City Salons Underway
by Charlie Tims
Cor. Want to be an intern at demos? You could end up doing this. The first city salon took place last Thursday in a jam-packed Demos. Sorry to anyone who didn't get a seat. Architect Bill Dunster and author Alain de Botton discussed how sustainable development and the Thames Gateway expansion could be reconciled with one another. In the tradition of the best events the questions were perhaps bigger than any of the answers. However, the two biggest seemed to be along the lines of;
1) How d'you convince a house buying public who aspire to live in heat haemorrhaging Georgian townhouses and rural Tudor piles, that carbon neutral living is perhaps an altogether more socially responsible choice to make?
2) Can the imperatives, constraints and creative opportunities posed by environmentally sustainable construction, provide a way out of tiresome discussions about the relative merits of form, function and beauty in architecure?
In any case, most people were still hanging around long after the speakers finished so hopefully everyone had a good time. Judging by the contents of our recycling bin and activities on the blackboard in the toilet, it seems they did. If you want to come to the next on Tuesday 16th March (looking at the pros and cons of "hard" and "soft" regeneration) send an email to citysalon@demos.co.uk. More details here