It's official! White Elephants are not a protected species in Wales.
The Minister for State Enlightenment, John Griffiths, today said that he did not propose to give the BBC Building at Llandaff listed status as it had no special historic or architectural interest.
Cadw had recommended listing the complex as "an exemplary modernist building" which had been sensitively designed by one of the leading Welsh architects of his generation, Dale Owen.
This was supported by the Royal Society of Architects in Wales and the Twentieth Century Society. The senior conservation officer of the latter stated that, in their view, these buildings should be listed and celebrated as a key part of Wales' cultural and architectural heritage.
The estate agents acting for the BBC commissioned no less an authority than Frank Lloyd George, Welsh National Architect, to write a rebuttal of such claims. In his opinion the building was certainly nowhere nearly as good as his work, should be razed to the ground and the land sold for an exciting new development for which he might make his services available as architect at a suitable fee. Nice try Frankie!- but a fundamentally flawed attempt at self advancement. The best he can expect is a short series on Welsh architecture for BBC Wales and a couple of points towards the much desired appearance in the Honours List.
The deficiency in our National Architects reasoning is that, in stating his decision, The Minister took the view that Dale Owen was largely unknown outside Wales. Welsh architects will not of course become known outside Wales if a) they persist in trying to find work solely within Wales and b) the Minster of State Enlightenment allows the best of their work to be demolished to make way for executive housing and yet another foodstore.
What will be certain is that what replaces the existing structure will be worse.
And one must wonder how the reputation of Welsh architects is advanced when one of its more prominent practitioners is prepared to sell his birthright for a mess of cottages.
It is not unexpected that the Welsh Government should roll over and put its paws in the air as far as broadcasters are concerned as they are currently mesmerised by the promise of flourishing media industries sprouting up all over the province.
"Minster announces X00000 new jobs in creative industries, takes it up the arse from Sherlock and Dr Who and ends up in Casualty*....
Now over to Derek for the weather....."
That is about as much as the majority will want to know. As long as the BBC keep churning out programmes about baking Bread and filming Circuses and every Twm, Dic and Harri can afford a round in the Cameo Club all will be right with the world in Wales.
"And each day, in some small way, it becomes a place of lesser beauty."
The argument about preserving our 'cultural heritage' was always going to be pretty tenuous. Another work by the same architect rather ironically forms part of the Museum of Welsh Life . It is, to paraphrase Dylan Thomas perhaps "a museum that belongs in a museum".
I would imagine the clocks from the Cardiff Coal Exchange are already being packed ready for dispatch to St Fagans ahead of the de-listing and demolition of that part of our cultural heritage.
* Note. - The BBC have the only hospital that actually works properly in Wales.
