It's very easy to demand that classical buildings ought to be listed to maintain their splendour. And fine, very old ones too (such as Leicester's grade-I listed guildhall wherein those registered for Transcending the Boundaries on Saturday shall have tea, cake and discussion on using the built environment as a source) demand care and resepct. I'm also increasingly convinced about the need to protect some of the striking excesses of 1960s architecture too – even brutalist visions in exposed, raw concrete – we might just change our mind and really like them, as we did with a lot of Victorian buildings. But silos and bunkers for American warheads? Apparently so. These chilling reminders of an even chillier chapter in history have been added (Guardian article here) to the Schedule of Historic Monuments, which is to historical sites what designation premier cru classé is to fine claret.
