Architect lashes out at 'suicide fees' used in bids
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A leading British architect has lashed out against designers who are winning major building commissions by offering "suicide fees".
Rab Bennetts, who transformed the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, lost the chance to create Manchester's proposed £19m First Street cultural centre – despite scoring full marks for design quality in a competition for the project.
The Dutch architectural firm, Mecanoo, won the competition and Mr Bennetts told Building Design magazine that its fee bid was "incredibly low". Architectural-design competitions in Britain are judged on a 70/30 weighting between design quality and fees. Mr Bennetts said Mecanoo's design was judged to be "quite a lot worse" than his, but its strong score of 22/30 on low fees overwhelmed his superior design rating.
"I'm hearing the same from other architects," he said. "You get beaten by low fees every time."
His outburst has been supported by Ruth Reed, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who told The Independent that the number of complaints about suicide fees had increased since 2008. Mecanoo declined to comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments