Sir - At this time of the year it has become the custom to play tricks and jokes on people and institutions. St Antony's, an ever-progressive college, has indulged in this sport by pretending to put forward, as a serious suggestion, a new addition to the college in the form of white linear structure (Report, October 26). Close examination of the plans will reveal the structure to be a magnified section of the lower intestine. Well done, St Antony's!

Until I saw the proposals in college, I did not see the joke. However, some jokes can backfire and some may not recognise them for what they are. The city planners, ever open to modish suggestions, may actually recommend it for approval, conservation area or not. Jokes have a short lifespan and it is time to reveal the proposal for what it is: not a work of architectural genius, but a joke, and a sick joke at that.

If St Antony's are looking for architects who understand Oxford, then all they have to do is contact Magdalen College, who, in their Longwall Street complex, do have a work of genius which will grace the city for generations to come.

A. Watson, Oxford