A Vision of Britain

Fülszöveg

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES publicly voiced his feelings about postwar trends in architecture for the first time in a speech to the RIBA in May 1984. His hard-hitting phrases - 'monstrous carbuncle' (of the National Gallery extension) and 'giant glass stump' (of the Mansion House Square project) - alerted the nation to his deep concern about the effect some modern architecture has had on the environment and on people's lives, and opened what has become a major public debate.
The Prince's concern led him to write and present his first TV documentary, the 75-minute A Vision oj Britain. When it was originally shown in the BBC's Omnibus series in October 1988, it was seen by millions and attracted overwhelming support from the public. Many thousands of people wrote to the Palace and to the BBC to express their agreement with the Prince's views.
In this book the Prince develops and expands on the themes of his film. He stresses the need to preserve the character of our towns and cities,... Tovább

Fülszöveg

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES publicly voiced his feelings about postwar trends in architecture for the first time in a speech to the RIBA in May 1984. His hard-hitting phrases - 'monstrous carbuncle' (of the National Gallery extension) and 'giant glass stump' (of the Mansion House Square project) - alerted the nation to his deep concern about the effect some modern architecture has had on the environment and on people's lives, and opened what has become a major public debate.
The Prince's concern led him to write and present his first TV documentary, the 75-minute A Vision oj Britain. When it was originally shown in the BBC's Omnibus series in October 1988, it was seen by millions and attracted overwhelming support from the public. Many thousands of people wrote to the Palace and to the BBC to express their agreement with the Prince's views.
In this book the Prince develops and expands on the themes of his film. He stresses the need to preserve the character of our towns and cities, the desirability of reviewing existing planning laws and, above all, the importance of providing an architecture which people really want, and which is on a human scale. He discusses
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previous Roval involvement in architecture, and describes what he personallv admires most about Britain's countryside, towns and cities, making comparisons w ith what he has seen in other parts of the world.
(continued on back flap)
He emphasises, through many new examples, the positive side of contemporary architecture; that it can and should be something as admirable as the architecture of the past.
Additionally, in an important new central section, the Prince expands for the first time upon the idea, mentioned in his film, of an architectural Ten Principles — a set of 'sensible and widely-agreed rules, saying what people can and what they cannot do'.
Richly illustrated, including sketches and watercolours by the Prince himself, and with many photographs and paintings specially commissioned, A VISION OF BRITAIN is a book which demonstrates once more the concern of The Prince of Wales for a better built environment and the enriched quality of life which would result.
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