PRESIDENT ROD
AFTER a hotly contested election, Dr Rod Hackney, the advocate of community architecture, has secured the presidency of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He deserves his success despite his embar- rassing readiness to convey to the world what he imagines the opinions of the Prince of Wales might be on that and other architectural matters. But it is unlikely to have been Dr Hackney's self-appointed role as 'architectural adviser' to the Prince which endeared him to a majority of the Institute's members who voted. He speaks for 'community architects' and other dis- satisfied practitioners working at humble projects far removed from the glamorous world of the 'High Tech' stars promoted by the RIBA's Council. There may be much that is bogus about community architecture: it can be an unnecessary gloss on plain commonsense and an excuse for bad design; but the Prince of Wales is right to support the social and political potential of co-operative architectural ventures and the RIBA foolish to despise it. There is much else wrong with the Institute. It has alienated the architectural schools and has forfeited the respect of scholars by the proposal to move its drawings collection, perhaps the finest in the world, which it persists in regarding as a financial asset rather than a national archive. Dr Hackney has said he will stop this controversial and ill-conceived project; we trust he will.
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