Sir, – I too have wondered, as Una Mullally did in her recent article ("All local authorities should formulate a radical outdoor plan for 2022", Opinion & Analysis, December 20th), if "design and architecture would undergo a revolution" during this pandemic.
But that revolution must be incentivised.
So, what if all 31 local authorities in Ireland were offered €1 million by the State? What if match funding of a further €1 million was sought from private developers and the construction industry who very often wish to support the arts, with each authority then having a total of €2 million? What if local authorities offered spaces to build and insurance cover for events in return? What if 31 architects were asked to work with 31 local arts centres and communities and with 31 local building contractors to imagine, design and build a new, network of nationwide, arts and culture infrastructure for long-term, outdoor performance, and community use?
So, the revolution might be localised, but this is not a call to take to the streets. Rather, it is a call to cover them over, and to build new houses for the arts underneath. The arts have kept people going indeed, but now building a network of outdoor venues would surely galvanise the role of the arts, artists and communities in discussing where, as a nation, we need, and want, to go next. – Yours, etc,
EMMETT SCANLON,
Assistant Professor,
School of Architecture,
Planning and
Environmental Policy,
UCD,
Dublin 14.