17 JUNE 2000, Page 24

Pontification

I MAY have spoken too soon in praising HSBC's prescient decision to sponsor Nor- man Foster's millennium bridge, which opened on Saturday, bounced, and has closed again. My architectural correspon- dent, Maximus Pontifex, writes: 'The integrity and safety of Lord Foster have never been in doubt. Subjected to unfore- seeable stresses, with unqualified individu- als walking all over him, he has exhibited resilience. This is perfectly normal. A fea- ture of his construction is the baffle mecha- nism which retains credit while distributing blame to the engineers and bills to the sponsors. He has given London a beautiful bridge and, if people will just keep off it, everything will be all right.'