Brutalist or minimalist architecture is better suited to families with children than you might think, says Will Wiles in his latest Opinion column.

I write these words through a fog of exhaustion. On the last day of September we welcomed into the world our second child. The nights since have not been peaceful or restful.
But before this zombie-like state of constant fatigue, when my daughter's due date was still ahead of us, I did reflect on how life has changed since the arrival of my son, four years ago. And I came to realise that he had done a good deal to change the way I look at architecture, and the built world in general.
Accessibility, for instance. Step-free circulation, lifts, decent toilet facilities ? before spawning, I understood the necessity of these things, and the incivility of places that lacked them. But afterwards, with a baby in a buggy and things to do, I was treated to a more visceral insight. I now properly grasp that it's not about courtesy or convenience, it's about justice. Your mental map of the city convulses, and great chunks of it wither away as they are removed from practical reach. "A lot of preconceptions about kids and architecture are actually proved wrong when confronted with real kids"
It's quite possible to understand this on an abstract level without direct personal experience, but watching certain urban possibilities dying in front of you certainly puts some emphasis on the issue, and I'm well aware that I only felt ...