When will we ever learn? Crossrail experts have rejected station designs (after a four-month assessment) because one was “not providing enough scope for further redevelopment” and another was “architecturally undistinguished”. As these criteria are so important, why were they (presumably) not part of the original brief? Could it be that nobody thought of it at the time?

As an industry we should be insisting on regular face-to-face communication throughout the project (including the experts and auditors who will judge submissions) in order to prevent these ghastly wastes of time, resource, goodwill and morale in the team. Olympics, please note …

Mike Thomas, Mike Thomas Ltd, Southampton

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