Euro Final: Wembley Eye-Witness Report
The NHS-app failed, and we were waved though. There were no gates and no Covid checks.
Thoughts on Biden’s Inauguration speech
The American dream, opportunity, prosperity, liberty, justice, community, unity, hope – have little reality today. But that doesn’t matter. They are mere symbols, signifiers without signified.
Samuel Paty, 1973-2020
This is a short statement in memory of Samuel Paty, the teacher who was brutally murdered on the outskirts of Paris on 16 October 2020.
Stay safe but remain sceptical
Regardless of the UK government’s twelfth-hour assurance that these new powers will be reviewed every six months, a potentially worrying precedent may have already been set.
Mad, bad and dangerous
The media reports that more than a quarter of architecture students in the UK have reported mental health issues. This reply points the finger at where the real lunacy lies. In May 2016, the National Union of Students (NUS) issued a report that concerns about debt are affecting the mental health of 36 per cent of students. A 2015 report by Universities UK titled “Student mental well-being in Higher Education” says that “every year one...
Pledges for a new narrative
We are a group of architects, designers, planners, artists & creatives brought together in the aftermath of the EU referendum. PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.newnarratives.org.uk BREXIT has created profound uncertainty. But do we see it as a moment of crisis or of opportunity? We choose the latter. As a result, we are positive about democracy and the freedom that it reflects, and see a world of possibilities if the UK takes steps...
Brexit
Brexit is is not a triumphalist moment but one for constructing a better future, one in which we have the autonomy to make decisions outside the technocratic framework of the EU. For those who are fearful, it is understandable – and there is inevitably going to be business difficulties in the months ahead. But let’s not forget that things were far from rosy before the referendum. For those who have experienced home-grown recessions or...
In defence of a Defence of Stars and Icons
Austin Williams | 20 April 2015 It is a sad indictment of current architectural debate (as well as critical political debate more generally) that Patrik Schumacher’s latest article is creating such a fuss. Fans of Walter Benjamin – the unread darling of the Situationist mainstream – wouldn’t dream of criticising his statement “The public must always be proved wrong, yet always feel represented by the...
3-d Printed houses?
In February 2015, The Washington Post announced that “a team of Chinese construction workers used a 3D printer to construct houses. By day’s end, there were 10 (houses) standing.” Meanwhile, UK newspaper The Guardian reported “A Chinese construction company is building houses that can be mass-produced using a 3D printer.” Not to be outdone, Time magazine claimed that “A Chinese company (had) unveiled a five-story apartment building...
The fatuous infatuation with well-being
Further to a TES article “Schools should appoint heads of well-being, charity says“, I tracked back the report being cited… then the citation of the citation of the citation within it. Here’s what I found. First of all, what is the TES doing uncritically reporting that “75% of mental illness is unreported”. What could that possibly mean? At best it is a projection, at worst it is guesswork. The actual survey...
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