There’s an attempt to tear down London’s Commonwealth Institute. “The fate of the Commonwealth Institute is one of those turning points in the history of taste… When it was new, this was as modern as official London got: a slightly shocking intrusion to the skyline against the backdrop of a Royal Park, with an interior that had something of the flavour of an expo. Of course, that fragile-looking roof leaked almost from the beginning and, as coup followed coup, the dioramas couldn’t keep up with changing political and economic realities. The building’s present ramshackle state, betraying brave hopes gone sour, is a pretty accurate reflection of the Commonwealth itself.”