ANNEXE : Mod cons?

"Accretional modernism" - adding to old buildings - is set to become a buzz-word. Take the three major architectural competitions of last year: Bankside Power Station, which is to become the Tate Gallery's new Museum of Modern Art; Sir Norman Fos ter's revamp of the British Museum and Sir Richard Rogers' scheme to glass over parts of the South Bank Arts complex.

The establishment's acceptance of accretional modernism is a reflection of its own loss of nerve when it comes to embracing anything radical. Sir Richard Rogers' design for a £1bn fifth terminal at Heathrow, which he claims will be "the world's first gr

e at building of the 21st century" is set to become one of the most bitter planning battles ever seen here.

Almost as controversial is local opposition to Zaha Hadid's Cardiff Bay Opera House scheme which was chosen after an international competition last year. The support of the Royal Fine Art Commission is seen as crucial; without it, the Cardiff Bay Opera House could become the first Millennium project to be strangled at birth.