Re: Re: Small Monumental Buildings . . .

@sw101 wrote:

i would never give special dispensation for smokers. for one thing, it’s not a habit to be encouraged (smoker, so i’m not on my high horse), and second, i can see smoking being banned outright by 2012, so by the time anything most students design is actually built, it won’t be an issue.

Even if smoking is banned outright (highly unlikely, in my view- generates too much revenue. How else will the govt. pay for the servicing of all the one-off houses? 😮 ), the ban raises the issue of outdoor activity generally. So much guff is written about the ‘public realm’ in architecture, but our climate really isn’t cut out for all this continental-style lounging. Applying the logic of the ban to other activities, it seems there is still a need for well-designed outdoor areas that benefit from shelter from the elements. Ever noticed how the bandstand by the pond in Stephen’s Green attracts the daytime drinking fraternity when it’s raining?

“…not a habit to be encouraged”? The ban seems to me to be disincentive enough. And I’d argue that there are other habits that we should be discouraging- driving in city centres, building unsustainable one-off houses- that are far more injurious to the wider population than somebody nipping out for a fag.