Archinect - News

Is it the end of the pole for Brighton's i360 attraction?

2024-12-02T17:58:00-05:00

UK media outlets report that Brighton's i360 tourist attraction has filed for administration. Initially launched as "British Airways i360," the seaside 531-foot moving observation tower had great expectations of attracting huge crowds pinned on it when it opened in August 2016 as a "vertical pier." (Critic Oliver Wainwright mocked it as a "great throbbing shaft" in his opening review.) The structure was designed by Marks Barfield, the architects behind the famed London Eye attraction.

Operator Brighton i360 Ltd has reportedly accrued £51 million ($65 million USD) in debt.

Previously on Archinect: A "great throbbing shaft": Oliver Wainwright on Brighton's British Airways i360 tower. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Hassocks5489 (Public Domain)

Rowan Moore: UK architects should look elsewhere for council housing inspiration

2024-11-25T17:59:00-05:00

In Britain, as our government has promised, we’re going to have a “council housing revolution”, the building of as yet unknown numbers of homes at genuinely affordable rents, a return to policies of 50 and more years ago in order to address the well-known housing crisis. Which is welcome. Luckily there are, close at hand, outstanding examples of how this might be done, in cities and countries on the continent of Europe.

Moore points to Vienna, the city known for its ambitious development model for social housing, and Barcelona as two examples of what he says is a healthy "willingness to experiment" to be applied back home in the UK. The new Labour Party government has promised to usher in a "revolution" in council housing to deliver the up to 100,000 new homes needed per year to match current needs that have been made worse for years by bad policies and a lack of funding.

The same set of issues are plaguing efforts back across the pond in New York City, where Moore's American counterpart Michael Kimmelman recently considered some "radical" alternatives being pursued as part of NYCHA's complicated new plans.

RIBA's House of Architecture plans become clearer with updated Benedetti proposal

2024-11-20T18:05:00-05:00

Plans for the upcoming restoration of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Place headquarters in London have become clearer with the release of an updated proposal detailing the scope of work on the new House of Architecture project.

Benedetti Architects will be leading the project, which was won in 2022 after a short competition. The estimated £58.8 million (about $74.3 million USD) effort will enable full accessibility throughout all 28 levels of the 90-year-old Art Deco building while removing extant fossil fuel-dependent systems to support a push toward net zero. The original George Grey Wornum design has been protected under a historic Grade II* listing since 1970.

Image courtesy Benedetti Architects/RIBA

RIBA says: "[The] House of Architecture brings together three critical areas of our work that need investment, and will deliver on improvements that are fundamental to RIBA’s ongoing mission."

The project adds a new café while reinstating the building’s ...

University of Salford confirms demolition plans for first Stirling Prize winner

2024-11-13T11:04:00-05:00

CNN has confirmed the planned demolition of Stephen Hodder‘s RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Centenary Building at the University of Salford. A spokesperson from the university told the network: "While the Centenary Building has been part of our university estate for a number of decades, unfortunately its ageing infrastructure means it no longer meets modern standards and requirements. It has now been vacant for a third of its built life."

Speaking to his former client's plans for the building, which was the first RIBA Stirling winner in 1996, Hodder told AJ: "For a university that promotes its sustainability credentials, the intention to demolish surely undermines the credibility of its policy. We urge it to reconsider, and hope the architectural community and wider industry collectively exclaim its concerns."

University administrators had previously floated the idea of repurposing it into a K-12 facility before deciding on the demolition.

Renowned architectural critic and historian Joseph Rykwert passes away aged 98

2024-11-08T10:01:00-05:00

British architectural historian Joseph Rykwert has died. The influential academic and writer who was considered to be a leading critical voice of his generation, taking aim at the banality of modernism and its encroachments on the urban sphere, lived to be 98 according to his New York Times obituary.

Rykwert was the 2014 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture winner and author of more than a dozen texts on architecture and design. He also enjoyed a long and successful tenure as the Paul Philippe Cret Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. His death follows the passing of colleagues Anthony Vidler and Jean-Louis Cohen last year.

RIBA’s President-elect Chris Williamson pens defense of architectural competitions

2024-11-04T13:36:00-05:00

I find that competitions are stimulating, exciting and keep up the momentum of thinking and exploring. [...] I have often had difficulty convincing my Partners who are much less supportive of the competition process and much more prone to the disappointment of not winning. For me not winning is not taking part. Losing is learning. And I’ve learnt a lot.

Competitions are an essential part of professional practice and academia, dating to antiquity and counting even the Acropolis in Athens as one of their numerous contributions to at least Western culture and society. Williamson mentions his participation with the Norman Foster Foundation on the new Rebuild Kharkiv competition, saying it was a valuable learning opportunity. The post nonetheless garnered a considerable amount of backlash online—including a comment from popular UK architect Sarah Wigglesworth—who criticized their role in perpetuating a bad architectural culture and usury relationship with clients.

Biodiverse natural pond swimming pools are gaining in popularity

2024-11-03T08:00:00-05:00

Unlike traditional swimming pools, which contain chlorine, natural pools rely on plants and rocks for filtration instead. An underwater retaining wall separates the swimming area (where humans — and sometimes fish — swim) from the regenerative zone, which closely resembles wetlands filled with aquatic plants like water lilies or water lotus. Pumps, and sometimes waterfalls, keep the water moving, and the rocks and skimmers filter sediment and large debris.

The alternative pools gained popularity in the UK before the trend was imported here. Costs range from between $50,000 to $200,000 to install and have the added bonus of self-winterization. One drawback might be the intrusion of some unwanted animal guests; however, the Times says: "Natural pools are considered lower maintenance, too, because owners don’t need to add chlorine once a week to the water. Other issues may arise, such as too much algae, but generally, it comes down to the plants, which can be thinned out."

Farshid Moussavi one of ten appointed to Mayor of London’s new Town Architects committee

2024-10-29T15:53:00-04:00

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced the appointment of Harvard GSD professor and architect Farshid Moussavi to a new two-year pilot program to improve public space and high streets in the city.

The Town Architects program includes ten total names and is meant to "support the creation of safe, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods and economic growth by ensuring that boroughs" by augmenting the planning process in unison with Chief Placeshaping Officers and Design Champions. Each architect was chosen from the existing Design Advocates pool. Joining Moussavi are Jas Bhalla, Adam Khan, Ken Okonkwo, Holly Lewis, Hilary Satchwell, Paul Monaghan, Tom Holbrook, Alice Fung, Julian Lewis.

AA School of Architecture students construct timber 'Tree and Truss' structure using robotic fabrication

2024-10-29T12:19:00-04:00

A new student-led project from the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) that combines robotic fabrication processes with new software applications has been shared with Archinect as part of the school's Design + Make 2022-24 cohort.

Image: courtesy Design + Make course Architectural Association/Photographer Rafael Ferres Echavarren

The 'Tree and Truss' project is a mass timber structure made from locally sourced materials and designed to support the columns and trusses of a new lecture hall standing in Hooke Park on the school's Woodland Campus.

Image: courtesy Design + Make course Architectural Association/Photographer Rafael Ferres Echavarren

Together, the students say: "The project explores a hybrid structure that seamlessly transitions from natural geometry to engineered timber and regards the tree as column and the truss as beam as the fundamental points of departure. We design through making and aim to work with the material behavior of timber."

Image: courtesy ...

Rowan Moore reviews new 'Difficult Sites' exhibition on challenging architectural parameters

2024-10-22T12:02:00-04:00

This small but rewarding show is a celebration of architectural skill and ingenuity, spurred on by whatever complexities might arise. Its exhibits include models and drawings supplied by contemporary practices, and taken (albeit, regrettably, only as reproductions) from RIBA’s collections. Some projects seek to soar above the mucky stuff. Others embrace the difficulties, making them into an occasion to create something that would never otherwise have come into being.

Speaking to the more than 20 building projects selected for the show, Moore added: "The qualities of thought on display are as relevant as ever, as the physical demands of climate emergency, and the challenges of providing new housing on a restricted supply of land, bring a whole new level of difficulty to bear. In these circumstances, design is not a luxury but a necessity. It’s beyond the scope of the RIBA exhibition to propose how these vaster challenges can be met, but it demonstrates creative intelligence that can be applied to more than the occasional delightful home."

If you're feeling up to the challenge, 'Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds', which opened on October 11th, will remain on view until March 25th, 2025 at the RIBA Architecture Gallery in London.

London's new Elizabeth Line project wins the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize

2024-10-16T17:00:00-04:00

The 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize — the annual honor of the UK's best new architecture — has been conferred to the London Underground system's new Elizabeth Line designs from Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis.

The official jury citation mentions ten separate Underground stations and their "platform architecture, passenger tunnels, escalators, station concourses, signage, furniture, fittings, finishes and supporting technology" as the fundaments of the "intuitive, frictionless experience" offered by it to the capital's transit users.

The Elizabeth Line, London Underground, by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis. Image: Hufton + Crow

The new Crossrail, which was renamed to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II, was inaugurated in May of 2022 after a massive $25 billion infrastructure investment and covers a large swath of Central London while connecting to the Great Western Main Line and Great Eastern Main Line of the National Rail.

The Elizabeth Line, London Underground,...

UK Architects Registration Board announces proposal to overhaul registration for international architects

2024-10-04T13:06:00-04:00

The UK’s Architects Registration Board (ARB) has announced its intent to issue major overhauls to its registration process for non-UK architects wishing to pursue work within the country.

The organization is now in the process of pursuing a public consultancy that will seek to eliminate demonstrated knowledge gaps while streamlining the number of examinations and outsourcing their administration. The proposed changes apply to the Prescribed Exam and UK Adaptation Assessment, the latter being a prerequisite for architects seeking to join the UK register through via the ARB’s international agreements with the United States, Australia/New Zealand, and Hong Kong.

The changes break down into one of five categories:

Competence-based assessment 

Assessment would be based on ARB’s Academic and Practice Outcomes (in place of the outgoing Criteria)
It would assess equivalent competence and UK context-specific knowledge (instead of equivalent qualifications)

Single gateway 

There would be a sin...

Final report into Grenfell Tower fire says architect 'bears a very significant degree of responsibility for the disaster'

2024-09-04T11:46:00-04:00

Over seven years after fire engulfed London’s Grenfell Tower killing 72 people, a public inquiry into the disaster has released its final report. The Grenfell Inquiry’s report has uncovered a chain of failures across government and the private sector, including an architecture firm, beginning a full 25 years before the 2017 fire. The report ultimately found that all 72 deaths were avoidable.

The 1,700-page report, which brings to a close the six-year public inquiry, said that cladding products were “by far the largest contributor” to the fire and that the product manufacturers had engaged in “systemic dishonesty” using “deliberate and sustained strategies” to make their products safe.

U.S. manufacturer Arconic, whose cladding panels were used on the tower’s exterior, were found to have “deliberately concealed” safety risks. While fire tests Arconic commissioned showed the cladding performed poorly, such information was not given to a key British certification company.

An additional ...

East London blaze reignites cladding fears as Grenfell investigation grinds on

2024-08-26T18:34:00-04:00

More than 80 people had to be evacuated after a major fire broke out in east London early Monday, fire officials said. The blaze brought back painful memories of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people in the city in 2017. The Dagenham building had “a number of fire safety issues” officials said. Notably, the mixed-use building had “noncompliant cladding,” according to a 2023 application for construction work.

Responding to the Dagenham fire, the Times reported Grenfell United as saying, "This highlights the painfully slow progress of remediation across the country, and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole." In a truly painful precursor, the yearslong criminal inquiry into the deadly 2017 fire is expected to release its final report in less than two weeks. The Times cited a separate government source in claiming there are currently 3,280 buildings over three stories in the UK thought to still have unsafe cladding.

Criminal charges stemming from the Grenfell incident won't be brought against defendants until at least late 2026, according to the most recent update. Another Monday fire was also widely covered in the nearby New Providence Wharf Estate, though no injuries were reported.

Foster + Partners chairs Trailblazer Group, the UK's first model maker apprenticeship program

2024-08-22T11:58:00-04:00

A brand new apprenticeship opportunity will grant aspiring workers in the UK's architecture industry the chance to learn professional model-making skills in an initiative chaired by Foster + Partners in collaboration with a group of other British universities and design firms. The three-year Trailblazer Group program is officially a Level 6 qualification (equivalent to a bachelor's degree).

Apprentices will earn a salary and other benefits while they learn. As the firm's announcement notes, this is meant to spur greater diversity in the profession. It coincides with the movement to reform pathways into architecture that has recently been taken up by RIBA and factored extensively in the body of fundamental overhauls proposed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) last year.

UK adaptive reuse research lab achieves first-ever perfect BREEAM score

2024-08-20T17:06:00-04:00

A recently completed project in Oxford, United Kingdom has earned distinction as the first-ever in the country to obtain a 100% BREAAM score for its environmental credentials.

Image: courtesy CMP Architects

The 43,745-square-foot scheme from CMP Architects created valuable lab space for research & development and mid-tech inside a decommissioned natural gas warehouse for developers Wrenbridge and Buccleuch. EV charging stations, green-roofed bicycle shelters, and a sheltering brise soleil added flourish to a list of sustainable design features that includes a rooftop PV array, air source heat pumps, PIR lighting sensors, and efficient water fittings. The London-based firm Eight Versa served as the projects’ BREEAM consultants.

Image: courtesy CMP Architects

It surpasses what is thought to be the previous record-holder, the Architecten en Bouwmeesters-designed Geelen Counterflow headquarters in the Netherlands, which received a 99.94% rating after completion. The centerpiece of England...

Are New Towns really the best new hope for ending the UK housing crisis?

2024-08-19T17:45:00-04:00

Last month, the [UK] government announced a task force to develop a strategy for new towns — settlements of more than 10,000 homes — and make recommendations for their locations within a year. The government has not set a target for the number of towns and acknowledges that they will take a long time to deliver.

Britain, short on more than four million homes, is mulling a revival of its post-war New Towns after a decisive Labour Party victory vaulted progressive leadership into power with a mandate to combat its ongoing housing crisis. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently told the BBC that he is a self-identifying YIMBY who wants to "bulldoze" planning rules and overrule local-led resistance to get it done. The strategy, which preceded a new plan central to Kamala Harris’ Presidential campaign, could still regrettably wind up hemmed in by a notoriously parochial planning process which, nevertheless, gifted the world with Milton Keynes and other important architecture.

His deputy Angela Rayner says the list of sites to be developed won't be revealed until the end of this year. RIBA's President Muyiwa Oki has said at the outset that their plan "offers overarching solutions, but lacks critical detail on delivering social housing and futureproofing existing homes."

UNESCO assessing impact of skyscrapers on Tower of London

2024-08-07T19:29:00-04:00

The Tower of London’s status as a world heritage site may be at risk due to the influx of new skyscrapers in central London. UNESCO has requested that the UK government submit a State of Conservation Report that addresses the historic site’s preservation and the threat of increased high-rise buildings in the area. As reported by the BBC, a UNESCO spokesperson said the request was due to concerns about “cumulative impacts” from nearby high-rise developments and insufficient protection of the Tower’s “outstanding universal value”.

Previously on Archinect: The City of London skyline is expected to add these eleven towers by 2030

Concerns were initially raised by the English historic preservation body, Historic England, regarding City Plan 2040, the City of London Corporation’s (CLC) draft policies for new office, residential buildings, and overall development. Historic England believes these policies are likely to “severely harm” the likes of the Tower of London. On the other hand, depu...

'Cool roofs' found to be most effective in combatting urban heat, Bartlett study says

2024-07-31T20:17:00-04:00

Researchers at the University College London have put forth a new argument in favor of a simple solution to combating the issue of extreme heat in cities without air conditioning. The so-called “cool roof” method they found had the best mitigation performance metrics over others surveyed (green roofs, A/C, solar panels, and street-level plant integrations), reducing heat by between 1.3 and 2 degrees Celsius when applied in the right conditions.

Lead author Dr. Oscar Brousse of the UCL Bartlett School Environment, Energy & Resources said: “We comprehensively tested multiple methods that cities like London could use to adapt to and mitigate warming temperatures, and found that cool roofs were the best way to keep temperatures down during extremely hot summer days. Other methods had various important side benefits, but none were able to reduce outdoor urban heat to nearly the same level.”

The findings will of course have bearings on public health and urban design efforts outside of Lo...

UK gov't cancels long-controversial highway tunnel project near Stonehenge

2024-07-30T16:59:00-04:00

The British government’s plans to construct a new two-mile underground tunnel near the Stonehenge UNESCO World Heritage site have been called off in what’s being framed as a major victory for preservationists.

The BBC has more on the late budgetary decision, which ends a yearslong legal back-and-forth between local campaigners and National Highways. The issue had, at one point, threatened its protected status. A campaigner with Stonehenge Alliance told The Art Newspaper: "This entire monstrous project, a proposal to drive a gash of concrete and tarmac through our most sacred prehistoric landscape, should never have got off the drawing board."

First renderings of KPF's major 8 Canada Square overhaul

2024-07-18T16:53:00-04:00

The plan from Kohn Pedersen Fox for a major redevelopment of the 42-story Norman Foster-designed 8 Canada Square tower in London (opened in 2003 and currently leased by HSBC) has gone public for the first time.

The project, which commences in 2027, is expected to be realized at 1.1 million square feet and showcase the most up-to-date workspaces along with a suite of amenities for workers, including leisure, entertainment, education, and cultural attractions.

Image copyright Kiasm, courtesy of KPF

KPF Design Principal Elie Gamburg said her team views this as an opportunity to “reimagine the single-use office building as a blueprint for the highly sustainable, mixed-use building of the future.” Plans are to have it serve as a connection between the nearby Elizabeth Line station and Canada Square Park. Some of the changes proposed (as noted below) are a complete retrofitting of the building envelope, plus the addition of two large setbacks and outdoor terraces leading to a rooftop vie...

Grimshaw launches new building decarbonization platform called Minoro

2024-07-15T12:18:00-04:00

UK mainstay Grimshaw has announced the launch of a new online platform that will help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings. It follows a two-year development phase that relied on the support of 20 other industry organizations, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, RIBA, Architecture 2030, and the World Green Building Council.

Minoro is a free resource that provides links and access to more than 1,000 "policies, guidance and methodologies" related to decarbonization. The firm says this centralization enables design teams and other stakeholders to set targets and develop clear, informed actions across every stage of the building's life cycle.

Related Feature on Archinect: The U.S. Just Defined a Zero Emissions Building: Is It Enough?

Paul Toyne, the Sustainability Lead at Grimshaw, promised that it "brings, for the first time, all the key information to help tackle carbon in our buildings together in one place, but will also, importantly, bring team...

Liverpool redevelopment scheme wins revived Carbuncle Cup as Britain's 'worst new building'

2024-06-24T18:10:00-04:00

The unfortunate "winner" of the UK’s Carbuncle Cup, which annually celebrates the country’s most detested new architecture, has been announced as the 2019 Liverpool Lime Street redevelopment scheme from Broadway Malyan. The contest, which is presented by the London-based magazine The Fence, was revived for 2024 after a six-year hiatus following BDP’s Redrock Stockport "victory" in 2018.

What can be said about this monstrosity? The magazine describes: "This mass-scale redevelopment demolished a century of businesses and buildings, replacing them with sheet-metal etchings of the cinemas and bars that once stood. Behind that façade, much like everything else in Liverpool, is a 412-bed student accommodation block and a 101-room Premier Inn hotel — two new additions that the city’s residents have never asked for or benefited from."

The outcome might play into the hands of advocates pushing leaders to save the century-old Marks & Spencer department store on Oxford Street in London, a ca...

First photos of Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies' 2024 Serpentine Pavilion

2024-06-05T13:15:00-04:00

London's annual Serpentine Pavilion is gearing up for its grand opening on Friday with a first preview of this year's completed design by Korean architect Minsuk Cho.

Envisioned together with his Seoul-based firm Mass Studies, the 23rd annual summer pavilion, titled Archipelagic Void, departs from the tradition of a single-structure installation and is, instead, comprised of five thematic 'islands' arranged around a central void, inspired by traditional Korean madang courtyards.

Serpentine Pavilion 2024, Archipelagic Void, designed by Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies © Mass Studies Photo: Iwan Baan Courtesy: Serpentine

Acting as the main pavilion entry, the Gallery will feature a six-channel sound installation envisioned by musician and composer Jang Young-Gyu, presenting The Willow <버들은> during the summer months and Moonlight <월정명> in the fall.

Serpentine Pavilion 2024, Archipelagic Void, designed by Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies © Mass Studies Photo: Iwan Baan Courtesy: Serpentine

Located in th...

Rowan Moore picks his Stirling Prize top contenders for 2024

2024-06-04T12:53:00-04:00

The big beasts of London’s Elizabeth line and King’s Cross redevelopment loom large, but newly announced regional contenders for this year’s prize should include a classy Cambridge dining hall, an all-timber office block and a wheelchair-friendly rural retreat

While the official announcement of the annual Stirling Prize for the best new building in the UK is still months away (find the results here in October), architecture critic Rowan Moore just published his customary hot take on the contenders that have been released so far.

Picking from a field of well over 100 RIBA regional award winners, Moore acknowledged the importance of high-profile London megaprojects, such as King’s Cross and the Elizabeth Line, and praised lesser-known but worthy designs, including Níall McLaughlin's Auckland Castle, the Waugh Thistleton-led Black & White Building, the Homerton College dining hall by Feilden Fowles, and Clementine Blakemore's Wraxall Yard.

The thoughtful design for a London elder care facility by Mæ took home last year's Stirling Prize top honor.

Grenfell fire inquiry won't produce criminal charges until at least 2026, investigators say

2024-05-24T12:30:00-04:00

No criminal charges will be filed against defendants in the ongoing Grenfell Tower fire investigation until at least late 2026, according to the latest from the BBC and other UK outlets. London's Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service, which is responsible for administering criminal punishments, cited the "scale and complexity" of the investigation as the reason for the delay. A number of subcontractors and contractors, including the cladding manufacturer Arconic, are the subjects of the criminal inquiry.

Kingspan, the insulation makers for the tower, have settled out of court for £150 million ($191 million USD). The BBC says: "The delay announced today means it is likely no defendants will appear in court until 2027, if there are prosecutions. The public inquiry into the fire is expected to publish its final report in the summer or autumn of this year."

UK Housing Secretary issues final go-ahead for Museum of London and Bastion House demolition

2024-05-21T16:05:00-04:00

The UK's Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove has approved the planned demolition of the Museum of London building and Bastion House near the Barbican. The go-ahead makes way for the revised Sheppard Robson and Diller Scofidio + Renfro-led scheme that would deliver a new office block to the site following the culmination of demolition work in 2033.

The decision marks the end of a tumultuous back-and-forth between preservationists and the planning authority. Many have criticized the demolition's carbon footprint, despite the design team's promise to reuse 90% of the materials on-site in the construction of the new building, prompting Gove to issue an Article 31 order last month before casting his final approval on May 17th.

Previously on Archinect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Sheppard Robson's London Centre for Music replacement inches closer after planners grant local approval

Barbican Quarter Action (or BQA), the main group leading its opposition, has said to Londonist that t...

Heatherwick's 'Humanise' campaign inspires 'joyful' architecture degree at UK university

2024-05-15T18:01:00-04:00

The UK’s Loughborough University has accepted Thomas Heatherwick's challenge to ‘humanize’ and create ‘joyful’ architecture with a new academic offering: A master's degree aiming to give students the opportunity to take part in a burgeoning movement created to solve a global “urban crisis” over the next decade. The 115-year-old university will become the first to affiliate itself with the Humanise campaign academically with new supplementary course content exclusive to its new Master of Architecture & Design program.

Courses will leverage research into architecture, neuroscience, and human psychology in accord with Heatherwick’s philosophy of design, which was recently the subject of a new treatise of the same title. The program's official launch is slated for the fall of 2025 and includes a series of lectures and workshops exploring the idea of emotion as a function of design, an announcement from the university read Tuesday.

Dr Robert Schmidt III of the School of Architecture, Bui...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Sheppard Robson's London Centre for Music replacement inches closer after planners grant local approval

2024-04-30T13:45:00-04:00

The revised Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Sheppard Robson-led scheme at the Barbican in Central London reportedly gained planning approvals from the City of London’s planning body. The news came last week (April 17th) after UK Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove remanded an Article 31 order calling on the local committee to pause its process in light of pushbacks against the planned demolition of the existing Bastion House and the former Museum of London that is an integral part of the scheme.

Previously on Archinect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveil designs for London Centre for Music replacement

Yahoo! Finance UK quoted a spokesperson from the group Barbican Quarter Actiorn as saying the demolition would be “injurious to the future of people and the planet,” adding, “We continue to believe that this great City can and should do better and that it should retain and adapt these fine buildings in line with its own policies on sustainable development.”

If approved by Gove’s o...

Heatherwick Studio tops out UK pharma hub with curving timber structure

2024-04-25T11:56:00-04:00

Heatherwick Studio has offered a construction update on its design for the UCB Windlesham Surrey Science Research Hub in the United Kingdom. When completed, the building will serve as a hub for the Belgian biopharmaceutical company UCB.

In new photos released by the firm, the project's cross-laminated timber structure can be seen following its recent topping out. The CLT structure, described by Heatherwick Studio as “possibly one of the most complicated CLT structures in Europe,” took two years of design and eight months of construction to deliver. The novelty of the structure comes from its curved form, which serves not only as the main structure but the feature finish for the building.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Heatherwick Studio (@officialheatherwickstudio)

Designed in collaboration with executive architect Veretec, the three-story timber extension will be partially submerged into the site’s existing campus, connecting various wings of UCB’s R...