stil have onel )
Urban Design Forum is published by a bunch of students and lecturers at the joint centre for Urban Design at Oxford
the meeting as a whole seemed to agree that DLO’s are a y pl
to local authority architecture depart ments and are therefore an essential part of the PDS argument.
On the running of the conference, the view was expressed by one wit that you can eat halfa packet of biscuits but you can’t eat a whole wheatfield! The conference will need to be very crisp as theareacoveredissolarge.Itishoped that the conference will spawn many different groups to work on the different aspects of the argument to develop the whole idea much further.
With that aim in mind, we hope to see many of you at the conference -May 6th 10.30a.m.attheUCATT hall,GoughSt., Birmingh The agenda includ
John Murray on the role of architects’ departments, Tom Bulley on his experience in Hackney, Pete Carter on DLO’s and Howard Smith on the views of the main political parties.
PDS Group April 1978
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS COF THE WORST KIND)
‘tH
RED CITY
enforced by the adoption of low planning densities in the city centre and a “positive system’ for listing
building. Only listed buildings may be demolished -all of which, unsurprisingly, are modern ones.
Even if it is dealt with first in
this book, the building fabricofa city is only one part of the factors that condition its social life. Equally
-radical initiatives have been taken in health care, education, traffic planning andwelfareofalkinds.TheBolognese communists come out of the book’s analysis well, due in some part to the sympathies of its authors, but also to the humanity and sound social reasoning that forms the basisof their attempts to redress the excesses of
Italian capitalism.
Italy is not a developed welfare state
in the sense that we understand it in this country. Most of the business of securing a healthy and well-educated population is in the hands of the church, private charities and insurance schemes.
Review of Red Bologna
So little new building interrupts the
lines of the arcaded streets that form the historic centre of Bologna that visitors might imagine themselves to be ina charmed city, somehow spared the attentions of the profit-hungry developer Yet Bologna is the capital of one of Italy’s most presperous regions but also it is
a city which for more than thirty consecutiveyearshashadacommunist majority
The renowned success of policies towards the city’s historic centre is
only one aspect of the the story told
by the authors of “Red Bologna’,
which catalogues the achievements of Bologna’s left-wing administrators.
The book enthusiastically (perhaps excessively so) tells how each of the problems identified in the city is analysed in terms of the “class struggle” through an intricate procedure of research and neighbourhood debate, expert
THIS LOOKS LIKE A GooD
health and education requirements”, adviceandconsultation.Thepolicies Ontheonehandthismeansthatthe Polytechnic.Itiswortharead.Beware andalsothat“thefightfor(local
Your Orne.seesAND
whichresultaretypicallysimpleto Bolognesereceivelittleencouragement thoseattemptstodefinetheundefinable
understandbutdifficulttoimplement fromthecentralgovernment,buton andnotehowmostoftheauthors abovealademocraticfight”.
Reg) 7?ve sa, By
i
as they are often in uncompromising conflict with big business interests and the central government in Rome,
which has been dominated by the right since the fall of Mussolini.
Bologna’s town planning policy is based on the principle of equal ac SS for al of the city’s population to its facilities. The council sets out to encourage uniform development throughout the city in opposition to the centralising effect of the land market and profit-orientated development.
the other it leaves them free to determine their own local approach to policy and the control of services in a way which acentralised welfare state rarely tolerates. Yet, although Bologna’s situation is contradictory and unique, theattemptsandsuccessesofits
council to apply progressive ideas in a practical context are refreshing and
a potent example.
MaxJaggi,RogerMullerandSilSchmid: Red Bologna: Readers and writers Publishing Cooperative: 207pp, illustrates: £1 95
describe themselves as ‘urban designers’ and one throwaway line in the editorial reads “ As yet there is no urban design profession and there are few positions for urban designers” It all adds up to make this journal look like an attempt to establish the bona fides of yet another‘profession’ completewithal the paraphenalia of the ‘undefinable’ in train to enhance the mystique essential
to any professional group.
Urban Design Forum: published occasionally from the Joint Centre for Urban Design Oxford Polytechnic Nol February 1978 64pp. £2 .00 + 20p postage
If Cynthia Coburn’s conclusions
come dangerously close to “the rev- olution isthe only answer”, then Dave Green’s account of the PDS’s work smacks of an unthinking adoption of a ready-made ideology. The danger is thatunlessthePDSConferencecan convince the many who have experienced the unquestionable ineptitude and occasional brutality of local authority management that they are, in fact, a valid and potentially fruitful subject
for discrete action by NAM, then it will fail and do much damage to NAM in the process.
The danger isperhaps best avoided by promoting an understanding of the localauthority’sroleinastatewhich promotes the interests of Capital ahead of those of the majority of the population (as Douglas Smith attempted to show in SLATE 4) and then collectively deter- mining which of its functions are worth preserving and which need to be eliminated or drastically changed. In short, more thought, and less politicking about words like “democratic” until
we know what they mean. Giles Pebody
c/o Levitt Bernstein Associates 30 Oval Rd
London NWI
T
SLATE 7PAGE 12
SLATE 7PAGE 15
SS
[itu would Tikefboe amemberof theNew Architecture Movement filintheformbelow andsend |
AT LEAST
it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00 ( if |
you\'reemployed)or£2.00(ifyou\'rearestudent,claimantorOAP)toNAM at9,PolandStreet
| London W.1. |
| NAME |
\\A |
|IfyouwouldliketoreceiveSLATEwithoutjoiningNAM filintheformbelowandsendittogether| with a cheque/postal onder (payable to the New Architecture Movement )for £2.00 to NAM at 9, Poland Street, London W.1.
| NAME.
le
through which the majority of people
can exert demands and gain access to.
resourcesnecessaryfortheirhousing, PLANTOEBUTILD
Zs)
authority) architecture departments is
17
PLACE, SiR! |
<)}
MEANWHILE NAM H.@. HAS PICKEDUPTHEDANGERSIGNALS.|gy70)YouR
TI|1| Houses every- |Ne=THE
|
\\
|RIBATS HAVE|_$E-0 Arrived!
> eile
\\oorOFYOuR | HANDS —
IWE HAVE | [GREAT | IKNONLEDAE.)
5
oS TYRANNY
D |
EVIL
I) attEE
| | | | | | L | | |
| te
¥, :
THE GREEN Ban Action Committee has made a full planning application to Birmingham City Council for the conversion of the Victoria Square Post Office to a sports and leisure centre (see also SLATE 4).
Birmingham\'s Victoria Square Post Office has been under the threat of demolition, although listed by the DoE as a building
»farchitectural and historic merit. Yet a plan has been approved by the Council which would allow developers to knock it down and build in its place a massive
ymplexofhigh-riseofficeblockswhen 2millionsquarefeetofofficespaceare already unlet in the City Centre
G.B.A.C.’s proposals to convert the Post Office complex to a leisure centre would do much more than simply meet eisure needs (where Birmingham fails surprisingly badly). It would bring life
the heart of the city in the evenings indatweekends. Buildingworkershave
been forced onto the dole by cuts in public spending that have brough the construction industry almost to a stand- stil. The Post Office scheme would pro- vide some of them with labour-intensive work, requiring far more skill than work
Work on the conversion could involve young people leaving school and unable
to find jobs. Funded by the Manpower Services Commission, they could be given training in many building crafts and in addition would be creating something of direct benefit to themselves as future users.
The organisers of the campaign are not simply another conservation group, but aim to encourage working people to have a say in the kind of jobs they do, because these have a direct effect on the commu- nity and the environment. A Green Ban
AT
n most new building
SLATE 7PAGE 16
is the action taken by groups of workers
who refuse to work on socially or environ- mentallyharmfulprojects.TheCommittee massivepee suppOrEand
believesthatonlybycreatingabroad alliance involving ordinary working people as well as dedicated conservationists, can effective action be taken to protect and improve the environment.
The Committee’s proposals (with tech-
interest SLATE8willbedevotedto the subject of women and architecture.
The issue will discuss how the male stranglehold over architecture can be broken, with a resulting architecture which ismore responsive and responsible.
DON’T DELAY — ORDER YOUR COPY NOW. 25p only!
Letters, articles, ideas and helpers for the issye will also be welcome: contact SLATE at 9 Poland St, London W1.
In the next SLATE -SLATE 8 WOMEN AND ARCHITECTURE
The NAM women’s group organised a meeting in London in April. Thirty- five women, mostly previously unknown to the Movement, attended.
As a result of this evidence of
SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
9 Poland Street, W1.
5 GBAC sends PO plans to Council
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Murray';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'May/June 1978';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 8';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Building a Future for Women in Architecture';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' A Feminism & Architecture Special Issue:
BUILDING A FUTURE FOR WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE
THE RADICAL PAPER ON ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILDING INDUSTRY
july/aug ISSUE §
slite’, n., a, & vit. 1, Winds of grey, or bluish-parple rock easily split at smooth plates; picce of such
ofinstinct. Themeetingwasattendedbypeople
©usednsroofing-material;plecoofIt ed In wood used for writing on neilorsmallrodofso~f(ctlean
SAG,theRIBACouncilfactionthat sets out to represent the interests of salaried architect members of the Institute, has made substantial gains this year. They took five of the nine- -teen RIBA Council seats up for election bringing the strength to eight.
All nineteen seats were contested by SAG who mounted a concerted campaign in the run up to the election culminating in the publication of an exhaustive 25 point manifesto. SAG also announced just just before the poll that if is to organise an exhibition of projects designed by salaried architects, on behalf of their employees in public and private sector offices.
SAG\'s success has only gone a small way, however, towards redressing the in- -balanceofrepresentation on the RIBA
Council. At least 70% of the Institute’s membership is salaried, yet out of the 67 councillors only eight set out to speak specifically for the interests of this majority. The only SAG candidate to head the poll inhis/herdivisionwasthewidelyknown chairman of the Group, Bob Giles, who
was elected in the London Region. establishment view
SAG\'s manifesto comes down firmly
on the side of the established view of professionalism in Architecture. In some respects the Group’s opinions are more conservative that those of the RIBA Council itself. The manifesto, published albeit, before the most recent developments between the Institute and the Government, condemns the findings of the Monopolies Commission and declares that “there is no caseforrelaxingtheCodeofConduct...” although ...“‘the fee scale needs to be radically restructured...” (no specific proposals.
Onthequestionofthepositionofthe salaried architect the manifesto isstrongest. “All partner practices” are to be encouraged and al architects should “share the risks responsibilities and rewards”, but in the meanwhile the job architect should be named in the building contract on the site signboard and in anypublicity.
SAG also sets out ways to defuse the growing disenchantment with the prof- -essionshownbythemanyarchitectswho are resigning from the RIBA, adopting the approach to Trades Unionism to problems at work or arguing for radical changes in the architect’s role and relations with society through NAM. According to the
2 orcecif of or renounce oblign- ‘ ¢, -ercy,modifications Ssuch ns ocurin~; j]-~-club, mutual benefit society with small weekly
and other building design staff, is the gradual introduction of new computertechnology.
the discussion was therefore able to concentrate on concrete issues, as well asthepossibilitiesofcomputeraided design. The work done by trades unionists, especially from AUEW-TASS, in analysing the implications of this new technology has been of great importance In rejecting the ‘Luddite’ approach to computers. It would be wrong to go aroung smashing computers as they do have the potential to free us from boring jobs. At the moment, this results in workers being made redundant, but computers do provide a real possibility to shorten the working week for large sections of workers today.
Fred Leplat.
Fees- NAM
report shows way
ahead THEMONOPOLIES ISSUEHAS moved away from the ‘technical’ arena of the Office of Fair trading negotiations into oneof straight political lobbying.
Although it is now certain that an Order in Parliament compelling architects to quote fees in competition will not be made for this session, the RIBA has no grounds for complacency. Its claim to serve the public interest and its manipulation of ARCUK
are matters now squarely on the agenda
of at least two government ministries.
The question is no longer ‘will the status quocontinue?’ Itis‘WilltheRIBAsucceed in projecting upon it the illusion of real change?”
contributio: i
~-colour(ed), (of) dark h groy; hence slat’x? a, ~. 3. y.t. Cover with~s hence slat/er\' n, (ME
Dear Editors,
From the letter on possible PDS conflict inSLATE7it appears that our stand- point needs reiterating, though this time I\'l try another angle.
In our view, both Cynthia Cockburn’s book, and Douglas Smith’s
article in SLATE 4 are excellent as far as they go, but they are both only half argu- ments, Both point out very well how the local state works ,but neither even starts to consider how it could work or how to change its workings. Their conclusions are merely implied and their arguments can thereby be taken as either standing for the
A debate on the topic of computer aided design ok place at a meeting organised by ‘he London Building
fom. of esclatstat*) (colloq.). Criticize ecrerely tn reviews), scold, rates ©, propose for office ete. Wenco
+
(2). fanp. t pree.}
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group.
Committee, introduced the discussion with slides showing the possibilities of computer aided design.
News and features of broad interest to
workers in the profession, the building
industry and to the general public are ine-
luded to stimulate general debate on a wide
range of issues and to bring the Movement’s | revolution (as the only answer ) or for
attractive ideology
Some commentators ascribe the rise of SAG\'s (sic) to the same urge for partici- -pation in decision making over questions affecting the process and product of thier work that has lead other architectural workers to take up Trades Unionism or join NAM. To some snmall extent this istrue, but the void that seperates SAG from the other tendencies is that the Group makes no attempt to analyse the relationship between the problems facing the salaried architect and the social and economic context within which the profession works. The profession isseen asanisolatedphenomenonfreetoarrange itsown affairs no matter what demands are made of it by society in the form of Government, the people who pay its fee accounts or who live and work in its products. This spurious ideology is clearly attractive to many salaried architects and SAG\'s manifesto exploits
just this attraction, but would the Group’s policies stand the test of being put into
practice? Or to daw out one specific contradiction, when SAG calls for the inclusion of salaried architects on entry lists for limited competitions, how would it respond to the competitions’ sponsors demandsthatthewinnersactuallysetup their own practices and carry out the work?
“The problems with computers, said Cooley, is the way in which they are currently designed to intereact with humans. In theory the fast reliable uncreativeness of the computer is the perfect compliment to the slow unreliable but crzativehuman being. But, as anyone who has worked on, say, computer drafting will tel you, something between two or three hours in the symbiosis isthe maximum anybody can take. Instead of the computer being paced by the human. the human ispaced by the computer.”
Computers have been able to take over some dehumanisingiandalienatjionbsg, but this has been done by the ad: ption and eventualeliminationoftheskillsinvolved. Computers and computerised robotic devices replace labour intensive production processes by capital intensive ones, shifting sections of workers to less skilled jobs, or simply to the dole queues. However, the consequences of computers do not stop here. As they are very expensive pieces of equipment, employers want to see such machines used round the clock to get the quickest returns on their investment. This iswhy, seven years ago, design staff at Rolls Royce struck against a move by
management to introduce shift work on a new computer.
liberation?
All new technological inovations have
views and activities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership.
REPRESENTATIVES
A network of 30 representatives has been set up throughout schools and large prac- tices all over the country. The only comm- itmentofeachrepresentativewillbeto receive 5copies of SLATE every two
months and to try to sel 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE
Al this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
writers ,more ideas and more reps in order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE: becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon.
The copy date for the next issue will be Friday 4th August 1978
SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group)
Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- wel Court, London, E.C.2
SLATE 8PAGE 2
hopeless apathy which plays into the hands of those who now wish to see the role of the local state drastically reduced for ideological reasons directly in conflict with both authors,
The local state issurely atwo-edged sword, and both its edges need exposing thenwecanseenotonlyhowitacts,but also how itcould act. To do this we need thought and research (which the PDS group iscurrently undertaking) coupled with a clear idea of how and why the local state should function. That idea for us isparticipatory democracy and although we cannot realise al its implications until itisputintoforce,itsmeaning isclear,
Yours faithfully
Charles McKean
the potential of liberating us from
dehumanising and alienating work. This
shouldbepossibleiftheuseofcomputers ArchitectsonARCUKhavepresentedtheir
|
iskept to amodest scale, but when they are introduced solely on the grounds of business efficiency, this is unlikely. For designers to work on computers they can pace, it is necessary to destroy the myth that supposes that it you have al the data to hand in the computer, then you can design quickly and efficiently. Cooleypointsoutthatagooddesigner is good because s/he has a vast store of apparently ‘redundant and unclassifed knowledge in his/her head. This
report “WAY AHEAD” to Roy Hattersley and John Fraser in the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, Albert Booth in the Department of Employment and to Peter Shore at the D.O.E., and meetings are being arranged with these departments.
A handbill summarizing the background and main thrust of “WAY AHEAD is inserted inthisissueofSLATE. “WAYAHEAD” itself — a major new NAM Report —is available from NAM, 9 Poland Street, London London W.1. Price £1.50.
SLATE 8PAGE 3
manifesto, the way forward is to reconcile
“the fundamental conflict between salaried
Statusandthearchitect\'sroleasanindepend- saysCooley
-ant authority...” within the structure of
the RIBA, The RIBA isrequired to
intervenetosortoutthegreivancesof AMONG theyariouspointsof
salariedarchitectswhocomplainthat concerntoarchitecturalworkers whowereworkingoncomputers,and their employer-architects are in breach of
point 2.5 of the Code of Professional
Conduct which lays down guidelines for
the employment of one architect by
another, and as far as the public goes,
accountability to them will only be achieved
by “identifying the actual building designer.” of the Lucas Shop Stewards Combine
The manifesto makes no acknowledgement
or mention of the problems of women
workers in the face of the prevalent sexist
attitudes in the profession.
Beware CAD
comes not from the computer memory but from wandering round the office library,talkingtopeopleordownon the job trying out ‘lashups’ on the basis
VSM
NAM Representatives of Unattached
JVINEWSWIEWONE
Dear Slate,
Daye Green, for NAM PDS group
With reference to my letter published in your last edition, Iwithdraw the comm-
ents Imade concerning Tom Woolley. I misinterpreted adifference ofopinion,
The SLATE Editorial group add their apologies to Tom for thepublication
of the offending letter in the last SLATE,
Printed by Islington Community Press,
2a St Pauls Rd., London, NI. S
NEWS\\\\
Manifesto brings poll gains for SAG
Typesetting by the Publications G and Maggie Stack. a
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so.
NEWSNEWSNIEWSSURVEY
Conference calls
for L.A. reform
PERILOUS
ASAONGCU)s
REALLYwo ritTee esnt ARCA? TeacHGinis SHOULOBEGiVENN (63aSG:Wooow®)RK
directly by tenants and reporting directly to committee.
Forty or so participants came to
the Conference from all over the Country and most sectors of the architectural profession. to hear the proposals and arguments worked out by the PDS group over the last six months. An enlarged group will now take up an ambitious programme of further investigation formulation and publicity,
Adressing the Conference, UCATT
shop steward Peter Carter reminded the architects present of the role, and, possibly, the existence of building
workers in the industry. One of the prerequisites of progress, he said, was thecooperationofbuildingconstruction and building design workers and in Local Authorities that meant between architects and workers in Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs). He outlined how, inspite of the benefits that DLOs bring to the people
in whose areas they work and to the workers within them, they were currently
being defamed by private sector interests.
joint action
principle perpetuates existing power structures and that oppressed groups such as women will only become liberated by policiesof‘positive discrimination’. In housing this meant housing run by and for women.
More infromation of the Conference from: The Secretary, Seagull Housing Co-op,
“Flat 4, 13, Colville Houses, London, W11.
ttempts by a Brighton Housing Co-op to convert a house to accomodate ‘young singles’ and
couples who want to live communally have been foiled by the town’s Planning Committee. Planning permission was refusedtotheTwoPiersHousingCo-op on the grounds that the cooking arrangements proposed were not acceptable.
Communal kitchens are favoured by the co-op’s members but the Council insisted that it could not sanction shared cooking facilities in multi- occupied accomodation. The case turns on the definition of the term ‘household’ .The twelve prospective tenants did not, in the Council’s view constitute one, as there were too many
of them. The Council prefers using its planning powers to foster nuclear families.
At the same time the circular nature
of the relationship between building and society means that attempts to demonstrate thepossibilitiesofanarchitecturewhere women are actively involved can be influential. It is therefore crucial that as.a
Architect Tom Bulley (see SLATE7) took up this theme and described how he and his colleagues at Hackney Council were campaigning alongside the DLO fora planned workload forall the Council’s construction services. Earlier in the day
John Murray gave a fascinating paper
on the history of Local Authority
architects department in an attempt to formulateacriticalanalysisoftherole
of the departments in our society. This
was complemented by a talk from Howard Smith on contemporary attitudes to
Local Authority services among the political parties.
Discussiononthefloorwasregretably curtailed by the busy day’s programme but there was time to hear views and experiences from several local authority workers and to
SLATE 8PAGE 4
things about the first six months of the group\'s work.
What we must realise is that women are in the strange position of living in a built environment which isdesigned and built primarily by men. To suggest that were it designed and built by women it would be different is not enough. The fact is that it reflects accurately the male structured
Society,atpresentwomenwhohavebeen successful in the architectural world have been so by taking up the values and modes of identification of that society and have therefore largely succeeded only in continu- -ing men’s work. People who look for a buildingdesignedbyawoman:toprove how different is the female approach, and find in the lack of such buildings proof of their convictions that women have nothing to contribute to architecture, have totally
work ,we are now specifically interested in using our architectural and building skills with and for women. who are look- -ing for a different approach to designing and building. (Contact names below)
In our discussidns we have been looking at the following issues, and itisthese which the various articles discuss in depth.
1, Women in education. This is particul- -arly the seperation between design and technicaleducation;women findit difficult und usually impossible to gain experience on site, a grave disadvantage
in giving confidence in technical know- -ledge. In schools there is little encourage- -ment for women to take architecture up orcoursesrelatedtobuilding.Condition- -ing of girls away from technical fields of knowledge starts in early childhood. However, perhaps positive discrimination in schools might change this bias.
_
debate the perenial question as to whether localauthoritiesareindependentfromor integrated into the State apparatus. If they are integrated then would our efforts be better directed at central government or are local authorities an embrionic manifaestation of real local democracy. Happily this debate did’ not devide the conference so that it was impossible to form a consensus behind the preliminary proposalsofthePDSgroupwhichwere almost unanimously supported at the
MECCANO
end of the day. Theday’spapershavebeenpublished
Socialist
Planners publish
papers 3
NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE of Socialist Planners shows that the movement is growing steadily and taking lon\'the task of analysing and disseminating the principles of socialism within planning and other related activities,
Groups have been formed in places as far apant as Scotland and Hampshire, LondonandMerseyside.ANational Liason Committee consisting of delegates from the Regional Workshops is respons- -ible for coordinating activities and a news- -letter is now being published shortly,
The Merseyside Regional Workshop
have prepared papers on the issue of small firms and worker cooperatives. The paper on small firms looks at their role in the history and development of the capitalist economy and the reason why both the State and private capital are now promoting them
Itwasthefirsttimethatsuchameeting had been held and it was set up in response to, among other things, the isolation felt bywomen inthemale-dominatedwotld of the co-ops. The call for women’s Co-ops is in opposition to the so-called First Co-operative Principle that states that co-operative ventures should be open to participationbyal.Womenatthe
TerRific HAVING WOMEN AS @PREMITECTS »THEY KNOSoWM)H ABOUT Ki TCHENS
Fh4
by NAM at £1 00+15p post and packing from NAM, 9, Poland St., London,W1.
More information about PDS Group
Tegular meetings from NAM-PDS, c/o JohnMurray,5,MiltonAvenue,London,N6.,
TBvriGAL_OLDHARRiDANTM | FESS VE FEMINIST1
2. Women at work. We feel that this is one of the most important areas of discussion because it involves the inter- -action with the real world, By compar- -ing different women’s experiences and discussing the way in which things could be organised differently. So far we
have looked at the discrimination against women withintheeconomicsystemand the hierarchical organisations within architectural practices,
3, A Feminist approach to design, This covers a wide range of ideas, Susan Walker the relationship between housing
and women’s role in Classical Greece; Denise Arnold looks at matriarchy and
the importance of women taking the initiative for social change and Chris Knight demonstrates the importance of the communal role of women in early societies, which are al explorations in different directions,
We hope this issue will encourage those women who feel isolated working in architecture to join us, for it is time women began to find their own identity in the built environment as they have begun to do so in other fields,
hetragedyliesinhowweimpoverish ourselves as a s@ciety by not allowing women the opportunity to understand and control their environment. Who can tel how much of the barfeness of our built environment isdue to this fundamental lackofbalance. Webelievethatwomen have a crucial place in the contemporary worldof architecture and we have to see them take itup,
SLATE 8PAGE S$
ee
conclusion of a recent conference on Women and Housing Co-operatives. Called by the Seagull Housing Co-op the conference exposed many of the ways in which the existing structure of the Co-ops and the housing co-op movement fails to meet women\'s housing needs.
DECENTRALISING Local
Authority architects departments
would be a major step towards the
true accountability of building
designers to the needs of local
people concluded a national
Conference called by NAM’s
Public Design Service (PDS)
group in Birmingham in early
May.Such area design teams should
be small and involve surveyors,
architectsandengineersworking alongsideeachother,briefedSEeeConferenceargued,however,thatthisEsBUILDINGSITE2ANASS0CTATEBYSCREWINGCAN?TSTAND\"THESE
y
or the first time the Government has been advised by one of its own bodies bodies to ban ceritin asbestos-based
materials.TheAdvisoryCommitteeon Asbestos has recommended that it should be an offence to undertake work on another\'s premises involvong handling the materials,
Materials to be affected by the proposed banarespayed asb and asb based thermal and accoustic insulation.
Copies of the first report of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos are available form HMSO, price SOp.
How AbSUROTS THe \"THATGiRL2HAVE ANY
ATA AL ABALiT
STEVERSEEAWNBMARIONTA)
This issue of SLATE marks the beginning of a conscious movement to recongnise and explore the potential of women in architecture, to acknowledge the prejudice which exists in the building world against the involvement of women and to seek
out a true expression of their own identity.
At the ’77 Congress NAM became
tentativelyawareofagapinitsradical
approach to architecture; that the ideas
and experience of the women’s movement
are as fundamental to the achieving of NAM’s group” we explore the alternatives both in aims as are those of the socialist movement, practice and in theory. The beginning of the and that they are intri ly bound togeth -the th icaldi ion is published here. What no one forsaw was that there would be While one result of the London Seminar so many people who would respond instantly (report in News from NAM) on Feminism with conviction to a feminism and and Architecture was to make us state architecture group. The bringing together of positively our commitment to practical these people has been one of the exciting
7 NuUNA ee | |Toioric 70 ALLOW WOMEN “To Stuly
ARCHITECTURE,THEYREOWL LOOKING FOR A HUSBAND
GQOURSESHEONLYGor7GE THe 6055
failed to understand that itisonly by work- -ing within the women’s movement and the Socialist movement as a whole to change the existing structure of society that such architecture can be possible.
Pomen should be free to establish al- women housing co-operatives was one
as One answer to the economic and unemploy- -ment problems of the declining inner cities and regions. The practical dilemmas which arise for socialists when groups of workers Propose coops in opposition to closures by private capital is the subject of the other
Paper. Itargues that caution isneeded where State and other political interests are intervening to establish coops with the implicit intention of healing wounds and reducing conflict in the Capitalist system.
Other topics which are being studied
by the Regional Workshops include ‘The Role of Inner City Partnerships’ and ‘Planning and the Local State’, abrief analysis of the context in which most planners opfrate. |Further details from Box CSP, c/o 100 Whitechapel, Liverpool LI 6EN
FEMINISM& ARCHITECTURE
between the sexes in the practice of archit- ecture, a fact of which Iam personnally proud” and that “...the RIBA does not keep discriminatory records of the work
of women architects”. This explains the scarcity of statistics, but those which do exist speak for themselves about the current position of women in architecture,
5% of currently registered architects in the UK are women. This is a bare 19% above the 1957 level, and the proportion has actually DECREASED by 0.8% since 1973, Is the situation changing? In 1977, women formed, 7% of al new ARCUK registrations: Of al student newly entering architectural courses in 1977/78, almost 16% were women, Compare this with UCCA statistics for ALL ful time students at undergraduate level (1975/76 figures) where, in the Arts, the proportion of women is 48%, and in Science, 24%.
Tam not using these statistics to imply that women are discriminatied against in selectionforcoursesinarchitecture. It would be very difficult to demonstrate this even ifitwere true, and on the whole Idon’t believe itistrue. Women are discriminated againstlongbeforethis. WeARRIVEat the point of selection unequal, the product of 18 years or more ofa sodal condition- ing that does not encourage us to put a high enough value on the “career” part
of our lives to warrant spending 7 years qualifying in order to fil in the gap between leaving school and haying kids. Any dis- criminationwhichmightbeappliedatthe pointofentry to the profession would in any case be pale in comparision to what
has gone before, but would nevertheless,
be particularly cruel for the women who happens to get that far.
Imyself was the victim/benificiary of POSITIVE discrimination. At my inter- view, Iwas told (albeit charmingly), “Yes Ithink we\'ll have you. We need more womeninoursherryparties”, Which
ties in with the second point Imade earlier, wherethAJfeounditnecessarytopoint out that women students in 1939 were hang- ing up “their own” work. Being accepted as an archi 1student is only the first step; The next isto be accepted as a SERIOUS architectural student. Now there
As women, we face very particular obstacles to acheiving success in architect- ure, It is important that we get together to examine these obstacles and to make them visible to other women architects, to educators, to employers, and to the public generally. It is also important that we
get together to examine what we mean by “success in architecture”. Nadine Beddington in her AD article, points out that “. there have been to date four women elected to (RIBA) Council . (and) two women vice
would be raped in Mozanbique, fan Tod and Alan Lipman would probably be bayonneted in their backs in Botswana, and the rest would probably be quietly fed to the crododiles in Zambia, or would they prefere a gory sensational Uganda type death?:”
Iget raped while the men get saved for the crocodiles. Sexism cannot be tackled in isolation, but only as part of a wider bigotry.
It’s a man’s world...
Even when qualified, of course, the
problems are not over. Some would say
they are just beginning. Straight from a school ing a letter from a group of us objecting to ofarchitecture astudent isyoung and
inexperienced.If she isalso awoman, her
problems increase exponentially. The part-
ner, the teaboy, the contractor, will all be
eagerly anticipating her first mistake. When
it comes, as come it must, she will get some
version of “what can you expect from a
woman”, and youth and inexperience will
not enter the equation. As one local arch-
itect put it recently, we\'ve had quite a num-
ber of women working in our offices. Cer-
tainly they tend to drop earrings down man-
holes and that sort of thing on site”(Mr L.
Mosely, PhD. B.Arch. FRIBA, Partner in
H.M.R. Burgess and Partners, Cardiff
speaking in a radio phone-in programme
on architecture, June 1978.)
Anne Delaney, a member of NAM and TASS and an ARCUK councillor writes about
the problems women face in and after leavinga school of architecture. At present she is employed as a tutorial assistant in the Welsh School, where she did a Ph.d on “Professionalism in Architecture”.
When the Architects Registration Bill was being discussed in parliament in 1931, one Labour MP had this to say:
It is their great moment, for one day their schemes may find fulfilment
in brick or concrete. Sex equality may give them thechancetheir arch- itect fathers have been waiting for, and a smash hit in the next compet- ition may bring them wealth and fameinanight. Sostiltheystrive, adding to the experience that will
several points emerge. Firstly, what is this talk (in 1939) of “sex equality’? Secondly, why was it found necessary to point out that the work being hung by the “female alimni” was their own” (presumably it was not that of their “architect fathers”!),
ARCUK investments in South Africa, the RIBAJ recieved the following reply from R.E. Cooper, Bulawayo, Rhodesia:
but let it be remembered that the
membership of the Royal Institute of
British Architects numbers somewhere
about 7000 architects, so that, by this
Clause, complete power is given into
the hands of that organised body of
7000, not merely of examination, but
of moulding the carriculum and raising
the standard of education so that no
lad of my class will have any opport-
unitywhateverofenteringtheprofession”. opportunitiestotraininthearchitectural
Hansard. 17.4.31.
Suchat accurate prediction of RIBA control over education, and such well-
field. Aided ideologically by war p pagand to believe thay must “do their bit for the war effort”, and helped in practical terms
But eight years later the country needed us all; the working class and even women were important to the war effort. The AJ makes its contribution to sex equality:
“Meanwhile girl students play their part in the drive whilst training for those academic honours that will
one day put aseal to their careers.
At the Welsh School of Architecture T-square glamour looms large and
the looms of near-graduate industry hum as never before. The female alumni have been hanging their own drawings for the exibition of the year.
in the door of Portland Place. Forty years on without that ideological and pract- ical backup, how many women manage to Squeeze through?
be their wavelength to sucess”
AJ. 19th January 1939.
Cut through the Pathe News prose and
“T invite Ian Tod and his coterie to come out to Southern Africa, and see for themselves before getting involved in the politics of South Africa: and Idon’t mean the ‘whistle stop’ tour of two to three days. Although Ann Delaney
When phrases like “sex equality” were being bandied about in 1939 it was true that a few women were being offered
placed concern about the class composition by the sortof childcare and communal cater- may well be women whose sole purpose
of architects should not go unremarked: ing facilities it sudenly and miraculous! neither should the assumption that concern became possible to provide at that time, a need only be expressed for the “lads” of the few women squeezed through asmall crack working class.
in entering a schooolf archi is to look for a husband; there may well be women whose career ambitions stop at designing loft conversions from home dur- ing the children’s school hours; theremay well be women fired by the belief that their contribution to humanity will lie in designing the perfect kitchen. I haven\'t met any of those women myself, but they may well exist. The problem is,how can the rest of us begin to get taken seriously?
«ust women who haye been througn a schoolofarchitecturewilknowwhatit feels like to have a scheme that would ben- efit from good constructive criticism, and to to get nothing but a pat on the head anda “very nice, dear”. In the 1975 degree
Any statistics I give are going to be sketchy since women have until very recently been invisible in RIBA statistics, “Women in Architecture” has been a non-problem for
the RIBA, as Nadine Beddington (RIBA councillor and one of four women on the 67 member ARCUK Council) iskeen to point out. In the “Women inArchitecture” issue of AD (August 1975) Ms, Beddington Stressed that “‘....the RIBA as anInstitute
} 4
has never found it necessary to differentiate eee resultsforuniversityschoolsofarchitecture,
SLATE 8PAGE 6
SLATE 8PAGE 7
in UK university departments of “engineering, presidents”. Is this what we mean by technology, architecture, and other profes- sucess?
sional and vocational subjects” (GC 1975) Iam not seeking to increase simply the show that 100% of professors, 99% of readers NUMBER of women architects. Iam seek- and senior lecturers, 97% of lecturers and
assistant lecturers, and 88% of “other”
aremen. A quick scan of the staffs
of university schools of architecture in the
UK (Commonwealth Universities Yearbook
1977/78 reveals agrand total of8women
(2%oftotalstaff). Ofthese,threearearch- servicewhichshouldbeavailableto itects.
ing to increase the number of women architects who, in NAM’s words, “ are committed to radical change in the relation- ship of the profession to the public, and within the profession itself” and who consider that “architecture isapublic
all sectors of s6ciety.”
But even the life ofa “radical” woman
architect is no bed of roses. After publish~
the proportion of men and women students in most degree catagories is very similar - except for the First Class Honourscategory, which contains almost 5% of men students (28 out of 603) and less than 1% of women students(ONEoutof110). Itseemsthat to be a good woman architect you need to be very good indeed.
This tendency is not made any better by almost total absence of women in a position to affect teaching in a school of architect- ure, Figures for teaching and research staff
[LFEMINISM &ARCHITECTURE
,e
that makes us human —is actually the product of a social revolution which, w) itwaslargelycompleted 40,000 yearsag bears some remarkable structural similar. ities to the new process of technological and social revolution engulfing us all to. day, It puts paid to the theorythat ‘no revolution can change human nature’ by showing that everything human about our ‘nature’ was precisely the product of that immense social revolution in which our species was born.
A form of ‘pop-anthropology’ (the boo! of Robert Ardrey, Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox are good examples) asserts that early humans must have organised themselves insomethinglikethemannerofbaboons, Yet when we examine the social lives of baboons and macaques, it appears that the very traits which primitive cultural ‘taboos’ above all rule out in social behaviour, these creatures indulge in to the full. Whereas human kinship systems strictly forbid a male from becoming the sexual rival of his father or mating with his mother or sister, young baboons quite regularly come into direct and open sexual conflict with their ‘fathers’ and often end up displacing them as the sexual partners of their ‘mothers’ and/or ‘sisters’. Among baboons
and macaques, sexual relations are set up on a kind of ‘private property’ basis. The strongestmales,onthebasisofamoreor less violent free-for-all, end up with al the females (the biological ‘instruments of production’)belong,withtheiroffspring, to a few dominant males. All primitive kinshipsystems,ontheotherhand,func- tioncentrallytoruleoutsuchasexual
A MARXIST-~STRUCTURALIST VIEW OF THE GENESIS OF CULTURE
ins of Woman
ir kinswomen\'s their
Chris Knight isaresearch student working
on human origins in the Anthropology
Department, University College, London.
He has also been collaborating in research
into the social logic of spatial organisation
under Bill Hillier at the Unit for Architectural for ‘when the chimpanzee with the desired Studies, Bartlet School of Architecture and
tems bisected in this way are known as aye Grameen ual systems aie usually matri-
Planning.
food sees this request he runs off with the prizedpossession’(Fouts1975:380). Each animal is simply too egotistical - too wrapped up in its own private wants and desires-foralinguisticsystemtobeable to ‘work’. This individualism precludes
the possibilityofanything cultural emerg-
Kinship-rights are meal/meat-sharing rights. Men do have such rights on their own side. They do not have them on the other side. They havenosex-rightsontheirownside. They have sexual rights on the other side.
biologicaloranatomicalaspectsofhuman
evolution have been cleared up, the more
puzzling have the social and cultural
aspects seemed. Some of us in the Anthrop-
ology Department at University College,
London, now believe we may have made a be done. The same applies to kinship
taboos’arealabout.Theyexpressthefact that people ‘belong’ to one another
in an ultimately collective, social way ~ not as the private possessions of egotist- ical, dominant individuals (usually male). Finally, whilst baboons and macaques
rival each other in a competitive free-for- al for food, al primitive kinship systems eliminate competition and enforce food- sharing and exchange, Far from being the same,baboon-likesystemsofdominance
and primitive kinship systems bear an inverse relationship toeach other. The an- thropologistsMarshallD.Sahlins(1960) and Elman R. Service (1966) have long beeninsistingonthisfact.
Nothingbringsoutthiscontrastmore clearly than a comparison of relations be-
usbands whith to negate mate sexual dominance in general. Thesource of the womens
breakthrough in the attempt to ‘crack’
this problem ~in principle, at least. It was really the origins of womankind on which the transition ‘from ape to man’ was based.
GROUP oF ee PERIPHERAL
traced until the limited number of possi ble Structural INVERSIONS fas been calculated and described. J{ (Left); lormal male-female
It has long been recognised that the emer-
genceonthisplanetofthefirsthuman iveagreementthatnoteventherudiments life-patterns represented a genuine social of culture are to be found among monkeys
9
fone| thatParonelittlecompetitionforspaceorfear MEAT gor of predators) approximate closely @this. Bé
or apes. And this in turn was revolutionofsomekind(Sahlins1960; likehominidancestors whyourape-
i 2
ee arem system. NEGATIVE: sexes
gt intoallechivepolar-oppositegroups lominance
Hockett and Ascher 1964; Holloway 1969). Despite the fact that human brains are little more than magnified versions of those of chimpanzees, the things which humans are capableofagreeinguponandcollectively constructing (dwellings, living arrangements, kinship-systems, linguistic structures and
SO on) seem to havea life of their own of which there are no traces whatsoeveramong monkeys or apes. Despite their considerable ‘intelligence’,chimpanzeesarealmostin- capable of joint action or stable agreements between themselves (Reynolds 1976: 67 197). Even when they are to use American Sign Language which individual chimpan- zees can very well use in communicating with human beings — the use of language collapses when the apes are left to inter- SLATE 8PAGE 8
social revolution had to undergo a
are going anywhere
Levi- Strauss himself) consider themselves to be Marxist in one way or another. Acc- ording to Marxist theory, social conditions determine social consciousness. After arey- olutionary transformation of our social con- ditionsonaworldscale,wehumanbeings will not only act, but think and feelin a totally new way. The chief value of the study of human origins is that it helps us under stand this power of a revolution transforming the very depths of human consciousness. It shows that Consciousness itself ~ language, reason and everything
ANIMAL alpha males. Many ‘baboons (grouna-livi caelomety, PathetogetherseekingSafetyinnumbers,so
Se
SLATE 8PAGE 9
act with each other. Should one chimpan- zee say, for example, ‘GIMME JAM’, its partner (who possesses the jam) understands perfectly well what is being said. But this abstract ‘understanding’ is not sufficient
lineal For ‘total exchange’ (i.e. complete sexual and economic interdependénce) to prevail, the rules have to be: ;
The problem of explaining the
‘origins of man’~ the evolutionary emer-
genceoflanguage,tool-making,kinship
systems and culture generally — has seemed
insolubleeversinceCharlesDarwinbegan ingamongmonkeysor
posingtheissueinscientifictermsovera apes.Alllinguistic hundredyearsago.Themorethephysical,structuresarestructuresofwhattheprimat-free-for-all,Thisiswhatso-called‘incest meal-sharingrights,alwaysbackuptheseee
ologistVernonReynolds(1976:xy)calls ‘action’ ~ by which he means behaviour which is motivated socially and guided by Teference to collectively- shared under- standings as to what should or should not
disputeswith ezspRusberidsorpoorhunters.lti this counter posing of en as brothers against men
Structures, architectural structures and al other structures of that realm of “the art- ificial’ (Hillier and Leaman 1973) which human lifeinitsdistinctive
wer is the Sexual solidarity expressedin Chet
control of the circulation of thens labour- produce. Primate and human social origins cannot be
features is, It is because ofan incapacity for collect-
MALES. MOBILE AND
AIT] A e structure ts POSITIVE tn that the
before human culture Nearly al anthropologists nowadays who
thatinternalcore ionaay emnereae)ERouiie examples. ¢NEGATIONOFNEGATION:
could emerge.
(rightuptoClaude tweenthesexes.Baboonsocialsystems (and, to a lesser extent, those of chimpan- Zees) are extremely male-dominated. This
Human society emerged only when Sroupsoffemalessucceededinane
in
erms, seeking the favours of the al ha male Potala But’when (in hominid levolution) HUNTING became necessary,
therefore unthinkableS”o the froup haa to split into two a3 the sons”
istrue of many human cultures, too, but in the early hunter-cultures very powerful mai rilineal and egalitarian principles were acti andamuchcloserapproximationtosexual reciprocity seems to have prevailed. The idea that women once held political sway isa myth, but it isa myth which contains an important element of truth. The import Point isthat women could say ‘no’.
rom them whenever anew hunting ex- dition was required. Once this power ad been gained, prostitution (xe. com-
were not passive, ever-yielding, They
immobilized bytheir fearof losing their slow- movin arems, would have
always-aV- tobefoughtoverby rival males. They had their own solidarity
the alpha males,
ailable sexual objects
ofa sexual kind. Men who wanted sex
ed sexual ma parity producing the idual system” (es above
But“these are conditional on men’s maki gifts’(above al, game-animals) bptheirwives,
omen share bitsmeat ee eir proehetes ¢ against’ men (who, nevertheless
veer: Tsasmuchttheyloseashusbands), Mén,being dependentontheirmothers/sistersfor
&
(
P. 78
Jevesare united. Gibbons (wbho live in trees, so
“HAREM?OFFEMALESWITHOFFSPRING,The ales compete with one another in sexual
etitiveSpyeat favour-seeking) .dbee: Bolished. ‘hene er, the females s$aid No to the hunters in this way, their own mnale offspring helpede: orce this ban. onal. . Sex wi each (matrilineal)
thing tooffer. Thseept: would
have had tounite with the hunter-males: SEX AND MEAT FOR ALL.
re
Z imbira village (Brazil:Gé pilansy.Thessimplmestplest CeConceivable
‘and obably the most archaic nship tructure is-one in which es hfere) the
entireCay, 1sdividedintotwo
toe and vice versa. lt is the men who are excha between the two Brow PS 2
rging halves. Here the the Fast dndery the ‘people of
women; lencriss-crossfrom Castto West fest fo East, morni.
Bena thegame animals Becnef}Btheir wives Puls, but havi kirtship rights and
ileal aring rights wi inswomen Bac on their ow
St circle. Hore they may eat meat which
by CHRIS KNIGHT.
with the male hunting bands whils retaining the power to eSevuail
n el
Ih ine huSsbands have killed.
a
he
PYTh Gp
could not get it by rape or intimidation, nor content as well -rules aimed at the preven-
bysettingthefemalesoffagainsteachother tionofsexualprostitution.Humanculture inthe‘no’alreadydiscussed.Neitheris byofferingfavourstosomewhilediscrimin- cameintobeingonlywhengroupsoffem- thereanyneedforaseparatetheoryofthe
| Cae swellequippe roofis +
ating against others. The female community as a whole had to be satisfied, or else there was no sex. In hunter-cultures throughout the world, a collective hunting expedition is preceded by a ban on sex lasting one or more: days, which it is the prime respons-
ales had won the power, collectively, to indicate ‘no’ in sexual matters to groups of males. Then, when meat was short, the women could threaten a ban on sex. If necessary they could deny themselves alto- gether to the men until the desired result
origins of language, or of economic exch
or of cultural kinship. These things would already already have been contained wi the capacity for refusal discussion. Once could be expressed in the context described this would itself have been the first appear- ance of language, of economic exchange, o kinship and so on. The evidence is that the most universal and ancient symbol of ‘no’ and hence the symbol of al human life its- elf-was menstrual blood, but that isano story. The crucial point is that culture was born ina ‘red’ revolution. Both sexes were involved in it, but it was upon the solidarity of the materially reproductive sex (the liy- ing ‘instruments of production’ ) that the trangition to humanity was based. The par- allels with today’s revolution should be cle:
as you\" 4 yFe
ibility of the women to enforce. One of the was obtained. Sooner or later, the men
most interesting recent reports in this connection is that of Janet Siskind(1973: 233), who describes how the women in one South American Indian tribe combat hunt- ing-laziness among their menfolk:
‘The special hunt is started by the women. Early in the evening, all the young women go from house to house singing to every man. Each woman chooses aman to hunt for her, a man who is not her husband nor of her kin group... The men leave the foll- owing day and are met on their return by a line-up of all the women of the village, painted and beaded and wearing their best dresses. Even the older men will not face this line without game...”
would have had to get off their haunches and hunt. The very situation would have produced a fierce solidarity amongst the women. Any individual woman trying to ignore the ban would quickly have been reminded that her body was not hers alone to give. It belonged to her sex-group coll- ectively. Her sisters -once a ‘no’ had been decided on -would jealously have prevented her from seeking her own pleasure and breaking ranks. Her sexual value was theirs, not hers alone. All sexual morality began here.
Male baboons cannot agree amongst them selves on anything. They are almost always fighting or threatening each other in some
Inmostcases,thebanonsexwasliftedonly way,andatthebottomoftheirquarrels
Lin, Wipeep,
References ifthewomencollectivelyweresatisfiedthat lies,usually,competitionoversexualaccess Fouts,R.S.1975
thehunthadbeensuccessful.Rape,forthetofemales.Aslongashominidfemaleswere“CapacitiesforLanguageinGreatApes.’In TPS=Gatlin,‘Sh
men, was out of the question: it was the women themselves who decided ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
This seems to have been the most fund- amental of al the sexual rules of the ancient hunter-cultures of humanity. The women, collectively, had the power to say ‘no’.
Part of the explanation for this power of refusal was a spatial one -in each commun- ity, the hearths and dwellings were arranged only a few yards apart or in compact clust- ers. The womenfolk were not isolated sex- ually from each other but formed a real community of their own, sharing the tasks of child-care, food-gathering, fire-tending, food-distribution and so on. Wherever hunt- ing was a highly-organised, collective, acti- vity this seems to have been the pattern.
One archaeologist (Movius 1966: 321) has excavated the floor of what seems to have been a‘long-house’ 20,000 years old near the village of Les Eyzies in France. Many otherUpperPalaeolithic‘long-house’settle-
ments have been excavated, including some of mammoth-hunters in the Ukraine (Klein 1973). In each ‘long-house’, the women folk-sisters,mothersanddaughters-would have had far more power than do women who are forced to live separately (which tends to be the case where male dominance is extreme),
Female apes and monkeys lack the power or the solidarity to say ‘no’. Solly Zucker- man (1932; 233, 239, 285-6) noted long
organised along similar lines, allowing them-
selves to be used as passive sexual objects to
be fought over by rival males, no enduring
agreements between the males could have
been reached. Solidarity between males de-
pends upon either (a) their complete separ-
ation from females or (b) the presence of
females who have their own solidarity and
who are, therefore, not going to allow them-
selyes to be fought over individually as sex-
ual ‘prizes’ for rival males. Among baboons
some males -the ‘outcasts’ or ‘peripheral’
ones who have failed in the fight to obtain
females -meet the first condition. These
are the mobile males, and among our ances
tors it would have been the counterparts of
these who alone would have been in a pos-
ition to begin hunting big game (the dom-
inant males would have been placed at a dis- _Montagu,Ashley 1965
advantage when hunting became necessary,
sincetheywouldhavebeenimmobilised
precisely by their power -by their anxiety
to guard their ‘harems’ of slow-moving fe- malesandoffspring).ButforaslongasthecnacianHorizonsattheAbriPataud,LesBaad co-operative male hunting bands were per- (Dordogne), and their Possible Significance,’ manentlyseparatedfromthefemalesex,the gern Anthropologist,vol.68(n.s.),pp.296- transition to human culture was ruled out.
fh¢
The attitude of male peers at college was no more sympathetic, the women on the course being considered on the whole as mere decoration put there for the male students’ benefit. Such things as model-
The ‘leap’ to culture took place only when the separation of males from females could be imposed, not by the dominance of a few ‘overlord’ males, but by the solidarity of the
Reynolds, V, 1976
‘The Biology sof Human Action.’ W.H. Freeman, Reading and San Francisco, :
;
Working Women
Susan Jackson, who is a registered architect working for the London Borough of Southwark discusses the difficulties of beingawomanarchitectina‘man’s
world’. She previously worked in private practice for five years as an Associate. SheisalsoamemberoftheNAMFeminist Architecture Group and isBranch Secretary of the London Branch of BDS TASS.
Sahlins, M.D. 1960 agotheparallelsbetweentheirsexualatti- femalesthemselves.Forthefemalesneeded ‘TheOrigofiSonciety’,Scientific Ameri
Mostsecondaryschoolsdonot,intheir makingetc.weredeemedbeyondthecap- ‘careers’ advice service, include architecture abilities of the female students, and many as a possibility where girls are concerned. solicitous offerings of help were given. The Thestandardreactiontotheexpressedde- chanceforthefemalestudentstoworkas
tudesandthoseofhuman‘prostitution’. notonlytoseparatefromthemales(whenSeptember,1960% Oe
‘protectors’. Theresultisthatsexualityis alternatingbetweenasexual‘yes’andasex- ‘TropicalForestHuntersandtheEconomy’. In
Although female baboons are grouped to- forcing them to hunt ), but to unite with t
gether spatially to form ‘harems’ under the them ( in order to obtain the sexual access Service, E.R, 1966 dominanceof‘overlord’males,thefemales andmeatrequired).Whenthefemalescould‘TheHunters’,PrenticeHall,NewJersey tend to compete with each other in sexual-
ity, trying to gain favours from their male act in concert, periodically and collectively Siskind, J. 1973
sire ofa woman to be an architect is that the course is very long and that it’s a ‘man’s world’,Thecourseisnaturallyaslongfor a man as for a woman, but women are not expected to have career ambitions and collegeshouldmerelybeviewedasameans
a group to produce a feminine approach to design was never given, and in fact the women tendedtoadoptthestanceofthe male student in being aggressive and ‘non- co-operative’ in order to be accepted at al bytheirmalepeers.Thefirstfeelingsof isolation arose then when the females sparred against each other, imitating the masculineattitudetotheirequalsthatpre- dominates in working life.
SLATE 8PAGE 11
rules are sexual rules, and at the basis of alsexualrulesareruleswithaneconomic
SLATE 8PAGE 10
for a separate theory of the origins of the incest-rule,foritcaneasilybeshownthat such a rule would have been contained with-
Abst. Ream
1% since 1957. One is prompted to ask the question‘why?’ Personalexperiencehas shown that architecture is not considered
yailed in many girls’ grammar schools in thelate50sandearly60s(andstildoesin many secondary schools today), when girls
ual ‘no’, forcing the males to hunt for them and their offspring by placing a real social value on sex, the entire structure of human
Gross, D.R. (ed). ‘people and Cultures of Native South America,’ Doubleday /The Natural History Press, New York,
Compared with other professionals such
as solicitors and doctors, the proportion of
women in architecture issurprisingly low.
6%ofalarchitectsintheUKarewomen
and the percentage has only increased by of finding a husband. This attitude pre-
*cheapened’. The females make no collect-
ive attempt to raise the ‘value’ of their owns
sexuality. The earliest establishment of
human culturedepended upon thereversal
of this process. At the basis of al cultural come into being. There is no longer any need ‘The Social Life of Monkeys and \"Ke
culturalexchangewouldquitesuddenlyhave
eas S1932
Paul, Trench, Trubner, London
Tuttle, R.H. (ed.), Socioecology and Psychology of Primates, Mouton, The Hague, Paris, 1975,
were encouraged to opt for teaching, nur- sing or university courses in the arts which more often than not resulted in them tea- ching on grad To opt for a ‘career’, rather than astop gap before marriage, was considered extremely unusual and was in many cases actively discouraged. Even ifthis first hurdle was jumped successfully the discriminatory attitude towards women as architects continued through college,
ca with in my own experiencea tutor refusing to assess mine and another woman\'s work
as he considered our presence on the course irrelevant.
Hillier, Bill and Leaman, A. 1973
‘Structure, System, Transformation: Sciences of Organisation and Sciences of the Artificial.’
Transactions of the Bartlett Society, vol. 9, PP. 36-77,
Hockett, CF. and Ascher,R. 1964
“The Human Revolution.’
Current Anthropology, vol. 5, pp. 135-167.
Holloway, R.L. 1969
‘Culture: A Human Domain.’ az Current Anthropology, vol. 10, pp. 395-407.
Klein, R.G, 1973
‘Tce-Age Hunters of the Ukraine’
Ty oN
A i
University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.
\"The Human Revolution’ WorldPublishingCo.,ClevelandandNewYork.
N
a profession women should embark on without expecting to make exceptional sacrifices in femininity and the stereotyped female ‘ambitions’ such as marriage and ‘family life’.
Movius, H.L. 1966
‘The Hearthe of the Upper Perigordian and Aurig-
i )
hae . a: if
CE
APermabit 60
ct gaa
At work it has’ been found that discrim- ination against women in the first two or threeyearsaftergraduation isconsiderably less than when the woman has been work- ing for some years and is attempting to increase her responsibility and realise the ultimate goal for many of a principal in Practice. In fact, many practices feel that newly graduated architects, whether male or female, are capable only of design work, butthisparticularprecepttendstoremain fixed in many men’s minds for the remain- der of the female architect’s working life. Women, being women, are expected to be totally incompetent as far as amassing and using technical knowledge. To some extent this is possibly the fault of the colleges in not concentrating on and giving students the opportunity to take practical steps to learn technical skills i.e. by working on building sites, with Clerks of Works, Engi- neers or Building Contractors.
There is the feeling amongst women architects that they are in a position to com bat the istic ion of archi
to builders and vice versa because of their less aggressive attitude and the fact that they refuse to accept that they are on opp-
SLATE 8PAGE 12
osite sides of the fence. Coupled with this
is the idea that a much closer relationship
between designing and building must be
instituted early on i.e. at college level by
theprovisionofjointandexchangecourses. pointblank,thathewouldnotworkwith The opportunity for the student to work
on a building site for a contractor and for thecontractortoworkinanarchitect’s office would go some way towards building an understanding on each others part, of the way the other members of the building team operate, This opportunity is very rarely realised and misunderstanding and conflict ensue.
Aingusta :
therefore superior to her, thus preserving their egotistic attitude of being the better architect; or the converse and act exactly as the men do by being aggressive and ‘mas- culine’,thusbeingacceptedasoneofthe “boys’ and by inference not a ‘real’ woman. Both these reactions take the direct comp- etitiveelementoutofthesituationand diffuse any overt male chauvinistic react- ions, but result in the men stil viewing the women, albeit subversively, as inferior. Immediately the woman architect openly asserts herself as an equal, particularly to her male peers, she elicits overt criticism of her capabilities both as a female and as anarchitect.Againtheattitudethatwas put forward at school rears its head, that a woman who wishes to pursue a male-dom- inated career issomehow unfemale -not a whole woman. It is interesting to relate here my own experience in a private firm of architects where yearly interviews were conducted by the partnership, with the members of staff, ostensibly to assess how each individual ‘fitted’ within the office structure. The men were asked whether they were satisfied with the work they were doing and what their ambitions were with- in the firm. Iwas asked whether Iwas ‘courting’ and ifso whether Iwas contem- plating getting married within the next year or two! My ambitions to further my career were not even discussed.
happily be reduced and the work-load stil coped with. But this then touches on the whole dichotomy of reduction in the work- ing week equalling a reduction in the work ing wage, which a subject that should be covered more fully another time.
A subject which is brought up frequent- ly at union meetings etc. now, is the pro- vision of nursery and creche facilities at places of work. This does, however, tend to be part and parcel of the same attitude thatwomen arethetendersofchildren,
and the facilities would be there primarily for the working married woman who wishes to have a full-time job and stil look after thechildren.Thewholequestionofjob- sharing in child-rearing has not been touch- ed and should be discussed further. The prevalentviewisstilthatthemanisthe bread-winner and the woman works merely tosupplement hisincome. This isaview that must be changed completely in order for women to be accepted, particularly after they are married and have children,
as equal to men.
One way of overcoming the problems of ‘family’lifeisbywomenworkingcollect- ively. There have been instances of al wo- men practices where the child-care has been shared by the architects. The one reason why that particular form of practice seemed to fail was because the women were notin a position to ‘solicit’ clients to get more work. Men have the advantage, in the pre- sent architecural structure, of having their ‘club-land’ circuit to provide them with contacts that will afford them new projects. Women are denied access to these inroads to clientele and have therefore anuphill struggle to obtain work ofany appreciable size. In the present male-dominated busi- ness world women are at a distinct disad- vantage. Until there are equal numbers of women clients and until the whole business
venient brackets to suit the present socie- tal structure. Many women today feel tot- ally isolated from their female peers and as a result feel intimidated by them, pro- ducing a competitive element into their social framework. As Chris Knight has said, Women worked together for the com- munity, they were the backbone and driv ing force of the communal village life, and for women to regain their consciousness as whole women and as equal members of society they must once more work togeth- er.Womenarchitectsareinapositionto begin making moves towards this end by questioning the precepts by Which the co- mmunity’s buildings are designed and in particularhousing. Theseparationoffam- ilies into individual units isolates the wo- man and prevents her from taking a ful partin‘community’life.Thelinesofthis defined space need to be smudged. Some- thing along these lines has been attempted in the provision of ‘semi-communal’ hou- sing for the elderly, but this has tended to be for supervisory convenience rather than the desire to provide more socially accep- table living space in the community.
Theroleofwomen asbuildingusers must be looked at more closely than just whether the housewife can supervise the children at play while she incessantly washes up. Each time awoman architect designs living accommodation she must
ask the question ‘why must al housing be geared towards the man who works and the woman who keeps house?’ Until the whole concept of housing and community struc- ture ischanged women are still going to be considered a secondary workforce and a mere servicing agency for the male popu- lace. It is perhaps questionable whether women architects as a group can initiate the revolution that can bring this about
but they can at least make some ripples on the lake of male complacency.
SLATE 8PAGE 13
Many female architects start their prac-
ticallifeatadisadvantageinthatmostmay tea-makingetc.especiallyifthesecretary
never have been on site before graduation, unlike male student architects who freque- ntly work on building sites in theirholidays during the college course, and have learned a certain amount about the way sites are run and the hierarchy that operates there. A woman’s initial visit to a building site as a job architect presents several obstructions that may take a long time to overcome. In al cases a lot di ds on the p iti involved. The woman architect
has important letters to type; and being _ constantly teased about her femininity and her attitudes to sexist calendars etc, pinned around the office. On the surface many men can appear to accept the woman arch- itect as their equal but this veneer eventu- ally cracks to show the in-built prejudice that prevails within the profession. This attitude, of course, not only applies to
credibility rating has a low as far as site staff and op-
the hi profession butotherareasof
eratives are concerned, particularly if she
work that have hitherto been considered male preserves.
is panied by her (invariably male) boss. She is frequently assumed to be his secretary and gets the statutory wolf wijs- tles and ribald chauvinist remarks thatare
Many women architects who have been put into this position react in one of two ways. They either use their ‘femininity’ to the extreme by acting dumb, weak and sigely so that men feel ‘protective’ and
levelled at any woman who ventures near a building site.
There have been instances, albeit rare, when the contracts manager has stated,
a woman architect, but on each occasion decided otherwise on being shown that a femalearchitectisjustascapableasamale. But a much more wearing situation exists for the majority of female architects, who have to bear the brunt of insidious chauy- inism, that manifests itself in constant sup- ervision by a male superior no matter how competent she is; being gradually shoulder- ed with ‘housekeeping’ operations such as
ey os
ae _ We
The attitude of many partnerships, and indeed most places of work, to women get ting married brings up the topic of part-time working, both for men and women. In todays patriarchal society, unfortunately, the onusof bringing up children falls squa- rely on the shoulders of the women, work ing ornot. The instant reaction of many bosses to a woman contemplating marriage is one of ‘oh, she will soon get pregnant
and leave to look after the children’ and is thenceforth discounted as a viable working force within the office.
of ‘job-getting’ is radically changed, women architects will find it much more difficult to obtain their own clients than will men.
The idea of setting up a women’s coll- ective design and build team has been dis- cussed at the NAM Feminist Group meet- ings, as there are now emerging special groups of women who require a particular empathy from the architect should they need one, which men will find difficult to provide. From these small beginnings wo- men architects will be able to put forward their own particular ideas and philosophies on the provision of buildings for women and through their efforts become accepted not as female counterparts to the existing male architectural profession, but as a sep- arate force presenting radical solutions to problems that have heretofore not been considered except from the male point of view.
Strong feelings have been put forward by women architects that the whole atti- tude of the architect towards providing design solutions to certain problems has become stereotyped and that the ultimate
There are very few offices that offer the
opportunity for women or men to do part-
time work, and those that do tend to regard
the part-timers as less than efficient archi-
tects. There is a strong case for salaried
architects to push for part-time working
for everyone should they wish. It has been
Suggestedthattheworksituationbeingwhat usersofthebuildingsareslottedintocon- it is at present, the working week could
Archie Tekt
Women inAntiquity
evidence from prehistory is wholly depend-
eee FIG 3 Coloritow “HOUSE conn Lex M.
values varied. Literary circles in fifth- century Athens paid close attention to
the physical and moral distinction between men and‘women, Plato, Timaeus, V, J, speaks of the thorax as divided into two parts of greater and lesser value, as houses are divided into men’s and women’s quarters. If moral weight was attached to opinions like this, we should expect to see some physical expression of it in house design. Security was also a problem in a crowded city that attracted many foreigners. Xenophon’s strictures on the provision of
a strongly guarded door at the entrance to quarters occupied by female servants Occonomicus, IX, 5 are directed at a wealthy urban householder witha large number of servants. But in smaller settle- -ments such as Priende, Olynthus and Delos, these considerations were not so important and it is hard to see them consistently reflected in the architecture.
Susan Walker isaprofessional archaeologist whose interest in architecture and social Organisations stems from three years spent in Greece researching on Roman buildings concerned with urban water supply. She is currently working on a museum exhibition of daily life in classical antiquity with responsibility for cases dealing with women agriculture and country life, and industry and transport.
It is very difficult to make a useful correlation between the design of domestic houses in antiquity and the role of women
in societies of widely differing structure of which we havea far from perfect knowledge. Part of the problem is the lack of hard evidence: archaeologists searching for patronage have tended to concentrate
their energies on the excavation of spec- -tacular ceremonial and civic centres at the expense of unprepossessing domestic quarters. When domestic housing has been excavated, it has usually proved difficult
to determine the exact function of rooms we are dealing with societies that used, for the most part, portable furniture. How can we reconcile this evidence with the knowledge of the social position of women that emerges from the literature and from inscriptions?
Because we have to contend with so many different social formations, with problemat- -atic gaps in our knowledge, it seems best
to attack the problem within strict histor- -ical confines. Ihave chosen to discuss classical Greece here because there is sufficient evidence from a number of sources
-ent on the data and interpretations of modern archaeologists. And they, for the most part male, have not addressed them- -selyes to the question of the role of women in the societies whose remains they so carefully examinec If no one asks the questions, the answers will not come of their own volition out of the earth. Once excavated, the site is lost.
From classical societies we have a few references to the way in which women spent their lives, and more accounts of how men wished these lives to be spent, and we
eRe
JeE pee
FIGS
season and used as decorative insulation
Where did they do al this? Xenophon tells us how Isomachus showed his house to his bride. “ the rooms were built simply with a view to their being the most advantageous receptacles for the things that would be in them..... The bedroom, being in an interior part of the house, invites the most valuable bedcovers and implements; the dry parts of the house,
the grain; the cool places, the wine; and thewelllightedplaces,theworksand implements that need light .” The excavators of houses at Olynthus inter- -preted some large rooms as places set aside for household work: an alcove close
| SLATE 8PAGE 15
—! | \\
have figurative illustrations that support the verbal picture. These are valuable aids to the interpretation of remains on the ground.
But their are further pitfalls. Most of the surviving evidence informs us of the livesofrelativelyrichcity-dwellers. In rural areas, women worked the fields as they have done throughout history. Representations of these’ are rare: one of awoman sowing appears on ablack- figure cup of sixth-centuary date
and some terra-cotta models show agricultural scenes —this isamedium that was considered appropriate for genre scenes from everyday life. There, is too, a gap between the origins of our
evidence. Literary, pictorial and epigraphic infornfation comes from fifth-centuary Athens: the best archaeological evidence comes from fourth-century Olynthus in “orthern Greece, Colophon and Priene in
\\sia Minor, and from the island of Delos.
\\ny arguments that are carried from one -ield to the other are weakened by chrono- -logical, climatic and social variations. The discussion must be based on the evidence for the role that women were expected to fulfil, and on other considerations that influenced house design. Paramount among these was the seperation of domestic and public life. While men went about their business freely, most upper- class women remained within the confines of their homes. There was a strong concern for security, not only of property but also of the moral well being of the female members of the household, both free-born and slaves. This concern isportrayed in classical literature and reflected in house design, Naturally, the strength of these
J
tobuildupareasonablyclearpictureof bsAtHiEmanufactureofclothandthepreparation the serious constraints on their liberty:
it might be more encouraging, from a of food. They produced clothing for their
feminist point of view, to study prehistoric societies in which women appear to have enjoyed a more active role, but the
SLATE 8PAGE 14
do c
40 2e
Feng) vi
3om. Fig 2, ROOMS WITH SQUARE *ANDRON OR MENS DINING ROOM.
families and the hangings and tapestries that played an important part in the furnishings of a classical house, since they could by easily stored during the hot
With due consideration for these values,
and for the conditions of climate and street
environment, ancient houses (like many
more modern Mediterranean counterparts)
tended to look in on themselves. (Fig. 2)
They had few windows giving onto hot, quality that is often symbolised by a basket noisyanddustystreets.Entrancesoccupied onclassicalvases)someofthismayhave asmall proportion of the facade. Rooms
were generally disposed around an interior
courtyard that often contained the house
cistern or well, Most courtyards were lined
by a verandah on at least one side that offered
a sheltered area for work or relaxation. In
some houses, especially those in the country-
-side, a tower was incorporated in the
structure as an additional security measure.
Household servants sometimes lived in these towers. Demosthenes, XLVII, 56
Against Evergos, tells us of an aristocratic Athenian woman lunching with her children in the courtyard of her house. She is surprised by an intruder who makes off with most of her furniture, which is her
property. But the female servants manage to save some of the goods by barricading themselves with items of furniture into the tower room where they lived. (Fig. 3) Within the house, upper-class women were expected to supervise the servants, perform and/or supervise tasks associated with the
during the winter. Xenophon, Oeconimicus 7-10, advises an active role in weaving at the vertical loom, in folding blankets, and in kneading dough for the mistress of the
house who isinclined to ill-health through leading a sedentary life. (Fig. 4) The ideal wife was also supposed to see to the orderly organisation of furniture and property (a
been their own. They were, besides, Supposed to superintend the upbringing of their children, who probably had more cpntact with the household servants.
FIG 4
a o
io mn o
~°
wo °
B.
AVENUE
AVENUE
to the kitchen (Fig. 5) could have held a vertical loom of the type that is sometimes illustrated on vases. Loom-weights, however, appear in nearly every room of nearly every house. Mortars were found in the kitchens, in the courtyards, and in the work-rooms. Grain-mills were set up with similar disregard for the appropriation of particular rooms for specific functions. Lysias, I, 9, suggests that women lived in seperate quarters on the upper storey. While there
is some clear evidence for this from earlier Aegean cultures (e.g. the Minoan palace at Zakro in Crete, the Mycenean palace at Pylos in the south-west Peloponnese), litle eydencyofsuchaic hasoe a recovered from clasical sites. Itwou! however, have been easyy to segregate
such quarters if they were only built over ‘it the rear of the courtyard: this might have
beenthecaseatVariorOlynthus. (Fig.5) If there is no clear evidence for the seclusion of women in a defined area within the house literary accounts reveal that they were excluded from the men’s dining room or andron, a room that is easily recognisable
in the field from its relatively generous
proportions and rich appointements.
(Fig.2)
Spartaeesanextraorduiary statewhose
HES i
FigS saidthattheirstrengthwasthecauseof
view with some rather loose interpretation.
For the genoral backgroundse,e R. Austin and P. Vidal-Nagyet, An economic and socibl history
of Classical Greece. 1977 — translated sources with ajudiciously sceptical commentary.
W.K. Lacy, The Family in Classical Greece 1968 — useful, but beware of the term ‘family’ in the modern sense of nuclear family.
On houses sce Jones, Graham andSackett, An
Attic Country House (Thames and Hudson) offprinted from the Annual of the British School at Athens, especially p. 430-8 and D.M. Robinson and J. Walter Graham, Olynthus VIII: The Hellenic House (Baltimore, 1938). For useful lists of various paintings that show women performing household tasks, sce T.B.L. Webster Potter and Patron inClassical Athens 1973. Some unexplained examples illustrate features on the women’s moyement in modern Greece in the current issue
ofSpareRib(No,71)Youcansetheminthe flesh in the vase rooms in the British Museum; these are currently being refurbished, but look in the galleries downstairs for a few examples, There are also grave reliefs from Attica that demonstrate the close relationship many women had with their personal maids and the nurses of their children. Women in modern Greece have not fared much better than their classical pre- -cdecessors, expecially in rural districts. See John
Campbell, Honour, Family and Patronage, and Juliet DuBoulay, Portrait of a Greek Mountain Village 1975.
Fig, 1 Worm sowing. Froma sixth-century blackfigurecup.
Fig.2Olynthus.Bloocfkhousseswithinthe citystreetplan.
Fig3 Qolophon, W. Turkey, House complex with tower
Fig.4Blackfigurelekythosbythe“‘Amusis
construct or understand.
Spatial morphology defines and restricts
social patterns as well as being defined by social processes. The social cohesion of the Sioux Indians was broken when their sacred circles of tents were replaced with rectangular houses in straight lines in the same way as the tight-knit communities of of the East End of London.
The social consequences on the mount- ain people of Colin Turnbull when they were removed from their usual environment were disastrous.
So, far, the womens liberation move- ment has tended to concentrate on womens role in the world of production.
‘Western womensliberationhasbecome associated with the right to work. = This has produced a home, work dichotomy
and splits male and female to opposite
sides of the economic spectrum: men have become associated with production, and women as managers ofa consumer support system. Women even in the profession
have found it difficult to compete with
men. They are stil regarded as managers
of the domestic support system, and womens work there is seen as invisible and unpaid. Women have not had wives.
This split of home and work away from exchange value labour is characteristic of industrial society. _Itisnot primordial An african women stil manages a large part of the economy of the entire society athome. You would not ask her to ‘go out to work: She participates in the handicrafts,agriculture,commandsthe transformatory processes, turning the
energiesweredirectedtowardsthe
maintenance of a crack military force
Children of both sexes submitted to
vigorous athletic training; effeminancy in
either sex was strongly discouraged.
Spartanwomenwerenotedfortheirstrength totheirisolationfrommenasagroup,
and good health; they were highly esteemed _ rather than (as in the case of Athenian asnursesbecausetheygavechildrena women)withintheconfinesoftheextended natural, unpampered upbringing. (Plutach, _ family.
published periodicals and articles and held workshops and given talks on their work. She is an Architect and last worked for Solon Housing Association.
Iwould like to continue what Chris
Knight has written about the role of women
in human communities past and present to
suggest questions we may ask to define
pointsofreferenceforadiscussionofa
‘matricentric’ viewof architecture. Ido not meantocontrastmatriarchywithpatriarchy. rawintothecooked,jierbsintomedicine
than their Athenian sisters, and were not obliged to spend their days in sedentary household tasks. Some ancient writers held that they dominated men; Aristotle
and Rome, Toronto 1977 — This is a collection of ancient sources in translation, with minimal interpretation.
Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: women in Classical Antiquity — awider
Of the country house at Vari.
Ishould like to thank Ian Jenkins for his helpful criticisms of this article,
the comparison must be between rule and anarchy, between the presence and absence of domination”, as Bookchin has said. A criticism of patriarchy and its world view must of course embody the class struggle but it will seek to go beyond defining the world in terms that are western, bourgeois and rooted in a capitalist mode of prod- action. Capitalism and the ‘society of spectacle’ are late stages of the wider problem of patriarchy. Certainly, the town has become ....‘transformed into an
SLATE 8PAGE 16
Sparta’sultimatedownfallasamajor power. As women concerned with house design and social organisation, we may legitimately ask ourselves whether the strength of Spartan women was not related
Denise Arnold is exploring cultures, religions
and settlement patterns with matrilineal
social organisation to see their implications,
past and present. Belonging to the NAM FeministGroupsheisalsoamemberof
‘MatriarchyStudyGroup’whichhas - todefinewhatmaybemissing.
Lycurgus14 Theylivedapartfrom their SUGGESTIONS FORFURTHER READING
husbands, who visited them secretly by
night.Theyclearlyenjoyedmorerights Lefkowitz,M.F.andFant,M.WomeninGreece Fig.6Reconspltanranudcsectieonadcal
“the very essence of the matricentric world isthatitvitiatesruleassuch......polarities
ter
Painter” Athens, ct. S60B.C
ing. Thevaseisinthe Museum, New York.
ing wool jitan
Todayweliveinapredominantly
patriarchal world. The lines of descent by
bloodandpropertyandinculturalpropo-
-gation are patrilineal, i.e. they pass through cannot be found between patriarchy and themaleline.Weusuallytakeourhusband\'smatriarchyastwodifferingformsofrule, names at marriage and pass his name on to
our children — our world is defined by his.
Residence rules in our society are blurred
but the husband stil tends to own the
household property, and women are
isolated from each other, and rear their
children away from their mother’s, sister\'s
and brothers, with one man in a nuclear
family. A potentially unstable sexual
pairing becomes reinforced by ideology
and economic dependence of the women
as the basis for the upbringing of children.
Fig.5PlanofhousESesH4,atOlynthus
A Matricentric View
from the domestic realm. Our planning laws, housing acts, building regulations, mortgage arrangments and architectural education reinforce these cultural and patriarchalvalues.Itisdifficulttobegin
raw materials into clothes, baskets and pots, andisalsoinvolvedinmarketing:
Briffault has assembled numerous examples ofwomen’sroleasarchitectsandengineers, ‘The huts of the Australian, of the Andaman islanders, of the Patagonians, of the Botocudos the rough shelters of the Seri, the skin lodges and wigwams of the American Indian, the blackicamel-hair tent of the Bedouin, the “yurta of the nomads of Central Asia, are
al the exclusive work and special care of the women.......the earth lodges of the Omahas . The “pueblos” of New Mexico and Arizona . are built exclusively by the women?
Amongst the Pueblos ......‘when first a man was set by the good padres to build- ing a wall, the poor embarrassed wretch
was surrounded by ajeering crowd of women and children, who mocked and laughed, and thought it the most ludicrous thing that
they had seen that a man should be engaged in building a house’.
The activity of housebuilding has become efficient instrument of production and
industrialised and removed completely from consumption, (Choay) . “a great consumer
the world of women, into the hands of market, a vast workshop, an arena for
experts who may break up the last remain- ambitions in Haussman’s works, but the
-ing kinship systems without realising that
they are doing so. “These would-be male
separatists have extended the sphere of
themen’shutsthroughmonopolyo,f theperpetuationofaclasssocietydespite Inasociety,however,wheretheJomes-
priestly, scribal, administrative, political
and weapon-bearing roles,” (1) Our
settlement patterns therefore give
preeminence to the realm of the men’s
huts, whether the office, the factory,
club or pub, at the expense of the world
ofwomen’shuts,andalpower,production, andthemechanicsofpatriarchaloppression decision making, and ‘ritesof life’, birth,
learning and initiation, healing caring, sickness and dying have now been excluded
dynamics of patriarchy are more far-reach -ing than the mode of production and this does not seem to the instrumental factor in
major social upheavals, nor in the examples of a patriarchal takeover.
tic mode of production is the dominant mode, where society isorganised around reproduction as much as production, and respects the ‘reproductive factor’ glossed over by Marx and other economists, then the nature of houses and settlement patterns wouldbeverydifferent.
In the primitive economy, Sahlins has shown that the household represents the determinate mode of production with an
SLATE 8PAGE 17
The totalitarian aspects of Haussmann’s work in Paris are well known but the implic- ations of architecture in restricting the form- ation of kinship systems, in social organisation
are less well known. Women in mass-prod- uced housing schemes live in jspaces and environments which they did not conceive,
appropriate technology and division of labour. Itsowninnerrelationsarethe principle relations of production in that society. How labour is to be expended, the terms and products of its activity are in the main domestic decisions. These decisions are taken primarily with a view towards domestic contentment.
It is the ‘affluent society’, not of over- production, like ours but of underprod- uction and of desiring little.
human organisation with division of labour andcollectiveeffortandparticipationin work and ritual, awareness of the human life cycle, body cycles and seasonal rythms. The womans menstrual cycle seems to have been a major factor in understanding and articulating these rhythms for survival, for understanding when to seek game in hunts and plant seeds with early forms of agricul~ ture, and for regulating human sexuality, lunar and solar calendars were integrated
into the built form for primative time- keeping, together with manipulation of the surrounding landscape in the later megalithic culture to define the most important modes of the seasonal year.(8) It seems that our word ‘civilisation’ derives from ‘moon-experience’ because
the settlement as well as into its social and religious institutions, The alignment of the town or house reconciles it with the axes of the universe. ‘The rehearsal of the foundation cosmogeny in regularly recurrent festivals defines the pattern of the seasonal year and its commemorative embodiment in the monuments of the settlement: (Il).
how women
lost the west?
REVIEW OF FROM TIPI TO SKYSCRAPER
This book, published in 1973, discusse women in architecture in the United States and is of interest and importance to anyone concerned with the subject in this country.
eeTT eee ee
REVIEW
Doris Cole: From Tipi to Skyscraper: iPress Inc: 1973: paperback; about £2 75: obtainable from Compendium Bookshop, Camden High St.,
\\London, NWI.
The domestic mode of production has
a technology of similar dimensions ....‘the
basic apparatus can usually be handled by
household groups; much of it can be weilded
autonomously by individuals. Implements
are homespun, thus simple enough to be
widely available. Productive processes are
unitary rather than decomposed by an el- of its inti lationship with hrough union invol ,pressing for
body.(9) The collective of omen would define their own emotional and spatial needs.
Menstrual huts were set apart from the main residential areas so that women at their ‘sabbath’ could rest and look inwards.
The libertarian world view has always
emphasised the idea of the autonomous
household and the ideas of self sufficiency
and asimple technology. The womens
movement isbeginning todebate these
issues in the context of the ‘ecological’
movement (ecology means di of the
house) andof a critique of ‘Marxist economics closer integration ofinternal processes which ignores the question of reproduction with external environment. The evolu- (economic means the law of the house.)
See also para. (5) and (6).
As women have been removed from the
part-time working or for creches at work or collective child care at home, but we must be clear about the positive aspects of the matricentric world ifwe are to see which are are genuinely ‘re-volutionary’ in Hannah Ahrendt’s terms and which are merely
fo correcting and improving the situation upper class women found a chance to apply by attracting more women to the profession. their knowledge to the plight of the
Doris Cole starts with an account of disadvantaged. However, these social services women’s roles within the frontier traditions were still considered ‘women’s work’, still
emphasising the sexual divisions and it was only in the utopian communes outside conventional society that men and women were able to attempt to work and live together as equals,
structures alike, to make the profession
more responsive to both its own constituents and the diverse client groups in society. Historically, the American woman is conditioned for this role......\" This book is invaluable as it attempts to place the involve- -ment of women in architecture within a
social context, although it could have benefited with being linked to the fight for the female suffrage and included an account of how
these more privileged women regarded the struggles of, for instance, the women in the garment industry.
The main thesisof the book isthat from pioneer days women have been responsible for the well being of their family in the first instance, and thus ulimately the nation, which is something to be proud of. It neglects the question of women’s respons- -ibilities to themselves and their own develop- -ment in that sense. Of course, 1would not argue that these things are seperate but if oneif looking for astudy of how women operate in this profession, this book fals
aborate division of labour so that the same interested party can carry through the whole procedure from the extraction of the raw material to the fabrication of the finished good.
which existed up until the end of the C19th
as part of the westward expansion of the
settlers from the Atlantic coast. The
nomadic and rural life was shared by both
pioneers and Indians until the spreading
urbanisation destroyed them. She argues
that in both cultures women were active
contributors as the conditions of existence
were too marginal to support any idle group. receive a formal architectural training,
‘productive’ processes of life, so men have
been removed from the realities and emotions death, and so on would be reintegrated
of the ‘reproductive’ processes, of birth and into the domestic realm. Would they also
Vol. 1p. 443-45
(4) Sahlins, Marshall. 1972 “Age Economics\"
of women through the collectivisation of alienatedlabour’.(7)
If we attempt to define a matricentric view of architecture we must take al these things into account. Chris Knight has written about the importance of the collec- tive of women in early human societies. Recent archaeological work has shown that from a very early period in the Palaeolothic thereisevidenceofstabilityofsettlements,
far more highly developed among the
SLATE 8 PAGE 18
Matrilineal households tend to be larger
and require higher ‘space standards’ than
patrilineal societies (10), there iscommunal cookingandablurringofboundariesbetween References between inside and outside, public and
privatespheres. Theretendstobegreater I ledge of natural ph ja and
(1) Paton, Keith, 1978 “Which Way Home” PaperstotheWorldCouncilofChurches (2)Reuther, Rosemary. 1976 Talk given to the SCM Conference inManchester 1976
(3) Briffault, Robert, 1972 The Mothers, ‘London
Hardly any women entered the field of professional architecture, partly because of the restricted opportunities for them to
tion of culture may require the external- isation of internal processes but does it form a sane society? With a matricentric view, the rites of passage of life, birth,
London, George Allen & Unwin 3 volt,
She maintains that the Indian women were the architects of their communities, often designing and constructing dwelling units, as well as designing and producing related objects such as blankets which determined their wealth. Women also designed, fabricated, erected and owned the tipis which were remarkably adapted to the lives of the Indian communities.
cultural preservers
The role of women in architecture was
which were mainly due to ingrained social
prejudices. Itwas not until 1916 that a
school of architecture for women was
started, almost inadvertedly by Henry
Atherston Frost, a young instructor at the
Harvard School of Architecture. Ihave
said ‘not until’, but in comparision with
the situation in Britain it was really
remarkably early. The history of the
Cambridge school forms a very intriguing
part of the book with a description of Frost\'s short of expectations. It makes references approach to design and constructiont,he
be reintegrated into the built form? The earliest cities often acted as total mnemonic symbols. (memory systems)
London Tavistock Publication Ltd. 1974
(5) Delphy, Christine. 1970 “The Main Enemy, @ materialist analysis of Women\'s Oppression”
childhood. Present alternatives such as
Marxism, far from liberating women, has
abandoned the female realm altogether in
favour of the male realm of alienated labour. The citizen througha number of bodily (6) Conference of Socialist Economists pamphlet In Ruether’s words itis-‘the emancipation
2»,ercises such as procession, seasonal festival: No, 2. on the “Political Economy of and sacrifices identifies with the sense of Women” 1977 placeofthetown,withitspastandpresent. (7)Reuther,R.ibid.
integration of land design, isi Indiansthanamongthepioneers,although policy,andthewayinwhichaveryhigh
to on the suitability of the su studyofdomesticarchitecture,ofa‘feminine taste’ and refers to ‘this female attitude’,
also quoting Frost as saying “ women seem
to be as yet not as creative in their design work as men are”, but does not discuss the value of such statements. It could be inter- -preted as implying that these statements are true hecause of women’s conditioning. It would be interesting to see a study of how theworkandapproachofwomenstudents in schools today differ from that of male studentsandjudgeiftheirisanyvalidity
in Erikson’s theories of Inner Space. However, that might be for the future,
for the present, “From Tipi to Skyscraper is a fine and stimulating study which should prod us (and specifically NAM’s Women’s Group) into a good deal of solid discussion and research.
SLATE 8 PAGE 19
It is a process both concilitory and integrative.
Rykwert’s conclusions from his examination
of early Greek and Roman towns reinforce
these ideas. The acting out of the foundation (10) Ember, Melvin, 1972 An “‘Anrchaelogical
of any settlement (or temple maybe, even a mere house) becomes the dramatic represent- ation of the creation of the world or the
Indicator of Matrtlocal versus Patrilocal Residence, U.S.A. American Antiquity, Vol. 38 Nos.2 1973
humanbirth.Thisdramaisintegratedinto (11)Rykwert,Joseph1970“Theideaofa Town\" London Faber and Faber 1976
As we seek to end alienation at work and to and to ity in our work-
ing domestic lives we may look to anthro- pology or to the distant past for examples
Civil War, women from the Northern States set up the US Sanitary Commission (1861) went to the front line to inspect and super- -vise the choice of sites and to enforce healthy conditions within the camps. Those women’s experiences in the war gave them confidence in their abilities in that larger domain which many of them longed
“Both women and men architects are confronted today with this choice: they can continue to support, by becoming part
of, the office pyramids until the architectural profession is so weakened in purpose that it looses its value to society. (And this has already begun to happen ), or they can attempt the difficult alternative of restruct-
of alternative possibilities before us.
may explore new kinship groupings or be forced like the battered wives to rediscover the benefits and trials of collective living. There will be a variety of paths to our goals,
The study first documents the historic
contributions of women in American
architecture, secondly, analyses the under-
-lying social and economic reasons for the
present situation; and thirdly proposes ways for. In the industrial regions, middle and -uring the profession, schools and office
~ expedient or reformist solutions.
London Women\'s Research and Resources Centre. 1978. Originally published in France in 1970
(8) see Dames, Michael. 1978 The Avebury Cycle. London, Thames & Hudson. 1978 (9) Shuttle, P. and Redgrove, P. 1978 “The
pioneer women were also trying toprovide more confortable and healthy houses and communities. However, as the frontier closed their ‘proper social role’ became confined to the home and church, and they were given the role of ‘cultural preservers’ by men, They turned their mindsto‘domesticscience’which included “architectural style, good taste, economy, physical and mental health, supervision of workers, structure, site selection, heating and ventilation, plumbing furniture design and fabrication; and of course, efficient plan arrangements.”
These women were grappling with the current technological and social innovations while the men were discussing styles of architecture.
At the same time, that women like Catherine Beecher were dedicating them- -selves to transforming domestic duties into the profession of domestic science, others like Harriet Stowe went beyond their own homes. Many women found that they had to go out to work for the money and chose teaching, social science and nursing. Seeing the havoc of the
proportion of graduates managed to combine marriage and professional work.
an unfulfilled dream
In 1942, Harvard’s Graduate School of
Design opened its doors to women and the Cambridge School was closed. Doris Cole conclued this section of the book with “Theideaofaschoolofarchitecturesolely for women is perhaps out of date, nor was itthefinalaimoftheCambridge School; but the School’s aim of encouraging women in architecture is stil an issue and a dream that has not been fulfilled.”
The most relevant part of the discussion takes part in the final chapter of the book which examines the role of women architects today and the way in which women have moved outwards from domestic architecture to handling building projects of al types. However, the actual carer prospectsfor women have not improved; indeed, women are more disadvantaged compared to men than they were 30 years ago. Doris Cole discusses the current re-evaluation of the proper concerns of architecture and the office structures and hierarchies in which most architects work.
Wise Wound” London Gollancz 1978
Reading Urban History Progress
emerged, in response to those fears, several discrete specialisms, Urban, econ- omic, industrial, social, army and navy histories took their place alongside polit- ical history as distinct subjects in their own right. [11] :
Furthermore, historians themselves had to face a profound conflict, The idea of progress which had underpinned the validity of their moral judgements no longer appeared satisfying or respectable, Ithad become tainted with historicism. (the beleif that social and cultural phen- omena are determined by history). Oh the other hand, without any alternative, there was a danger that history would be vulnerable to an invasion by sociology orMarxism orboth.
In 1944, Butterfield pleaded for a return to the old methods
“Those, who perhaps in the misguided austerity of youth wish to drive out the Whig interpretation are sweeping
Facts
According to EH Carr, “history is a record of what one age finds worthy of note in another” [1]The facts of history are thus simply those facts which historians have selected for scrutiny. The process of selection itself is dependent on the goals of the historian and his society.
Few nineteenth century historians considered that there might be a
dichotomy between facts and interpret -ations. The role of history was to
establish the facts. The collection of historical facts was assumed to be a similar venture to the accumulation and classi- -fication of physical and biological data undertaken by scientists of the same
period. Historical facts were believed to
be analogous to the facts of natural science. That is to say, they were verifiable empirical realities. Historians therefore undertook
the enormous task of assembling facts in the belief that when their work was complete a definitive history would be the result. The historians’ approach also coincided with the positivist methodology of the natural sciences which maintained that hypotheses would rise automatically from a study of facts .Scientific explanations consisted of a collection of chainsofcauseandeffect.[2]
has pointed out to the editor of
IBP Bulletin (not Peter Murray) itis amusing, if not frightening, to see how the reporting in the journalists’ in-house sheetis just as one sided as the stuff
they tum out for public consumption. And what happened to the event in the other papers? It may not have been as exciting as the latest press release from the RIBA or some Government department but then how often are the informers and formersofprofessional Opinion subject to scrutiny and discussion in public? Once is obviously too often as far as the architectural magazines are concerned.
“The historians interpretation of the
past, his selection of the significant
and the relevant, evolves with the prog-
ressive emergence of new goals, Whilst
the goal appeared to be constitutional
liberties and political rights, the hist-
orian interpreted the past in constit-
utional and political terms. When
economic and social ends begin to
replace constitutional and political
ends,historiansturntoeconomicand progress,themainstreamofBritishhist- bypartsofthepaperwhichsaid.well, fromthisyear’sRIBAConference
In short, it was the empirical approach
which refused to recognise that a theory
must be implicitly assumed in order that
certain facts should be selected instead of
others: SSE
social interpretations of the past” [9] By the second half of the nineteenth century the continuing growth of popul- ationin uready crowded cities and the fear of a breakdown inmorality health and of the social order itself, led intell- ectuals to become preoccupied with the working class as a social problem. This in turn led to three main approaches, The first was a reaffirmation of the values of individualism, stressing the role of self- help, philanthropy and education. The second approach, that favoured by the Fabians and social imperialists, attacked laissez-faire capitalism because of its inefficiency and waste. Itargued for greater state involvement, comprehensive and disinterested central government, and greater colonial exploitation. The third approach, the “new liberalism” as Stedman Jones calls it, combined both approaches and advocated a form of welfare state linked to compulsory self-help. All three approaches shared the common trait of linking social theory to detailed propo- Sals for social reform [10]
Up to the first world war, however, it was stil difficult for a British historian to conceive of historical change except as change for the better. But after 1918 Britain moved into a period in which change was associated with a fear for the future, *
Where previously there had been one monolithic political history there now
ory according to Stedman Jones[13] has remained steadfastly empirical. The new goal, it will be suggested, is social justice.
In the next essay it will be argued that this is a necessary defence of the existing socialorder. ©
REFERENCES:
1, E) H., Carr - “What is History”
2. E: Hobsbawm -“Karl Marx’s contribution
to histiography” in “Ideology in Social
Science” ed R. Blackbum p.266
3. G. Stedman Jones -“The Poverty of
Historicism” from R: Blackbum p.113
4. H.J.Dyas (ed) -“The Study of Urban
History” p 364
5. ditto ibid p.365
6. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 97
7. ditto ibid p98
8. ditto ibid citing Charles Kinsley in 1861
they were about the close liaison between the editorial and advertising departments of the architectural papers. Phil’s analysis was obviously not far wide of the mark if the apoplexy it induced in several of the journalists present is anything to go by. Needless to say the meeting got no coverage in any of the papers that were referred to during its course,
inspite of the little cohort of architectural hacks that marched up from the bar in the wake of the great editor, for al the world like a White House press corps that hadn\'t hada story for six weeks. But it did get coverage safely out of the public’s eye in a little journal called IBP Bulletin which circulates exclusively among the hacks themselves. This paper isthe organ of
the little known International Association of Building Press to which they al belong and whose chairman isno other than Peter Murray. The article on the NAM meeting written by none other than Jan Vulture, a name for misogynists to conjure with, is only remarkable for its extended references to the Great Editor/Chairman himself at the expense, of course, of the
prospectus intended to give a true fortaste of the event? Most likely.
POOR ARCHITECTS?
Another nail in the coffin of professioanl independence a few weeks ago when the RIBA accepted a£10,000 handout from the building materials producers. Seven big firms put up the money to float a special Trust Fund to “foster greater co-operation and mutual understanding in the world of building”. Half of the Trust Committee\'s members are nominated by the sponsoring firms, and for their trouble they are also getting free space at this year’s RIBA Conference to show their wares. Not bad going for the materials producers, who
are, incidentally, economically the most powerful and monopolised sector of the building industry: not only do they get reasonably-priced advertising but they also have a say in how the money they have paid for itisspent. Itshouldn\'t
be too muchof a surprise then that
half of the Trust Fund has been allocated to help 50 ‘poor architects’ (the AJ\'s phrase) to attend this year’s RIBA Conferencewheretheywillsee,among other things, the displays of the seven philanthropic companies. Well.
SLATE 8PAGE 21
“Those who tried to create theory out of the facts never understood that it was only theory that could constitute them as facts in the first place . Events are only meaningful in terms of the structure which will establish them as such.” [3]
It may be noted that this nineteenth century resistance to explicit theories was still evident at a conference of British Urban Historians held in the 1960s. Many
of the participants felt that hypotheses were synonymous with prejudices and argued that ,,“‘we are trying to empty out our preconceptions”[.4] Kellett for example insisted On the primacy of the facts:
“Whatever we do must be founded upon an adequate block of promising’ source material . and this is what every historian must start from, no matter what instructions or thoughts may
have been put in his head” [5]
Judgement and
Individualism ‘thehistorian,havingascertainedand marshalled the facts, could then proceed to evaluate the evidence. The values under-
SLATE 8PAGE 20
-pinning the interpretations were those of the historian’s own society. Moral
judgement was substituted for theories, which were regarded as dangerously speculative[.6]
Closely associated with this was the belief in the free will and moral responsibility of the agent. EH Carr has suggested that since, in the early stages of Capitalism, production and distribution were largely in the hands of single individuals, the ideology of the new social order emphasised individual initiative:
“History thus concentrated on the deeds of great men and the institutions which they created, modified or resisisted[”7’] Neither the subject of histary nor the
historian were recognised as being products of their own societies.
History became the study of great men subjected to the moral judgements of other great men, Charles Kingsley in his inaugural lecture as Professor of History
at Cambridge in 1861 stated:
“To tum to:the mob for your theory of humanity is about as wise as to ignore the Appollo and the Theseus, andtodeterminetheproportionof the human figure from a crowd of dwarfs and cripples” [8]
\'
The first essay in this series suggested that the dominant and most influential approach to Urban History in Britain is empirical, that is
to say, it is based on knowledge derived from observation. It was contrasted with the ‘theoretical approach which is based on knowledge obtained by the conscious application
explicit theories, The most important and well developed of the second is to be found in Marxist histories:
The characteristics of empirical historiography were described as follows: a belief in the primecy of observable facts; implicit theories containing assumptions about the goals of Society; the individualisation of history and the isolation of the area being studied from other contemporary and historical events except by way of cause and effect. Empirical urban histiography itself evolved
from the‘liberal’ approach to history which emerged in the nineteenth century.
EE
THE LIBERAL APPROACH
Added to this was a sense of history as progess. Progress, that is, not only in the transmission of acquired knowledge and skills from one generation to the next, but as a part of ajourney towardsa finite destination, E-H. Carr suggests that this optimistic view which originated in the Jewish-Christian tradition was adopted and secularised by the rationalists of the Enlightenment. History then became progress towards the goal of the perfection ofman’s state on earth. It\'will be seen that this has largely remained the view of many modern historians. Only the defin- ition of the goal is disputed.
In 19th century England the goal was liberty and the rights of the individual (Kingsley at least did not equate these with equality)
MURRAY BALLS
AND ITS DERIVATIVES
a room which cannot fong remain empty. They are opening the doors for seven devils, which, precisely bec- ause they are newcomers, are bound to be worse than the first. Whig hist- ory was one of our assets - it had a wonderful effect on English politics” Butterfield need not have worried, ~
Peter Murray, editor of Building Design stretched his critical faculties to the
ful when he described a paper written
for the SLATE committee by Phil
Windsor as a “load of balls” at a NAM meeting recently, and then proceeded
to threaten legal action against anyone who repeated the “allegations” he
alleged that it contained. This petulant yet touching display of modern sensitivity, and moral contradiction, was prompted
Despite the influence of the conservative Namier and the socialist Tawney, both of whom rejected fact accumulation, moral- izing and liberal variants of the idea of
Ts this unfortunate little drawing of a room full of faceless architects taken
9.E.HCarropcitpps110-111andp.124 more positiveaspectsoftheevening\'s
10. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 103
11, EH.Carr op cit p. 138
12. G. Stedman Jones op cit p. 106 citing
~ Professor H, Butterfield in “The Eng- lishmanandhisHistory”1944
13, ditto ibid p. 110-111
conversation. (see elsewhere in SLATE). Ms Vulture’s concluding platitude
about how useful the meeting had been for the journalists there typically ignores thefactthatoverhalfthosepresentwere lay people who made, between them, the most trenchant points, but then, perhaps, she did not notice. As Phil Windsor
SLUTWAC NEWS FROM
of insisting on exclusive coverage of buildings they illustrate or describe. Fascinating though they were.the
FEMINIST DESIGN AND BUILD GROUP PROPOSED
PDS GROUP LOOKS FORWARD
After the May 1978 PDS Conference and the publication of “Democratic Design” the enlarged PDS Group isnow trying to undertake further research. Most of the ideas developed over the last six months need examples and case studies to back themuporchangethem.Abroadquest- ionnaire iscurrently being drawn up. The areas we need input \'tolare:-
a. office hierarchies and office democracy b. job architects working directly with users
c,thierelationshipofjobarchitectsto departmental and committee structures
d, the action of L.A. architects over finan- cial constraints and standards
2, the history (formation and growth) of departments
.thepotentialforgreateraccountibility
fyou could help us with information in iny of these areas or wish to help us in
any way please contact through
PDS Group, c/o 5, Milton Ave London N.6,
post part one (year out) architecture student
required to work in small inner city community practice in Birmingham.
Starting salary:£2500pa.
apply in writing to:
B.U.D.A, Lozells Social Development Centre, 173,
Lozells Rd., Birmingham B19 1HS tel. 021-554 3278
|
special C)
otier!
A free copy of the NAM Handbook to al new NAM members.
if you’ve decided not to join NAM.
ORDER FORM toNAM9,PolandStreet,London,W.1. PleasesendmeacopyoftheNAM
Handbook to Name .
Ienclose S0p; —_—__
SLATE 8PAGE 22
[iytouwouldTiketboeamemberoftheNewArchitectureMovementflIntheformbeloawndmad} ittogether with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00(if | you\'re employed) or £2.00 (if you\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street
| London W.1. | |NAME. |
SOp
THE PRESS COMES TOA LONDON MEETING
Threats of libel action were uttered at the NAM London Group’s third open meeting held in May on the subject of architectural journalism. They came duringa lively debatefollowingthepresentationtothe meeting of paper by the Slate Committee critiscising the dependence of the trade
journals should be taking up. The Slate Committee expressed its preoccupation with the process of development design andconstruction,arguingthatdesign workers should become awareof the economic process of which they are part and the nature of work in the whole process of building production, especially on the site. This emphasis was countered by the critiscism that Slate neglected the critiscismofbuildingsassuchandthatit ignored the importance of the completed building in the lives of the tenants or workers who used it. Slate should
redress this imbalance, and in so doing may well help promote a more relevent form of archietctural cristiscism involving more non-architects.
The meeting was held at the Architectural Association and attracted an audience of about 45 people. It is hoped to publish a modified version of the paper in a forthcoming issue of Slate.
1978 CONFERENCE
Cheltenham is to be the venue for the 1978 NAM Annual Congress, booked for the weekend of the 10th-12th November. Suggestions for topics, speakers, and workshops for this the Movement’s fourth annul congress should be sent to the Liaison Group, NAM, 9, PolandSt.,London,W1, Moredetailstofollow.
E1979
The open meeting was set up to look at the position of women architects at work, because the group felt that this subject has been, and stil is, totally ign- ored by the profession as a whole.
Thegrouppresentedapaperwhich covered the following subjects:
1. Women in education
2. Feminist approach to design 3. An historical study of sex roles 4. Women at work
5. Women in the building trades
Duringthediscussionwhichfollowed
it became clear that definite action should be taken to try and change the present situation, not only of women at work, but in the attitudes taken towards women in architecture and construction,
7.00 p.m:
Wide interest was expressed in setting
THE NAM press on advertising revenue,
Presented by Phil Windsor the paper
Future meetings of the group will be held fortnightly and will be advertised in the architectural press and Time Out etc. Contact:
Frenas Bradshaw,14,DuncanTerrace, London, Ni 01-278 5215
Julia Wilson Jones, 48, Sutherland Sq., London SE17 01-702 7775
Sue Francis, 9. St. George’s Ave., London, N7 !01-609 2976
HANDBOOK
...contains information on al NAM’s activities.
argued forcefully that because all the
trade papers rely almost exclusively on advertising revenue they had to adopt conservative editorial policies and to support the myths of professionalism.
Not so retorted an equally forceful
Peter Murray, editor of Building Design, and proceeded to defend what he saw as the progressive editorial policies of his paper. Of the four other invited guests Crispin Aubrey, news editor of Time Out agreed wholeheartedly with the paper, describing how his magazine had recently increased its sports coverage precisely because it would attract increased advertising revenue. Martin Spring of Building and Patrick Hannay of the Architects Journal were more circumspect agreeing with the substance of some of the critiscisms made of the magazines but
not the analysis underlying them. John Mc Kean, in a carefully considered reply asserted that much more room was left for manoeuyre by the editors before they actually offended advertisers beyond sufferance and wondered why the Opportunity wasnottakentopursue more progressiveeditorialattitudesof the sort Phil had mentioned.
After the five invited guests had offered their opinions on the paper the detate
was dominated for a while by the dozen
Or so journalists in the audience who had come along either out of curiosity or solidarity with their colleagues as they fended off some penetrating questions from others on the floor about various aspects of their work. A favourite topic was the process by which an architect
gets his buildings published, which lead freelancer Sutherland Lyall to denounce
Poland Street, London W.1. |=wane
the practice of some
of the magazines
allegations, denials and gossip exchanged
between the journalists and, to alesser
degree, regretfully, the rest of the audience, \' There was an excellent turnout for the did seem for a while to lead the evening
into a blind alley. Fortunately few people
lostsightofthepurposeofthemeeting
and the closing half hour or so was spent
in constructive discussion of the issues that
2. Perception of Space
3. History of women in construction 4, Feminist approach todesign
5. Education
6. Legislation
The setting-up of the groups will be dis- cussedfurtheratthenextopenmeeting
of the Feminism and Architecture group , to be held on monday 3rd July at the Architectural Association Starting at
NAM Feminism and Architecture open meeting. About 60 people came to the meeting,mostlywomen architects.
upafeministDesignandBuildgroupto take on projects specifically for women’s groups.
|ADDRESS.
|
I
| If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement ) for £2.00 to NAM at 9,
J SLATE 8PAGE 23
It is hoped to set up a series of study groups to research certain topics. Among the ideas discussed were:
1,Women & the press
nn ae
Anybody with ideas for the 1979 NAM Calendar, or who wants to help with layout, design production or distribution of the Calendar, please contact the
Liaison Group, NAM, 9, Poland St., London, W1,
Ane |
their say
GOVERNMENT policy on housing came under attack recently from North London tenants. At a public meeting called by four Islington co-operatives about eighty tenants got together to express their opposition to the system and levels of cost limits imposed on rehabilitation projects.
Most important of the objections to the system was that it tended to force down standards. Insufficient capital was available for most projects and this resulted in the production of undersized flats with inadequate services, More important, some contended, was that essential repairs to the houses were neglected in order to
save money. This caused serious inconvenience to the tenants when defects recurred and was also counter- productive economically as piecemeal repairs in occupied flats are expensive. All in al the co-op members felt that their future was insecure,
Replying to the criticisms, David Smith of the Department of the Environment (DoE) made several unpopular assertions He claimed that the cost limits were not too low as‘only 15% of the schemes subject to them were actually referred to the DoE as being in excess of them. People expected ‘rehab’ housing to achieve Parker Morris standards but this could not be done. Besides, he said, the evidence that 80%
of people wanted to be Owner-occupiers SLATE 8PAGE 24
!
and that space standards were 30% lower in the private sector, confirmed that Parker Morris standards were too high. The Government\'s aim was to spread the money “thinner and further’,
Several tenants took up the question
of the referral of projects over the limits and argued that the reason that the referral rate is so low is that Housing Associations are genarally more concerned with speeding up the devlopment process than they are with standards. They cut spzce, services and repair standards before submitting schemes for approval in order to avoid bureaucratic delays. That was why cost limits appeared adequate.
Cost limits in rehabilitation are the subject of a campaign being mounted by the North Islington Co-ops. The public meeting was the second event of the campaign which was launched by a demonstration and mass lobby of Parliament late last year.
Other questions raised by the tenants were connected with the way in which the limits tend to favour small units, why standards vary from borough to borough and even street to street and why access from flats to shared gardens is often impossible to arrange within the limits.
Representatives from the Housing Corporation, the Greater London Council and Islington Council also attended the meeting.
INSUE
Co-op meeting
called
ARCHITECTURAL practices run as worker cooperatives are to be the topic of a special one day workshop planned for the autumn,
Sponsoring the workshop are the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM), the London Building Design Staff Branch of the union TASS and certain
of the unattatched councillors on ARCUK. ICOM would like to hear now from workers in any practices that are already run as worker cooperatives or which have ambitions to become cooperatives.
Contact Dave Marshall, ICOM, 31, Hare St., London, SE18.
NENT
Private sector interests in the building industry are mounting a massive campaign to vitiate the idea of the nationalisation of
the building industry.
SLATE 9 examines the activities of The Campaign Against Nationalisation in the Building Industry (CABIN) and asks the question what would nationalisation really mean to the workers in the industry and the consumers of their products.
Housing policy~ tenants have
Also in SLATE 9, PartIII of John Murray’s series on Urban History.
SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
9 Poland Street, W1.
SS
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'July/ August 1978';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 9';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Direct Labour';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' wil bes
m C atpine TarmAc.
Bovis | wll meey
U
he
ie
THE FIGHT FOR CONTROL
OFTHE
BUILDING
INDUSTRY
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are inc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movements views and activities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership
REPRESENTATIVES
4 network of 30 representatives has been
set up throughout schools and large prac- al over the country. The only comm- it of each representative will be to
receive ) copies of SLATE every two months and to try to sell 4 of them, return-
ng €1.00 to SLATE
Al this should help SLATE acheive a
tar wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad- icals concerned with the industry and the environment
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
\'
Camden comes
down on Hunt-
ley street
AT 6 AM. ON WEDNESDAY 16th August between 250 and 650(reports vary) police, mostly Special Patrol Group, with riot shields, bulldozers, pickaxes and bailiffs evicted 160 men, women and children from flats in Huntley Street, London WC1.
It was the biggest ever eviction of squatters in Britain and, more signi- ficantly, the first mass eviction since the introduction of the Criminal Tresspass Law in December last year.
Thirteen people were arrested and later charged under the Act although theoretic- ally al 160 people could have been charged
U.S. Cu
ion indu reacts to
uet a
writers more ideas and more reps in order simply for building barricades. A court
NAM’S FEMINISM AND Archit- ecture group haye been asked by the Policy Studies Institute to submit information on job opportunities for women and their general posit- ion in the architectural profession
to the Equal Opportunities Commi- ssion at a meeting scheduled for mid October.
A survey was carried out ten years ago on women in higher management and professional positions and a report was eventually published entitled “Sex, Career and the Family ”. Specific reports were then issued on certain of the professions surveyed but one was ot published on women architects.
THE UNITED STATES HAS TAKEN a major step forward for sex equality |in its construction industry by prom- oting legislation which obliges emply-
ers to take “affirmative actions” in taking on women. These regulations, drawn up by the Department of Lab- our, have already become effective and require a goal for the industry
to ensure that 3.1% of it’s labour force force are women by the end of 1978 compared with the current 1.2%.
It is intended that the goal will rise to 5% in 1979 and 6.9% in 1980. These prop- osals having not been welcomed by Assoc- iated General Contractors (US\'s equivalent of our National Federation of Building Trades Employers) who are quoted as saying that the goals are “unrealistic” and would occupy eyery place in their Bureau
of Apprenticeship Training schares.
Lea Wests C£ aS by
An occasional publication produced by Students and staff at the Architectural Association aimed at giving a wider cir- culation to political economic approach- es to urban problems and policies.
Issue no 1 contains a paper by James Anderson entitled “Engels’ Manchester: Industrialisation, Workers Housing and Urban Ideologies”. Issue 2 - “Building Capital and Labour” contains a paper by Chris Cripps on the historic devel- opment of British construction capital- ism and unions, a paper by John Rogers on current tendencies in the U.K. con- Struction industry, as well as the full version of Malcolm Bezant’s paper on P.E.L.A.W. summarised in this issue of SLATE.
Both issues are available from Plan- ning Publications, Architectural Assoc- iation, 36, Bedford Square, W.C.1. at 75p each plus 15p P+P
to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE: become arep.,jointhe group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon
SLATE ispublishedbythePublications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London W.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group)
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1.
Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2
Ste’, n., m., & vt. 1, Minds of grey, Diuish-purple rock easily eplit « smooth plates; plece of cuch ¢d ns roofing-material; pleco of it med in wood used for writing on vencit or small rod of soft~ (clean id oresclf of or renounce oblign-
lack, -blue, -grey, modifications sua8cohccurin~;J~-<club, benefit society with small weekly contributions; -~-colour(ed), (of) dark
Mulsh or greenish grey; hence slit’x? a, ou}. (Made) of ~. 3, ¥.t. Cover with~s .» (ME clate, fem. of esclat suatt)
.
hearing was held on the 21st September and has been adjourned until the 4th December. Coinciding with the first court hearing,
Dutch squatters demonstrated in support of the Huntley Street squatters by attempting to board up the British Embassy in the Neth- erlands. Fifty seven demonstrators were arrested,heldinjailforfourdaysandthen released without being charged.
fight for rehousing.
Despite the arrests the Huntley Street squatters were not totally unsuccessful in their fight for rehousing. Camden Council has housed al families in permanent acc- ommodation and single people have been promised alternative shortlife housing. Unfortunately fifty people are stil waiting in a temporary crash pad squat in Fitzroy Square because the typists strike at Camden has dly held up di ingfrom
the flats allocated to the squatters. Camden Council has also been prompted to recon- sider its policies for housing single people and promises a new policy shortly.
Above al the squat has demonstrated that squatting can continue despite the Criminal Tresspass Law. As the slogans printedonthecorrugatedironafterthe Elgin Avenue eviction in 1975 said:
‘It’s not what THEY say but what WE do that counts.”
). Criticize acverely revicws), scold, rates ©. Propose for oifico etc, Hence
7 WITH A GUN IN ONE HAN D.
Xl) n. (app. f. pree.}
NEWSAYVAMANEWSKY
staff association lacking ‘bite’
A FEELING OF POWERLESSNESS oyer the six recent redundancies at Sir William Halcrow and Partners’ architectural section has caused many of the 700-strongstaff association to question its effectiveness and ability to go beyond liaison on ‘safe’ issues.
Halcrows is a large multi-professional practice of engineers and architects number- ing over 2500 persons.The six were selected, so HSA were told, on the basis of their low ‘performance rating’ (an ongoing subject- ive evaluation by the management). This criteria was used to trim Halcrows sails to the slim pickings blowing in from the middle east these days: Arab investment capital has been increasingly diverted to the advanced nations from their native countries and Halcrows commissions have declined in consequence.
The staff have also been informed that their productiyity is below par although it was not made clear how exactly this had been measured. Complaints have also been madebyHSAthatsomemajorjobshave been farmed out to outside practices: they have been told that this isbecause these are‘non-profit’ jobs. The motives of the practices in question must indeed be high !
The 6 were al unqualified lower/middle grades salaried staff -a characteristically vulnerable section of the architectural labour force. Many have already left of their own accord and the round of goodbye parties has apparently began to take its tol, on the Halcrovians (ed- perhaps this adds a novel nuance to ‘natural wastage’).
The upper levels of architectural staff are naturally subdued in their criticism
of the redundancies owing to the fear of their own security -a serious consideration for the older staff.
HSA has set up a working group to review it’s relationship to management and they are eager to take a more positive role in the practices’ future. Recruitment to
HSA has been fairly slow (25% at present) amongst employees and UKAPE have also
a 15% membership. Both feel hampered by their size- without a significant proportion of the staff neither is likely to acheive recog- nition and without recognition their appeal is limited.
NAM ®group
meets E.O.C. womens gq tas
hesWg re
Archie meets the SAI
unattached news
Monopolies Issue
A delegation of representatives of unatt- ached architects met with the Minister of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, John Fraser on July 26th to discuss the implementation of the proposals in Way Ahead’. Also attending the meeting were government legal advisers and the Office of Fair Trading. The proposed fee system was discussed in some detail and it was explain- ed to the Minister that by abandoning the ‘ad valorem’ system and replacing it with the unattacheds’ proposals, a system of standardised elements of service and rec- ommended ranges of cost afforded a safe- guard to the public against unreasonable price increases and a check to the profess- ion against unhealthy price cutting. By combining the widespread overseas prac- tice of charging on the basis of the cost of the service with the familiar UK procedure of secret tendering, ‘Way Ahead’ offered
| London W.1. | NAME
ADDRESS.
London W.1,|
the best solution to the Minister\'s criteria of benefiting the public interest whilst be- ing non-injurious to the profession. The unattached stated that they accepted the recommendations of the Monopolies Comm- ission and that the Minister should now re- quire ARCUK, the statutory body, to am- end its rules forthwith so as to permit un- attached architects to freely quote their own fees. The unattached left the meeting confident that the Minister would no longer permit the Monopolists to persist in con- straining those who had no wish to perpet- uate the monopoly.
Corporate Advertising
Corporate advertising by the RIBA is to be strenuously opposed as itdiscriminates against unattached architects. Either re- gional directories should be published by ARCUK covering all architects whether employers or employees or if the RIBA goes italone the unattached representatives will recommend to their constituents to advertise individually.
Limited Liability
Unattached representatives are in favour
of architectural practices being Limited Companies believing that the interests of the public and of employees are better pro- tected. Employees can gain statistical know ledge of the practice yia the Companies
Act and the client would no longer be mis- lead into believing that practices liability is at present unlimited whereas it is limited by the level of professional indemnity.
Education
The unattached representatives are to press for representation on the BAE visiting boards and as part 3 examiners from which they have previously been excluded.
AP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street |
Discrimination inEmployment Opportunities
Following representations made to the Registrar and an informal approach made to the Department of the Environment, the Local Authorities Conditions of Ser- vice Advisory Board with the NJC have issued a directive to al Chief Executives that membership of the RIBA confers no additional qualification and that advert- isements should only refer to ‘architects’, The unattached are now trying to ensure that similar advice isgiven to other public bodies and private practices and that firm- er action is taken by ARCUK itself.
Since the RIBA ‘closed shop’ discriminates against the other associations in ARCUK the Councils of the AA, FAS, IAAS and STAMP are being approached requesting their support on ARCUK.
Rule 2.5 and Spare Time Employment
The unattached are trying to get ARCUK
to issue guidelines to employers to the effect that they are breaking rule 2.5 ifthey attempt to prevent their employees from practising on their own account in their Spare time or entering architectural com- petitions.
1979 Unattached Election
Persons interested in standing for the 1979 election to ARCUK should contact the un- attached representatives, c/o 25, St. Georges Avenue, London N7, as soon as possible. You must be a ‘registered person’ and ‘un- attached’ (i.e. not a member of any of the associations listed in Schedule 1 of the Architects’ Registration Act 1931)
The present representatives have determined that their tenure should be restricted and that one third of the unattached councillors should decline nomination each year.
DIRECT LABOUR
below and send it together SLATEat 9,PolandStreet,|
| | |
|
2POLAND STREET LONDON WI
[itvouWouldikeiboe memberoftheNewArchitectureMoveniearfilstheformbelowand ond? | it together with » cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00 ( if |
SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
9 Poland Street, W1.
you\'re employed) or £2.00 (ifyou\'re are student, claimant or O,
| If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in ths form |withacheque/ordpero(spatyaablletoSLATE )for£2.00to
LIFTING THE ROOF OFF CABIN.
TWO VIEWS OF PELAW.
INTERVIEWS:
COUNCILLOR
TRADE
UNIONIST,
WORKER
taking the roof off CABIN
In the publication Building Britain ’s Future the Lab- resents a ready source of public finance which achedarchitect,NAMmem-ourPartyoutlinedtheirproposalsforextendingpublicbuildingemployerswouldliketoturnintoprivate MPshavelodgedobjectionsintheHouseofCommonsproposalsdonotgofarenough.Toomuchempha- berandNALGOdepart- controlovertheconstructionindustry.Buildingem- profitandinvestment.Operationally,theattackwas Suggestingthattheircampaigncontraveneselection Sisisplacedonmakingdirectlabour,andtheprop-
Andy Brown is an unatt-
Although CABIN claim no political allegiances, their links with the Tory Party, who fully back their campaign, are thinly veiled. A number of Labour
Many unionists feel, however, that Labours’
mental representative who ployers became panic-stricken. They launched the
works for the London Campaign Against Building IndustryNationalisation
spearheaded by the NFBTE and the FCEC. £4m was spent before itbegan to flag last Spring.
osed National Building Corporation, competitive with the private sector and not enough on the qualitative and organisational benefits that could tesultfromextendingpubliccontrolovertheind-
TheirnextstepwastofocusontheMaylocal withwhichtocampaigninsupportoftheirownfin- electionsand,onceagain,DLOsweresingled-out
BoroughofLambethArch- (CABIN)andprovideditwithanunlimitedbudget
itects’ Department.
ancial interests. CABIN was set up by the construct- ion industry’s two main employer organisations, namely, the National Federation of Building Trades Employers (NFBTE) and the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (FCEC). Their stated aim is to ensure that the proposals never get into Lab- our’s general election manifesto.
for particular attack. Most of their efforts were dir- ected at London where 5 out of 14 boroughs select- ed for intensive campaigning were gained by the Tory’s from Labour. This was to be, in the words of Sir Maurice Laing, a ‘practice run’ for a Tory victory at the next general election.
TheseatsonCABIN’sdirectingcommitteeare1976[eWIMPRYeeTa) procurementagencyfordirectingallgovernment ais
filled exclusively by big-shots from the construction industry’sprivatesector.Full-timechairmanisnone 1976|WOODROW _f2In
contracts, which now total 60% of the country’s buildingwork.
Another proposal, to take architectural education out of their assumed control and place it in the hands of the Qonstruction Industry Training Board must also be vexing the RIBA.
At present, they are conducting a study of local authority architectural practice. It cannot be long before the RIBA are provoked into taking a pro- CABIN stance.
other than Sir Maurice Laing, who is also chairman of the building contractor John Laing& Co. Other members include Peter Marley, ex-president of the NFBTE, Clifford Chetwood from Wimpey, Frank Gibb from Taylor-Woodrow, Bil Lindsell from Mowlem and, last but not least, John Armitt who has been ‘loaned’ by John Laing & Co. as permanent director. Six full-time staff have been engaged to work under John Armitt
Building Britain\'s Future sets out a number of proposals aimed at improving the performance, stability and standards of the construction industry. They include the establishment ofa National Con- struction Corporation based initially on the take- over of one or more major contractors, a Building Materials Corporation to be formed by taking over certain manufacturers of basic building materials including fletton bricks, glass and plaster, all of which are currently monopoly controlled, a register of em- ployers and employees to be held by the Construct- ion Industry Manpower Board in order to help pro- mote better working conditions, safety standards
and trade union organisation within theindustry, and the expansion of local authority direct labour organisations (DLO’s) with the introduction of in- dustrial democracy in their management structure.
CABIN\'s initial response was to concentrate an attack on DLOs. This isnot surprising. Ever since substantial direct labour departments were set up, over 50 years ago, they have been subject to height- ened attack during the periodic slumps in the con- struction industry. Work carried out by DLOs Tep-
1972
1976 1972
{In 1976[LAING isa]
PROFITS BEFORE TAX 1972 & 1976 £s millions
Ee
toe Festa 1972 [ttm]
EE]
CABIN have now decided to concentrate on 80 marginal constituencies. They have shifted the emphasis of their campaign to an all-out attack on Labour’s nationalisation proposals. Advertising space | has been reserved in local and national newspapers.
Both campaigns against DLOs and nationalisation, although presented separately, are clearly two parts of an overall strategy by private sector employers to extend control over public sector work.
1949, any expenditure which is designed to promote one candidate over another is outlawed. Predictably, CABIN claim that they are not campaigning on a constituency basis but, rather, on a regional basis, although it is interesting to note that a bulletin issued by the FCEC to their members in June describes the ‘marginal campaign’ and stresses that it was going to be ‘very political in nature’.
More recently, CABIN have given themselves a face-lift. They have brought in Sue Lewis-Smith, a Wimpey employee who contested Nuneaton for the Tories in 1970, to improve their public image. Sim- ilarly, they have re-titled their ‘marginal’ campaign, the ‘local area’ campaign.
TheunionsarehitingbackatCABIN.Thetwo big construction unions, UCATT and TGWU, have both published pamphlets replying to their campaign and supporting, in principle, the Labour Party\'s proposals. UCATT have made it their policy, through a resolution passed at their annual congress, to cam- paign for nationalisation. They have produced 500, 500,000 leaflets entitled Building Britain’s Future: the UCATT View for mass circulation.
Of course, CABIN might quite simply haye given
a large donation to Conservative Central Office, but — even with allies in the shadow cabinet like Sir Keith Joseph, former director of his family firm Bovis Hold- ings(building contractor) and overseer ofTory
policy — they could not be sure that their money would be spent in their direct interest. Moreover, a0 overtly party political stance would probably cost them the support of those building contractors WhO, - whilst agreeing with CABIN’s overall philosophy, prefer not to bite the hand thatfeeds them —that - ofthe Labour Government.
insteadsthey are spending considerable sums of money on publicity gimmicks and glamourous post- ers, stickers, polythene bags and balloons carrying _
i
slogans like ‘Say NOto Building Nationalisation’ and
“Keep Britain’s Builders FREE’. A public opinion
poll has been undertaken. which boasts, ‘if we take
away the don’t knows’, that 85% of the public, 877%
of construction industry workers and 74% of Labour’: omists. In it they analyse the industry and present
Own supporters are against nationalisation. Details of how the poll was conducted do not seem to be available. The right-wing Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) have prepared an ‘independent’ report for CABIN which attacks public ownership by saying that the Labour proposals will not work and are too costly to implement.
It has been reported that an anticipated £1m is available to CABIN for when a general election is called.
Jaw. Under the Representation of the Peoples Act «tt fete t
£
arguments and detailed factual information supp- orting the expansion of direct labour and transfor- mation of the industry to the advantage of work- ers and tenants. The main thrust of their criticism of the industry is directed at the contracting sys- tem. Casual employment, high levels of unemploy- ment, limited training opportunities, unsafe work- ing conditions, high profits, monopolistic price rings poor quality and expensive buildings are all cited
as ils haunting the construction industry as a res- ult of the contracting system. In contrast, many large contractors are shown to have made record profits in recent years (see chart).
ustry.
Meanwhile back at Portland Place, architectural
employers at the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) are sitting on the fence even though, with the slump in the private sector, they must be as greedy for public sector commissions as their building employer counterparts are for contracts. They must be particularly worried by the proposal in Building Britains Future to establish a public
The Direct Labour Collective, a rank-and-file inter- union group, have published a 100-page pam- phlet entitled Building with Direct Labour prepar-
jed for them by the Conference of Socialist Econ-
Q. What have Ronan Point and CABIN in common ?
Michael Ball isan economist who has been doing research on the construction industry fora number of years. He is also a member of the Direct Labour Collective.
1. WHAT PELAW IS AND HOW IT WORKS PELAW is an experimental Design/Build unit, part of the London Borough of Haringey’s
DLO. Like any other direct labour organisation, it can only work for it’s parent authority. Form-
ally it is part of Haringey’s Building Works Divi- sion but in practice functions as an independant unit working largely in Housing Action Areas.
PELAW began operations in 1975 with a des- igner- manager a foreman-manager and fonr or five manual workers and a single contract. Today it has a capacity for about 12 concurrent projects and an annual turnover of around £600,000. At present the total workforce is about 60 including 10 staff and about SO tradespersons and labourers. Specialist work is subcontracted. Many problems have been experianced with subcontractors, and PELAW hopes to have it’s own electricians in the near future.
Contracts are allocated to PELAW by the hous- ing department. Intheory this should be in accor- dance with the annual programme drawn up by the unit, but PELAW has encountered some diff- iculties arising from variations in the flow of work. A steady supply of work facilitates programming and allows more efficient use of laboubry reduc-
ing the ‘bunching’ of trades in particular contracts About a third of PELAW’s work has to be tender ed in order to prove it’s competitiveness with private builders.
Most of the jobs are conversions of individual large terraced houses into two or three self-con- tained units. The conversion cost for a single property would probably be around £20,000 to £25,000, and the time for completion generally around 6 months.
Overall responsibility for PELAW rests with its manager who is responsible, through the
Building Manager, to the Borough Engineer. The Borough Engineer forms the link with the elected members’ -the councillors who make up the Highways and Works panel which is a sub comm ittee of the powerful Planning and Development Committee which also controls the Architects
Department. ;
Internally PELAW isdivided into two functional
units and a plumbing unit, each of these having its own foreman. Other supervisory posts are those of general foreman, who oversees the whole manual workforce, and working charge-hands who number more or less one per site. This structure closely resembles that of any other building enter-
prise with the four foremen being members of
staff along with the designers, surveyor and man- ager.
Running parallel to this structure is the ‘partic- ipation ° element in the scheme. There is a month- ly meeting of the PELAW team -the staff (10) plus 6 elected representatives of the manual work- ers (3 from each unit) following by a meeting of each unit.
2. DIRECT LABOUR IN HARINGEY
The London Borough of Haringey was formed in the reorganisation of London Boroughs in 1964. Haringey began life with a Labour administration and a considerable direct labour force inherited from the merging authorities - 400 maintenance workers and 220 engaged in capital works.
In 1966 a scandal erupted over alleged mis- appropriation of funds on a major capital works project which led to an enquiry and the dismissal of senior council officers. The Tories gained con- trol and seized the opportunity to close down all capital works. When labour regained control agkin in 1971 a small group of councillors, along with the Borough Engineer, felt that direct labour was a more satisfactory method for producing council housing.
In the preceding years there had beenashift
in housing policy nationally towards upgrading the existing housing stock. Rehabilitation implied a smaller scale of building operation which was emminently suitable for a small direct labour unit.
However, the discontinuous nature of rehabilit- ation work makes normal incentive schemes diff- icult to operate and calls for a high level of super- vision. Th e profit-sharing participation scheme devised was seen as a means of increasing incentives reducing demarkation between trades and reducing
Supervision. : _ After nearly four‘years, the scheme got off the
CABIN SMOKE /
SCREEN
Jimmy McAlpine inrelaxed mood,
Of the attempts by Local Authorities to reform and improve their Direct Labour Depart- ments the PELAW experiment at Haringey is possibly the most advanced. With PELAW Haringey have attempted to introduce the principles of industrial cooperatives into the or- ganisation of a part of their DLO. This approach has its benefits and its drawbacks and here, after a description of PELAW’s organisation and methods, Mal Bezant and Robin Suttcliffe exchange views over the prospect of the more widespread adoption of PELAW’s model.
Picture; Associated Newspapers.
ground with an experimental unit restricted to a |workforce of twenty. While the more idealistic
amongst its supporters saw it as an experiment in workers self management, others accepted it as an experiment in cost-effectiveness and applauded the extension of the profit motive into direct labour.
3. PAY AND CONDITIONS
PELAW has no independant source of capital. All its finaances are controlled by the local authrity in much the same way as any other direct labour organisation. Wages and slaries are paid by the Council and all employees are subject to the same conditions of service as their equivalents in other
At the heart of CABIN’s campaign to discredit Direct Labour and vilify the idea of the nationalisation of the building industry is a report prepared for them by the Economist Intelligence Unit. This report commissioned to add academic respectability to CABIN’s ideas is ridden with inaccuracies, assumptions and bias writes Michael Ball. ;
Co-operative
Direct
Labour?
The Labour Party last year published Building Britain’s Future. Amongst other,well-publicised po- icies, nationalisation of a few of the big building con- tractorswasproposed. Thisfrightenedthecontrac- tors, so the two big employers organisations (NFBTE and FCEC) set up CABIN -Campaign Against Buil- ding Industry Nationalisation -with an initial £4m budget.
stil, it does not explain the real nature ofbuilding jobs. Most workers are hired to doa particular task on site for as long as they are needed. The job could lastforoverayearbut,atitsend,workersgenerally have to find a new job. This is casual employment,
as can be seen from the low level of redundancy pay- ments in the industry. Even the EIU has to admit that that few workers get redundancy pay.
i Contractors have always been generous supportérs
of the Tory Party and right-wing groups such as AIMS
CABIN has now earmarked most of its money for 80
marginal constituencies to aid the Tories in the forth-
coming General Election. CABIN has lobbied MPs
and local councillors, and conducted a mass public-
ity exercise throughout the country, and also hired
the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), well-known
€conomic consultants, to produce a 280 Page report
for CABIN. In it Labour’s plans for nationalisation
come in for attack, as do the proposals for decasual-
isation and planning state construction programmes. TheEIUclaimsthatLabour’sproposalswillcost : Suchdifferencesareneverexplained.
£1870m to £2745m with additional annual running costs of £395m to £522m.
The EIU’s objections to Building Britain’s Future basically have nothing to do with facts andfigures.
Even though it paid for the study, CABIN claims not to have influenced the conclusions reached. Asa Subsidiary of the night-wing Economist newspaper however, the EIU was hardly expected to support. Labour’s proposals. Building Britain’s Future att- empted to highlight the crucial problems facing the
They rest instead on the claim that building is a com- petitive industry and that competition is necessary for efficiency. Public ownership, it says, will not be competitive, so it will not be efficient. Meanwhile it ignores the increasing evidence of price fixing and Corruption in the industry.
construction industry, and it Suggested remedies for overcoming them. It did this by examining certain key features such as casual employment, slumps in output, building monopolies and subcontracting. To an extent, its analysis is limited because it didnot consider the fundamental causesof these problems. This is reflected in the limited nature of its policies. It did, nonetheless, attempt to show that theprob- lems of the industry are not isolated but interlinked In the EIU report no overall picture of the industry
Most features of the industry, including employ- ment and working conditions, are the result of eco- nomic forces operating within building. They exist because of the contractors’ need to make aprofit,
isigiven. Instead it tries to show that no real prob- lems exist, apart from government intervention. It tries to prove that the factual statements in Building
others have to pay the cost. Incompatible conflicts of interest exist, the outcome of which depends on the ownership and control of the industry. The EIU try to show that a state owned building firm-will make huge losses. The only way they do this is to Say that working conditions will improve; costing £147m 4 year if the top ten firms are taken over. This sum isnotbased on evidence about conditions and their costs. It isjust dreamt up to create a loss. In any case, nationalisation does not necessarily result in better conditions. These come through trade un-
Britain\'s Future are wrong. It claims thatworking conditions are good, that health and safety is not al satbad, that employment is not casual, etc. It tries eeSe eeowned,theindustryisthe
uaa as al workers in nationalised industries
The whole nature of the building process is the. FTheEIU’sdescriptionofthefactsishighlyslanted TealiSsue,atpresent,thecontractorsdominateand
Numbers are produced to show that most workers stay with the same firm for more than one year. This 1s supposed to prove that most construction work is not casual. These numbers completely ignore the Lump and most subcontractors’ workers. But, worse
determine al of it. Public Ownership can confront these issues. Unfortunately for the building employ- ers, the smokescreen of the EIU report cannot hide
The EIU’s explanation of high levels of unemploy- ment iseven more incredible. Unemployment ishigh as many of the unemployed, it suggests, cannot keep ajob down becauseof their temperament, lack of ability or other personal failings! Forgotten is the fact that more construction jobs have been lost in the
past four years (over 300,000) than there are build- ing workers registered unemployed. Elsewhere, numbers appear to be invented. When trying to play down the importance of the Lump, the report claims there are only 70,000 -90,000 Lump workers. Yet elsewhere, it claims that there are 200,000 Lumpers!
the holes in their arguments, nor the need for change in the construction industry.
article istaken.
Robin Sutcliffe is director of PELAW. He was previ- ously involved in the estab-
is simply the difference between the estimated value of the work done and the final cost.
Association
indivduals concerned would be transferred to the e appropriate Council departments. So, in the case of manual workers, ending of their secondment would mean transfer to Building Works ‘proper’.
In PELAW, inter-trade cooperation means the lowering of demarcation lines. While in general tradesmen would expect to stick to their own type of work, thay might be expected to do
some work normally carried out by other tradesmen,¢.g., a carpenter may have to do some plastering or painting. In addition, craftsmen are expected to do some of their own labouring while labourers carry out some of the skilled work.
economy. PELAW does not challenge Capitalist norms, it consolidates them more firmly in the sphere of direct labour.
council departments.
All PELAW ‘staff’ (i.e. al non-manual workers)
receive the appropriate salary for their grade. Manual workers have a guaranteed bonus of 50% of the nationally agreed local authority basic rate, and labourers receive the same pay as tradespers- ons. This gives al PELAW workers a broadly similar guaranteed wage of around £90 a week before tax.
of DLOs, PELAW’s advocates would argue that it strengthens the case by proving the profitability of Direct Labour. However, many aprofitable DLO
has fallen to the Tories’ axe (Wandsworth for instance, featured elsewhere in this SLATE )and incidentally many others have been chopped by Labour too.
Far from being a counter attack on Direct
Labour’s qssailants of the CABIN variety, PELAW
has conceded the major points of their critiscisms.
It accepts the need for DLOs tobe judged ona
‘profit or loss’ basis and further concedes that the way toincreased profitability is through the increased efforts of building workers. Most of the ‘progressive’ building industry trades unionists with whom Ihave worked have been struggling to get rid of al incentive schemes.,as the best way of safeguarding their own health and safety, while also producing good quality housing for their fellow workers.
While Iwould not think that even the more idealistic supporters of PELAW believe they are building socialism in one DLO, they do, nevertheless believe that Capitalism can be dismantled brick by brick. Unfortunately, reformist approaches to the housing problem and the construction industry
In addition to the guaranteed wage or salary, al
PELAW members share in the ‘profits’ made on any
particular contract. 20% of the profit is retained by theCounciltooffsetlosseswhichmightoccur.The GA
remainder isdistributedto al the PELAW members who worked on that particular contract. The ‘profit’ shares are calculated according to the number of hours contributed to the job by each individual and paid at the same hourly rate for manual workers and
Mal Bezant is a sociologist
with experience of the
Building Industry. While
at the AA Graduate School
last year he wrote an exten-
sivepaperonPELAWfrom staffalike.Thetotal‘profit’and‘loss’onanycontract which the first part of this
porters as a radical experiment by a progressive Labour council. They
rest their casejof\\the supposed benefits for its manual workers through its ‘profit-sharing’ and ‘participation’ schemes. |Despite the Left-wing pretensionsofmanyofPELAW’sadvocates,itcame into existence as a political compromise with the assistanceoflocal politicians ofalcolours.
All PELAW members are employed on ‘secondment’ from the appropriate department. Although nearly al employees are recruited externally, they are, in fact ‘on loan’ from other ‘departments, so that
The argument for PELAW’s inception was
essentially a managerial one — that conventional
incentive schemes are difficult to operate in
rehabilitation work. ‘Profit sharing’ and ‘participation’ wereseenasamoreeffectivewayofboostingproduc- cannotsolvethecontradictionsofthemarket tivity, reducing supervision costs and encouraging inter-
trade cooperation. How have these benefitted!
PELAW’s manual workers?
lishmentofSolonHousing secondmentcouldbeterminatedatanytimeandthe
PELAW’s workers receive a better guaranteed weekly wage thafi most DLO building workers and the ‘profits’ after long delays, have begun to be distributed. Profits are paid out on an individual basis according to the hours put in on a particular contract and hence may be asdevisive asany bonus system. Unlike abonus scheme, where rewards are at least roughly calcualbe in advance, and received in the pay-packet two weeks later, the amount of profit to be shared, if any, is indeterminate until thejfinal accountforia job isdrawnjup some months’
Robin Sutcliffe
Imust begin by making it clear that the views ex- pressed in this article are my personal views and not those of the London Borough of Haringey.
In al industrially developed countries (both East and West) there has been an increase in central management and planning of economies and industry. One problem which has resulted has been the diffi- culty of creating an economy and industry capable
of responding to the needs of both consumers and oroducers.
PELAW is an experiment which attempts to resolve he conflict resulting from increased efficiency of
scale reducing the sensitivity ofan organisation to the leeds of its workers. The mechanism of participation
allows PELAW members agreater degree ofcontrol of their work experience and environment. It also attempts to respond to the needs of it’s consumers throughaclose relationship with client departments, which is possible for a direct labour organisation within a local authority. This isparticularly so within” Housing Action Areas.
In PELAW the mechanism of profit sharing en- sures that any profit resulting from increased effort isshared equally between al members who contri- buted to it’s production; thus avoiding any possibility of exploitation whilst encouraging productivity.
Designers have been brought into PELAW to red- uce the line of communication giving the designer and producer the opportunity of direct dialogue. Whilst this has created some interesting tensions, it has also increased standardisation and reduceddelays.
One of the fundamental principles established in setting up PELAW and essential to it’s success has been an insistance on 100% Trade Union membership. In a co-operative structure the role of the shop stew- ard issometimes ambiguous. He isoften called upon to act.as the spokesman for the workers on site, and the views that he has to express are sometimes con- trary to the views he would be expressing in the trad- itional role of shop steward. It is therefore, essential that they are speaking from a position of strength. I Personally do not believe that this dilemma weakens
the Trade Union movement, but that it’s resolution is essential if trade unions are to contribute to the control of production.
In setting up PELAW there have inevitably been many disappointments, and many questions remain to be answered. One of the most bitter disappoint- ments has been the extent to which external influ- encies and controls have prevented members from being able to control both their own work experience and environment. We have also been disappointed that, whilst progress with rationalisation has been made, it has been slow and limited.
Two questions are often raised in relation to PELAW. The first is to ask whether this type of re- form withina capitalist economy delays fundamental change? Idoubt ifrevolutionis just around the corner and therefore feel that PELAW represents as funda- mental achange asiscurrently possible.
The second is to question the fairness of requiring DLOs to compete with the private sector in view of the commitments expected of local authorities as em- ployers. This requirement could result in weak DLOs being wound up on the basis of inefficiency. Ithink that ifPELAW or any other DLO isdemonstrably successful financially then the arguments in favour
of direct labour become irresistable. It is because of this possibility that private enterprise has become so hysterical over possible legislation extending the areas in which DLOs might work. If they cannot be demon- strated to be financially successful in competition with private enterprise then society must know what the cost of building in safe conditions, with decent facil- ities, training schemes and so forth really is.
Finally, however limited the degree of control afforded to the members of PELAW, however great the unresolved dilemmas facing trade unions, Ibe- lieve that PELAW does represent areal improvernent in the work experience of it’s members and the end product for it’s consumers and this applies here and now, not as a possible result of some future society.
later, Hence some of the insecurity of the contracting system istransferred toPELAW’s workforce. Inaddition PELAW isdevided into two main functional units thus enabling managementito encourage(competition between units in much the same wayithat conventionalseparation into‘gangs’mightbeexploited. is
The main sources of conflict in PELAW have been the recruitmentoflatourandthedegreeof participation. PELAW’s manager, RobinSuttliffe, holds the ___ traditional right to hire and fire ?He has been keen to hand pick the ‘guinea pigs’ for his experimtnt while some of PELAW’s workers have pushed, unsuccessfully for recruitment through trade union branches.
PELAW isvariously described asa “cooperative” ‘partnership’ or ‘participation’ experiment. By differing degrees it may be al of these, but what it does not have isworkers’ control. Nor does ithave the independence usually associated with cooperatives. Executive authority rests internally with the manager and externally with Haringey’s councillors. Some PELAW workers disputed this point and ended up on the receiving end of ‘management prerogative’ when their shop steward was sacked and their unit closed down.
Nevertheless, despite its many ‘imperfections’, Robin Sutcliffe would claim it as a step in the
right (?) direction. In his view PELAW would form part of a strategy of creeping socialism which goes as far as one might expect in the present circum- stances, while, at the same time, being in a positign— to defend itself from attack by an incoming Tory council should therejbe a change at the next election. Inthecontextoftheoveralldeobverathtefeuture
and is a strong supporter of DLO’s.
Mr David Krause, Director of Construction Services at Lambeth also attended the interview to advise on tech- nicalquestions,
industry has been unable to meet the requirements of the country as awhole, particularly as far as the provision of housing is concerned. We can no longer build for profit only. It is a question of building for social need and that requires the ability to turn res- ources when necessary to homes as opposed to off- ices or hotels or whatever else private industry may looktowardsforproWefexipertie.ncedaverybad situation in the early 1970\'s when we were unable to get private contractors to build public housing at all. We are still suffering from that, so I look forward to nationalisation taking place.
SLATE: .
Have you any reservations about the Labour Party’s proposals for the nationalisation of the construction industry?
TED KNIGHT
accountablteo the public, to district and in¢ernal aud- itors to make sure that rate-payers money is safe- guarded. No private building organisation isever sub- ject to the amount of investigation that we are. Ido not beleive that the accountibility issue is one which private enterprise can defend
SLATE:
How can the nationalisation of the 10 largest building firms be correlated with an extension of direct labour organisations?
TED KNIGHT: Ithinkthatthereisaneedforanationalisedindustry centrally to work with local authority direct labour organisations, and there will have to be an integration between them. Isee no great difficulty in that. What it will enable us to do is to a planned programme of building between the national corporation and the local authorities. One of the difficulties at the present
ontractors. There is a problem of relating trading ecounts within a framework of municipal account- bility. Here in Lambeth we do produce an annual eport describing our financial position in relation to the works which we carried out. We would hope to ring about eventually a trading account as recomm- nded by SIPFA and by District Auditors. What we re opposed to is rates which are decided by outside ‘ontractors which we are bound to. What we are in lavour of is an accounting system which will indicate hether we are carrying out works efficiently and
onomically.
XN
ye A
es
some changes in the format of nationalised industries with much more consumer and worker control. We are looking for a more accountable and democratic form of nationalisation than we have at the present moment.
SLATE:
How would you answer CABIN’s accusation that nationalisation will lead to inefficiency and lack of accountability to the consumer?
TED KNIGHT :
Idon’t beleive that to be so. The nationalised ind- ustry isaccountable through parliament and through the pressure that consumers bring to bear. As to private enterprise being accountable, they are only accountable to the share-holders. Their priorities are determi>ed not on social requirements but on what is profitable at any particular time. We have found in our local government experience|that private ent- erprise is prepared to take risks which endanger the
ation would work out aplanned programme which would enable the DLO to take its place in local work as well as the corporation. There would be overall control because presumably the national corporation would be as subject as we are to internal audit. We would also be able to expand the DLOs when there is a coordination and integration of work with another building organisation which is not liable to go out of business at any time.
SLATE:
What are the adyantages to a local authority of having its own direct labour organisation?
eas such as preventative maintenance for our uilding people to be in at the design stage to give the
nefit of their experiance. It is no good architects lesigning without the feedback that the builder is exp- Tiencing on the practical side. In addition, in most of ur major areas of rehab work the project team has gular meetings with residents associations in’ that irea.
AVID KRAUSE:
itisextremely important that the architect has Sufficient time to deal with design requirements. [think that the most importat role for an architect isin that area. Ithink that sometimes this overrun into! administration and fine detail is thwarting the arch- tect and he isdoing work that he needn’t necessar-
not viable when compared with private firms. We have to tender for al our jobs and as I\'ve said we showed a surplus in the years 1976-1977 ofa net saving at tender stage of £4million. That’s of course only one factor, there are other benefits which DLOs can bring and these have been pointed out to the council by the union, I\'l say more about those later. No its Tory party policy, they\'re against the decasualisation of the building industry. DLOs are an obstacle to this and also an obstacle to the’
Ted Knight, Leader of Lambeth Council.
A Labour
Councillor’s View
In the face of national pressure to wind down Direct Labour, Lambeth council has recently declared its intention to expand its DLO. In this interview Ted Knight, Leader of Lambeth Council since last May, explains why his council has taken this decision and why he is per- sonally of the opinion that all council building should be done by Direct Labour.
rs. The standards of work that we get from our DLO re certainly not inferior to private contractors and
e would say are much better. In fact quality control xercised by our own DLO ismuch greater.
farepLet
SLATE:
continuation of building operations. We are contin-
SLATE: Couldyoudescribebrieflythesituationin Wandsworth?
Councillor Ted Knight is
leaderofLambethCouncil WhatisyourgeneralviewoftheLabour uallyhereinLambeth,forexample,balingoutprivate
contractors because they have stretched their resour- ces beyond their capabilities. No-one has been aware of this because there is no accountability We are often in competition with people who are just attem-
and prospective labour parl-
iamentary candidate for
Hornsey. He was formerly
chairperson of Construct-
tonServicesatLambeth Ithinkit’sanecessarystep.Theprivatebuilding ptingtobuywork.Wedonotdothatbecauseweare ide,capitalworkstenderincompetitionwithoutside Forthepastsevenyearswehavehadalabour
Party’s proposals to nationalise at leastpart of the construction and materials industry?
AVID KRAUSE:
LOs operate as a service department on mainten-
The DLO in Wandsworth started in 1897 and is the oldest building works department in England.
TED KNIGHT
nce work with stringent controls by audit, the other
council and in May this year the Tory council took over.
Prior to the seven year period of labour control the Tories had run the DLO down to 200 and sold off equipment such as tower cranes, dumpers etc. at less than half their value. During the period of lab- our control the department was built up to a good viable unit of approximately 1000 which had shown asurplusintheyears1976-1977. When theTories took control in May they stated that their policy will be to completely disband the construction division and run down the maintenance division from 450 to approximately 150. The Tories have Stated that this time they will make aproper job of running down the department completely instead of leaving a basis for the next labour council to
SLATE:
What are the Tories’ reasons for closing down the DLO at Wandsworth?
isationinthecurrentsense.Iamnotinfavourof manyinstancestothedisadvantageoftheDLO’s. idalessartificialdivisionbetweenourbuildingside STAN BUSH:
merely a bureaucratic change of ownership but want We would hope that a nationalised building corpor- idour architects. We are looking in anumber of Its purely Tory policy, its certainly not that we\'re
D KNIGHT:
awhole. Idonotmyselflookforwardtonational- momentisthattheopentenderingsituationworksin elookforwardtoagreaterdegreeofcooperation
Ihave no strong reservations about the proposals as
TED KNIGHT:
Ifavour DLOs because froma local authority point
of view because they are accountable to the elected
members and to the ratepayers. We are able to have
a flexibility in our building programme by using DLOs hot only with elected members but with residents and we are not subject to outside market forces. We
have suffered extensively in this borough over the
last ten years due to the failure of private contract-
AAVID KRAUSE:
LATE:
‘ould you prefer DLOs to be organised as
o5
any of us would like to see the eventual kingofcouncilarchitectsandworksdepart- builditupagain.
ents into design and build teams. Would ‘ou be in favour of such a development?
lydo. The building side should provide the practical Service. The architect should perhaps spend more time Onthe first part of what he has to do in consultation
associations sc that design standards more and more meet the requirements of the people.
ct
at Wandsworth
ab
Stan Bush, Wandsworth DLO shop Steward.
he local authority has the immediate facility of a ge labour force to meet any emergency that might ise. They are*able to give a 24-hour emergency rvice. We have something like 50,000 works orders year going through and you could never get a priv-
Extracts from an interview with Stan Bush heating fitter and full time conyenor for UCATT, Wandsworth Borough Council DLO in which he describes the Tory Councils efforts to disband the DLO at Wandsworth and discusses the implications of this type
ite contractor to meet that situation.
of action in the context of CABIN’s cam- , paign.
.Service departments (e.g. architects who charge the council the cost of the service)
ir as
.trading departments (who operate profit
and loss like a contractor)
Pee a CORPORATION 1139
SLATE:
What action are you taking to fight the Tory council’s policies?
STAN BUSH
Nine weeks-ago we shut down the George Wimpey site in Battersea which employed approximately 80 men. We had definite evidence that they were em- ploying lump labour. There were only two lads there who were directly employed by Wimpeys al the rest were subcontractors using lump labour. We\'d lost that tender by 5%. Its only by using lump labour that private contractors could have got the tender. We know for a fact that by working under the same conditionsasDLOsprivatecontractorswouldhave to raise their prices by some 30%. :
Eight weeks ago we shut down aJ L Eve Construction job in Garrett Lane, Tooting. This was exactly the same principle again, we lost the tender by some
14% and then we find out they\'re using lump labour, the bricklayers and groundworkers were lump labour. We\'ve shut down these sites by DLO mass pickets using 200-300 workers on the gate until they remove the subcontractor and abide by the working rule agreement.
We\'re fighting for our own jobs with our own labour and at the same time not stopping any of our own jobs. To stop our own jobs would be playing into the hands of the Tory council.
SLATE:
Are you getting support from any of the public sector unions?
STAN BUSH:
The GMW pledged support they’ve got some 3000 manual workers on the council. NUPE haven’t been in contact. NALGO had a ballot for strike action by al the white collar workers employed in the building works, but it turned down strike action. However, they have offered support in other areas such as not supplying work to the private contractors and with- holding payment for work done.
We also get support from workers on private sites. At the Wimpey job in Battersea on the first morning of the picket there were some 20 lads from a local Fairweathers site who are 100% against the use of subcontractors lump labour on any site.
SLATE:
What further action will you be taking in the future?
STAN BUSH:
Afortnightagoatafulcouncilmeetingwegavethe WhataretheUnionsdoingtocampaign namesofthreecontractorstotheleaderofthecouncil forthesurvivaloftheDLOs?
We\'ve given him 14 days to remove these contractors
off the tender list. We had written and signed state
ments that one contractor approached directly em-
ployed workers from the council asking them to go
sick and work for them on a cash in hand basis, evi-
dence that one was actually using council labour by
this method and that the other was using lump labour: |there has been the growth of what we call rank and
Rank and file building workers have responded to the threat to the DLOs by enhancing \\their organisation to campaign for a growing awareness of the importance of Direct Labour: to their fellowworkers. CLAWS (Confederation of Local Authority Works Stewards) was set up just over a year ago to do just this. Here SLATE interviews the Chairman of CLAWS Peter Carter.
file organisation. Especially since the growth of
CABIN we’ve had to develope acampaign of
explaining to workers within the local authorities,
the difference between working within DLOs and
working for Wimpeys, Bryants, Laings or any other
of the major contractors. So we\'ve had to develope
the process of consciousness raising. And we\'ve
arranged lots of meeting al over! Britain| we\'ve
formed an organisation called CLAWS, which isa
national organisation set up to defend the Direct
Works departments. It was set up two years ago.
CLAWSpublishesitsownpaper‘DirectWords’; seniorUCATTshopsteward
For All
SLATE
Why do trade unionists in thebuilding industry support DLOs?
PETER
Well, the first thing to say is that it offers a far more secure employment for our members than employment within the private enterprise system. Trade unionists have long fought for nationalisation of the constructio industry, and the Direct Works is, inprinciple,
the beginnings of that process. The Direct Works departments work for the community and trade unionists are very interested in their members using their labours in a socially useful way for the servicing of the community, by doing maintainance work and building houses for people, and not for profit.
Certainly from a trade unionist point of view we\'re very pleased that local authority direct works departments aren’t involved in the construction of office blocks or environmentally harmvul projects.
the point is that with the direct works, we, ts Ihave said, haye got public ownership inembryo, very successfully in may parts of the country and for
trades unionists within them not only do we have decent pay and conditions, but, also, ifyou wotk for Direct Labour you stand a better chance of living a lot longer because the accident rate is far lower than that in private enterprise. Direct works train the vast majority of apprentices for the industry and, in additio)
take their quota of physically handicapped people. So| there! you see you\'ve not only just got ajob bu
you\'ve got ajob where you can use your labour in a useful way, along with acommitment to the community. Within that commitment, of course,
the direct works departments are sympathetic towards the trade union movement and trade unions can therefore grow and develope. Their consciousness
can be directed over a whole range of social issues because of the continuity of employment that is associated with working in these departments,
whereas, under private enterprise, as is well known, continuity is a very rare occurence.
My name is Peter Carter. I am a bricklayer by trade, a member of UCATT Midland Regional Committee, and a
SLATE
the other hand we have to build these hospitals and pay al sorts of things for care, asa direct result in the first place of the money not being invested in a proper type of enviroment for people to live in. So, in my view you can’t have housing for profitability.if you are going into the profit market, and you\'re taking on housing, then you\'re creating slums of the future, and you\'re turning people into animals as we see can happen with the type of architecture and buildings that have beenbuiltinordertohousethepeople.So,Ithinkit shouldbeasocialserviceandnotbeontheprofit
PETER
Well, first of al, we realised from bitter experience, that if the leadership of the unions are left to their own devices they produce the opposite effect to what their members desire. So, over a period of years,
Direct Works isthat itaffords every opportunity for the workforce, Labour councils, architects,” planners, tennants, the community in general, to be able to form their organisation within the framework of it in order to decide such issues aS high rise flats; to decide to {insulate buildings with 4 inches instead of 2 inches of
has joined with tenants, MPs, councillors, environ- -mental groups and so on in a campaign to combat the attacks being made on Direct Works departments
The third point is that we are really getting into
action now. For instancei,n the authority where I
work, Sandwell, the Tories have come back into
power and have given away 200 modernisations.
They took these modernisations of the Direct
Works, put them out to tender and only last night
we were told that Wimpeys have got the 200
modernisations. They have never done any
modernisationbefore..TheirMImanagersaregoingto community? the the Direct Works lads on the job and asking them how
at Sandwell DC public works division.
it operates and so son. On topof that they put in a
tender figure of £7200 for modernising whereas the
Direct Works were doing them for £6300. So, you
sec, these are the sort of things we are bringing
together. We are having ajoint demonstration with
tenantsagainsttheCouncilaroundthetheme*Hands large,justtodispelanydoubtsaboutDirectWorks,
of the Directs’ This is telling the Tories, of course, ‘Hand back the modernisations’, ‘no contractors in the borough’ and ‘end the sale of Council houses’. These are the four demands and the Labour Party, the workers and the tenantsare jointly inyolved in this demonstration. And we do hope, of course, eventually our national leaders will get up off their arses and call, as many branches have asked them to for a national demonstration and lobby of Parliament as soon as it reassembles. Those are the sort of th that we are doing. Its not an easy task because the local authority workers have been the least active
in terms of struggle in the building industry, as in the 1972 strike, when the local authority workers never came out. This has been the regular pattern over the years. The struggle has always been from the workers employed by private enterprise. That isnow beginning to cahnge. This is an important change because we are having to develope much more of a political struggle. Its not just a question of wages and conditions.Whenyouarefightingyourlocalauthority you\'refighfortainenwgwayoflife.Youtrefighting fortheindustrytobepublicallyowned.Therefore raising the workers’ consciousness is our prime task, which cannot be done’jover night.
SLATE
What do you see as the future potential for DLOs? What principles should they be based on?
their tenders are far cheaper and of a far better standard of workmanship than private enterprise
SLATE:
you anything to say on the point that at the moment they compete with private con-
Have
tractors on the same kind of profit basis; do you feel that’s the right way to approach it;
or should
they be seen more as a service to the
Yes, well there are two points here. On question of modemisation and maintenance, there is very little open tendering with the private con- tractor. The tendering for work is mainly done on the new building, e.g. houses, schools and so on. There is no tendering for maintenance and by and
The second point is,like the health service,hospitals, education and so on, housing should be a social service. The built enviroment should be a right of thepeople. After al, the works of William Morris, ‘useful toil versus useless labour’ is a classic example of how the built enviroment is so fundamental and crucial to people. Their daily habitat in relation to the way they develop. On the one hand you allow the system to build these cronic houses for cheapness, and yet on
market. thatthebeautyof The other point is, of course,
DLOs: Benefits
private sector obtaining more work, particularly when work isshort. The work they envisage the small maintenance force of around 150 doing is likely to be work that aprivate contractor would turn down, awkward non-profitable work or emer- gency work, that sort of thing.
Well, Ithink, the future issue facing the DLOs isone as the springboard for Nationalisation of the industry. At the moment the are 575 local authorities throughout Britain that are organised or have their own Direct Works departments employing up to
25% of the total workforce in the construction
industry, something like 220000 operatives. Now the beauty about this isthat itisnationalisation, or
public o\' hip, in a very decentralised way. its not over centralised like the Gas Board and the
Electricity Board. Here you have public ownership that is locally controlled through democratically elected councillors, apublic ownership that is accountable to the public at large. Direct Works, at the timeof local elections, usually becomes abattleground between Labour and Tories interms of the rates and al that sort of theing. So yo have a public forum as wal around the Direct Works.
They are publically accountable. The books are there for people to see and they are answerable to the community. This is the type of nationalisation that Ithink we should be developing.| That is, locally based, ‘small isbeuatiful’ asthe saying goes, rather than the big, over centraliesd type of nationalisation that we have got at the moment.
Claudene Eccleston, aplum ber, is one of four women tradespersons working for Camden DLO.
skilled, having a craft, having tools brings men much nearer to nature. The relationship with nature is so important. That gives them, in the proper conditions, the ability to learn the appreciation and the relation- ship between al the beauties that this system has destroyed which we should be working to bring back. And Ithink that with Direct Works there isno limit to what you can begin to develop.
Camden D.L.O. A Plumber’s View
SLATE
How many women work for Camden Direct Labour Department, and how much contact do you haye with them?
C LAUDENE
There are four of us; two carpenters, a labourer and myself. We work at different depots. Some of us haye met because we are friends, but not through
any genorosity of Camden Council. Although the convenor’s steward has been making quite a lot of effort recently to try to organise a meeting of the four of us. Idon’t know what response he’s had from the Management.
But, Ihave been told by Management time and time again, that they don’t want trainees, and that Iwas forced upon them by the Union. The union are keen to employ more women in the building department.
SLATE:
What do you think the main differences are between working for Direct Labour and pri- vate enterprise?
CLAUDENE:
Iworked for a private firm as a painter and decor- ator. Iwasn’t treated any differently by the men on site. Igot into the job alot easier than Idid into this one. The only differences were the working condit- ions — safety-wise it was rediculous. You were ex- pected to work on very dangerous scaffolding. There was no union, itjust wasn’t tolerated. There were little perks like long tea breaks, turkey’s at Christ- mas, that kept people anti-union. Although the money was excellent.
In terms of efficiency, Direct Labour is much like any other firm. There is proportionally more manage- ment and there is so much administration and bur-
eaucracy for ordering materials for example. But that is not necessarily the inefficiency of the foreman or whoever,it’s just acombination of things.
SLATE:
Are there any advantages, as a woman, to working for Direct Labour rather than a pri- vate firm?
Review of ‘Building with Direct Labour’ by the Direct Labour Collective.
“The profit and loss fallacy is not indulged in at Battersea. Igather that it was quite understood in Battersea that good materials, good and expeditious workmanship and proper conditions of labour were the points to be aimed at, and whether the eventual cost came out above or below estimate the comm- unity benefited thereby in the end.’ So wrote Mr. Williams, an architect, in 1898. Times have changed in Battersea, now Wandsworth, and for the first time in almost a hundred years the future of the Wands- worth Direct Labour Department is in doubt. Local building contractors, among whose number is the Leader of the Council himself, have found a willing ally in a new Tory administration pledged to dis- mantle the Wandsworth DLO.
In the late nineteenth century, recall the Direct Labour Collective(DLC), authors of “Building with Direct Labour’, the question of how local authority building was to be carried out was a key political question. Little changes. Faced with widespread corruption and inefficiency among private contrac- tors, the young councils were then as now, charged with the responsibility of fairly administering the vast proportion of building carried out with public money. The unpopularity among private contractors of the answer of the ‘Progressive’-controlled councils in setting up their own building organisations, is readily understoodye,t Battersea, for example, carried out al its building by Direct Labour for many years.
Recent propaganda attacks on Direct Labour Organisations by the building trade employers fed- erations are no more than an updating of a struggle which is as old as local authorities themselves. The sharp decline in private sector orders for building is the underlying reason for the employers’ present campaigns argues the Direct Labour Collective, be- cause ‘in simple economic terms, they want more work’, and that means local authority work. The demise of the DLOs would bring twofold benefit to the private sector: they would get the moderate
paign against Building Industry Nationalisation)
and its forerunners that DLOs are less efficient and more expensive than private contractors are squarely rebutted with extensive empirical evidence no less particular than that used by CABIN. The contrac- tors argue that competitive tendering is the best way to ensure efficiency and value for money in building To the contrary argue the DLC the principle effects of the contracting system, discontinuity of work and the pricing of tenders according to the market for work and not the cost of production results in a steadily decreasing quality of building and reliabil- ity of programme and a worsening of conditions for building workers.
CABIN’s campaign against the concept of any form of public ownership in the construction indus- try has raised the question of the comparability of the two sectors. Many of the defenders of Direct Labour have responded by accepting the contractors’ definition of accountability, through the market, the tender sum and the administration of the building contract, and urge the transformation of DLOs into council-owned contractors, so making it straight- forward to prove their competitiveness and value for money. Such achange would, however, destroy many of the potential and actual advantages of a Direct Works Department allocated work directly and charging for it at cost.
Submitting the DLOs to similar sorts of conditions as exist in the private sector would result in the same low standards of workmanship and conditions of employment as persists in the world of the contrac- tors. But, however,reassuring the principles of Dir- ect Labour, the problems of organising work where the profit motive is supplanted by concepts of qual- ity and service are immense, witness the occasional scandal that emerges from the Direct Works Depart- ments. This question is too large for even an exten- sive and well conceived book such as ‘Building with Direct Labour’ to tackle, but aquestion that must
be high on the agenda of workers throughout the construction industry.
The Direct Labour Coll- ective is a group of people working on Direct Labour and the building industry because of the current importance of this pol- itical issue for the labour movement.
The Direct Labour Coll- ective :Building with Direct Labour :published by the Housing Workshop of the Conference of Soc- falist Economists (CSE): 116pp, illustrated
price £1.75(incl p+p) from CSE, 55 Mount Pleasant, London WC]
or 65p for orders through Trade Unions ete.
Claudene Eccleston, Camden DLO plumber.
the ones who decide whether or not they like you. They assume that the men won’t like you. I’m more of a threat to the Management than to the workers. Most of the men welcome women in thebuilding trade, as long as it’s not their wives or girlfriends.
In the intensifying propaganda battle now raging over the future of the DLOs the DLC’s new book provides insight into the way that the Construction Industry is organised and its current crisis as well as a multitude of potent arguments useful for support- ers of Direct Labour. The claim of CABIN (Cam-
insulation, contributing to energy saving: to decide SLATE:
REVIEW:
thetypeofopenspace,tres,necessityofwater,nurse-Yn 4+made you decide towork forCamden ries and so on. The many things that go up to making Direct Labour?
the enviroment.
The other point which is even more important to me CLAUDENE:
isthequestionofthebuildingindustrybeingrelatively J)4socialist,andcertainlybelieveinDirectLabour. labour intensive and stil retaining its craft skills. You If Thadn\'t have got ajob with Camden Iwould have knowyoucanlookatanyotherindustryinBritainand appliedforajobwithanotherDirectWorksdepart
the skill has gone. Its been taken over by machine. But ment. When Itook up plumbing Irealised Ipreferred
in the building industry, less than it was thirty years ago maintenance work, you know. I really had in mind thereisstilanelementofcraftandart/andskilllandlits hospitals,schoolsorthecouncil.Thereweren’tan
that we need to build on. We need to retain that, to im- incredible number of vacancies when Ileft my TOPS 9 prove that, because the contribution one makes towards training course. Ithink Imust have applied for fourty thebuiltenviromentisverymuchdependentonones jobs,altofirmswithvacancies.Theyalturnedme
counter. |
C LAUDENE:
At the moment, the Council have a scheme whereby
if you have worked for two years continuously you
are entitled to four weeks maternity leave, and your
job is kept open for you. It’s obviously different for
women working as typists thanif your on a building
site until your eight months pregnant. So, obviously
maternity benefits are worth less to women builders
in the long run. None of the private firms Iapplied to
offered this. But, then, they had never employed women. percentage of Local Authority new and much larger women most of them.
The men on site accept me, andarevery friendly.
They are protective — in certain ways over protect-
ive, but at least that is positive. The Management are
information
proportion of maintenance work handled by the DLOs, and ,more important, they would be free of the checks on their tender prices that the DLOs’ costs offer.
own dability|and skills to make that contribution. Being down, including Camdert initially. Idon’t know why.
Claudene Eccleston, aplum ber, is one of four women tradespersons working for Camden DLO.
SLATE
How many women work for Camden Direct Labour Department, and how much contact do you have with them?
C LAUDENE
There are four of us; two carpenters, a labourer and myself. We work at different depots. Some of us have met because we are friends, but not through any genorosity of Camden Council. Although the convenor’s steward has been making quite alot of
ator. Iwasn’t treated any differently by the men on site. Igot into the job a lot easier than Idid into this one. The only differences were the working condit- ions — safety-wise it was rediculous. You were ex- pected to work on very dangerous scaffolding. There was no union, itjust wasn’t tolerated. There were little perks like long tea breaks, turkey’s at Christ- mas, that kept people anti-union. Although the money was excellent.
In terms of efficiency, Direct Labour is much like any other firm. There isproportionally more manage- ment and there isso much administration and bur- eaucracy for ordering materials for example. But that is not necessarily the inefficiency of the foreman or whoever,it’s just acombination of things.
SLATE:
Are there any advantages, as a woman, to working for Direct Labour rather than a pri- vate firm?
C LAUDENE:
At the moment, the Council have a scheme whereby
if you have worked for two years continuously you
are entitled to four weeks maternity leave, and your job is kept open for you. It’s obviously different for women working astypists than ifyour on abuilding site until your eight months pregnant. So, obviously maternitybenefitsareworthlesstowomen builders
in the long run. None of the private firms Iapplied to offered this. But, then, they had never employed women women most of them.
The men on site accept me, andare very friendly.
They are protective — in certain ways over protect-
ive, but at least that is positive. The Management are
the ones who decide whether or not they like you. They assume that the men won\'t like you. I’m more of a threat to the Management than to the workers. Most of the men welcome women in thebuilding trade, as long as it’s not their wives orgirlfriends.
Claudene Eccleston, Camden DLO plumber.
REVIEW: isthequestionofthebuildingindustrybeingrelatively I\'masocialist,andcertainlybelieveinDirectLabour.
insulation, contributing to energy saving: to decide
the type of open space, trees, necessity of water, nurse- What panda you decide to work for Camden
ries and so on. The many things that go up to making the enviroment.
Direct Labour?
The other point which iseven more important tome (7atpENR:
counter-_
labour intensive and stil retaining its craft skills. You
the built enviroment is very much dependent on ones own ability|and skills to make that contribution. Being skilled, having a craft, having tools brings men much nearer to nature. The relationship with nature is so important. That gives them, in the proper conditions, the ability to learn the appreciation and the relation- ship between al the beauties that this system has destroyed which we should be working to bring back.
And Ithink that with Direct Works there isno limit to what you can begin to develop.
If Ihadn’t have got ajob with Camden Iwould have
jobs, al to firms with vacancies. They al turned me down, including Camdert initially. 1don’t know why. 7 But, Ihave been told by Management time and time again, that they don’t want trainees, and that Iwas forced upon them by the Union. The union are keen
to employ more women in the building department.
information
SLATE:
eee Ee Whatdoyouthinkthemaindifferencesare
Review of ‘Building with Direct Labour’ by the Direct Labour Collective.
“The profit and loss fallacy is not indulged in at Battersea. Igather that itwas quite understood in Battersea that good materials, good and expeditious workmanship and proper conditions of labour were the points to be aimedat, and whether the eventual cost came out above or below estimate the comm- unity benefited thereby in the end.” So wrote Mr. Williams, an architect, in 1898. Times have changed in Battersea, now Wandsworth, and for the first time in almost a hundred years the future of the Wands- worth Direct Labour Department isindoubt. Local building contractors, among whose number isthe Leader of the Council himself, have founda willing ally in a new Tory administration pledged to dis- mantle the Wandsworth DLO.
In the late nineteenth century, recall the Direct Labour Collective(DLC), authors of “Building with Direct Labour’, the question of how local authority building was to be carried out was a key political question. Little changes. Faced with widespread corruption and inefficiency among private contrac- tors, the young councils were then as now, charged with the responsibility of fairly administering the vast proportion of building carried out with public money. The unpopularity among private contractors of the answer of the ‘Progressive’-controlled councils in setting up their own building organisations, is readily understoodye,t Battersea, for example, carried out al its building by Direct Labour for many years.
Recent propaganda attacks on Direct Labour Organisations by the building trade employers fed- erations are no more than an updating of a struggle which is as old as local authorities themselves. The sharp decline in private sector orders for building
is the underlying reason for the employers’ present campaigns argues the Direct Labour Collective, be- cause ‘in simple economic terms, they want more work’, and that means local authority work. The demiseoftheDLOswouldbringtwofoldbenefit to the private sector: they would get the moderate percentage of Local Authority new and much larger proportion of maintenance work handled by the DLOs, and ,more important, they would be free of the checks on their tender prices that the DLOs’ costs offer.
In the intensifying propaganda battle now raging over the future of the DLOs the DLC’s new book provides insight into the way that the Construction Industry is organised and its current crisis as well as 4 multitude of potent arguments useful for support- ers of Direct Labour. The claim of CABIN (Cam-
paign against Building Industry Nationalisation)
and its forerunners that DLOs are less efficient and more expensive than private contractors are squarely rebutted with extensive empirical evidence no less particular than that used by CABIN. The contrac- tors argue that competitive tendering is the best way to ensure efficiency and value for money in building To the contrary argue the DLC the principle effects of the contracting system, discontinuity of work and the pricing of tenders according to the market for work and not the cost of production results in a steadily decreasing quality of building and reliabil- ity of programme and aworsening of conditions for building workers.
CABIN’s campaign against the concept of any form of public ownership in the construction indus- try has raised the question of the comparability of the two sectors. Many of the defenders of Direct Labour have responded by accepting the contractors” definition of accountability, through the market, the tender sum and the administration of the building contract, and urge the transformation of DLOs into council-owned contractors, so making it straight- forward to prove their competitiveness and value for money. Such achange would, however, destroy many of the potential and actual advantages of a Direct Works Department allocated work directly and charging for itat cost.
Submitting the DLOs to similar sorts of conditions as exist in the private sector would result in the same low standards of workmanship and conditions of employment as persists in the world of the contrac- tors. But, however,reassuring the principles of Dir- ect Labour, the problems of organising work where the profit motive is supplanted by concepts of qual- ity and service are immense, witness the occasional scandal that emerges from the Direct Works Depart- ments. This question istoo large for even an exten- sive and well conceived book such as ‘Building with DirectLabour’totackle,butaquestionthatmust
be high on the agenda of workers throughout the construction industry.
The Direct Labour Coll- ective is a group of people working on Direct Labour and the building industry because of the current importance of this pol- itical issue for the labour movement.
The Direct Labour Coll- ective :Building with Direct Labour :published by the Housing Workshop of the Conferencoef Soc- jalist Economists (CSE): 116pp, illustrated :
price £1. 75(incl p+p) from CSE, 55 Mount Pleasant, London WCI
or 65p for orders through
Camden D.L.O.
between working for Direct Labour and pri- vate enterprise?
A Plumber’s View CLAUDENE:
Iworked for a private firm as a painter and decor-
effort recently to try to organise a meeting of the
four of us. Idon’t know what response he’s had from the Management.
LATE:
know you can look at any other industry in Britain and applied for ajob with another Direct Works depart=
the skill has gone. Its been taken over by machine. But ment. When Itook up plumbing Irealised Ipreferred
in the building industry, les than it was thirty years 480 snaintenance work, you know. Ireally had in mind j there is stil an element of craft and artland skilllandlits hospitals, schools or the council. There weren\'t an
that we need to build on. We need to retain that, toim- ;--redible number of vacancies when Ileft my TOPS prove that, because the contribution one makes towards training course. Ithink Imust have applied for fourty
feminism &
architecture
THE FEMINISM and Architecture Group has had a fantastic response from women aloverthecountry.Todatewehavea contact list of over 90 people, mostly women
Several women in the group got togeth- er to produce a panel for the exhibition put on by the International Union of Wo- men Architects in Paris at the Centre Pom- pidou. The panel caused a stir on the op- ening day as it was virtually the only one of its kind at the exhibition. Many people expressed enthusiasm and hoped that more panels like ours might appear in future ex- hibitions.
Atageneralmeetingofthegroupon the 31st. August it was decided to set up issue groups on the feminist approach to design, the design and build cooperative, education, and psychology and spatial perception. The aim is for each group to haveitsownsmallermeetingsandtopro- duce discussion papers to be presented at open meetings
The education group isproducing a video to show to schools, and they will also be discussing al aspects of education from junior schools to technical colleges and schools of architecture and action that may be taken to destroy stereotyping of male and female roles
The design and build cooperative is well and truly off the ground having received
its first commission from Clapham Women’s Aid, to convert five houses into a women’s refuge for sixteen families and a playhouse which will provide creche and playgroup facilities not only for the refuge’s families but for families in the immediate neigh- borhood. The group will not just be dis- cussingthecurrentCWAjob butwillalso meet to discuss the future structure of the cooperative, the problems of unlimited liability, and the obstacles to setting up a
truly cooperative design and build practice. A general meeting of the Feminism and
Architecture Group was held on October 2nd. at which the constitution of the co- operative was discussed. The discussion was by no means final and further meetings on the subject are to be arranged. If any people are interested in joining in these discussions would they contact:
Sue Jackson: 703 0911 18
Ph 5SINANTEVEN
public design service group: latest moves
‘athe SLATER| |
z 5 = S
derstand that the RIBA are also submitting their own proposals. A full review of the PDS Group’s report ‘Community Architect- ure -A Public Design Service?’ will be prin- ted in the next issue.
Unionisation and the Consultants’ Offices
Rejecting criticism that they ignore issues in the private sector, PDS Group members inHaringeyhavegainedthesupportofthe local Trades Council in a bid to add a clause to Haringey Council’s criteria for the app- ointment of private consuitants. This clause would require consultants on the approved listtosignadeclarationthattheyallow their staff complete freedom to be members of trade unions. This, they suggest, will en- able architectural workers in the consult- ancies to appeal to both the Council and to the local Branch of NALGO in the event of victimisation for union activities. A progress report will be covered in the next issue.
Reorganisation in Haringey
Spare a thought for architectural workers in Haringey Borough Architect’s Service. Proposals produced by the Chief Executive for the reorganisation of the Department were voted out by the staff. At a series of departmental meetings the staff produced their own proposals for the reorganisation of their own department. These are curr- ently being considered by other Council Departments.
Reorganisation in Lambeth
The liaison group held an open meeting
on the Sunday morning. It was a brief :
chief aims is to make the Council’s services ‘more accessible and responsive to the needs of local people’. Local people, Councillors and Council staff have al been invited to contribute to the investigation.
PDS Group members and NALGO staff re- presentatiyes in the Department of Archi- tecture haye submitted a report which pro- poses a Council design service in line with the ‘Interim Proposals’ put forward at the PDS conference held last May.
With Ted Knight as Leader of the Council itmaybethattheproposalswillreceivea warm reception.
The findings of the Special Review Commi- ttee are not expected to be announced until next summer.
ae
example of the new French Architecture Sociale, all the rage on the Cote D’Azur this year and funded by an experimental programme under the EEC’s Common Agricultural Policy to channel investment into retirement homes for sheep. Says architect J-L. Demagogue, pictured in front of his hill-top, post modemism-
-style masterpiece: “ Designing for sheep is a challenging and rewarding new field for the, social architect. Their natural
social instincts make them appreciative ofthecommunal andsemi-communal
zones I like to design, and their docile
and undemanding natures mean that I
can experiment with advanced construction
techniques for the benefit of progress in the building industry.” M. De gue waspreviouslyinvolvedinthedesignof system-built high rise flats in the Ville Ennuieuse district just outside Paris
Footnote: French police are currently investigating an increasingly widespread form of fraud, poignantly dubbed La Moutonisme ( sheepishness )as homeless families roam the streets of larger French cities in flocks, on al fours, wearing sheep skin coats turned inside out.
Pernod-sur-Mer, France
BCaMb a
CPE i oI |
iBhi ke le\\O
~
ey eh
TNS
leeds group
forum
The topic of the Saturday session was the NAM constitution. Everybody felt that they wanted to get something sorted out
so that the annual congress would not be- come embroiled again in the anarchic, des- tructive kind of discussion that has taken place in previous years.
Ten people attended the Leeds Group Fo- rum-asmallernumberthanhadbeenex- pected, but nevertheless enough to provide a range of opinion. The Forum was held in the Red Ladder Theatre Building in the outskirts of Leeds. The building used to be a derelict church hall; it has been taste- fully conyerted with a great deal of care for use as a rehearsal space for the Red Ladder Theatre Group. Some of the Leeds NAM Group worked on this project in a ful time capacity, and it gave a good feel- ing to be meeting in a building which em- bodies some of NAM’s ideals of collective design/work.
Ittookussixhourstothrashoutaflex-
ible minimal constitution. This, we agreed,
would be changed as little as possible; we
also devised a set of ground rules which
could be revised as the Movement develops.
We were exhausted by the end of the meet-
ing, and could hardly stagger to a nearby | restaurant; however, we felt pleased that
we had managed to produce a document.
forum, but a productive and an enjoyable one. It would be good to see the move- ment hold more meetings like this.
Lambeth Council have set up a Special Re- view Committee whose task is to examine
THE PDS GROUP have submitted areport and make proposals for the overall reorganis- THE SLATER ON HOLIDAY
to Reg Freeson, in reply to his request for ation and running of the Council Director-
ideasoncommunityarchitecture.Weun- ateandCommitteesystems.Oneoftheir Ourillustrationshowsamostimpressive
vo
SULTS|
ITY IN THE ENV
CO
bds.tass
=
newearchitecture movement
$th coneress cheltennany
&
e -
feminists
&
alternative practice education
details: 9 poland st londonwt
building industry nationalisation
novnp Z,7A
Ap.
== cit
> (1%n 00[AA 2 u
: we aa?.,,>
—-
The PDS groun have continued to develop the concept of a Public Design Service, maintaining that local authority practice, if suitably devolved,contains the potential to initiate a publicly accountable form of practice, and held a major conference in April, in Birmingham. \'Community Architecture - A Public Design Service?\', a report recently submitted to the Minister of Housing, providing a detailed critique of the RIBA stance, will shortly be available.
Congress commences on Friday evening with introductions which set a context for the weekend\'s discussions, placing NAM into perspective in the profession and industry.
Should light relief be needed, you can always escape into the wide tree-lined streets, promenades and parks of Cheltenham, and enjoy its Regency architecture. Developed primarily as a spa town, taking the waters did not agree with everyone, however, as a tombstone in St. Mary\'s churchyard attests:-
\"Here lie I and my two daughters Who died from drinking Cheltenham
waters. We wouldn\'t be lying in these damp vaults.\"
If we had stuck to epsom
See you in Cheltenham. Book as early as possible please.
salts
Slate continues to grow in strength, providing an invaluable service to the movement, and a means of communication for all radicals in archiyecture and the building industry.
On Saturday the various issue group reports provide introductions to the workshops taking place during the morning and afternoon. After the plenary sessions the evening will be left free for informal meetings and get-togethers; an open Constitution meeting is already planned, and meetings for feminists and Trade Union members have
also been suggested.
Sunday morning will commence with reports from the Liaison, Slate and Constitution sroups, followed by a debate on the structure of NAM, no doubt centering on the constitution.
The Congress will be concluded on Sunday afternoon by the Annual General Meeting.
Workshop discussions are loosely organised under the headings of Education and Ideology, and Alternative Practice and the Profession, issues which have been under discussion in NAM for some time, directly or indirectly. The question of Building Industry Nationalisation will also be raised, Speakers from outside NAM will be invited. Thus the workshops are intended both to advance the level of discussion and information to date on NAM issues, and to examine future areas of work which may be undertaken within a NAM perspective, and links which may be forged with other groups.
A constitution for NAM will provide the central internal matter for discussion. Draft proposals and papers have already been circulated and have been the subject of the recent Leeds forum. A standing Constitution group will be formed during the congress, which will present a final draft to Congress at Sunday\'s debate on NAM structure.
This year\'s Congress is to be held in Cheltenham, at the School of Architecture, Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Pittville, Cheltenham, over the weekend 11th,11th, 12th November, a southern location being thought appropriate after previous years in Harrogate, Blackpool and Hull.
The conference fee will be £6.00, £4.00 for students and claimants. This fee covers conference documents, a free copy of the newly published Handbook, and meals on Saturday and Sunday.
Bar facilities and snacks will be available in or adjacent to the conference hall, throughout the congress.
Accomodation arrangements have been left more to the individual
than in previous years. An information sheet piving prices and locations of cheap local hotels will be included in the conference briefing, enabling you to book in advance, or on arrival. Alternative sleeping bag accomodation will again be available at a
nominal charge, but please book well in advance for this.
As the college is somr distance from the centre of Cheltenham, transport will be provided from the station on Friday evening and Saturday morning, and for the return on Sunday afternoon.
The Conference Papers will include papers for discussion and reports by the various issue groups on their past year\'s activities. In addition the 1978/9 NAM Handbook provides a concise introduction to NAM, and a survey of work undertaken by all issue and certain local groups.
Congress is central to NAM\'s democratic structure, the means by
which the work of issue groups is endorsed and tasks for the coming year determined. It serves to bring the membership together, to discuss and develop existing areas of activity, to introduce new issues and attract new members, and take care of internal matters by means of the Annual General Meeting.
Significant developments have taken place in several areas of NAM activity over the past year.
The ARCUK group have strengthened their representation on Council, and have produced suggestions for a new fee system, and changes in the Code of Conduct, in ‘Way Ahead\', in addition to their report to the IMononolies Commission, \'Do Not Pass Go\'. Both documents contain analyses of the implications that the Monopolies report and allied developments could have for the future of all salaried staff.
The Feminism group has developed rapidly, with regular well-attended London meetings, and the probability that a co-operative practice will emerge from this group.
NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT 4thANNUAL CONGRESS CHELTENHAM 78
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Undated';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 10/11';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Building Users Speak Out. Describes 4th NAM Congress in Cheltenham incl PDS Group article and comments on PDS Group Report to Minister of Housing';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = '
News and features of broad interest to ndustry and to the general public are ine-
jtment of each representative will be to t EDITORIAL
unattached
the Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK)
_“Presentatives have been nominated again along with five others and itishoped to
fi
Help fight the RIBA Gang of Forty Oo
|rae
wood user
, y
This is the first editorial that we\'ve written for SLATE -we thought it was time to say
standards etc. are only technical problems. But to people who use the buildings its apol-
Vs ‘ YZ. wy, NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, A network of 30 representatives has been A
unattached numbers supressed ?
NINE NAM affiliatedcandidates toallowanopportunityforotherNAM Wy A, SY gSS
SLATE ISTHENEWSLETTER OFTHE REPRESENTATIVES
publishedbi-monthlyandeditedbythe setupthroughoutschoolsandlargeprac- Wa Movement’sPublicationsGroup. ticesaloverthecountry.Theonlycomm-
know- xyTo A seatsupforelectionon penseGUetnelorwerFoumettine CG)aN
icals concerned with the industry and the environtient
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE is published
Group by the Publicati
unattached representatives on ARCUK.(One
per 500 unattached architects or part there of). In view of the much publicised drop
discriminates against the unattached = . Much ground has been gained via direct
lan Cooper 3
Latentone SLATEe
needs more workers, more
t year.Amongst
(Letters should be addressed to the blu ,moWiseations Writers,moreideasandmorerepsinorderPublicationsGroup)
prise. However, aclose reading of other issues raised in ARCUK theRIBAhavebeenthoseofinvestmentolicy
CS,
C
SS
old, rate; icoetc, Tenco
co.)
Byelaw’s definition of a member of the as
amember. It appears that, if the RIBA so
subscription may stil be counted asmem-
bers for the purposes of determining the strength of the Institute as their removal\"
from membership is at thediscretion ofa special RIBA committee. This directly affects the strength of the unattached as their numbers are calculated on the basis of those left on the register when members of the RIBA and the other minor bodies recognised by the 1931 Architects’ Reg- istration Acts have been accounted for.
Could it be that the RIBA is deliberately not removing architects, who fall into arr- ears, from their membership list in order
to suppress the true streiigth of the unatt- ached architects? To resign from the RIBA, it appears it is not just sufficient to stop paying the membership fees as many ‘ex- members’ believe but necessary to actually send in a formal letter of resignation. The means by which the numbers of unattached architects are calculated is a subject that
it is hoped the unattached representatives will pursue during their next year on the Council.
The last year has seen agrowth in the influence of the unattached representatives following their first year which was largely, although not entirely, spent ‘learning the ropes’. Four representatives are standing down this year, a deliberate policy in order
(South African shares) a,nd job ydiscrimin- ation against non RIBA members. These and other issues which arise will be pur-
47; the NAM affiliated candidates by vot-
ing for them in the coming election and
thus help fight for a profession more open © and accountable both to the public and
withinARCUK.
aes
YD
I| | 1
yee
|
SLATE
2 POLAND STREET LONDON Wi
: !
I |
of the NEW ARCHITECTUTEaT
nego wilh tte Office of Fair Tradifg
Eddie
© Marion Roberts
/ MOVEMENT,9PolandSt.,LondonW.1,
e Roya i chitects HeROYaeacueOonasrerucectswhichisHould|beborneearlyinthisnew
Sue Jacks ~teat=
© !\\ &
CONTACT:
b
is F ary.
vote for
Tom Woolley
John Murray
i ‘
haye again been nominated for the affiliated members to gain a working
this
February z 5
During the past year they have called “TY = Bn eae se 3 or ARCUK to allow al architects equal
Although there was an increase in the i 5
« (01)-703-7775 totalnumberof4384wasnotenoughtooaofthepresentFicguitableaes,BobMaltz AS£
last year of 264 unattached architects the
Opportunity for ‘corporate advertising’ ir
lan Tod
5givemorethanthecurre”ntnineplacesforwh:ich-hepafas sa JohnAllan
repardinelarchitectsifces
Helis or
Walker
>
=
NW ONEWSNEWSNEWS\\’
ARCUK UNATTACHED r ELECTIONS
what we think we\'re doing ,so you might itical question. They realise that its their lack feellikewritingbackinlettersoranywhere_ ofcontrolovercommissioninganddesign else in SLATE. which makes those buildings itito failures, We
Thisissueisaboutpeoplewhousebuildings wantedthisissuetobewrittenbynon-profess. (all of us) not people who commission them, __ionals as much as possible to make that clear, build them or manage them. Designers tend to If this is a central issue for NAM, there are think that building problems of all sorts, damp, lots of ideas and views to be discussed, and questions of safety, sound privacy, low space SLATE is where that discussion can take place.
workersintheprofession,thebuilding receive5copiesofSLATEeverytwo
Eeeeugeoete
u
luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s
months and to try to sell 4 of them, return- ing £1.00 to SLATE
All this should help SLATE acheive a far wider circulation and become more truly representative of the views of rad-
to produce a better, larger and cheaper
Institute reveals a very loose definition of
ns On (RIBA) membership this came as a sur- small rodof soft~(clean
wishes,membersindefaultoftheirannualsuedvigorouslybythoseelected,sosupp-XS ~\\
[ifyouwouldtks£b0e smemboefrtheNewArchitectureMovenieatfilaltheformbelaondw send? | it together with 2 chequo/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00(
you\'re employed) or £3,00( if you\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street
| London W,1, |
SLATE may be a very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable toSLATE to
9 Poland Street, W1.
views and activities to the attention of the possible readership
| If you would like to recelve SLATE without joining NAM fill inthé form below and sead It togeth:: withachequeo/ndpero(spatyaablletoSLATE )for£2.50SLATE\\at9,PolandStrest,|
newsletter. If you would like to work for _ Printed by Islington Community Press
SLATE: becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon.
2a St Pauls Rd., London, NI, ‘
The copy deadline for the next issue is Friday 23rd February 1979
Trade Distribution by Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2
PROPOSALS from the Labour Party for the nationalisation of the building industry provided the topic for an evening of furious public debate when private sector mandarins and trade unionists met at London’s Conway Hall last Noyember.
Partial nationalisation of the industry proposed in Labour’s pamphlet ‘Building Brtitain’s Future’ was enough to rouse cries of ‘iniquity’ from representatives of the employers’ orgariigations, while the trade unionists insistedthat total natignalisation would be the only certain answer to the ils of the construction industry
The employers claimed that
— Nationalisation would remove profit
as an incentive to investors who would withdraw their supportand cause a slump in the industry. Because the Industry has such an important place im our economy, a slump would undermine Britain’s balance of payments and perpetuate the
inflationary spiral and associated
economic blight.
— Nationalisation would impinge upon
the intrinsic right of Man ,Free Enterprise.
The trade unionists replied that
— Nationalisation would benefit the worker by providing stable employment with complementary benefits
— Nationalisation would aid the creation of a system of building( direct labour Organisations )which would have far greater accountability
accountability
Nationalisation, despite its obvious
advantages over the present system, will not automatically provide an appropriate form ofaccountability whichmustbetowards
formore plasterers.
To put this strike in its context the re-
lationship between SC and Bovis should be made clear.
In 1968 Southwark building depart- ment was involved in a major financial scandal losing some £2million and called
in Bovis to act as management consult- ants. It seems possible that it was on the advice of Bovis that SC was set up in 1974 to act asa private entity. At the same time it was felt by the Council that Bovis had worked so well that they should be called in to manage SC. It should be pointed out here that this situation is unique.nowhere else in the country does a Direct Labour Organisationhaveacontractwithapri- vate firm to manage it.
SC has at present 3 major contracts to build new houses at Newington, Briming- ton and Consort sites. On the 3sites both direct labour and sub-contractors are em- ployed, but sub-contracting ismore exten- sive. On each site there are approximately 140 workers and I1 sub-contractors. This
VAS, occupier of buildings both in terms of RIVA practice
to government funding to keep themselves afloat in times of economic
economics and standards of construction
is streamlined,
uncertainty. Economic self-interest,
While the discussions about the pros and cons of nationalisation Tage on, the evening at Conway Hall was carried by the thetoric of the union speakers who Stirred the emotions of an audience mainly sympathetic tho their cause. Against this union barrage the anti-nationalisation camp, often making weak and ill-prepared statements, were reduced to the level of merely contradicting their Opponents.
The private sector have, for numerous years, fpund motivation in profit and accountability to share holders Satisfactory criteriaformanagingoneofBritain’s largest and most important industries. The unions’ answer is a system ofpublic bureaucracy called ‘nationalisation’, but, if there is an iuusue to be discussed in the construction industry, it must be one of
Page 4
I
however, is not the only cause.
Community
to the user/
iig a
ol. RUBBISH
contractors are attacking direct labour in order to secure public sector work for themselves, so private practice architects are looking
authority architecture departments and direct labour building organisations. One
of the problems of this approach was highlighted in a criticism raised by CAWG
~and one that is also connected with the current debates within NAM between the PDS and Alternative Practice groups. This
centres on the need for accessible, independ- ent alternatives to local authorities both
before, during and after the conceived transformation of these bodies. In the short term there isan obvious need for alternatives that can help focus local Struggles and force changes upon local authorities; in the longer term such independant bodies can stil play and important role in countering abuses by or degeneration within the public sector. How this can be achieved without posing one against the other, while stil retaining
STRUGGLE
SUPERFICIALLY the strike at the Newington Butts’ site of Southwark
Construction could be interpreted as a dispute over a small number of re- dundancies; but when the history of Southwark Construction and its ass- ociation with Bovis and Co. is re- vealed these redundancies can be seen tobe just a very small part of an attack on direct labour.
The strike began on | October this year as a result of a refusal to negotiate over re- dundancy notices that had been issued to 13 carpenters and 5 plasterers on 29 Sept- ember. Although it is Transport and Gen- eral Workers Union and the Union of Con- struction and Allied Technical Trades
out paying tax or insurance. Because work is done for a set sum usually it is carried
out in the quickest time possible and dir- ect labour workers at the Newington Butts” site have on occasions had to rebuild walls badly constructed by sub-contracted labour.
The major formal union organisation
in SC is UCATT, all deductions are made
at source by the management but many aren’t even aware that they belong to a union. This is coupled with a hand in glove relationship between the management and union.
In June UCATT and NALGO were in- formed of the prospective redundancy of 180 direct labour workers and then in August a confidential report from SC sub- committee was leaked to trade unionists. It contained a detailed plan of reducing to zero al direct labour manual workers and running down plant by 1980. It is pres- umed that this plan was made on the ad- viceofBovis.
The men on strike at the Newington Butts’ site are direct labour workers who feel that because the private company Bovis is managing SC on a fee system, therefore hiring no direct labour them- selves but sub-contracting work out, this has been one of the causes of the weak continued onp 25
the change of heart?
The most obvious stimulant behind the
of our proposals still reflect the professional worse workmanship and less likelihood of ideology so central to al of our educational organised trade union activity. SC have and practical backgrounds. If we ‘take this openly admitted to having a ‘hire and fire opportunity, NAM will be able to develop _ policy with regard to employment. This its growing potential for posing an proctical is contrary to usual practice in a DLO. and democratic alternative.
R1IB.A.’s renewed interest in “Community Architecture” iseconomic necessity; there haslongbeenaneedforthistypeofservice to community groups, but now this need coincides with a disastrously low work load for private practice. Just as private building
Due to the contract system lump labour ie. self-employed labour may be taken on. Such workers are never unionised, work
the problems would be solved ifonly people
could afford our professional advice. Wouldn\'t schools then it is to be welcomed.)
it be niceif it were that easy! Other key problems relate to CAWG’s continued acceptance of the traditional ‘professional’ role of the architect; and in this context democratic accountability outside the construction process and the breaking of the artifical design/build barrier within it are of litle or no significance. These are problems to which NAM must also address itself more fully.
the central importance of the public sector, policy not to accept redundancies UCATT
is something which requires urgent thought ifwearetoeffectivelyinterveneingovern-
ment policy.
be based is architectural education. A karge number of case studies in CAWG’s report are centred on the schools, and if the R.I.B.A.’s recognition of these projects
hadinthiscaseagreedtotheactionby management. TGWU and workers had
ision. They also objected to the fact that while they, direct labour workers were being made redundant, sub-contractors were advertising in the Borough Job Centre
meansaless restrictive policy on the
It is in the similarity between the supp-
osedly ‘radical’ nature of the proposals and
some of our own policies that we can learn
most from this report; an examination of
these similarities can help us to assess which means that there is a high labour turnover,
In the counter-report mentioned earlier,
NAM’s Public Design Service Group argue
that a fully democratic community architecture
whines. BOVISINDLO.forafixedpriceandaspecificjob,with-
page 5
VSONE WSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS
NEWSWE\\WONE BUILDING |
Jan meintosh CIFLD
not only workers in the industry but also the users of buildings.
by public service or by private practice and it is unlikely to be met in the future unless radical changes are made.” These ‘radical changes’ take the form of central
If the debate successfully avoided the
importance, much as the confidential section remained much more
to protect CAWG from charges of being out of touch with community activities than to protect the individuals concerned from charges of fee-cutting,
Despite the report’s lack of substance itapparantly represents aradical departure by a section of the R.I.B.A. from its traditional, hierarchical approach to architectural practice. It “sets out the case for a Community Aid Fund to be established within the framework of the Government’s urban programme”;
arguing that “there isastrong demand for professional help to community groups which isnot being met adequately, either
for delivering the right goods at the right time; everyone knows that,
government funding to small scale private practices based in the locality and offering advice and seryices to individuals and community groups, both for actual building projects and for the development
of alternative, area-based plans. The proximity of these proposals to these traditionally beloved of the radical left begs several questions. What has produced
awakened asmall, but significant number of architects, and a far wider public, to the
just ask any young aspiring architectural!TM44equacies of the profession, many have
fe not been informed of any pending redund: ( One area in which sucha service could be ancies and opposed the management\'s dec-
FREESON GEi: CAWG
student. Somebody, however, must have forgotten to tell the R.I.B.A.’s Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG).
With much pleasure, therefore, those of Us connected with the much maligned Public sector, our counter-report on Community Architecture already produced watched CAWG’s inability to meet the deadline they themselves set for submission of their report on the same subject). I
am tempted to think that thisdelay Tesulted partly from CAWG’s embarrass- ment at having so little of any merit or
Originality to say on a topic of such
‘Teal’ issues of the industry’s dillemma, one speaker among the trade unionists at least was able to strike a relevant note. Though he clearly recognised thepresent predicament to be largely the result of
the private sector’s mismanagement, he went on to lay some blame on the unions for failing to recognise their profound responsibility to struggle to influence and change the course of the industry. Perhaps if they did, the political dogmas of nationalisation would be Te-examined more appropriate avenues opened up.
ent,wellorganisedandrenowned activistsofthelate’60’sonwardshave
attempted to come to terms with these inadequacies without confronting either existing economic, social and political relations within society or the role of the professional in maintaining those relations. The proposals of CAWG must be seen asa result of the sometimes contradictory, Sometimes complementary stimulants of economic self-interest and a somewhat naive liberalism.
Viewed in this light the deficiencies of the report become more obvious. It fails to identify the key problem of “community architecture”, that of access to and control Over resources (finance, land, materials, labour etc.) it gives the impression that al
unattached news:
generally dominates the first part of Council spectacular procedural contortions, meetings. Here the Council in exercise of it
its powers granted under Section 7of the
Architects Registration Act 1931 considers
cases of architects who have been convicted ofa criminal offence -the penalty for
which may be removal from the Register. Except in instances of “disgraceful”, as distinct from criminal, conduct -which are referred to the Discipline Committee (Section 7, (2) & (3)) -such cases are normally dealt with by the Council in ful session.
On this occasion halfa dozen cases were referred, the first and most substantial of which consisted of hearing representations from Mr F.D. Williamson, an architect from South Wales, who in October 1977 had pleadedguiltytotwochargesofcorruption. The case had involved a “landscape study tour” to Finland in which officials of Swansea Corporation had participated
at Mr Williamson’s invitation and partly at his expense.
The Council, who had already been furnished with compendious document- -ation was told by Mr Williamson’s solicitorofhisclient’s“distinguished career” and “deep professional commit- -ment”’ as factors to be weighed in
judging the severity of the conviction. After an hour of pleading, and a brief retiral of ‘defendant’ and Press during Council’s deliberations, the Chairman
users -the prime concern in a case where
50 people died.” Consternation. (The
RIBA who had formed squares for the
main battle were beginning to break ranks.) less numerous after several discreet depart- —\"Yes, Ithink that Principle One ismore
Hawser’s Hansard an Inside View
Court of the Star Chamber or the Mad
Hatter’s Tea Party? “The Mikado” or
. Impossible to say.) publication in the Sunday Times of an And so it came to pass, that the RIBA
“MuchAdoAboutNothing”?Itisdifficult pronouncedthesentence-“Severe
The next meeting was fixed for 14th March
to decide exactly which metaphor comes Reprimand” -and agrateful Mr Williamson nearest to capturing the distinctive ambience departed.
of the 187th Ordinary Meeting of the (Architect readers who have the mis- Architects Registration Council - the first -fortune to fall foul of Section 7 may care such meeting at which SLATE wasrepresented to be reminded that Section 9 provides a
For the uninitiated it may be of interest right of appeal against removal to the to note that ARCUK meetings are held in High Court of Court of Session, whose
the RIBA HQ at 66 Portland Place, (a symbolic detail that some have considered unfortunate), in an upper chamber bearing more than an approximate resemblance to 4magistrate’s courtroom -by no means inappropriate in view of the content of much of the proceedings. The honourary officers and Registrar are stationed impressivelyonthehighbench,the Chairman centrally enthroned onasplendid
chair, which might well be emblazoned with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit, though possibly Tamm arte quam marte could be a more fitting substitution. The clerks’ table
is placed in a central well, with the councillors
ranged around in apparently random positions, the press being adjacent to the door to
permit ready exit to the hot lines of Fleet Street or even elsewhere. As the minute
hand reached two o\'clock (1400 hours) andwithattendanceatalittleunder50,the chairman declared the 187th open -his gavel apparently mislaid.
THE HOUR OF JUDGMENT
order is final...)
sent to the Unattached, when they could
ITS A MAN’S WORLD
Conspicous by itsabsence from a shortnoteintheRIBAJournalfor November on the UIFA* exhibition
of women architects in Paris was any mention of the NAM Feminist Group\'s exhibit(seeSLATE9).Itismorethan ironic that the article goes on to bewail the small number of British exhibitors (the NAM Group and four individuals in all) whilst it ignores, in the NAM group, the only significant grouping of women architects in the country. Just another example of the way that women who
\\ organisetoexpresstheirideasand aspirations as women are ignored while those who accept patriarchal professional attitudes are lauded. Lncidentally ,of the four individual women exhibitors, two have partner-husbands, Innette Austn- Smith and Heather Hughes-Lomax.
* Union Internationale des Femmes Architectes
page6
important,” said Bil Allen. (A white haired
man, whose name nobody knew, thought
So too.)
—(Sotto voce) — “Tea has been ready for
three quarters of an hour”, someone
wispered to the Registrar.
—“Letusvoteontheammendment”,boome: Theloss,alas,isyoursgentlereader. the Chairperson, voicing the impatience of at The discussion on ARCUK secrecy, and least a two-thirds majority. freedom of information to the Press would —in favour 11. Against 35. certainly have been the most interesting —“The motion before us therefore reads...” and worthwhile part ofthe afternoon, and (The Registrar had nearly finished writing it would most probably have established the down)Thoseinfavour?48.Thoseagainst?Iproundrulesforthisandalsubsequent
Beneath the delicate clink of unmatched
the SLATER
MARXIST POISON
cups, and the muffled crunchingof soft biscuits, schemes were surely afoot, for when the meeting reconvened -noticeably
be represented by any registered person, Unattached or otherwise. Ah, but only Unattached were entitled to nominate explained the Chairperson. But how were non-Unattached to Know they could stand shouldn’t everyone get nomination papers persisted the hapless Mr Critchlow
(apparantly unaware that for the RIBA itsel the equivalent proposal would involve
advising the entire population of the UK
that they were eligible to be appointed
ARCUK councillors). Registeredpersons
were expected to know the regulations, repeated the Chairperson. who squandered
his last drop of patience to declare that as
far as the Unattached Elections were concericd no change of procedure was called for
for less than two minutes, still. an impress
gesture. The Registrar reported on the
-ures — the Chairperson announced that Item 4 on theAgenda, (Architects Disciplinary Proceedings Regulations 1976. Press Rules and confidentiality generally) was to be deferred, and that a paper submitted by the Chairperson for Council’s consideration was withdrawn.
Wewereintotheendgame. TheR (Three more hands had entered the chamber, reports. Moreover, after some spectacular tabled a list of the deceased. All stood
apparantly — or perhaps the Press had voted — jublic threats of court martials, following
quite unintentionally, through the initiative account of ARCUK\'‘s position on
of the Unattached, instructed a review of Summerland, the scratching of Item 4
J.CA.R. ~ the trans-Atlantic US /ARCUR ARCUK’s discipline procedures. (Christmas seemed all the more surprising. However. link-up. Mr Green, the D.O.L repres:
doubtless more anon. (“The Ides of March made a brief statement confirming the Bit are come” ...etc.) (Embarassed chuckles Govyernment’s rejection of the EL ¢ dratt
riddic: Q. Where is the longest distance between two points? A. ARCUK Council.) WhereamIanyway? It’stoohotinhere. It’s Sunday morning, and I’m at the NAM Congress.
But enough of this reverie...
The Chairperson had already lifted the bales and players had started for the samovar.
ONE LUMP, OR TWO?
panel, Finance & General Purposes, even the Unattached Councillors looked To judge from the 187th, the tea interval Professional Purposes... hungry.
at ARCUK assumes a tactical significance The single point of interest occurred
approaching the Final Test at Lords. Batting when an RIBA appointee — conspicuously
orders are turned upside down, bowlers are silent hithertoo —asked why nomination Hawser Tranmion scratched, the whole field might be replanned _forms for Unattached Elections were only
here,asChairpersondeclaresStanding Orders unsuspended.)
DOWNHILL RACER
directive. The Chairperson reported “no ne on the monopolies issue. and with papers already being pressed into brief cases. Ure last two itenis were carried by the distineti ARCUK affirmative grunt, which signifies that enough is cnough - if not more than
From now on, the 187th proceeded
briskly. The Chairperson of ARCUK’s
variouscommittesrosetopresenttheir 1979—anhourearliertoallowextraiju respective reports... Admissions, Board of time and as we filed from the chambhs Architectural Education, Education Grants Tnoticed that it was dark outside. and that
Keep your © sopen for this harmless looking little chap, hanging out in college bars and buying evervbody drinks: he’s after your money and, if you give him
the chance, your mind too. Who is he? George Cameron, the hired recruiting hand of RIBA Headquaters, pledged to implement Gordon Graham\'s ‘get ‘em young and keep
page7
(CIL:
Trunnion, on his most challenging assignment yet, brings this report direct from the ARCUK Council meeting of 13th December, 1978.
The quasi-judicial function of ARCUK
GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
Anyway, after sundry other cases of removal from or reinstatement to the Register had been heard, the courtroom atmosphere gave way to something more akin to the Debating Society of the Lower Remove. Two motions had been tabled by the fearless representatives of Unattached Architects, both referring back to the case of Mr J.P. Lomas, the architect involved
in the Summerland project, Isle ofMan,
at which SO people died. The unattached, concerned at Council’s reluctance even to “severely reprimand” Mr Lomas, who had been cleared of “disgraceful conduct” by the Discipline Committee, were proposing 4 motion of censure on theDiscipline Committee and calling on Council publicly
to reaffirm its faith in Principle 1 of the ARCUK code.
Caught between the Scyllaof s theUnattached,andtheCunha apparantly condoning innocent deaths, the main body of Council lunged into
i
Opposition to the Unattached’smotions crystallised in the person of Mr Philip Groves (ex-ARGUK chairperson) with Nadine Beddington in shrill support. With the ink stil wet, a third ‘composite’ motion was read out “sharing the disquiet regarding Case 122/1/76 (cryptic reference toLomas) and instructing the Honourary Officers to initiate a study into whether the Council’s disciplinary procedures require revision, reporting back to Council at the next
meeting.” “At the same time”, Mr Groves proffered, “this Council confirms its acceptance of Mr Justice Devlin’s definition of disgraceful conduct (cryptic reference to the Unattached motion and reaffirms (my
talics) .....(!) its absolute support for al aspects of the Code”.
But was this hydra-headed proposal really anammendment? Was itnot anew substantive motion? The Chairperson was inclined to think so.
—Perhaps it could be introduced if the original proposers would withdraw their motions.
—would they?
—no they would not.
—in which case was it not surely out of order, not having been submitted 24 hours prior to the meeting?
—yes, itwas.
The Chairperson offered to take the unprecedented step of suspending Standing Orders to allow the new motion to be considered ....(selective treatment?) ....No such accommodation had been offered at the last meeting in similar circumstances apparantly, when the Unattached had sought sought to put a motion from the floor.)
—But wouldn’t a vote be necessary to
suspend Standing Orders? (someone found
4copy)
—yes, atwo-thirds majority was required. —better vote on the original motions first hadn’t we?
~O.K. Number One: “This Council... formally censures....” in Favour ? 8 Against? 38. Numbef Two: “This
Council reaffirms its faith in Principal 1. ” In Favour? 10. Against? 35. (Funny, one person short in the second vote, though nobody had left the chamber. Apparently itisnotthepracticeofARCUK toaskfor abstentions in voting. Never mind -it’ll be tea interval soon.)
—now, those in favour of suspending Standing Orders? 45. Those against? 1. (The ghost had returned.)
The Registrar, who was stil endeavour- -ing to write it down, began to read out Mr Groves’ motion...
—“We propose an ammendment...” (The Unattached weren’t done foryet) (deafening groans)
—“We must especially emphasise our faith in Principal O;2e, being the only part of the Code giving an undertaking of an architect’s duty of care towards building
‘em policy . Cameron\'s tactics: infiltration and ingratiation. His purpose: getting architecture students into the RIBA.
Be vigilant! Besides the obvious charms of his expense account, Cameron ofa master of disguises, turns up where and when he is least expected, first in Building Design, where he was pictured in a smart suit and
nice boy’ haircut, Days later Cameron was spotted spending a suspiciously large sum of money on the bookstall at NAM’s Cheltenham Congress, sporting this time
@ ‘soft Marxist’ style perm and a pair of faded demins. Questioned during the Congress, Cameron admitted that the RIBA were paying his expenses but
ed that any report he might give them of the event would be purely on
@ voluntary basis. He had clearly been sent to observe and get to know the enemy before being despatched into the recruiting field.
(AM Intelligence say that this man ‘on is not Known to be physically
erous. If you do come across him the best way to deal with him is to ignore him they say.
USER SATSFACTION
Those who are still convinced that architecture has nothing to do with politics should spare a thought for Mario
Across
1. Force equal and opposite to N.A.M. ?(8) 5. Long for trendy furniture. (4)
9. Over
9. Over-publisize Oroglas? (5)
10. Deceptive appearances are the archi-
tect\'s speciality. (7)
11. Register the importance of 1931 (3,2,7) 13. Inverted snob. (3,3)
14, Schools of Architecture Council isa
failure if muddled about nothing (6) 17. Tedious outdated material lacking
gravity. (5,3,4,)
20. Capital !.if they bear fruit (7) 21. Ruling that sounds weak (5)
22. Beneath aTory resting place (4)
- Ruling that sounds weak (5)
23. Professional Purposes with no tone can produce adversary (8)
Deorsala whose only connection with the recent Red Brigade trials in Italy was that he designed the courtroom. That was close enough for the Red Brigade, however, who clearly appreciated the significance of both the layout of the courtroom and the connections of its architect and shot him. Wonder if Rod Hackney or one of his ‘community architecture’ cronies at the RIBA would have made a better job of
obscuring the power relations behind the legal system and designed a courtroom less prone to ‘user resistance’?
SAGS IN THE MIDDLE
Aficiandos of architectural cartooning cannot fail to have noticed that our very own Archi Tekt now has two rivals: Old Louis Hellman in the Architects Journal and now Murrayball’s new protege, the SAGS in Building Design. The SAGs are a pot-bellied, flat-footed, unadventuruous and unfunny breed who acquiesce in a
grumbling sort of way to the terrible indignity of having to work for another architect. Inspite of the cartoon’s subtitle “a Saga of the Many who Work for the Few’, it goes without saying that, just as in real life, the Many never get to encounter the Few over any real greivances. In fact, after several weeks of boring jokes about contractors’ claims, professors who are never in college and boring the wife with
Test your wits in the long winter evenings by trying this puzzle, which has been specially compilde by Hawser Trunnion
with a distinct architectural bouquet. Completed entries should be sent to SLATE, 9, Poland St., London, W1, by the end of February 1979.
For the author of the first correct entry to
be drawn from the sporranalife subscription to SLATE.
architecture, the Few have yet to put in
an appearance. Among the SAGS’ few endearing characterisitics is that they are
scared out of their wits by NAM, whose i headquaters a hapless bunch of the little fellows stumbled across the other week.
The two NAM members in the cartoon were were portrayed as two Red Brigade Style gangsters, berrets, stubbly chins and al
We print the frame in question below,
and the Slater would like to say that he knows who these two people are, but that the sight of large sums of money occaisionally has the effect of blurring his memory. Cheques payable to SLATE
WE ARCHITECTS HAVE A DUTY To HELP THESE...
4. Way of quarryihg slate, possibly? (6)
6. Fallow deerin official surroundings (2,1,1,1)
Q1,1,)
7. Royal rate of progress is simply
revolutionary (4,4)
8. Bread strike sounds like a problem in
Portland Place. Ugh! (8,2,2) 12, Type of President that is always
brooked (1,7)
15. It’s professional if disinterested, we\'re
Art Supermarket
Design role for Unions?
quatting Workers Collective
assured (7)
as
TRUNNION S TEASER
Origin of much of 1. across (1,1,1,1) 2. Freedom without the law . almost
arcane! (7)
3. One Monday it\'lcome perhaps (3,9)
w
19. Confuse trial to be reinstated (4)
Designing for Co-ops
Stephen
Hayward is a
post-graduate
student and a
Part-time lecturer
in Art History. at
East Anglia University\'s Sainsbury Centre
for the Visuial Arts in one of last years most highly aclaimed buildings, at least among
arch \\itects. What architectural critics seem not to notice, however, beside the intriguing form
and the perfect construction, is that the
building houses a working community of
students and teachers. For these people
the architectural masterpiece is less than Satisfactory, as Stephen Hayward explains.
the University of i
The Sainsbury Centre for Visus
b e for Visual Arts consists
East Anglia
ists in vlan of a simple rectangle. The exterior of the
ART SUPERMARKET
Perhaps the most serious inadaquacies are to be found in the offices and seminar rooms which are built entirely of grey stove-enamelled metal except for the entrance face which isglazed. Despite the assurancesofthearchitectitisimpossibletowork intheseroomswithout theassistanceofartificial lighting. Furthermore, there isno soundproofing
so that one is destracted even by the most gentle conversations of your neighbours -and as for lively discussions, the flimsy sheets of the partitions literally vibrate! The ventilation and temperature control are so inadequate that the University has had to issue fans in the middle of Winter. As regards the furniture in the rooms only the chairs and the pinboards work satisfactorily: the tables rattle
and vibrate when one is using a typewriter, the filing cabinets tip up when the drawer is opened and even the anglepoise lamps cannot be clamped onto the tables properly. The bookshelves were originally intended to be attached to the walls by magnets, but these proved to be too weak to prevent the shelves crashing dangerously to the ground when laden with books.
The potential absoluteness ofthis building
There are several more minor disabilities, but in order to remain within the limits of this short article it is necessary to examine the intentions of the architect towards the Art History Sector and to show how he has failed to meet, or just misunderstood, the basic requirements. The architect’s principal
aim was to create an impression of openess which he has gloriously achieved to the detriment of two of the
most important needs of any academic community —
privacy and tranquility. The Sector is overlooked on
one side by the Senior Common Room and on the
other by a part of the gallery, which is distracting for
both students trying to work in the central area and
for people in the glass-fronted rooms, the secretaries
who occupy the elevated podium are particularly
distressed by their exposed position. As regards
tranquility, the lack of soundproofing in the rooms
has already been mentioned; in addition noise invades
the sector from many angles, especially from the AS Senior Common Room and people going to and fro” x between the restaurant and the living area. The so- iN called white noise which issupposed to deaden A
irregular sounds isnot only ineffective, but isa ZN particularly unpleasant distraction in itself. aN
IGNORES USERS
building is covered with oblong corrugated metal
panels except for the two ends which are entirely
glazed. The interior is shrouded with Venetian O blinds and their appearance is tastefully reflected
in the carpet design which is composed of a grey
background enlivened by parallel lines of pin stripes ofa lighter shade of grey. About three-quarters of the surface area is devoted to the gallery (officially described as the Living Area), the special exhibitions area and offices for the gallery staff. The rest of the building is occupied by a restaurant, the senior Common Room and the Arts History Sector of the School of Fine Arts and Music. The Arts History Sector is situated between the ‘living Area’ and the
restaurant and it is the purpose of this article to examine how this part of the building meets the requirements of its users and, as it evidently fails
B
Works of art should be enjoyed as a pleasurable aesthetic
experience
Firstly, itisimportant to point out the simple
The walls - they are neither substance nor reality, for they are so ethereal and filigree that they must surely hide endless layers of magic apparatus
Page 11
>>>
The Art History Sector therefore isvery
nearly an unmitigated failure. To a certain degree this is undoubtedly due to lack of effective comm- sunication between the architect and the users. Itis impossible to discuss anydetails concerning the consultation proceedings as this would involve considerable embarassment. However, itis permissable to say that the discussions which took place between members of the Art History Sector and the architect were practically fruitless and the
general impression was that the architect was only interested in imposing and defending his designs instead of taking heed of the views and opinionsof the prospective users. Invitations were offered to Foster Associates to take part in seminars and to talk to the students about the centres — both invitations were declined.
This arrogance undoubtedly accountsfor the general incompatibility between the space and its
users’ requirements, yet most of thedesign faults seem to stem simply from lack of research into the functional as opposed to the aesthetic aspectsof the designs and do not.even live up to-the mechanistic ideals of the architect. The overall result is an extremely dissastisfied group of people who resent the spaces which they are forced to occupy-
to do this, to suggest some reasons for its short- comings.
Nor do I want to be pointed out the odd technical failings for in England we are beset by architectural Jeremiahs who will gleefully remind
you of drips, splinterings
or sweatings
The slide cabinets in the photography library
are another extraordinary example of incompetent design: the drawers jam and the white paint scratches easily. The shelves which support the ; photograph boxes bend beneath the weight, making it difficult either to remove or to replace the boxes on the lower shelves. ;
The lecturing facility situated in the living area is positively farcical. Itisinno way divided fromthe gallerywhichisopentothepublic,theslide ; projections are too faint and sound amplification has to be used because the acoustics are so bad.
The Art History sector provides facilities for 12 lecturers _,7 clerical members of staff, 2 technicians 178 undergraduates and 14 postgraduates. There
are 21 rooms occupied mainly by members of staff which flank either side of a spacious central area
lit directly from above and from the south -the louvres creating a pleasant dappled effect. This central area accommodates the general office and the photograph libra;rtyhe former isoccupied by one secretary and consists of a small open office surrounded by white stove-enamelled panels. The photograph library issunk slighly below ground
level with an elevated central podium where three secretaries work.
and numerous errors of design and construction, Some of which might appear trivial but which are equally exasperating to the user.
David Gee is the health and safety officer of the General and Municipal Workers Union
“ The idea of citizen participation is a little like eating spinach: no one is against it in principle because it is good for you ”’.
How can we devise user-participation systems that overcome the problems of communications between users and designers? Not all users are agreed and the time taken to make decisions can become excessively long.
Perhaps an area where the idea of participation can be effectively broached is against the backgroud
of the new Health and Safety legislation, argues David Gee, who goes on to urge control by workers over, among other things, the design and layout of the premises in which they work,
This article is an abridged and anotated version of an article which first appeared in the General and Municipal Workers Union Journal for December 1978.
As this year comes to an end, we will have produced about £140,00m of goods and services, but at a price of about 1,400 deaths from accidents and prescribed diseases, nearly 1 million reportable (i.e. 3 day )accidents and about 25 million minor accidents. Many other deaths, diseases and illnesses will also have been caused by work but they will have been missed by the official statistics. Health and Safety is about reducing this human price of production to as low as possible. That should be the aim of trade unions, and their safety representatives as the new year begins. But what strategy will be the most effective at getting us next year’s production atalowerhuman price?
must be provided that allows us to be human without harming ourselves. Otherwise we will fine that not only is work restricted to certain groups
of super-fit workers, but that the responsibility for remaining healthy and safe isput on workers. it becomes Our fault for not wearing protective equipment, or for failing to cope with risks, instead ofmanagements responsibilitytoprovideasafeand healthy workplace. We can accept that some risks will always remain, especially in the short term, but the present level of risk can be reduced significantly as the following comments from safety representatives show:
“T work in a school kitchen -it was designed to cause accidents. ”
“ The controls are at head height, and we fill up the fluid container here with a jug — the stuff just runs right down aur arms and gives us dermatitis. ” j
“Yes — we al complain of the noise from the cab but we can\'t wear muffs — they should make quieter cabs. \"
“Our new hospital is worse than the old — slippery floors, poor ventilation and lousy waste disposal systems, \"’
“Why don\'t they make filing cabinets that can’t tip over.”
“ We\'ve reduced the eye protection area by one
thirdjustbyredesigningthemachine ”
Workers and their representatives know that premises ,vehicles, machinery and equipment are often badly designed, and the cheapest and most effectivewayofeliminatingdangerisatthedesign
specification, manufacturing or planning stage. Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act obliges designers and manufacturers, suppliers and
importers to eliminate danger as far as reasonable practicable, from their products, before employers buy them. TRADE UNIONS, THROUGH THEIR SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES WILL;HAVE/TO ENFORCE SECTION 6BECAUSE
1. designers and suppliers could recommend that workers adapt to their products, instead of the other way round;
workers will have to use the products and may have a different view about the risks or discomfort that they are prepared to face;
.Workers with direct knowledge of the work will forsee hazards and problems that designers and suppliers won’t know about; and
employers may not exert enough pressure on their, suppliers etc., without a push from the workers who will use the products,
Itis not just Section 6 that needs enforcing. Any
ds
functions of a safety representative.
+
The awareness and co- operation of radical sections of the architee- tural profession would help to extend these rights and help enable trade unionists to be deliberately included in thedesign process inthe Suture.
This is where trade unions would be acting asidesign critics, and could have their own fully qualified professional designers to advise them how best to
feed back their views to the original designer.
If accidents and ill-health are to be reduced significantly then these risks ahve to beeliminated or reduced,
THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT !APPROACH TO HEALTH AND SAFETY IS NOT TO PERSUADE WORKERS TO AVOID THE DANGERS OF WORK BY BEING SUPER— HUMAN, OR ENCASED IN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, BUT TO MAKE THE WORKPLACE SAFE FOR ALL WORKERS.
It is human to be forgetful, tired, less-than-super- -fit, female, old or very young, below average Strepeth or height, or just not average in any respect, and work
Page 12
page 13
DESIGN ROLE FOR UNIONS?
“employers shall make available information about plans... and proposed changes insofar as they affect health andsafety. \"
“ Where there has been a substantial change in the conditions of work ( whether because of the intro- duction of new machinery or otherwise ) . safety representatives . shall be entitled to carry out further inspection...\"
(Reg 5(2) of SRSC Regs }
Good trade union organisation will be needed to use and extend theserights so that the trade unions are involved before decisions about new work are taken.
Danger, that is risk of injury, ill-health and death, is built into work when decisons are taken to:
— produce a certain PRODUCT or SERVICE with
particular MACHINES, EQUIPMENT, PLANT, SUBSTANCES housed in particular PREMISES and made to work by workers with SKILLS, INFORMATION, TRAINING and SUPERVISION.
“to investigate potential hazards \"is one of the
“employers shall make available . information about hazards from machinery plant equipment, processes, systems of work, substances . provided by consultants, designers, manufacturers, importers
Eee (Reg4{1)(a)OftheSRSCRegs)
(Reg 4(i)
(Reg 7(2) and Code of Practice para 6(b) from SRSC Regs }
decision about what is produced and how itis to be produced needs to be discussed and greed with the trade unions, so that risks can be eliminated at source. But how to we get involved in these
decisions? z
The Health and Safety at Wotk Act, the Safety
Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations, and advice form the Health and Safety Commission give us a good start. For example,
“What can be done to bring within the procedures for planning Health and Safety the cooperation of the workpeople themselves.””
(Advice to Employers — P16 :HSC)
> we SS
cis Bradshaw writes on 1 f the Slate
Community Centre before setting up at Tolmers Square, where it’s been for years. There they have enough space to store paper ,and have a dark room as well as a print room and layout room Because of not paying for the building, the init- ial financial outlay was small, the collective bought paper at auctions, they did building work,repairs andsetupadarkroom forthemselves.
They produce posters either with groups or by themselves which have wide relevance to inter- national issues. Because there.is no strong trad- ition in Britain for using posters for political purposes ,they have created their own distribution network. Theyarethinkingofnewwaysthat posters can be used and now want to start work- ing in other ways as well, for instance they have large Slide Library, have produced a magazine, are
page 14
page 15
Collective
Squattingasamovement isthemostpositive expressionofdirectactionbypeople whouse buildings. It ignores conventional economic and planning forces but is a response to peoples real needs in an immediate way.
Rather than talking about living in a squat, we thought that we would look at working/squatting instead, and in particular the Poster Collective
in Tolmers Square, to see what sort of things
are possible by direct action.
The Poster Collective has been together for
Designing for Co-ops
some years. It started in the Slade School of Art,usingthefacilitiesthere,thenmovedtoa aims.
*workingonafilm,andwouldliketoproduce leafletsthatcouldaccompany theposters.
Because they are not working with an estab- lished and accepted medium they think that it is essential that the posters should be cheap, and should remain easily available to people without much money. They don’t charge for labour -they have part-time jobs or are on the dole —so that the cost of the posters reflects only the use of materials andelectricity, etc, The fact that their overheads for the building are so small ,is absol- utely essential to being able to carry out their
Finding the building also meant that they could al work together ,rather than in an isolated way in houses or using other organisation’s facil-
aties.When they have to move, the date is unsure but probably in the spring ,they will undoubtedly have to pay for space. They want a larger space, where, perhaps, they could share with another politicallyorientatedgroup,andwherethey
can extend their work into different areas. At the same time, to keep down the cost of their work, they will probably have to work outside the collective more, to pay rent etc.
Squattingcanonlybeatemporyactivity,but a group which uses such direct action can estab- lish a solid basis from which it can continue to operate.
Membersoftenantcooperativesareintheunique positionofbeingabletohaveaneffectivesayin the way that their homes are designed, built and maintained. Architect Barrie Hurrell, points out how the situation of the cooperative tenaut differs from that of say a council or housing association tenant, describes how the design worker at Solon Cooperative Housing Services. set out to incorpor- ate the individual and collective requirements of tenant cooperative members into their designs
and sets down his conclusions and the Design Group’s experiance of several years of designing forco-operatives.
Traditional bureaucratic wisdom has itthat tenant groups will never be sufficiently adept at manage- ment and making decisions to act as collective clients for their own housing developments. Their individual and collective needs as tenants have tended to be subordinated to the needs of allegedly more efficient local authorities and housing assoc- iationsforhousingthatisdesignedprimarilytofit the requirements of management and maintenance methods. Tenants needs are acknowledged only as statistically derived norms.
Experiance in tenants and housing cooperatives show,however,thattenantsgroupsarecapableof formulating their own requirements and manage their own completed housing. The funding system for cooperatives is basically the same as for other forms of government-funded housing and this means that housing projects must stil be completed in the same economically viable period whether it’s to accomodate the brief of a small professional development team (i.e. non-user client) or of a collective and permanently changing client such as a housing coop. (i.e. user client)
This means that the architect has the responsibility of evolving a decision-making procedure with coops which allows for coop’s full involvement without giving the funding body grounds to condemn these joint endeavors as inefficient because of delays in Programme. Maintaining an appropriate decision- making procedure is therefore of prime importance to the relationship between the two parties.
2.Proceduresthatarenotespeciallyimportantin thecaseofacollectiveclientsuchasacoop.If
the architect suggests alternatives for the coop’s consideration there could be large numbers of future tenants involvedin the choice. But such choices are made internally within the coop .mem- bership and the decision making may require
long deliberation. The architect must therefore make sure that these decisions (i.e. instructions
to the architect) are received at the right time Also repurcussions of decisions should be made clear. Architects of the Design Group now issue coopswithalistofdecisionstobetakenbythe coop which is programmed to suit the design and build work sequence of architects and contractors. Laying out clear procedures for the coups is even
more important where the coop is a new one with no experiance of development. Mutual confidence can be established between architect and coopif the coop has a clear grasp of the process it intends to control as client. It can be a painful experiance for an architect designing accomodation for ten people say to be told that some of them feel that they were uninformed for they were not made fully aware of the consequences of their decisions, especially when the architect considers that as much background information as possible has been given. Such situa- tions occur less frequently when the new coop learns how best to deal with such information prb- lems -some coops establish building working parties which act as intermediaries between architect and the coop membership of general decisions such as types of heating, types of accomodation etc. This means that more time can be given to more individ- ual consultations between coop members and the architect as such questions as finishes, fittings and decorations. Also the working parties provide the continuity of experiance required -there isoften a tendency for the individual members losing inter- est in the coop’s builing programmes once their individual accomodation requirements have been met.
The following are typical options that are offered to coops by the design group architects(these mostly apply to rehabilitation schemes):
1. Choice of property - architect advises on feasib-
The Design Group of Solon Cooperative Housing
Services have been working with housing cooperatives
for several years during which time certain suitable
procedureshavebeenevolved.Theseprocedurescanbe 2.Choiceofaccomodation-architectsuggestsalter-
be divided into two categories:
1.Procedures that al clients should be made aware of
by the architect e.g. the coop is briefed on its client role and its relationship with the architect and contractor. Generally the whole range of approvals and contractual agreements must be understood by the coop. ifitisto obtain max- imum benefit from the architect’s services. Also Testraints of cost, planning and building regul- ations, and funding body requirements should be made clear.
native “unit”’ arrangements e.g. a house after conversion could provide three two-person flats one household of five single people sharing amen- ities etc.
Choice of type of conversion -a coop with mem- bers with some building skills may wish to see the contractors work concentrate on the structural side i.e. new exténsions, new opening to give
larger rooms etc. ifcertain members of the coop wish to do some of the work themselves. Anoth- er coop may opt for minimum structural alter-
Barry Hurrell is a mem- ber of the Cooperative Design Group ofSolon Cooperative Housing Services in London.
ility of scheme for different properties available.
Squatting Workers
Y
Page 16
Thesechoicesapplytoalschemes.Theparticular configurations of different rehabilitation schemes also allow for other choices e.g. would the co-op
like direct staircase access from above ground to
rear gardens, and if rear extensions are envisaged
can terraced roofs be included. In general the co-op decides on what amenities and standards it wishes to achieve within the available cost limits.
After looking at the background to the architect — co-op relationships and the attempts to make it effective, conclusions can be drawn from the experienceofbothco-opandarchitecttodate. Firstly, how satisfied are co-ops with the architect’s service? The answer to this question very much depends on the co-op’s expectations, and on just
and complicated by the vastness of the range of considerations. In the Design Group’s experience it is fair to say that once the co-op membership realises the nature of the development system within which they are working, they value their
sunday
how many of these can reasonably be realised by
thearchitect.Theco-opmembershiprightly
wishes to achieve maximum results from its building
building programme. The opportunity to employ
architects and other professionals that results from
their membership is in most cases an opportunity
theycouldnototherwisehave.Oneoftheattractions buildingdevelopmentsisfraughtwithdifficulties
Over 80 people including many new faces met together at the Gloucestershire College of Art amongst the homes of retired Col- onels.
By 9.00pm on the Friday night the Coll- ege minibus had ferried sufficient numbers from the NAM bus stop at the station (a welcoming sign). Watches and time pieces were mentally adjusted, as in previous years, toenabletheeventstorunasscheduled
for the following days.
After abrief introduction and history of Cheltenham from our hosts Gerry Met- calf and John Hurley, there prevailed an air of anticipation and purpose that motivated the following days discussions. Referring to the tensions between long term aims and short term tactics, John Allan said ‘that while the former could not be achieved quickly, some of the obstacles barring the way could be removed immediately. Our predicament is not a question of millenium or Monday, but an affirmation of millenium and Monday.”
saturday
Saturday began with Tom Woolley dis- pelling the premise, had anyone had it, that Architects are shaping the environment, pointing out that only 29% of building is done by Architects of whom 75% are em- Ployees. The following workshop debates were noticeably less heated than those of the first two Congresses, reflecting the ack- nowledgedaimsanddirectionsoftheMove- ment, later to be spelled out in the adoption of a new constitution. The various NAM groups reported on their year’s activities; thesuccessoftheMonopoliesgroup-inthat thatthegovernmentfinallylooksasthough
Two new groups were born at this Con-
gress, a Professional Issues group to back up
the work of NAM’s unattached councillors,
and a Student group. Although very few
students are members of NAM, those att-
endingtheEducationworkshoppressedfor thenewlyappointedfultimeRIBAStu- an autonomous student group to ensure that dent Councillor, in attendance (camouflaged NAM’s views are adequately communicated in denim of course!).
to the schools. A Sunday lunchtime tour of Cheltenham
of co-op membership isthat the-architect must
respond directly to the membership’s requirements.
However, most members have no previous experience
of what standard of accommodation can be realised
within government funded schemes. Therefore some
members initially expect to get more than is reasonable. relationship with the architect and feel a real
Creche facilities are to be refined and pro- vided at future Congresses as requested by the Feminism group and those attending this Congress with their families.
To avoid disappointment the architect should do as much as possible to ensure that the co-op has a clear idea of what the end-product will be. One co-op was disappointed with the standard of finishes. This could have been avoided if typical finished ‘units’ had been available for inspection by the co-op. Also there isoften acertain healthy wariness within the co-op of professionals. Therefore itisdoubly
important that the architect makes sure that the co-op considers only those options that are reasonably attainable. This involves explaining what can be afforded within government cost limits and sometimes advising as how non-standard housing amenities
could be alternatively financed, e.g. some co-ops want solar heating for which funding is scarce and therefore difficult to include in the building works. Co-ops want to know exactly why they cannot haye the things they would prefer.
Some co-ops wanted to look at the possibility of * co-op members acting as suppliers to the main contractor,e.g.whereaco-opwishedtoemploy carpenters from its membership to produce high quality kitchen units, how could their work be integrated with the contractor’s programme. To datethissortofbuildingendeavourfromwithin theco-ophasnottakenplace,probablybecause
involvement in the creation of their living spaces. It is the architect’s role in facilitating the
membership’s exercise of power over their immediate environment which is probably the most rewarding aspect of working with co-ops.
Full details of each group and al Con- gress resolutions are to be reported separ- ately.
the interested members are deterred by the financial risk of a new work venture. However, building works for short-life have been done successfully by building worker co-ops from the main co-op membership. This isbecause the standard of workmanship need not be so skilled as for permanent rehabilitation, the programme constraints are not so tight and contractual arrangements less formal. To date, the labour contributions from co-ops in the permanent rehabilitation schemes has been clearing out the properties, the occasional piece of fitted furniture and decorating.
NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT |
Another lesson learnt by the co-ops is that the
time available for architect co-op liaison once
building work commences is less than in the precedingdesignstage.Contractorscanclaimfor delays on site and speedy on-site decisions are often required to be taken by the architect when unforseen situations occur. Notification rather than consultation sometimes occurs. Therefore a continued happy architect/co-op ralationship depends on the co-op having confidence in the architect\'s professional judgement when acting alone. Co-ops are now
invited to have representatives at al site meetings. There also has to be a balance between the co-ops
sometime conflicting requirements of extensive consultationandadherancetoatightprogramme. The Design Group attempts to operate somewhere between the businesslike office with streamlined standard procedures and the type of group that whilst giving maximum attention to full consult- -ation and being flexible in approach runs the risk of extensive delays.
Congress Intro.
friday
The attempt to give full effective control over their environment to the co-op membership within the maze of restraints that nowadays apply to al
The workshops on Alternative Practice and the injection of a punk band at Satur- andthePublicDesignService,seenasdiff- day’sdiscoaddedtotheexcellenthospit- erent approaches to community architecture. ality and fine food provided by ourhosts.
The 4th. NAM Annual Congress held in
Cheltenham over the weekend 10- 12th.
November proved again the value of open debateindevelopingNAMpolicyandideas. inghamgroupinestablishingitself.
Sunday’s AGM thrashed out the coming year’s policy and participants left knowing how much has been achieved in the three
it will grasp the nettle after thirteen years;
the successes of the Feminism group after
only one year; the continuing work of the
ARCUK, PDS, Leeds, London, Unionisation
and Education groups; the decline of the
Cardiff group as its members join various
issue groups; and the difficulties of the Birm- years since the first Congress at Harrogate,
andseekinggreaterachievementsplusan increase in membership during the next year. Over the past year the membership has grown by more than 30% at a time when RIBA membership was in decline,so it was no surprise to find George Cameron,
highlighted the tension between the ideol-
ogies of Public and Private sectors prevalent
outside the Movement. While reform of both
sectors is being sought, the two groups view-
ed their task as an affirmation of the millen-
ium and Monday principle. The PDS group
argues that a community architectural ser-
vice should be based on the Public sector,
making use of a reformed existing structure
and these views have recently been sub-
mitted to Minister of Housing, Reg Freeson.
Those involved in Alternative Practice
stressed the need for a community aid fund.
Eddie Walker reporting on the work of
ARCAID stressed that they lacked time to
explain their community role and they were
indangerofbeingseenasacheaplabour ss BiSSrux force, acting as the pawn of Liberal Coun-
cillors for Tory individuals in anti-CPO cases. The debates carried on into the even- ing session when participants wereshown work carried out by ARCAID in Leeds and Support in London. (A few may think that itisthe charitable names that are mislead- ingpeople).Furtherjointtalksaretotake place between these groups, meanwhile it was accepted by both groups that they would work in parallel. Reform of the Pub- licsectorwillnothappeneverywhereon Monday.
ations and a higher standard of finishes and fittings. .Choice of fittings and finishes- architect offerrs
choice of type, quantity and range of fittings e.g. bath or shower, more of one grade of kitch- en units or less of a higher grade of unit etc. The feasibility and desirability of retaining
existing floor and ceiling ‘inishes eg. timber floor
boards or plaster mouldings are looked into. 5).choice of heating -the coop’s main concern here is
one of fuel bills. To date the architect advises on the relative merits of gas, electricity and solid fuel heating. Wherever possible existing fireplaces are retained when desired -insome instances aroom will have a working open fireplace plus a gas con- vector heater on the external wall.
>
u4th ANNUAL CONGRESS
CHELTENHAM
‘78
er
Student Group
Students, for the most part, are only vaguely relevance to our and NAM’s situation. These (if at all) aware of the existence of the New issues were aired in part immediately after- Architecture Movement, and are thus ignor- wards, and consolidated further later in the ant of the importance and relevance of its day resulting in an evening Workshop which
P.1.Group
began to hum before disbanding for the Al- theory and practice. |would suggest this is ternative Practice Slide Show!
struck by mass indecision due to surprise incidence of overlapping categories. Plenary session turns nasty and calls for heads of organisers! ” .Fortunately it did not
aims, policies, and successes in terms of
primarily due to NAM’s political stance,
which in turn is strongly related to ‘real
To summarise perhaps too naively, we felt NAM to be reluctantly conscious of, but notgearedto,recognitionofavastnumber
world’issuesrequiringchange.
Two problems immediately arise as a re- of people who, quite simply, are potentially
sult of this -the ‘real world’ more often than tomorrow’s Architects -and that ishow the nothaslittletodowitharchitecturaleduc- StudentGrouphascometobeformed.Still
we quote below:
acheived and quite adequate.”
Thankstoeverybodywhofilledonein and we hope that they will keep up the dialogue in the bunch of letters that we anticipate for the next issue. The Group also presented the financial problems affecting SLATE: about 95% of each print run needs to be sold if the issue
attended by about 20people. Inevitably theinitialdiscussionwasaboutARCUK what is it for, what is it, what does it do how does it work, who runs it, what should it do, what could it do, and why the hell are we involved anyway? For a quick. crude answer, its a public interest body set up
ation (despite what the Schools of Archi-
tecture would profess to the contrary), and
the content of architectural courses them-
selves is fundamentally apolitical, one of the
reasons being to “liberate the mind to fac-
ilitate good design” (whatever that is), pol- iticsbeingviewedasaninsuperableandcom- isgood,bad,orindifferent-andwhy;
“General impression: I’m sure it’s all very
good stuff and going in the right direction.
However, it doesn\'t actually grab me as a
magazine I want to read in detail, probably
because it doesn\'t talk to people in precisely
my situation, i.e. in straight private practice
andveryfrustratedwithit.However,it istobreakeven—difficulttoachieve, keepingalistosarchitects(1know, Big
plex barrier which mitigates against creat- ivity
2)Asaresultof1),todrafta‘manifesto’ which will have as its base an education representing student needs and aspirations inrelationtowhattheyfeelanArchitect should be;
geesSate mefofindmoreideologically evenforanestablishedpublication.Cash Deal!):ithasaCouncilmadeup cceptable employment . Ifyou were seen returns from the salespersons network h almost entirely of architects( It takes one
to be more relevant to gay, feminist, libertarianbeen incomplete al ere naa Ma x to spot one! )mainly nominated by the
Symbolic of this, only avery small num-
ber of students attended the Cheltenham
Conference, despite advertising in the arch-
itectural press (which students hardly look
at); most attended through an interest in
andawarenessofNAM itself-othersthrough theviewtoimplementingthepracticeof
Marxist(butnotLeninist)Quakers,Iwould
Jind the paper facinating. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, I think it should be broader
rather than narrower. Minorities within minoritieswithinminoritiesareusedtobeing out on a limb.
“T welcome the development of SLATE towards a wider market (leaflets in Roof, PDC outlets, etc.) — it should therefore become more of a wider magazine without introverted architectural in-talk. It should include more regular features on topics such ashousing,community, constructionof 1000 words and some larger features and theoretical articles. Far more illustrations
8S
thePublicationsDistributionCanaa RIBA;itcouldtakeastrongpublic
a ‘friend of a friend’!
Naturally, the Education Workshop on
the Saturday afternoon seemed a ‘must’;
were to al intents and purposes excluded from NAM’s view of Education, due to a seeming muddled intellectualism which ser- vedtoignoreissueswefelttobeofdirect
the contents of the ‘manifesto’.
Ishould immediately addthatall who are interested in this field, besides students, are
debate will no doubt range over a yast num- ber of topics implicit in the word “Educ- ation’ -so much the better. Personally, I believetheGroupshouldnottreadatent-
We\'d also like to hear from the
numerous salespersons who have neglected
to return cash or their unsold copies. There’s suspicious of ‘professionalism’ and of
page 18
very much in its infancy, our basic aims are: 1) To stimulate real thought ( with conse-
quent questioning) by students, in all Schools of Architecture, as to what their architectural education is teaching them to become, and whether that education
by parliament to protect the public by
3) To lobby all bodies responsible for the structure of architectural education with
werealways about six monthsbehind publication date. Both of theed factors
meant that, in ea NAM had hsidisedtheeae byaaan amount since its inception. But should SLATE aim for financial independence? We’d like to hear your views on this question.
protection role but is dominated by ‘professional’ interests (ic., principals in private practice ). We are involved to callitsbluff.
The words Monoploies Commission Discipline Committee, Conduct - disgraceful and code of, Advertising
Jnattatched, Public Interest, Accountability Salaried Architects and Education were al heard. Whilst NAM has been justifiably
Slate Group
The SLATE Group had felt for some time are still needed, It should include more
that they were distanced from the NAM Specific useful information as in the back
membership and other readers. They therefore Of Roof... SLATE cannot be effective
took the opportunity presented by the recent 4 the newsletter on NAM (which should
NAM Congress to sample the views of those be done through a Liaison Group duplicated took place at al. * Cheltenham Congress attending. A questionnaire was circulated sheet every month). The editorial workers
asking for a reader’s-eye view of SLATE: The will need to go out to NAM Groups to
responses ranged from stunning one-liners such 8¢¢ ‘hem to write things and not expect as “Bloody good considering ...” and “I like stuff to arrive automatically and orientate
itasitis.honest”,toextendedprogrammes “Heirmaterialtobereadbynon-architect happen,andtheworkshopsdid,atleast and suggested new directions, some of which readers. Bi-monthly is as frequent as can be a ‘Professional Issues workshop emerged
over £100 outstanding!
professional institutions, involvement inARCUK hashighlightedaseriesofissues (eg., fee scales, advertising, incompetence,
4
With workshops on Alternative Practice Professional Issues and Public Design service scheduled to take place simul- taneously it was surprising any of them
Page 19
ative path steeped in diplomacy -that would engender anon-starter; instead, Iwould ad- vocate strength in thought and action, hope- fully without becoming doctrinaire!
Current action iscentred around making our existence known -hence the idea of a poster to pin up in al Schools, the estab- lishment of contacts within each of the Schools, the instigation of debate through the circulation of papers which discuss architectural education from personal stand- points, and through all this the arrangement of discussion groups at venues yet to be decided.
supposedly aforum for discussion and action, ¢xpected to contribute! Ithink we are aware we were disappointed to realise that students of the immense task these three points entail;
SO: PAY UP OR SUFFER THE NEXT SLATE HANDWRITTEN ON THE SLEEVES OF OLD BEATLES RECORDS!
1andtraining)whichconcernthe tral worker\'s relationship with
and at work. These issues remain en without the mystification encouraged
>concept of professionalism. In
battleground. Consensus was that women It was felt that the objectives of the the following werewillingtoanalysetheessentialfemale newworkinggroupshouldbecomplementary 1! Toactasaforumtodiscussthe
espond. ARCUK 1d to take positions NAM\'s ims but with
councillors have with consideration little formal
discussion with other NAM members. In thisresponsewastobeinCouncil
ikely that careful consideration issue would have called for broader
their own fees,raised problems, but it
was felt that they were not insurmountable and that such groups could be financially viable as a -community service.
ion with ARCUK as just one aspect. Thu »workshop proposed that. ifNAM was smain involved with these issues, then
clear family.
We went on to discuss the Feminist
Group’s attempt to set up a co-operative design and build practice. This has been stimulated by a commission for Clapham
The workshop concluded by asking the
London-based Feminist Group to try and
set up some meetings outside London and Other problems were associated with
roup should be formed to do so. twas done. Some filthy swine
to strengthen its links with Women in Con- Struction,
Alternative
Practice
Group
The workshop was well attended and the discussion identified which issues the Alternative Practice working group should be concerned with.
the search for appropriate models of formal organisation and with indemnity insurance. BDS/TASS, ICOM and people already involved in Alternative Practice are at present working to define the difficulties and the possibilities. But theirbriefis very specific and should be complemented by abroader view to be taken by the NAM Group.
Interpretation of ‘community architecture’ varies considerably and the workshop that this should be examined and clarified For instance, the RIBA’s attempts to use ‘community architecture’ as a meansof increasing the supply of work toitsmembers andofjustifying financial assistance from the Government should be the subject of critical analysis in a similar way to other issues taken up and exposed by NAM.
To summarise, it was felt that the new NAM Group should concentrate on
nat it should be c
id me that pigs in entle, fun-loy
it. clean
vzenic creatures but that the unsiutable conditions. Maybe
Page 20
such a bad nanic | iwith the conditions o
workers and the users o!
i. and
sp. roast
swine, hog, collog.)
flesh
irty, sultry, obstinate or perse ele
PD.S.Group
Feminism
qualities and not dismiss differences as ir- ationality.
The workshop endorsed the proposals
that had been drawn up by the London sem- These experiences could be generalised to inar relating to the percentage of women in provide useful feedback for long term architectural practices, stereotyping in the proposals.
architectural press, flexible facilities for wo- Alternative groups already practicing men and men who have to care for their chil- discussed the obstacles which they faced. drenandsupportandequalityforalwork- Helpingclientstofindrescourcesforal ersinarchitecturalpractice.Surveysofwo- aspectsofabuildingproject,including men in the profession are currently taking
place.
ideological basis of alternative practice,
and how that relates to its practice 2. To examine the relationship between these ideas and the objectives of the
PDS Group
.To act asa pressure group to monitor
and report on Government and Local Authority interest in “community architecture’andrecentRIBA Intervention.
Education
Group
Influences on Education
All those who had any experience
of the matter agreed that, contrary to accepted opinion, the RIBA does not directly control architectural education, but rather operates through tacit agreement with the heads of schools. If anything, the University Grants Commmittee could be said to exert more control.
to the ideas set out by the Public Design Service Group (PDS Group), enabling ideas and methods to be tested in the short term
John Murray and John Mitchell introduced the Workshop by placing the PDS Group in the context of NAM’s overall policy
The workshop was attended by most of the women at the conference and four men.
the desire to promote effective control by the general public over the physical environment, and by architectural workers over their own working arrange- ments.
The core of the NAM Feminist Group reported on the Beauborg exhibition.They felt that doing the display had beena val- uable experience and good publicity, bring- ing them together as 4 working group for the first time. Their’s was the only feminist contribution and was almost not displayed -for being too political! The other work on show reflected women working in a man’s world. Although projects expressed a hum- ane quality they did not appear to explore the underlying social structure ¢.g. the nu-
Some of those attending were repres- entatives of the ‘alternative practice* approach — architects already working with clients who would not usually be able to obtain architectrual help. Whilst Local Authorities seemed only interested in their own bureaucratic criteria, these architects had found a way to identily and respond to people\'s needs
On the other hand, they agreed that ‘community architects’ are dependant on outside finance, often derived from Central Government. This factor had always limited their scope, yet is totally beyond their control.
The importance of the PDS proposals for reform of Public Service architecture could then be grasped, in that Local
Authorities administer the major
channel for the redistribution of wealth in this country. Despite agreement about the need fora more accountable Public Service, there was some scepticism from those who had learnt to expect very little from Local Authorities. The PDS Group members justified their optimism by describing those few Local Authorities where direct accountability has become a reality, and concluded that the only obstacle to further improvements Is a lack of political will.
Women’s Aid to convert five shortlife houses into a refuge. Some fifteen women are in- volved, 4 or 5 of whom are working on the Clapham project. The group israpidly mov- ing towaras the position where it must commit itself to some women working ful time. We discussed whether the service
being offered by the Feminist Practice was any different to that of a traditional ‘male” privateoffice; those initfelt that itwas, although how much of this is inherent in its ‘co-operative’ structure rather than its “feminist” structure was not explored. The question then arose as to whether male de- sign was “thrusting, sharp andaggressive” and if so was it due to social or biological conditioning. The view was expressed that rather than concentrate on male/female differences it was the social/political/educ- ational conditioning that was the main
Page 22
it policy persued is still the lted from the Oxford
tac\\led as an isolated issue.
Despite this general uncertainty about
entry to schools result ourses haracterised by elitism and isolation from
immediate problems asa point of dep- arture.
— Industrial and trade union pension funds as major sources of developement capital.
— Commercial developement,
would have found the phrase ‘Community Architecture’ a contradiction in terms. To them architects were the employees of their political enemies, ial devel and local
Not only were they instrumental in the process of destructionofmanyneighbourhoodsbutalso
in designing the frequently ugly and inhuman build- ings that took their place.
eal we orld
Aspirations
The meeting aspired towards making an
tionayailabletoevery
ne currey
lentsfromcompleting tackledbyotherNAM groups,butwith
1 different form rve the
san election
ualifications
actuallygrown cutofan
tion which was developed erested in the
|services to
well as in obtaining
en found very difficult to awake 1NAM among students. It was
at this stems form the sorts of
t NAM pursues being beyond the
of experience of most students.
At the same time, it was hard to see in
respect to their implications for the way in which architects are trained.
During the coming year the NAM Education group should produce a reader for distribution to the Issue Groups, which would analyse the background to architectural education in this country, and thenattempt tosetupjoint discussion meetings.
unity Land Act.
— The role of the architect in theprocesscfdevelopement. — Speculation in land and the seperation of the home and work.
— Developers as clients of the building industry.
We would like to hear from anyone who hasaparticular interest in these issues andwhowouldliketowrite
Simultaneouswiththegrowthincurrencyofthe
notion of ‘Community Architecture’ has been a
depoliticisation of the defineition of the role which
the architect is to play in the ‘community’. This,
argues the PDS Group, is partially the work of the
RIBA, whose Community Architecture Working
Group (CAWG) has also submitted a report to
Freeson. The CAWG’s concept .\"‘is one in which the socially-responsibleprofessionalattendstotheneeds
of the individual poor, rather in the way that a
doctorhelpsasickpatient...”,saythePDSGroup
and go on to argue that the problems faced by
tenants and residents in urban areas are not problems
ofindividualdeprivation,butoflackofpolitical
control oyer rescources and their distribution at a
social level. This the community action movement
acknowledged and among itssuccesses has been the
signs of its influence in Government policy on the
gradual approach to renewing the housing stock and who, unlike the Minister, islooking to the report
—
education could be ie a
DON’T DELAY — ORDER YOUR COPY NOWZOponly?
Letters, articles, ideas and helpers for the issve will also be welcome: contact SLATE at 9 Poland St, London W1.
SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
9 Poland Street, W1.
on tenants’ control of housing through tenants’ cooperatives.
Times have changed, however, and through the professional sucess of one or two of the architects involved in community action, the phrase ‘Community Architecture” has been absorbed into the jargon of the profession and the notion that architects can and should serve the ‘community” howeverdefined,hasgainedsuchcurrencythat Reg Freeson, the Housing Minister, recently
called for ideas from architects on how they might” be enabled to serve the ‘community’ better. One of the submissions he received was from NAM’s Public Design Service (PDS) Group called ‘Community Architecture — A Public Design Service?’
Havingopted,andrightlyso,forthesocial/political 4pproach rather than the individ Wth Pp < one wheredoesthatleavetheP.D.S.groupwhenitcomes to answering Freeson’s question? The way to enable
for more general ideas about architects and the ‘community’ and who any authors of this sort of publicly available report ignore at their peril, to lump the efforts of radical architects working outside local authorities in, for instance, preparing alternative proposals with neighbourhood groups, into the same bracket as those who support and practice the ‘individualistic’ approach. In the last analysis these peopleworkingintheso-calledvoluntarysectorare private practitioners and the PDS Group isrightly wary of supporting the idea of state grants to the voluntary sector if this is to mean a growth,
dillution of energy, bureaucratisation and lack of accountability characterised by one of the other state-supported voluntary groups theHousing Acsociati But thisinterp oS the PDS Group’s position comesfrom reading
There al entry and10
Time course
1eage
admitted without any
Thestudentsproposedtosetupa
Students Education Group, with the backing
of NAM, and a motion to this effect was put for SLATE. Other suggested
Proposals
Itwas proposed that the NAM Education Groupshouldnotnecessarilyexistinitsown urbanplanningandtheComm- right, as a separate, introverted group, but
should examine the same issues that are
Six detailed proposals are put forward in con- clusion, al of which relate strictly to the function- ingofLocalAuthorityarchitectsandallieddepart- ments,aimed at breaking down the ‘boundaries’ inherent in Local Authority management which inhibit fruitful liaison between council workers and the ‘consumers’ of their services in the community.
puttotheAGM.
topicsforarticlesarewelcome.
SLATE 12 will be about comm- ercial deyelopers, the way that they operate and the effect that the commercial develop- ment of land has on the city
A review of “Comunity Architecture— a Public Design Service?”
Just a few years ago no one had heard of Community Architecture. Indeed many of the people, architects among them, who were at that timeinvolvedinthestrugglesofvarious neighb hood groups against redevelopment or road schemes
architects to serve the community better is through the reform of their relationship between local authority architects and the tenants, workers and others who use the buildings they design, cutting away ineffective layers of bureaucracy and opening
h Is of direct bility to the ity. Architects who work in the private sector are not wellplacedtoservethecommunitybecause,says the PDS Group, ‘Control of land and finance is . the primary issue’ and for most people the only meaningful means of such control is through
lective d icpi inlocalandcentral government and not through private ownership.
The strength of ‘Community Architecture —
a Public Design Service?’ however, lies not in the questionofthemeritsofitsproposalsbutinits arguements against the myth that what the “commun- ity’needsistheservicesofindependentprofessionals to solye the architectural problems of its individ- ual members, this isthe view promulgated by the RIBAwhenitarguesforagovernment-financed
fund which would pay architects fees for poor people who could not otherwise afford them. The report’s weakness, on the other hand, isthat itseems, at least from the point of view of the general reader
reviewed for SLATE by Giles Pebody.
as a whole. In particular we
¢nierence:strirntrequirementsfor formagroup.andtotaketheir hopetoexamine thatentailedwholesaledemolitionoftheirareas
the way forward, the students wished to
b
the lines of °C:
A :
22pp:£L.00 from NAM, 9, Poland St. London, WI.
NAM PDS Group:
“Ce CaO
Design Service?”
page 23
NEXT ISSUE
prgate practice on ‘aie public purse ?
It would have come over more clearly had they spelt it out.
TM
The strikers are calling for a mass picket in the New Year to close the site, clean the place up and get their jobs back. They appeal to al trade unionists and building workers for support and feel that the out- comeofthisstrikeiscrucialforthefuture of DLOs al over the country. They need money and active support.
private sector as well as improvingtheir TheNAMPublicDesignService tatteredpublicrelationsimage.Sowhy
consider the relationship of local authoritiestocentralgovernment,their structure and their financing. Although it is understandable why they did not publish a critique of the role of local government in their report, it would
seem that sucha critique could have informed their interim proposals, both in theirextentandtheirtermsofreference. For, whilst there is no doubt that the allocation of and use of public capital should come under more democratic anddetailedcontrolbytheworking
class and that this is vitally important; nevertheless, the struggle between public and private capital is stil going on.
This struggle effects local authority architects in particular as local authority building programmes are closely controlled by central government, as the CIS report, Cutting the Welfare State, who Profits? reveals:
“ The capital spending of Local Authorities on building and other major projects is controlled by the centre. Although the Local Authority raises its own loans, the project must first be approved by government. As central government funds, themselvesar,e a product of a clash between the IMF, the City, and the government
in the form of public sector borrowing requirement, these resources are the product of the struggle between public and private capital.”
Group report “ Community Architecture — a Public Design Service ?” has caused some controversy within the New Architecture Movement. Here Marion Roberts and Mark Gimson bothwithexperiencein‘“Comunity Architecture ”, put their personal views on the report.
Mark Gimson
The PDS document ‘Community Architecture -A Public Design Service?’ is a welcome contribution to the debate, and the general aims of the PDS group are to be supported. The reform of Local Authority architects departments is long overdue -many Local Authority arch- -tectural workers will enthuse about any- thing which will improve their working context and relieve their immediate frustrations. Also, because of widespread public disenchantment with architects
in both private and public sectors, such
reforms are attractive to politicians at the moment.
bring them into the section entitled ‘Community architecture - a definition’? In the second edition the demolition of the RIBA’s Community Architecture Group (a comparitively easy task) should be confined to the final section.
The report of the NAM Public Design Srrvive (PDS) Group to the Minister of housing and Construction, Reg Freeson,
But, as pointed out by Cynthia Cockbum
necessarily lead to the progressive funda- -mental changes which the PDS group seck. The danger isthat proposals such as these will be adapted by the establishment to make managerial adjustments without changing real power realtionships at al; for example decentralisation of some public sector offices is already going on.
It is crucial therefore that the PDS group concentrate on developing the alliances which architectural workers can make - with the users of buildings (e.g. through thetenants’movement),withother construction workers (e.g. in the fight
to defend and devélop Direct Labour Organisations),andwithotherLocal Authority workers (e.g. in Housing, Planning and Social Services.) This is because support from the working class and other progressive sectors will be essential ‘if any really radical reforms are
to be achieved.
The PDS document gives too much
space to the RIBA and is too defensive towardsthem. TheRIBA,astheyrightly point out, are just trying to jump onto the bandwagon and create jobs for the
One of the most far reaching suggestions that the report makes is for the introduction)
working class, but, as Cynthia Cockburn “points out, between the local authority
anditslocalworkingclass.
Thus a radical local authority architect
is inevitable placed ina difficult position, On the one hand s/he is concerned with the sensitive distribution of local authority resources |,on the other s/he would presumable be in solidarity with the tenants’ and residents’ groups who are Campaigning to get a larger share of the Tesources. Solidarity with these groups wouldmeanthatalocalauthority architect would be placed in direct confrontation with her/his employer. Withoutvigorouscampaigningoutside
the local authority and strong union Organisation inside it, any opposition on the part of any individuals to the local authority would be dangerous.
One example of this kind of confront- ation isover defects inrecently built council houses. As resources for council housing are scarce, local authorities are extremelyunwillingtorectifydefects
on these estates. It would be very difficult
each have been held and one day about 60 workers on Moss’ site near Newington Butts shutdown andjoinedthepicket. Drivers for Readymix and Pioneer, suppliers of concrete, London Brick, Blue Circle and Tunnel Cement, Romriver Steel, British Gypsum Plaster and Evertidy Cabinets from Wolverhampton are refusing to drive through the picket line -this has obviously
Page 24
Theyshouldalsobemorespecificabout on“Communityarchitecture”isawell
what Local Authorities and the present
Labour Government could do. Given the
politicalandprofessionalcontextademand thinkingandactivity.However,the
for a number of Local Authority pilot report does have two serious deficiences
fruit. If which can possibly be atributed to the this happened such experimental schemes _ fragmentary nature of NAM itself and
schemes to be set up might bear
would vary, but the more radical ones
could undermine some of the established power relations in their particular localities. Even one or two examples like this would be real progress and would achieve much more than minor general reforms.
through the wish of the PDS Group to be a local authority group.
People who work in Support andsome
other architectural agencies do so, not
because they want to attack the public
sector, but because the potentials for
making alliances with progressive sectors of publically paid and therefore publically
society seem to be greater outside than
inside Local Government. It must be
admitted, though, that being in the
private sector of architecture leads to some _ capital which
can finance the land and »ther problems. The PDS group accept that buildings necessary.
Consequently it would seem that whilst the struggle between public and private capital continues, (and also after it when
such alternative groups have helped to The report makes criticisms of
stimulate proposals such as theirs. Similarly, existing local authority architects the internal reform of architects departments Support, for example, has to keep closely departments, in particular of their
ofaccountability. This sort of thing has representatives from the trade unions, ilready happened with Housing Associations. tenants and residents organisations and the
NAM is the obvious forum in which neighbourhood’s conncillors. The rest of adicals in the public and private sectors can the interim proposals that the report
have access to expert advice as a right. It should be noted here that these pick- How this could be set up should hopefully ets have had threats on their lives, been beamatterofdebatewithintheMovement toldtheywillneverworkinLondonagain An independantly administered state fund thus implying the existence of some kind could be set up to which tenants’ and of blacklist among employers, had messages residents’groupscouldaplytopayexperst senttothembytheNationalFront,had fees. Alternatively we could campaign for
can get together to coordinate their activities.Thisprocessstartedatthe Cheltenham Congress -we should take it further and undermine attempts to devideandruleus.
Z
makes are reliant on the provision of this thirdtierandencompassthesettingupof of area multi-disciplinary design teams with members directly accountable to theneighbourhoodcouncil,alevelling
of the hierarchy, and direct links with the Direct Labour Organisations.
This model for a public design service is extremely potent, and the arguement for it is carried through positively and logically. The pervading ideology behind the arguement, however, is that their is no conflict between State provision and theneedsoftheworkingclass.
The PDS Group kept strictly to their briefin the report and did not
the funding of architectural workers to work in law and housing aid centres alongside other voluntary sector workers. This latter suggestion could also set up a useful liaison between local authority architects departments and the community groups outside.
their car smashed up bya lorry from the site, and been attacked with an axe by a lump labour lorry driver.
produced and presented document. As
such it is a substantial advance in NAM’s
The report was written as an
Community Architecture Working Group (CAWG)
‘antidote’ to the RIBA’s
and contains a critique of that Report. The main thrust of the PDS Group report is to argue that, for architects to service the needs of the community (ie., the working class )they need to be
accountable, that is, local authority architects. Local authorities also have contro| of acertain amount of public
at the NAM meeting on November 20th,
mentsalongthelinessuggestedwillnot intouchwithwhatishappeninginthe remotenessfromtenantsandusers’groups. notbetweentheStockExchangeandthe isaneedforavoluntarysector.BythisI wark.Twomasspicketsof150people
public sector because there is a real danger
of being used by reactionaries as a stick
tobeatLocalAuthoritieswith.AsPDS
point out there isthe danger of diverting
grass roots pressure and demands to the
private sector and voluntary agencies, which
would let Local Authorities off the hook and would consists of neighbourhood councils and would diminish the already low level based on each locality, made up with
It also critiscises the non-productive administrative layers contained within thelocalauthorityhierarchy. :
mean a sector serving not the interests of
private capital, which includes private
architecturalpractice,butasectorwhich
serves the needs of the working class in
seeking to extend the provisions of the
State. This sector already exists in the form
of law centres, housing aid centres, welfare
rights and housing rights projects. As
socialist architects,I feel that we in NAM
should be pressing for State funding, so that started to disrupt work and will hopefully that groups within the working class may act as an agent to start negotiations.
of a new tier of local government. This tier
OLPLINION
NEWS) continued
trade union organisation on the site. It is partlyduetothisweaknessthatSChas been able to adopt a “hire and fire’policy and envisage and start to carry out redund- ancies on their own direct labour workers. It seems that Southwark’s DLO is, with the consent of councillors ,gradually being eroded from within.
The6strikersaredemandingreinstate- ment not reemployment, proper trade union organisation on al sites, safety stew- ards in accordance with the Health and SafetyatWorkAct,Bovismanagementto end, no sub-contracted work and a proper DLO to start functioning. They believe DLOs to function better as building units than private contractors because they offer more likelihood of job security, trade union representation, essential and adequate health and safety precautions and paid sick- ness and holidays after 6 months employ- ment.
The pickets have received support from Southwark Trades Council and the Direct Labour Collective who have set up an act- lon committee with stewards to stop the running down of SC and to question the role of Bovis. They will be publishing a broadsheet on the situation in the New Year, available from Southwark Trades Council.
The strikers have received money and Support from rank and file workers on both public and private sector sites in Lon-
The interface of this struggle is, however, looking at the USSR and China!) that there don and social workers on strike in South-
DIFFERENCE OF
Marion Roberts
for a local authority architect to support a tenants’ campaign on this issue by, say, appearing a&an expert witness in court.
’ Which leads on to the other weakness in the PDS Group’s report. Itisassumed that the neighbourhood council would
be acatch-all for pressure groups within alocality. However, itislikely that the area based teams would be introduced, as has happened in two boroughs already, but without the neighbourhood council. Thus the area teams would be faced with
the problem of making alliances with community groups within the locality. This is aserious problem which merits farther discussion.
Thus Ifeel that the PDS Group’s report does not inclide this important area of concern. This perhaps should be an issue for further discussion and liaison between the PDS Group and the newly constitued NAM Alternative Practice Group, in order to make some progressive proposals about what to do about community architecture in the local state of today.
However, this is not to be overtly chary the PDS proposals are to be heartily applauded, and we hope put into practice; and NAM should campaign vigoruosly for this to happen.
Empirical historiography, or the Whig interpretationasitusedtobecalled,evol- yed from the liberal approach to history which emerged in the 19th century. Its main characteristics were described as:
a belief in the primacy of observable facts implicit theories containing assumptions about the goals of society; the individual- isationofhistoryandtheisolationofthe area being studied from other contemp- orary and historical events except by way of cause and effect.
Despite the influence of historians
like Tawney, and more recently Hobsbawm and Stedman Jones, al of whom have rej- ected fact accumulation ,moralising and liberal variants of the idea of progress, the main stream of British historiography (typified by ‘The Victorian City’ — edited by Dyos and Wolff) has remained stead- fastly empirical.
FINAL PART
identification of problems in history there- fore acts as a defence of the present society by reinforcing its values. It is a statement not only about the past, but about the present and the future.
Certainly,EPThompson (2)haspoin- ted out that the majority of present day academic historians transfer their sensibil- ities and goals to the society which they are studying. These goals change as the society changes. The current goal is social justice.
‘The belief in the possibility of social reform by conscious effort is the dominant currentof the European mind: ithas superseded the belief
in liberty as the one panacea.” (3) Social justice involves the idea of allocat- ing burdens and benefits in an equitable way.Itattemptstolaydownethical
S
s
Inthis,thelastessayinthisseries,Lampard’s principleswiththefulforceofmorallaw.
Cynthia Cockburn was the speaker at one of NAM’s best attended and liveliest London Group meetings in November at the Architectural Association. Author of ‘The Local State ’(reviewed inSLATE
6 ),she opened by describing how workers in Local Authorities and communities can unwittingly extend and validate the oppresive aspects of the modern state, help to ameliorate the harsher realities of Capitalism and serve to support it by nurturingtheworkingpopulation.She advisedradicalsintheseareastocreate what she termed their *oppositional
space ’and suggested that, faced with inadequate resourcesth,estateworker
can ‘refuse to manage( with the
resources )’ and highlight the cut backs that force them to implement the lowering of the quality of state support. Applied to architects this could take the form of active resistance to the cuts in budgets for housing, schools and other local amenities and the moves made by Tory boroughs towards the privatisation of housing.
She argued that, although the form taken by the local state( for instance area based, function based or a combination of the two ) was asignificant area of campaign, workers inside and outside Local Authorities could, at the same time, establish direct links with user groups and support their efforts to fight inadequate state provision. She suggested that by reachingouttomassgroupingsoftenants and to trade unions, *oppositional
space °can be reinforced and empowered ‘As well as alliance with Council building departments she saw it necessary to identify with the industrial action of other groups of Local Authority workers such as the social workers currently on strike in several London boroughs.
NAM’s PDS Group, representatives of which were at the meeting replied to Ms Cockbum’s paper and the discussion was taken up by the audience, many of whom were newcomers to NAM events. Although the gathering was expectant with sectarian mutterings the showdown didn’t, in the event materialise, despite some prodding. Ms Cockburn deftly side-stepped one f flashpoint in the evening by opening up the discussion to the NAM Feminist Group, amember ofwhichdescribedtheirsetting upofawomen’sdesigncooperativenow designing a women’s aid hostel in Clapham.
Some people said that after reading *The LocalState”theywereleftfeeling confused as to what was *the right thing to do ’and how to apply Ms Cockburn’s analysis. The dilemma was not totally resolved by the meeting, and rightly so.
Ms Coburn pointed out at the start that she would proceed as il addressing 2 socialist audience, and one felt that the key to confusion during the evening was NAM’s elevation over. that level of political identity.
statement that ‘the attention (of empirical urban history) has been focussed on the problemsratherthantheprocessofsocial change’ (1), will be examined briefly and it will be suggested that this is one of the ways in which empirical history controls the meaning of the past for the benefit of the present social arrangements.
PROBLEMS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE:
The identification of social phenomena
as ‘problems’ carries with it certain implications. Problems are implied to be aberrations in an otherwise satisfactory arrangement. They appear as disfunctions. Their rectification or eradication, it may be assumed, will result in the system con- tinuingtoexistasitdidbeforetheprob- lem put in an appearance. In that case the
identification of problems suggests that not only are their social norms, but that the identifier has a goal in the path of which the problem appears as an obstacle. Events will thus be classified in relation to the extent to which they support the ex- isting arrangements and its goals. The
These principles, like the moral values of the 19th century historians, once estab- lished,canbeusedtoevaluateeventsand activities in history. It can be seen, that where the distribution of resources in the urban past is not in accordance with present ideas of social justice this will constitute a problem for the historian.
Social justice then isanormative concept. Itlooks for‘what ought to be’ rather than ‘what is’. The gap between what ought to be and what actually is, will appear as a problem. ‘Problems’ are therefore inherent in a historical approach based on implicit goals. ‘The Victorian City’ is replete with examples. Inithistory isregarded asa series of static events, not as a dynamic
process. PROCESSES:
To describe historical change as a process implies that there is a relationship and a continuity between historical events.
They are not random and discrete but part of a pattern.. If this is the case there is the further implication that there exists a ‘mechanism’ which generates this process,
page 26
a mechanism furthermore, which is inyisi- ble. That is, we can see and recork visible evidence but not the generator. If we are to accept that a process is at work, and if we are to understand history ,the facts of history become secondary to the generat- ing structure. They are merely the out- ward appearances of it. But the generat- ing structure itself can only be discovered by hypotheses or theories. This is the method employed by al scientific enter- prise.
As far as problems are concerned, it follows that if a visible social phenomen- onwere tobedefinedasa‘problem’by adherents of a theoretical approach to history, the origin of the problem would
be sought within the structure of society. In a theoretical approach to history there- fore, the structure of society is not immune from searching investigation. The empirical approachontheotherhand,investigates and records only the visible facts; as was described in the previous essay. Some of these necessarily appear as problems in relation to an implicit goal.
From the foregoing it seems clear that history would be advised to direct its attention towards an examination of social processes. In this respect EP Thompson has stated categorically that,
‘The central concern of history as a relevant humane study (is) to genera- lise and integrate and to obtain a comprehensionofthefullsocialand culturalprocess’.(4)
If that is the case, and the empirical app- roach does not give an adequate account ofhistory,itmaybewonderedwhyitis so prevalent or indeed why it is employed at al.
History however hands down tradition, and tradition means the carrying on of the past into the future. History transmits social knowledge which includes society\'s perception of itself. Itisthe contention of these essays that only the empirical approach can convey society’s image
of itself unaltered. Since it is necessary for any society at any stage of its develop- ment tobelieve initsown stability and
continuity, its institutions and ideology will tend to further the existing arrange- ments and inhibit opposing expressions.
In which case it will be difficult if not impossibleforacapitalistsocietytoaccept the Marxist approach to history, in part- icular, it will find it unpalatable to re- concile itself to the Marxist belief in historical progress; namely that our pres- ent arrangement is one stage in the histor- ical development of production, the mode of production being the hidden ‘generator’.
It proposes therefore that capitalist soc- ietyistemporary. Thereisthefurther argument that the society itself engenders this change through the resolution of a continuing series of internal contradictions. (These are likely to be regarded as problems by the empiricists).
Marxist theory also poses another and particularly acute problem for a society based, as ours is, on the requirement of minority ownership relying for its wealth and existence on the surplus generated
by the majority. For within this society there exists a body of theory which postulates that the present arrangement prepares the ground for the transfer of ownership to the majority.
“(It) engenders the material conditions and the social forms necessary for a reconstruction of society.” (Marx) Marxism, as a scientific historical theory, therefore,cannot be divorced from Marxism asapoliticaltheory,whichattacksthe basis of the society.
The tmpirical interpretation however, preserves capitalist society’s mirage of itself intact.Whenhistoryisapproachedwithan unconscious implicit theory, the facts which
-are selected will tend to confirm the received wisdom. There is an inherent _ circularity in the method.
“The ideological assumptions of an age slide into historiography...... not generally as strident assertions of ‘partipris’ (those who contest the dominant ideology are accused by its defenders of this) but in certain selectivities and abstentions......
two of these absentees (from empirical history) are captalism and class conflict.” (5)
CONCLUSION
Thus the empirical approach to history acts as a powerful defence of present day Society. By its very nature it controls the meaning of history in a way that reinforces our society’s perception of itself. But because the empirical historians simplicitly transfer their own sensibilities and goals to the society which they are studying, their histories become outdated as society progresses and adopts new goals and defines new problems. That is why history is Tewritten.
REFERENCES
(1) E. Lampard “Urbanisation and social change\"
from “The Historian and theCity\" Eds. Handlin& Burchard p. 226
(2)EP.Thompson “ResponsestoReality” New Sociéty 4th October 1973
(3) E.H, Carr “What is History?” (4) E.P. Thompson op.cit.
(5) E.P. Thompson ibid.
and highly readable would be :
E.H. Carr “What isHistory?” o Pelican 60p
of Capitalism” RKP paperback £2.75
2
LONDON GROUP OPEN
MEETING
= y 4
Reading Urban History
At the end of the first of these essays
inSLATE 7anumberofsuggested histories and authors were listed as helpful starters. An even shorter list, definitely recommended
The previous two issue in this series sugg- ested that the dominant and most influent- ial approach to Urban History and indeed to history in general in this country is the empirical approach, based on knowledge derived from observation. It was contrast- ed with the theoretical approach which is based on knowledge obtained by the con- scious application of explicit theories. The most important and well developed of the second isto be found in Marxist histories.
Maurice Dobb “Studies in theDevelopment
- * Recent research carried out by the Economist Intelligenc . .. *
*ero
Unit has shown that this judge isactually out of the country at the moment, the organisers apologise for the bias confered on the panel by virtue of this persons absence.
page 28
S$
dye-caste, hand-tooled 1:500 model of shhh-you-know-who’s helicopter.
hew!, I’m glad to be o Actual Project.
mn
at least 5 phs and shou
ntry requirements and programmes are availa
any branch of MAR LEYPILKREDLAND Ltd\'s retail outlets; ‘‘Do-it-yourself we\'re buggered if we are” at £600.00 (including vat) (easy payment scheme availab from MARLEYPILKREDLAND FINANCE COMPAN
ém‘s memoirs- face”
ined from rtland Place
—
‘| SLATE COMPETITION!
— ———e
commission. l
SSSSee == = ~The Competition willbe judged by: — __-Roddy-_Llewelyn:_night-club owner
=
| :
Vincent“ten wilt
fiver’ Marleypilkredland (no
ar | |
Vitruvius: registered architect*
;
|
The Slater: architectural critic of SEATE
the sponsoring company wha he Economist Intelligence Unit
Sponsored by MAR LEYPILKREDLAND Ltd, (adivision The sponsers offer the following suggestions for the
of United Dog Foods Inc.) Entries are invited for the different ways of rehabilitating the decaying premises
of a faded London club at 66, Portland Place, W.1. The entries should be hgaded by one of the following key-words.: “InnerCity”,“small”,“sensitive”,‘“‘infill’’,“revitalising”,
re-use of the property: -advertising agency
-Chilean restaurant ‘ te! e
(BMsee egcornce
ideo of 2 weeks in the Seychelles paid for yants, Cabin, to be announced.
e money owed by the Arts Council to the Natio
“nice”, “community: \"or\"! Dp”. -temporary headquarters for the chinese trade
NOTE: This competition is closed to all (male : unity Architecture Workii
Ifo Mc
APH. Creeohsed_
WI)Li nalrlel~}| ofF Ai
=
Zi e” eZ ks|<]A}CO]OBS wlvy}>}-}ut}
SSBe <fe Zz <i |J]X]av}Ye)—}EJA]oft O
<i <a
pO]itt)WE S|Ola}
x eSee
a a By — 4 &
ef|S]wySf=} st]a}wz]
5 JN-9rQY
ot]Z||uw]Oo]+] S|<x]w] la
y==°
Ly -[2]<« a eS?]|SiS] 2
zie
z
ie Zi a.
9° < W
ofa
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Murray & John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = '10 November 1978';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 13';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = '
nena
ener ee
EDITORIAL! G2
aa
ee ps) p4
velat Siar!)
SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and te the general public are inc- luded to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues anid to bring the Movement’: views and cetivities to the attention ofthe largest possible readership.
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
writers .more ideas and more reps in order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. [f you would like to work for SLATE: become a rep., join the group, sendinarticlesorsuggesttopicsitshould cover then contact us soon.
the copy date for the next issue is Friday 27th July.
SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT,9PolandSt.,LondonW.1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications Group)
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2a St Pauls Rd., London, N1.
Trade Distributionby Publications Distribution Cooperative, 27, Clerken- well Court, London, E.C.2
SLATE may bea very slick looking paper but we need money fast!
Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE to
9 Poland Street. W1.
Dluish or,
2. adj. (Made) oe
esp. es roofing; het
ao)late f. OF caslates fern, of e.
It is not possible to talk about any housing problems these days without referring to the ‘govern- ment or the ‘State’ either as a provider of housing and housing finance or as preventing houses of certain types or in certain places from being built. State intervention in housing is not new, nor is it something that politicians are liklely to be able to will away, however much they protest that they can and will.
The role that the State has taken upon itself is one of trying to bridge the gap between the housing people need and the housing that would be provided for them by the free market, officially acknowledging, in the process, that decent housing is a necessity for people
if they are to lead sane and healthy lives.
Current approaches to housing problems frequently
fail to ensure decent housing. General experience bears thisoutandthearticlesinthisSLATE reflectitfrom variouspointsofview.Inordertounderstandwhy housing policy fails we would argue that it is necessary to understand the economic forces that underpin our social system and how they impinge on our housing problem. The economic function of housing is two- fold: firstly asa commodity which can be manufact- ured and traded, either by sale or rent, for profit; secondlyasanenvironmentinwhichpeoplecanlead
healthy and sane lives in order to be fit to produce wealth. As early as the middle of the nineteenth cent- ury the contradictions between these two functions became apparent and at first private philanthropists and later the State intervened to ensure that neither one of these functions was eliminated due to excesses of the other. In nineteenth century society it was the ‘capitalists’, the few who owned the vast prop- ortion of the country’s wealth who sought to promote housing asa commodity and working people who campaigned for better housing more appropriate to their needs. The compromises that ensued from this continuing conflict shaped and continues to shape government housing policy.
Our explanation is symplistic but hopefully provides a link between the articles which follow and which alillustratethiscontinuingconflict,andthecomp- romisesthatensuefromit. Onethingiscertain,if progress is to be made towards better housing then the emphasis must be less on housing as a commodity and more on houses provided for peoples needs.
GOVERNMENT CONTROL
OVER PUBLIC HOUSING Government ploicyis effected through aseries of controls which determine the FORM of local authority housing.
PRIVATE BUILDERS’ PUBLIC PERFORMANCE — p6 Private builders distort the supply, cost and
quality of public housing.
Council house sales deny housing opportunities
RISINGDAMP
Tenants’ campaigns demand housing defects justice.
An interview with Seagull women’s housing co-operative,
REVIEWp32see 2). THE SLATER ——
NEWS
NEWS FROM NAM
pl4
ear pl9 p22 i221 EI2S
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi- tecture Movement unless stated to be so.
SLATE 13 PAGE2
sla’ oN} mefapp.f.preo.}
elite’, n., a, & v.t. 1, Minds of grey, grecn, or blulsh-purple rock easilysput
HOUSING PEOPLE
AND
HOUSING PROFITS
pate antepEioern Plates; pleco of lato a3 roofing-material
sar framedtn wood used forroleectit with~-pencilorsmallSS (ean the ~, rid oneself of or renounce soles: tions); ~-black, -blue, -grey, mi
¥these tints such as occur in~; I~-cluby “valbenefitsocletywithmae
suthons; ~-colour(ed), dark vreeniah greys hence Greet o Cover with ~s S \"Slaven n. (MB
slate’, v.t. (collog.). Critictze wuvereiy~ ea panes in reviews), scold, rate; minate,profporoffsiceeeto,Hence
CONTENTS
WOMAN|S|PLACE.eeeee po) How design guides reinforce sexism in house
design,
ALESTOGKSMUSTGOSaez
WOMEN\'S RIGHT TO HOUSE = pl7
EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775
Douglas Smith is an architect with the London Borough of Camden.
Although public sector housing is known as ‘council housing’ local councils have little choice in the sort of houses they build. Central government policies effectively determine the form of council housing. Doiglas Smith describes how the State controls council housing and explains why such controls are necessary
The last few years have witnessed a dramatic shift in the forms of housing provided by Local Author- ities. From the high-rise blocks of the \'60\'s, councils are now building 2 storey houses: the grand schemes have given way to infill development and rehabilita tion. This article aims to relate the changes in hous ing policy to the political needs of the State and the economic needs of capital
in the more lucrative areas of commercial building, Even as late as 1968 the Government stil believed that tenants were satisfied living in tawer blocks, and it was only after the collapse of Ronan Point in 1968 which halted the policy, when stringent and expensive safety measures were introduced. It was well after the end of the high—rise policy that this form of housing became a target for popular press
Each council is now responsible for the manage— ment of funds limited by the Government which
are inadequate to meet their own definition of need. Councils wishing to maximise their allowance are
obliged to seek the cheapest possible solutions to satisfy their stated policies. Instead of redeveloping they are encouraged to rehabilitate, which is cheaper in the short term, or to buy cheap housing from the market. Where new building is demanded councils will seek to reduce costs by any means permitted including the reduction of space standards or by employing developers and design/build contractors.
In one Local Authority the standard council provision is for low—cost semi’s built at 14% below Parker Morris’ standards.(6) After reducing areas, housing layouts are simplified and the quality for external finishes reduced.
These Government policies direct and control those councils determined to improve their housing provision, while others are quite happy to reduce their responsibility and sel off their stock. It can be seen that these policies determine not only the less housing development in the cities.
In order to simplify procedures and place some responsibility for financial managemerit in the hands of the Local Authority, the Government introduced its Housing Investment Programme (HIP) in 1978.(4) Each council made a ‘bid’ for funds for the next year oased on housing statistics and policy statements projected forward three years. However, on average, the councils received only 70% of the bids made, even though many councils are notoriously un— enthusiastic about building houses. The money allocated can be used flexibly by the authorities
within the areas of new build, rehabilitation and acquisition of existing properties.(S)
number of houses provided but also affect its form. Low density housing was introduced asasurreptitious way of cutting housing expenditure rather than to improve standards.
Housing policy is determined by the needs of finance capital rather than public debate. The form of housing raises many questions concerning allocation of resources, tenants needs, standards and ideological aspects of family life none of which have been discussed here.
These questions should continue to form part of NAM’s development of an alternative determination of the environment and the forms it should take.
References
1. DOE. ‘Residential density in development bricfs
HMSO 1976 Development advice note Z
DOE Housing: needs and action HMSO 1975
DOE Circular 24/75, 14p
2, AJ 18.5.74 p1009
AJ 28,1.76 p169
AJ 11.8.76 p242
3. Figures from DOE White Paper on Public Expenditure 1976, quoted in ‘Upagainst
a brick wall \'by NUPE & SCAT 4. AJ 13,7.77 pp55—56
5. Crofton Bernard, ‘Housey housey New Society 23.2.78 p428
6. AJ 31.5.78 pl0s4
SLATE13 PAGE4
SLATE13 PAGES
Public housing is not only a service essential for
the reproduction of labour but-also plays an active
part in the reproduction of capital. As well as being Government used a system of subsidy introduced a hard -won benetit for the working class (though
constantly under threat), it also provides for builders, high density development within a low—rise form. bankers, who finance projects and developers who
provide the lind. Government policy and controls
intervene to ensure that these contradictory forces
are resolved to provide maximum profits as social
and economic needs develop. Government policy
is effected through a series of controls which
collectively determine the form that Local Authority
housing should take, i
The first set of controls outline the basic social requirements for housing. Building regulations attempt to ensure that simple health and safety requirements are met, and Parker Morris standards ensure that enough spaceis allowed within the dwelling for tenants tosleep, eat and watch the telly. It embodies the need to maintain discreet family units and it is the next level of controls,
However it was not long before the economic recession demanded severe cut backs in public expenditure. In 1975 regulations were introduced which prohibited the provision of family dwellings off the ground and limited the permitted density of development.(1) The main effects of thispolicy were the reduction of building volume and therefore overall costs and delays imposed by having to redesign existing schemes to conform with the
new policy, thereby making immediate cuts in spending.
The housing minister, Reg Freeson, introduced these policies by acclaiming the improvement of housing standards, but he was taking advantage of public criticism of tower blocks to impose drastic cuts in housing provision. Most councils accepted these intentions.(2)
This policy continues today to limit the extent
of new housing provision and the essential result has been a massive cut in capital expenditure of 40% from 1974/5.(3)
Current low—density policy also has several secondary effects. Councils are encouraged to
sel difficult or expensive sites, or to consider subsidiary commercial development to pay for them. The small number of units permitted on these sites especially in inner city areas, do not justify the costs of acquisition or redevelopment. Secondly, councils are encouraged to rehabilitate rather than redevelop wherever possible because more units are allowed at existing densities on a particular site than if the site isdemolished and new housing provided. Finally councils are encouraged to provide more non—family Units (mainly for old people) because slightly higher densities are permitted than for family units. The net result is fewer new houses, less family units and
abuse.
Even though high—rise policy was abandoned, the
in 1967 (the Housing Cost Yard Stick) to encourage
This kept the building industry profitably employed by building fully on available sites and allowing a more flexible approach to construction, though prefabricated systems were still often used.
GOVERNMENT CONTROL
OVER PUBLIC
HOUSING
mainly financial .which determine how units relate to each other, additional amenities, and what form the housing must take
Government housing Policy iseffected through a system of subsidies and ‘circulars’ which determine new stundards. The strength of these controls is illustrated by the fact that during the °60\"s every council was compelled to build tower blocks and now fo build little houses. The changes over the last 20 years represent housing solutions to new economic, political and social demands
Just before the economic €xpansion of the “60\'s the building industry was undercapitalised and threatened with labour shortages. Itwanted to encourage investment in new machinery, plant and building systems, thereby reducing theinputby skilled workers. The Government responded by demanding that Local Authorities build high—rise blocks by industrialised methods. The architects Provided an image of the benefits of the “modern
world’ which politicians accepted as a demonstration of the strength of their Policies. The anticipated reduction in cost never materialised 4s contractors later sought to apply their newly acquired methods
Andy Brown isa member of the SLATE Hditorial Committee.
Most new local authority housing isbuilt by private contractors. The remainder isbuilt by local authorities’ own building workforces (Direct Labour Organisations) whose mode of operation is modelled on, and determined by, the private contritcting systen). Private contractors claim
that an efficient building industry is dependent on competition between firms and that any contin- uation or extension of public ownership will reduce efficiency ae
Over the past fifteen years there have been two main responses to the need for public sector house building by the private sector. Firstly there was the widespread use of industrialised systems by large contractors during the 1960s. Secondly, in more recent years there has been a return to trad- itional methods of construction applicd to low rise housing on smaller sites by small- to meduim- sized contrictors, Both responses have risen and declined without giving satisfactory results.
FAILURE OF INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING
The idea of industrialised building methods, of which tower blocks are a product, was to reduce
to public sector housing. Andy Brown describes some of these effects and shows how the contract. ing system distorts the supply, cost and quality of new council houses.
building costs by lowering the amount of work required on site through the mass production of large standardised components in factories. Favourable adjustments were made to the council house subsidy system by central government in order to promote the use of industrialised
sytems by local authorities.
The use of industrialised building methods
i1 new local authority housing rocketted during the 1960s reaching a peak in 1967 when tenders for over 70,000 industrialised dwellings in
England and Wales were approved (see chart). In their eagerness to exploit the new technique, hastily designed and unresearched systems were drawn up by large contractors with little or no regard for quality or users’ needs
Predictably the idea did not work .Large numbers of firms each developed their own system with
the result that only a few of them were applied on
a large enoughscalefor the potential economies of mass production to be realised. A monopoly situation quickly arose which lasted throughout
the industrialised dwelling ‘boom’. In London alone, three contractors shared 374% of the market in 1967, 20% of which were contracts won by Laings and 12% by Wates. In 1969, 62% of industrialised dwellings in England and Wales were built by only four contractors, namely, Wimpey, Concrete Ltd., Wates and Laing.
Tenants and local authorities are still living out the legacy of this failure. Repair and maintenance costs on industrialised dwellings are about three times as high as for traditional housing, and continue to increase. Media coverage of conden- sation problems, structural collapse and defects, vandalism,expensive heatingsystemsandinadequate inadequate facilities has been extensive.
It is interesting to note, however, that the social unacceptability of industrialised dwellings was not the major reason for their decline. The special subsidy for industrialised high-rise dwellings was scrapped before the infamous progressive collapse of Ronan Point in 1968. In reality they were simply ho cheaper to build than dwellings of traditional construction. During 1969-1970 demand fell by over a third and, as new industrialised council housing diminished as a growth area, so the large
contractors interest in the market tailed off.
SMALLER FIRMS TAKE OVER
Council house building in more recent years has occured in a different form with a marked change of contractors. In the early 1970s large contractors dropped out of the public housing market altogether prefering to concentrate on more profitable forms
of construction, suchas offices and overseas work. Public housing construction was was taken over by small- to medium-size contractors. Emphasis was placed by ‘cal authorities on building low rise dwellings on smaller sites using traditional methods of construction.
Many of the smaller firms expanded veryquickly with the new found source ofwork and stestched their rescources too far. Local authorities were awarding large contracts worth over £1million to firms with capital assets well below that level. If contracts went wrong, severe consequences occured. The number of bankruptcies and liquidations in 1976 for example, totalled over 1500. Contractors were, and stil are, no longer effective risk bearers for local.
Others soon learned the necessary tricks of econ- omic survival and profit maximisationTh.e practice of subcontracting large portions ofa contract by building firms who are not equipped to undertake the ergi
required variety of work has become common place.
Asa result local authorities exercise little or no
control over those firms who actually do the work.
Virtually al building firms employ experts whose job
itis to read the small print of the building contract
in order to identify areas where claims for more money
cannot be legoly resisted, irrespective of whether
the additional costs have actually been incurred.
There is evidence to suggest that many firms,
particularly medium sized firms who are also 4 involved in other more profitable work, use local
authority housebuilding to regulate their workflow.
Such firms frequently switch their rescources in mid-
contract to the more lucrative work, as, and when it
siuts them. Excessive and bogus contractual delays
and claims are then used to ensure that no losses
are incurred. Cost and time overruns for housing
contracts completed for the London Borough of
Islington in 1977-1978 were at a staggering level of
40% and 52% respectively (Islington Gutter Press,
September 1978). The situation has become so bad
that poor site performance is the accepted norm for
local authorities.
COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY MYTH
Contractors claim that competition within the private sector of the building industry keeps down prices and ensures good standards and efficiency. But the way in which contractors tender for local authority work brings none of the advantages claimed for open-market competition.
Until the 1960s local authorities were required to publically advertise every building job and chose the lowest submitted tender that is, work was con- tracted through open competition. The Banwell _ Report (1964) published by the Ministry of Public Building and Works was very critical of this method of tendering. It argued that too much competition allowed large reputable firms to be undercut by new and less established firms and, thereby reduced the level of quality and profitability. It claimed that open competition had a harmful effect on local
authorities who, by accepting the lowest tenderer had become involved in additional costs above the tender price through time delays, defects, u1com- pleted work and unsettled claims. By reducingthe level of competition it was believed that the large, reputable contractors would increase qualitywith
MF Nae otna
Sevres Mourn andConstrvetionstanatey weaeeSereee enSeaia aisigeast
SLATE13 PAGE6
SLATE13 PAGE7
PRIVATE BUILDERS’ PUBLIC PERFORMANCE
The majority of council houses are built by private builders under contracts with local authorities. The contracting system is biased towards private sector operations and has perverse effects when applied
SAAQy
Old Boiley prosecutor alleges thot
Architect\'s career ‘ruined\'—judge
eer inNorth-East
Bryant jurytold Frenchhelpspolicewith of £100 drinking motorway contract probe
sessions
Police allege fraud on road improvement jobs
greater profitability .Local authorities were
required to distinguish between good and bad builders by drawing up alist of approved contractors based on past performance and financial stability
and to limit the number of firms invited to tender for each job through selective competition.
The building industry isnot made up of ‘reputable firms’ and ‘cowboys’. In reality, building firms are al very similar because of the way in which they make profit under the contracting system, namely by skimping, excessive sub-contracting, denying local authorities effective control over costs and deliberately switching their rescources away from local authority work to other more profitable work.
Selective tendering assists the operation of build- ing monopolies in local authority work. In the London Borough of Hilligndon for example 40%
of all contracts for several years were won by only three firms. In the London Boroughof Islington six firms, from 1975 to 1976 won 75% of the value of large building contracts. The limited number
of builders used by local authorities makes it
easy for exchange of information and ‘informal arrangements’ to be set up between firms. Collu- sion between contractors on the same tender list can lead to\'pricerings’ where, by mutual agree- ment, one firm is designated to win the contract by the others who deliberately submit a high price. The practice of price-ringing reduces competition, raises prices, protects less profitable contractors and stops building industry from rationalising itself, all at the expense of local authorities and tenants.
AWOMAN\'S PLACE
‘A woman\'s place is in the home’: this concept, firmly established in Victorian Britain, isstil perpetuatedtoday.Houseworkandchildcareare sex-stereotyped activities: the privatisation of
women’s work is reflected in many typical house-
cauad4
Before the Industrial Revolution, the tamily constituted the basic productive unit in the economy. The privatisation of the child-centred nuclear family developed with the separation of home and work, reproduction and production.
Wife battering and child delinquency are con- sequences of the tensions created by stressing emotional relationships within this privatised family
unit. The role of housewife, as Ann Oakley? says, developed ‘to reconcile the two opposed structures in modern society: home and work. Industrialisation which calls for the concentration of economically
Glasgow hospital
jontrials corruptio)
TENANTS PAY THE PRICE
ence within any one building firm will vary from job _ Both the large contractors with their industrialised
between the private economically
should be away from the kitchen equipment not under her feet’.>
and
There is no evidence to suggest that a distinction between good and bad building firms can be made. More often than not the level of technical compet-
and salary-earning work’.
Feminists have consistently questioned
conventional assumptions about the role of
women in the home and family in two main ways: those demanding wages for housework, and those encouraging men to assume an equal shareof house- work and child rearing. The convergencoef these
to job just as much as the difference in technical competence between firms. Also, financial vetting isineffectve because annual accounts are not an
accurateindicationofafirm\'sfinancesandare invariably out of date when published.
CONTRACTORMAY FACE £200,000REPAIR BILL
systems and the smaller contractors with thei insubstantial means and excessive ubscontactin exhibit the worst traits of the contracting s ca
Inthecaseofindustrialisedbuildingseats 2 the government sought to increase efficiency in local authority house building through technical innovation without changing the contracting system. As a result, any genuine benefits from innovation, such as higher standards, lower
building costs and reduced rents were not possible. The need of the contractor for a quick turnover of capital in order to make profits prevented a thoroughly researched and considered approach
to using this technique from taking place. Competition between the large contractors ended
in the creation of monopolies and the loss of control of the product by local authorities. At the end of the day the tenant is left to pay the price of this
failed venture in higher rents and the problems of living in an unsatisfactory and ,often, technically unsound environment.
_ Similarly, the unacceptably high cost and
time overruns, high tender prices and work-switch- ingwhich have resulted from new council house building by the smaller contractors in recent years 1S,eventually, transfered to the tenant in higher rents.The inefficiencies of private builders operating under the contracting system continue
eel the already long council house waiting Ss.
£1m repairs on
omeTaneseeee Thenatureofthebuildingindustryandgovern- Theseparationofthesculleryfromlivingroom,
teheeSSeaae sae
ment policy have ensured that public demand for council housing has not been realisable.
and provision of separate bedrooms resulted, with a reliance on the woman as an economically
SLATE13 PAGES
SLATEI3 PAGES
out- side the family is the primary agent in this opposition
andwherehewilnotdisturb sleepingchildren’;
productive effort in large-scale organisations
mother needs to be able to see them from the kitchen, but they
hh 6m
The separation of the house into rooms with particular functions isarecent innovation. In pre-industrial Britain, in farm and town houses activities such as eating, sleeping, cooking and
tasks associated with farm or trade, took place in
a single space — “the home’. Separate kitchens first appeared in aristocratic houses in the late 16th century, and in middle class Victorian houses became the realm of the domestic servants, predominantly women. As the number of domestic servants decreased, so the kitchen became identified with the housewife. The ‘Model Dwellings’ movement was an influential force in the application of these ideas to working class housing. The concem of the housing reformists to improve the quality of life and educate the poor to a ‘socially accepted’ standardof living was seen as improvement through health and sanitary reform.
non-productive life of the home, and the public world of the wage
a fit)
differences in housetypes relate to the physical categorisation of space, (narrow/wide frontages etc) or the numbers of groups (such as one, two or
three person dwellings). Designed for recognised groups, primarily the nuclear family, single people and the elderly, they do not reflect alternative patterns of living such as communal organisations or single parent families.
The text reinforces sex-stereotyping of tasks and
division of the house into men’s and women’s
realms, e.g. ‘when father makes or repairs something he needs to be out of mother’s way in the kitchen,
Sue Francis is doing research at the Royal’ College of Art and isa member of the NAM Feminist Group.
and ‘when the children play indoors
‘Years of corruption gave Bryant £100m jobs’
through the roof |
~of questions isheavily influenced by 19th century
Rates gloom as eae
plans, whether of tower blocks or detached houses. Even the most radical architects continue uncon- sciously to maintain this stereotyping. (Could it be you?)
two campaigns, through collective action, could lead to a change in attitude towards women’s work, and demands for different kinds of environments in which domestic work takes place.
The baby needs aplace where itisquiet to sleep. The toddler needs a place for play, where toys and other playthings can be concentrated, so the housewife does not have to be for ever tidying up.
Meanwhile, design guides produced for architects and builders continue to reinforce these sexist notions about domestic work and the design of the home. ‘Housing the Family’? isastandard text, reprinted in 1974, which is in current use for both public and private housing. It is the result of more detailed research of the sort that ‘Homes for today and tomorrow’ made fashionable. The family is portrayed as leading a typical white middleclass life not dissimilar to thatof ‘Janet and John reading books. There is an air of unreality about the way they live reminiscent of the glossy images printed in the Sunday colour supplements.
User research isso detailed, and the comprehensiveness of design guides, means thatif al their requirements are met, the designer prescribes astandardised solution. The selection
buildingcostsgoea
morality (can you hear the toilet flushing in the hall), and 20th century notions about efficiency in its most banal sense.
The nature of design guides in thestandardisation of user needs and requirements reflects broader issues in the control and provision ofhousing: notably the structural separation within the building process between designers and users. The only
SLATE13 PAGE10
“There are no true walls or doors; The woman in the beautiful electronic kitchen isnever separated from her
children’ In what is basically one free- flowing room, instead of many rooms separated by walls and stairs continual messes need continually picking up.\"
SLATEI3 PAGEI1
The assumption that the drudgery of housework can be eliminated by the provision of efficient, easy to clean surfaces and easy to reach storage permeates design guides. Underlying this, however, is the notion that the kitchen is controlled by the woman alone: food preparation is not a sociable activity in which every one can participate. Give us a big kitchen table we can al work at, and not a laboratory bench where we stand, isolated, facing a blank wall. ;
Mechanisation of housework has led to the decrease of certain tasks, but at the same time,
the development of new ones (e.g. cleaning and sweeping fitted carpets). The nature of housework asalabour-intensiveactivitymeansthatitexpands to fil the time available. Although technology and careful planning have removed to some extent the exhausting physical labour of much housework, basically the job remains the same. The average number of hours spent on housework was recorded inasurveyundertakenin1975,asseventy-seven per week.,
Acknowledgement in contemporary society of theneedofeachindividualforprivacyisnot reflected in the woman’s selfless position in the family. Whilst thought to be tied to the house more than any other member of the family, itisassumed that she spends her time in spaces which service the family, whether it be the kitchen or the ‘master bedroom’. Virginia Woolf\'s slogan “A Room of One’s Own’ applies equally to any person,
whatever sex, if they are to establish some independent identity within the nuclear family.°
Betty Friedan comments on the contemporary trend for open-plan living giving the illusion of visible space, freedom and non-segregation of activities, thus: “There are no true walls or doors; the woman in the beautiful electronic kitchen is
in this country, re—emerging with experiments of squatting groups and students in the 1960\'s, where the relationship of home and work within the
context of organisation of society were fundamentally questioned. Socialist housing policies of the post
war years glorified the nuclear family, ignoring the criticism of capitalism which regards it as an integral part of that system. The provision of day—care facilities for children in socialist countries has enabled women to spend more hours in the factory but has not altered their role in the home.
“I\'m not your little woman, your sweet heart or your dear,
I\'m a wage slave without wages, I’m amaintenance engineer!’
never separated from her children. In what is basically one free-flowing room, instead of many rooms separated by walls and stairs, continual messes continually need picking up. A man, of course, leaves the house for most of the day. But the feminine mystique forbids the woman this.”©
Acknowledgement in design guides of the relationship between the inside of the house and the world immediately outside is reduced to watching children’s play, adequacy of car
parking, and accessibility of house for frequent and occasional visitors. The importance of social relationships and communal activities,particularly for women at home, are ignored. Domestication ofpreviouslypublicactivitiessuchasbaking, washing, bathing, are truly enforced in the privatised child-centred nuclear family.
Experiments in the collectivisation of domestic work and childcare enable us to imagine some- thing different. It was an essential part of the organisationofmany utopiansocialistcommunities Co-operative housekeeping was promoted by Raymond Unwin in ‘The Art of Building a Home’,
published in 1901.(7) These ideas were put into
practiseinEbenezerHoward’sschemesinLetchworth 1.Oakley,Ann,Housewife,PelicanBooks,1974p.10
and Welwyn Garden City with the provision of communal dining and kitchen facilities. Accommo— dation provided by various ‘Female Planning Improvement Corporations offered shared facilities in housing designed specifically for working women.(8)
The continuity of this utopian vision was then lost
2. Housing the Family, Design Bulletins. MTP Construction, 1974
3. Homes for today and tomorrow, HMSO
4. See :Cowan: Industrial Revolution and the home
Technology& Culture : 17 (Jan 1976) p.1- 26
and Oakley, Ann op cit
. Wolfe, Virginia ‘A Room of Ones Own, Penguin . Friedan, Betty, The Feminine Mystique. Penguin . Unwin R, The Art of Building a Home, Longmans
Green & Co, 1901, 2nd Ed
. Hayden, Dolores, Collectivising the Domestic
Workplace, Lotus, No 12, 1976. Sept, p 72 89
Women are demanding radical changes both structurally and in attitude, towards the definition
of their role in society. Architects can respond to these demands by refusing to design spaces which idealise theprivatisationanddomesticationofwomen in
the home.
References
IDM
o
“Only ‘he’needs aroom ofhisown. Why deesdhe woman need space to herself less than the others though she is expected to be at home more?”
Mark Lipson isa member of the
Battersea Redevelopment
Action Group.
SLATE13 PAGE12
need.
anyway. Perhaps more important stil is the fact that Council houses are, or have been on the market in Wandsworth for sale not just to sitting tenants with money, but to Housing Associations and private individuals too. Now, under aThatcher Government, propety speculators will be given
an opportunity to enter this market. The result of al this is tnat the most desirable houses and flats with gardens will be creamed off the top of the Council’s housing stock, which, when combined with the total stoppage of new building and the acquisition of houses, begun in earnest by the
previous Labour administration, spells out disaster for those that are “stuck” in Council flats in unsiutable, substandard or simply miserable conditions.
In Wandsworth the average price ofa 3-bedroomed house isabout £35,000. The Council offered up to 20% discount on this price, but must now be about
to adopt Thatcher\'s 50% where necessary — “all stocks must go” will be the new attitude. Even so, there are very few families in the Borough who want to move into the owner-occupation sector, and who have noy already done so, who could afford even a £17;500
house. The household income necessary to repay 4 100% mortgage on such a house would be at least £8,000 per annum, and that doesn’t take into account the £2500 in cash needed to put down a deposit, pay solicitors’ and surveyors’ fees, and insurance. Yet, in December 1978, 88% of male workers in Wandsworth
earned less than £6,000 per annum. Of the 12% or less that
SLATE13 PAGE13
‘DEFEND! |HousinG
OPte!‘HIGH
Re RISE §
TRANSFERSN
—_——— aNowe
of ‘distress’ (where Council bailiffs remove possessions in lieu of rent arrears). There will soon be no housing Stock left in the control of the Council other than
in the ghettoes of misery that no one wants
and no one can get out of. Mrs, Thatcher and.sher colleagues will soon claim that Britain isonce again
a free country, andthat everyone has equal opportunity. This is as clearly untrue as the idea that there isno housing problem.
might have been able to sign acontract of sale, mostwould probably already be owner occupiers. The much-heralded ‘homesteading and ‘equity sharing’ sohemes, both of which Wandsworth Council has been attempting in addition to outright sales, snffer from the same problems ‘At the time of writing, a house needing £11,000 of work is being offered for homesteading at £14,000. Who can afford that, who couldn’t afford an outright purchase? Certainly not the working class handyman that the scheme scheme was supposed to be aimed at!
Before the General Election, Wandsworth Council was not doing too well on its sales policy. In February 1979, 535 properties were being processed for sale, with only 48 to sitting tenants actually completed. 220 homes
had been lying empty for over 9 months as a direct result of the sales policy. No homesteading sales had
been completed, although 62 were in the pipeline. Importantly, no flats or maisonettes in acquired properties had been sold, but 4 newly built Council houses with gardens had. The Tory Couneil has just broken al records for the number of vacant homes in the Borough; they achieved this scandalous state by pulling out al the stops to sel off homes before
Peter Shore’s last significant act of curbing sales came into force. During the last few days before Shore’s
curb there were queues outside the Housing Department of people who had been told that this was their last chance. No evidence has emerged that any of those in the queue were actually in housing need. Whilst the charade goes on, and presumably gains momentum
with its new-found Central Government support, thousands of families in Wandsworth’s high rise flats
of which there are 51 blocks of over ten storeys — will suffer. Many of them already have to put up with severe condensation, unworkable expensive heating systems, lack of playspace, lift breakdowns, mental braekdowns and now even the use of the ancient law
ALL STOCKS MUST GO
The new Tory government is committed to selling council houses on an unprecedented scale. Many of the policies to be implemented nationally have been tried in the London Borough of Wand sworth ata
Since the General Election the issue of Council
local level. Martin Lipson looks at the experiences of tenants and prospectice buyers in Wandsworth and
explains how Tory policies will fail to satisfy housing
house sales has come once again into the limelight It is not an issue about which one can be unequivocal because it raises questions that the Left cannot always satisfactorily answer indeed in many areas Council house sales have been proceeding for years with no resistance from Labour parties. To understand why wholesale freedom tosell, now being put forward by Environment Minister Micheal Hesletine, is wrong, it is necessary fo look at the problems of housing need ona broad basis. It is
policies begun last year. A third of the Borough’s households are tenants of either Wandsworth Council or theGLC, or Housing Associations. Of the Borough Council tenants, over a third receive rent and rate rebates, or have their reat paid by the DHSS, and it is these people who are at the blunt end of the policies designed to “offer tenants choices they have never had”.
in such areas as the London Borough of Wandsworth, where a local sales policy has been in force since May 1978 when the Council was won by the Tories, that the damage is being seen to be done. Wandsworth is a working proloiype for many inner city aregs that will NOt start to be hit by Thatcherite policies regardless of local needs, and so it may be useful to place the argument against blanket sales in this context
being cut off entirely. There is no doubt that many people aspire to owner-occupation as the form of tenure that offers most. It offers security, freedom of action, very generous mortgage tax relief, freedom from Capital Transfer Tax and attracts improvement grants. However, access to this coverted status is restricted to people with cash in hand for a deposit and good stable incomes. Property values in Wandsworth are high and income levels are relatively low. So it is clear that the few Council tenants who can avail themselves of the Tories generous offer of homes for sale are the ones who have money
The waiting list for Wandsworth in 1978 was
about 21.000 people (7500 families). Of these. the vast majority live in overcrowded conditions or without proper amenities. 5,500 families living in private housing approached the Council’s Housing
Aid Centre in the previous year: for half of them the only solution was rehousing. A further 5,500 families who are already Council tenonts are registered on the Council\'s transfer list, because the conditions they have to tolerate are little better thanthe slums from which they were rchoused. Nearly half of Wandsworth Council’s housing stock is in blocks of four or more storeys (now accepted as the definition of high-rise flats) and 6.000 of its flats are in unmodernised very high density estates with room sizes well below Parker-Morris satndards. 3,500 single people sought assistance from one housing organisation in the Borough last year. This then is the human side’ of the problem — an enormous a:d growing need
for decent housing. It causesa crisis because there
is a massive shortage of siutable housing accommo- dation — an estimated 10,500 homes short in July
1978. It causes a crisis also because the physical condition of much of the housing stock is poor (16,000 dwellings substandard in 1978) Sut, most important of all, it causes a crisis because of restricted access to decent housing.
It is on this question of access that the policies of the local authority can perhaps make most impact. In Wandsworth the attitude towards the
private and public housing sectors has shifted suddenly and catastrophically as a result of Tory
What isreally happening isthat for thesepeoplethe choiees-are
FOR != Rise
ALL
as
Tom Woolley is a member ofSupport and the NAM Alternative Practices Group
The problems of defects in Couricil and housing association housing are rapidly growing to enorm- ous dimensions. One article in a weekly trade paper listed examples of housing estates with serious def- ects and talked of £200million to be spent on remedial works and it seems likely that in national terms the costs will be much greater.
The reasons for these problems should be well understood by most architects but the profession has failed to take any serious steps to stem the tide of complaints from tenants.
Problems include structural inadequacies that sre are usually revealed to tenants through water penet- ration, drafts ‘or alarming cracks. Even more wide- spread are problems of dampness and condensation. Tenants also complain about high heating bills, faul- ty refuse systems, cladding dropping off windows that won’t work and so on. The list is endless. Bad design ad defects are also linked in many caseswith social problems where unpopular, particularly high- density estates become unpopular and heavily
stigmatised (with abad name) are causing meny
managemenet headaches. Those local authorities who are demoloshing estates are doing so because of a combination of physical and social problems: the Piggeries in Liverpool; Noble Street in Newcatle;
Oak and Eldon Gardens in Birkenhead. Demolition is also being talked about for Hulme in Manchester, Tower Hill in Kirby, Red Road in Glasgow and so on. Many more recently built housing estates are being includede in modemisation and improvement pro - rammes only a few years after their completion.
There are many more estates where conditions
for tenants often seem worse than the slums they used to live in because of dampness. Recently about 75 tenants met from all over Britain (from Aberdeen to Portsmouth) at a conference of anti-damp action groups in Birmingham. They plan to launch a special national campaign to get government recognition of the problem.
One group represented at the conference from Hutchestown in the Gorbals, Glasgow also featured in ‘Grapevine’ on BBC television recently. Their estate ,a deck-access system-built job (developed
SLATE13 PAGE 14
Rountree House. Oldham. The scaffolding and platform are a permanent feature of this tower block to prevent picces of concrete from falling on passers-by. Picture: Oldham Chronicte.
SLATE13 PAGEIS eesEl
“Condensation problems vary between dwellings of the same design and construction and with quite similar locations. This suggests that the role of the householder can be crucial in influencing the extent of condensation problems. ..But itdoes; not mean that itis always the householder who is to blame or who shoulders most of the responsibitity.”
Domestic Energy Note No.4 DoE Feb ‘79
The myth that condensation isn’t really dampness continues to be fostered by landlords, ably abbetted by architects and other experts. While tenants call in their own experts to survey their houses and prepare counter reports, these advocates areoften
at a disadvantage. With no right of access to drawings and specifications and the obyious impracticality of dismantling bits of the building itisoftendifficult to give a definite statement of the causes of many defects.
Groups like Support, which advise Law Centres, tenants associations and so on on technical problems are in danger of being overwhelmed with requests
for surveys and advice. Increasingly groups are taking igal action under the Public Health or Housing Acts and there ida growing demand for experts who can give technical advice to support the tenants cause.
But even if legal action is successful there is no guarantee that adequate remedial work will be done. The local authority may have to sue architects or builders or it may have to find the money from
rates or rents. The local authority itself may have been negligent in approving poor designs or passing poor work. The council’s own architects, building inspectors or direct labour force may have been at fault. Often this leads to a refusal on the part of local authority officials admit that seriuos problems exist or to co-operate with tenants.
lenants on the recently completed Church End estate in Brent have been complaining about high heating bills for their all-electric ceiling
heating in poorly insulated, system built mais - onattes, for three years. After a year of inaction by the council the tenants, through the Law Cente and Support brought in an expert who produced a report. Asa result of bus loads of tenants arriving at the Town Hall to back up the report the council agreed to install new heating systems and double glazing (costing £%million)
Yet bt March this year the local paper was stil carrying reports of tenants unable to pay quaterly electricity bills of £291 because the improvements had not been carried out. The tenants were further angered by the vice-chairman of the local housing committee claiming that “the great bulk of the tenants are delighted with their houses.””
The same councillor went ona couple of
weeks later to claim that “For many years it
used to be thought that damp conditions in
which people lived was the fault of jerry built housing or poor landlords. Our modern exper- ience isthat itisoften 4direct consequence of the way people live.”
Yet, incredibly, in the same letter (to a local paper) he admitted that design and structural faults were often to blam e giving the example
of Church End where there were gaps in the roofs and problems of ‘cold bridges’ in north walls
How have these design and building faults come about and who is to blame? The key can be found in the relationship between the privately
RISING DAMP
originally for the Coted’Azur!) was opened by the Queen in 1975, but complaints about dampness, mould mildew and extortionate heating bills have Jead to an imaginative and vigorous campaign by tenants, including rent strikes, which so far has lead to over 200 tenants being evacuated to houses all over Glasgow.
Another group in Sandwell in the Midlands has linked up with workers from the local direct works departmer.t to set up a council workers/tenants’ liaison committee which has been active in anti- dampness campaigns — including preparinga tech- nical report about the report about the problems on estates. The tenants have been supporting the workers in an attempt to stop remedial work being given out to private contractors.
While pressure of this kind might prove to be the most effective political pressure, many tenants groups have to call in technical experts or take
legal action because their complaints are ignored by housing managers. The most common area of cont- roversy is over condensation. Despite the fact that the governments own documents make it clear that condensation results from inadequate heating, in- sulation and ventilation, usually as a result of poor and low cost construction, many housing managers stil continue to blame the tenants for the problem:
Recent reports have quoted a figure of £200 million as the cost of putting right defective design and construction in council housing . This figure only
goes some way [0 reflecting the inadequate housing : conditions in which a vast number of council tenants are forced to live’ Tom Woolley catalogues the defects and the campaigns that the tenants are mounting in
an effort to have them rectified. He goes on to suggest why the defects arose in the first place.
Le
SLATE13 PAGEL6
particular
single bedsits and similar restrictive accomodation. Both in the private and the public sector of hous- ing we are descriminated against as single women.
Barbara
How did you start?
Helen
Ann
Three months ago we got a short-life, 4 bedroom maisonette. In a fortnight we shall get a con- verted house with Sone bedroomed flats on a proper management agreement.
Denise
EAT
{excerpt from another draft statement to the Housing Corporation.)
Ann
Also, communal houses are notoriously dil- icult to manage. A DOE circular for communal houses has already been withdrawn because of this. For instance, there is the problem of mobility . ‘Vith co-ops of different interests, there is not the structure of transfers that there iswith local authorities.
There is the bias in favour of small fats in the grant system .and the assumption about nuclear family structure in Parker Morris standards. After the nuclear couple, every- one else is supposed to be a child. There is the waste of space with corridor planning, problems of self containment of flats and how fair rents are allocated.
Barbara
Denise Arnold and Barabara McFarlane are members of the NAM Feminist Group.
HING
of
How differently would you us a standard house conversion as a group of women? How far have you persued communal housing?
Ann
There are many constraints andthe problem of
standards’. None of the flats so far have been planned for two women sharing, as bedsits for example. The rooms are too small. You need at least two bedsits and a kitchen you can sit and eat in. Yet we have two bathrooms and two small kitchens between three of us. We can use one bathroom as a communal utility room with awashing machine, but all the tidy driers in the
Ann
Because of shortages, we have become really conservative, because we have to live some- where emotionally aswell as everything else for sometime. Our battle for communal
AW
ak
its. Barbara
If you were funded as a self-help co-op or funded for design services rather than asa managem nt co-op, would you have greater freedom?
Helen
We are funded through Housing Association Grants (HAG) through the Housing Corpor-
ation which will come directly to us when we are registered but goes to NHHT as our second- ary co-op until that time, and we have a
management agreement with them. All the limits are with HAG restrictions.
out of the whole government funded market and to get houses with private money.
Helen
. ind even then ,improvement grants
are directed towards Parker Morris standards and values.
Ann
Ann
pees havealreadygonebecauseofcost Theonlywaywecangetrealcontrolistogo
In Council housing, priority isgiven to families.
As women we earn considerably less than men and are therefore condemned to less adequate hous-
ing than men can afford. The Equal Opportunities Commission notwithstanding, womens earnings are 0 g currently falling in ratio to mens. Obviously more
than legislation is needed to effect real change in womens status.’ y
of types of housing in a local area for women at
a drive for a mixtuze different stages in their lives with different needs.
housing isnow rather
Marion
We would of course like utility rooms, work- rooms, playrooms for children, but how are these to be funded?
SLATE13 PAGE17
womens right to house
site operitives: Bye |
technical expertise and community groups in tackling the problem.
hard to understand; a complete lack of knowledge of maintainance requirements of modern buildings; graft and corruption and so on
Architects should take their share though by no means al of the blame. Often when investigat- ing defectize buildings it is hard to understand how certain details were thought up.
Organisations like the National Building Agency and the Building Research Establishment are now employed by local authorities to investigate defects in buildings whose technology they were once involved on promoting. They uncover many common faults: condensation, ‘cold Sridges, rain penetration, curious asphalt work, attempts to seal everything with mastic, porous brick-on-edge copings and cills and so on
Such mistakes are not confined to ‘systemTM building but more recent so-called traditionally constructed 2-story terraces also suffer.
It is not unusual to pick up a trade, daily or local paper and read reports of tenants complaining of damp or of hundreds of thousands of pounds being spent on remedial works, However, it is not safe to assume that the problems are being overcome and that recent demands are being met. So far only the tip of the iceberg is being dealt with. There isagreat need for an alliance between architects and others with
owned construction industry and the State.
The greater proporticn of current defects are
to be found in system built and low standard housing built during the 60s and ‘70s. Untried and
The Seagull Co-op started meeting in May 1976. Squatting was no longera viable source of cheap housing for poor single people in London . During the early 70\'s several women squctting clusters had developed and a support network had grown up. This way of living gave people the flexibility to experiment with different life styles and many felt distressed at having to return to the isolation and expense of compteing for
There are also fire and public health regulations which reinforce corridor planning.
unproved techniges were welcomed by governments anxisus to Increase production and satisfy quantit- ative housing need. This was accompanied by graeter greutcr monopolisation in the building industry and a reorganisation of the labour force (de-skilling craftspeople for instance): At the same time architects offices were also being restructured in the name of good management, greater division of labour between the bosses and the pe ple responsible for the the technical details.
The whole process combined to produce very poor buildings 10 situations where no one was
Jy concemed about standards and quality. The fact that good quality building continued in a traditional way during this period only reinforces the bad deal that council tenants got. 5
Many mistakes were made. The technology of heavy systems and prefabricated components was poorly developed and not understood by architects. Supervision was often lacking on site both by architects and building inspectors.
fn Building Disasters and Failures Goet identifiesa number of key reasons for these problems declone in siteskills (Specially with lump labour; kick of site training: the demise
of the Clerk of Works; the gap between design and
‘aws and Codes of Practice to
DAMPWALLS, FLAKING PAINT, PEELING WALLPAPER, MUSTY SMELL
Itstarted with ashortlife house from Notting Hill Housing Trust (NHHT) where a group of women were living communally. Ann had had some experience of Housing Associations and we asked for NHHT\'s support if we started a housing co-op. Other women who had been squatting in insecure accomodation, or in mixed houses ,joined us.
wae
The hous: and work split is fundamental. For instance, Iwould like to have a type- setter on the ground floor. it would make such a difference for women to be able to
have children around anda small buisness on the premises. But housing legilation completely
Rising Damp
SLATE13 PAGEI8
Helen
It seems better at present fo get unconverted houses and to adjust them ourselves. With conversion they are cut up into bits — its
Tragic Denise
Helen
as a co-op
Denise
Helen
Marion:
We have subcommittees for special topics —
a rules group, an education group,a design group, a finance group, etc. Every so often,
we have educationals where the groups
report to each other what they are doing.
There are occasional confrontations, espec- ially about practical things, getting to know the jargon and so on.
for these exciting and rewarding posts. Applicants to join the eight-person group needn\'t necessarily be able to spel or
t ype but a keen interest in the sort of questions that Slate’s about and adesire to take a full part in deciding the policy and future of this leading alternative magazine are essential qualifications. The work involves a weekly meeting and one weekend every two months. Please write
to Slate, 9, Poland St.,W1 or telephone 01-703 7775 ifyou\'re interested.
Barbara
How have you dealt with problems of power and control amongst yourselves?
Helen:
But those who have been here the longest, and know the most, are forevever attempting to
devolve power, rather than others applying
to do the work. The subgroups have been very usefull in sharing of work and learnirig factual information. General meetings are held every fortnight, and subgroups when necessary.
Barbara
What stage isyour application for registration at present? What problems have there been?
Marion:
Most of the problems have come from being ‘women only’, and whether we contravene the Sex Discrimination Act. We have had to pre- pare a case based on discrimination against women in housing jobs, etc., why we need to support each other, share childcare and so on. We have had to make a political stand.
A Pakistani co-op is starting, and al the members are men, because that is how their sociaty and family structure is organised. Because they are not making a political statement about being ‘patriarchal’ they are all right, they are the norm...
Ann:
If we were privately financed, there would <ot be so many moral judgements about us, or political statements made. We would only be questioned about our financial viability and our ability to pay rents. We would not be accountable to the public and there would not be worry
about newspaper headlines.
Most of the early womens housing co-
operatives were financed privately, even by Suffragette money .. .but we are past the days of housing for ‘fallen gentlewomen’.
activities they grudgingly concluded that things can’t go on like this much longer. Two
Advertisements are to be placed in all leading daily newspapers for TWO new committee members but Slate readers are to be given an early opportunity to apply
review
On the face ofit it is a good idea to own your own home.Popular mythology has itthat home owner- ship means the power to control your own housing circumstances and statistics show that the great majority of people want to be owner occupiers.
At Westminster the Conservative government is pursuing policies aimed at wholesale transfer of houses into owner-occupation while the last Labour government’s Housing Policy Review leant significantly in the direction of the promotion of home ownership.
Market research and Westminster rhetoric aside, the rapid growth of owner occupation and and its financial institutions, the building
societies, over the last twenty years isamost significant trend at the heart of our society’s eco- nomic and political life. In his new book Owner Occupation Martin Pawley shoulders the task of accounting for the current predominance of home ownership and its concomitant ideology over other forms of housing tenure. To unlock his problem Pawley turns to the familiar twir. keys of govern- ment policy and common-sense economics.
The strength of Pawley’s book lies in its fascinating account of the motivation for home
SLATE13 PAGE19
Ann:
Thankyou.
So workrooms are an essential requirement.
Decisions are made by thegeneralmeeting.
This is a problem for registration negotiations as we don’t have a committee and they have to to deal with ten of us at a time! We want to stay small enough rof too need a committee. 18 is a manageable number. About ten people attend each meeting. Weexpect each other to be involved. We can’t cope with people who
are never around. We don’t want to expand
over 30 people.
subs shocker
rules this out. Its difficult legally for Housing Associations to let shops, so they do not buy them, even though there are many in this area that have been empty for year at Single person housing is so often seen as an extension of transient student residencies. You sleep ,wash and study in a tiny space. The home in Parker Morris is seen in the same way. There is no space to do other things than prescribed activities. You do those
other things outside the home and women with children cannot get out to do them.
Outstanding subscription renew- als are causing headaches at NAM HQ.IfyouareaNAM member
and you hayen\'t paid your NAM subscription please do sowithout delay so that the LiaisonGroup can continue to support the valuable work of the NAM groups.
Ashen-faced Slate committee members at last decided at their meeting today that
they must have more PEOPLE on the committee.With numbers savidgely cut by College commitments and other revolutionary
opportunities
Would you have more opportunity to decide what you want if you were an ownership co-op?
There would be the same costs limits andstan- dards if it was done through the Housing Co ‘ poration. We have started to investigate Bui ding Societiestoseeifilspossibletoget mortgage
How did you set up your management agreement and what sort of problems arose for you as femin- ists?
We studied many forms of managment agree- mants from different co-ops, then the one trom Notting Hill Housing Trust. There were many things that we changed. and the Trust accepted the changes. Wechanged all references to “workmen? to ‘workpeople’, We set up a liaison group between NHHT and Seagull
rather than allowing staff members of NHTT to have automatic rights to join the co-op. All ‘hes. were changed to ‘shes’ in the
tanancy agreement, the management agree- ment and the Constitution .Children may live in the co-op under their mothers tenancy until they are 18 years old. When children reach 18, mothers have the option of keeping them under their tenancy. Girl children may apply for membership of the co-op. We have discussed the possibility of developing an exchange system with mixed co-opsfor women who wish to marry.
OWNING YOUR OWN
ownership: in the mid-nineteenth century it was a Martin Pawley: Owner“ way of imposing sobriety and thrift on the ‘artisin Occupation: Architectural classes;nowitsisameansforplayingthehousing dd eeeDoe marketforpersonalgain.Inparallelrunsa Sa
description of the building societies’ transformation Birmingham Community
from the local and often corrupt organisations of
earlier periods into the preeminent financial insti-
tutions of today, supported with numerous anec- dotesandawelterofstatisticsandpercentages. — pie Scen
All this is quite absorbing but readers hoping for juserated: £1..00, athorough-goinganalysisoftheroleofthispart- —_paperback
icular form of tenure in our social structure will (Ounthanks to Birmingham bedisappionted.Forastartsasearchofthebook COS Coe
for an attempt at establishing why as opposed to factions a
how home ownership is so widespread reveals that
Pawley puts forward no better answer than the Reviewed for SLATE by words he quotes from Richard Crossman: “...the GilesPebody.
provision of houses for sale to the potential owner
occupier is a response to a deep call of human
nature ”. Human nature establishesa demand which democratic government aids enlightened s*lf-help to satisfy. This reasoning might account for the activities of the building societies in the nineteenth century but is scarcely adequate now, at a time when, as Pawley points out, governments of both political complexions are committed in some
Development Project Final Report No. 5. Leretoe Leo
SLATE13 PAGE20
Under- leaseholder
iD
f
a
week a safety committee was set up and publisher and Micheline Wandor reinforced
His jVaiuer)
Direct Labour — Rebuilding SC’ out—
lining the proposed reduction of SC to a
quarterofitsturnoverby1980,explaining theworkforce issuedwithaseriesofChics hisviewthattheharshrealitiesoflifeoften the consequences of extensive subcontrac—
ting which Bovis management introduced
suchaspoorsiteorganisationandthe
hamperingofbuildingduetosubcontractors withthecounciltoappealagainstSC\'s ialdistributionandalargerfeeorwitha claimsandcounter—claims. Theyargue
that there isno real basis on which to cut
sc since the borough stil has 8,000 people
on its waiting list, the current stock of
housing is deteriorating and figures
produced by the Housing Department
predict that there wil be an increase of
Buyi
e300 in the number of households in pouty overthenext5years.Apart aoe the new housing that is required ; could also be included in the large
ousebuilding programme at Surrey Docks,
our Freeho
SLATE13 PAGE21
JSNEWSNIEWSNE NSNIEUS
strike
left in print
The ‘blue spring’ of 1979 saw Thatcher cruising to power onatide of public opinion eased to the right by a national press that was largely owned and controlled by the Tories.
The struggle for survival as a Direct
Labour Organisation still continues .
Since the controversial leak to the
press in August of details of an overall labour could not do this work.
but itisbeing excluded onthe grounds that the work isunsuitable. There isno substantial evidence to prove that direct
;The broadsheet was sold on SC’s3sites indanuaty and on the 21st there wasa |
The established newpapers and publishers in Britain operate an ideological monopoly
reduction of Southwark’s workload
over the next 2 years to a quarter of
itspresent size, 180 redundancy
noticeshavebeenissuedand4 pee onyeeio Na verylimitedtotaleiatiodindcanty
aePence aeSe isbrokeninafew ara t ont placesby ahandful of publicati a
ji :ao53 maderedundantinOctoberlastyear. panese eaeWorksea (RPG)FascasCSalbersigeltatif
plasterers and 10 carpenters were
lo thisarguing that to backed by the Transport and General transfer arecognised steward without
Workers Union was called and isstill priornegotiationwith theunion wasin
loose s , ishing z
CTE pee teeth acute tothebougeois information machine. RPG ismade pu from publications suchas ‘the A Leveller’,‘RadicalScienceJournal’,‘Spare
Asa result of this an official strike
redundant inspite of the fact that other workers had been employed in their place, and would not con—
not agree and his case was sent to the DisciplinaryAppeals Committee which consists of3 councillors. Bob argued
The morning session opened with perspec- tives from RPG’s constituent publications Charles Langley of the “Publications Distribution Coo ive’ ke of
pee sabotaging unionorganisation. He ayiges outthatinhistermsof
inprogress. Management reaction
was adamant. They refused to re—
instateworkerswhohadbeenmade. agreementtotransfer.Managementdid entitled‘TheLeftinPrint’ meee
ployment there was no contractual
Rib’ etc. and last February held a conferenc
Constructioncouldfunctionasaviableforgrossmisconducton6April.Heintendslimitationson ane aeie
publications: the large distributors, apart from any political misgivings they might have, are sceptical of themarket potential of left materials. David Wells of the Cénference of Socialist Economists -Books
MP’s and local tenants association.In resolved, but nothing was done. Asa result discussing their work. Bob Young of the Januarytheypublishedabroadsheetcalled theofficialsafetystewardwrotetothe_ RadicalScienceJournalbroughtintofocus
organisation in its present form.
In response to this situation a committee was formed by trade unionists at SC as
well as representatives from other industries in the borough and members of Southwark Trades Council to try and prevent SC being run down. They have been publicising events, trying to activate the labour force,
to take his case to an industrial tribunal andappeal under the Employment Protection Act. ne
Efforts to better safety conditions at
the NewingtonButts site and introduce
safety committees in accordance with the —_ explain=d the policies of his group in tryin, Health andSafety at Work Act, asaresult to breach the gap between the writerand afte ofa factory inspector\'s visit in December _ readership through the creation of inter—
have been no less fraught. The inspector —_related publications around aspecific theme negotiatingwiththecouncilandcontacting listedanumberofpointshewishedtosee andbysendingouttaperecordingsofwriters
inspector explaining the situation. Within the dilemma faced by the writer in choosing
for meetings forseveral months ahead! —_forced the left writer to approach non-left Southwark Construction Trades Council —_yblishers — ‘whether to go out under i Committeearenowtryingtoget4hearing traditionalpublisherwithalargepotent-
rundownbuttheyrealisethatSouthwark radicalpublisherwithasmallerdistribution isnot an isolated case and that their support and hence ahigher cover price (or no paper-
is also needed for other DLO’s which are
back edition)’. Spare Rib seemed to ns ee only group represented that was distributed by one of the ‘giants’ — Smiths.
likely to be attacked under the new Tory government.
The next session looked back at radical publishing in the nineteenth century. This had flourished prolifically, as James Curry explained,buthadbeencrushedbythenew technologies transforming the printing industry with their high capital costs. The
CC
degree to giving people the choice to be owner- occupiers but nor the choice to adopt any other form of tenure. At least the book provides some of the information necessary for an enquiry into the
reality that underpins its own assumptions about housing and “human ‘ature’: firstly it charts the extent of government intervention to prop up the house market through a series of financial deals with the building societies; secondly it points out how home ownership in the 1970s has become a form
of speculation ;thirdly it touches on a more fundamental political issue in describing how, in 1917, the chairman of the Building Societies Asso- ciation declared that the societies “*. . must not prejudice the high position in which they stood among the financial institutions of this country ” by mixing themselves up in the provision of houses for lower paid workers. As an arm of finance capital searching to extend its market the societies have found themselves needing to do just that aided and
of interest to speculating property companies who stand to make vast profits if redevelopment becomes possible.
abetted by a series of governments who at frsst underwrote their financial respectability through guarantees and subsidies and are now tending to offer them a virtual monopoly of the housing finance market by ensuring that through the run down of council housing that more and more people will tum to owner-occupation in the search for a decent house
According to the books authors there is nothing unique about the situation described in *Leasehold Loopholes’. Many late Victorian houses in our inner city areas were built on land leased for 99 years from large landowners and bought singly by owner- -occupiers or in small numbers by small landlords, often with building scciety finance. Today, almost all privately devloped new hoases, but not flats, are sold as freehold property so, like the private land-
Leasehold Loopholes, a recent pamphilet by the stall of the Birmingham Community Development Project (CDP) also fooks at the question of owner- occupation but from quite a different point of view They have written a microcosmic study of the problems facing the people living in Saltley, an inner-Birmingham neighbourhood, whio live in Ieaschold houses the leases of which are about to expire. The phy sical and social decay of the area 1s the result of the leasehold system itself which, as leases near expiry, has the effect of reducing the assets of the leascholder (the right to repair the house and the duty to repair it)in favour of the increasing value of the asset of the freeholder (the ultimate ownership of the land itself and the right to exploit it as he or she will once the lease has expired). In these circumstances leasehold prices
fall and leasehold owner-occupiets are reluctant to invest in repairs or modernisation of their homes. In the meantime large freeholds, some inSaltley comprising up to 40 acres of housing land, become
>
lord the iniquitous leasehold system has been effect- ively banished. This does not help the residentsof Saltley and people like them but it will prevent situations such as these arising in the future. But leaseholding is only one facet of the direct depen- dence of householders on the large institutions of Capital. Their dependence in increasing numbers on the building societies, with their need to protect their their * ...high position ... among the financial institutions of this country ”, is another. It is
Legislation, in the form of the Leasehold Reform Act has been enacted in reponse to the plight of leaseholders, but, as Saltley residents and the Birmingham CDP discovered the right contained in the Act for a leaseholder to convert his asset to a freehold is not the key to security that it appears to be. Ni the first place the comparative economic strength of the freeholder enables him or her to exact a high and sometimes unreasonable price for a freehold. Also, the several layers of lease interest in any property al have to be purchased by the would be freeholder and this process involves extensive and costly legal work. TheSaltley
residents responded by organising a collective » campaign to support individual attempts to buy freeholds which the authors of ‘Leasehold Loop- holes’ go on to describe in detail.
often argued that owner-occupation offershousing rights that other forms of tenure cannot in terms of security and individual control of housing. While owner-occupiers’ rights are achieved by entering into an individual relationship with major financial institutions, the extent and price of those rights
will be determined by the market and the supervailing strengthofthe institution rather than the needs of the householder, and the price may well be too high for many to afford.
southwark
construction
template the arguement that Southwark his case but was rejected and dismissed
SLATE13 PAGE22
the SLATER
johnson epitaph
ig
F>
The Cambridge University Architecture faculty Two NAM members made unusual guests
England may have gone to the Tories but not so Scotland reports Mick Broad. A new NAM group has been formed in Edinburgh.
which has never been without its elitist tendencies has now got truely entrenched into its ‘oh-so-academic -approach ’, entirely disreguarding the few mangled students who got squashed on route.
Until this year the approach to the diploma years was that a student could retum automatically unless he or she was a third. If this was the case the student would have to resubmit some new work before being allowed back. This year, however, more than a third was reintervieyed while those with low I 2s were reinterviewed but most were not taken back. This is a policy which isobviously short-sighted since two people
who gained Is in the fifth year had been readmittedwithlowII2sorllIs.
Nor should the situation be seen purely intermsofacademicexcellence,orthe lack of it. Often those who got alow mark in exams were the people who
at a Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) branch meeting.in Nottingham
last month. They had been invited to
debate whether the RIBA represents the
views and aspirations of British architects.
Also on the platform were RIBA stalwarts BobGiles,SalariedArchitectsGroup(SAG) architecturalworkerstojointheUnion leader, and Nottinghamshire County
were not prepared to conform to the
often restrictive demands of Cambridge.
In terms of the ammount of notice which
thestudentsweregiven,Cambridgeacted offeringa‘newdeal”tosociety,basedon irresponsibley towards the students, who
had only six months in which to find
an alternative diploma course. Cambridge
also seems to have chosen a time during
the term when the workload was high
to minimise the student protests.
The only justification that the the
Cambridge faculty could present on this
subject was that they had written in Nov.
Good Luck, Edinburgh!
asanexcuseisdemonstratedbythefact that there has been no response to a letter addressed to Professor Wilson from 2nd year-out students. Our Sandy mayhaveafinger onthepulseofthe British Library but does he care a **** about what happens to Cambridge.
theRIBA should,letalonecouldordoes, represent the views and aspirations of British architects, and indeedwhether such a body should offer or attempt to
Pp thei group as architects.
futurestrategies. They alsopropose the introduction of a public debate and more visual material about NAM.
New Architecture movement, a 9,PolandStreet,London, W1
4 ee)
Pe toreturncontrolovertheirenvironmenttoordinarypeople,andsocial
responsibility and accountability to the work of architects....... to fund- -amentally change the existing system of patronage . to return a voice both
to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use its products.
nottingham edinburgh
showdown
new group
Architect Henry Swain standing in for RIBA President Gordon Graham.
NAM member David Robuck opened the discussion by suggesting that the interests that the RIBA represents are those of the owners of private architect- -ural practice in both the services it provides and in its attitude to architects\" position in society. Typical of this was the RIBA’s case for the intention of a mandatory feescaleforarchitects’ services which had been shown to be basedona“hollowbargain”. Bob
and get to know NAM. Numbers were limited becuase, according to Mick Broad, most of the circulars sent out to Edinburgh practices ended up in partners’ waste bins! However, a small NAM group is now meeting monthly, making fresh contacts and becomin gnvolved in local housing issues the city’s Trades Council. Plans are being made for a series of open discussionmeetingsintheautumn.
NAM members and other pepple interestedinNAM activitiesinthe Edinburgh area should contact Mick Broad (tel: Ford 320564) or Alan Edwards (tel: 031-447 9650)
congress79
Plans put forward by NAM Liaison Group members for the 1979 NAM Congress are for a very different type of Congress from those of previous years. The proposals, for discussion at
Giles prefaced his talk with a cal for unity among architects behind the
RIBA and forms of practice which
allow ful professional responsibility to al architects, through the RIBA, should seek to rehabilitate their public image by
the concept of individual professionalism.
Taking up this point Giles Pebody, also
from NAM, reviewed the history of the
RIBA and showed that, each time it had
sought to reform the profession\'s intemal
arrangements and consolidate its collective
power, the RIBAitself had been stripped of the Liaison Group meeting in July, would part of its authority. The way that the
Registration of architects had been made
make for a Congress more understandable and accessible to non-members by centring ona discussion of the Movement’s fundamental aims. Such an emphasis would, the proposers say, also help NAM
the responsibility of a body seperate from ,the RIBA was a case in point. X
1976 to college tutors saying that the
faculty had no obligation to take students
back after their year out. However this
wasnever-publicised.Theweaknessofthis discussion,thatitwasquestionablewhether toassessitsachievementsandestablish
A substantial consensus seemed to emerge from the two hours of energetic
tsofsuchadisp
Aproposed Congress Agenda has been irculatedtoLiaisonGrouprepresentatives
The Congress is to be held in London in
mid-November.
Local TASS officials provided the backing for a first meeting which was held on 11th March to encourage
_SLATE13 PAGE23
NEWSNEWSNIEW:
ARCHITECTS at the London Borough of Haringey recently
gained approval for reorganisation proposals that will establish a more direst working relationship between the architect, the client and the com- munity.
This reflects the Council’s committment to a greater involvement and consultation in the community, especially in relation to housing. The development of ideas for more direct and co-operative working in alocal authority office coincided at Haringey
with an enquiry into the management of the Borough Architect’s Ervice by the
Cheif Executive. Proposals were made by him but were rejected by the staff as arbitrary and unrelated to project orcliat client needs. Counter proposals presented by staff representatives to the Public Works Committee were agreed in prin ciple.
The final scheme emerged following a period of discussion and negotiation in- volving the Chairman of the Public Works Committee, the Borough Architect and staff representatives.
The Service reorganisation iscentred around the concept of ‘area teams’, each consisting of about seven persons, inclu- ding an administrator, and a team leader. The team leader, who works as a project architect has an additional coordinating role within the team. However, each project architect has a direct respon- sibility to the service committees, the Client committee and the building users in the community. Each team has a nodal point of working but within losely def- ined geographical limits and will carry out al building projects in the area wherever possible.
The management of the Service is considered to be a collective respons- ibility and members of staff are to be elected to a management team. This aspect of the proposal isstil under dis- cussion with the local branch of NALGO.
haringey shake-up
cambridge sacks students
The latest ‘ism’ to hit architecture as the panacea for al social ils appears to be ‘paternalism’. Philip Johnson, famous establishment American architect, has had various ‘isms’ attached to him by architectural pundits. A list would be as long as his buildings are tall, but to name buta few: internationalism, modernism,
pluralism smonumentalism, post- -modernism, neo plagiarism (!), eclecettcisim,cetciissm,m,
etcism. ..- His latest utterism, delivered at a recent
discourse at the RIBA, isthat unemployed workers could find happiness carving ornaments and mouldings on rich men’s buildings (his sexism)! Not surprising from onewhowashanded abundleofstocks by his father, a rich Cleveland lawyer, enabling him to trayel the world freely, buy his way through Harvard and attempt, in 1936 ( imbued with fervour for German Nazism )to set up a_ splinter fascist party in America. Its time to bury this old man inaChippendale coffin under the foundations of his latest monum2nt, a 200 metre high ‘Chipendale’ skyscraper inNew York.
growth of advertising revenue as a lynch- pin in print economics also meant that advertisers ayoided publications with a
low income readership because they were not ideal consumers. He gave the French paper ‘Liberation’ as an example of the successful social ownership of a section of the press. Mike Kearney of the ‘Federation of Workers Collectives’ stressed that the working class had been left outof history and he supported the writing by, and about ordinary working people.
After lunch the conference split into workshops and SLATE attended two of them. The first of these was ‘The Labour Process in Publishing’. Here it was felt that the RPG’s members should offer an altern- ative to the straight press both in process
as well <s product. Tight production schedules tended to militate against collective working and truncated discussion on content. The new technologies on the printing horizon were extensively discussed and experience from the Nottingham Post confirmed that capital intensive processes tended to place more power in the hands
of the editors. Apart from reducing employment these processes also robbed
the print workers of their skills and therefore of their labour bargaining power. An interesting characterisation of the dif- ferent arms of the radical publishing scene emerged; on the one hand the (mostly) voluntary labour involved in writing/pub- lishing meant greater independence but irregular work flow whilst the typesetting/ printing end of the process tended to be operated by people dependent on the work for their income. The political contradiction of a left publisher using badly paid
typesetters and printers was acknowledged although it was held that most left journals would cease to exist if obliged to use commercial printers.
Some concrete proposals came out at the end of this workshop:
—to set up a National Printiag Board to support non-commercial printers
—to create anational distribution network —to set up an advertising deficit board to compensate publishers who suffered from a policy of not accepting advertising.
SLATE
concentrates on the social and economic factors that
shape our environment and determine the w ay that
buildings are commissioned, designed, built, and used SLATE 6 SLATI
full of useful information and opinion from workers
in building construction and design, tenants,
Women who are builders. Training architects
community groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are more attuned to their needs
SLATE
isan independent magazine published by agroup within the New Architecture Movement, which aims
to promote effective control by ordinary people over their environment
SLATE 9— The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private
enterprise?
SLATE 10/11 People
talk about the buildings they use
SUBSCRIBE!
| NAME cSeeersrecteete |ADDRESS
SLATE ; =
a bi-monthly magazine about building and buildings SLATE ? Can architects help the ‘Community’?
SLATE 5 — Monopoly in the architectural profession
SLATE 7 — Making public building respond to people’s needs
SLATE 8 Feminism and architecture
SLATE 13— An issue on housing
you\'re employed) or £3.00( if you\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at 9, Poland Street | London W.1.
If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fil in the form below and send ittogether
SLATE
aims to bring together ideas and experiences from people who design buildings, people who build them and people who live and work in them
: . , SLATE 3— Myth and ideology in the architectural
Profession
SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND
SLATE 12 — Commercial development, the tommunity and the building industry
If you would like to be a member of the New Architecture Movement fil in the form below aad send | | itCogether with acheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00 (if
withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.50toNAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1.
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Allan';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Undated';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 14';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Building Quality, Skills, Education, Ideology, Materials, Production, Design';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' es |oa 7a A
iso:ae a i
Bai
ve BUILDING MATERIALS:
Se TTea
35D
BUILDING QUJALITY?
NEVER MIND THE QUALITY _______________ Page 7 Monopoly fe scales operated by architectural
selat Srarty
SLATE IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE
NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the
Movement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to
workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are included to stimulate general debate ona wide range of issues and to bring the Movement’s views and activities to the attentionof the largest possible readership.
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
writers, more ideas and more reps. on order to producea better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE, becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics it should cover then contact us soon.
The copy date for the next issue is: 6th December 1979
SLATE ispublished by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London, W1. (Letters should be addressed to the Publication Publications Group).
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2A St. Paul’s Rd., London, N1.
Trade distribution by Publications Distribution Co-operative, 27 Clerken- well Court, London, EC2.
SLATE may beavery slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE” 9 Poland St., W1.
There are those who think that the ‘quality’ of a building can only be evaluated in a subjective way. In recent years, however, attention has been focused by the media on several| notorious cases of a lack of quality in biulding: the collapse of Ronan Point multi-storey flats, the fatal fire at Summerland leisure centre, the social problems of blocks of flats in the Wirral which were recently dynamited and everywhere problems of condensation dampness and structural decay in system-built dwellings. Each case picked up by the media has been treated as an isolated scandal and little attempt has been made to uncover the underlying causes of these failures to provide even basic quality. Above all little or no attention has been paid to the nature ofa construction industry that creates such low standards.
Processes of building design and construction can only be understood against the background of the economic realities that shape them: simply put, the search for ever increasing profit from the building process on site leads to the speeding up of work, corners are cut, standards of training are depressed andthesupervisionofworkisminimalised.Fallingstandards of workmanship could be compensated for to some degree by building materials of higher quality, but the production of building materials takes place under the same economic circumstances as construction itself. The building materials industry is more rationalised than the construction industry which has enabled attempts to be made to control the quality ofbuildingmaterials butthemonopolisticpositionofthe building materials aglomerates has enabled them to exert adequate pressure to ensure that standards of product
quality remain minimal.
In architectural education and design the operation of
market forces are less obvious, although their effect in speeding up production of design work in architects’ offices cannot but reduce the amount of care that can be given to either technical or aesthetic matters. Beyond that, the function of architectural training and work in creating designs whose ultimate role is to support the conditions under which other sections of Capital
can flourish inevitably distances building designers from ordinary people who must be the final judges of buildingquality.
_ We have not been able to. explore all these questions in this issue of Slate but hope that we have pointed oft some ways in which quality in buildings can be viewed from a material as
well as subjective viewpoint.and indicated some of the ways in which the current economic and social structure militates against good building. A radical redistribution of econamic and political powerinsocietycannotguaranteebuildingqualitybutitmay well prove to be a precondition for any improvement.
firms discourage care and quality in building design
TRAINED TO MAKE A KILLING
Architectural training and ideology enforce thedistancingofbuildingdesignersfrom building users
NEWS
Coin Street — The battle for an inner London housing site
Page 9
Page 12
NEWS:EROMNAMss sn age14)
LETTERS
Page 15
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi tectureMovement unlessstatedtobeso.
sh or
plate’, n., a, & v.t. 1, Minds of grey, green, oF blulsh-purple rock caaily aplit, into flat smooth plates; plece of such plate used es roofing-material; ploceofIt ‘usu. framed in wood used for writing on with ~-pencil orsmall rod of soft ~ (clean, the ~, rid oneself of or renounce obliga. tions); ~-black, -blue, prey, modifications *these tints such as occur in~; ~-club,
BUILDING UALITY?
O
~al benefit soclety with small “utions; ~-colour(ed), (of) darie reenish grey; hence slat’y? a, *~. 3. y.t. Cover with ~a oo slit’er‘ n, (ME
o
ne a 2. adj.(Made) OL
esp. 88 roofing; heri
aic)late£.OFesclate,fem.of>
mut.
l
ui
slite*, v.t. (collog.). Criticlze severe” (esp. author in reviews), scold, rates *ocminate, propose for office eto. slat’inc\'(1) n. (app. f.prec.]
SLATE14 PAGE3
S S
ST
ue
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL Page 3
BUILDING SKILLS, Page 4
How the contracting system for building construction forces a decline in the standards of building workers’ training
EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775 SLATE14 PAGE2
John Keene is a building worker who has recently completed a6 months full time TOPS course in bricklaying at one of the Skill Centres run by the Government
and is now employed as a bricklayer.
and controlled and more stable union organisation _ determination overides not only the financial
SLATE14 PAGES
Building skills
In this article John Keene loks at the variuos ways
in which building operatives are trained and employed
by the contracting industry during their apprentice-
ships. He argues that conditions in the building industry training and hence quality. militate against proper training and hence reduce the
Any discussion on the quality of the built environ— ment must take into consideration the standard
and quality of building industry itself. Iwould like therefore in this article to attempt a look at the quality of that training based on my own experiences which the reader should bear in mind are limited. This is not therefore a scholarly report but rather a review of mine and others experiences in the industry and an attempt to draw from them an overall view of the situation.
The most obvious way of learning a skill is to do
ted toimprove
an apprenticeship. Apprentices
Another more basic method of learning a trade is to merely purchase a kit of tools and go with a friend who is a trades person already. Under his/her guidance and protection you try and pick up the essentials of the craft until you feel confident
to strike out on your own. Theoretical study if
are indentured with
7
any is usually aquestion of purchasing the odd book
is possible whose vigilance ensures proper training facilities,
Some exceptional firms exist who believe they have an obligation regarding apprentices and some lucky people get with them. Other firms under pressure from strong on site union organisation
can be reminded of their obligations and
fortunate apprentices receive their due instruction. On one such site that I was on, the Stewards Committee ensured that apprentices were instructed in and carried out allshe craft operations, and were not used as teaboys, semi—labourers and the
like.
Anothermeansoflearningabuildingtradeisby _ofthecasualstructureoftheindustrythatsuch
taking a TOPS course. These are six month a method exists and is pursued by reasonable numbers fultimecoursesrunbytheGovernmentwhichhave ofpeople.
become increasingly used in the last ten years or so.
They stick very closely to the City & Guilds syllabus
giving a good grounding in the theory but with a stronger emphasis on the practise. The TOPS course Iattended in bricklaying Ienjoyed very much and found the standard of instruction very high. However that being so it is impossible in six months to learn a trade: the skill centre I attended certainly tried its best but the time limitation is too great. Also the skill centre, try as it may, cannot capture the reality of
site work and ex—trainees like myself have a real struggle surviving on sites afterwards. In fact officially you are not regarded as a trades person for another
18 months and your rate is supposed to be set lower accordingly, but few firms take people on on this basis and you are left to make your own way. Although aTOPS course will come nowhere near ahalf decent apprenticeship, agood TOPS course
is far better than a bad apprenticeship. Quality in terms of appearance and technical correctness are stressed before speed (although the shortage of
time puts pressure on this attitude and is one of
the courses contradictions) and the theoretical grounding isquite wide and ful. Youactually get
to perform most craft operations. In brickwork Icovered from a manhole to a Florentine arch, but again the problem is that you only usually have time to do each job once whereas craft knowledge and skill require repetition.
Therefore although TOPS courses can’t and shouldn’t be allowed to replace apprenticeships
they do provide a service for peoplelike myself who missed the opportunity of an apprenticeshipand who now wish to learn a trade. The best TOPS trainees in my opinion are usually ex—labourers whose self
difficulties (you only receive an allowance — far below normal site earnings)but also the pressure of the course and the army type running of the
skill centres themselves.
on the craft. That this method of learning a trade
is totally inadequate is obvious but it is a function
SLATE14 PAGES
that only by changine the structure Of the buildi industry will the opportunity be crea
a building firm for three years under an approved scheme, with certain regulations concerning the apprentices Position and general wellbeing. There is a board regulating the scheme,consisting of both union and employer\'s representatives, The apprentice is
expected to receive the necessary craft training usually under the wingof an older tradesperson
or foreperson. He/she is also expected to receive day or block release at a technical college where craft theory is brushed up on and a check made on his/her progress.
This sounds and would be fine if this situation was true for al apprentices, however it is not and experience shows in fact that it is only true fora
possibility of producing quality work, Heconcludes
small proportion. This isbasically because apprentices are and have always been in this industry and others,
a supply of cheap labour. They are viewed by employers
Iwas on, the main contractor M JGleeson hadsub- let al the brickwork toa subby whilst also
having two bricklayer apprentices. The subby wouldn\'t allow the two lads near any brickwork at al, other than making good and Cutting away, Iwas on that site for 15 months and whenI left there was nothing to suggest that this would change in the next 15 months.
not as the necessary new blood for the industry whose training costs are an essential investment but rather as another group to be exploited, Employers profits on site are often tied to completion dates which makes speed the key factor. Time for on site
training istherefore greatly reduced.
; The exceptional apprentice who can keep up with high production gangs is welcomed — doing a craft
job for les than the craft rate, But the average apprenticeis put on nonproductive work because of hislack of speed and Knowledge and spends his day doing work that is useful to the employer but not to the apprentice. For a young carpenter this
means that his/her apprenticeship might consist solely of cutting down scaffold boards, Precuttin, timber for production Bangs, erecting huts etc
The widespread use ofsubcontractors by : employers also aggravates this Situation not only
in that they very rarely take on apprentices and thus don’ t put anything at al back into the industry, but
also In some situations being so piecework : orientated refusing to have anything to do with even directly employed apprentices. Thus one site
As one can see from al this the apprentices lot is not generally a happy one, poor pay and debilitating work result in a high number of apprentices leaving completely or going straight on the tools — in- experienced though they may be. However there are exceptions to this general picture. The largest being in the public sector. Here in the Direct Labour departments the Department of the Environment , it is commonly accepted by all sides of industry that a good apprenticeship is the norm. The reason for thi
is due to the difference in set up and organisation within the public sector. Here work ismore regulated
SLATE14 PAGE6
have had it all their own way and chaos and anarchy rulealongsidetheprofitmotiveinthejunglewe y cal the building industry. The only real threat to this state of affairs being trade union organisation which has fought long and hard battles against employers that make the likes of Grunwicks and Garners management look like benevolent societies, In their struggle they won many things but the lar, a battle is stil going on and that is for control. Fer the only solution to the problem of apprentices, poor quality work is the same solution to al the
ils that beset the industry and that is nationalization, Only under acontrolled building programme carried é out by registered building workers, stongly unionised can true regulation and improvement occur in craft training.
On sites with no subbies with continuity of work good pay and conditions one might see designers ; willing the sort of buildings we now no longer take for granted but regard as works of art, once again springin, up in this country. But be that whimsical or not it is : a fact that only under direct state intervention wil any real improvement be made in training. Failing that we can only look forward to more of the same —tory destruction of the DLO’s, destruction of the one section where good apprenticeships are the norm, companies dropping back on their numbers of apprentices, and
the constant growth of subbies with their shoddy work and even shoddier employment methods.
Never mind the quality..
The architectural profession is controlled and minipulated by the Royal Institute of.British Architects (RIBA). They claim that, in return for employing a private architect, a proper regard for
the interests of the client. isguaranteed. In the following article, however, John Murray demonstrates how the RIBA’s system for charging fees (Conditions of Engagement) encourages the architect to reduce
building quality.
publicarchitectshaveneverproposedanalternative JohnMurrayisa
method of programming and costing which would reflect the different form of service carried out by in-house architects, Chief architects seem to be firmly wedded to the idea of their departments being similar to those of independent and private practitioners, but with some extra unquantifiable
practice stil provides the norm. It defines the context in which public architecture is practised.
In niether case does quality of service feature, except as an exhortation, in the discussions on programming and productivity. Yet there isaclose
representative of ‘unattached’ archuects
on the Architects Registration Council of the UK and has been active in the NAM Profession...\" Issues Group.
Some firms occasionally take on improvers and this is another way of learning a trade. They are usually people who have been with the firm as labourers and who have shown an interest in acraft. Paid more than labourers but less than the craft rate they are open to exploitation and the employer has not real obligation to proper traingin
no real obligation to proper training and day release. Other courses exist for learning a trade under the
Construction Industry Board (CITB) but I’m afraid Iknow litle or nothing about them.
Also another very important fact when talking about training and quality is that labourers receive no training whatsoever. Anybody who believes they are only performing unskilled work anyway
should try it sometime. Labourers are expected, with no training other than years of experience (sometimes the wrong experience) to perform operations as different as trench digging, cutting
Both private and public offices use the RIBA fee scale as a device for programming and for measuring productivity. As successive NAM reports (1) have pointed out, this method of payment, which is based on apercentage of final construction costs gives rise to excessive profits and is a barrier to the achievement of quality in building.
away with machine tools, kerb and pipe laying.
Bad habits learnt when young remain forever. Thus the building industry has a whole section of the workforce who are instrumental to the building process who receive no proper instruction at al.
The only conclusion one can make from al
this is that craft training in the industry is
generally in a sorry state. The reasons for this are to be found in the system itself. With so litle direct state intervention in the industry the employers
and mysterious qualities surrounding the fee scale. It is rare either the percentage or the basis of the scale to be questioned in the offices. One might think that when
enough. The available fee is divided up into a proportitportion of the fee will be twice as great. Yet labour
Salaried architects will be familiar with the awesome and irksome additional tasks thrown in (4). Private
arm and the RIBA Conditions of Engagement under the link between productivity and quality. And it is the
Moses came down from the mountain he carried the tablets containing the ten commandments under one
other. Yet it seems reasonable to speculate thatthe present fee scale emerged when a small number of partners in private practice sat down in Portland Place one afternoon and figured out how much profit they could get away with based on the amount and type of work a medium sized practice could produce in a year. They would also have had to assume a relation- ship between staff salaries and final construction cost.
‘As NAM’s original report to the Monopolies Commission (2) has shown medium and largepractices (over six staff), while accounting for some 36% of practices, nevertheless handle just over 80% of work by value and employ 80% of salaried architects in
the private sector. An analysis of the make up of
the RIBA Council and ARCUK will show that these bodies are dominated by partners from thosepractices practices (3).
As far as the way the fee is to be distributed is concerned al architects will know of the famous three thirds ideal - one third salaries, one third over- heads, one third partners profit. While the definition of each of those may vary, the concept -of unknown origin -exercises apowerful hold on the minds of partners and staff alike.
A sample survey of different offices suggests that this is rarely achieved in practice. Yet each office will have its own norm for different types of work which is applied to every project in the office. It is simple
proportion for salaries, for overheads and for partners expended could have remained constant. This
profit. Staff salaries are divided into the portion allotted for salaries and the amount of hours tobe spent on the job appears as if by magic.
distortion will also occur if twice the quantity of material is specified.
For chief officers in the public sector the fee scale is the yardstick by which they can provethat they are just as efficient as the consultants or that they can provide a cheaper service. As far as is known,
As far as the client is concerned, the existing
fee arrangement gives no direct incentive to the architect to reduce either the quantity or the cost of the work because this would reduce the fee income.
Thus the RIBA fee scale may be summarised as
SLATE14 PAGE7
promise of quality, in aesthetic, technical and social performance which is the claimed basis of the architects’ bargain with society (5).
Quality is a social concept. It varies in place and time. Its definition is elusive and the subject of debate, yet its achievement has been the central concern of architectural practice for centuries.
Ifquality asaconcept isproblematic, less arguable is the proposition that the quality of the end product isclosely related to the labour spent on it. While the quantity of time taken to achieve quality in a given piece of work wil vary from individual to individual, what is beyond doubt is the fact that therwillexistaminimum time.Iflessthanthisis expended, loss of quality follows.
This si not to say that time spent guarrantees quality, but that quality can only be achieved when a certain amount of labour has been expended on the product.
Time spent may be said to be the only reasonable means whereby the conditions under which quality can be achieved can be quantified. Time therefore represents the quality element in any pricing system.
In the case of the’present RIBA fee scale this quality element is concealed. In addition the architects’ reward from the fees varies not in relation to
quality but in relation to quantity and cost of building materials. Thus if an architect specifies a material of twice the unit cost of an alternative that
SLATE14 PAGE8
SLATE14 PAGE9
livlihood itwould seem that they devalue itattheir peril.
References
(1) (a) ‘The Case Against Mandatory Minimum Fees’. NAM Report of the Monopolies Commission
14th May, 1976.
(b) ‘Do not pass go.......do not collect 6%:
AdoubleNAM reportNovember,1977. (c) ‘Way Ahead’: NAM/Unattached Architects
report July, 1978. (2) As I(a) & (b) above.
(3) Unpublished NAM report 1979.
(4) May, 1978 Public Design Group’s Conference Report.
(5) The argument that follows was first published in ‘Way Ahead’ July, 1978,
Architecture students are force-fed on the notion that the design of buildings is an arcane knowledge with the power to solve all our problems, a notion that they find hard to shed once they start work. This is no accident, argues Rob Thompson, as the architectural profession exploitsthismythtodefenditsprivi- ledged position, to excuse itselffor itsfailure to design good buildings and to diffuse crticism
None of this is good for the rest of us. the ultimate judges of building quality.
Iasked my wife to briefly define ‘an architect’. ‘Someone who designs buildings’ was the reply. I asked the man in the off-license the same question and received the same reply. My next door neighbour (a teacher) also considered an architect to be ‘one who designs buildings’. Requiring further confirm- ation, Ilooked up ‘architect’ in the dictionary, and once again was confronted with the same words; ‘a designer of buildings.......’ (1). Four sources, four almost identical definitions.
The same unity of definition does not exist, however, for the word ‘architecture’. The people mentioned above produced answers that varied from “buildings designed by architects’ to “everything that is built’, and the dictionary definition was -......the art of designing buildings; style of building......’ (2)
I find it significant that society has a clear picture of the architects’ ‘job description” but not of the extent of his or her field of work. Significant because sustaining the situation requires the ‘expert’ to exist whilst allowing the result of his or her “expertise’ to be difficult to question.
The definition of ‘architecture’ appears to be as vague within the architectural profession as it is with the lay-puplic.
When approximately 80 students of the Architectural Association were asked, prior to a debate on ‘architecture’, ifanyone would like to define the field of their chosen profession, there was silence (3)
Whethearn architect iders thephysical realmof architecture to be wide or narrow by executing the design of any building type s/he is
contributing to the ‘backcloth’ over which s/he has no control. The built environment is not the product or the architectural profession’s decisions but is determined by market-forces, seemingly democrat- ised by political backing and presented ‘gift-wrapped’ by ademocratic planning process. Ifone uses an analogy of the ‘backcloth’ in theatrical terms the role of the architect is one of colouring in, rather than forming the scene. That the public should be confused about the architects’ field of work is an important protection for the profession against direct questioning about where their responsibilities lie. That the public should be unaware-of architects’ similar confusion is essential for the architects’ self- respect.
The uncertainty of both sides regarding the field of operation of the architect is a relatively contemp- orary state and appears to coincide with the strength of voice of ‘the people’. Historically
related to aprivileyed sector of society:
architectural history, as we know it.....amounts architect, recently
to little more than a who\'s who of architects who qualifie.1. This article commemorated power and wealth; an anthology _ isan edited version
architecture is
of buildings of, by and for the prvileged - the houses of true and false gods, of merchant princes and princes of the blood -with nevera word about the houses of lesser people’. (4) The growth of socialism in the latter half of the
19th century saw a change in attitude (of some of the powerful sectors of society) towards the
‘lesser people’, from total indifference to liberal paternalism and with this change in ‘client attitude’ came the alteration of focus of the architect. The paternalistic attitude of the architect deciding what was best for society continued through our century, until the late 1960\'s when the voice of public opinion was strong enough to openly question the ‘right’ of the architect to impose his or her product upon the user.
With the growth of public questioning the scope of ‘architecture’ and of architects’ responsibilities
has appeared to become (conveniently?) vaguer.
The public questioning of the role of the architect
in the late 1960\'s placed the architectural profession’s official body (the RIBA) in a dilemma. To deny responsibility for the built environment by passing the buck to the professional Planners, Engineers or Government Legislation etc. would be to lessen the importance of the ‘architect’ within society.
ly the RIBA decided to put its head and try to weather the storm, which it suceeded in doing. Public questioning of the social responsibility of the architect inevitably lead to soul-searching within
the profession. This in turn has resulted in an increased need by the majority of the architectural profession (the salaried architects) for a pair of blinkers to direct their attention from clashes between conscience and the realities of working as asalaried architect.
As has already been shown the lay-public con- sider the architect to be a designer of buildings, an artist rather than abusinessman. As the RIBA isthe mouthpiece of the profession it can only be con- cluded that such an image is put about by the RIBA. The public might become concerned if it were informed that the environment was determined by the callousness of business efficiency rather than a concern for beauty.
Ibelieve that not only is the above image of the architect sold to the public, it is also sold to the
d of archi and impl dso deeply
of part of his final thesis.
Rob Thorson isan
one which does not contain an incentive to reduce building costs, but which does contain an incentive to reduce building quality. It is questionable 2 whether this is a suitable basis for society’s bargain with the architectural profession. Ifindeed quality is the cornerstone of the professional service it would seem to be at least logical to establish as the basis of
any pricing and programming system the only quantifiable element to which quality can berelated. Therefore itissuggested that the elementoftime
should be brought to the forefront and costed, and an indice established for different types of work, so that the salaried architect as well as the client may compare and monitor the amount of time spent on the job.
In the argument about quality v productivity, there is more than service to the client at stake. By agreeing to the continual reduction inquality, salaried architects devalue their own skill and the skills of building workers. In so far as both parties are dependent on the scale as their sole means of
Trained to make a killing
It is probably only within the last 15 years that
the architectural establishment has had to concen-
trate on the selling of an image to the general public ments. To concentrate on the production of in order to protect itself from the threat of extern-
ally enforced change.
are presented to students depends to a large extent
on the interest of their tutors, who are encouraged by
the RIBA through the educational establishments
to actively practise architecture therefore ensuring
that they are an integral part of the existing architect— establishment is never going to stress the moral ural establishment. The tutor’s interests generally
lie in the smaller scale ‘design’ orientated schemes
rather than the commercial or industrial corporate
image/cost—effective projects. The majority of schools clients.
in the country present their students with a variety
of size and type of projects likely to be experienced
in practise, in fact failure to do so would be
failingintheirtasktoproduce‘architects’thatfitted
into the existing system. They do not however,
present an accurate picture to the student of his/her
future role in bringing such projects to fruition,
concentrating on the ‘design’ aspect rather than the
co—ordinator/administrator role of the architect, nor
do they attempt to develop any kindof ‘social
conscience’ regarding the trust placed inthe architect
by society for its environment. This last point can
hardly come as a surprise if one turns to page 4 of
the ARCUK Code of Professional Conduct. (ARCUK
also being a body with a RIBA majority on its
_ Council) Principle 1 states that:
An architect shall faithfully carry out the duties which he undertakes. He shall also have a proper regard for the interests both of those who <
commission and of those who may be expected touseorenjoytheproductofhiswork.(5) re
ThereappearstobenoregardinthisPrinciplefor fxs, yi
those who object to an imposed change in their
The ‘community action’ movement (which seems to have been the result of the increase in confidence of the public voice) focussed attention on the fact that the architect/client bond was considerably stronger than the architect/public-need relationship. Architecture was beginning to be seen by the public as nothing more than a business. Allegations of corruptioncombinedwithdis-satisfactionof buildings by their users, together with the overall environment spawned by the building boom of the
1960\'s left only one course open to the architectural profession if it were to maintain any public respect; self-flagellation.
The RIBA were not slow to realise that architect’ public credibility, and through this their stability, depended upon being seen to serve public rather than private interests. Almost like a gift from above a virtually unknown architect named Rod Hackney began to be talked about. A small urban renewal scheme had been carried out under his supervision
and designed with the participation of the local residents. This scheme, known as Black Road, Macclesfield, appeared to have everything the RIBA needed to promote the image of architects being ‘socially aware’.
However one considers the resulting design, for the RIBA it was perfect for the task in hand i.e. to show
obligation of its members in preference to their obligation to design, as by so doing it would be working against the interests of its traditional
the public that the architect was there to respond to the RIBA continues to ‘approve’ education courses their needs and wishes, and had the specialised by maintaining its control over the ARCUK Council.
. “-
discipline, bring under control Little Oxford Dictionary
A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access.
Nietzsche
‘Ecce Homo’ (1888)
translation by Anthony M Ludovice.
Istated in the Introduction that Ibelieved the image
existing, and perhaps loved, environment, but who are not wealthy enough to purchase land, buildings or professional aid to block such a change.
The way schools of architecture present an un— realistic view of professional, practise can best be summed up by the following:
They are playing (most of) the right notes but notnecessarilyintherightorder. (6)
If you don’t know what something sounds like you are unable to question the authenticity of your first hearing of it. For a few students however Suspicions begin to creep in that there might be certain omissions or bias within the ‘score’.
For its continued survival in its present form, and at its existing level within society the architectural profession needs to be viewed as ‘special’. The intangibility of an‘ability’ to design ensures this.
The image that is sold to the public is surviving, and it seems unlikely that the establishment will have to undergo the pressures on this of the early seventies for some time to come. It is the image that itsells itself that requires the constant attention, because itisupon this that the status quo or the architectural establishment is maintained. The architect is trained to believe that his responsibility is to the God of ‘Design’. As long as this training
is continued the architectural ‘status quo’ will be maintained.Everyman’sresponsibilitymustbe
in whatever way he can, to work tawards freedom and justice for the members of his own society. I
of ‘designer’ is planted so deeply into the minds of ae students of architecture that even after registration as
There is no ‘national syllabus’ followed by the
schools of architecture. There is however, a gerera
generalpatternwhichincreasesthescaleofthe
projects undertaken by the students as they progress
through the school in order that on completion of
the five years of study they will be ‘competent’ (?)
to handle the size of schemes required by theprofession over this task. If‘design’ isthe weapon chosen to
Practice;v.t........imposeupon.LittleOxfordDictionary.chitectsthisimage itsvividenoughtoover—ride clashes between conscience and working reality,
conflicts, that, if not pacified might lead to a demand for radical change of architectural practise from within the profession. There is however, a second fundamental requirement of the schools of architecture,namelytotrainstudentstofitintothe existing fields of architectural practise, comfortably. There is then an immediate contradiction of require—
believe there should be nothing that takes precedence
‘designers’ is contrary to the requirements of the majority of the larger clients that the profession serves. As Charles Jencks stated in Building Design:
The architects who get the most work provide the most unidentifiable buildings (4)
And yet the belief in ‘design’ is the architectural establishment’ssafeguardagainstforcedchange. Design is the basis of the architect’s public and self—respect, it makes him ‘special’ and provides him witha‘skill’ that is undefinable, making arguments against the results of his skill (buildings, environments) extremely difficult even for other architects let alone lay—people.
1am now going to concentrate on the relationship between RIBA and the schools of architecture and the way in whichI believe ‘correct stability’ within the schools, regarding students’ attitudes to their profession, is maintained. The following section of the text
will focus on the way in which ‘design’ is developed
and marketed without contradicting the require—
ments of the professions clients.
The foundation upon which the future retention of the ‘status quo’ rests, for the architectural establishment, must be the ‘correct’ training of its student architects.
Fourty one years later, despite having lost its majority on the ARCUK Education Committee,
There is a quotation: “The Status Quo does not abdicate in the face of logic’. The architectural
This delegated right of ‘approval’ is one of con— siderable power. The whole basis of *statutory grant’ funding to enable students to undertake advanced educational courses in this country requires that these courses are ‘approved’ by a ‘recognised’ body. The withdrawal of approval of a course automatically removes the right of a student to a‘statutary grant’ and consequently reduces the number of students financially able to attend such
a course, even if it were to remain open. A further guarantee that, for example, an architecture
school would have to close with the withdrawal of RIBA approval is that, no matter how long a student studied there he would be unable to register as an architect. The one possible exception to the statement above regarding guaranteed closure
is the Architectural Associatiotn
is the Architectural Association, and the reasons for this will be explained later.
There is an irony within the situation of statutory funding for advanced architectural education. The general policy of Socialist—controlled Education Authorities (which, despite the recent change to a Conservative Government, have increased in number)
_to award grants to students for ‘public—sector’ education dictates that architectural education can only be gained at schools approved by the RIBA.
_ traditional clients, i.e. commerce, industry, local, be used by the architect towards these ends then care regionalandnationalGovernment.Thewayprojects mustbetakenthatitremainspointedintheright
direction and that it stays ‘a means to an end’ rather than becoming an end in itself.
= Ee “oyoom olin
wledge and capabilities to protect their eaeThecoverageofthisschemeinthe
public media was extensive and notonly got into| ‘Good Housekeeping’ and ‘Ideal Home’ but was given peak—viewing time on both ITV’s ‘Today’ and BBC’s ‘Nationwide’ programmes. Itwas awinner from every establishment view point, even the self—help/indepen— dence aspect was present.
The ‘community architecture’ image promoted by the Royal Institute has not only quietened public concern but has thad the added advantage of making attacks upon the RIBA from within the profession less credible with regard to criticism of lack of public
accountability. School; v
that, after qualification, the belief inbeing a designer over-rides any other contraryexperience. :
The questions that were taught to be important: form, function balance, etc. take second place to ‘timescale’, ‘price per square meter’, “units per hectare’, etc. The words that were used to show one’s knowledge of architecture (eg. constructivism, post-modernism) mean nothing to either client or user. An entire terminology; upon which five years of acedemic training has been based is found to be totally useless, that is, until one is with other architects, when (once more) the phrasescan be uttered, the names dropped andone’s “true knowledge of architecture be appreciated by
others.
Rarely are leading architects, past orpresent,
associatedwithpoliticalorsocialbeliefs.Their , aesthetics are of prime importance, their motivations secondary or never mentioned, unless they happen
to be complimentary to the fashion within aplace 4 of learning, What must be remembered is the “design It is this that is pushed forward and it is this that is analysed. And yet for many of the traditional
‘greats’ of architectural design their aesthetics were the result of their strong social beliefs, which also provided their prime motivation for design.
Architect; n.......One who drafts a plan of your house and plans a draft of your money. The Devil\'s Diction ary by Ambrose Bierce 1881-1911.
clei |iz
V eyvifecsLnS
ATTEMPTS to build Britain’s largest office block near Waterloo in London have reached fever pitch, with the arrival of new proposals from developers Greycoat London Estates on the table of the Coin Street planning enquiry. If this initiative
is successful the last link,in a chain of large scale commercial and institutional developmentswi,ll be in place stretching along the South Bank of the Thames from Southwark Bridge to Vauxhall.
Standing between the developers and
their goal are two obstacles: Lambeth
that this unusual step was taken at the behest of the Tory GLC, who favour office development on the site but were anxious that the commercial proposals under consideration at the start of the Enquiry were so appalling that they stood little chance of success.
Greycoats’ intervention has come in the
form of proposals for an integrated
development of offices with attendant
restaurants, pubs, shops, some housing
and a small industrial unit all designed by
architects Richard Rogers and Partners.
Greycoats wona place at the Public Enquiry the Coin St. Enquiry could benefit
the formal battleground between the commercial developers as a whole! so the developers and the local people, when their development lobby must be content that the
»4
/\\ _, View from the North Bank of 4 _Y,Greycouts’ proposals
Industry:
Totalling 30,000 sq ft
Rogers’ role as Greycoats’ architect is to
arrange this floorspace in a way which is at
once viable commercially and acceptable
to the public in the forn: of the Enquiry,
although no designs were submitted with
the outline application. As Simon Jenkins
pointed out, this paper exercise is within . the now discredited traditionoflarge scale
modern town planning and architecture?: a new ‘pedestrian spine’ links Waterloo Station with the river wall where anew pedestrian bridge leads over the river to an inappropriate joint next to a multi-level
the sites can be used if the local community is to survive and the loss of an important part of London to a commercial ghetto is to be avoided.
GREYCOATS INTERVENE
warehouses in Cutler St to yield 800,000 square feet of offices and a £20m. office development about to start construction on the controversial Tolmers Square site. Both schemes have been the object of bitter struggles with conservationists and local communities.
Greycoats’ tactics for the Coin St. Enquiry rely on a mixture of ‘public participation’ directed at the local community and, to defuse criticism from professionals, the employment? ofa young but respected architectural
Greycoats hope that Rogers’ design will be judged by the general public and the
Enquiry in the light of the success of the Centre Beaubourg, as‘... a place where al classes and al ages can participate’, rather than on itsown merits. The bald facts of the apportionment of space in Greycoats’ outline planning application are less attractive to Public Opinion:
WSUS
THE DEVELOPERS
Planning precedents which may arise from
Council\'s propesals for the Waterloo area
embodiedinastatutoryDistrictPlan newoutlineplanningapplicationwas lotofpromotingtheprincipalcommercial practicetoplanthedevelopment. mies1,317,670sqft(equivalent trafficjunctiononthenorthbank.Oneither
approved in mid-1978, and the local people. represented by their Neighbour- hood Council, the Association of Waterloo Groups (AWG). The District Plan sets aside the Coin Street sites for housing for families and that, argue
the local people. is the only way that
‘calledin’byEnvironment Secretary Hesletine, during the course of the Enquiry. Already under consideration were housing schemes from AWG and Lambeth Council and office proposals from the Heron Corporation and Commercial Properties. AWG iscertain
schemes has fallen to Greycoats, who have builtupareputationforexpertiseinhand- ling opposition from local groups and conservationists. They are leaders in a new wave of sophisticated commercial developers who have successfully evolved new approaches, inaclimateofpublicopinionandaplanning
THEIR ARCHITECTS
Richard Rogers and Partners’reputation rests not on commercial buildings but on theirdesignfortheCentrePompidou
ay toaboutnineCentrePoinPointsisi:zeoffice
Housing:
Not exceeding 300,000 sq ft Leiesure/restaurant/shopping/ Recreation: Notexceeding250,000sqft
side of the walkway are ten to thirteen storey office blocks with a small area of housing to the south, and the other ‘uses’ strung out along the walkway. The gap between the reality of the proposals and Rogers’ description of them, which has
been accepted without question by the architectural press4, gives the lie to the
KEY TO COIN STREET AREA
LT 1Lendan askend Television
IC +Intarnatienal Publishing the \"kings:
NT +National Theatre
want tte site, moved out of Londen
Plan of the Coin Street sites showing current uses
SLATE14 PAGE12
Larecty sitesi 163 6CarParke
SOUTMMAAK SITES
647 4Dereitet 2+Printing werkt
9 5Bark, pub,
ofices, incvetey, works!
yrelopes
te
Te oF
Elevation from the Thames
View of the scheme for family housing submitted to the enquiry by the Association of WaterlooGroups
Model of Greycoats’ proposals
SLATE14 PAGE13
Offices:
Totalling 1,317.670 SqFT
CNEWSNEWSNE Heads you win, tails Ilose #
NEWS) EWSNEWSMIEWSN
systemhardenedagainstcommercial culturalcentreinPlaceBeaubourg, Paris, pour bytheeventsoftheearly70s.widelyconsideredtobeanexcitinganf
woof their Successes’ in London are the successful building ina revitalised central progressive demolition of a group of historic area of the city. In employing them.
Plan of Greycoats’ proposals suymitted to theEnquiry
Head S you
win (cont.)
New Architecture movement,
&s _toreturncontrolovertheirenvironmenttoordinarypeople,andsocial
-amentally change the existing system of patronage to return a voice both to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use it
We were pleased to see Tom Woolley’s article “Rising Damp’ in Slate No. 13. But we do have a complaint about the way you edited out some of the information we know Tom included in his copy.
Tom mentioned the anti-dampness
meeting (the first of its kind ever held) in Birmingham,andsomeinformationabout
the worker/tenant committee in Sandwell.
As he said, a national campaign against
dampness is to be launched, and SCAT is
helping the Working Party set up in Birm-
ingham to do this. To this end, we are
aiming to contact every anti-dampness
(ortenantsassociationtakingupdampness, article‘RisingDamp’bySLATEan’
technique that the developer\'s architect adopts to mystify the real nature of his client’s proposals: the ‘social magnet’,
the provision of facilities for the whole city, the ‘multi-pupose enclosed framewor! for working, living, recreation, shopping and bultural activities’, but most of all
the idea that the ‘scheme’ hasalife of its own, and ismuch more than aresponse to a developer\'s brief{ acknowledging, almost with regret that it is ‘offices that are paying
for this scheme’.
The designitself has been the subject of
‘WORKING IN ARCHITECTURE’ is to be the theme of a conference and exhibition to be mounted in Venice next year. Planned for March the five day conference will form part of the Architectural Section of
dampness
ANTI—DAMPNESS PACKAGE
A set of papers about all aspects of dampnessandcampaigningagainstit has been published by Services to Community Action and Tenants (SCAT) ‘The papers cover such issues as:
Canpaignstrategies,demandsand victories; causes of and remedies for dampness; how repairs are paid for; direct works and the private contracting
Please send me:
others.
cases) in the country, and to obtain basic information on every estate with damp houses or flats. Unfortunately your articlehadnomentionofeitherthe contact address for the Working Party, or the set of papers we produced for
system; health and housing; joint action by tenants and building workers in
can only assume you must have seer: earlier draft we did not possess. Thanks for providing the additicn- informationwhichispr. «uelow:
Slate committee.
Dampness meeting held in April 1979 will be also sent to tenants associations, anti-damp paigns, law or centres,tradeunionsandotherlabour movement organisations. (Only available while stocks last).
SEND FOR YOUR COPIES NOW‘ AND TELLOTHERCAMPAIGNS,RESOURCE CENTRES AND LAW CENTRES ABOUT THIS UNIQUE CAMPAIGNING PACKAGE’
Venice
_ Biennale
NAM Congress
1979
NAM’s fifth annual congress, to be held in London on the 9th, 10th and 11th November, will be of special interest to people who want to find out more about the views of the movement and to new members as well as to long standing membets.
The Agenda has been framed té enable a thoroughgoing assessment of NAM’s aims andprogressinthelightofexperiences from outside as well as inside the Move- ment. The congress opens on the Friday night with a dicussion with leading critics and architectural practitioners and
Nothing was left out of 7om Wooll.
context with participants drawn from the building industry people involved Boaction over housing, industrial and planning issues as well as from the architecturalfield.
In al the debate surrounding the social and aesthetic merits of the various schemes
it is easy to forget the issue at stake at Coin Street isnot which of the various schemes will get built, for it is unlikely that any of the proposals will be realised in its present form., The real issue is to what use the land will be put, land most of which was acquired
very cheaply many years ago for the
building of public housing.
Society’ followed on Saturday by work- shop sessions grouped under the headings “Accountability to Building Users’ and ‘Democracy in the Building Design and Construction Industry’. The Sunday sessions are devoted to planning NAM’s future role. Food, a bar and entertainment complete the bill. Conference registration including meals is £8 for earners and £5 for non-earners. Day registration isavail- able for the Saturday sessions for £4 including meals. Entrance to the Friday discussion is free. Further details and registration forms from NAM 9Poland St., London, W.1.
Two more papers have now been added
to the Package and are available separately to people who already have the other eightpapers—Paper9onobtainingand using technical help, and Paper 10 which is a list of useful publications.
A full report of the National Anti-
to this tendency in the form of a serrated
skyline on otherwise sheer blocks does
nothing to accomodate ithe needs of
people for intimate. as well as large seale
spaces. The design\\has been likened to a
twelve-storey high Berlin Wall and the Royal 4\" international exhibition of radical Fine Arts Commission which advises planning @Pproaches to architecture’and urban authoritiesontheaestheticaspectsofmajor issues.Alsoformingpartofthecircuit
projects is said to have serious reservations about the scheme.
section of the Biennale is an exhibition mounted by feminist architects
It is hoped to organise a package-deal €XCursion to Venice for the Conference details of which will be available later.
NOTES
1. Slate 12 ‘Planning System on Trial’ 2. Greycoats’ pamphlet: ‘South Bank
Development — Proposals for an
“Area in Crisis\"’’
3. Architects Journal, 15th August 1979 4. ‘Bright Future for the South Bank’
Architects Journal, 8¢ hAugust 1979 SLATE14 PAGE14
SLATE14 PAGEIS
Venice Biennale.
Preliminary dicussions among the
considerable criticism, failing, as it does, to
acknowledge what progress has been made in Italian organising group also attended by
inofficedesigninrecentyears.Thesuccess French,GermanandBritisharchitects
of recent designs has been the abandonning envisaged the event as an international
of the gaunt, sheer walled slabs of the early >xchange of ideas and experiencesof ;
70s in favour of lower buildings with stepped those concerned with the social, political
facades creating spaces of more human scale. and cultural role of the architect\'s work.
courtyardsandterraces.Rogers’concession Thequestionistobeexaminedinawide theoristsonthetopic“TheArchitectin
Sandwell; and the limits and p legalactionondampness.
ial of
Concurrent with the conference will be
to return control over their environment to ordinary people ,and social responsibility and accountability to the work of architects. to fund- amentally change the existing system of patronage to return a voice both to those who provide the labour for architecture and those who use it
a NTS,
Peta Sissons,
Services to Community Action & Tenan‘s
EWS SfNW aka
|] 9, Poland Street, London, W1. Praca)
From: Services to Community Action & Tenants, 31 Clerkenwell Close, London EC]
anti-dampness campaigns (and which include a description of the Sandwell committee).
Dear Slate,
Would you like to help us to reach more anti-dampness campaigns through NAM members who may be giving
tenants some help, or working in local authorities with dampness problems. You could do this by including the information cut out of Tom Woolley’s article, and by mentioning the Dossier on Dampness
form which isbeing distributed to
tenants organisations.
responsibility and accountability to the work of architects....... to fund-
Campaigning against
copies of the Anti-Dampness Package at 60p per copy to tenants associations and anti-dampness campaigns nd at £1 per copy to all
copies of Papers 9& 10 at 20p for the two.
Please make cheques and postal orders payable to Services to Community Action and Tenants. Bulk rates are available for individual papers.
I/we wish to be included on the ‘Dossier on Dampness’, please send details. (Delete ifnot applicable)
Gut out and sendto SCAT,31 Clerkenwell Clase, London EC1
RIBE [iryoyuouwouldliketboe amember oftheNewArchitectureMovementfililnthfeormbelowanndsond
it together with a cheque/postal order (payable to the New Architecture Movement) for £5.00( if
you\'re employed) or £3.00( ifyou\'re are student, claimant or OAP) to NAM at9, Poland Street ||
London W.1. ||
NAME... ||
| |ADDRESS
|
|If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together | |withacheque/postalorder(payabletotheNew ArchitectureMovement )for£2.50toNAM at9, Poland Street, London W.1.
|
| i
SLATE
abi-monthly magazine about building and buildings SLATE
aims to bring together ideas and experiences from people who design buildings, people who build them and people who live and work in them.
SLATE
concentrates on the social and economic factors that shape our environment and determine the way that ‘buildings are commissioned, designed, built, and used
SLATE
full of useful information and opinion from workers in building construction and design, tenants, community groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are more attuned to their needs
SLATE
is an independent magazine published by a group within the New Architecture Movement, which aims to promote effective control by ordinary people
over their environment ~
SLATE 2— Can architects help the ‘Community’?
SLATE 3 — Myth and ideology in the architectural Profession
SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND Women who are builders.
SLATE 5 — Monopoly in the architectural profession SLATE 6— Training architects
SLATE 7 — Making public building respond to
people’s needs
SLATE 8 — Feminism and architecture
SLATE 9 — The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private
enterprise?
SLATE 10/11 People talk about the buildings they use
SLATE 12 — Commercial developmenth,e tommunity and the building industry
SLATE 13 - An issue on housing
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Murray';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Undated';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'SLATE 15';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Includes Hellman cartoon on RIBA control of ARCUK';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = ' I THINK THE TROUBLE WITH ARCHITECTS ISTHEVRE ALWAYS
DESIGNING MONUMENTS
i
\\ SCKCLZ
apotqies 10
WHOSE PROFESSION IS IT ANYWAY?_____ page 3 People think that the letters RIBA signify
‘architect’ — this isn\'t the case
SLATE ISTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, published bi-monthly and edited by the Movement’s Publications Group.
News and features of broad interest to workers in the profession, the building industry and to the general public are included to stimulate general debate on a wide range of issues and to bring the Movement\'s views and activities to the attention of the largest possible readership.
WORK ON SLATE
SLATE needs more workers, more
writers, more ideas and more reps. on order to produce a better, larger and cheaper newsletter. If you would like to work for SLATE, becomea rep., join the group, send in articles or suggest topics itshouldcoverthencontactussoon.
The copy date for the next issue is:
SLATE is published by the Publications Group of the NEW ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, 9 Poland St., London, WI. (Letters should be addressed to the Publications PublicationsGroup).
Printed by Islington Community Press, 2A St. Paul\'s Rd., London, N1.
Trade distribution by Publications Distribution Co-operative, 27 Clerken- well Court, London, EC2.
SLATE may beavery slick looking paper but we need money fast! Please send us your donations now! Cheques made payable to SLATE 9 Poland St., W1.
Many people think that the initials ‘“RIBA’ signify a qualification in architecture and that only those who wear them after their name are professional architects. This is far from the case, as the ‘unattached’ councillors on the Architects
*Registration Council of the UK explain
What raelly distinguishes ‘unattached °architects is that they alone have the right each year to nominate and electtheir own representatives to \"ARCUK’. You\'ve probably heard little of ARCUK — the Architects Reegistration Council of the U.K. — because ever since it was established by the Arch- itects Registration act of 1931 to regulate the architectural professionin the public interest, the RIBA (whose would-be monopoly of ‘architecture
was rejected by Parliament) has stopped at nothing
in its attempt to suppress public knowledge of
ARCUK and to prevent it from effectively carrying out its role. The RIBA controls ARCUK at present by packing it with owners of architectural firms pledged to follow the orders of a small clique of fanatics associated with the RIBAs ruling council.
Although anyone can practice architecture, only people whose names are on the register of Architects maintained by ARCUK may legally call themselvesarchitects.Insomerelatedprofessions
hip ofthe rel ,charteredinstitution functions as the as the recognised professional qualification, but the professional qualification
for corporate’ membership of the RIBA are no higher than those of registration with ARCUK.
Of course no RIBA member can use the title ‘architect’ unless he or she isregistered with ARCUK.
UNATTACHED NEWS
RIBA railroading of Registration Council revealed
NEWS
Whose (SAC) Conference was It Anyway Vote for the Public Interest
RIBA Snubbed inSurvey
THE SLATER
NAM CONGRESS “79
Full Report on this Year\'s New Architecture
Movement Congress
SUMMER SCHOOL STUDIES URBAN QUESTIONS
Report of the Bartlett Summer School which investigated the ‘production of the city’
REVIEWS
Two books on Housing
LETTERS
NAM-—A Way Foward; SAC Conference; NewYorkContacts
page 5
page 6
page 9 page 10
page16
page 21 page 22
place. Socalled‘unattached’architectsarethosewho
Opinions expressed in SLATE are not necessarily the policy of the New Archi tecture Movement unless stated to be so.
afite, ee (colloq.).Gece,wovereyy” (erp.authortareviews),scold Hed
over the last few years. ‘Unattached architects work in al sectors and include young and old, employer, employee and self -emlpoyed architects( though like the profession as a whole, 80% are employees).
Some ‘unattached are strongly opposed to the RIBAs relentless persuit of the self- interest of the few architects who are employers in private practice,its hypocritical contempt for the public interest, its undue influence over architectural education or its reactionary political position. Others simply find it bad value for money. In 1980 architect members of
the RIBA will be asked to pay an annual subsciption of£64. For what? For,a mere £12 ayear anybody can receive the RIBA journal and al unattached can receive the Buiding Design free each week. At the same time fewer architects are interested in having theinitialsRIBAaftertheirnamewhichforanarch- itectsignifiesnomorethanRACafteranameofa licensed driver.
responsibility.
Some architectural firms or public authorities
try to force the architects they employ to join the RIBA. Such undemocratic employer imposed *closed-shop” contravene the provisions of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act of 1975. Any architect facing dismissal, or victimisation short of dismissal ( such as refusal of promotion otherwise
justified ), for refusing to join the RIBA( or maintain RIBA membership )should appeal to an Industrial Tribunal. An architect faced with similar discrimination in applying for ajob should enlist the support of his or her Trade union.
At present, unattached architects have nine etected elected representatives on ARCUK. Any of the architects listed below, all of whom
have represented unattached architects on ARCUK, willbehappytotrytoansweryouequestions concerningtheroleofARCUKandoftheRIBA
‘nominate,proposeforoffietcc,eHi aiueise\'d ae Tapp. f.preo.}
WHOSE PROFESSION
IS IT ANYWAY
arenotmembersofthefive ions(includi
theRIBA) listed in the schedule 1 of theArchitects!
Registration Act of 1931, which specifically recog-
nises the right of architects to remain ‘unattached’.
Of course ‘unattached’ architects may well be
mambers of a trade union, such as NALGO 4x IPCS
in the public sector or TASS in the private sector.
Many feel that being amember ofa union isamore
effective way of defending their livlihood and gain-
ingcontroloftheconditionsunderwhichtheywork +responsibilityforrecognisingcoursesinSchoolsof and the quality of the work they do. Architecture as qualifying for admission to the
Nearly 5000, or 1inS architects are now Register.For many years however. the RIBA has ‘unattached and the number has dramatically increased prevented it from effectively carrying out that
Because itmust decide who will be admitted to the Register of Architects ,ARCUK has by law the
me
(CIL:
CONTENTS
Some architects, employers of architects, archi- tectural students and users of architectural services stil believe that a qualified architect must be a member of the Royal Institute of British Archi- tects (and, conversely, that a member of the
RIBA is necessarily an architect). In fact an architect need not be a member of the RIBA (and thousands of RIBA members are not architects). More and more architects are choosing to be ‘unattached’, either resigning from the RIBA ornot joining it in the first
EDITORIAL CONTACT :‘PHONE 01-703 7775
registering as an architect and being or becoming ‘unattached’. They would equally be pleased to talk on those subjecte to groups of architects , Students, trade unionists and others interested.
John Allan,67 Romily Rd, London, N4 (01-734 8577)
Anne Delaney, 196 Albany Rd, Roath, Cardiff. (0222 492047)
Susan Jackson, 4 highshore Rd, SE15. (01-703 C911)
Alan Lipman, UWIST, Cardiff.
(0222 24732)
Bob Maltz, 14 Holmdale Rd, London ,NW6. (01-340 3288 x281)
IT\'SRUMOUTRHAETDTHEMUPPARETMEASLY MAMPULATEO DOLLS .
John Murray, 37 Landrock Rd, London N8. (01 340 8031 x280)
Marion Roberts, Stephen George and Ptnrs, 5 Drvden ST., London WC2 ,
(01-240 2430)
David Roebuck, 25 ST. George’s Ave., London N7,
(01-267 5604 x34) Ken Thorpe, 109 Cadogan T., London, E9.
(01-985 2676)
lan Tod, 19 Wellington Chambers Aire St., Leeds |.
(0532 635274)
Eddie Walker, Leeds
(0532 635274)
Tom Woolley, 27 Clerkenwell Close London EC1.
(01- 251 0274)
RIBA
application of any independent criteria
to the Register entry qualifications. Alas ho progress in reforming this state of affairs can be reported for the 1979-80 session, thou he Unattached have tabled
a question as hether ARCUK appointees to the visiting boards have ever included a non-RIBA memeber. No awards
for guessing the answer
SPERM BANK IS A LOAD OF PRAP
Talking of awards. itn
recalled that the 1969 Registration Act established an ARCUK Education Fund for ‘the provision of scholarships and grants ... the furtherence of education and research ... and the disemination
of teaching.” (Section! , subscction4) Responsibility for the sdministration
of this fund falls mainly on the Projects and Research Awards Panel, Known as PRAP — an unfortunate abbreviation which, in the indifferent accoustics of the Council Chamber can occasionally
be misheard. On PRAP’s advice ARCUK has allocated funds to the tune of £56 000 since 1975 to the York Centre for continuing professional aducation (contributions from other institutions such as the RIBA, RICS, 1OB, CIBS efc., have averaged about £200 p.a.)
The results of investment in this agency, in effect an RIBA sperm bank* lave been modest, if not invisible, considering
the input. Unattached Councillors have been vocal in arguing that funding of the York Centre must be discontinued and putto better use, and were apparently vindicated when, at the October Council meeting it was confirmed that no further grant was expected. With deft footwork however the December Council approved a new BAE proposal to fund the York Institute the sum of £15, 000. An Unattached amendment to reduce this contribution was, of course, defeated.
5
SLATE aims to provide an effective means of communication for the “unattached ” members of ARCUK through these columns and letters page.
So if you feel strongly about these issues, don’t hesitate to write to us.
For the lay reader of SLATE “ ARCUK ”is the Architects Registration Council of the U.K. It was set up by the Architects Registration Act of 1931 to control the entry of people into the profession and itor their conduct once registered. It is posed of S main constit- uent bodies; The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), the [AAS (The Incorp- arated Association of Architects and Surveyors), the FAS (The Faculty of Architects and Surveyors )and the AA (Architectural Association ).
any part of Council sessions. Quite what would constitute a ‘special occasion’, is not clear but the majority ensured ample license by voting that the Council could resolve itself into committee and place the Press on trust whenever it might fecl reporting to be undesirable. Included was the provision for committee members
RAILROAD
Following his impressionistic picture of
the December 1978 Council Meeting,
Hawser Trunnion brings you this round
up of ARCUK news over the past year.
Councillors representing the Unattached
Architects in the 1979-80 session have,
as usual, been well exercised in monitoring difficulty that was partly alleviated by andwherepossiblechallenging,the
activities of those intent on preserving the status-quo behind ARCUK’S flickering illusion of change. This well trained
house poodle of the RIBA now enters
the 1980s al st-t to carry off yet again’ the top award for obedience and decorum
in the Cruft’s contest for professional dressage.
A yariety of issues have predominated in the session from March to December 1980, of which the following are perbaps of most interest.
ARCUK SECRETS — THE BLUNT TRUTH
The old chestnut of Council Con- fidentiality isalways readilily available
for further roasting. Following ‘leaks to the Press’ in 1978 in connection with the Summerland case, the Council has made several attempts to limit Press reporting
and the freedom of disclosure of Council business by members. The complexion
of the more devout blimps, however, moderated from deep purple to blushing pink when it was realised thet an initial proposal to administer oaths of secrecy
on Councillors was too |fatuous to be taken seriously. In the event Council voted 27
to 9. at its June meeting to adopt the following measures for a trial one
year period: that except when in its quasi-judicial role (eg considering removals from the Register for crime or disgraceful conduct), or other ‘special occasions’, Council would not exclude the Press from
meansoftheannualquestionnaire which has more recently been included in the election mailing. At the October Council meeting a sinister event occurred. With
to discuss Council business with their nominating body — no mention being
made of those wishing to obtain feedback from their electorate — (ie., the Unattached)
This relates closely to the wider issue of communication between Unnattached Councillors and their electors — an ongoing
a degree of vulgarity which until recently might have seemed untypical a squadron of RIBA voting fodder — defying Standing Orders with the Chairman’s consent— introduced a motion to prevent the Unattached obtaining their electorates views by means of this questionnaire. The motion was, of course, carried thus closing even this rudimentary channel.
In contrast the Council, in June, generously sanctioned Press photography — though as one Unattached Councillor observed, the prominent RIBA insignia that embelishes the throne on which
the chairman isinstalled could mislead the uniniated into believing that the panorama represented a sub-committee of the Institute!
EDUCATION — DUTY FREE
It may not be well Known that
the 1931 Registration Act placed a “duty” upon the Board of Architecural Education (BAE — Schedule 2) to recognise siutable examinations for qualification, to recomend the holding of any examinations it considered suitable and, indeed, to hold examinations itself (Section’ 5). An exotic metamorphosis has transformed this stat- utory duty into the chummy excursions of-the RIBA visiting boards, effectively removing from ARCUK itself the
The application of ARCUK’s con- siderable rescourcesjto assist prospective students in need of financial help was another important power conferred by
the 1969 Act. Unattached Councillors
have been concerned at the low take up
of such grants, amd at the December Council asked what steps outside actual schools af architecture ARCUK took to publicise their availability, Clearly there must be many a bright school leaver unable to obtain a suitable grant who remains quite ignorant of the possibility of ARCUK funding as wil his career advisors - if the Council does not widely advertise among schools and 6th form colleges. The Regis rar however confirmed that no
such information was made available
CONDUCT UNBECOMING
The accusation that RIBA in ARCUK fthe tail wagging the dog, is
ed ‘in disciplinary matters by the observation that its bark is worse than
its bite. Feeling itself powerless und angry”
at the outcome of the Discipline Committes
investigation into Summerldnd , the
Council at its June meeting ordered a
review of the ‘tasks and obligations of the
Discipline Committee”, and of how”
ARCUK’s procedures compared with those
of other such statutory committees under
the aegis of the Privy Council. However,
when the report was presented at its
Octiber meeting the Council was evidently
reconciledito its powerlessness and anger,
as an Unattached recommendation to
improve the Discipline Committee
demonstranly the poorest constituted
amongthefourcompared(doctors,DentistselectionofUnattachedRepresentativesto permitarchitectstopracticeas
A NEW WAVE of national activity among student
architects took a tentative
but short step forward at
a recent student conference
in Sheffield. Challengingly entitled ‘Whose Education
is It Anyway?’, the con-
ference was organised by the Schools of Architecture Council (SAC) whose chairman since last spring has been prominent radical lecturer Brian Anson.
Scen as SAC’s response to the call for greater student involyement in decision making implicit in Anson’s election ,the conference was aptly subtitled “A Wood- stockofArchitecturalEducation’ embracing, as it did, a wide variety of alternatives in Architecture. Events were only loosely tied together and ranged from a seminar with architect, Derek Walker, member ofa newly founded international design consultancy, to workshops put
formity across the country and discourage free inquiry und any questioning of the nature and social role of their subject. This view was supported by many of the students at the conference in private conversation: some deplored the narrowness of the ‘training’ that they were given; others complained of a lack of scope tr learn about the building industry, work directly with community groups or simply to learn about the aspects of architecture that particularly interested them.
What was to be the solution? Inspite of the conference structure, which was
stated and restated as relying on
participation for achievement, only the most elementary steps towards progress were put forward in the open sessions. Among the ideas to gain the widest
assent was a call for better communication nication between the students in different schools, appealing as it did to both those who felt that salvation could be found by changing to a “better” school. if they could find one, and those who feltitaprerequisite toaconcerted
Student campaign for a better deal. In contrast some maintained, atter the example of students from Hull, that Students in cach schoul should deal with their own problems rather than be side tracked in activity at a national level
Only two measures were put to the Conference forashow-of-hands vote Anson won support for his proposal to reform the constitution of SAC which currently gives students, staff and the head of cach school one seat cach. I the Sheffield resolution is ratified hy SAC’s AGM, each school would, in future, send three students, two stall and the head of school, giving students an cqual voice, The resolution of support for the staff andstudentsoftheCheltenham School of Architecture, which has recently been instructed to shut its doors to new students with # view to complete closure in about two years, fitted well with the feeling running right through the confer- ence in favour of diversity in architec- tural education. In the discussions preceeding the vote the complexity of the forces that control the schools became eveident as the machinations between the DES, Gloucestershire
County Council, the CNAA and the School\'s parent college were explained. Several speakers deplored the RIBA’s unwillingness to unconditionally
Support the School, inspite of the fact that they formally recognise the standard
of its courses.
In the end most of the participants
seemedtotakeawaywiththemmanyofthe frustrations they had brought to the conference venue at the top of Sheffield University’s 19-storey Arts Tower, and to a degree that was inevitable. The organisers
it
and Vets) — received no support whatever.
ARCUK Council. The size of the electorate and the nember of councillors is of
course governed by the provisions of the
Ofthetwentyorsodifferentevents \\ie only a handful dealt directly with
questions of architectural education:
Anson debated with Architectural Mono-
graphs editor Davil Dunster whether courses should include material on the social implications of design or con- centrate solely on developing design ability in an abstract, formal sense; Jane
-Darke, a student activist during the 1960s outlined the achievements of the now defunct British Architectural Students Association; NAM members lead a popular seminar aimed at identifying the problems facing architectural education as seen by the students themselves.
In his opening talk Anson recalled how, during his first six months in the chair of SAC,hehadvisitedoveraquaterofthe UK schoolsofarchitecture. His impres- sions Were ofa student body cowed by staff who promulgate a formalistic app- roach to design with a remarkable uni-
Meanwhile expensive prosecution of
architects committing trivial or merely
technical Code offenses continues
unabated. Thus. while an attitude to fier
precautions described as casual in the ex-
treme and involving the deaths of 50 persons equitable, however, isthe method of falls short of “disgraceful conduct *being
Yes
No Undecided
65% 24% 11%
engaged as the director and secretary of a company developing abuilding site, although “in fact ho client or other
person suffered damage’ therefrom, does not. In the latter case, by a nice irony of timing, it appears that the ‘guilty’ architect may be struck of by the same[ Council meeting at which the RIBA lobby will vote to allow directorships.
THEARCUK MACHINE —WELL OILED OR OILY?
This necessarily breif resume would be incomplete without noting the hazards
of the procedural thicket the Unattached 6
determining how many members exist in each constituency. Every year on the 31st October an ARCUK computer print out provides the names of al those on the Register. The number of Unattached, the seeimd kargest constituency, is, inpractice
determined by means of the RIBA vetting a
2. Should ARCUK follow the recommen- dations of the Monoplolies Commission by changing its Code to permit architects the option of not using the RIBA Conditions of Engagement?
BAD AT FIGURES
1931 Registration Act and adjoining Regulations. The rule of“one repreesentative per 500 members or fraction thereof would seem sensible sn¢ simple enough. Less
-The opinion survey was carried out with the assistance of ‘Building Design’ magazine. We publish the results below:
In conclusion, the phrase “casual in the extreme. could, with some justification, be applied to the administration of the annual
ST
SAG USAC TOS a jeage
o eeftheunattachedlistsand
a copy deleting
Yes No
Undecided
64% 30% 6%
al those that it claims
eee
2 ames, depriving
reduce
diby
theconstituencyofafurtherplace
Council and on nominees, adding one extra to the RIBA’s
Unfortunately no counter-check is
Yes
No 2% Undecided 2%
carried out, nor are any Bodies RIBAUAAUE
96%
ee
as its Own members.
3. Should ARCUK take stronger measures to help end descrimination in employmentagainstarchitectswhoare not members of the RIBA?
oftheieconstituent AS, etc., obliged to
provide the registrar with an updated copy of their membership list. It is obvious
that it is disadvantageous to inform the Regis. trar of membership decline — as the Pre SS “ informs us is happening in the case of the RIBA. Equally no strict criteria is
applied todetermine when anon- -subscriber actually ceases to be a member of such a body, thus enabling the Institute to carry any number of passengers
for the ARCUK count. Disparities between the Institute\'s own names and subscription income apparently indicate a passenger list of several thousands.
CALL TO ARMS — MORE LEG WORK NEEDED
Notwithstanding their modest achievemen| the NAM Unattached Representatives — as listed elsewhere in this SLATE — brace themselves for another year of opposition and hostility and in doing so invite the good will and support and interest of al unattached architects in this endeayour.
RIBA SNUB
IN SURVEY
THE UNATTACHED Councillors
on ARCUK have recently canvassed their constituency on some important issues facing architects at present.
1.ShouldARCUK changeitsCodeto limited liability companies?
on by Glasgow based community archi-
tectsgroupAssist,withrepresentativesof U TEAT~ECTA.| TOATT” almost every shade of theory and practice
inbetween. EE
,
must perforce negotiate to register their
views.
It is well understood in most democ-
~
racies that Standing Orders exist to protect the minority who would oferwise simply be crushed by a majority claim thet ‘might isright’. In the case of ARCUK, standing orders can dissapear
taneously created with conjuror’s ease. Thus the requirement of 24 hours notice for motions in Coi#ncil not arising from
committee reports can be waived or overlooked to set asude an Unattached motion submitted in proper order (Mach Council), or to introduce a resolution to suppress the questionnaire that is unre- lated to the Committee report (October Council). In december Council a more ingenious novelty appeared, namely that any resolution to ammend or omit a committee recommendation isout of order, and that Council\'s only power is to ‘refer back’ the entire report.
Moreover the Chairman is well versed in the ‘Nelson touch’ when it comes to Unattached Councillors endeavouring to catch his eye. The solubility of democracy iscompleted by the Chairman’s now freq -uent practice of resigning his role of impartial arbiter altogether and asking Council asawhole whether itwishes to hear the Unattached contribution — such
enquiry invariably being answered by bovine roars of \"NOY
By way of explanation the Chairman has often declared himself the ‘servant of this Council’ Unfortunately he is only
prepared to be servant when the RIBA is master.
—_orbe spon-
KEEPING THE NEEDY IN THE DARK
ONE WSIDAASNEWSI
Whose (SAC) conference
was it anyway
?
t
good intentions to bring together the
maximum number of students lead them
to rely on an invited galaxy (albeit small)
of architectural *stars’, leading personalities
in the profession, to attract the crowds. As
a result the experience of the conference
tended to replicate the experience of the
educational process itself, with the students’
role unconsciuosly classified as that of
receiving the wisdom of the design ideologies February 7th.
annual ARCUK retention feehas just been raised to £7 50) to pay the bills for the RIBA’s pet projects and slow the decline in the Institutes membership.
To continue the struggle for a demo- cratic and open ARCUK anda publically accountable profession, unattached architects are urged to
VOTE FOR
Bearing the burden of the architectural professions’ conscience seems to be getting too much for the RIBA’s Salaried Architects Group, whose increasingly appropriate acronym is SAG. The Group, which purports to represent the interests of employe, as oposed to employ architects on the RIBA’s Council, has always held that the way to liberate their constituency from the iniquities
to ditch two of the three main planks
of the Code of Conduct which effectively prohibit advertising by architects and their taking of directorships in building firms. As the owners of private architects firms go about restructuring the rules of their game so that they can make more profit the SAGs are stuck in the
position of being in dispute with their patrons. Architectural
punters who had failed to notice until then the cracking facade of their ‘united profession’ had it rubbed in their faces
Foster Imposter
There isan old joke about public participation which runs something like this: ‘The Council is seeking the views of local residents about the route ofa new motorway. Please indicate which of the following three routes you prefer: through your front garden, through your back garden, or through your
and professional mores of practitioners and academics. Under these circumstances it would have been an immense step for the studentstohavecollectivelyshedtheeffects ofseveralyearscachinthesortof environment that Anson described at the openingoftheconferenceandtohave madeaconcertedchallengetothe
NAM members presently hold
eight of these nine seats representing
‘unattached’ architects, i.e. those
architectswhochoosenottobe
membersoftheRIBA,theAA,orone
of the other minor bodies cited in the
ArchitectsRegistrationActof1931.
Theunattachedaretheonly MarionROBERTS professionalresponsibilityasdefined architects entitled to elct their own
representatives to ARCUK.
controllers| of their education. Some
questioned whether SAC, even “balanced”
under its proposed new constitution,
could be a vehicle for student-centred
campaigns for reform and Jane Darke was
among several speakers who argued for a
national architectural students organisation
with no staff membership. Nevertheless the
conference did provide the “marketplace” of
alternative ideas that had been promised and known to be incraesing in numbers.
David ROEBUCK Dave SUTTON Eddie WALKER
by his or her Code of Conduct. If this results inaconflict between professional obligations and doing what the boss tells you then the salaried architects’ interpretation of the Code would have
to rule. Until recently this policy has been popular with the RIBA’s controlling group, the owners of private architectural firms, who have favoured several SAGs with appointments to high places in the Institute\'s hierarchy, in return for their support for the Code and hence their reinforcement of the myth of a ‘united profession’. Times change, however, and a 1980\'s wind of commercialism is blowing through the upper echelons of
pennydreadful Building Design, that the proposedchangesare* lusivelythe concernofprincipalsinprivatepractice and the reported opposition of a few salaried architects in public employment isirrelevent and impertinent’. There is little doubt that Bryan Jefferson, fellow private practice boss and current RIBA President, would support this view.
Small wonder that SAG leader, Bob Giles, has recently been seen wandering the corridors of the GLC with his head in his hands. The Slater\'s advice to Bob and thousands of other salaried architects is to get out of the RIBA and show it up for what it always will be and when you need to protect yourselves from the iniquities of employment do it through your union, like the rest of us.
Transport site in central Hammersmith is fullocalpeoplecouldwellbe
faced with asimilar participation excercise over who should design the scheme. In this case the wording might
be ‘The Council intends to permit the building of several hundred thousand square feet of offices. Please indicate which of these two architects you prefer: Foster Associates or Elsom Pack and Roberts’. The campaign lead by RIBA Journal editor. Peter Murray, was sparked off by the dismissal of Foster as architect for the redevelopment of the island site around Hammersmith underground station in the Summer. At the time
Foster had little work and the move resulted in extensive redundancies in his office. However, it appears that the people of Hammersmith are not being fooled by the pro-Foster campaigners and are not letting any fuss about who designs the redevelopment to confuse their opposition to the scheme in principle.
At a ‘packed’ public meeting called by
the campaign, abstentions were the rule of the day; 43 people voted for Foster and 12 actually voted against his reinstatement. Not that Foster himself islikely to be that worried now: his appointment as architect for a multi- million pound bank development in
the seeds of questioning ,sowed and nurtured According to ARCUK the RIBA
in individual minds may flourish. One accounts for 78% of al people on Sheffield student has been reported as saying the Register. The reality is probably that his school will never be the same again. under 70%. Although around 80%
of architects are salaried employees, nearly 80% of architects on the Registration Council are bosses. This
We would like to add that, as the question of is because the RIBA Council, which communication betweeh students in yariuos is free to nemniate anyone — laymen
schools was one of the themes of the
conference, we should remind everyone
involved in architectural education that Slate only because of the: presence of NAM
is in the libraries ofa good few schools of architecture. Ifnothing grander isforth- coming then Slate would be happy to carry articles from students and perhaps help take the first steps to improving
the communication that was called fro so widely at Sheffield
8 ee
members representing the unattached that there are even 20% employee architects on Council.
During the past year these NAM members have continued to struggle against stepped up harassment, abuse, bullying and obstruction from RIBA’s ARCUKmafia(seereportinthisi
to ensure that ARCUK acts in the public interest and not asarubber stamp for the RIBA’s dubious policies and as a means of getting al architects (whose
TK HongKonghasjustbeenconfirmed. {Raab
Vote for the public interest
‘UNATTACHED’ architects
have nominated nine NAM members as candidates for all nine ARCUK seats up for election Ballot papers are being sent out to al ‘unattached’ architects by the Architects Registration Council and are due back by
Sagsing
|The Slater the RIBA and preparations are underway
Although the RIBA publically acknowledges that its membership is in decline and at the rate of at least 2%
per year, the RIBA-controlled ARCUK has decided to give the RIBA Council one more place on ARCUK this year and no more to the unattached, who are
and to get the freinds and colleagues who are ‘unattached’ to vote for them also. Every vote counts this year as ther is again some reason to believe that some of the nore fanatical membersof the
RIBA may be trying to putup @ puppet slate of RIBA supporters to contest this election, despite the total failure of such an effort two years ago.
included — to its seats on ARCUK this
year appointed 90% bosses. It is
John ALLAN NormanARNOLD MickBROAD David BURNEY JohnMURRAY
of salaried employment and, at a stroke, thepublicfrom of archi 1 thoughtlessness,istoreform architectural practice so that each architect,bossorminion,hasfull
when respectedpastp ofthe frontroom’.Ifanewcampaignover RIBA,EricLyons,wroteinthearchitects theredevelopmentoftheLondon
() Ofje p C-
NEWSSNEWSNIEWESN
Told enc _.RIBA Council member Archie Tekt guns down theSAGs inSLATE 9(Summer 1978)
Slates’ address is 9, Poland St., London, W1 Articles and helpers welcome!
10
& aN
These are some of the more important campaings and activi ties NAM has mounted or been involved in over the past four years:
— The
. = -
—
~
— —
-
Reflected in this list is the diversity of interests embraced by NAM. At the time of NAM’s found- ation many of these issues were as relevant as they are today. NAM’s achievement has been to draw together the individuals and groups cncerned into an organisation which can debate and refine understanding of the questions by linking them together, and provide support and a base for widening individual campaigns. This diversity
means that a cemtralised organisation with an ‘executive committe’ isinappropriate. NAM has developed a federal structure, for which the only decision making event as far as NAM as a whole is concernedistheAnnualCongress.BetweenCongresses the non-policy affairs of the Movement are co-ordinated by an elected ‘Liaison Group’. Policy and campaigns
are the prerogative of separate local- and issue- based groups whose only duty isto report and stand accountable to the Annual Congress.
NAM provides for its member groups and indivicuals an opportunity for broader discussion at local and special national meetings and through Slate, financial support for particular campaigns and acchance to win the support of a wider body through resolutions at the Annual Congress.
Continuing debate and a widening of spheres of action are essential to NAM’s future. It is currently involved in a process of reviewing and refining its policies and startegies which has become the more vital in the face of recent political clanges. Member- ship is open to al.
FORWARD with thought was the message from the 1979 New Architecture Movement Congress held in November last. Speedy react- ions to the grim prospects facing architectural workers and the users of the buildings they design could prove counter-productive. Instead NAM committed itself to a short period of consolidation followed by a
a major meeting early this year to launch thought out alternative approaches asa basis
for a campaign agianst the feffects of Westminster policies on architects and Architecture.
Already one NAM group has started the process.
The Public Design Service Group recongnised in their motion to Congress, the importance of demonstrating that Public Sector design is capable of greater sensitivity to people’s needs if staff in public
architects offices are to win the popular support they need to ward off redundancies. On architectural education NAM expressed unanimous support for
the students snd staff of Cheltenham School of Architecture in a motion opposing any attempts
to close the school. NAM members who represent
the ‘unattached’ architects on the Architects Regis- tration Council of the UK also won ful support for their efforts to ensure that Council acts in the publis ir public interest.
But proposals for action must always be made from from a thourough understanding ofthe nature of
the ‘problem’, and, in the informal sessions of the Congress, NAM set in train theoretical work on the relation of enconomic and social factors to the design of housing. Contributions from the NAM Feminist Group demonstrated how design standards tend to reinforce the role of women as housewives and
hinder progress towards equality. Others. pointed p out that th motive of the State in financing council house building wasto secure a healthy and compliant workforce for industry rather than any altruism. A stude group to look further into the question was
The ‘Green Ban’ campaign between trade unionists and environmentalists to save Birmingham Post Office building.
Trade Union organisation within the hitherto largely unorganised field of private sector buildingdesign.
Nomination and susequent election of councillors on the Architects Registration Council of the UK and subsequent campaigning: within the Council to ensure that itacts in
the public interest.
Preparing and campaigning for the reform of Local Authority architects offices and ,more more recently their defence.
Working towards a feminist perspective on building design and setting up a cooperative practice to design for women’s groups. Publishing the magazine Slate.
Submitting evidence to the Monoplies Commission against the mandatory minimum fee scale promulgated by the RIBA and ARCUK.
Working towards an understanding of the relations between architects and building users, particularly in the practice of
‘community architecture’.
CONGRESS REPORT
set up and will meet throughout this year.
Other group discussions considered the effects of design decisions on the health and safety of working
people, the problem of defects in housing, the principles of direct labour and the need to strengthen architectural practice through increasing democracy within offices.
NAM CONGRESS 79
INTRODUCTION TO NAM
People are often mystified by initials. Many readers of Slate will bave been wondering what NAM stands for. The initials stand tor New Architecture Movement. NAM stands for real control by ordinary people over the processes that form their environment, but also believes that changes are necessary in the way that architecture is practised and the building industry organised, These two ideas are interdependent.
‘At the moment the majority of new buildings and other changes in the fabric of our cities and towns work against the interests of the majority of people. NAM sets out to understand why this isthe caseand particularly in what way building design and construct- ion are responsible for this situation. As we see it, in broad terms, building projects are initiated, designed and then constructed and managed exclusively by
a tiny minority in society, managers of corporate private enterprises, local authority bureaucracies, private architects firms and building contractors. Quite naturally they work in their own interests, so wider social considerations are neglected. NAM members, most of whom work in the field of building design are no longer prepared to remain uncritical and inactive. And not only because they object
in principle but also because they find the conditions
of their work implicit in the current set up are unacceptable.
Itisagainst this background that NAM emerged spontaneously ataconference inHarrogate in
1975. NAM isprincipally about the process that gives us buildings. Because the majority of its members are involved in architecture NAM’s work has tended to concentrate on that part of the process calledbuildingdesign. ThisisnottosaythatNAM feels that building design is of paramount importance but the last four years have proved how difficult it is to make links through the walls of our social pigeon holes. Things are changing slowly and NAM is beginning at least to talk to builders, housing
workers, economists and others.
The morning plenary was reported by Sarah Gillam and covered workshops on planning and people, housing form, housing standards and industrial buildings and health and safety.
The afternoon plenary was reported by Tony Brohn and covered workshops on housing form, design and build and direct labour, and trade unions and architecture/democracy in architects’ offices
cannot be spent on areas other than those stated, so Ee a)thattenant’spreferencesmaybeignored.Itwould
tend to see it as a worker\'s problem, while architects see it as an obstacle to design. He felt that these attitudes desperately needed to be altered so that users could participate at the design stage to
eliminate resks. To do this trade unions and architects architects need to co—operate_more fully with one another. One way of achieving this might be to try and demystify the architect\'s job by producing pamphlets which explain technical building and
design terms, the type of problems which architects face and the design process. He wanted to locate someone in an architecture schoo! who might like to do a project along these lines. So if you\'re interested contact David Gee via Slate.
Housing form
R E e e ee
Jos Boys introduced the workshop and discussed
housing form asatypeofsocial control —through housing tenure and the layout of estates, but also questioned whether form is a result of the social structure or vice versa. The group looked at the design process
and discussed to what extent class—based stereotypes are transferred from middle class homes to working Classones
The second part of the workshop was introduced by Su Francis and based on a slide presentation of women’s quarters through the ages. Su showed
how sex stereotyping exists in design guides and housing layout. Although the pre—capitalist
economy was house centred, the woman\'s role was slightly less defined than later periods. In middle class Victorian homes there wasa strict division between domestic servants (mostly female) and the master and mistress. The servant’s role of cooking, cleaning and making the beds was replaced in the 20th century by the wife/mother, whose role it is to rear children, run the home and replenish her husband\'s needs. The kitchen is now the main spatial area allocated to the wife — previously the servant\'s domain and this space segregation has tended to accentuate women’s oppressive containment.
The third part of the workshop was given by Doug Smith. He explained how housing form is being designed and built around the stereotype of the nuclear family in an inflexible permanent way and criticised the pseudo—scientific approach of Parker— Morris standards which tries to justify a series of minimums. He also described how building form
can be used for general social control and gaye Haussman’s radial street design in Paris as an example. Similar radial designs exist in some prisons. Ultimate— ly, the group agreed that a part from design problems
there just isn’t enough housing available — state provision is inadequate while private housing is beyond the reach of many people.
NRAeaeSCSIGERILCR an SES Housing standards
eeeee) Marion Roberts gave the workshop on housing
be better if legislation ensured that buildings are wind
and weather tight so that tenants may decide their
amenities for themselves. Examples were given to show
how some legislation isinadequate. Thermal heating
standards don’t allow for different weather conditions
in the UK, so that money which should go on
additional heating has to be spent elsewhere. In new
build housing spatial standards are minimised to those
of Parker Morris, whilst the cost limits in rehabilitation
tend to result in high maintenance expenditure — somethingwhichcouldbereducedbyinvestingmore some initially in building materials and design. The trend
ienesw)
purchase by the state, and by trade unions through pension funds. While state purchase was seen as a potential area it was felt not to be feasible for the next few years! Trade unions. however, possessed a substantial amount of money which could be used Positively whilst still providing a return on income. Nobody knew quite how this could be achieved but il is certainly an area for exploration. Housing is already being provided by trade unions in Germany and Sweden, so it was thought that thes examples would be good to look at
Trade union involvement in local CUM paigns. throughthelocaltradescouncilwasrecommended by several people in the group to widen the issues and gain more support
Many felt that architects and planners were still working on amenity/conservation issues either than for the services of a community and questioned why this was happening. A suggestion to include architeet’s fees in Urban Aid Grants might be one way of
solving this problem. Some people felt that if social need was to be met at al architects should organise
in amuch more radical way, and put themselves at the disposal of those who needed their services
rather than continuing alor the lines of existing Structures.
standards. She said that
Marion said that with rigid statutory legislation, money prevailing attitudes in industry. The establishment
towards rehabs has sometimes gone too far, with local authorities preserving the unpreservable. It was suggested that architects should be allowed to conduct comparative feasibility studies of new build and rehabs instead of simply one or the other.
Most people thought that large scale redevelopment projects should be planned in phases so that commun— ities aren\'t destroyed. An example was given where one community was relocated in tact, so that people stil lived next door to one another.
The group felt that there was a need for a resource centre which published information on faulty design and standards. This could act as an information service for joint discussion between tneant’s assoc— iations and building workers examining proposed building designs.
Planning and people
a
)
Industrial buildings and health and safety EAE
David Gee, ahealth and safety officer, began the workshop byconsidering some of the problems of implementing health and safety regulations. He
standards can be used as a
represented moral rectitude.explained that part of the problem stems from
5
Martin Lipson from the ‘Planning and People’ workshop outlined the problems of redevelopment on privately owned sites, discussed the possible ways that the state and trade unions could remedy such situations and proposed alternative ways of meeting social need for the future.
He illustrated the problems by first giving an acoount of the Battersea Redevelopment Action Group’s efforts to oppose the construction of luxury flats and offices on a site occupied by a disused warehouse. He explained that the area surrounding the site was dominated by 31 high- rise flats, had little open space and was mainly populated by low income industrial workers, who, owing to the lack of industry in the area were
forced to work elsewhere. Objections to the scheme grew and an alternative plan for the whole area was devised by local people together with some architecture students. The plan covered a 30 acre site which included 3 or 4 other redevelopment projects and incorporated badly needed oped space They made two planning applications on the grounc of social need but these were both rejected. When a public enquiry was held, people chose to give evidence rather than be represented by a lawyer, feeling that their views should be expressed directly. At one point they staged a mock enquiry as part of their evidence to illustrate the way in which the wholeprocessworkedlikeagameandwouldhave a determined conclusion.
Opinion in the workshop diverged at this point. Some people felt that professional help should be enlisted to begin with, and that total participation by the community was only possible once some victories had been gained. Others argued that by participating fully those involved would be far more ‘ware of the whole political process. Martin pointed
WORKSHOP REPORTS
out that while they had lost the site in Battersea they had gained the involvement of people in the locality as a result of their participation. Others Suggested that this was insufficient and that people’ awareness and strength would evaporate without tangible success.
Another area of discussion was the way in which property developers cab bide their time since their Property is ever increasing in value whilst the
reverse is true for communities. In Battersea the Project was stalled for 7 years whilst Proceeding
were carried out. But during that time both the local council and Government turned to Conservative and
the climate for private speculation became far more amenable. The building programme isnow underway.
Everyone agreed that ownership of land wasa vital area and discussed the possibilities of and
Trade unions and architecture/democracy in architects’ offices
There were 3 workshops in the afternoon session: ‘Democracy in the Workplace/Trade Union organis- -ation”, ‘Design and Build/Direct Labour anda continuation of the moming’s workshop on ‘Housing Form’ added to the afternoon programme
y popular demand.
_rene Murray from N.A.M.’s “Public Design
Service’ group introduced workshop one with a 13
political weapon to restrict or enhance and showed how in the 19th century they
14
Having failed to determine a clear course for the future, the Congress resolved that the discussion be continued at greater length at a special meeting to be called in the Spring. All NAM groups were
asked to submit papers and proposals to the
Liaison Group in preparation for the special meeting. Such a debate on NAM’s future must clearly be fuly informed and the Liaison Group would welcome contributions from al interested parties 4s soon as possible. Written material should be sent to 9 Poland St., London, W.1.
that besetts al state spenders: that of fitting a rolling programme of work into the local authority financial year.
This Congress supports the efforts of NAM representing unnattached architects on the Architects Registration Council of the UK in their efforts to
An interesting question was posed in the workshop:
what limits would be i dupona left-ori d
department ideologically committed to expansion?
The answer given was that the Borough Architect
could block the expansion beyond ‘establishment’ size
(a scale determined in conjunction with the DOE). At
present quite a high proportion of state-funded work is dominated by capitalism and patriarchy as was crisply farmed out to private architects. Considering the policies demonstrated by Su Francis in the morning workshop.
expose RIBA abuses of ARCUK. This Congress requests Sltac to publicise the NAM Mate for the forthcoming election in 1980 in carly January
of some local authorities this is not an altogether a bad thing but at a time when local authority building is seriously threatened by cuts it provides an easy way for those in favour of privatisation of the State by
the private sector without attracting too much attention. The theory is that the private sector mops up the excess that the public sector can’t handle. It was suggested that a local authority department
should be able to work for another local authority in order to match shortfalls of work in one with excesses in another. It was proposed that a joint “Fighting the Cuts” conference sponsored by both the public and private sector unions be called to link action on this crucial issue.
Cost limits, design guides and their own prejedices confirm their political role. .
c. Discussion of building form is dogged by ip terminology used by architects and their commentators. This severely limits public debate to a fairly elitist
plane. The professional institutes do little to improve this situation. Public response should be encouraged a great deal more by the use of the popular media.
There have been three further open discussions
that have developed themes from the workshop. A third is planned for 10th January 1980 at 5, Dryden Street, at 7.00. All are very welcome. It is intended to to publish material to represent these discussions in the form ofa NAM booklet.
di the future
to be held in the Spring.
ies of NAM in
The morning’s ‘Housing Form’ workshop had raised so many important issues that an afternoon slot was hurriedly organised. The-interest gener- -ated by this workshop could be partly due to the fact that NAM had up to then consciously avoided entering into debates about building form, principally because the world of architectural journalism dwells extensively on “what buildings look like” to the virtual exclusion of “whether buildings work” or “whose needs do buildings satisfy”. NAM has avoided repeating the obsession and instead has concentrated on the political and social conditions
that produce buildings. The‘Housing Form’ workshops established that enough grass-roots interest existed for nettletobeformallygraspedatlast.
The afternoon workshop asked firstly in what proportion housing form was determined by architects or economic constraints. Three fundamental problems were rounded upon:
a) Archi fi ly fail at the job they are supposed to do, at the level of basic competance e.g. leaks, bad damp-proof course detailing, specification errors like Sumerland, etc.
private practice to help the public sector unions in resitsting attempts to cut the public sector.
2. UNIONISATION
This Congress urges al workers in al sectors of building design work to join and organise
within their appropriate trade union. In the cise of private sector building design, yhis Congress endorses the conclusions of the May 14th
b) They cannot opt out of their ideological context
The final session of this year’s NAM Congress was devoted to a discussion ambitiously titled ‘Future \'
Strategies’. Its purpose was to review the current strength of NAM and initiate discussion on the future direction of NAM sponsored action. In the event discussion remained fragmented and unfocussed but it is clear that such a self examination is now crucial to the development of any future programme.
Throughout the last four years NAM has consist- ently developed its ideas on a range of issuesand established its authority as an alternative voice in the profession. Yet its membership remains small and its resources limited. Debate centred on how NAM should seek wider popular support and, in
particular, whether it remained realistic to expect
it to grow into a mass movement in membership
terms. It was proposed that NAM might broaden
its appeal by embracing less purely ‘professional
political’ issues but it was questioned whether it
possessedthemanpower todoso.NAM shouldlook
outside of itself, it was suggested, both by
addressing itself more directly to those unattached
architects who regularly voted NAM-affiliated
candidates onto ARCUK Council, and by seeking to
make alliances with other organised groups of working
people.Inthiscontextthequestionofwhetherand 4.ARCUK members
how NAM should respond to the changed political context was discussed and in particular the need to oppose the proposed public expenditure cuts was raised as a potential centrepiece for action.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL NAM MEMBERS AND GROUPS
Don’t forget to send your papers and proposals to the Liaison Group as soon as possible for the Special Meeting to
NAM’s 1979 Annual Congress passed the following resolutions:
1. PUBLIC DESIGN SERVICE
This Congress endorses the work carried out by the PDS Group in the last year
In addition, this Congres«
a) supports the the PDS Groujys
proposed conference to be held in Spring 1980 to which al appropriate unions will be invited to send delegates, to asses the progress made
in the democratisation of publis design offices, and the relation of democratisation to the defence of public architectural practice,
b) recognises, (i) the unique potential of
publis design offices to provide a democratic
design service, (i) the ideological and economic attacks on these offices by the present government, largely supported by the RIBA, and,
c) supports appropriate action taken in the
defence of these offices by public sector unions and calls on salaried building design staff in
Conference that al workers in that sectorshould organise in AUEW/TASS. Tis Congress urges cooperation at al levels between public and private sector trade unions with building design staff in membership to defend and enhance the quality
of the workinglives of building design staff and
the quality of the design work they produce. 3.CHELTENHAM SCHOOL O1 ARCHUITECTURI NAM Congress opposes any attempt to close Cheltenham School of Architecture, Dbelicving: option that this action would eliminate a progressive
in architectural cducation. It expresses its support for the staff andstudents in the school in their fight against closure.
description of the reorganisation of the architects’ department.at the London Borough of Haringey where he is employed. The basic idea behind the reorganisation was to create an area-based set of design teams that can develope a good understanding of their locality and a sense of responsibility to the people who live within it. In addition each ‘team
Design and build and direct labour
leader’ actually partisipates in the designitself. This arrangement isaconsiderable improvement
over the conventional pattern of local authority architects’ departments where jobs are allocated to designers on a fairly random basis with the result that there is little continuity over a period of time between designers and users. By making the team leader an active member of the design team they avoid team and group leaders becoming petty bureaucrats dealing mainly with council committees and in the process losing touch with the problems faced by the team. At Haringey each team is offered each new council-funded job in its area and decided which ones to farm out. Inter-team liaison exists although this is not allowed to take on too much power. John Murray touched briefly on a problem
workers can come together to discuss projects.
They had also elected delegates on an area basis to represent users’ views. A planned building programme gives them the opportunity to work closely and constructively together. (Apologies for the brevity of coverage of this workshop please see SLATE 9 fora fuller description of events at Hackney.)
The Design and Build Collective’s Dick Watson introduced workshop two. He saw their work as a genuine alternative to the conventional designer
separated from builder set up. It is organised as a non-hierarchical cooperative rotating jobs such as book-keeping, job-running, trade skills, etc. Asa result there is little specialisation and each person gets to know something about every aspect of the job. Gross turnover is in the region of £60,000
to £70,000. They carry out mainly community- based projects such as play groups, day carecentres, craft and trade centres, ahandicapped building centre and private conversions of.which “there
is an almost unlimited supply in London.” They encourage people they’re working for to learn building skills and participate as far as possible. Tom Bulley from Hackney’s architects department described the DLO’s predicament there. They are trying to restructure it along the lines proposed by the NAM PDS group. They have ajoint shop
stewards’ structure where architectural and building
Other matters dealt with during Congress were: SUBSCRIPTIONS
NAM subscritions are now as follows:
£8,.00 for working members and £3..00 for unwaged members, both annually.
Both classes of subscription include copies
of Slate.
This isthe first increase since theintroduction of subscriptions folllowing the Ist Congress NAM GROUPS
The following Groups received endorsements
from Congress as required by Working Rule 2: Professional Issues Group, Alternative Practices Group, Feminist Group, Public Design Service Group, Slate/Publications Group. Any other se groups should inform the Liaison Group of their existence immediately to aid communication.
Frok each of these groups a delegate is to beapp- ointed to form the quaterly Liaison Group meeting. LIAISON GROUP OFFICERS
The following officers were elected by Congress: Mick Broad (Edinburgh), Teck Ong, Ken Pearce, Barry Shaw (al London), and Dave Sutton (Bristol).
FUTURE STRATEGIES
RESOLUTIONS
Freemnmemesrncessoneaca Housing form continued
A TWO WEEK summer school was held at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, Uni- versity College London, during the first twoo weeks of September. Called ‘The Production of the Built Environment’, it took a novel and importantly distin-
ctive approach to urban issues. Its nove?ty was an attempt to xeplore the possibilities of an ex-
planatory framework for questions of urban change and development which related a historical analysis of the construction industry -that isthe changing conditions in which buildings and the physical structure of cities are produced.
The schoolwas jointly organised
by taeching and research staff from different departments within the
Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, together with help from and co-operation of others outside the Bartlett.
architects, planners teachers, researchers students, etc.. Participants thus together represented the many separate disciplines and occupations related to urban issues, both theoretically and practically. More than thirty people from the UK and abroad attended, hearing nearly the same number of people give papers, and taking
part in discussion and study groups. The programme of the School presented material that allowed the
possibility of analysing the production of the built environment in terms of the changing relations between land, capital and construction in cities. The physical formof the city could be viewed asa
an account of the Bartlett
The first week covered three areas: firstly the process of capital accumulation in the construction industry; secondly the relevence of history and of theories of scientific knowledge to environmental studies, and thirdly a critical appraisal
of methods and techniques used in the field, drawing on examples at the level of implementation. It was intended to draw up in a tentative way a theoret-
ical framework and possible methods
of analysis, identifying the levels at which they operate. The second week
was more concerned with identifying
ways in which this framework might be applied in practice. This was seen in in terms of the organisation of prod- uction in construction, and in terms
of State intervention and policies.
Throughout the two weeks project groups held working seessions and
helped to make the School part od a process through which some of the directions adopted were criticised and clarified, and new lines formulated. It is hoped that the Summer School, together with the publication of its proceedings in January, will be the first step towards developing a coordinated body of work in this diraction. The progress that has been made can be evaluated at next years Summer School.
The first has been concemed with processes of distribution and re- distribution of resources within the urban physical structure. Whilst rejecting the explicit functionalism of earlier work it contains inherent assumptions which maintain a dichotomy between social and physical elements as a non-social variable in patterns of access and inequality.
The second is an approach to urban studies which has emphasised the relation between social infrastructure and urban development. Harvey’s re-assessment of the relevance and assumptions of previous studies rejected the notion that spatial forms and social processes are in contin- uous interaction. He nevertheless adopted an approach that maintained their conceptual separation, mapping onto the
urban landscape the distribution networks arising from the overall process of capital accumulation. His work importantly explored the use of new categories capable of explaining urban change, particularly Marxist thinking, and intro- duced a historical dimension lacking in earlier work and in subsequent work by the French school.
Harvey saw ‘urbanism’ as originating in the transformation of economic integration from one based on reciprocity (exclusively associated with egalitarian social structures) to one based on redistribution (existing in rank or strati- fied social structures). This transform- ation was identified as crucial to con- centrating surplus into a few hands and
a few places. Processes of redistribution and reciprocity were however in many senses seen as synchronic, since these categories were not taken as historically specific, and the actual process of change was not theorised.
That the categories of reciprocity and redistribution were selected as being critical to the emergence of ‘urbanism’ followed from his original starting point of explaining relations of distribution as distinct from relations of production. The same focus led Harvey to stress the role of finance rather than productive capital, in other words the ways in which
surplus is realised rather than the means by which itisgenerated. Conflicts based on finance capital in property speculation and land were thus attributed a force dominating the city and supplanting the importance of conflicts in the work- place. The circulation of commodities, including buildings, and particularly housing, together with the finance necessary was regarded not only as primary to, but separate from their actual production.
The third approach was associated with the French School and in particular Castells, and viewed urban problems as a phenomena of collective consumption. By this it suggested that the economies of the advanced capitalist countries rest more and more on the process of con- sumption. By this it suggested that the economies of the advanced capitalist countries rest more and more on the process of consumption; that this is increasingly organised ona collective basis controlled by a financial super- structure; and that the purpose of such organisation is to ensure the repro- duction of labour power. Like Harvey, the realisation of surplus value and the consumption ofcommodities issingled
out as the main focus for an explanation of urban problems. More explicitly than Harvey though, Castells adopts an ‘underconsumptionist’ view. Suburban development for example, is seen as a deliberate capitalist creation in order to combat under consumption and as an aid to political control. The present crisis of capitalism isinterpreted not intermsof the long term inadequacy of the rate of profit to fal, but as the result of the inability to sel goods and insufficient demand. A growing social, economic and political crisis isseen to surround the financial superstructure — the mechanism of controlling under consumption — which iscontrolled by state expenditure and unproductive consumption.
This kind of analysis centres on the concept of the reproduction of labour power, and unlike the approaches typified by Harvey or Pahl appears to incorporate the process of both production and exchange of commodities ratherthan being solely confined to consumption. The process of actually producing
Urban studies has too often been a
field that has been integrated in name alone; Summer ita disciplines often remain separate.
The Summer School was an attempt to
change this It was an experimental form
of teaching within the Bartlett which,
hopefully to be repeated, demonstrated
the potentials of much current research
work at present without a teaching out-
let. It also served as a pilot project fora
possible post-graduate course at the
Bartlett. The School tried to integrate the
the work of individual specialists in a
way that went beyond the format of
a conference. As a School, the aim was
to put the individual contributions in
a framework which could give theoretical continuity while at the same time relate
to practical issues. Many participants found it a useful form of overcoming academic and professional isolation.
The Summer School was taught by people who together represented a wide range of specialised interests: eceonomics, planning, sociology, architecture, geogra- phy and more. It was attended by a complimentary variety of people,
16
product of the construction industry and of the different ways the buikding process is organised in relation to the State. This was not a purely technical view, but one which saw urban change as a social process manifested at the local levek in the physical and social
changes that transform urban localities. The construction industry was seen ,as
a mediator of the social processes, to be the key to understanding the way cities change. The physical elements of the city, land and buildings, were thus taken together. Thier organisation could then
be seen as a reflection of historical changes occuring, for example, between landowners and builders,between building workers and contractors, etc..
The rationale which the summer school has begun to develop although it is not claimed to be a comprehensive theoretical approach to urban questions, can be seen as distinct in the context of existing work. The revival of academic interest in urban studies that has
School
nt
{developed in the 1960\'s and particularly lin the 1970\'s has produceda diversity of approaches. To some extent the activities ‘ofstate planning has determined the ‘need for a theoretical framework through which urban processes might be examined, and policies formulated and implemented. Yet the realities of compounding ‘urban
problems’, the UK property boom of
the early 70’s, continually rising land values, housing and redevelopment issues, etc., demonstrate that there are long standing problems of applicability for those areas of knowledge that deal with urban issues.
On one hand there are those practical, instrumental knowledges which daily inform al levels of environmental action ranging from the production of individual buildings to the structuring of large urban localities. Without aconceptual basis these tend however to be of limited use for explaining why cities come to be as they are, and thereby lack an essential precondition for generating effective change. On the other hand, analytical approaches which attempt to conceptual- ise the processes through which cities are transformed, have often in practice generated normative frameworks for
environmental action, or functional descriptions too generalised to find application at the level of production.
The field of urban studies that developed in the 1920\'s and 1930\'s had aperspective that explained changes in cities in terms of a ‘natural’ evolution analogous to biological change. Social processes were empirically observed, described and ‘mapped’ onto urban space. Urbanism became an autonomous object defined through itsobservable spatial characteristics of size, density and heterogenity. Within asimple function- alist framework the Chicago school developed a theory of the city which conferred ideal ecological forms on to the physical products of historically
specific social processes. Social relations were often seen to be largely determined by the physical characteristics of cities. In more recent years, urban studies have shared anegative consensus critical of the Chicago School legacy. Emphasis has turned towards developing abetter understanding of the social relations operating beneath observable physical
appearances. The view that urban socio- spatial relationships constitute an onto- logically distinct object of study has been challenged from within the field best described as urban sociology.
Urban studies isnot atheoretically homogenous discipline. As Ray Pahl has observed, itisnoted more for the cogency of its internal criticism than for its capacity to generate significant con- cepts. It is however possible to identify three distinct critical trends which are typified by the work of Ray Pahl, David Harvey and Manuel Castells respectively.
HE PRODUCTION OF THE CITY
buildings is not however an integral part of the framework adopted, since by reproduction of labour power is meant the consumption of such necessary commoditiesashousing,togetherwith theconflictsorurban socialmovements which arise from their distribution.
At the root of these approaches is a search for an explanation of the way in which cities are transformed so that present urban issues can be better under- stood and means of making effective change developed. But in the form of an implicit quest for a general theory of the city they can often become simply an exercise in classification. Categories are deployed from outside their relation to history and remain unrelated to definite stages of social development. However if the focus of new work, aiming to avoid this difficulty, becomes the historical transformation of the urban rather than the conceptual deployment of given categories, the same problems need to be confronted. As Eric Hobsbawm has noted, the subject of urban history is a container with ildefined, heterogenous,
and sometimes indiscriminate contents. It does not have a given unity, nor is it a ready-made paradigm for examining social change.
The reason for pulling together a diverse array of urban studies in the programme of the Summer School was to begin to search for explanations of the way in which cities change. As outlined above there have been a number of. attempts to analyse the way in which cities are transformed. These have pre- supposed a particular identification of the source of problems as concerned, for example, with the distribution and redistribution of resources within the urban-territorial structure, with the construction of social infrastructure, with the phenomena of collective consumption. The School, on the other hand, was concerned with overcoming through a production-oriented framework some of theproblemsinvolvedinconfining analysis solely to an examination of the distribution of built form seen as isolated from the process of actually producing buildings.
The first problem with confining analysis of the city to particular relations
whether these be of distribution, exchange, or consumption —is that social classes, as defined through their relation to the production process, cannot be explained. A social class, for instance, cannot be defined according to its distribution within alocality or by a Particular object of consumption such as housing. Secondly, itisnot possible, by restricting analysis, to explain the relation
vecn urbanisation and the general + sess of accumulation of capital. The
latter entails an understanding of the multiple determinants of the cycle of
18
reproduction of capital in which the production process, as a generator of. surplus, acts as mediator.
With a production-oriented approach itwasseenasnecessarytoviewthe processofurbanisationasahistorical process of generating, realising, distri- buting and consuming surplus. Viewed in this way, urban change is given a material form and is part and parcel of the overall process of accumulation and its different stages. For the city consists
of a conglomeration of buildings which are ascribed to a variety of different
uses; these buildings are not simply distributed and consumed, before this they must be produced and are therefore basically a product of the construction industry. Historical change in urban development could thus be seen to reflect changes in the construction industry and to be related to the overall process of accumulation.
1. The Process of Accumulation and
the Peculiarities of Land
What are the peculiarities of accumulation in construction, what barriersdoeslandpresenttothisand whatmechanismshavebeendeveloped by the state in response?
This first area consisted of a critique of neoclassical economic methods in the light of a detailed examination of the process of accumulation within the construction industry, and the peculiar part which land plays in this. As an illustration of this, Michael Ball looked at the relation between production and exchange in construction. Complement- ary to the theoretical arguments presented, John Sugden succeeded in demystifying the traditional neoclassical approach by showing empirically that the construction industry does not act
in passive response to demand, but that its organisation is oriented towards an active engagement in determining the structure of its market. This active involvement does mean that the industry itself is fundamental to changes in the formation of different localities, to their deployment, to the provision of housing and other social amenities.
With the approach to the process of accumulation presented, the construction industry was seen to be a prime determ- inant in the different stages of urban development. This does, of course, raise the question of the part which land plays in development, and Michael Ball pointed out that an explanation of urbanisation which includes the process of accumu- lation in construction is necessarily contrasted to explanations which place emphasis on the importance of land rent in determining the nature of building. Only within speculative development as opposed to building to contract does land rent present a major problem for the building capitalist.
History and Theories of Scientific Knowledge
Whatbodyofknowledge is tobuildupaframeworkforarationale of production to explain change in the built environment?
This part of the course situated theories concerning change to the built environ- ment within the development of scientific knowledge, it outlined a particular approach to historical method and examined examples of change in the construction industry and land in relation to this.
John Musgrove began by examining how the concept of change has developed in different theories of knowledge, and the classificatory ideas applied to the environment which have stemmed from these. He argued that, in order to give a temporal dimension, the process of material change must be taken into account in studies of environmental development and that this could not be achieved through a synchronic view. Linda Clarke then followed from this theme by outlining the importance of a particular historical approach in over- coming the opposition between synchronic and diachronic analysis. She pointed out and demonstrated with examples the historical approach necessary to explain why the con- struction industry has developed — through an emphasis on change in the organisation of production not on static description within a uniform path of development.
Michael Ball carried this further by examining the impact of changed pro- ductive relations (accompanying the early development of capitalism in housebuilding) on exchange relations. He pointed out that if housing provision is seen only as an issue at the level of
reducing practical problems to subsidiary technical ones. James Gough continued thisthemeintermsoflarge-scaleurban modelsappliedbylocalauthoritiesand the ideological apparatus erected to support the relationships which these are used to express, These contrast with the simple less operational optimisation models based on a neo-classical economics.
Jenny Thornley, Nick Sharman and Terry Hargraves explored the relation of practical local problems of employment and housing to intervention at different levels of political involvement, thereby re-examining the context in which such models are applied. Jenny Thornley described attempts by the state to merge public and private interests thereby evading the practical problems of the development functions within local authorities. Nick Sharman similarly illustrated the impotence of the state
and local authorities to deal with the problems of high unemployment and physical dereliction of Docklands. Terry Hargrave then showed how change can be effected when practical problems are mediated by political involvement, giving examples of the techniques successfully employed by Central Camden Tenants Association.
4. The Organisation of Production in Construction
What are the specific contradictions within the organisation of the production process in contruction; between organised labour, the concentration of capital and technological change? And how is the organisation of production acting as a barrier to technical change?
This section of the course examined how the organisation of production,
Following this general unifying objective a number of questions are raised concerning analysis of urban change. The subject areas of the Summer School were chosen to help answer some of them in the light of the contributions made by speakers. They are set out below.
This part of the course was concerned with unravelling the links and differences between the technical and political solutions posed to practical problems at a concrete local level. This included critically exploring a variety of quant- itative methods and then re-examining the local situations in which these are implemented.
The subject was first tackled through a discussion by Colin Thunhurst of the relation between practice and technique using the example of operations research (OR). He explained (following upon a theme of Jonathan Rosenhead’s) how the application of OR to planning and build- ing and the approach to it often involves
Doreen Massey examined further the
questionoflandanditsrelationtothe PROCEEDIN general process of accumulation of
capital, suggesting barriers which the
private ownership of land could present
for capital. Mike Edwards then explained
how the immediate needs of capital are
reflected in the planning activities of the
State, pointing out that the planning and
local government system are ofgreat
importance in determining the total scale
ofpubliccontractsandtheallocationof
work. Zoning mechanisms, for example,
can benefit the profits on building capital
and speculative gains on land.
.
Methods, Techniques and Forms of Practical Intervention
What is the relationship between practical, technical and political problems and their levels of resolution in effecting change to the built environment?
“Urban Studies has too often beena field
integrated in name alone .the Bartlett
Summer School was an attempt to change
this. It was an experimental form of
teaching.whichcouldgivetheoretical Pleasesendme.CopiesofthePROCEEDINGSOF continuity while at the same time relate
to practical issues.”
The proceedings of this important event are to be published in January — they will contain al the papers given during the two weeks of the Bartlett Summer School, plus records of discussion and study group material.
Name «-sesesnensecones
Order now
ORDER FORM
To: Bartlett Summer School (Proceedings), Schob! of
Architecture and Planning, University College London, 22, Gordon St., London, WC1
THE BARTLETT SUMMER SCHOOL
19
exchange then its relation to the accumulation of capital isprimarily idered asa problem of‘finance
capital’ and an overemphasis isgiven to tenures. Through examining exchange relations, the paper linked thisearly development of the building industry to changes in the form of land purchase. The speculative builder, instead of a portfolio of contracts (as with the contractor), had a portfolio of sites for
steady accumulation so that no necessary correlation existed between land purchases and output of building. This mismatch between output and gains on land was also seen in the early 1970s property boom and the changing
nature of land use and ownership which accompanied this boom were described by Alex Catalano.
w
y
1enclose acheque/postal order, value £......... payable to University College London.
Price: £3 00 per single copy ; £2.50 per copy for orders of two or more copies Plus post and packing to UK address £0 30p per copy
stemming from the process of accum- ulation, acts as a barrier to: 1. Labour organisation, the reproduction and development of skills, and to healthy and safe working conditions; and 2. technological advance and the co-ordin- ation of construction in terms of the concentration of fixed capital were exemplified both by the levels of development of fixed capital and the results of mergers by construction companies.
Janet Drucker’s paper on the history of Trade Union organisation in contruc- tion showed how the different craft traditions in the face of technical re- structuring have influenced the present framework of organised labour in the industry, although the craft/non-craft tradition is now blurred. The case of the ‘lump’, the problems it raises for centra- lised trade union organisation and for standards of training in the industry ~ were discussed by Terry Austrin. Stewart Burchall described the state of training in the industry. Tim Lobstein’s paper
on health and saftey on construction sites demonstrated the potential import- ance of this issue for organised labour’s fight to reverse the consequences of casual employment. The poor record
of construction in this respect in comparison with other industries was demonstrated with detailed statistical material.
Mike Cooley showed the contradic- tions that now existed between the productive potentials of the engineering industry and what it actually produces when serving the interests of capital. Ftr The technological potential of the industry\'s skills and machinary was not fully used, or used for the best skilled workers were unemployed and plant closed down in the face of pressing needs, for high technology medical equipment; for example many forms of automation mis-applied the potentials of new technology and degraded skills and
work; the anti-social use of science and technology had given science itselfa bad name in the eyes of the public. He showed how at Lucas Aerospace the workforce haddemonstrated its potential to overcome these contradic- tions and produce socially useful pro- ducts. A vital issue was shown to be one of the workforce’s control over what is produced,
In Mark Swenerton’s case study of the decline in housing standards between 1918 and 1921, the demonstrated poten- tial of the construction industry to produce housing of high quality was shown to be subject to the political calcu- lations of a government which saw that ‘homes fit for heroes’ were no longer a necessity. Graeme Geddes raised the question of design and the control of production in the construction industry,
20
andtothekindsoftheoryandknowledge that informed building design? How might the experience of the engineering industry be related to the contruction industry?
Graham Ive showed that contruction is unique within British industry in terms of its relatively low levels of fixed capital. He argued that this sectorial backward- ness could be related to (although not necessarily explained by) the contracting system within the industry, Andy Cullen described the takeovers, aquisitions and joint ventures within building capital during the 1970\'s. And the industrialisa- tion of housebuilding was used by Richard Hill as a case study to examine the pecularities of construction, in relation
to the accumulation process.
State Intervention and Policies for Land and Construction
What are the differences between political intervention in land and construction at the local and national- levels? And how have local authorities contributed historically to transform- ing the structure of land ownership and use, the organisation of the construction process and the built product itself?
The final subject area initiated a discus- sionofthe policies towards public owner- ship as these are manifested and imple- mented, in order to understand the conflicts between public and private ownership of land and construction.
John Foster using historical examples discussed the idea of the local state —it was he thought, a weak concept. He argued that the history of local state institutions showed that their emergence was intemately related to class struggles over local ‘environmental’ issues. But that these institutions have at all times been cohesive with national state institutions, iulthough not necessarily in complete political alignment with the latter.
Steve Merrett presented a detailed account of the state’s longstanding policies of financial intervention in both the production and realisation of owner occupiedhousingaswellaslocalautho- rity housing, pointing therefore to the complexity of the situation that socialist policies for further intervention in housing must face. Drawing on her earlier paper, Doreen Massey showed on the basis of an analysis of post war state interventions in land ownership, and particularly the Community Land Act, that the specific contradictions between forms of land ownership needed to be understood if successful policies were to be implement- ed. Full nationalisation of land could overcome the problems posed by the private ownership of land by capital, but that political struggle over use would remain although in fundimentally new conditions.
Bob Colenutt’s account oftheconflicts surrounding the development proposals for London’s Coin Street Site illustrated the importance of the local level for raising issues of principal over the opera- tion of the land market and the role of local authorities in this process. Paul Lowenberge’s earlier paper also related
to this issue.
The contradictions within state policies
for regional development were analysed by Ray Hudson through the example of Washington New Town. And Graham Ive in a contribution which examined urban and industrial spatial restructuring in Mersyside argued for an understanding of the locational aspects of urban and industrial change which took account of a variable relationship between industrial capital. Both papers raised issues for the development of political policies to tackle uneven regional development.
Steve Drewer\'s criticisms of the tradi- tional approach to analysis of the cons- truction industry were based on their in- adequacy to analyse the range and
variety of its operations. What sort of analysis of the industry would show how its often unsatisfactory performance
could be improved? A discussion was opened up in which it was suggested that the Labour Party’s proposals for building industry nationalisation — “Building Britain’s Future’ —in justifying social ownership on groundsof efficiency in the industry, neglected the social and political desirability of social ownership. Caroline Bedale, Mike Paddon and Peter Carter argued the case for making Direct Labour Departments a central part of the campain to effect socially desirable change within the construction industry.
Against the background of these subject areas there were study groups which met to work on a number of distinct topics which could relate parti- cular interests to the more general framework of the course. The topics
were: Land Rent and Development;
The Organisation of Production—Design ind Construction; the State and Housing; The Historical Pecularities of Construction and the Position of Labour. The work that thestudygroupshaddonewerepresented at the end of the two weeks, raising more questions than theys olved but suggesting useful directions for future work. It is hoped that the ultimate success of the course will be measured through the theory and practice that it helps to develop.
ofEasternEurope,Politicalinesencethis criticism has no substance in fact. Monotony can
be alleviated by variations in surface treatment, articulation and landscaping. The authors at
times seem to be looking for non-existent problems rather than realizable solutions.
Would anyone object to the abolition of al
makes of ‘standard’ car ifcheap and economical
variations of the Rolls Royce were the only vehicles Challon available?
The authors also miss the point that alot
of so-called Architecture was, and is, being done by non-architects. These include employees of Local Authorities, engineers, surveyors, estate agents, builders and amateurs of al kinds.
The authors flirtation with theories of professionalism and the effects of society upon them is, in the case of the architects, aslightly irrelevant exercise in which the architects apparently are accused of being out of step.
Of course itsuits Capitalist society to have ‘professionals in straight-jackets, self made though these garments may be. One might as well blame
a mad man for wearing a real one! What the authors don’t seem to have realised is that because of this Straight-jacket -sometimes refered to as the Code of Professional Conduct -they are in an unenviable and humiliating situation. With touting for work
,forbidden, they must and do resort to al kinds
of dubious methods of getting clients. Its no wonder that corruption is rife -with onle occaisional exposure. Some alternatives may be worse, of course, but what justification ,for instance. can there be for rules which forbid and architect to do building, or dealin property or building materials? Only that he may be dishonest. The RIBA appears always to hey been in the position of throwing
the first stone -ahighly questionable activity. The authors show that, in addition, the Code prevents an architect from publicspirited activity in the community. Ofcourse al professions have
Codes of Conduct - but it has always seemed to
me that the architects’ Code is the most punitive
of al, effectively segregating him within an industry in which co-operation is a paramount necessity
and putting him at the top ofa dung heap from which descent could be very mucky.
As an architect and planner, |have rushed in where others might fear to tread, since the authors themselves are architects and planners. The status of architect sislow and has been for some years now, not because of questions of design -which, in my opinion are a distraction -but because ofgeneraltechnicalincompetence,alleviated
“only by a new ‘low grade’ architect, refered to as an architectutal technician -a vocation which was created by the RIBA after the War and which has effectively weakened and has added
nothing to the status of architects, This will be
corrected (one day) when Schools of Architecture ,(if they exist) insist ona first degree in Building Technology for all entrants’ The Schools would
then become post-graduate establishments -whereatalent for design in the Heavy Crudist Style would be no substitute for expertise in
building. -
It would then be reasonable for non-archite cts
and amateurs to be forbidden to design building -work above a certain cost.
The authors point out that -try hard though
REVIEW OF ‘WHO NEEDS HOUSING?’
If you are a reformer, rebel or revolutionary, or merely a member of the Conservative Party this book will give you a cbmpendious view of housing problems in Britain. The authors investigate alt aspects of the housing crisis -relevant and some irrelevant. They consider the advantages and disadvantages of the major forms of housing tenure -owner-occupation and council housing - and consider the situation of those on the fringes of the housing market — the squatters, the gypsies and people in institutions.
They look at the building industry and explain why building workers are not more militant and . why the large construction firms are so alarmed
by the prospect of nationalisation. Planners, architects. housing managers and pressure groups are all-criticised for their limited understanding
of the real roots of the housing crisis,
The authors, justifiably in my opinion, criticise the unrealistic and unsympathetic Architecture of Heavy Crudism in housing by contemporary architects. They say, ‘‘In the face of the rather marginal contribution that architectural design
can make to net human happiness, architects maintain a collective self-image which stresses their social value to society, their role in creating ‘communities’ by design and their desire to serve their clients. In practice, however, most architects are more concerned to impress their fellow architects than to satisfy the users of their buildings.”\"It is possible here that the authors
have mistaken the dictates of fashion in architecture, the desire of the individual architectto justify his or her existence, to make his or her personal
mark in the townscape and a concern to impress alandsundryfortheverylimitedobjectiveof pandering to fellow architects.
By hitting out in al directions rather like the proverbial bull in the china shop the authors tend to invalidate their criticism of architects, much of which isjustified. Architecture and Planning could make a substantial contribution to
human happiness. Architects coul d antl should be concerned to serve and know the -wishes of the community and of the occupants of public housing. In any event there are those who are
of the opinion that the fact sof housing could best be gathered by social workers for inter- Pretation of the drawing board.
The authors’ criticism of the ‘standard house Plan’ is similar to the anti-socialist accusations= of ‘monotony’ levelled against the housing estates
21
JaneDarkeandRoy Darke : ‘Who Needs Housing?’ :Macmillan Press :£2.95 :Paper
Reviwed by Ivor
it
wn
Socialist Housing Activists Workshop: ‘Socialism and Housing Action: The Red Paper on Housing”: published by the authors at
arrogant bastard should be exposed!” So the passions were there al right, but our stage-managed debate wasn’t going to bring them out.
have offered to co-operate. Then there
was the workshop offered by Portsmouth, and the collection of alternative prospectuses
they may -the planners cannot avoid the
political implications and influences al around them. I should say, in addition, that though, with hands on hearts, they may be planning for the public good, capitalists and capitalism are planning for private profit and until Socialism arrives to revive them the planners are being counted out
of the ring.
What is to be done about the housing crisis? The authors, in an excellent final chapter, show how existing organisations, pressure groups and even legislation can be used in the fightfor better housing. The deepening energy crisis is, however, hardly mentioned and it may come to exert the greatest influence on questions of housing and town planning.
Altogether Ifound this book to be ful of information which isboth fascinating and useful. A book not to be missed by anyone interested in housing,oneoftoday’smajorpolittval issues. It has always been with us and will not go away and is likely to remain with us for many years hence. To quote the authors:
“Homelessness and inadequate housing are endemic in Capitalist society.”
REVIEW OF “SOCIALISM AND HOUSING ACTION: THE RED PAPER ON HOUSING”
At the end of the Red Paper the collective of authors say: “we offer (this paper) in an attempt to start the debate. We welcome criticism and comment. We welcome anybody who wished to join us to further
NAM - a way
forward
FROM: Mick Broad
Dear Slate
The fifth congress asked “which way is N.A.M. going?” but where was the member- -ship to give their reply? The answer is of course, onwards, but how. Here isjust one suggestion. N.A.M. has members in Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield and elsewhere supporting the Movement but relying on Slate for contact. It is now time for the membership to invite further contact and generate new activity by forming local groups throughout the country. No great leaders are required, merely contact with thelocalAUEWTASSandNALGObranches
Hellman, Thompson and al the other
‘stars’gatheredtomakeSheffieldlikean possiblyadvocatethatwithoutfirst
architectural Woodstock. The audiance was having made bloody sure about his social
everywhere, hanging over the balcony, responsibilities. There was enough being
entwined in the spiral stair, getting up the
microphone and generally oozing the
question\'“when exactly does the
revolution begin? ” When itwas my turn
Ileaned forward and began........ “Comrades! me and saying “If Dunster was in my school it has expanded and other worthy people vue’ (Well, if this isn’t a struggle what on we wouldn’t allow him to teach”; “That
earth is?) Iread aquote of Cedric’s Ihad
discovered that morning whenI was eating
my cornflakes, It was from an old
Archigram of 1970, the one that gave a
free packet of seeds. He had written:
There isno reason to suppose that itis
best to receive between the ages of 17and
25 and to dispense at any time beyond that breathing down each others’ necks, perched participant left with that tingling lecling age, The receiving/dispensing equation is
one should never be written, CLASSIFIC-
c/o Tyne-Wear Rescource
Centre, 13, Swinburn St., the work that has been started here.” It is in the
Then there was the big N.A.M. meeting held upstairs in the most wonderfully cramped corner of the studio. We were
al ideas born at Sheffield that have every chance of being realised. Well, the Festival is over. In my mind its success was obvious: apart from the heroic scheines I\'ve just mentioned (and there are others), every
Gateshead: £1 00 inc. P & P: paperback
Spirit of these remarks that Iwish to congratulate the
authors on producing a comprehensive, well-researched
and gripping document. Itisaclear account of the
many issues that confront socialists and housing
activists;issuesofgreatcomplexityinvolving
economicandsocialtheoryandtheevidenceofour schoolsofarchitecture,aroominapub,and bloodyconvenientforlazyadministrators havetheSameparentageastherevitalised answer: WHERE INIIELL’SNAME WAS
Review by Marion Roberts
ATION OF PEOPLE RELATED TO PARTICULAR OPERATIONAL MENTAL PATTERNINGISFALSE. However,itis
on the edges of drawing boards.... aha! here is the germ! It was clear to me theat the New Architecture Movement should, by the end of the Festival, have an initiativeoneducation.Itdoes,afteral,
that something was happening in architect- -ural education that might help to solve some of their very deeply rooted frustrations. One question remains, and as amember Iwouldbeverygratefulforan
own eyes and experience.
The authors state who they are and why they
wrote it. The document is written by socialists and housing activists who wish to bring housing back intothearenaofsocialistdebateandaction. In doing so they meet the issues head on — chapters are devoted to current housing policy, a history of publichousing,capitalism,thehousingmarket whichincludesthebuildingindustry,tenantsand owners, and the family and personal life. The penultimate chapter is a courageous attempt to describe a vision of housing under socialism — an attempt which isnormally sidestepped by the more abstract theoreticians. The final chapter is the one which aroused most sympathy however, and which confirmed some of the doubts and
reservations I felt| towards the rest of the pamphlet.
The final chapter deals with the way forward
for community action. It examines the short comings of community action — the brevity of campaigns, their localised base, and the lack of coherent political perspective. It also considers
the lack of interaction between the labour move- -mentandcommunityactiongroups,andthe necessity for and complexity of such an interaction. In doing so, I feel the chapter raises issues which had been simplified out of the earlier chapters
S.A.C. in the figure of Brian Anson, and NAM? Slate did carry Rob Thompson’s article
“Trained to make a killing” in its 14th
notice ofyour first meeting in B.D. or A.J. After that the new group exists and continues to seek further contact while developing both local and national issues.
If the answer to the first question is North, thentheEdinburghgroupispleasedto have been chosen to host the sixth
annual congress and will be glad for any Suggestiononcongressformorcontent frombothexistingandpotentialgroups during the coming months. See you in Edinburgh witha friend, there’s no better place to take one!’
SAC
conference FROM: Thom Gorst
REFLECTIONS ON SHEFFIELD, or WHERE WAS NAM?
TheSheffieldS.A.C.Conferencewasthe first time in my embryonic architectural career that I had shared a platform with anyone, let alone Anson, Cullinan, Price,
and cowardly academics.
Here we were, nearly ten years later, grapp-
-ling with exactly the same problems.
Somehow Sheffield was going to solve them, issue. The notint of radicalism in education New York andIwasn\'tkeentoleaveuntilithad. hadbeengivenagoodairingbeforethe
That afternoon Igave my little sideshow — Festival began, with advance publicity in
the distasteful inner secrets of a particular Building Design and the Architectural Press. internationalmagasineIhadbeenincontact Thequestion“Whoseeducationisitanyway? with,butwealknewthattherealbusiness
would be achieved the following day, when
we gathered around’ the rostrum again to
Pass resolutions, set up organisations, leave
the world with our mark. Before this could
happen there should be some groundwork: EDUCATION, INCREASED SOCIAL
meetings and heated discussions about
AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY IN SCHOOLS, UPROOTING US FROM OUR OWN EXCLUSIVENESS and so on. What happened? The mecting started at square one; no assumptions and no direct- -ion. Here was the one mass alternative architectural organisation saying “come on
Dear Friends
education; Brian wondered how he could
our own plans? Ihad found, early in the Festival,thatIwasexchangingalotofideas with Rob Thompson of the Architects Revolutionary Council, and by the middle of Thursday we were together in the
Festival office toying with the idea of forming a new school of architecture - a “school without walls’. The idea survives:
offered to start the debate of debates, yet only a few members of the audience came forward, timidly. It wasn’t until it was over that Ifound people coming up to
wasringingineveryone’smind,theproblems
were well known to us al. FAIR REPRE-
-SENTATION ON THE SCHOOLS OF
ARCHITECTURE COUNCIL, FREEDOM 20 Brokaw Lane, Great Neck, N.Y. 11023
FROM THE RIBA’s MONOPOLY IN
FROM: Eugene and Toby Glickman U.S.A.
architectural education.
apparent when we gathered into our
Broupstogetonwiththegroundwork.
Was that nothing was going to be achieved.
\"chaired adebate early on the second
Morning between Brian Anson and David
Dunster.Wesatinthemiddleofthemarke telN.A.M.we\'reinterested!,insteadof Placesurroundedbyaboutfiftyenthusiasts puttingforwarditsowninitiativesand andthetwospeakersworkedovertimeto offeringstrongsupporttoS.A.C.whichso Betthediscussionontotheflocr.Brian badlyneededit.Isitanysurprisethatthosearchitecture,weareturningtoyou.
me David a“shallow intellectual”; i Vid didn’t rise to it. David advocated
of us who came to Sheffield to achieve samething should find ourselves sitting in tiny offices with like-minded souls making
Do you know of any individuals or journals in the United States that we could get in touch with?
Ormalism as a useful tool in architectural
What became
My wife and Iare writing a tourist guide to Manhattan which will have a radical, class- conscious perspective. We know of no architects who have any sort of left politics in our part of the world; yet we believe that the architectural dimension of a city ought to be an important part of our book. Because we ourselves are ignorant of
contact
Poland Street, London W.1.
SLATI
to bring together ideas and experiences from
ople who design buildings, people who build them ind people who live and work in them
SLATE
yneentrates on the social and economic factors that
hape our environment and determine the way that
suildines are commissioned, designed. built and used SLATE :
full of useful information and opinion from workers in building construction and design, tenants,
ommunity groups and others interested in ensuring that the construction industry and its products are
re attuned to their needs SLATE
in independent magazine published by a group within the New Architecture Movement, which aims to promote effective control by ordinary people over their environment
SLATE 2— Can architects help the ‘Community?
SLATE 3 Myth and ideology in the architectural Profession
SLATE 4— Crisis in the construction industry AND Women who are builders
SLATE 5— Monopoly in the architectural profession
on capitalism and the housing market,
The chapter on capitalism presents the contradiction
of capital in a rigorous and forceful way. However
at the end of it one is left with the feeling that the economic system under which we now live came
about in an arbitrary fashion and was not the result
of an historical dialectic. The progressive elements
of early capitalism, the increasing of the productive forces and the increase in the nature and number of commodities isneither recognised nor drawn out. There is no feeling of history as a process, that within the womb of capitalist development the institutions are formed which may become subject to conscious democratic direction and control. Asa consequence
the authors offer a somewhat utopian vision of ‘community control’ of housing without reference to the existing structures of local and national government. Council housing isseen by the authors as a coercive means of ensuring the reproduction
of the labour force — the progressive elements of council housing are not expounded nor are further aspects of those progressions explored,
A similar blank spot occurts in the papers
attitude to the Labour Party. The Labour Party
has grown up as the political wing of the labour movement. It seems contradictory to me to recommend on the one hand increased links with the ‘labour movement’ (ie trade unions) and at the same time to reject the Labour Party because it is seen as:— “managing and strengthening capitalism rather than dismantling it’. The role of the Labour Party and
the labour movement over the last fifty years has
been tortuous.and raises contradictions for activists
However the Labour Party is the only embodiment
of the mass interests of the entire working class a that exists in this country at the moment: it is the
party of local if not national government, and the party to which trade unions are affiliated. To
dismiss it as ‘strengthening capital’ seems to
me (as a member of that party) not only theoretically incorrect but tactically dangerous.
Itiswith these reservations that Iwould urge Slate reader to buy a copy of the Red Paper and read it, extend and refine the argument, discussion and above al the action.
SLATE 6 SLATE
SLATE 8
Training architects
Making public building respond to people\'s needs
Feminism and architecture
SLATE 9— The fight for control of the building industry: nationalisation or private
enterprise?
SLATE 10/11 People talk about the buildings they use -
SLATE 12 — Commercial development, the tommunity and the building industry
SLATE 13 — An issue on housing
you\'reemployed)or£3.00(ifyou\'rearestudent,claimantorOAP)toNAM at9,PolandStreet London W.1.
NAME
ADDRESS.
If you would like to receive SLATE without joining NAM fill in the form below and send it together withacheque/ontpero(spatyaableltotheNewArchMoivemetnte)focr£2t.50utorNAMeat9,
mete Pee ger
SLATI fy monthly mastzine about building and buildings
';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'NAM SLATE Group';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'John Murray & John Allan ';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>
<script>
var options = {
attributes: {
rel: 'nofollow',
title: 'click to open',
},
className: 'internal-link',
format: {
url: function (value) {
return value
}
},
ignoreTags: ['a'],
validate: {
url: function (value) {
return /^(http|ftp)s?:\/\//.test(value);
}
}
};
var str = 'Undated';
document.write(linkifyHtml(str, options));
</script>