Archinect - News

Leading architect John McAslan turns his attention from Haiti to Tottenham

2014-01-06T14:38:00-05:00

The Scottish designer, a former colleague of Richard Rogers, is to open what is believed to be the first architect's studio on Tottenham High Road, opposite the police station where protests spilled over into riots in 2011 that spread across English cities. McAslan's vision is simple: he wants to train local youngsters as architectural apprentices and give them control over their home areas.

"In the process, he hopes to help rectify a major imbalance in the make-up of the UK's architectural profession that has hardly improved since the murder two decades ago of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager who wanted to study architecture."

Constructive criticism: the week in architecture

2011-08-12T16:03:54-04:00

In a week dominated by images of buildings burning to the ground, there have been at least a few people out there still building the things. The press was granted a preview of King's Cross station's new concourse, ahead of its opening in time for the Olympics next year. Designed by architect John McAslan, it is a majestically conceived space which stands alongside the Grade 1-listed sheds and replaces the cramped and grotty 1960s extension that currently serves as the station's entrance.

The UK riots: Is architecture irrelevant?

2011-08-11T18:22:50-04:00

The role that architecture plays in all of this is of course limited. New business eventually accrued from rebuilding destroyed buildings will have a negligible effect on the construction economy. So far the London riots have claimed two historic landmarks, the Victorian cottages at Croydon’s Reeves Corner (1867) and Tottenham’s Art Deco Union Point (1930), both of which survived the Blitz.