Small Planning New Zealand House, which the Queen for- mally
opened on Thursday, is by any standards an impressive building, despite a rather glass - eye quality of coldness. It is also an evidendY thoughtful piece of work. The regulation that new buildings must match the cornice levels of their immediate neighbours has resulted in a low podium topped by a tower which provides a great deal of additional floor space. This is a device which no doubt will become increasinglY familiar in central London' as old buildings are replaced, and which can make for very pleasant working conditions and some attractive views. Inside, the building is air-conditioned through- out and the new, bright, airy offices are beginning to reflect a material standard of living that no longer has a place among the gloom and clingi- ness of Victorian office blocks. The tragedy Is that a building so splendid in isolation, so full of thought and so nobly planned can be so ruined by its siting. No building on this site could in fact have been successful. It is besieged by an iron curtain of traffic which makes con- templation, and appreciation, of the building im- possible.
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