So just how good is our revered new architecture?

Mar 10 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Huddersfield last May will be remembered for widespread public celebration in glorious weather.

The royal pair couple were actually in town to open two new buildings; phase three of the Media Centre and a social housing scheme at Primrose Hill.

These developments were deemed extra-special because they use the very latest in eco-friendly building and maintenance techniques.

Huddersfield is pleased to be acknowledged as a leader in the field of sustainable building and architecture, which everyone now agrees is the way forward.

Or do they?

One man who certainly does not agree is Austin Williams and he will be coming to Huddersfield to tell us, in no uncertain terms, why.

The London-based architect will be speaking at a meeting of The Salon, Huddersfield’s own debating group, which is being held on Thursday at 6.30pm.

Mr Williams believes that the job of architects is to design great buildings, but they are being prevented from doing this by politically correct box-ticking exercises, such as the need to be sustainable.

He says the “green mire that architecture finds itself in today can only get worse unless it begins to break free of the low aspirational, sanctimonious, petty-minded, misanthropic, miserablism that sustainability represents.”

Putting forward a rather different point of view will be Carl Meddings, who is principal lecturer in architecture at Huddersfield University, a centre of excellence in sustainable architecture.

It all promises to make for a lively debate to which all are welcome to and to join in.

For more information visit http://huddersfieldsalon.blogspot.com

The Salon will meet at the Media Centre, Northumberland Street, Huddersfield.

Tickets cost £5 from the centre’s reception area or by calling 0870 990 5000.