Archinect - News

Mosul scheme focuses on housing some of the city’s 900,000 internally displaced people post-liberation

2017-10-31T19:05:00-04:00

A prototype affordable housing scheme for post-Daesh Mosul by Weston Williamson + Partners has received an honourable mention in the Rifat Chadirji Prize. It was the only UK entry among the finalists.

The prototype focuses on housing some of the city’s 900,000 internally displaced people who will be returning to their homes following its liberation. It addresses the long term housing crisis as well as the situation immediate post-occupation and suggests a predominantly autonomous, self-build housing process.

Opportunities for choice and adaptation over time are incorporated, ingraining sustainability through a sense of ownership. People can build what they need as they need it; funding is used more efficiently and more directly.

In the short term, data about the current condition of the city can be gathered through crowd-sourcing mechanisms. Waste material from the city centre can be cleared to the city periphery, to be processed into basic building materials, for a range ...

WW+P designs landmark air-rail link stations for Perth

2017-09-29T11:39:00-04:00

Weston Williamson + Partners in partnership with local architects GHD Woodhead has completed the detailed design stage of all three stations for Perth’s new airport rail link - Belmont, Forrestfield and Airport Central Station.

This landmark transport project will deliver a new rail service to the eastern suburbs of Perth, increasing transport options between the city and foothills, improving access between the city and Perth Airport and driving future developments in the area. The team is now moving on to final design stage for Airport Central, with the line scheduled to open in 2020.

At Airport Central Station the aerodynamic roof shape integrates with the Perth Airport Masterplan and sets the path to the next stage of expansion of the Perth International Airport.

At Belmont Station, particular importance has been placed on ensuring that the development reflects the future high-density nature of the Belmont Masterplan.

In contrast, at Forrestfield Station, the characte...

WW+P-Designed School Opens in Cambodia

2017-06-02T01:03:00-04:00

A new school in rural Cambodia, designed and built pro-bono by Weston Williamson + Partners officially opens on June 1, International Children’s Day.

WW+P worked with Engenuiti, Integration and Building Trust International to design a building which was flexible and adaptable to meet current and future needs. It comprises three additional classrooms, a library and a covered external classroom with a sunken play area, which doubles as a small amphitheatre.

Until now the school in Khyaung village, 40km north east of Phnom Penh City, has catered for 359 pupils aged 3-17 in two old buildings. The lack of accommodation has meant that children travelling from six surrounding villages to this, the area’s only school catering for children up to secondary age, had to attend in shifts, part-time.

From February to April this year, a team of designers from WW+P’s London studio led by architect Abul Mahdi, assisted the local farming community with the construction on a two-week rotation. The tea...

Weston Williamson beats ZHA to win Cairo's 'Science City' Competition.

2016-09-05T11:04:00-04:00

From an experimental vertical-zoo, to a rather demure yacht club in Ullswater, it’s clear that no two Weston Williamson designs are ever approached in the same manner. They are a multiple award winning company, based in London, creating designs across the globe.

Recently, they have beaten Zaha Hadid Architects (amongst many other forerunning practices) in the competition to design Cairo’s ‘Science City’; a complex that will include a planetarium, observation tower, science park and other facilities for learning and research.

The project was instigated by the Bibliotheca Alexandria, who asked candidates to design motivational, exciting interior spaces that were also inspiring on the outside. Their vision was for the winning proposal to embody the human pursuit of science and our unceasing quest for knowledge.

Weston Williamson’s design, which owes a mention to their architect Phil Turner, appears to look like an eye from above; a direct reference to Egyptian culture and history. Visuals...

Architects react to shocking EU referendum result

2016-06-24T11:02:00-04:00

All the progress we have made will now be put on hold and the government’s attention will be diverted while we try and work out how to deal with Brexit. - Rob Naybour, Weston Williamson + Partners

Today marks a historic turning point for the UK and European Union - the UK has voted to quit the EU. What lays ahead no one is really sure; Cameron has already resigned this morning and discussions for a second Scottish referendum have begun.

The majority within the architecture industry have strongly and vocally supported the Remain campaign celebrating the integral role the EU has played in inspiring and funding creative projects, free movement and the benefits of an internal single market. Most importantly community; a community based on respect and support that derived from the desolate situation after World War Two that at its core believed in humanity.

The referendum has revealed some alarming results about the state of the UK, a very clearly divided country. However the decision has been made and we must now face up to these consequences, we must now address what kind of a nation we want to be.

We asked top architects for their reactions to the result and how they think it ...