Negroni Talks – Who’s your daddy? Breaking the class ceiling

Architecture has a difficult relationship with privilege. Everyone knows the profession is not diverse enough, which is not surprising given the fees and the length of time it takes to study. The general public see the image of the architect as aloof but when education was free we saw the rise of the working class architect. Norman Foster describes his childhood on the wrong side of the tracks in Manchester and now he is a global powerhouse. Could someone rise to prominence like this today or is the system rigged for Hooray Henrys and Sloane Rangers? Young practices are emerging which directly address the public good but some see this as another form of patronage to ease the guilt of a design-conscious elite. Should we challenge the status quo or accept that the master/servant culture which runs through British DNA is an inescapable fact of life?