Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
The streets of London are slowly being infilled by brick-faced buildings characterised by flat, austere façades and a certain self-effacement that seems to bow to its predecessors, even though its scale is often a huge step up. London might be acquiring a new vernacular. [...]
[Brick] is back in a big way. Manufacturers are running out of stock and there is a critical shortage of skilled bricklayers, leading to construction delays.
— ft.com
More on the elusive London style:Working Warrior: an interview with Katy Marks of Citizens Design BureauHonoring the "Maverick" British architectsInfrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor the Garden BridgeThe (state-facilitated) death of the council houseAmid London's austerity measures... View full entry
The inaugural Conscious Cities Conference is a little over one week away. Happening at Arup's London office on March 1, the one-day conference is the UK's first event of its kind and is part of the year-long Health, Wellbeing and Architecture programming from the Museum of... View full entry
Tens of thousands of hard-working families will be forced to leave their council homes and find themselves unable to afford a local alternative as a result of government plans to restrict social housing to the poorest, according to research obtained by the Observer.
The devastating figures...show that almost 60,000 households in England will be unable to afford to remain in their council properties from April next year, as a result of George Osborne’s reform, called “pay to stay”.
— the Guardian
The economy, coupled with concerted political efforts to dismantle what's left of the welfare state, has birthed a veritable housing crisis in London and the rest of the UK. According to new figures, "pay to stay", a plan crafted by George Osborne, the Conservative MP for Tatton, will leave an... View full entry
Graham Fink has been documenting the demolition sites of Shanghai for five years, trying to capture the state of flux during this period of rapid urbanisation. His Ballads of Shanghai exhibition is at London’s Riflemaker gallery until Sunday. — the Guardian
With an eye for the juxtaposition of graphic imagery and demolition sites, Graham Fink takes fascinating images of a city under the midst of mass transformations. His camera is drawn, in particular, to remnants of street art and commercial advertisements. For other depictions of the built... View full entry
The Conscious Cities Conference will delve into the evolving relationship between human behavior and the built environment, and the economic impact it creates. Taking place at Arup's London office on March 1, the one-day conference is the UK's first event of its kind and is part of the year-long... View full entry
During an excavation for a new office development at 21 Lime Street, a team from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found the millimeter-thin fresco nearly 20 feet below street level. Dating to the late 1st century AD, and the first decades of London, it’s one of the earliest surviving frescos from Roman Britain. [...]
The rare, ornate wall painting is likely to have decorated a reception room for party guests at the home of a wealthy Roman citizen.
— hyperallergic.com
A statement issued by MOLA explained, “The fate of this rare wall painting was literally sealed in the ground ... In AD 100, construction of the 2nd Forum Basilica, the main civic center for the city and the largest Roman building ever built north of the Alps, began. In advance of construction... View full entry
From masterplans to reconfigure London after the Great Fire of 1666 to contemporary responses to earthquakes and tsunamis, the exhibition considers the evolving relationship between man, architecture and nature and asks whether we are now facing a paradigm shift in how we live and build in the 21st century. — BBC News Magazine
Paul Kerley talked with curator Jes Fernie, about a new exhibition, Creation from Catastrophe, at the Royal Institute of British Architects. View full entry
Robots will take over the courtyard of London’s V&A Museum this summer to build a pavilion inspired by flying beetles.
The installation – designed by architect Achim Menges – features an undulating canopy of tightly woven carbon fibre cells, drawing on the shells of insects called elytra. Visitors will also be able to watch the robots in action over the course of the summer as they continue to add new sections to the evolving ‘Elytra Filament Pavilion’.
— the Spaces
For more robo-news, check out these links:The dawn of construction worker robots?3D printing will recreate destroyed Palmyra archMIT presents 3D printer that can print 10 materials simultaneously without breaking the bankAnother study warns that 3D-printers pose potential health risks for usersNew... View full entry
Based in London, Elsie Owusu OBE runs her own firm (Elsie Owusu Architects), is a national council member at the Royal Institute of British Architects, and is vice chair at the London School of Architecture. But it’s likely that many Archinectors hadn’t heard of Owusu until December of last... View full entry
The number of premature deaths attributed to particulate pollution has risen, government figures show.
According to Public Health England, the percentage of premature deaths attributable to minute particles known as PM2.5s rose to 5.3% in 2013 in England from 5.1% in 2012. The death rate in London rose to 6.7% from 6.6%. The figures follow significant improvements in air quality across England in 2010 and 2011.
— the Guardian
Related:New Delhi mandates odd-even car rationing to fight world's worst air pollutionReducing Turin's smog with free public transitBeijing's latest "airpocalypse" is bad enough for city to issue first ever red alertCar-free events significantly improve air quality View full entry
Is there no architecture that can bare its soul without simultaneously crushing you with its ego, that stirs, moves, troubles, provokes, inspires? [...]
A glimmer of an alternative is suggested by Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture, an installation opening next week [...]
The installation is designed by the architect Alex Scott-Whitby, previously best known for proposing that the spires of City of London churches be adapted to make creative workspaces.
— theguardian.com
"Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture" runs at London's Royal Academy of Art from January 26 through April 20, and features the work of FAT, Robert Smythson, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Zaha Hadid, James Stirling, and many others.Related news:Richard Rogers' Homeshell built in... View full entry
Researchers at University College London (UCL) claim that a “revolutionary” new type of window could cut cleaning costs in tall buildings and reduce heating bills by up to 40% thanks to a new combination of nano-scale engineering inspired by the eyes of moths, and thermochromic coating.
The prototype, revealed today, has conical nanostructures engraved on its surface that trap air and prevent all but a tiny amount of water coming into actual contact with the glass.
— globalconstructionreview.com
"The lead UCL researcher said this would be a big draw for high-rise building owners, since the cost of cleaning the windows surpasses the cost of installing them after the first five years."Related news stories on Archinect:MIT researchers have created a new material that stores and releases... View full entry
One can now find the place where many South Londoners took refuge during World War II. The tunnels at Clapham, now open to the public for the first time, once catered for over 8,000 people.
After lying dormant for 70 years, the tunnels and beds left untouched have been reopened.
— Architect's Newspaper
Related:• NBBJ proposes 3 moving walkways to replace London's Circle Line• Cut away confusion from your NYC commute with these beautiful subway maps• How Engineers Are Building a New Railroad Under New York City View full entry
Hey London, how do you feel about a major span across the Thames being corporately sponsored? Because that's what's going to happen with the Garden Bridge.
It's just been announced that Sky, the media behemoth owned by Rupert Murdoch, has given an undisclosed amount to the Garden Bridge Trust. But this is no altruistic gesture: one of the gardens on the bridge "will be named by Sky".
— Londonist
As the article notes, there are a slew of issues – besides aesthetic ones – plaguing the newest Thames crossing. First, Sky is set to sponsor the bridge. Second, attendance projections suggest that queues will be necessary and South Bank will get even more crowded (so much for expediting... View full entry
...the Paddington Place scheme – a huge development around the eponymous London station intended to include a 72-storey tower designed by Renzo Piano... [has] drawn the ire of Sir Terry Farrell, the famous architect and local resident who was also, slightly awkwardly, previously in charge of the developers’ masterplan for the area.
Farrell, known for designing the MI6 building on the Thames and Charing Cross station, made his views known in a dense, 1,500-word objection...
— the Guardian
