Negroni Talk #21

As a process, creating buildings seems to revolve around function, finance and fear rather than freeing things up for flexible flights of fancy.

On 21st April 2020 Jane Clossick chaired an online discussion for Negroni Talk #21, in collaboration with Fourth Space and Ombre, asking: where is the fun in contemporary architecture? As a process, creating buildings seems to revolve around function, finance and fear rather than freeing things up for flexible flights of fancy. To add insult to injury 99% of the time the end product is uninspiring and distinctly average. So do architects actually enjoy what they spend most of their time doing?

It seems that in Britain today, rational and formulaic brick boxes have become a lazy shorthand for design quality and appear to be the height of our collective ambition. Tasteful, inoffensive aesthetics are the order of the day and whilst this might please planners looking for ‘something that fits in’, do the general public agree? More conservative organisations argue that people crave traditionalism as a return to a golden age of architecture, but buildings should be about more than just an external aesthetic. These are the places we live and work within and the quality of every space we occupy has an emotional & psychological impact on us in our daily lives

Speakers:
Dr Jane Clossick, London Metropolitan University (Chair); Lee Ivett, Baxendale Studio; Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg, Space Popular; Alpa Depani, London Borough of Waltham Forest; Francis Terry, Francis Terry and Associates; Alfredo Caraballo, Allies & Morrison

Recording:
Soundcloud

Links:
Fourth Space