Though shalt....

James Woudhuysen writing in the Architectural web-mag "Audacity" has taken up the collision of do-gooding "commandments" of the nanny state, and the way they beat on professions to come through for them.

«Thou shalt not install lifts and escalators - even in tomorrow's new Bullrings. Of course, thou shalt marvel at the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act coming into force. But since thou shalt also show no obesity, even older workers must take some exercise by climbing stairs.»

So while they're trying to draw you to the attention to the heart on their sleeve, some of the strictures don't look that far from the actions of an authoritarian regime:

«Thou shalt never conduct an office move again. Moves burn fossil fuels and increase carbon emissions. They are also deeply stressful, and likely to fall foul of the Health and Safety Executive, which in the year 2003 to 2004 '... achieved 122% of the target for inspector time allocated to stress' (4) Pretty stressful for the inspectors, at least!

Thou shalt install videocameras. They're needed to smite down workplace smoking, workplace bullying and shopping centre smacking, too.»

Governments tend to suffer from planning (and micromanagement) fever - that is when they aren't correcting a past failed bout with the Marburg virus of "planning":

«Thou shalt expect to communicate more during the Full Inquisition that will surround every planning process. Will that new facility verily generate quantifiable benefits for the local community? Will it regenerate Britain's regions, once they heroically adopt their frightfully democratic Regional Assemblies? Thou shalt have the arguments and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the lawyers to hand.»

How about "Though shall leave property owners to use at least SOME of their own good judgment, leave them with some rights over what they own, and not try to browbeat them through their Architect"? It'll never happen. They have too may laws to enact.