Paolo Tombesi sets out a very interesting thesis that Asia will become the ‘back office’ of Western design practice in, ‘A true south for design? The new international division of labour in architecture’ (arq 5/2, pp.171–180). There are many instances of this happening already, though mainly in engineering and in US style architectural practice where documentation consists of the application of rules-based methods and the work used to be done by ‘tracers’. Practices with computer-based standard detailing can have schematic drawings worked up overnight and corrections similarly serviced. UK architectural practice is largely done without back offices or standard solutions and drafting help must be closely supervised. Price competition from the South may well become a factor for change.