Architecture and Thatcherism

http://www.planetizen.com/node/61752

Hello All:

In the wake of Margaret Thatcher's passing, I thought I might post a short blog on the architectural legacy of the late former prime minister.  This blog is based on an excerpted article written by Anna Winston and the full text was published April 8, 2013 in Building Design.  Essentially, Ms. Winston outlines five significant effect Thatcher's tenure had on the architectural profession

1) The privatization of local authority services leading to the United Kingdom becoming the largest export markets for private architectural services.

Living in the United States, I never gave it a real thought that architectural services were anything but private.  I never thought architects, engineers, planners, contractors, and everything else involved with the profession were subject to nationalization.  I know there are laws that govern the profession but an architect as a government employee?  Maybe if he/she worked for the federal, state, or local government but overall, no.  I guess when Mrs. Thatcher privatized the architecture profession, freed up providers to seek commissions outside of the United Kingdom , where, I assume that competition for work became very keen.

2) The Monopolies and Mergers Commission made it illegal for professional bodies, including architectural services providers, to establish or publish a minimum fee scale.

This would probably apply to members of the Royal Institute of British Architects.  Again, I assume, prior to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission ruling, RIBA members had a set minimum they charged clients.  Whether or not this keep up with the actual costs of construction, materials, and labor (the biggest costs in building) was apparently not the issue.  RIBA architects were required to charge their clients a set minimum.  The ruling enabled members of the building trades to charge what the market would bear.  This enabled architects and contractors to keep up with actual costs.

3)The Big Bang or deregulation of the financial sector in 1986 led to increased demand for office space and design in response to cultural shifts toward consumerism.

The eighties were a boom time in the Western world, especially in the United States.  The deregulation of the financial market enabled financial institutions to make loans for all sorts of investments.  Of course we suffered the consequences in the 2000s with the collapse of the global financial markets.  Be that as it may, in the eighties consumerism was running rampant.  In response there was a new demand for new commercial and retail spaces.  Thus, the need for architects and builders to accommodate.  For good or bad, the deregulation of the financial market was not something that just happened in the eighties but part of a process that began in previous decades.  In a turn of events, there are new calls in the United States for some re-regulation of the financial market to hopefully mitigate another meltdown.

4) In 1988, the London Dockland Corporation broke ground on Canary Wharf, the largest commercial project in the world at the time.

The Canary Wharf development is a mixed use space in the Hamlets Tower district in London.  It is one of two main financial centers in the city.  For better or worse, this development spurred growth in  previously neglected corner of London.

5) The Right to Buy program which led to a dramatic reduction in public housing both for tenants and architects and encouraged gentrification.

The Right to Buy program gave tenants and housing councils the right to buy the home they lived in.  The good was it encouraged ownership and pride in the place.  The bad is that some people got priced out of their homes.

The architectural legacy of Margaret Thatcher was appeared to be mixed at best.  On the one hand she helped free up the architecture profession in the United Kingdom to be more competitive with their counterparts in Europe and North America.  Government sponsored programs encouraged development and growth.  On the other hand, the deregulation of the financial market and the Right to Buy program had dire consequences that would be felt in the long term.