Government design plans criticised

25-03-2008

The government's plans to encourage 'terror-proof' building design and office layout around the UK have been criticised by a number of leading commentators.

Piers Gough, from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, has described the latest proposals from the Home Office as "absolutely idiotic", claiming they will diminish the aesthetic quality of Britain's towns and cities.

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office has launched a project aimed at highlighting to architects the potential importance of making buildings less vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Mr Gough told the Guardian: "We used to be afraid of cars but now it seems to be terrorism. It seems like another way of stopping us living a civilised life."

From this summer, architects responsible for the office design on major public projects will be briefed by government officials on how to incorporate truck-bomb barriers and panic rooms into their plans.

Last week, the government released a document described as a 'National Security Streategy', which highlighted some of the greatest threats to British people, including terrorism and global climate change.

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