King Charles on Architecture | What do we think?

It would be remiss of PAPA, on the eve of the coronation of King Charles not to highlight his interventions in British Architecture and Urban Design since that famous National gallery Speech almost 40 years ago. At that time he described the Richard Rodgers designed proposed extension to the national Gallery as a Monstrous Carbuncle on the face of a much-loved elegant friend. The then-prince certainly divided the architectural world with his comments, the majority of architectural schools were teaching students in pioneering modern architecture at that time and were suitably dismayed, with the Prince being portrayed as ill-informed and un-educated in architecture, whilst the mood of the general public was in contrast much more supportive of the traditional values being portrayed by the future monarch.

Since that Time the King has continued his crusade for a traditional approach to architecture, notably with the development of the garden village of Poundbury first conceived in the late 1980's, the publication of his book - A vision for Britain in 1989, the launch of Perspectives Architectural Magazine in 1994, several interventions in planning applications for schemes in the City of London over the ensuing years, including No 1 Poultry and Paternoster Square, the creation of his Institute of Architecture, and many other incentives since that time all of which have caused debate and raised awareness of the diversity of personal preferences in Architecture in these isles.

Over the coming days PAPA will focus on some of these incentives and comment on their impact an relevance to the built environment.

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