The Counter Project

     It is now over 24 hours since an acquaintance of mine the Irish classical architect, and fellow member of RIBA TAG, Conor K Lynch tweeted four images of a counter proposal by 'Apollodorus Architects' for the new rugby stadium in Bath.  In those 19 hours the response has extraordinary: 18,800 likes and counting; 1,948 retweets; 472 comments. The latter have been overwhelmingly positive. It has certainly caught the public imagination, on Twitter at least. Of course, there had to be the snarky comment about Albert Speer, Hitler's favourite architect from a practicing modernist(?) architect. Ah yes, that go to criticism of modern classicism. It really is a tired-out old trope. It's not even a criticism of the architecture as such, but guilt by association. Not only is it such a bore, but says much about the intellectual vacuity of the mainstream architectural profession that they should trot some old garbage like that.

    Now for some specifics: the Apollodorus Architects Classical proposal (here) stands counter to the Modernist one designed by Grimshaw (here) for Bath Rugby, who are in need of permanent stadium.  Bath Rugby play on the Recreation Ground - the 'Rec' - just over the river Avon from Bath city centre in Bathwick, that large and unfinished late Georgian development by Thomas Baldwin I wrote about here. So a particularly sensitive site then when any building on the 'Rec' could be seen from outside the e end of Bath Abbey.  One can also understand the reluctance of the club to leave - they have, after all, played there for decades.  On their website Bath Rugby claims of the Grimshaw design (here): We have created an iconic, yet sensitive design that will deliver an incredible match day experience.  I mean, who writes this shit? 'iconic yet sensitive'?  I'm not even sure what that means. In any case 'iconic', that hideously over used term, is not for Bath Rugby to claim. I could go on as the Bath Rugby website and in particular their Development Brief, and which has now been formally submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council, is full of such management speak, but I'll spare you.

     However the use of management speak isn't really the argument here, regrettable though its dominance of the discourse is. Neither are the merits or otherwise of either scheme my concern, though as an associate member of TAG my sympathies are with the Classical design, which is based on the Roman Amphitheatre at Arles in Provence. Whatever my reservations about the design, and there are some, we have to honest at this juncture and admit it is very unlikely ever to be built if only for the 'mundane' reason that Bath Rugby is nearly an unsustainable £40,000,000 in debt.
     For me the response to this proposal highlights two interconnected phenomena. Firstly, the growing appeal of Classical/Traditional architecture on social media. All ready there are any number of twitter streams dedicated to traditional architecture & urbanism, and the culture necessary to sustain them. Secondly the continuing gulf between the public and the profession - a gulf that has lasted so far for some sixty plus years. We have a profession that is arrogant and unresponsive to the public. It has attempted to establish itself as a secular priesthood of true believers. How long must this continue?