Ar+d disappointment.

SIR: While I was not unimpressed by the results of the latest round of the ar+d contest, I could not help but be a bit disappointed. In previous years, you have managed to celebrate a huge range of design activity, from landscapes to tea-pots. There was nothing this year at the furniture/small object end of the spectrum. Was this because there were no suitable entries, or because the jury had a wilful bias against such things?

You seem to have been happy to vote for a wilful house by Laurie Chetwood, which will assuredly look pretty tatty in a few years (months?), and for that elongated ectoplasmic attempt at a bus station. I simply can't imagine that the latter, made of plastic, will be able to stand up to the hard wear that it will experience in use--bus stops seem to bring out the worst in people's characters (particularly at night) and, though the Dutch are doubtless very admirable people, it is impossible to believe that all of them will refrain from what would appear to be a vandal's dream of heaven.

On the other hand, when you did choose buildings of a more orthodox kind, why on earth go for such safe bets? Sambuichi's two celebrated offerings are pretty dull. The Vlotho fortress seems to be no more than an assembly of incidents.

Still I mustn't complain too hard: ar+d is the only contest of its kind in the world, and it really does bring out previously unconsidered talent, some of which Hara, Thibault, Yamaguchi, Barclay & Crousse for instance - is really impressive.

Yours etc

JAMES JOHNSON 

Ottawa, Canada