Sorrell challenges architects to give us more delight

Sir John Sorrell, in a speech this evening at the Tate Modern (Monday 16 November), calls for a new generation of architects with the attitude and talent to make Britain more delightful.  

In his lecture, Architecture in an Age of Anxiety, Sir John Sorrell challenges the architecture profession to stop being the servant of poor quality development.

‘We need architects who offer more than just artistic direction. People with the confidence to challenge the client and influence the brief.  Architects who will resign a job if it is destined to create a bad building’, says Sorrell.

The speech makes the case for new and different values underpinning the architecture which should emerge from this recession. He will argue many architects have exactly the optimism and inventiveness Britain needs to progress from an age of anxiety to an era of delight.

Sorrell also calls on the Government to sustain investment in public buildings, particularly schools. He argues that Government should not squander the investment already made: and it should and use the emerging quality of public buildings as a springboard for the future.

‘I would go so far as to say that the art of public building has been refound,’ claims Sorrell, citing a raft of recent projects including the Marlowe Academy, the Kentish Town Health Centre and Northala Fields.

The speech reflects on lessons to be learnt from previous financial crises, including the crash of 1825. This saw public investment refocused on improvements to the streets of London and public services, and Hampstead Heath saved from speculative housebuilders. ‘It suggests to me that one of our primary concerns should be to avoid a return to business as usual and the development norms that prevailed two years ago’, says Sorrell.

‘We need a shift in attitude and values. And a public sector epitomised by strength of character and sticking to what you believe in. Localism for me means support for people working in public sector organisations and in local government. Not blaming them for the financial mess we are in. And certainly not demonising the very public servants who will need to deliver cuts, and who we need to do that job with great skill and shrewdness.’ 

Notes to editors

• If you would like to attend Architecture in an Age of Anxiety this evening at the Tate Modern Starr auditorium, please contact Jane Barraclough on 020 7070 6771 or email jbarraclough@cabe.org.uk or Dominy Bird on 020 7070 6772 or email dbird@cabe.org.uk
• CABE is the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. As a public body, we encourage policymakers to create places that work for people. We help local planners apply national design policy and offer expert advice to developers and architects. We show public sector clients how to commission buildings that meet the needs of their users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, welcoming places.