Letter: Aryshire design

Richard Murphy's criticism of Prince Charles's proposed new Ayrshire village (Comment, 10 September) is clearly considered and heartfelt. I am not sure, however, that the development will be quite as stylistically "a bad idea" as Murphy feels.

Thinking about the general stylistic banality I associate with the bulk of modern housing developments in Britain, a dose of revived Ayrshire vernacular seems not such a dreadful prospect, if actually handled with real conviction.

Nor am I certain that "fake architecture" is quite an accurate tag, since I doubt that Prince Charles intends to pretend that his village really is old. Perhaps the real test will be in another 40 years, when this revivalist experiment has itself become part of our architectural history, for better or for worse.

By virtue of its materials and traditional design, it may stand the test better than some more "contemporary" housing developments.

Most misplaced of all, possibly, is the suggestion that Knockroon's style may represent a "loss of nerve". Whether or not one likes the idea of building a very traditionally styled Ayrshire village, loss of nerve is probably unlikely to be a characteristic I would associate with taking up this idea.

Of course, the views of highly talented architects such as Richard Murphy are not to be dismissed lightly, but I cannot help feeling that their profession might be better served by a realisation by the brightest that there are more obvious and ubiquitous candidates for their contempt than Knockroon.

Michael Davis

Strathclyde Court

Helensburgh