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According to Architect's Journal (AJ), in a letter published in The Times, Norman Foster – writing as Lord Foster and president of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust – said the ‘power of architecture’ should be used ‘to express our political and economic ambitions’. It comes in... View full entry
It was the year that council housing turned community-minded, King Arthur got a swishy new bridge and the Lake District harboured a gem — The Guardian
Oliver Wainwright, architecture and design critic at The Guardian, picked his top ten projects of the year, including a couple we have also covered on Archinect this year: the energy-efficient and 2019 Stirling Prize-winning Goldsmith Street housing project by Mikhail Riches and Cathy Hawley; and... View full entry
In London, where it is often difficult, if not nearly impossible, to build new ground-up residences, many architectural firms specialize in helping families give their "traditional"-looking homes contemporary updates. Initiatives like New London Architecture (NLA)'s annual "Don't Move... View full entry
It was supposed to be the ultimate symbol of Cool Britannia. Instead it became a nightmare that exposed the spin and hubris of the New Labour project [...] — The Guardian
The Observer's architecture critic, Rowan Moore, revisits the events leading up to the opening night debacle of the Richard Rogers-designed and much hyped, but ultimately failed, London Millennium Dome on January 1st, 2000. "The Millennium Experience that it contained then is dimly remembered... View full entry
In true parametric fashion, Patrik Schumacher and the team at ZHA have designed a striking new look for the lobby of the Southbank Tower in London. Considered to be "one of the UK's most ambitious renovation projects," the office building was completed in 1972 by Richard Seifert and then converted... View full entry
Reopening after a 14-month makeover, the renovated store is a multi-storey expo fitted with the work of [...] artists, which – unlike those collections, and art you'd find in a concept store – is intended to be viewed, rather than purchased. — Elle
Photo: Stephane Muratet, courtesy Louis Vuitton Elle's Sara McAlpine on the rise of 'The Spectacle Store' among luxury retailers and how Louis Vuitton's newly reopened London flagship fits right in. "The face of retail changes so fast," Peter Marino, whose New York-based firm was in charge of the... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2019 With a new school year already here, it's time for Archinect's latest edition of Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back... View full entry
Deep beneath the streets of Clapham, London, in a former air raid shelter, Steve Dring and his colleagues are farming. Vertical farming, that is.
The company Dring co-founded, Growing Underground, is cultivating a wide range of vegetables and herbs in vertically-stacked trays in the confined space. It’s part of a growing trend in Europe and the U.S.
— Marketplace
Marketplace visits Growing Underground, a cutting-edge vertical farm inside a converted WWII-era air raid bunker 100 feet beneath London. "If we were growing peas out in the open, we’d have three crops a year," the company's cofounder Steve Dring tells the reporter. "Here, we get 62 crops a year... View full entry
That’s exactly what Avril Corroon, an art student at Goldsmiths, has done for her final project. Taking samples from the most cursed fungal growths she could find in rented accommodation around London, Avril made a selection of artisanal cheeses that look good enough to eat. Except, they’re not; they’re stinky reminders of just how terrible rented accommodation can be in one of the richest cities in the world. — VICE
Art student, Avril Corroon has decided to take an unfortunate situation and make a statement through art. "The idea is to juxtapose precarious living standards with that of wealth, gentrification and thinking about where money is invested and where it is disinvested, and how often products are all... View full entry
This past June, London celebrated its annual London Festival of Architecture. The festival showcases exhibitions, installations, workshops, and other events highlighting architecture and design in the city. This year, London-based designer Yinka Ilori created two projects that filled... View full entry
Forensic Architecture has announced its decision to withdraw from the 2019 Whitney Biennial. The London-based research group has also requested to replace its 10-minute video about the global spread of tear gas and bullets produced by companies linked to Whitney Museum vice chairman Warren Kanders, with new evidence they’ve found that directly links the weapons manufacturer to violence on the Israeli-Palestinian border in Gaza. — Hyperallergic
The fallout over the unethical business ties of certain members of the Whitney Museum of American Art's board of trustees continues unabated. Forensic Architecture's decision to join seven other exhibitors in withdrawing from the prestigious 2019 Whitney Biennial exhibition comes as the art... View full entry
Segregated play spaces are to be banned in all future London housing developments, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has revealed this week.
The policy, part of the London Plan for developers and local authorities across the city, follows outrage across the political spectrum at the case of the Lilian Baylis estate in Kennington. [...] families living in the social housing side of the estate were not allowed to use the play area or any communal spaces on the development.
— The Guardian
"It is disgraceful that children who live in the same development would ever be prevented from playing together," London Mayor Sadiq Khan told The Guardian. The case of the segregated play areas at this London housing development (and several others) — only children from Lilian Baylis... View full entry
A free climber has scaled the Shard, one of the tallest buildings in Europe. [...]
Onlookers posted footage of the climber, who, according to the Daily Mirror, made most of the ascent without ropes or suction cups.
— The Guardian
"Police were called at 5.15am on Monday 8 July following reports of a free climber on the Shard. Emergency services attended and the man went inside the building where he was spoken to by officers. He was not arrested," The Guardian quotes a section of the Metropolitan police report from this... View full entry
American attorneys famous for claims in construction disasters have launched a landmark wrongful death lawsuit in Philadelphia against three US companies on behalf of 69 of the 72 people killed in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, and 177 who were injured in the tragedy. — Global Construction Review
"They are targeting Arconic, Inc., which they claim supplied the Reynobond Polyethylene Cladding (PE) panels on Grenfell; Celotex Corporation, which they claim supplied the insulation used in the cladding system; and Whirlpool Corporation, which manufactured the fridge-freezer thought to be linked... View full entry
The head of the Serpentine Galleries has resigned after the Guardian revealed she is the co-owner of an Israeli cyberweapons company whose software has allegedly been used by authoritarian regimes to spy on dissidents.
On Tuesday, Yana Peel announced she was stepping down as the chief executive of the prestigious London art gallery so the work of the Serpentine would not be undermined by what she called “misguided personal attacks on me and my family”.
— The Guardian
Announcing her unexpected departure from the Serpentine Galleries in a statement, Yana Peel said, “I have decided I am better able to continue my work in supporting the arts, the advancement of human rights, and freedom of expression by moving away from my current role.” Peel added, “The... View full entry