Buildings that house offices were not designed for information technology: the result is trailing cable, inadequate provision of power points, wire congestion, inappropriate lighting and poor air ventilation. What is more, buildings in design and development today are still not taking account of the requirements of information technology. This is proving such a stumbling block to computer and telecommunications vendors that four of the biggest (IBM, DEC, AT&T and British Telecom) leapt at the chance to sponsor a UKP150,000 study of the problem. This has duly been carried out over the past year by Butler Cox’s Building Technology Group, resulting in the publication of a book entitled Information Technology and Buildings – a practical guide for designers. The book sets out a number of guidelines for designers which Butler Cox claims are not based solely on the sponsors’ products. So what has this to do with Computergram readers? Well, Butler Cox is of the opinion that the fastest way to get the architectural community to take information technology requirements seriously is to stand up for them when commissioning a building or when buying property from a developer. To this end Butler Cox hopes that you will buy this book. The book is written in a lucid, explanatory (but non-patronising style), and is encyclopaedic in scope reviewing the impact of different information technologies on a fictitious building. – Katy Ring
