Seaside architects get the bird, otherwise known as the day Lubetkin was vindicated.

Sea side architects get the bird--The Guardian
Saturday 3 February 2007

Professionals and public of course often differ about what constitutes good architecture ('It's just so tacky', Arts, G2, January 31) and architects do frequently design for other architects rather than for the public or even the building's users. But the world would be a poorer place if architects always had to build behind retained facades and never attempted to change perceptions or, as encouraged by the Porthcawl planners, "push the boat out". Unfortunately, until we have a higher overall standard of care for the built environment in Britain, the temptation will exist for architects (and planners) to indulge in desperate attempts to make a mark; and for awards juries to applaud this lest they be seen to be not supportive of a positive view of architecture's potential.

But to imply that Esplanade House is making "an appeal to the masses" because it has columns in the shape of ice-cream cones, portholes, starfish and dolphins etched on to a glass canopy, and other features that the architects find appropriately redolent of "the funfair, the seaside, kiss-me-quick hats and all that" is a serious misunderstanding. Worse, it is evidence, on the part of the architects, of a patronizing attitude to the public and to Porthcawl which deserves to be have been rejected by its inhabitants. They seem to have had no difficulty in spotting yet another architect designing to make a mark rather than attempting, with the intelligence and sensitivity that architects should demonstrate, to produce something for the Porthcawl of today.

Often it is only years later that penguins (and others) can really judge if a building is good or not. But Steve Rose is correct - we will only get better at this complex business if architects and the public do talk to each other more.
Andrew Guest
Director, Northern Architecture

Steve Rose includes in his selection of "unloved award winners" my father's penguin pool at London Zoo. I was astonished to read that "nobody thought to ask the penguins" about the design. My father steeped himself in literature about penguins; he consulted the specialists at the zoo itself, as well as Julian Huxley, Solly Zuckerman and other authorities.

If the current zoo authorities had time to consult the archives that I hope are still in their possession, they would see that when the first penguins were moved into their new home, they settled and bred successfully - a sure sign that they were happy with their surroundings. Indeed, when the penguin pool was refurbished in 1988, and the penguins were temporarily moved, they stopped breeding, only to resume when moved back into their pool. Now, alas, there are no penguins in the pool, because the zoo put burrowing penguins in the enclosure - and found, unsurprisingly, that they were unhappy there.
Sasha Lubetkin
Bristol

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I should hope the AZA Exhibit Awards Committee glances over the above editorial, as they get ready to declare their next Exhibit 0 the Year.