Please send letters for the website, clearly marked FORUM, to Julia Dawson at: julia.dawson@emap.com or The Architectural Review, Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ, England. ORANGE SLOUGH OF DESPOND? SIR: Kevin Fleming (AR June 2004) protests too much [about my boredom with Orange County], though I understand that his position compels him to do so. Anyone who has had the misfortune to drive through Orange County as frequently as I have will agree that it is mainly, if not entirely a Slough of Despond, in which the discrepancy between great wealth and architectural distinction is as extreme as anywhere in the United States. I did say that there were surprises, and yes I do know R. M. Schindler's ‘beloved Lovell Beach House’. Beleaguered might be a better word; it’s mired in banality and its neighbours would surely unite to block so bold a structure today. Luckily it was built in 1922-26 when the oceanfront was still undeveloped. Currently celebrated architects have contributed minor works; others, like Renzo Piano, have been rudely rebuffed. The UCI campus is less than the sum of its ill-coordinated parts; Noguchi's California Plaza, shoehorned into a crass shopping mall, was sadly neglected and quite deserted on recent visits. I will concede that Michael Graves’ San Juan Capistrano library is one of the few interesting buildings realized by the teapot tsar, though I’m not clear why OC should claim credit for the over-restored ruin of a Spanish colonial building. Few, if any of these exceptions to the prevailing mediocrity were designed by the 1200 members of the OC/AIA chapter; if I were its president I would hang my head in shame. Yours etc MICHAEL WEBB Los Angeles, USA