February 09 Newsletter Final

Newsletter

Issue 15 - February 2009

From the Master While the world around us appears in chaos, the City Liveries continue to flourish, albeit with an eye on the future. Since my installation I have attended some 50 events; this gives some indication of the standing of the Company in the City. Though some events are purely pleasurable others are informative and rewarding. The Company provides prizes to both the City Schools for Boys and Girls and I attended both prize givings. At the City School for Girls I was pleased to find the winner of our prize taking up studies at Cardiff School of Architecture. Another, in her final year, introduced herself and confirmed that she would also be taking up the challenge of studying architecture. Both Zoë Spittle and India Wills (pictured on page 7) are now student members of the Company being bound to their Mentors at the 25th Anniversary Court . The 2008 Stuart Murphy Travel Award was given to a Westminster University student enabling him to undertake a trip to Southern Japan to meet and experience the works of the Japanese Architect Takasaki Masaharu. Steve Neumann put together a presentation of his travels to members of the Company and to fellow students. The evening was a great success, and Steve expressed his thanks to the Company for making the trip possible. The attending students were keen to know more of the Company. The travel award is our largest charitable disbursement and, although it has had a chequered history, many positives have come out of last year's award. With events such as this and the hard work of the Master of Students, more students are becoming aware of the Company and are seeking membership. We need to find members who are willing to act as Mentors - more details about this role are to be found later in this newsletter - I would like to ask anyone who feels that they could contribute in this way to contact the Clerk (before he gets the shot gun out). In November, I and many other Company members attended the Banquet of the York Guild of Building - as always a welcoming event. I had to hot foot it back to a country house in Oxfordshire where I was one of the assessors and presenter of the Company Prize in the annual Team Build Competition - an initiative, run under the auspices of the CIC - which goes from strength to strength. I believe it to be a very worthwhile event for the WCCA to support from our charitable funds. The winning team of the WCCA prize For Procurement Strategy- Urban Garden - are pictured here. The Team Build weekend is a very intensive programme for all participants designed around communication, management and team working from the 1st stage presentation of master plans, through outline design, procurement strategy, detailed design, construction stage and a final presentation on the completed projects to judges acting as potential future clients. There were five teams of six, all construction industry professionals under the age of 30. The client was Keele University with the site being part of the Keele Science and Business Park. Both the Master of the Constructors, who also donate a prize, and I were www.architects-livery-company.org 1

extremely impressed at the level of commitment of these young professionals and the progress that they made throughout the weekend, in working as a Team to resolve each stage. I have touched on some of the areas in which the Company has, through the Charitable Fund, been able to help and promote the interests of both students and young professionals - this is at the heart of our purpose as a Livery. In common, however, with a great number of similar Institutions our charitable funds have not grown significantly, and all donations - however small from our members are very welcome. In November your Master and Wardens took part in what must have been one of the wettest Lord Mayor's Shows for a very long time, the smell of soaked fur trimmed robes will remain for a very long time. The overriding memory of the occasion however, was the sheer number of people who still attended the show over the whole day, still waiving and cheering as the show processed, creating its own cacophony of sound. In October I was privileged to attend the 25th Anniversary Banquet of the Worshipful Company of Engineers. In January we had our own 25th Anniversary - a well attended lunch celebrating the foundation of the Company. I shall look forward to the 25th anniversary of having received our Letters Patent in 2013. I am also looking forward to the Banquet on the1st April at Drapers Hall, where my guest will be the Artist and Honorary Fellow of the RIBA, Ben Johnson. He has just completed the monumental painting of the Liverpool Cityscape which forms part of the City's celebrations as European Capital of Culture. I hope that many of you will be able to enjoy such future events in my year and continue to support the Company and its objectives in this period of uncertainty.

News from the Court Meetings of the Court, like those of most organizations whose membership is voluntary, are remarkable only in that seldom is anything remarkable discussed. There are reports on the current finances, reports from the three Committees, from the Master of Students and from the Almoner. Requests for consultations about arcane topics from ARB figure frequently. At the New Year Court there were, in particular, three main items of business which transcended the ordinary. The Court has, for some time been considering the way in which members of the company are invited to progress to the Mastership. Traditionally, in many older companies, selection is very much a matter of 'buggins turn'. Being a modern company we have long taken the view that while length of service was a valuable measure, this needed to be balanced against interest in and involvement with the events that the company organizes. The city itself has seen a major change in the way in which candidates for the Shrievalty and Mayoralty are selected. So it should be with us. Members were concerned that, in order to attract senior members of the profession to join the Company along, of course, with more junior members, then there ought to be a real prospect of their being able to advance to the Court and Mastership within a reasonable time frame. Past Master Richard Saxon set up a group to look at the ways in which this might be accomplished and a way forward has been agreed. From this point onwards, two new members will be elected to the court each year and their progress will be informally assessed (alongside that of existing members) after a proscribed time. The most appropriate member will then progress. Those who feel that they do not, perhaps, wish to go forward or who have not shown the willingness to participate with enthusiasm, will be invited to join the band of esteemed Past Masters more than seven years above the chair who retain an involvement in the governance of the Company by becoming Emeritus members of the Court. The Court will be considering the proposed two candidates at its next meeting. A group, chaired by Peter Murray, involving wide representation from the Company and other construction based Livery Companies, has been active in putting recommendations to the Court of proposals to mark the occasion of the 2012 Olympic Games. The 2

proposals were to have an educational aspect that related to the Livery, provide a physical manifestation of its activities, engage with the wider community, relate to the City's global reach, be a welcoming idea for visitors to the City and provide a legacy. Out of these criteria emerged the idea of 'the creation of a gateway into and out of the City that recreates the ancient Ald-gate as a contemporary icon.' It is intended that the construction based companies as well as others who would be interested should take part. The substantive contents of the paper presented to and approved by the Court (subject always to cost constraints) were as follows: History During the Roman period Aldgate was the site of the gate in the city walls that spanned the road from Londinium to Camulodunum (Colchester). The gateway was rebuilt sometime between 1108-47, in 1215 and again in 1607-9. It was finally demolished in 1760. Geoffrey Chaucer lived in rooms over the gate between 1374-85. It was one of the four original City gates Aldersgate to the north, Ludgate to the west, Aldgate to the east, and the Bridge Gate to the south.

High Wycombe (l)

The Mall 1953 (r)

Temporary celebratory arches designed by Sir Hugh Casson were built along the Mall for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. More permanent markers of place have been designed by architects Denton Corker Marshall as the welcoming entrance to the city of Melbourne.

Melbourne Gateway

Location

Aldgate

A contemporary concept The gates were originally designed as a means of protection - to keep people out. But today the gateway may be seen as a welcoming and celebratory device and as a means of marking a boundary but also rein-forcing the relationship between the City and Tower Hamlets. Celebratory archways were a popular feature of the Victorian era - such as the chair arches built at High Wycombe. These were used as a means of celebrating furniture-making in the town. The first known chair arch was put up in 1877 to mark a visit Queen Victoria paid to Disraeli at Hughenden Manor. It was built by the Chair Manufacturers Association.

Aldgate and Aldgate High Street are located at the western end of High Street 2012 - the Olympic boulevard which will be developed with a series of regeneration projects along Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel Road, Mile End Road, Bow Road and Stratford High Street. High Street 2012 forms the main road link between the City of London and the Olympic Park and will host the last leg of the Olympic and Paralympic Marathons. The junction of Aldgate High Street and Mansell Street on the boundary between the City and Tower Hamlets would seem ideally suited for such an installation with a central traffic island that could provide space for grounding the structure.

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Aldgate High Street from Whitechapel High Street

Aldgate High Street looking east towards High Street 2012

Concept To develop a design for a triumphal arch/gateway that would celebrate the Olympics, mark the entrance to the City, reinforce the Aldgate location and provide a televisual landmark for the marathons. Project Management The project would be organised through a committee of representatives of Livery Companies related to the construction industry; the process would be designed to encourage the involvement of students and apprentices as well as the local community and businesses in the Aldgate area. The committee will develop the brief for the New Aldgate which would then be launched as an international ideas competition. The Schedule for the project allows for liaison with other Companies leading to the preparation of a competition brief for announcement in November. The entries would be received in April 2010 with the winning scheme being announced at London Festival of Architecture in June.. Allowing for design development and prefabtrication over the following 12 months, construction would take place between August and December 2011. Complete in January 2012 the Gate will remain in place for the Olympic year - at least.. Approaches are being made to the other companies and informal discussions have been held with the City Planners, the ODA and other appropriate bodies.

There was lively discussion on the subject of the growth of the Charitable Trust Fund - this has failed to reflect the growing maturity of the Company which, this year, celebrates its first quarter of a century. The Trustees point out that only a small percentage of members contribute to the fund and feel that some who may have done so earlier through covenant did not or were not encouraged to renew their contributions once the time period had expired. It is appreciated that donations to charity are a matter for individuals' discretion but it is certainly made clear to all members at the time they join that participation in the charitable work of the Company is strongly encouraged. Regular donations of even small amounts are welcome. It is, after all, the interest on the fund and investments that the Company is able to donate to the selected charities each year; support of charitable causes is the declared aim of all Livery Companies. An ad hoc working group has been set up to explore ways of growing the fund and to look at the policy which has developed for the disbursement of the available monies. This is being chaired by Edward King who is seeking volunteers from among those members who might have specific experience in these fields.

Recent Events In planning for the Annual Carol Service notice was taken of criticisms from previous years concerning, primarily, the question of over-crowding at the supper following. Both the Chartered Architects and the Furniture Makers with whom we share the event limited ticket sales to 50 each - this being the number that could be comfortably accommodated in the Hall. Given these measures and a careful menu selection, even the most ardent critics were satisfied with the arrangements and the selection of music. The Visit to St Paul's Cathedral followed by a reception at Temple Bar was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. Martin Stancliffe was most generous with his time in taking the group into those parts of the Cathedral not normally accessible to visitors. The views of the public areas from the Triforium were majestic and it was a pleasure, as always, to have the chance to visit the splendid Trophy Room housing Wren's large model of his proposed cathedral - the more so as the Company contributed handsomely to the restoration of the room. 4

In another example of inter-livery co-operation a good number of members joined with colleagues from the Engineers' and Plumbers' Companies on a visit to the 2012 Olympics site which had been organized on behalf of the Company by Patricia Stefanowicz. While the visit was not all that we had been promised - not a master plan drawing in sight - it did give us a very real feeling for the scope of the undertaking. We were driven around the site in a bus (whose seating configuration could teach the budget airlines a thing or two) pausing while the frequent traffic jams allowed us views through the rain of relevant bits of the site. Progress on the main stadium was the most advanced but the locations and foundations of other facilities were readily visible. It is intended to make further visits over the coming years. Most of the questions asked of the guide and the architect member of the ODA team travelling with us were answered satisfactorily even if there was a little embarrassment over the question as to the preference for British workers on the site. The percentage quoted was quite high but obviously lower that it might have been had not the ODA architect been Italian and the guide Australian! Heaven knows where the driver came from. photographs by Tom Ball

After the visit we repaired to the Upper Chamber of Temple Bar to finish off the remains of the Cornish bubbly left over from the previous Master's year. A glance at the back pages of the Members' Handbook would tell you that, in early January 1984, the first letter proposing the formulation of the Company was written to prospective members by Stuart Murphy the then City Architect and Planning Officer. It was decided to celebrate this singular event by having a 25th Anniversary Court Lunch following the Court Meeting on 27 January in Cutlers' Hall. A significant number of Past Masters were present along with the Masters of eight other companies. A souvenir menu cover was produced by Tom Ball incorporating photographs of all Past Masters - some looking improbably young. There was also a fascinating photograph of the Founding Fathers taken, it is believed, at the inaugural Dinner at Plaisterers' Hall. The toast to the Company was proposed by the Senior Past Master Deputy John Owen-Ward and the response to the toast to the guests - proposed by the Master - was given by Father Derek Mottershead - Master of the Masons' Company. Those wishing to see the phalanx of Past Masters shown on the menu cover can log onto the Company blog - www.architects-livery-company.blogspot.com.

Coming Events The Naval Club in Mayfair is to be the venue of a Two Worlds Wine Challenge on Wednesday 11 March. Two Worlds because we will be sampling the red wines of both the new and old worlds and because there is to be an element of competition between the Constructors’ Company and ourselves. As it is likely that any previous experience may prove to be a hindrance do feel free to give it a go and enjoy the fellowship. In the event of a tie, the two Masters will have to drink it out with the tie-break bottle of mystery white wine. The United Guilds Service at St Paul's Cathedral is to be held on Friday 27 March. There will also be the now customary lunch at Plaisterers' Hall. www.architects-livery-company.org 5

The Annual Livery Banquet is to be held this year at Drapers' Hall on Wednesday 1 April. The principal Guest is to be the widely respected British artist Ben Johnson. The winner of the Company's 2008 New City Architecture Award will be announced at the Dinner and the certificates presented to the Building Owner, the Architect and the Main Contractor. While the Lord Mayor is engaged on official duties elsewhere it is expected that Sheriff George Gillon will represent the City of London Corporation on the evening. George - a Chartered Surveyor well known to many members, will be most welcome. Sadly the ravages of the financial meltdown have put paid to the hopes of some who had signed up to go on the Company's Architectural Study Trip to West Coast USA from 16 April to 2 May. A slimmed down party is set for what promises to be an excellent journey - any last minute interest would be welcome - please contact the Clerk. There are two events scheduled for early May. There are number restrictions on both. The first is a Visit on Tuesday 5 May to the Studio of Norman Ackroyd CBE RA . This is a rare opportunity - organized by the Master who is a fan of Ackroyd's work - to see the working environment of one of the Britain's foremost contemporary print-makers who also works across a range of media. He attended Leeds College of Art and the RCA prior to being elected Royal Academician in 1990. He currently lectures extensively in both the UK and USA. His work is exhibited in most major art galleries and Institutions today together with many private commissions, one of his latest being at the English Embassy in Moscow. In the words of one critic 'He possesses both self belief and humility and acknowledges that he is privileged to be living in a society that gives him the freedom to be an artist.'. His work also includes etched steel / copper murals incorporated into buildings and he will have just finished an external gateway consisting of 64 stainless steel panels making up one complete image. The second is a visit to the Tower RNLI Lifeboat Station on Friday 8 May. The Company is setting up a formal relationship with this arm of the RNLI. The Station Manager Janet Kelly will show us round the facilities and talk about launch procedures etc at what is the busiest (in terms of launch numbers at the very least) lifeboat station in the United Kingdom. The visit will conclude with some refreshments.

Calling notices for all the above events accompany the newsletter. Plans are being put in place for the annual Milo Lecture and another visit to the SB Ardwina for an informal talk and general get-together. Both are scheduled for June. Two other formal occasions are also in the planning stage. The Annual Service will be held at St James Garlickhythe on Tuesday 7 July followed by the Election Court Dinner in the splendour of Vintners' Hall - the first time the Company has had the pleasure of using this venue. The new Master will be installed in Watermans' Hall on Monday 14 September. The Upper Warden has invited Ruth Reid the (by then) newly installed President of the RIBA to be his principal Guest. Once again Stephen Wagstaffe, on behalf of the Company, will organize the stewarding of the City Churches for Open House Weekend on 19 -20 September. Stephen and Patricia Stefanowicz will welcome help from any member of the Company who can make a morning or afternoon available over that week-end.

Students of the Company

pictured above (from left): Zoë Spittle. Michael Bailey, India Wills with the Master

It was a pleasure to see three new students admitted as indentured members of the Company. Michael Bailey - currently finishing his first diploma year at the MacIntosh School in Glasgow after a year out with Make's London Office - has been indentured to the Renter Warden Edward King. The Master takes on the Mentor's role for India Wills - currently finishing her secondary education at the City of London School for Girls but then due to embark on a career in architecture and the Junior Warden Michael Wilkey is mentor to Zoë Spittle who also attended the City of London School for Girls (she won Company Prize). Zoë is www.architects-livery-company.org 6

currently doing an art foundation course in London before heading for Cardiff University in September. They are all most welcome to the Company - we look forward to their having a long association with us. We have since received an application from James Patterson-Waterston who has his part 1and is studying towards a Master's degree at the Bartlett. The Master of Students advised that she has a number of other candidates in the wings who will join either as soon as she can get them to sign the application form or sufficient mentors can be identified. When approached to take on this role people sensibly ask about their responsibilities. If you were to look at the small print of a traditional indenture document of an older Company you would find that you were down to (in exchange for a modest consideration) to 'find and provide for the apprentice during the said term, meat, drink, apparel, lodging and all other necessaries '. If you feel that's a bit rough, the poor apprentice undertakes to 'faithfully serve his Master, his secrets keep, his lawful commands gladly every where to do ……… He shall not commit Fornication or Matrimony within the said term. He shall not play at cards, dice, tables …He shall not haunt taverns or playhouses or …….. (in modern lang-uage, pull sickies)'. As we were not sure how much of that would get past the human rights police our obligations and duties were made simpler. Fuller details than those set out below are available from the Clerk. The Role of the Mentor: The Mentor is asked to maintain reasonable contact with his / her student for the relevant period and to be available to the Student at times when advice might be sought - at the times of transition between the end of the Part 1 Course and the start of the Year out, at the start of Part 2 and the end of that period. Most useful advice can be given when students are studying for Part 3 exams. Changes of offices (or the perceived need to make such changes) can also be stressful times at which wise counsel is often appreciated. At a tan-gible level, Mentors are encouraged to invite their Students to the occasional Company function and to guide them to joining in with relevant Company events - particularly those arranged by the Master of Students. It must be stressed that it is not an obligation to employ the students or to find employment for them. In the happy circumstances that they are able to do so and such a relationship is mutually beneficial, so much the better.

The Role of the Student: In agreeing to be indentured to the Company, the Student is asked to keep the Company informed of his or her progress and whereabouts. From time to time Students will be asked to assist with the reading of a lesson at one of the Company's Church Services - one following the Election Court in July, the other at Christmas. He or she who draws the short straw on these occasions gets a free meal. The application process for the Stuart Murphy Travel Award for 2009 is being handled this year by the RIBA in collaboration with the Company. The deadline for applications is late in February with the short listing and selection process being finalized in March. As part of the Company's engagement with our Students, the Master of Students has arranged (through the good offices of Ronnie Murning) for them to visit Grimshaw's office on 25 March. While this visit is intended for the students there may be a few spare places and it would be good if a few (slightly) older members were to offer to attend. Please contact the Clerk if you are interested.

Civic Matters Every so often the election of the Sheriffs of the City of London generates more than passing interest. The Shrieval elections for the 2009 -10 Mayoral year look set to be such an occasion with possibly three candidates standing for two posts. One is customarily filled by an Alderman, the second elected Sheriff is, more often than not, a layman. This year it seems likely that there will be two candidates for the Lay Sheriff post. At Common Hall for the Election of Sheriffs (scheduled for Wednesday 24 June) the Common Serjeant reads to the assembled Livery the names of those in nomination. When a vote is called by show of hands it will become obvious that a secret ballot is called for and this will be held at Guildhall on Wednesday 8 July - the day following the election of our own Master for the year ensuing. In this event it matters not who has attended Common Hall on 24 June; what matters is that anyone who wishes to support one of the candidates for Lay Sheriff in preference to the other will need to come along to vote on 8 July. The names of all three candidates (including the Aldermanic contender) will go into the ballot with the expectation that the Alderman and one other will be elected. www.architects-livery-company.org 7

You will, in the coming months, be encouraged by divers methods (all subject to scrutiny by the Electoral Commission no doubt) to support one or other of the candidates. While the Company will sensibly have no view on which should be supported, members may feel that, on reviewing the credentials and backgrounds of the Lay candidates that the one whose background includes a year as Master of a construction based Livery might best recognize the needs and represent the interests of others in the construction sector.

The Clerk still has a great many Company ties which seem to have been around for some time. Those of you who receive email from him will have learned that opinions are being sought for a new design which will be ordered if there is sufficient interest to indicate that most of the minimum order will be pre-purchased.

You are encouraged to note both dates in your diaries and to attend - if a secret ballot becomes necessary - on the second date to record your choice. This election doesn't happen often and it will be interesting to see the pump politics at work on the day. At an entirely more frivolous level, 2009 marks the 800th Anniversary of the construction of London Bridge. The Lord Mayor's Charity is marking the occasion with a Medieval Fair on the Bridge on Saturday 11 July. The bridge will be closed to traffic, there will be the inevitable sheep drive, and many Livery Companies - particularly those based on medieval crafts, will be plying their trades for the day. Mark it down as a good day out for the family. We are promised catering (wild boar sausages, mutton pies, ale etc) and all manner of other attractions. Watch this space.

Miscellany Former student and Liveryman Simon Lincoln has been deployed by Make Architects to help set up 'Make Gulf' in Dubai with another colleague. There are, he writes, ‘two live projects in the region which is primarily why we are there. it is an extremely exciting time for us at Make, last year we also set up an office in Beijing and may soon open an office in the USA.’ Earlier in the month, he goes on, ‘I became a married man. I wed my girlfriend of 10 years in Gibraltar, at the Garrison Library, which is circa 18C and beautifully rustic. We then proceeded to have our reception in Spain at the Kempinski Hotel in Estepona. It was a small family affair with a few friends, a truly fantastic day and Leonie looked stunning.’

The proposal is for dark blue tie which will sport not just one temple bar motif but multiple copies at a reduced size as illustrated above. This has the advantage that it can usefully be made into bow ties as well. The Clerk would welcome you advice (if you have not already given it) as to whether you might be interested in purchasing one or other of the proposed new ties at the bargain price of £12.50 each. www.architects-livery-company.org 8

The Company goes e-llectric The Company started off into this new electronic world of publicity in 2002 by creating its first web page. http://www.architects-livery-company.org/ This simple and static site contains much data and contact details, and started to open the Company up to the world; to create a presence on the web's computer screens. The long web-site name - a bit hard to remember with its two hyphens and .org suffix - was found to be necessary as the initials WCCA came up as i) Web Cartoonists Choice Award, ii) Wisconsin Circuit Court Access or iii) Worcester Community Cable Access and so on....in a Google search. And the full name: THEWORSHIPFULCOMPANYOFCHARTEREDARCHITECTSOFTHECITYOFLONDON.co.uk seemed excessive. This first step into the this digital world started to show that much of the expensive and often out-dated printed material, until then required to operate the Company, might be duplicated electronically and, at some point in the future, replaced entirely by electronic information using the world-wide-web to disseminate all data and publicity about the Company. By 2004 the Company's Clerk was widely using e-mail to circulate documents to members of the Livery, although this was not yet able to be the sole method of publicity, as some members with lesser computer skills continued to request paper documentation. The poor Learnéd Clerk, tantalised by a much simpler method that reduced his labours, found that he was now required to run two parallel systems. The efficiency advantage of a completely electronic system still eludes him. As paper dissemination of WCCA information had been narrowly within the Company itself, and was invisible to others the wider world, the paper method did not have the possibility of being a 'shop window' for the Company, presenting us to the wider world. It is surely strategically important that the Company's activities should be more transparent both to the profession and to the public wider world, so that the 'private gents club' impression of all the City's Livery Companies - and the WCCA - can be diminished. This negative impression is, we feel, particularly non-magnetic to culture of the typical architect; rarely a 'clubber'. For the WCCA this electrification process is a big cultural change and we are still at the beginning of the transition to a more visible and active public portrayal of the activities of the Company. Static web sites started to be eclipsed by web-logs (or 'blogs') - a sort of easy-to-update electronic diary - from about 2006. Blogs were in the main conceived by journalists as a way of speeding up day-to-day publication onto the web. Inputting data had been a very cumbersome task using pure web-site programs such as Dreamweaver. Suddenly with this new generation of software it became really practical to record the actions and activities of the Company and inform the membership while simultaneously publicising the activities of the Company. By 2007 the giant company Google - among many others companies - was offering a blog service that offered free 'hosting' of the contents and supplied software to create the blog; all from out there in the e-ther. This type of remote operation is called, we understand, 'cloud computing', where the entire program software and data are held remote from the actual machines of the operators. The WCCA blog http://architects-livery-company.blogspot.com/ was started in September 2007 and has developed a lot since that time. Most of the activities of the Company are illustrated and the members of the Livery are progressively using it as the first choice for contact to the Company and its administration. We hope that its up-to-date contents are useful to the membership and show a dynamic picture of our activities to the wider world. We hope to enlarge widen the contributors to the content and would encourage anyone who is interested to send in any material they think might be published on it. In the first instance send any such content to: [email protected] David Cole-Adams The Clerk The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects 82A Muswell Hill Road London N10 3JR www.architects-livery-company.org www.architects-livery-company.blogspot.com www.architects-livery-company.org 9