Design for London Letter to the Mayor, Building, UK Capital City Architecture, Opinion

Design for London : Letter

Architectural News in the British Capital, England, UK – Architects Outcry

22 Feb 2011

Design for London Letter

Design for London

The following is an open letter to the Major of London.

To the people of London, to the Mayor.

The attractive among the world cities are so to a wide audience. They are attractive because they have a lot to offer to residents and visitors alike. Large cities excel at being economically powerful, they are hot-spots of social activity, they absorb and transform cultural energy, and they exhibit the world’s best buildings and spaces. In short, they are the stage for what has turned out to be one of the biggest attractions to people in our age: the urban environment.

How good that stage is depends on the quality of its spaces and buildings, on the quality of the way these are arranged and on the diversity of the arrangements. Enter design guidance on an urban scale – enter Design for London. Working with London’s impressive development community, Design for London was set up to help nurture urban qualities, to seek ways to improve the existing townscape and to find ways to connect – to mutual benefit – the new and the old. It does so not by designing, but by making sure that design briefs and the people involved in their execution match, by facilitating their collaboration and by making sure that money is spent where it matters to the people of London. Its budget compares to that of the city as the price of the oil that lubricates an engine and keeps it running smoothly.

News has circulated the world (yes, the world) that Design for London is under threat. As architects from many countries, we want to encourage the Mayor to secure the survival of this remarkable team. We hope that he is aware of how widely admired the efforts are of this small group of talented designers. London should consider itself lucky to have a skilled, knowledgeable and creative organisation supporting efforts to make it a better city.

It would be a tragedy if Design for London were allowed to wither away.

Sincerely,

Ben van Berkel
Mario Botta
Alain de Botton
Kees Christiaanse
Frank Gehry
Adriaan Geuze
Xaveer De Geyter
Zaha Hadid
Jacques Herzog
Daniel Libeskind
Renzo Piano
Peter St John
Rafael Vinoly

Design for London Letter from maxwan architects+urbanists, Rotterdam

Location: London, England, UK

London Buildings

Contemporary London Architecture

London Architecture Designs – chronological list

London Architectural Tours by e-architect

London Architect : Listing with contact details for approaching an architect

London Architecture : major buildings with images

London Architecture Walking Tours : guided walking or bus tours in the capital

London Architects : architecture arranged by architect

London Architecture Photographs : images of key recent architecture, from 2009-11

London Skyscraper Architecture : designs + images

Design Museum architects : Conran & Partners

Design Museum Building

Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Saatchi Gallery London
image © Timothy Soar

Design Museum David Chipperfield Exhibition

Design Museum Exhibition

Design Museum Jan Kaplicky Exhibition

Wardian London Penthouses, Isle of Dogs
Design: Glenn Howells Architects
Wardian London
image courtesy of architects
Wardian London Property

Comments / photos for the Design for London Letter page welcome