Archinect - News

Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama debuts 'Purple Hibiscus' at the Barbican, a reference to the site's material history

2024-04-12T16:33:00-04:00

The Barbican has debuted a new large-scale public art installation from Ghanaian-born artist Ibrahim Mahama.

His site-specific piece Purple Hibiscus, named in reference to the 2003 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is installed on the facade of the Barbican’s central Lakeside Terrace. It uses approximately 21,500 square feet of fuschia-hued cloth that contrasts dramatically with the rough concrete exterior and overcast London sky.

Installation view, 'Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus.' Image: © Dion Barrett / Barbican Centre

Mahama created the piece in collaboration with artisans from his Red Clay Studio and Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art in the city of Tamale, Ghana. It references the site's past history as the epicenter of the "rag trade" in Central London before World War II. Together, both the piece and architecture serve as a metaphor for the "power of labor."

Installation view, 'Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus.' Image: © Dion Barrett / Barbican Centre

The artist describes...

RIBA announces 'once-in-a-generation' House of Architecture investment plan with new $107 million price tag

2024-03-25T19:45:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has provided an outline to overhaul its 66 Portland Place London headquarters into a “once-in-a-generation” home of the new House of Architecture initiative.

For a reported cost of £85 million ($107.4 million USD), the project from Benedetti Architects will restore the building while creating a new centralized space for its world-leading Collections archive. The initiative was originally announced with a budget of £20 million (around $25 million USD). RIBA says the new figure "includes all project costs such as contingencies, inflation, and fees" for the renovations, whose plan of work required an additional £58.8 million ($74.3 million USD) in outturn costs.

"House of Architecture is about unlocking and opening RIBA to make it — and everything it offers — far more accessible. The proposed investment in our collections, upgrades to our digital platform, and improvements to our landmark building at 66 Portland Place are vital," said ...

'Grenfell: in the words of survivors' play comes to New York this spring

2024-03-21T13:36:00-04:00

A new dramatization of the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy is being staged next month at the St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, after traveling from the National Theatre in London, where it premiered last summer.

Playwright Gillian Slovo’s interviews with survivors are the basis for the play’s verbatim dialog. Directors Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike will reprise their roles for the four-week run, beginning an opening night performance on April 13th.

A July review of the first adaptation from The Guardian called it “a masterpiece of forensic fury.” The New York Times’ Alex Marshall wrote about the play's proselytizing effects, framing it as a democratic and justice-driven “call for change.”

The aftermath of the blaze that claimed the lives of 72 people has indeed led to several proactive reforms, including a recent mandate concerning cladding remediation and the appointment of a new building safety regulator. Potential criminal charges stemming from the London Me...

Pascale Sablan, Kofi Bio, Lucy Tilley announced as new co-CEOs of Adjaye Associates

2024-03-18T14:59:00-04:00

Adjaye Associates has announced the promotions of three new CEOs in an organizational restructuring that will see founder David Adjaye step into a new role as the Executive Chair of the group and the firm's Principal.

Pascale Sablan, Kofi Bio, and Lucy Tilley will now lead the New York, Accra, and London studios as CEOs, respectively. Sablan, most recently the 2023-24 NOMA President, is perhaps the best-known architect of the group. She will impart her past experience as an Associate Principal in the New York office, which she first joined as a Senior Associate in January of 2021. Her time there has coincided with a host of important national recognitions, including being named winner of the 2021 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.

Bio and Tilley both have experience as Associate Prinicapls in the Accra and London studios, respectively.

In a statement published to the firm’s website, Adjaye said: “Today’s announcement reflects a fundamental change in the way Adjaye Associates will now be r...

Rowan Moore declares an aversion to Heatherwick’s London BT Tower hospitality makeover

2024-02-27T20:05:00-05:00

Its sale, for £275m, by BT to a hotel group, if it gives the tower a secure future, is welcome. I’m more troubled by the reports that the designer Thomas Heatherwick is to “repurpose” the building. His past work shows that he’s not one to leave well alone, but rather festoon structures with over-sized flower-pots and look-at-me swirling shapes. One can only hope that he discovers some restraint. The BT Tower is already an icon. It’s perfect. Let it be.

Readers will remember the critic's jabs at Heatherwick last fall after the publication of his new treatise on architecture and mental health, wherein Moore declared “an outbreak of shallow wannabe Gaudís” will follow in tow should the call-to-action be adopted.

That provocation isn't the first or even second time Moore has harshed the Vessel designer's creative schemes for the capital. In its defense, Heatherwick Studio has yet to detail any of the architectural extravagances Moore is lamenting after the project's February 22nd announcement.

Previously on Archinect: London’s BT Tower to be converted into a hotel by Heatherwick following MCR purchase

The conservation group C20 Society has offered its support for the £275 million project. If history is any guide, MCR's previous re-use of the TWA Hotel at JFK should steer the project away from any gauche gesturing and towards the Swinging London era anachronisms Moore champions nostalgically as "hopeful futurism."

...

London’s BT Tower to be converted into a hotel by Heatherwick following MCR purchase

2024-02-22T11:39:00-05:00

London’s iconic BT Tower is to be purchased by U.S. hotel owner-operator MCR. Partnering with Heatherwick Studio, the company is to explore the tower’s adaptive reuse as a hotel.

Standing at 620 feet in height, the BT Tower is one of London’s tallest buildings. Opened in 1965, the tower is covered by a Grade II historical importance listing, though such a listing does not prohibit a change of use within the building.

MCR has noted that the tower will not undergo any immediate changes, with current owners BT Group expected to take several years to vacate the premises due to the complexity involved in moving technical equipment. The design process is also expected to include time for community engagement in advance of the proposal’s reveal.

Related on Archinect:The TWA Hotel at JFK is officially open. Photo courtesy of TWA Hotel/David Mitchell

MCR was previously known for its overhaul of the Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport which has since become the TWA Hotel. T...

The political reason behind London’s ‘weird’ skyline

2024-02-15T11:30:00-05:00

The dominance of starchitect-led high rises in London is the result of the UK’s subjective planning system, according to a new opinion piece in The New York Times. Taking aim at the city’s “weird” skyline, business and economics columnist Peter Coy argues that “developers hire star architects because doing so gives them a better chance of winning approval for taller, more profitable buildings.”

Related on Archinect: The City of London skyline is expected to add these eleven towers by 2030. Image credit: City of London Corporation

“London has a jarring profusion of odd skyscrapers with funny names or nicknames,” Coy explains. “There are the Shard and the Scalpel, which are pretty elegant. The (mostly) well-liked Gherkin, which looks like a glass pickle. The wedge-shaped Cheese Grater. And the widely loathed Walkie-Talkie, a bulbous cartoon of a building that “looms thuggishly over its low-rise neighbors like a broad-shouldered banker in a cheap pinstriped suit,” to quote The Guardian....

The Motorist Won: Envisioning a vehicle-centric UK with Archinect Generative Futures finalist Kyle Branchesi

2024-02-13T19:32:00-05:00

Designer Kyle Branchesi has shared images from his latest creative experimentation with generative AI tools, a visual commentary touching on the debate over pedestrianism and motor vehicles happening currently within the UK.

For 'The Motorist Won,' Branchesi imagined a far-off dystopia plagued by vehicle traffic where historic streets and all visible landmarks are besieged by the hum of engines and blur of lights, making cities like London or Edinburgh the all-too-unfortunate casualties of what PM Rishi Sunak says is a "war" against cars.

The Motorist Won by Kyle Branchesi

Branchesi describes: "Amidst a political landscape where the 'war on motorists' is wielded as a populist tool, this series captures a future where this rhetoric has prevailed. The transformation of UK landmarks like Stonehenge into vast vehicular realms underscores the absurdity and danger of prioritizing short-term political gains over sustainable urban planning. These images mirror the contentious debates in the ...

South Korean architect Minsuk Cho and Mass Studies will design the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion

2024-01-22T13:13:00-05:00

South Korean architect Minsuk Cho has been announced as the designer of the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion commission in London. The Mass Studies founder debuted preliminary renders of their winning design this morning ahead of the exhibition’s June opening. His team's entry will appear as a star-like hub of activity to visitors, harkening them into experiencing a variety of communal spaces they say have resulted from a careful study of its past predecessors.

For the 23rd overall edition of the Serpentine Pavilion, a constellation of smaller structures will form around a central void space inspired by the vernacular Madang courtyard features found in small residential structures across Korea. Each of these five separate spaces will have a name and programmatic function while doubling as “content machines” and devised to montage with the corresponding flexible open areas and park surrounding the pavilion.

Serpentine Pavilion 2024 designed by Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies. Design render, exteri...

Plans for London’s Sphere are no more as developers abandon project

2024-01-09T11:29:00-05:00

The developers behind the proposed MSG Sphere in London have withdrawn plans for the project. In a letter to the UK government’s Planning Inspectorate, developers Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) said that the scheme had become “merely a political football between rival parties.”

Plans for the Sphere first emerged in 2018, with planning permission filed in March 2019. London’s mayor Sadiq Khan was originally supportive of the scheme upon its announcement, but a combination of negative feedback in planning officer reports and backlash from locals saw Khan refuse the project permission in November 2023.

The saga continued in December when the UK’s Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, asked for the plans to be personally reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate, which falls under his department. With both a UK-wide general election and London mayoral election set to take place in the country later this year, the project was set to become a major campaign issue between Gove’s ruling C...

Gingerbread City is back with sweet architectural designs in London and New York

2023-12-11T13:42:00-05:00

London's Museum of Architecture has revealed the 2023 slate of participating design firms in its annual Gingerbread City exhibition, along with an expanded American component taking place in New York City through the end of the holiday season.

For the dual city festival, participants were charged with interpreting the role water plays in urban development. Their designs comprised four zones (Urban Floodplain, Canal City, Frozen Landscape, and Underwater + Floating City) in both locations, with a fifth Desert Landscape area presenting a “sweet feast for the eyes” in New York.

BubbleBurst Bonbon Museum: Spherical Symphony of Sweet Delights by Atelier Ten © Luke O’Donovan

Bakewell Bridge by Allies and Morrison © Luke O’Donovan

Highlights from the more than 100 firms that contributed to the London exhibition include a BubbleBurst Bonbon Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, Jammy Jubilee by Foster + Partners, Atelier Ten’s The Gingerbread Factory, the Bakewell Bridge by Allies and Morrison, a...

London’s Battersea Power Station hosts giant Christmas tree animation by artist David Hockney

2023-12-06T13:10:00-05:00

The world-renowned artist David Hockney has lit up London’s iconic Battersea Power Station with a giant installation resembling two Christmas trees. Titled ‘Bigger Christmas Trees’ and set on the station’s two north-facing 328-foot-tall chimneys, the animation will be on display from December 1st until Christmas Day, December 25th.

“Battersea Power Station is such a beautiful building, I wanted to decorate it in a way that I hoped would bring joy and hope to Londoners,” said Hockney about the scheme.

Image credit: Apple

The 10-minute animation was designed by Hockney on an iPad using a digital pencil; an appropriate method given that Battersea Power Station currently houses Apple’s UK headquarters.

In June, we reported on the opening of Foster + Partners’ Apple Store within the station, marking the company’s 40th store in the United Kingdom. Late last year, meanwhile, we covered a review of the newly completed WilkinsonEyre interior spaces in the station alongside a Frank Gehry-desig...

UK Housing Secretary Gove will re-review London Sphere planning permission after Mayor's refusal

2023-12-02T03:00:00-05:00

Two weeks after London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced his refusal of planning permissions for the controversial MSG Sphere development planned in East London, the UK’s housing chief has issued a rebuke that may leave some glimmer of hope for the project’s eventual realization.

Several UK-based outlets are now reporting that Housing Secretary Michael Gove has asked the London Legacy Development Corporation to have the plans reviewed personally by his office before a final decision can be made. The countermand means another six week’s wait for the project, which has caused a torrent of backlash from critics and local residents since first being introduced in January of 2018.

James Dolan, Executive Chairman of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., however, told the Evening Standard that Khan’s decision represented the “end of the line” for his company’s pursuit of the project in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Previously on Archinect: So much for the controversial London Sphere afte...

So much for the controversial London Sphere after Mayor Sadiq Khan refuses planning permission

2023-11-20T18:54:00-05:00

The proposed MSG Sphere in East London has been scrapped with the late decision by Mayor Sadiq Khan to refuse planning permissions over grounds that its design causes a public nuisance to residents of the surrounding Stratford district.

The long-controversial Sphere had been derided by critics and locals alike since first being revealed in January of 2018. Myriad attempts at halting the application process had been lodged in the years leading up to Monday's decision. Populous, which has also developed its well-reviewed twin in Las Vegas, was responsible for the 21,500-capacity design proposal.

The issue of light pollution had always been a critical factor in its pending success as a proposed entertainment venue sited in place of the 4.7-acre former coach park of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Khan’s decision cited the issue along with two other factors for the refusal, including its huge operational costs and an overall lack of green credentials for the project. Its impact on se...

The City of London skyline is expected to add these eleven towers by 2030

2023-11-01T18:58:00-04:00

The City of London Corporation has revealed new images depicting the 2030 skyline of the Square Mile ahead of the completion of a planned cluster of tall buildings that are expected by the end of the decade.

The plans depicted include the 11-building ‘City Cluster’, which strategically closes an existing gap between Rafael Viñoly’s 20 Fenchurch Street (aka the “Walkie-Talkie" tower) and adjacent plots in the body's local plan. Other key areas of change included in the City Plan 2040 call for the construction of new pedestrian routes and public green space, added ground-level accommodations for retail, and a mix of education and cultural spaces.

“These new CGI images clearly illustrate the ever-changing nature of London's incredible skyline. It demonstrates that the City office is here to stay, and that the Square Mile's real estate sector is robust and thriving, despite wider economic concerns,” Chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, S...

Tate Modern resolves viewing platform privacy dispute with Neo Bankside residents

2023-10-23T13:48:00-04:00

The Tate Modern in London has announced its compliance with the UK High Court’s February ruling regarding a privacy case that involved its 10th-floor viewing gallery and five residents of the adjacent Neo Bankside apartments.

The museum will now restrict visitors' access to the platform, which was constructed in 2016 as part of a Herzog & de Meuron-led $318 million Blavatnik Building expansion. The remedy will help the Tate avoid paying any monetary damages, as was the will of the plaintiffs. Their decision puts an end to a saga that has touched on Inner London’s class conflicts over housing and could potentially carry future ramifications in regards to design and the public realm, according to Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright and other observers.

Natasha Rees, a senior partner at the law firm Forsters, which represented the five Neo Bankside residents, said: “An award of damages was never our clients’ aim and they are grateful for the Tate’s recent willingness, instead, to agree t...

Mæ's John Morden Centre wins the 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize

2023-10-19T19:57:00-04:00

The design for the John Morden Centre in Blackheath, London, by Mæ has just been announced as the winner of the 2023 Stirling Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The country’s new ‘Best New Building’ honor was bestowed to the 22-year-old firm’s redesign of the elder care facility located on the site of Grade I-listed Morden College, the original design for which dates to the 1690s and has been attributed to the period’s most significant architect, Sir Christopher Wren.

Photo: Jim Stephenson

The scope of the project involved creating a more sociable, physically active, and less isolating atmosphere in which residents can age in place gracefully. With dramatic effect, the overhaul consolidates formerly diffuse functions at the non-profit care facility into a series of brick pavilions that are connected by the construction of a central timber colonnade.

Photo: Jim Stephenson

A steeply pitched roofline gives the structure an austere but still inviting character. I...

‘Mutant’ London apartment block to be demolished for deviating too far from permitted development

2023-10-17T11:54:00-04:00

The planning authority in London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich has ordered the demolition of a new residential development along the River Thames. In a statement, the authority concluded that the 23-story building, named Mast Quay Phase II, was “so substantially different to the scheme that was originally permitted” that the development’s ultimate construction was unlawful.

In its decision, the authority cited 26 main deviations from the scheme originally granted planning permission, including “visible design changes to the external appearance of the towers,” arguing that the towers looked “more solid and bulky because of the removal of the stepped back top floor and the glazed curtain wall facade” to one of the blocks.

The approved Mast Quay Phase II (left) versus the scheme subsequently constructed (right). Image credit: Royal Borough of Greenwich

The authority also cited visible changes to the materials and windows, a larger than approved footprint, “lower quality residential acco...

WilkinsonEyre to design experiential $268 million London Tunnels makeover

2023-09-28T19:40:00-04:00

WilkinsonEyre has been announced as the architects of a new $268 million adaptive reuse plan that will overhaul a World War II era bomb shelter underneath High Holborn, London into a high-tech immersive tourist destination.

The plan was made possible after the government-run tunnels were made public for the first time in 70 years. Their clients, The London Tunnels Ltd., purchased the nearly mile-long tract with designs on transforming it into a digital experience-laden cavern with the potential for a bar space, restaurant, and exhibits for upwards of two million visitors per year.

The firm’s London Director, Paul Baker, said: “These secret spaces present the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories that helped shape the 20th century, alongside awe-inspiring digital immersive experiences.”

Image: DBOX courtesy of WilkinsonEyre

WilkinsonEyre’s makeover of the 7.6 meter (24.9 foot)-wide spaces will include installing curved screens, scent-emitting technology, a system of pinpoint audio...

Dulwich Picture Gallery to undergo most significant redevelopment in decades, designed by Carmody Groarke and Kim Wilkie

2023-08-10T11:35:00-04:00

London’s Southwark Council has granted approval for the redevelopment of Dulwich Picture Gallery and its gardens. Led by architects Carmody Groarke and landscape artist Kim Wilkie, the project will be the biggest redevelopment of the past two decades for the venue, which originally opened in 1817 as the UK’s first public art gallery.

Image credit: Carmody Groarke

The redevelopment will see a new timber pavilion constructed in the gallery's gardens. Characterized by circular window openings and a timber reciprocal frame roof, the pavilion is intended to serve as a “warm, tactile space for children and families to enjoy.”

Model image credit: Richard Davies

The square form of the pavilion will be angled at 45 degrees to the historic gallery to “reinforce the relationship of the pavilion with the landscape and the two entrances to the site.” Inside, the reciprocal frame roof will filter natural daylight into the center of the cruciform plan, while natural copper canopies will “provide pla...

London’s landmark Marks & Spencer department store gets a new life after court ruling

2023-07-20T17:26:00-04:00

A number of prominent architects had previously voiced their support for retrofitting the century-old store ahead of the inquiry, which began last October at the bequest of Secretary Michael Gove. Gove cited a concern for neighboring landmarks in the vicinity as part of his decision to strike down the retailer's demolition scheme in addition to its potential "lifetime carbon usage."

According to a report today in Bloomberg CityLab, "Marks & Spencer Group Plc will review its future as a fixture on London’s Oxford Street after losing government backing for a plan to demolish its flagship art deco store and rebuild a modern replacement [...] The case is a major win for the campaign group, which argued the 'handsome' building should be retrofitted rather than demolished, on the grounds that it would have a much lower environmental impact."

Advocates, including SAVE Britain's Heritage, hope the ruling will establish precedents by which the future of two dozen or so other "high street ti...

3XN GXN and British Land share new transformation project of London's Euston Tower

2023-07-13T13:57:00-04:00

3XN GXN, alongside property development company British Land, has announced that they are leading the redevelopment of London’s Euston Tower. Built in 1970, the commercial high-rise was viewed as a cutting-edge office space. However, changing tenancy needs have seen a gradual reduction in its inhabitants, leading to the building’s vacancy in 2021.

The aim for the renewed Euston Tower is to transform it into a pioneering, welcoming, net-zero workspace in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter. The project falls in line with the sustainability goals and expertise of British Land, the Greater London Authority and Borough of Camden, and 3XN GXN. As noted in a release, the joint vision for the project sets out to lead the way in low-carbon retrofit and construction techniques, as well as using inclusive design to support the workspaces and local community.

Image courtesy of 3XN GXN.

As stated by 3XN Senior Partner Audun Opdal, “We are proud to work on this highly progressive project and...

Foster + Partners' newest Apple Store opens at Battersea Power Station in London

2023-06-21T18:24:00-04:00

Apple has officially opened the doors to its newest store in the UK, located at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station, which has undergone an extensive overhaul to convert the building from a former coal-fired power station to a high-end shopping, commercial and residential development.

The Foster + Partners-designed storefront is located on the first floor of the Battersea Power Station, which opened last fall, and marks Apple’s 40th store in the United Kingdom. The Station is also the site of the tech company’s new UK headquarters, which will house 3,000 employees in 500,000 square feet worth of office space.

Image courtesy Apple

As stated by Apple in a news release, the newly opened store was built with universal design principles with the aim of making it an inviting and accessible space. This is reflected through its access routes for wheelchair users, enhanced visual and acoustic clarity, expanded assisted listening systems, as well as its varied table and seating heights.

Image courtesy Apple

Additionally, the company says Apple Battersea is operationally carbon-neutral and runs entirely on renewable energy.

Inside the new BAFTA headquarters by Benedetti Architects

2023-06-20T19:54:00-04:00

Benedetti Architects has offered an insight into the new headquarters for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in London. The Grade II listed building has seen a comprehensive expansion and re-design with a budget of £33 million (USD 42 million).

Photo credit: Jim Stephenson

Photo credit: Rory Mulvey

The resulting 26,500-square-foot revamp includes “state-of-the-art spaces with maximum flexibility, balancing the charity’s educational work with members’ needs and revenue.” The design included accessibility and systems upgrades, including a doubled WC capacity and enhanced fire safety, energy performance, acoustics, thermal comfort, and useability.

Photo credit: Thomas Alexander

Photo credit: Luca Piffaretti

Facilities within the building include two theaters holding 227 and 41 seats, respectively, as well as a banqueting hall, four kitchens, multi-purpose event and exhibition spaces, a members’ bar and restaurant area, a new skylit boardroom containing historic materia...

The Royal Academy's 2023 Architecture Room celebrates 'the art of making and the hand-made'

2023-06-14T17:39:00-04:00

The Peter Barber-curated Royal Academy of Arts summer Architecture Room has opened in London, featuring an exhibition focusing on the role of craftsmanship in architecture.

The room plays into the 2023 Summer Exhibition's greater theme put forth by academician and curator David Remfry, who says his focus was inspired by the famous adage to “Only Connect” as taken from novelist E.M. Forster’s 1910 masterpiece Howard’s End.

A selection of studio models, drawings, maquettes, sketches, and other objects comprise the Architecture Room exhibition, which is on view until August 20th in the RA’s Burlington House main gallery.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pete, bloke, Aarchitect (@peterbarber12)

The 2022 Soane Medalist Barber previously stated his intentions of “focusing on the art of making and the hand-made within the design process, which can often be overlooked in the digital age." The works selected, therefore, demonstrate “[an] experimental, provocati...

Lina Ghotmeh's 2023 Serpentine Pavilion serves the community an invitation to 'dwell together'

2023-06-07T03:00:00-04:00

Lina Ghotmeh’s 2023 Serpentine Pavilion design makes its official debut this week in London. For the 22nd contribution to the summer pavilion series, the Lebanese-born and Paris-based architect showcases a design that highlights aspirations towards community gathering in a manner that speaks to the importance of building relationships while "inviting us to convene, sit down, think, share, and celebrate exchanges."

The design for À table (whose name in French means to call and invite those to sit together for conversation and a meal) is a lightweight, pleated canopy roof that references the structure of a palm leaf. The design of the space aims to "respond to the surrounding tree canopies," while the internal wooden beans are meant to "emerge as thin tree trunks" encompassing the pavilion. The detailed, plant-like cut-out patterns of the panels assist in providing natural light and ventilation in the pavilion as it surrounds a concentric series of tables that sit within the pavilion...

Squire & Partners co-founder Michael Squire passes away aged 77

2023-05-10T13:07:00-04:00

Influential English architect Michael Squire has passed away at the age of 77 following a short illness, his firm reported this week.

The Squire & Partners co-founder began his career working for his father Raglan abroad in the mid-1970s before going on to start the firm with Paul Harrison in 1976. From there, the practice evolved into one of London’s leading names, creating a number of award-winning projects in different sectors over the proceeding three decades, including the Chelsea Barracks master plan, One Tower Bridge, and the Clarges Estate in Mayfair.

The firm’s own move into an outdated Edwardian-era department store in Brixton became one of the most heralded adaptive reuse office projects in the industry in recent memory, establishing for others and for themselves a home inside a four-level space that includes a members club, downstairs public gallery, studios, and the display of the annual Winter Windows competition, which provides local primary school pupils with the opp...

RIBA pauses 66 Portland Place renovation for a year

2023-05-04T16:54:00-04:00

RIBA’s well-publicized overhaul of its longtime 66 Portland Place headquarters building has been put off for at least a year, according to a report published today in the Architects’ Journal.

London-based Benedetti Architects has been in charge of the £20 million ($25 million) renewal scheme, which was supposed to entail a thorough interior remodeling to include a host of modern amenities, including a broadcasting center, for its members and House of Architecture initiative. RIBA President Simon Allford described the project as being both “urgent and essential” at the time of its announcement.

The firm had been selected by the organization over a group of shortlisted submissions that included Hugh Broughton Architects, Hall McKnight, David Kohn Architects, Roz Barr Architects, Feix&Merlin, and four others. A spokesperson for RIBA told AJ they are “reviewing the Stage 1 feasibility study and exploring funding options for a significant capital project.”

Earlier on Archinect: RIBA is ...

Royal College of Art launches CLIMAVORE x Jameel partnership with Cooking Sections for unique sustainability research

2023-04-04T17:12:00-04:00

A new three-year partnership between the Royal College of Art (RCA), nonprofit Community Jameel, and the London-based former Turner Prize nominees Cooking Sections has been announced by the institution in the hopes of using architecture as a tool to advance our knowledge of agriculture-related sustainability practices in the built environment.

The school’s new CLIMAVORE x Jameel partnership will focus on two projects which “reimagine how we eat as human activity changes the climate by developing new methodologies and enhancing policies around the globe.”

The initiative is being led by Cooking Sections co-founders Alon Schwabe and Daniel Fernández Pascual. The RCA says they will look to leverage “architectural and artistic investigative tools, education and action to advance ecological networks beyond current understandings of sustainability, and produce new knowledge around food and climate justice.”

Both projects will offer research fellowship opportunities to postgraduate students...

Richard Rogers’ Channel 4 headquarters gains Grade II-listed status in London

2023-04-03T11:58:00-04:00

Following an advocacy campaign by Historic England, the UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently granted Grade II-listed status to Richard Rogers Partnership’s 1994 Channel 4 headquarters building in Westminster, London, answering some concerns as to its future after the property was targeted for a private sell-off by the struggling broadcaster just last year.

The group’s official entry praised it as a demonstrative and highly sophisticated design that displayed all the key elements of the High-Tech movement while functioning rather seamlessly as the flexible first home of the country’s high-brow intellectual mainstay.

Historic England cited this status also in terms of its cultural significance, emphasizing its early-90s commissioning came on the heels of Rogers’ seminal Lloyd’s Building and stating that it was one of the “most significant” UK projects of the Italian-born Briti...