Structurally.....

As someone who has to start and end the working day via Oxford Circus tube, I've often mused that there must be some architectural solution that might separate the hundreds of people waiting to meet friends, from the people who need to pass through. I've imagined the possibility of creating a high level structure above the crossroads, giving views up and down Oxford Street and Regent Street, where those waiting could wait, freeing the pavements below. And, as the Olympics come closer, that pressure on meeting points in central London - before and after events - can only increase.



I'm passing on this post to RIBA, suggesting a competition to build temporary structures at key interchanges (where there may be space) for the duration of the Olympics. My friend Lucinda Hawkins drew my attention to Gareth Hoskins' winning entry for the Scottish Pavilion at the impending Venice Biennale - for a temporary "gathering place" - and you can see that it ought to be easy to arrange a meeting: "See you on step 5 of the gathering place at 6pm".



A competition might also give a shop window to the UK's structural engineers, who seem to do their best work abroad....