That is the question posed by architeyctural historian and critic Dr. Robert Grant Irving, who is currently on an extended research visit to the Island.

In a hard-hitting interview this week, Dr. Irving expressed alarm at what he views as a steady erosion of the Island's architectural and environmental heritage.

"The recommendations of the reports in `Bermuda's Delicate Balance' of 1981 seem to have been largely ignored and gone unfulfilled.

"Already densely populated, Bermuda is now being rapidly overbuilt. Unless prompt action is taken to eliminate further over-development, it will clearly kill the goose that lays the golden egg in terms of tourism. Controlled development benefits everybody.'' Unlike so many "instant experts'' who make pronouncements with only a superficial knowledge of the place they are visiting, Dr. Irving has spent 18 hours a day travelling around the Island and talking to people from all walks of life who are critically interested in conservation and preservation.

"Destruction of Bermuda's built and natural environment has reached a crisis stage,'' he warned. "In such a densely occupied island, preservation of remaining open land is clearly of first importance.

"The retention of the remaining historical architecture is what will come to make this country unique. There are many countries with beaches and a good climate, but there are few, if any, with such richness of tradition and historical architecture. This will continue to draw tourists.

"In the United States, the National Trust has estimated that for every $1 spent on preservation, $10 returns in terms of expenditures on restaurants, hotels and shops.'' Educated at Yale, Oxford and Cambridge universities, Dr. Irving has travelled extensively in India, Africa, the Caribbean, Britain and the US as a research fellow.

Here, as elsewhere, he finds indigenous architecture being unnecessarily compromised, and says urgent steps must be taken to stop the dangerous trend and preserve what is left.

"I suggest that Bermuda's Premier or Governor convene a conference of private and Government bodies to initiate prompt and focussed attention to a problem that has had so little real emphasis.'' Dr. Irving recommended that this be accomplished by: Enforcing protective legislation specifically relating to architectural preservation and the conservation of open space, and enacting truly effective controls on development, including regulation of building heights.

Public education.

Conservation and preservation training for young architects.

"It is astounding that the Government of Bermuda for 30 years has hitherto done so little to protect the unique architectural heritage of this country,'' Dr. Irving stated.

Trends such as wholesale replacement of wooden windows with aluminium ones, and discarding of traditional shutters were disturbing.

"Rapid replacement of traditional shutters and other features by artificial, imported devices is not only deplorable but is also rapidly compromising the integrity of most historic buildings on the Island.

"The replacement of traditional wooden windows by aluminium on the Sessions House, for example, was a first-class mistake.'' Part of the problem, he felt, was a lack of public education on such matters.

"The level of public awareness here is well below that in Barbados and even tiny islands such as Nevis,'' Dr. Irving said. "A major public educational thrust under the auspices of such bodies as the Bermuda National Trust is sorely needed before the destruction is even more general.'' "In Nevis, there is a schoolchildren's manual which teaches children at an early age to look at the buildings and the natural environment. Children are taught to be critical of ugly intrusions in the environment -- anything from electrical wires to unsightly buildings -- and to treasure historic buildings.

"In Barbados there is a 13-part television series on the island's architectural heritage, which is also available on video, and material designed to increase public awareness is published frequently.'' Bermuda's architects also came in for criticism from Dr. Irving.

"It is astounding that resident architects don't show more sympathy for Island architecture in the local tradition in terms of materials, scale and adaptation to climate,'' Dr. Irving said. "Some of the worst examples of contemporary architecture have been designed by Bermudian architects, and I look forward to meeting these gentlemen to understand why this should be so.'' Citing the City of Hamilton as an area where some glaring blots on the landscape existed, the architectural historian warned. "It is time to move quickly before Hamilton looks like every other over-built city in the world.

Its unique character is in danger of giving way to the identical boring sameness that is to be found worldwide. What I see being built in Bermuda is at least 30 years out of date. Elsewhere the most recent architecture usually shows more respect for tradition.'' He felt that many building designs were also physically inappropriate for Bermuda, making them unnecessarily expensive to maintain.

"Buildings such as Bacardi and the Bank of Bermuda are wholly inappropriate to the climate, and fully disregard the time-tested traditions of this historic Island,'' Dr. Irving began.

"It is astonishing how little regard is paid to the lavish expenditure on power and electricity that is necessary for most so-called modern architecture. Acres of glass necessitate much bigger expenditures on air conditioning -- the most expensive use of power that I can imagine. It's a pity Bermuda couldn't learn from the mistakes of Jamaica and other tropical islands.'' One of the reasons for the growth of inappropriate buildings, Dr. Irving felt, was a lack of training in traditional architecture young architects received.

"The current generation of architects has never studied or had formal training in traditional architecture. Training local architects to respect tradition and preservation would go a long way to producing more appropriate and environmentally sensitive edifices here,'' he said.

He noted that traditional training was being provided by architecture schools in England and Italy, and at the University of Miami.

"Couldn't scholarship funds be found to send young Bermudian architects to study at conservation at architectural schools in Italy and England?'' Dr.

Irving asked.

Stressing again and again the importance of conservation and preservation, the architectural historian said much more must be done to beef up current efforts.

"Despite a relatively long tradition and the presence of the Bermuda National Trust, the preservation movement here seems to be very much in its infancy -- sorely lacking in funds, professional personnel and expert advice.'' Both new legislation and enforcement of existing legislation were needed.

"There are many models for preservation legislation both in Britain and the US worthy of emulation here,'' Dr. Irving said. "Clearly this should be a priority of the re-elected Government, which has been remiss in this field for so long.'' Amid all the misgivings and alarm, however, Dr. Irving also found reason for praise.

"One very bright feature is the attempt by the Bermuda National Trust to list all historic buildings on the Island,'' he said. "It is clear that historic buildings must be given permanent protection at once because it is these which will continue to give the Island its unique character and draw tourists for decades to come, particularly in off-seasons.'' He was also thrilled with the preservation work taking place at Commissioner's House in Dockyard.

"It is really an outstanding building which is getting painstaking restoration treatment. It can become a model for restoration here and elsewhere of what can be done with careful research, appropriate materials and professional advice.'' Of the almost obsequious desire to meet the accommodation demands -- real or imagined -- of overseas businesses, Dr. Irving urged Bermuda to think hard and stand firm.

"Why should you allow the Bermuda lifestyle and environmental ambiance to be dictated by foreign financial corporations?'' he asked.

"International business may have surpassed tourism in importance in Bermuda but that is no reason why accommodation cannot be accomplished in existing buildings in a way that is compatible with the delicate balance of Bermuda's traditions and ecology,'' he said. "Accommodating international finance corporations in traditional style buildings is not incompatible with preservation. After all, the motto of the National Trust in the US is: Preservation is Progress.

Indeed, Dr. Irving said there were many precedents for this, and cited Charleston, South Carolina and the Paternoster Square precincts of St. Paul's Cathedral, London as examples.

"I believe international financiers would welcome something different to their Hong Kong, New York or London offices to work and live in.'' Losing architectural heritage not radical or new, but has a proven track record. It can be done.'' Similarly, Dr. Irving was against hotels being built to conform to outside tastes. "Why should every hotel in Bermuda look like a gaudy, over-decorated Miami Beach or Hawaiian hotel?'' he protested. "What people come to Bermuda for something quite different. By far the greatest percentage of your tourists are American, and they are looking for something other than what they find at home.'' An historian of British Empire architecture and author of an award-winning book on the creation of New Delhi, Dr. Irving will give an illustrated public lecture at the Bermuda College on Friday evening (see Bermuda Calendar for further details).

"I will be discussing the similarities and differences in colonial architecture between Bermuda and the West Indies with particular emphasis on the Jamaican heritage. I will be emphasising the buildings of 18th and early 19th centuries, which were determined by specific factors that often have many lessons for us today,'' he said.

COLONIAL VISIT -- Architectural historian and critic Dr. Robert Grant Irving (right) meets Governor Lord Waddington during a research visit to Government House. A specialist in British Empire architecture, Dr. Irving is alarmed by the erosion of Bermuda's architectural and environmental heritage.