Architecture
Crumbling is not an instant’s act
A new exhibition revels in the intricacies and drama of architectural drawings — and the ruins of buildings they leave behind
Was postwar Britain as grey and dull as everyone thinks?
A new exhibition at the Barbican sheds light on the forgotten decade
Urban skirmish
The new Chelsea Barracks is striking for its forgetfulness
Flawed primer on a Classical master
A new book on Decimus Burton, Victorian England’s “pagan” architect
Light Lines: The Architectural Photographs of Hélène Binet
Binet’s photographs find beauty in unexpected places
What’s gone is here again
Video game technology has reconstructed the lost gardens of Alexander Pope
When London really was built back better
This is an eloquent book that describes the architecture, culture, topography, and social life of a vibrant city
Architectural urbanicide
Our societies have allowed special interests to tear down living architecture
London gossip, Dickensian Christmasses and experimental castles
The Critic Narrated: Episode Seven, with Robert Thicknesse, Alexander Larman and Charles Saumarez Smith
Spanish prize
Jonathan Ruffer’s daring philanthropic experiment hopes to bring a different kind of regeneration to the north-east
Tom Stoppard’s Hampstead drama
Best not try to memorise this deceptive Connect Four of relationships — just get into the flow
An abuser hiding in plain sight
There was shock when a feted theatre director turned out to be a paedophile who collected child rape porn but were the clues there all along?
Don’t patronise female students
It’s insulting to think that women have to be treated with kid gloves
Impressive yet unmoving
Franz Schmidt: 4 symphonies (Naxos)
Democracy is being undermined in Northern Ireland
Brussels and London are both being reckless about Stormont
The age of reason, sliced and diced
No historian wields Ockham’s razor more effectively than J.C.D. Clark
British industry has forgotten how to use its voice
Corporate cowards are not standing up to the government
How long can Ireland’s gender equality hold?
A gender divide in voting is not as clear as in other countries — but that could change
Passing the baton to the offspring
Does maestro talent run in the genes?
A full-blooded blow-out
Kurt Weill: Symphonies, Seven Deadly Sins (DG)
A festival of losing
Will the Republic of Ireland ever face up to its problems?
