Regeneration glitz

Regeneration efforts have changed Brityain's cityscape indelibly.

Perhaps, as yet, the adventurous design of retail and office space hasn't been echoed in any greater ambition from housebuilders, who still seem to be putting up the 'little boxes made of ticky-tacky' that Malvina Reynolds complained about.

But none the less they have raised the bar from the anonymous concrete blocks of the 60s and 70s.

I was reminded of this when I received a catalogue from Merrell Publishers in the post. They publish some splendid books on architecture - and the modern architecture of Britain is a speciality.

I just wish the people putting up little brick houses (just like the ones I drew when I was at primary school with a door in the middle and two windows each side, but now without chimneypots) would take a look at these books and exercise their imagination!