Transform! Designing the Future of Energy,
Germany
23 March 2024
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Running Remote: Empowering The World's Transition Towards Distributed Work,
Lisbon
22 April 2024
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Ergonomics & Human Factors 2024,
Kenilworth, UK
22 April 2024
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The Watercooler,
Excel London
23 April 2024
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The Office Event,
London
23 April 2024
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SME XPO,
Excel London
23 April 2024
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Sustainable Design Forum,
London
25 April 2024
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The Workplace Event,
Birmingham
30 April 2024
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March 20, 2013
What Alan Bennett can teach us about taste
by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Products, Workplace design
The idea of taste is a strange one, not least when we’re surrounded by people guiding our tastes in everything from cars to wine, food, clothes, house design, office design, restaurants, holidays, language, art, music, books and film. The problem with an acceptance of what we mean by ‘good taste’ is that it acts as a brake on change and innovation. Alan Bennett once made the point in typical style. ‘Taste is timorous, conservative and fearful,’ he wrote. ‘It is a handicap. It stunts. Olivier was unhampered by taste and was often vulgar; Dickens similarly. Both could fail and failure is a sort of vulgarity; but it’s better than a timorous toeing of the line. Taste abuts on self preservation. It is the audience that polices taste. Only if you can forget your audience can you escape.’