Letters.

RICH AND POOR

SIR: One thing that makes any sensible person lose his rag is the sound of a well-heeled liberal whining about the 'ecological crisis' caused by his own extravagant life-style (Leader, January issue). When, Sir, are you going to give up your company limo (I presume you have one). When are you going to stop over-heating your house? When are you going to accept that the difference between the rich and the poor of this world is not just quantitative, but also qualitative?

Architects can do little to ameliorate the condition of the poor. Architecture is for the richer people of the world. Look at any shanty town, here, in Asia or South America and you will see that all the precepts that we are brought up with: proportion, aspect, constructive integrity, and so on are complete rubbish. And dangerous rubbish at that, for they tend to prevent us from looking at the real problems, and however ineffectually, trying to help solve them.

What's needed is a much more radical and holistic approach to the plight of the poor (and the world in general). When are we going to get pollution free transport? When cheap and easily assembled building materials with high insulative properties? When, decent city planning which will reduce the need for massive numbers of polluting and destructive journeys? Architects can help a little in all such areas, but only if they forget their prima-donna role and learn from the poor, who can be (far from always) remarkably ingenious and inventive with the slender resources they can command.

All professions, as Bernard Shaw remarked, are conspiracies against the layman. Ours seems more conspiratorial than most, and determined to make its potentially beneficial knowledge accessible only to the rich.

Yours etc

S.E.AARONDSEN

Johannesburg

South Africa.

OPEN AND SHUT CASE

SIR: Upon reading the December 2000 issue of your publication, I felt compelled to write about an issue that I've been concerned about for some time. The 'Open and Shut Case' article (p58) shows a beautiful, shuttered wood wall on a student hostel in Portugal. Like so many other projects that you feature with these gorgeous exterior wood walls, screens, etc, this one caught my eye but also begged the Big Question: How well will these projects weather over time? I would love to see a picture of this project in even five years and see how it looks. Any warping? Streaking? Delaminating? It's not the sort of aesthetic that would seem to anticipate an uneven patina or significant imperfections. The hardwood slats on the Australian house (p50) stand a better chance over time if the end connections don't split.

Would it be possible to have a critical evaluation of external wood applications over time? As much as I truly admire the Architectural Review, more post-occupancy performance evaluations and general questioning would be welcome.

Yours etc

SCOTT J. NEWLAND

Minneapolis, USA