Archinect - News

22 projects shortlisted for the Don't Move, Improve 2021 awards

2021-05-21T18:49:00-04:00

The Don't Move, Improve Awards is an annual program organized by New London Architecture highlighting the city's best new home extensions and celebrate innovative home improvement projects. In its eleventh year, each selected winner demonstrates "how a well-designed home can improve quality of life, offer functional solutions on the smallest of sites, and create beautiful spaces even within the most restricted of budgets."

Below are this year's shortlist winners and a selection of project images.

A Cloistered House by Turner Architects. Image courtesy of NLA

A CLOISTERED HOUSE by TURNER ARCHITECTS
AMOTT ROAD by ALEXANDER OWEN ARCHITECTURE
CLAIRE AND TOM'S HOME by ZMINKOWSKA DE BOISE ARCHITECTS
COUNCIL HOUSE RENOVATION by VATRAA
ELMFIELD ROAD by ECKFORD CHONG

Elmfield Road by Eckford Chong. Image courtesy of NLA

ER Residence by Studio Hallett Ike. Image courtesy of NLA

ER RESIDENCE by STUDIO HALLETT IKE
FRUIT BOX by NIMTIM ARCHITECTS
GRAIN HOUSE by HAYHURST AND CO

Grain House by Hayhurst and Co...

Archinect's Virtual Event Guide for the week of June 16-20th

2020-06-16T12:01:00-04:00

This week's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, address collaboration, manifestos, architectural media, Adolf Loos, games, female architects of color, public space post-pandemic, bamboo architecture, Syria, and more...

Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview? Happy Hour? Submit it for consideration by clicking here.

Are you an expert in an arena that's especially important right now? Let us know if you would like to work with Archinect to host an online event.

Knowledge is Power
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM BST
New London Architecture's Curator-in-Chief Peter Murray interviews architect Clare Wright on the power of archives and special collections in illustrating the enduring Church-State relationship against the backdrop of Lambeth Palace Library.
Click here to attend and/or register

With Power comes great Responsibility
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM BST
There has never been a more important time to...

Project Profile: 'Pitch Perfect'

2017-12-15T18:34:00-05:00

Each year, the NLA (New London Architecture) runs a competition celebrating the best in home extensions and improvements. Now in its seventh year, the 2018 shortlist shows more than ever the value of good design in home improvements, and how architects can work with tight constraints to create an intrinsically unique solution to a family situation.

Photo: Anna+Tam © nimtim architects ltd

Nimtim’s shortlisted project is no exception; a young family needing extra space, privacy, and addressing this on a multi-levelled site. The result is a modern, sleek echo of the adjoining terraced roofscape, and a considered approach to lighting and heating within this elegant design.

Photo: Anna+Tam © nimtim architects ltd

The use of timber on both the external and the internal creates a cohesion throughout the project, and the way in which the existing ground floor layout of the home has been addressed, gives the impression on the interior that this is not an addition but a natural evolution of t...

Up to 50% of all renting London households are living in poverty

2015-10-02T05:26:00-04:00

According to an insight study performed by the think tank New London Architecture, the dimensions of the London housing crisis are spectacularly bad: 80 percent of all new homes are only affordable to 20 percent of residents, while a near majority of all renting households are living in poverty. The study predicts that the city will add 70,000 residents per year, resulting in a total population of 11 million by 2050 (an increase of 2.4 million from this year's population of 8.6 million).

Billionaire investors aren't helping the housing shortage: 61 percent of all new homes are bought as investments, without any intention of being occupied by the owners. However, not all is lost: London's relatively low urban density makes it an ideal place for increased housing development, provided that the housing can actually be afforded by the people who intend to live in it.

100 renderings of ideas to solve London's housing crisis released

2015-09-17T07:12:00-04:00

The international competition organized by think-tank New London Architecture and the Mayor of London has released 100 renderings of proposed solutions to London's housing crisis. Attracting over 200 entries from 16 countries around the world, the competition includes submissions from respected London-based architectural firms including dRMM, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, and Grimshaw Architects.

The ideas cover a variety of conceptual ground, although the innovative use and repurposing/modification of existing spaces appears in numerous renderings, as shown in the entries of Akira Yamanaka and Hal Architects:

Several proposals make use of the Thames and other waterways to create floating housing, such as these renderings from Baca Architects and dRMM:

Starting on October 15th, the 100 shortlisted entries will be on public display for free at the NLA galleries in The Building Centre near Russell Square, and ten winners will be announced by the end of October. Those winners will be...