Architects Journal
Astragal

Rogers' Lloyd’s building set for £260m sale

11-Apr-2013
Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s building in London is reportedly in line to be sold for nearly £260 million
Pritzker for Chipperfield?

18-Mar-2013
AJ readers believe it is time David Chipperfield won the Pritzker Prize, according to an online survey
The Twitterati verdict on FCBS’ Southbank overhaul

8-Mar-2013
[Warning: contains vitriol] Twittersphere reaction to Feilden Clegg Bradley’s £120 million Southbank revamp was mixed, but most agreed it looked like a ‘big glass box’
Restoration Man not happy with Pathfinder Redux demolition men

7-Mar-2013
TV’s Restoration Man George Clarke has distanced himself from the latest Return of Pathfinder-style demolitions proposed for the Welsh Streets area of Liverpool
Chelsea Barracks ‘to go ahead’

6-Feb-2013
The £3 billion redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks in West London is reported to be back on track
Planning minister a ‘proud member of the Tesco party’

8-Nov-2012
New planning minister Nick Boles reportedly supports the ‘Tesco party’
Spoof Southend Pier airport plan revealed

1-Nov-2012
An outfit calling itself ‘Makeit Architects’ has mooted a satirical proposal for an international airport hub on Southend Pier
Crime and punishment

24-Oct-2012
The high-profile client behind Zaha Hadid Architects’ Central Bank of Iraq project, governor Sinan al-Shabibi, has been dismissed and an arrest warrant issued in his name amid allegations of currency manipulation
Off with their heads

24-Oct-2012
Architecture activist Trenton Oldfield was sentenced to six months in prison last week for disrupting the Oxbridge boat race, creating a surge of responses on Twitter
Neolithic homes planned for Stonehenge

28-Sep-2012
English Heritage is planning to construct three, life-sized Neolithic homes at Stonehenge in Wiltshire
Fallingwater blueprints for sale at the Wright price

14-Sep-2012
A set of 12 original blueprints for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater have turned up at an auction house in Guernsey
Still ugly. Still empty. Demolish me now

13-Aug-2012
Battersea is finally losing patience with a perennially incomplete apartment block at the corner of Battersea Park Road and Prince of Wales Drive
Over Wait?

10-Aug-2012
Visitors to the Olympic site have been flocking to AEW designed super-sized McDonalds, and although it is reportedly the largest in the world it seems it is not large enough
British invasion

19-Jul-2012
At the ground-breaking ceremony for Rio 2016 earlier this month, the Rio mayor’s office cited AECOM’s lead design role, referring to the multi-national practice as an English firm of designers, ‘uma impresa inglesa’.
Shattered illusions

19-Jul-2012
MUMA’s ‘exploding’ glass balustrade for its staircase in the V&A Medieval and Renaissance galleries has finally been replaced and re-opened, after extensive testing and more than one maquette.
Royal descent

19-Jul-2012
Prince Andrew has continued to defy the anti-modern architecture views of his brother, the Prince of Wales, by agreeing to abseil from the summit of Renzo Piano’s 310 metre-tall Shard skyscraper in London.
Down on Dow

19-Jul-2012
Happy news in Hackney Wick, London where David Kohn Architects last week completed its £550,000 transformation of a former sweet factory into ‘The White Building’, an arts centre on the Olympic fringe
Hadid Street?

18-Jul-2012
‘Hadid Street’ was spotted on an Olympic Park legacy map last week.
Spam inbox blunder leads to Southbank shortlist rethink

13-Jul-2012
Allies and Morrison has earned a last-minute place on the shortlist to redevelop London’s Southbank Centre after a spam filter meant its application failed to reach organisers in time
Slice of life

13-Jul-2012
At the wrap party for the London Festival of Architecture, held in Carmody Groarke’s Filling Station, Kevin Carmody was overheard bemoaning the choice of furniture – and rightly so, as the orange and green picnic tables were a rotten fit.
An act of folly

13-Jul-2012
Sad news at the Royal Docks, where the shelving of two installations planned for the London Pleasure Gardens temporary events arena has left architects frustrated
On the scrap heap

12-Jul-2012
The demise of Thomas Heatherwick’s £2 million B Of The Bang sculpture in Manchester has not been happy for anyone
Round the bend

12-Jul-2012
Many architects have tried their hand at car design, including Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster. However, none of their proposals have been quite as radical, or bizarre, as Will Alsop’s self-named ‘Concertina Car’
Private & confidential

28-Jun-2012
Last week’s RIBA Council kicked off to a rip-roaring start with past president Owen Luder slamming the institute for emblazoning ‘private and confidential’ across council papers which contain only a sliver of secret material, stating: ‘Please can we make sure everything we do can be seen to be open and transparent.’
RIBA price hike

28-Jun-2012
Why must architects now pay £383 for RIBA membership and not £385, as they do in Scotland?
Royal approval

28-Jun-2012
The Shard, Europe’s tallest skyscraper (pictured), will receive a smidgen of royal approval next week when Prince Andrew and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani officiate at its inauguration
Pride of place

6-Jun-2012
Good to see two giants of the development world recalling design decisions as well as planning battles at the Urban Land Institute conference in Canary Wharf last week
Listing to one side

6-Jun-2012
The London Southbank Centre’s high-spirited Festival of the World kicked off last week in a disused space beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall
It’s not all happening in Bradford

6-Jun-2012
Bradford’s ‘big hole’ has been a long running embarrassment for the west Yorkshire city
Quicker by rail?

30-May-2012
Architects seeking the go-ahead for speedy demolitions beware
A woman’s place

30-May-2012
An AJ trip to Istanbul, courtesy of theTurkish Ceramics Promotion Group, proved rather interesting for many reasons not least among them the sheer number of women involved at high level in both architectural practice and the construction industry
Cisterns analysis

30-May-2012
Under glorious sun, the opening of Mark Power’s ‘Jubiloo’ on London’s Southbank was the perfect opportunity to kick-start the season with a momentous first Pimm’s of the summer
Egghead: Hodder on the telly

30-May-2012
Following his victory in the one-horse race to become the next RIBA president, Stephen Hodder has again experienced the unrelenting spotlight of publicity and the pressures of true ‘fame’
Changing places

17-May-2012
Remember Jennifer Dixon?
Recycled steel

16-May-2012
So much has been written about the like-it or vehemently loathe-it ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Olympic Park
Caught green-handed

16-May-2012
DSDHA’s Paradise Park Children’s Centre’s infamous green wall, which dried up in 2009, is green again – or at least, it’s been rendered green
Stout effort

16-May-2012
Ever fancied downing a pint of the black stuff at the bottom of the sea?
Silent night

10-May-2012
NORD’s Olympic Substation won the Non-Residential Building category at Wienerberger’s Brick Awards last week, with founder Alan Pert in Vienna to pick up the gong
Shuttleworth plot afoot

10-May-2012
Ken Shuttleworth’s proposals for a huge, silver-clad block at Broadgate, which was likened to a behemothesque Bakelite radio, caused something of an uproar last year
Apologies for absence

10-May-2012
It was standing room only at the book launch of Architecture for Humanity founder Cameron Sinclair’s Design Like You Give a Damn 2 in Shoreditch, London, last week, which doubled up with Architecture for Humanity’s ‘Ideas on a postcard, please’ event
Dumbing up the Shard

10-May-2012
Overly dramatic music, a constant bombardment of stats and a repetitive narrative (we get it, it’s dangerous to work in high winds) managed to drain any interest from Renzo Piano’s Shard in Channel 4’s much-hyped The Tallest Tower documentary last week
Cartoon Koolhaas

10-May-2012
OMA’s Rem Koolhaas was the latest guest star to appear in Matt Groening’s The Simpsons last week (pictured), joining Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry in the list of architects to be thus honoured
Long-life domes

2-May-2012
New research by the Université Paris-Sud has found that architecturally monikered super-substance Buckminsterfullerene, when combined with olive oil, doubled the lifespan of rats
Very like a whale

2-May-2012
Visitors to the Cutty Sark, which re-opened last week, expressed curiosity, and in one case anxiety for personal safety, about the decision to reveal the underside of the Victorian tea clipper by supporting it off the sides of its pseudo-dry dock setting
So Long, farewell

2-May-2012
A toast to M J Long, of Long & Kentish, has just retired as chair of design review at DC CABE
Nicely wrapped up

2-May-2012
If you thought the Olympic Games masterminds couldn’t push sustainability any further, think again
The Diary of an Anonymous Architect #9

25-Apr-2012
The latest in an ongoing series about the day-to-day travails of an embattled practitioner. This week: It’s the economy, Stupid……
Starchitects a-sailing

25-Apr-2012
You couldn’t get away from the raft of TV programmes, pictures and even museums dedicated to the Titanic as the 100th anniversary of its demise lurched onto the horizon.
Help from my friends

5-Apr-2012
Some of our most established architects may have been more rock and roll than we thought
Simpson completes ‘twee’ Kensington Palace loggia

26-Mar-2012
[First look] John Simpson & Partners has completed a £12 million overhaul of Kensington Palace Gardens in west London, previously blasted for its ‘twee’ loggia design
Off message

22-Mar-2012
Hardcore RIBA aficionados need no reminding that this month we approach the first anniversary of past president Ruth Reed’s failed attempt to oust institute chief executive Harry Rich
Cracking up in Blackpool

22-Mar-2012
Tragedy, and tooled-up council workmen, hit Blackpool’s new Comedy Carpet
Manchester unearths forgotten 1970s tube line

13-Mar-2012
Two Manchester university academics have discovered the forgotten half-built remnants of an underground rail line
Stamp of approval

1-Mar-2012
Stamp collectors and fans of Basil Spence behold: the Scottish Brutalist architect has been commemorated on a special Royal Mail postage stamp
Pride of Peckham

1-Mar-2012
‘Delighted that Architects’ Journal and Philips have chosen Peckham for their Liveable Cities design contest, hoping for some creative ideas.’
The chips are down

27-Feb-2012
The residents of Will Alsop’s ‘Chips’ building in Manchester are not frying. In fact, for most of last week (13 February) they were freezing
Olympocrat U-turn

23-Feb-2012
Remember all the fuss about Olympic bosses refusing to allow architects to advertise their role in the London 2012 Olympic Games construction?
Revealed: the first ever amphibious house

10-Feb-2012
Waterworld-specialists BACA Architects have cornered the market in the floating future - and have come up with yet another ingenious scheme
Grandstanding at Battersea

10-Feb-2012
If Battersea Power Station needs a big idea then it’s hard to think bigger than squeezing a 60,000-seat football stadium next to – or maybe into – the iconic and decaying Grade II*-listed structure
BBC picks 1960s high-rise for Olympics news broadcasts

30-Jan-2012
BBC News will deliver its Olympic Games coverage from the roof and the top floors of a condemned Newham council estate
Brazilians plan to resurrect Christ in London

26-Jan-2012
An enormous 9m-tall statue of Jesus – similar to Rio De Janeiro’s famous Christ The Redeemer statue – is planned for Primrose Hill in London
The Invisible man

26-Jan-2012
It’s heartening to hear of high-profile exits motivated more by yearning for a lightness of soul than alarm at the sound of a sinking ship. In a move not beaten since Will Alsop threw it all in to concentrate on his painting, Piers Taylor announced his departure from Mitchell Taylor Workshop with a heartfelt missive about sticking it to the man
De Botton's Livid Architecture

26-Jan-2012
He may seem gentle (big, sad eyes) and kind (the numerous trendy holiday homes he pays trendy architects to design for his Living Architecture programme) …
Reaping the rewards

26-Jan-2012
The life of an RIBA president is not an easy one: long hours tending to presidential business, less time to give to your practice’s projects, the rubbish lift at Portland Place…
Canterbury tales

8-Dec-2011
Two months after its opening, Keith Williams Architects’ Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury is back in the news, but for the wrong reasons
Now Foster rethinks Heathrow

8-Dec-2011
The scale of Norman Foster’s infrastructure vision for the UK expanded last week when the 76-year-old starchitect claimed his plan to build a £50 billion hub airport in the Thames Estuary should be funded by the closure of Heathrow
Euro crisis in Holland

27-Oct-2011
In a bid to bring architecture to the masses, Architecture For One Euro has launched in Rotterdam, offering a drop-in professional service where shoppers can get advice on their design problems for just €1
HKR splinters

20-Oct-2011
What exactly is going on at HKR Architects, I hear you ask? A good question
Maggie’s leaves home

20-Oct-2011
The award-winning Maggie’s Centres, designed by a raft of stars including Rem Koolhaas, are now starting to emerge all over the world
The Diary of an Anonymous Architect #3

15-Sep-2011
The third in a new series about the day-to-day travails of an embattled practitioner. This week: Switching Off
Bye bye to BT Tower dishes

1-Sep-2011
The communications dishes on London’s iconic BT Tower are set to be removed following concerns over their safety
Listless at Broadgate

1-Sep-2011
Back in June, the Twentieth Century Society lost its battle to have Arup Associates’ Broadgate buildings listed, paving the way for demolition of part of the 1980s office campus and the arrival of Make’s contentious £340 million UBS bank project
Shapps’ red card

1-Sep-2011
Grant Shapps’ call for Liverpool Football Club to speed up its future development plans pushed even Astragal’s taste for punnery to the limit
Shigeru Ban's cardboard ChristChurch

4-Aug-2011
A cathedral made of cardboard could be set to replace the historic ChristChurch Cathedral, damaged by the earthquake that hit New Zealand’s second city earlier this year
Cross about King’s

30-Jul-2011
King’s Cross fans had their interest piqued last week when Stanton Williams unveiled its £6 million plans to replace the central London train station’s 1970s concourse structure with 7,000m2 of new public realm
Quiet please

29-Jul-2011
Is the RIBA paying ‘hush money’ to departed staff?
Fringe benefit

29-Jul-2011
One ARB card-carrying architect got a welcome call from Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market last week to report they’d found his lost wallet
Get fit, Rogers style

29-Jul-2011
You’d be surprised quite how good the view from a £4.95 million Neo Bankside flat is, even from behind its red and grey exposed perimeter bracing
Michael Gove: No comment on phone hacking

21-Jul-2011
Astragal notes with interest that certain politicians have remained quiet during the phone-hacking affair
Olympic park: No lights, no cameras, no action

21-Jul-2011
Astragal hears TV companies are already turning their backs on the uninspiring International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) in the Olympic Park
Phone hacking and architecture

14-Jul-2011
A spokesman for Rupert Murdoch’s News International has assured Astragal that the shock closure of the News of the World will have no impact on the progress of Amanda Levete Architects’ large remodelling of the group’s headquarters in east London
Milord Rogers waits in line

14-Jul-2011
Share some sympathy for Richard Rogers, who spent all day last Thursday at Westminster waiting for the RIBA-backed amendment to the Localism Bill to be debated in the House of Lords
Fairytale come true

5-Jul-2011
Astragal’s heart was warmed by Alma-nac’s real-life gingerbread house to raise funds for Great Ormond Street children’s hospital
Terminal architecture in Zurich

5-Jul-2011
Astragal’s morbid curiosity was piqued by news that London Metropolitan University Part 2 student andRIBA Council student representative Alex Scott-Whitby has initiated a dialogue between Swiss assisted-suicide clinic Dignitas and the owners of Zurich Airport over plans to relocate the clinic to the airport’s inter-country transit zone
Pyrrhic victory in Scotland

5-Jul-2011
To the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and the opening night of 3x3, an exhibition of the work of three new academicians
Royal Institute of Brewing Architects

27-Jun-2011
Recession making you thirsty? Never fear, the Redundant Architects Recreation Society (RARA) has launched a new beer brewed solely by unemployed architects
Video: Battersea Power Cube

10-Jun-2011
Ever found yourself thinking a Rubik’s Cube was impossible to complete? Well, consider the irony facing the owners ofBattersea Power Station – the Grade II*-listed landmark which has proved one of London’s most elusive redevelopment projects
Update: a history of wind problems in Leeds

10-Jun-2011
Astragal was intrigued to stumble across these findings of an investigation by the Yorkshire Post into the history of wind problems around the base of Aedas’ Bridgewater Place scheme in Leeds
Hemingway drops Broadgate/Shuttleworth clanger on Newsnight

3-Jun-2011
Wayne Hemingway showed off the full extent of his architectural knowledge on BBC2’s Newsnight on Thursday after mistakenly claiming ‘his favourite architect’ Ken Shuttleworth had designed London’s Broadgate
Baking with BDP

2-Jun-2011
A welcome surprise greeted guests attending BDP’s 50th birthday celebrations in the form of two very special desserts
Tweet it in the family

2-Jun-2011
Astragal was tickled by the brotherly banter that followed Bolton Council’s approval of the 740m2 underground ‘Teletubby’ home designed by Make for former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville
The Small Society

26-May-2011
AJ100 practices came in for some stick from Chris Brown of Igloo Regeneration at ‘From Whitehall to Wigan’, an event held at the RIBA last week to discuss how architects can help ‘make Localism work’
Video: Francis Terry, the Classicist Banksy

20-May-2011
On April Fool’s Day Francis Terry turned part of ‘Banksy’s Tunnel’ in London’s Leake Street into a graffiti classical facade
Instanbul biennial's 'untitled' mystery

11-May-2011
Astragal’s hastily formulated Delayed Announcement of the Week Award goes to the 12th Istanbul Biennial, or to give it its full title, Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011
Over: the Horizon in Hackney

11-May-2011
Sad news ahoy as the Horizon school in Hackney, designed in the 1970s by AJ’s own cartoonist Louis Hellman while working at the Greater London Council, is set to be demolished
SANAA, Rolex and Tout s’en va

10-May-2011
Visiting SANAA’s amazing Rolex Learning Centre at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne last week, Astragal was astonished by what it saw …
You’ll never work alone

5-May-2011
Confusion reigns in Liverpool, where plans for a new stadium in Stanley Park for Liverpool Football Club are up in the air, despite work having tentatively started on site
Velodrome minds thinking alike

3-May-2011
From Amsterdam Astragal has received an email from one Stephen Lawrence, RIBA, praising Hopkins’ design for the 2012 Olympic Velodrome
Something rotten in Denmark

3-May-2011
With excitement, Platform 5 found out last week that its Mapledene Road project (AJ 15.01.09) had won a competition hosted by a Danish homes and gardens website – www.bolius.dk
Moving the Aldgate Goalposts

3-May-2011
Astragal understands the future of the proposed Aldgate Giant Goalposts, a 60m-tall ‘gateway’ in London’s East End, could be in doubt
Low-tech Olympic Games

14-Apr-2011
It’s been a tough, back to basics past two days at LOCOG, Astragal hears
The estate we're in

14-Apr-2011
What a relief to see ‘The Great Estate: The Rise and Fall of the Council House’ on BBC Four this week
Mingling Mancunians

24-Mar-2011
Astragal was in town for the launch of the Manchester International Festival, which prides itself on commissioning artworks especially for the fortnight-long event (taking place from 30 June to 17 July this year)
Rechristening CABE

24-Mar-2011
Decaff, D:Ream, Deee-lite and now DCabe. Could this be the ‘street’ name for the newly forged design powerhouse formed by the merger of CABE with the Design Council earlier this year?
Model misbehaviour at MIPIM

17-Mar-2011
The London model, although looking slightly tired, was still an impressive centrepiece for the buzzing London Pavilion at this year’s MIPIM property fair.
Corb lost RIBA £100,000

17-Feb-2011
The hoo-ha about the dissolution of the RIBA Trust has focused on the process and, in particular, the lack of consultation with its trustees
Alsop's art gang take over the AJ Small Projects awards

17-Feb-2011
AJ Small Projects judge Will Alsop surprised the audience last week when he revealed that the runner-up team at Lincoln Miles Architecture were not really architects at all
How to get thrown out of The Building Centre

16-Feb-2011
Who did New London Architecture chairman Peter Murray throw out of The Building Centre last weekend?
Pretty steep

10-Feb-2011
Poor old John Pawson has attracted ridicule for his swanky tastes in the current issue of Private Eye
Birmingham hearts AJ

10-Feb-2011
To Birmingham, for a nose around the site of Mecanoo’s vast new Library of Birmingham with Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham council and Francine Houben of Mecanoo
Resi? Not in my back yard, says Rees

20-Jan-2011
Don’t be fooled by City Planning Officer Peter Rees’ reputation as a forward-thinking champion of contemporary architecture
Midsomer's architectural lambast

20-Jan-2011
Astragal wasn’t expecting abuse while watching Midsomer Murders and enjoying a glass of claret (the drink, not human blood), but the battle between new and quaint clearly rages on in Midsomer
New Thunderbirds revives Brains role chance for Archigram star

20-Jan-2011
The keenly anticipated return of the 1960s science fiction puppet TV show Thunderbirds seems likely to presage renewed interest in the antics of one of its contemporaries, the pop architectural group Archigram
Doing the Modernist twist

20-Jan-2011
The Manchester Modernist Society has started to compile a modern A to Z of the city – including everything ‘from Aldine to Zochonis’
Tony Blair’s false start

17-Dec-2010
Planning permission granted for work on the former PM’s Buckinghamshire home
Zaha in full flow

17-Dec-2010
Hadid’s plumbing draws mixed reaction online
Square bashing - Westminster Cathedral and St Peter's Square, Manchester

15-Dec-2010
Dude, where’s my square? Back in January, two competitions were launched to design significant public realm projects in London and Manchester. Westminster Council wanted a design team to revamp the ‘piazza’ in front of Westminster Cathedral, while Manchester City Council sought a mastermind to oversee the revamp of St Peter’s Square next to its soon-to-be-overhauled town hall extension and library.
Napoleon Skyscrapers

10-Dec-2010
Last week saw another planning application approved for a skyscraper in London, and a question preoccupied the nation: what do these architects have to prove?
Tower Hamlets delays decision on Robin Hood Gardens

10-Dec-2010
Fans of Alison and Peter Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens, and perhaps also, social justice might be interested to learn more about Tower Hamlets Council’s move to delay by a month the decision about which design team’s project should replace the estate.
World's oldest architect, Oscar Niemeyer, composes samba

9-Dec-2010
The world’s oldest living Pritzker Prize-winner, Oscar Niemeyer, is well into his second century now.
No new spire for Westminster Abbey

2-Dec-2010
Fans of medieval architecture will recall a plan for a design competition launched last summer by Westminster Abbey to create a new spire for the unfinished church
Piano's discord in Malta

2-Dec-2010
Perhaps inspired by too much daytime television, Malta has hired Renzo Piano to plan a £60m makeover of its capital city, Valletta
P-p-pick up a penguin

18-Nov-2010
Eagle-eyed planning-portal observers can rest assured that Wharmby Kozdon Architects’ application for alterations to a penguin enclosure at London Zoo will not replace Tecton’s iconic Grade I-listed structure
Spitfire dogfight in Southampton

18-Nov-2010
You’ve got to feel sorry for Nick Hancock, the former Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners architect, who won the competition to design the memorial to the Spitfire in Southampton
Actors for workhouses

12-Nov-2010
It seems CZWG has landed itself in a row with the Fitzrovian thesps
Parametric partying

4-Nov-2010
Despite a Stirling Prize-winning-year, things haven’t all been going Zaha Hadid’s way recently
Minimalist fathering?

28-Oct-2010
John Pawson vs David Chipperfield in the parenting stakes
Wronged residents seek new shelter

15-Oct-2010
A jaunt to design shelters in Bexhill-on-Sea has whipped up a storm in East Sussex
Prince Charles, the architect’s friend?

15-Oct-2010
Astragal was surprised to learn that the heir to the throne wins work abroad for British architects, according to the November issue of Vanity Fair
[Astragal at the Stirling Prize dinner] Architects v rock stars

8-Oct-2010
Mingling on ground trodden by Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison’s psychedelic spirits, guests at the Stirling Prize dinner at London’s Roundhouse were treated to a ‘whirling visual feast’ described by one veteran as ‘a fitting tribute to an illustrious music venue’
[Astragal at the Stirling Prize dinner] Hell hath no fury

8-Oct-2010
Judges of this year’s Stirling Prize may have been swayed by a stranger-than-life story told by a former employee of Zaha Hadid
[Astragal at the Stirling Prize dinner] Money manners

8-Oct-2010
As one of the Stirling Prize sponsors, the AJ’s Astragal had the honour of presenting the big, fat winner’s cheque to Zaha Hadid.
[AstragaI at the Stirling Prize dinner] I dub thee ‘pop hi-tech’

8-Oct-2010
Astragal’s always been fond of ‘dubbing’ things, for instance Foggo Associates’ tower in St Mary Axe, which Astragal dubbed the ‘Can of Ham’. But Stirling Prize host Tom Dyckhoff has taken the art of the dub to new levels.
Liverpool lie-in

30-Sep-2010
Visitors to BIQ Architecten’s Bluecoat building in Liverpool will be encouraged to jump into bed to promote peace and celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday with a ‘bed-in’
Backroom antics with Nigel Coates

30-Sep-2010
Architect, professor and provocateur Nigel Coates opened his South Kensington studio last week for a London Design Festival shindig
Arch rivals on Merseyside

30-Sep-2010
Astragal has been following the progress of the proposed new home for Liverpool Football Club for some years now
Venice 2010: Feline antics

2-Sep-2010
Venice locals know all about rolling with the punches delivered by the city’s sometimes inclement environment, but a few Venice Biennale exhibitors learnt tough lessons this week
RIBA's scouse mystery

12-Aug-2010
Will there be a ‘looky-likey Portland Place’ in Manchester?
LA scare for Meier

12-Aug-2010
Talk about architects being judged by their persuasive talents. Before Richard Meier started building the Getty Centre museum in Los Angeles he had a meeting on the hilltop with some objectors…
Alsop cursed by criticism

22-Jul-2010
Last week, a second scathing attack took place on Will Alsop’s architecture within the walls of the Royal Academy
The AR turns Japanese

22-Jul-2010
Website domain names can be tricky things.
Architect wars in Birmingham

1-Jul-2010
‘It’s very difficult for me to criticise another architect,’ said John Madin during a recent interview with the Birmingham Post
The AA's invisible pavilion

17-Jun-2010
Fans of the Architectural Association’s summer pavilions will be saddened to hear the innovative one-off structure will be absent from London’s Bedford Square this year
African adventure

17-Jun-2010
Astragal doffs his cycling helmet in support of Nyomi Rowsell and her attempt to pedal a spectacular 7,500 miles down the east of Africa for architectural charity Article 25
Elephant and Castle: Make your mind up

17-Jun-2010
London’s Elephant and Castle can be fairly described as an architectural triumph in rendering despair
Something fishy at Smithfield Market

10-Jun-2010
The ongoing saga surrounding the redevelopment (or not) of London’s Smithfield General Market has taken another twist
Star meets architects

10-Jun-2010
“Hello Kingston University…”
The Hellman Files #11

10-Jun-2010
A trawl through Hellman’s archives, in which we uncover gems that are as relevant now as they were then.
Ungated community

10-Jun-2010
Opponents of the so-called ‘hijab gates’ to Brick Lane can relax - the plans will definitely not go ahead.
Will Alsop's fancy dress party

10-Jun-2010
Unusual news from the forthcoming London Festival of Architecture (19 June-4 July)
Kevin McCloud: Smoke 'em if you've got 'em

3-Jun-2010
To Swindon, for a day out with a politician and a TV celebrity
Stewart McColl has designs on you

3-Jun-2010
The one-time head honcho of SMC Group, which hit the headlines almost weekly in the mid-noughties as it snaffled up a slew of practices, has once more set his eyes on acquisitions
Paul Finch: A future in farming?

27-May-2010
CABE chair Paul Finch was on robust form at last week’s AJ100 awards dinner at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel in London, when he talked about post-election prospects
Learning with hobbits

20-May-2010
Ever wondered how Bilbo Baggins bagged planning for that delightful bungalow in Middle-earth?
Spring awakening for Rogers and Vinoly

20-May-2010
There appear to be signs of life at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ credit-crunched ‘Cheesegrater’
£20 a night with Alain de Botton

20-May-2010
The summer season is fast approaching and Astragal has been relaxing in vest and flip-flops following the recent launch of Living Architecture – a range of holiday homes in which one can unwind from as little as £20 per person, per night
Which Stirling Prize?

20-May-2010
Astragal heard one of the contenders for this year’s Stirling Prize could be Smith Scott Mullan Associates for its regeneration of Raploch Estate with Gareth Hoskins Architects
Daniel Libeskind's gift of the gab

13-May-2010
If you missed Daniel Libeskind’s lecture at the Royal Geographical Society on 29 April, let Astragal fill you in on the evening’s gems
Architect with designs on parliament falls short

13-May-2010
Architect Iain Meek of Bromley-based practice Meek Associates stood for the Holborn and St Pancras seat in last week’s general election
Architects do battle: Style wars at the RIBA

13-May-2010
At the RIBA in London last week, the private view of the Three Classicists exhibition, previewed in AJ 06.05.10, was busy
Tom Dixon's watery end

29-Apr-2010
Tom Dixon took a few minutes out from his busy Milan schedule to give Astragal an update on his Ladbroke Grove den; a concrete water tower in west London he bought with the intention of making it habitable
Jean Nouvel sees red

29-Apr-2010
There was plenty of pretentious verbiage on display at the Milan Furniture Fair 2010, but back home Jean Nouvel blew away the competition
Milan's Magic moments

29-Apr-2010
Astragal’s prize for the most bizarre sight seen at the Milan Furniture Fair this year goes to Breed Retreat by Amsterdam-based designer Frederik Roijé
Crash and Brum in Cannes

30-Mar-2010
Best media quotation of the MIPIM week appeared in the Birmingham Post and came from Glenn Howells, Midlands champion from Stourbridge
Mipim's Michelin stars

30-Mar-2010
The usual ‘Cycle to Cannes’ charity event took place to general approbation. But there are moves afoot to launch a parallel event for the exercise-challenged
Diller Scofidio + Renfro work in the shadow of the High Line

18-Mar-2010
Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the practice behind Manhattan’s High Line project (pictured), is working on an intriguing project next to the former train line, which it turned into an urban park.
Arctic monkeying with Clegg and Prasad

11-Mar-2010
Architects and artists wait impatiently for Ian McEwan’s new novel, Solar, in which he lampoons various creative types who joined him on a 2005 global warming fact-finding trip to the Arctic
People's History Museum springs a leak

4-Mar-2010
Just days before its reopening last month, the People’s History Museum in Manchester suffered a minor blip – a small leak
Tripping all over Battersea

4-Mar-2010
The new US Embassy may have trouble with noisy neighbours, such as Battersea’s psychedelic contingent
Hullabaloo in Barangaroo

4-Mar-2010
Elizabeth Farrelly, professor of architecture at the University of Sydney, has emerged as the most prominent critic of Richard Rogers’ plans for a £3.5 billion regeneration of the Barangaroo area of Sydney
Skiing the web

25-Feb-2010
Astragal has enjoyed playing Julien de Smedt Architects’ online ski-jumping game.
Ministry of Shhhhh

25-Feb-2010
Whistle posse make some noise: Oakmayne Property’s residential tower threatens Ministry of Sound
Trust in RMJM

24-Feb-2010
The Commonwealth Education Trust (formerly the Commonwealth Institute) was one of the last occupants of the landmark 1962 RMJM building on Kensington High Street.
Hat-trick Hodge

24-Feb-2010
Recently, architecture minister Margaret Hodge has fired off a hat-trick of listing refusals that have flown in the face of English Heritage (EH) recommendations.
Zaha Hadid's never had it so good

18-Feb-2010
The designer of the Olympic aquatics centre will be able to splash out this year – Zaha Hadid’s remuneration has increased 5 per cent to a cool £775,000
Holyrood? Hollywood?

18-Feb-2010
On receiving the RIBA Royal Gold Medal last week, Chinese-American architect IM Pei explained that if his father had had his way, Pei might have been a great British architect
Never a truer word

18-Feb-2010
Astragal congratulates architectural technician Chris Van Essen on winning a copy of Dulux Trade colour-trend bible ColourFutures 2010.
A Liverpudlian olive branch

18-Feb-2010
Peace has broken out at the Museum of Liverpool
Radio's Rory Olcayto...

16-Feb-2010
Astragal was delighted to hear the dulcet tones of AJ’s Features Editor Rory Olcayto on BBC Radio 3 this Sunday
Architectural partner-swapping in Dundee

15-Feb-2010
Things are hotting up in the race to submit bids for the V&A’s new outpost in Dundee, and news of all sorts of interesting team combinations is reaching AJ towers
Stuart Lipton: What goes around...

15-Feb-2010
Astragal has heard about two rival bids for developer P&O Estates’ 1960s Elizabeth House building next to London’s Waterloo Station
Hamiltons, by any other name

28-Jan-2010
Following the departures of Robin Partington and founder Tim Hamilton, AJ100 practice Hamiltons has decided to change its name, with a new moniker being unveiled at MIPIM in March.
Bottoms up with the British Toilet Association

28-Jan-2010
Astragal is always keen to hear from the British Toilet Association. Last week, the lavvy-savvy group launched its Where Can I Go? campaign in a bid to get more public toilets built in the UK
Nine Elms US Embassy: An act of imagination

28-Jan-2010
US ambassador Louis Susman lives in one of London’s most desirable homes: Winfield House, a 5ha property in Regent’s Park that has been home to ambassadors since Barbara Hutton sold it to the US government for $1 in the 1940s
Jonathan Woolf describes paint drying

22-Jan-2010
When an invitation to view the Painted House, a thoughtful, esoteric remodelling of pair of 1940s north London semis by a hip London firm landed on the AJ’s desk, Astragal was struck by the accompanying text
David Chipperfield, man of culture

22-Jan-2010
David Chipperfield was on good form at the Design Museum for a reception hosted by theHepworth Wakefield gallery, whose building is being designed by Chipperfield’s practice
Burj Khalifa: The view from Manchester

14-Jan-2010
Maybe it’s down to the city’s famous grey skies, but you can always count on a Mancunian to bring a certain gloom to proceedings
Ice work: Eiffel tower built in Harrogate park

8-Jan-2010
A church and the Eiffel Tower are among the latest snow-sculptures created by British architects
Architectural snowman enjoys 'adverse weather conditions'

7-Jan-2010
Cold snap inspires Somerset architects to create impromptu snow sculpture
Arms race – a new Olympic sport?

6-Jan-2010
Knives, bullets, body armour, guns and items of jewellery recovered from London’s streets have been melted down to help build London’s 2012 Olympic site in Stratford
Zaha Hadid's journey to the top

27-Nov-2009
To Rome for the opening of Zaha Hadid’s splendid MAXXI, which has had critics metaphorically trampling over each in other in the crush for superlatives
George Bush goes to the library

26-Nov-2009
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a US President, upon retiring from political office, must be in want of a library
Will Alsop: A retiring fellow

13-Nov-2009
Will Alsop has another reason to be cheery after his early retirement from… retirement
Breaking the ice at the Germany Embassy

12-Nov-2009
Astragal was delighted to take up an invitation to a soirée at the German embassy to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
Dude, where's my Ferrari?

5-Nov-2009
Anyone watching the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the BBC on Sunday may have noticed a rather large, red carapace in the background of certain shots
David Chipperfield's Home Sour Home

5-Nov-2009
After complaining about the poor state of UK planning and competitions at the opening of his recent Design Museum exhibition, David Chipperfield has yet another reason to lament the state of architecture in London
London loves

30-Oct-2009
Astragal schmoozed with Thomas Heatherwick and Tony Fretton at the opening of David Chipperfield’s new exhibition at the Design Museum last week.
Gehry gets the boot

30-Oct-2009
It looks like Zaha Hadid finally has some competition in the architect-designed-footwear arena
Foster frozen out at Frieze

30-Oct-2009
Norman Foster paid £150,000 for a Grayson Perry at Frieze Art Fair - but Paris gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin’s statue of Foster didn’t make out quite so well
The Price of a Perry

30-Oct-2009
Architects did well this year at the famous Frieze Art Fair, but not in the way you might expect.
£5m Manser maison: Recession, what recession?

23-Sep-2009
Shortlisted for the Manser Award just a few weeks ago, this massive house by Eldrige Smerin with beautiful views of the, ahem, cemetery has just gone on sale at a whopping £5 million
What recession?

24-Jul-2009
New creative interiors department defies recession
B of the Bye-Bye

24-Jul-2009
Sculpture headed for scrapyard
Art attack

24-Jul-2009
Mural painter attacks Dalston
Georgian digs

24-Jul-2009
Listed offices for architects cutting back
Astragal's MIPIM round-up

20-Mar-2009
A collection of backstage banter and sunburnt gossip from the property mega-fair
Canadian dogs kennel believe their luck

6-Mar-2009
Astragal keenly follows comparative approaches to urbanism and urban sprawl, so was delighted to receive this picture (above) from one of his North American correspondents. The photo, taken from the main freeway, shows a slice of suburbia in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada – hard-working pooches recuperate in these residential ‘condos’ when not out on the dog-sledding trail.
Carp, Corb, Hunter

27-Feb-2009
Fishy business and Corbed enthusiasm from the AJ’s gossip-monger
Bang slang, Venturi ventures and Sci-Fi Dubai

30-Jan-2009
Obervations, factoids and hearsay from the AJ's building buzz-squad
National Trust madness, brutal bargains and architectural fetishes

16-Jan-2009
Shouts and calls from the column that could do with an Office Assistant
Gate watch and more Serpentine whispers

4-Dec-2008
Architectural gossip from the column with friends in high places
Qatar act

27-Nov-2008
Did I tell you the story about me, I M Pei and de Niro in Qatar?
Serpentine Pavilion 2009 gossip

27-Nov-2008
The tittle-tattle squad are in a twitter about who will design 2009's Serpentine Pavilion
Below stairs

10-Sep-2008
Astragal has found himself an early Christmas present – a spiral wine cellar from Spiral Cellars.
What planet is this?

10-Sep-2008
Astragal is a big fan of Star Trek. But not as much as one of the directors from auctioneer Phillips de Pury.
Singer Lily Allen reveals architectural ambitions

21-Aug-2008
Architecture faculties in universities up and down the UK are likely to become Lily Allen fans.
London Festival of Architecture kicks off with bangers, Boris and giant furniture

20-Jun-2008
More than 1,200 people squeezed into central London's Somerset House courtyard last night (19 June) to join Mayor Boris Johnson for the launch of the London Festival of Architecture.
See more pictures from the AJ Urban Splash Infobox exhibition opening party

6-Jun-2008
Ever on the lookout for architectural merrymaking, Astragal is pleased to present a select cut of pictures from the successful AJ/Urban Splash Tribeca Infobox exhibition opening.
...While spirits ran high at the exhibition launch party

5-Jun-2008
How many of the country's hottest young architectural talents can you get in a former warehouse in Liverpool on a Wednesday night?
Stadium sale

30-May-2008
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) admitted this week that it is looking at the possibility of flogging London’s £469 million Olympic main stadium – designed by HOK Sport and Peter Cook – once the Games have finished.
OMA plays it cool in Dubai

19-May-2008
Astragal was lucky enough to enjoy an afternoon with Reinier de Graaf from Rem Koolhaas’ firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) last week.
Nice work if you can get it

15-May-2008
Jaws dropped when it was revealed at the AJ100 awards ceremony last night (14 May) that Ken Shuttleworth’s burgeoning practice Make has only a 2 per cent staff turnover – an incredibly low figure which more than justifies the firm’s Employer of the Year award.
There's a brand new dance but I don't know its name

15-May-2008
From male kimonos to kilts, dickie bows to Doc Martins, architecture once again proved it has no real fashion sense at the AJ100 awards ceremony last night (14 May).
Erick van Egeraat unveils a rubbish scheme

9-May-2008
A load of Danish rubbish. That’s what Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat's new incinerator in Roskilde, Denmark has been designed to handle.
...And finds time to gold-plate her jugs

8-May-2008
A little-known fact about Zaha Hadid is that beneath the tough, diva-like exterior is a heart of gold – or, in this case, a vase of gold.
BRE has sustainability all wrapped up

6-May-2008
We were delighted to receive the latest offering from BRE Press, a booklet called Sustainability through Planning by Josephine Prior and Claire Williams.
Skittle be alright on the night

1-May-2008
At which architects party did Astragal pick up this packet of cheap confectionery?
Hot property

28-Apr-2008
Astragal is always pleased to see members of the construction fraternity publicly recognised so he was delighted to see Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp appear in that august publication, FHM's 100 Sexiest Women 2008.
Engineer to the glitterati

25-Apr-2008
Engineers often get hot under the collar about misuse of the term 'engineer', so it is interesting to see a case where there is a particularly chic collar under which to get hot.
Flight of fancy

21-Apr-2008
We have only just caught up with one of the best April Fool's stories. Apparently on 1 April all the team working on the Marks Barfield Treetop Walk at Kew Gardens received an email from their contact at Kew, saying all work would have to stop.
Running off the map

21-Apr-2008
Three of the AJ's staff spent a fascinating morning with the Ordnance Survey last week, intrigued to discover a whole room full of people staring at aerial photos on a screen through 3D glasses.
Developer threatens to flatten Beatles tour guide

17-Apr-2008
You can’t beat a good expletive-strewn spat, especially one that was intended to be private and became so hilariously public.
Virgin on the ridiculous

16-Apr-2008
How much would you be prepared to pay to go into space? Astragal was delighted to be seated near a future astronaut at the dinner following the 2008 Milo Lecture 'Extreme Architecture II: A Space Odyssey' on Tuesday (15 April).
Stolen Stanley?

15-Apr-2008
Astragal was treated to a quick peek around Cambridge University's Architecture Department the other day when he made a startling discovery.
The Audiacity of Richard Rogers

11-Apr-2008
Architectural superstar and eminence grise Richard Rogers is in some odd company in the latest issue of the very luxurious Audi Magazine.
Prince Andrew engages with architecture

3-Apr-2008
Has Prince Andrew become as passionate about architecture as his big brother? This photograph certainly suggests that he has a point to make.
Afghan stitchin'

20-Mar-2008
Ever wanted to see Zaha’s rug? Neither did the AJ, but she showed it to us anyway.
Gentleman's friend – 23.10.07

23-Oct-2007
He used to drive a Maserati, is a former journalist, wears his Prada trousers slim and is not averse to mystical experiences. No, it's not Astragal – it's OMA's loveable Rem Koolhaas! Astragal was treated to these and other insights when he settled down to read gentleman's style journal Fantastic Man. The magazine joins a slew of others that have eked out 'cool' points from the architectural profession. But unlike the other vulgar try-hards, Fantastic Man is well-suited ...
Intimates – 23.10.07

23-Oct-2007
Astragal is honoured to have received an invitation to teach at Yale University later this term, but his spy there says that intimate contact is the norm between tutors. The source writes: ‘An amusing story. When you come over you'll probably stay in the Omni hotel. All the visiting lecturers and tutors do. Last week there was a fire alarm at six in the morning and everyone had to evacuate the building and stand out on the pavement in their pyjamas. Amusingly, Leon Krier ...
There's only one Neville Neville – 23.10.07

23-Oct-2007
Readers will be aware that Astragal likes to keep firmly abreast of all the ups and downs in the world of Association Football. The unmistakable silhouette of Gary Neville sitting in AEW Architects’ Manchester office was never, therefore, going to elude the eagle-eyed bon-viveur. Apparently, the son of Neville Neville had popped in to talk about why his new house was starting to fall down. Perhaps it had taken a dive.
Wedding Bells - 23.10.07

23-Oct-2007
Astragal was surprised to hear that Future Systems’ 70-year-old founder Jan Kaplicky has tied the knot again – allegedly to a woman 40 years his junior. What is more unusual is that the ceremony took place just eight days after his ex-wife Amanda Levete got hitched for a second time. The question is, was the brown envelope for the office collection as heavy third time around…?
Booze Cruise - 23.10.07

23-Oct-2007
Booze cruise – 23.10.07
Animal Art - 19.10.07

23-Oct-2007
Artist Mark Wallinger, whose State Britain installation at Tate Britain is nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, has submitted a video called Sleeper for the award’s exhibition at Tate Liverpool. The video sees Wallinger, cunningly disguised as a bear, shuffling around Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Astragal has just one question (and it is wailed pitifully): What does it all mean? Well, according to the Times the piece ...
Looking drawn – 15.10.07

19-Oct-2007
Louis Hellman has now graced these pages with his bitingly satirical cartoons for 40 years, and this anniversary was marked with a delightful lunch in a Covent Garden restaurant last week. Editors and former editors galore (and not just of the AJ) turned up – Paul Finch, Peter Carolin, Peter Davey, Hugh Pearman and Louise Rogers among them. There were even a few architects, including Maxwell Hutchinson, David Rock and Angela Brady, who won an original version of last week’s AJ Hellman ...
The In Crowd – 15.10.07

19-Oct-2007
Last week was Frieze week, the annual art fair in London that begets a thousand pretentious dinner parties and sees the number 38 bus (Hackney to Regent's Park) jammed full of grumbling nearly-rans of the art world. Astragal didn’t see much, but was thrilled to spot Tony Fretton, Jamie Fobert, Corinna Dean and Lord and Lady Foster admiring the spider at the Louise Bourgeois opening at Tate Modern.
Super woofer – 15.10.07

19-Oct-2007
So, you’re motoring swiftly along an American highway, eyes peeled for somewhere to rest your weary head. And, somewhat unpredictably, you happen upon a 30ft-high beagle with a sign screaming the words ‘I’m a B&B’.
Making friends and influencing people – 11.10.07

19-Oct-2007
The London Evening Standard doesn’t appear that keen to make friends with its ‘London’s 1,000 Most Influential People’ supplement which appeared earlier this week. Apart from the disgraceful omission of Astragal (an administrative error we are assured) there is the bizarre biog of Astragal’s old mucker Paul Finch, AR editor and former CABE deputy chair. Finch is listed alongside such luminaries as Norman Foster, Ken Livingstone and ...
Cousteau-DA – 10.10.07

19-Oct-2007
God will smite anyone who claims the Olympic Delivery Authority is, in any way, a sinking ship. Didn't we chuckle then when the ODA's own press officers equated the tonnage of earth to be shifted from the Olympic Park to the weight of 37 submarines. Dive, dive, dive.
A dog's life – 02.10.07

9-Oct-2007
On arriving in Blackpool for the Tory party conference, Astragal headed off to the beachfront for a touch of sea air and soon became mesmerised by the large blobs of blue wax that sealed all the inspection hatches, drainage covers and manholes along the way. One of the seals and its officious HM crown was cracked in two and a sniffer dog was being encouraged to investigate. Its handler, clearly on his umpteenth search of the day and bored of the whole charade, couldn’t match the unbridled ...
No press please – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Astragal found himself pinned up against the wall at this year's Stirling. Foster + Partners' Stefan Behling, it seems, had had enough of the media after his recent press conference in Libya, and this old hack caught the wrong side of the Bavarian bear. But after a few reassuring words Behling loosened his grip and chatted amiably about the Stirling shortlist. Good job Astragal didn't tell him what he really thought of Dresden...
No press please – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Astragal found himself pinned up against the wall at this year's Stirling. Foster + Partners' Stefan Behling, it seems, had had enough of the media after his recent press conference in Libya, and this old hack caught the wrong side of the Bavarian bear. But after a few reassuring words Behling loosened his grip and chatted amiably about the Stirling shortlist. Good job Astragal didn't tell him what he really thought of Dresden...
Too much love – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Glenn Howells met his number one fan at the Stirling awards. As Astragal tried to chat to Birmingham's favourite architect, Howells found himslef being manhandled by architect Peter King. King lavished Howells with praise, stopping just short of kissing Glenn's hand. 'Phew!' Howells said, 'Hope he hasn't got a room full of pictures of me at home, like that Alan Partridge episode!'
Magic bus – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
There is something about the Roundhouse, venue for the Stirling prize for the second year running, that brings out nostalgic memories in people of a certain age. But RIBA president Sunand Prasad, conducting his first Stirling Prize, capped them all. He recalled that he had organised some sitar concerts there in the 1970s, making the stages from scaffold poles and struts ‘borrowed’ from building sites on which he was working. But that paled into insignificance compared ...
Cullinan thrown – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Lobbing of bread rolls is not the sort of thing one expects at such an august occasion, but the excuse on Saturday was that it was done by no less a figure than the evening’s presenter, Kevin McCloud. He stood up on the stage to introduce the event and ask for good behaviour – then tore open a packet of very cheap looking rolls and threw half a one at Ted Cullinan (narrowly missing one of Astragal’s collegues), saying that it was a punishment for the time ...
Not that green – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Van Heyningen and Haward’s RSPB building, shortlisted for the RIBA/ English Partnerships sustainability award looked much greener than usual on the screen. All the delicate russet tones of the building had turned various tones of khaki. It was not deliberate, said Joanna van Heyningen, adding ruefully, ‘That’s not why we didn’t win’.
Litter lout – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
The bouncers at the Roundhouse were built on traditional lines, and intent on keeping everybody in order, which was death to spontaneous gestures. When one member of the AJ team decided he didn’t want to go to the after party in Covent Garden, and threw his ticket exuberantly on the floor, two bouncers immediately appeared, and told him to pick it up.
Double date – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Almost all of the stars of British architecture were at the Roundhouse, but there were some notable absentees. Chief among them were former Stirling winner Amanda Levete of Future Systems and Baroness Blackstone, chair of the RIBA trust. But they had a good excuse – Amanda was marrying Baroness Blackstone’s son Ben Evans. One person who managed to attend both events was CABE Space’s Sarah Gaventa, first being interviewed ...
Girls talk – 07.10.07

9-Oct-2007
Sunand Prasad made an odd reference to there being a table full of women at the event, which he evidently saw as a good thing. It was a table hosted by Carolyn Larkin of Caro Communications, and included Deborah Saunt of DSDHA, Liza Fior of MUF and BD editor Amanda Baillieu. However, there was one male interloper – AJ Specification’s editor Will Hunter.
Skimmed milk – 02.10.07

9-Oct-2007
By all accounts, Boris Johnson’s speech to the Tory Party at its Blackpool conference – his first as a London Mayoral candidate – was something of a pantomime act. ‘The man is very funny but completely shambolic,’ one bemused delegate informed Astragal. Our source went on to say that, as skilled as Boris was ‘at milking his “shambolicness”,’ he wasn’t as skilled at getting a clear message across. ‘I think Boris was trying to say that he didn’t like tall buildings, but ...
Flaking it – 02.10.07

9-Oct-2007
By the RIBA's own admission, the ‘Ask an architect’ sessions in Blackpool were a tad on the quiet side. Astragal wonders if this could be down to the glue the RIBA used to post up its flyers…
A SMACKED BOTTON

14-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL IN VENICE
FOOD FOR THOUGHT

14-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL IN VENICE
LAST ORDERS

14-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL IN VENICE
YOUR NAME'S NOT DOWN?

14-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL IN VENICE
ASTRAGAL

7-Sep-2006
'It lumbers on the skyline like Quasimodo' Tom Dyckhoff on Ian Simpson's new Beetham Tower in Manchester.
HEROIC ARCHITECTURE

7-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL
VENICE TO SEE YOU

7-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL
WHAT A WONDERFUL TOWN

7-Sep-2006
ASTRAGAL
A STICK TO BEAT BILL WITH

24-Nov-2005
ASTRAGAL
TAKING A SHOT AT NORMAN

24-Nov-2005
ASTRAGAL
THE WOOD AT WAR

24-Nov-2005
ASTRAGAL
Airborne fun

28-Mar-2002
My old friend Tyler Brûlé, founder of Wallpaper, is having fun in pastures new. Swissair, the erstwhile national carrier, is using his services as part of its phoenix-like attempt to emerge from bankruptcy to became a player again, offering advice on things like avoiding navy blue for livery, and avoiding leather folders for the wine lists. His qualifications, according to an amusing feature in the Independent on Sunday , include the fact that he bought a Rolex watch at a ...
archicharades

28-Mar-2002
Champagne goes to Tristam Spicer, Geoff Buckley and Kevin McHale of Kevin Doonan Architect who jointly identified David Chipperfield from the clues in our 'archicharades' competition last week. Can you identify the famous architect from this week's clues?
Bilbao calling

28-Mar-2002
While The Architectural Review embraced European Modernism at a well-attended conference at the RIBA in London, an international event with a rather different flavour took place in the Bilbao Guggenheim. Arata Isozaki, Jean Nouvel and Wolf Prix discussed the place of the Guggenheim and its architect, Frank Gehry, in the context of international architecture and indeed their own work. A full house of Spanish architects heard simultaneous translations as French, Spanish, German and English ...
Down to Rio

28-Mar-2002
If there is to be another Guggenheim Museum anywhere in the world, you could choose worse places than Rio de Janeiro. The Brazil exhibition currently at the Frank Lloyd Wright museum of modern art, whose interior is painted black for the occasion, might give us a clue as to a potential architect down Rio way: M Jean Nouvel.
Inside out

28-Mar-2002
The relationship between architecture and fit-out architecture is always fascinating. For example, research consultant cityoffices. net has produced statistics showing that Gensler, the world's biggest architect, has achieved significant leadership in the fit-out market in central London, achieving 17 per cent market share over the past three years. Interestingly, it emerges that 19 per cent of the work undertaken was on buildings designed by the practice itself. There must be hope ...
Jorn again

28-Mar-2002
A select group gathered for the London launch of Richard Weston's magnificent Utzon tome, surely in line for every architectural book award going. Publisher Torsten Bløndal was in attendance, a perfectionist who pulped an initial run of the book because the scans did not meet his exacting standards. So too was Utzon's principal assistant, Mogens PripBuus - of whom Utzon always says 'he knows more about me than I do'; Françoise Fromonot, author of the best previous book on ...
Knight fever

28-Mar-2002
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw held a splendid reception at NGP's London office to celebrate his honour and the health of the practice generally.
Next in line

28-Mar-2002
Bilbao is still pursuing the architectural route as an outward and visible sign of its regeneration ambitions.
Surrey fringe

28-Mar-2002
Walton-on-Thames might not sound the most likely venue for a contemporary architecture show, but that is just what the Riverhouse, in Manor Road, is staging until 14 April. Among the architects are Foster, Alsop and Jiricna and, in the mix of media, there are screenprints by Langlands & Bell and paintings by Carl Laubin. It is good to see the model of Metaphor's poetic proposal for a Jewish memorial in Mannheim - and don't miss sketches in the cafe downstairs by John Pardey (it's that ...
Academic rumpus

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
archicharades

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Artistic link

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Custom standard

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Fellow traveller

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Hubbub factor

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Mental change

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Patron wanted

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Pure gold

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
Sitting comfortably

14-Feb-2002
ASTRAGAL
archicharades

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Cook's tour

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Gold digging

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Good company

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Linear thinking

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Lofty lineage

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Mission position

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Wembley replay

31-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Following function

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Grade trouble

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
New into old

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
See this

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Seifert revisited

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Tall storeys

24-Jan-2002
ASTRAGAL
Alberti calling

29-Nov-2001
What could making a goddam cell phone have to do with the Renaissance?' asks Erik Anderson in the New Yorker magazine. Although head of production at mobile phone company Nokia, Anderson is entitled to ask, since in his spare time he is a Renaissance architecture PhD student at Harvard. In answer to his own question he quotes Alberti: 'All care, all diligence, all financial consideration must be directed to insuring that what is built is useful, commodious, yes - but also embellished ...
Block vote

29-Nov-2001
The Heron Tower public inquiry has been treated to evidence of English Heritage and Westminster Council conspiring to chop down and/or 'pollard' trees to create 'new views of St Paul's Cathedral which need 'protection'. This sort of cooperation is not confined to skyline views, apparently. Some while ago, the council took it upon itself to demolish a block of stone outside the old Royal Fine Art Commission premises in St James's Square.
Family affair

29-Nov-2001
Back to St James's Square: I hear that former RFAC commissioner Sir Stuart Lipton, now CABE chairman, is moving his Stanhope organisation into Norfolk House. This is, of course, the office building developed by property man Rudolph Palumbo in the 1930s, when he demolished the wonderful mansion which previously occupied the site, designed in 1748 by Mathew Brettingham and occupied by successive Dukes of Norfolk until 1938.
Gold cards

29-Nov-2001
Royal Gold Medal nomination time again, and various lobbyists have been hard at work promoting their candidate for the honour. Astragal hears that Archigram, or possibly Peter Cook, could be considered. Frei Otto has been getting support for some time now, as has Rafael Moneo. Other suggestions welcome.
Lese majeste?

29-Nov-2001
Bird life at Kensington Palace has been disappearing in what could have the makings of an international incident.
look who's talking

29-Nov-2001
Champagne goes to Stuart Tappin of London WC1 for his winning caption. This week's photo shows a hardpressed Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye magazine, at his desk. Behind him is an image of Foster and Partners' Swiss Re tower.
Price formula

29-Nov-2001
Incidentally, I hear motor racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone has bought a house in Kensington Palace Gardens, the preserve of ambassadors and royalty. Ecclestone managed to knock the price down from a very reasonable £85 million to the bargain of the year at £50 million.
Wonderful views?

29-Nov-2001
Most striking chapter heading of the year? Inside a new book from Routledge, The Urban Lifeworld, I come across the following: 'Four Ways of Overlooking Copenhagen in Steen Eiler
Educating archies

18-Oct-2001
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High anxiety

18-Oct-2001
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On time

18-Oct-2001
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Ping pong

18-Oct-2001
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Remember Roy

18-Oct-2001
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Runners & riders

18-Oct-2001
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Alsop's army

11-Oct-2001
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Bar none

11-Oct-2001
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Irony shortfall

11-Oct-2001
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look who's talking

11-Oct-2001
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Mr Whippy

11-Oct-2001
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Office issues

11-Oct-2001
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Shadow boxing

11-Oct-2001
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Arup intelligence

4-Oct-2001
A splendid turnout in Fitzroy Square for Arup veteran Ron Marsh's retirement bash was a reminder of just what an array of talent has passed through (and remained with) the firm. As if to make the point, the rapid and impressive response of Arup to the New York disaster has presented knowledgeable, considered and disinterested comment. The firm has created an Extreme Events Mitigation Task Force, with Tony Fitzpatrick, who heads the US operation, to the fore. It is producing guides to ...
Club rules

4-Oct-2001
I see that following the retirement of the excellent Lord Carrington from the post, HRH the Duke of Gloucester is to succeed him as president of the Architecture Club. Frequently described as an architect (he certainly qualified and practised as one), I can find no trace of him in the ARB directory. I do hope a criminal prosecution can be avoided.
Damaged goods

4-Oct-2001
In our ongoing quest to keep you up to date with the glossy magazines, we are pleased to be able to bring you a vital piece of intelligence from an interview with boy-band Damage in this month's New Woman . Faced with the tricky question 'Would you like to get a girl into bed?'
Defining moment

4-Oct-2001
We are pleased to report that Astragal made it into the pages of the Guardian on Saturday - not quoted for our proverbial newsgathering skills, but as a question in the fiendishly-difficult Pyrgic Puzzles. Sadly, no prizes are offered to AJ readers for choosing the right definition from: (a) female astronaut; (b) hooded jacket; (c) semi-circular moulding;
Intelligentsia veto

4-Oct-2001
The not-so-reclusive Dame Stella Rimington, erstwhile head of MI5, made an excellent impression on my old friend Lord St John of Fawsley when he was chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission, and Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. So much so that he recommended that she should succeed him. Alas it was not to be.
look who's talking

4-Oct-2001
Champagne goes to Nat Jackson of London SW12 for his winning caption.
To the point

4-Oct-2001
From the pages of the Guardian last week, something that applies as much to international politics as it does to architectural drawings. It is said to be the archetypal Jewish telegram: 'Start worrying. Details to follow.'
Two wheels good

4-Oct-2001
Congratulations to Wordsearch supremo Peter Murray, who has completed an extraordinary charity cycle trip in aid of multiple sclerosis from Land's End to John O'Groats in just 12 days on his racer. Although cheered by some of the regenerated towns and villages Murray saw on his picaresque journey, Britain's supposedly improving cuisine has not really materialised according to his saddle-borne research.
When in Rome

4-Oct-2001
This year's Sir Banister Fletcher award for the 'most deserving' book on architecture was presented to former Rome scholar Mark Wilson Jones at a prizegiving dinner at the Arts Club.
Winners all

4-Oct-2001
The architects' evening at 100% Design was a cheerful and popular event and the draw of prizes was a riotous affair. Will Alsop came over all bashful when his was the winning ticket drawn for a bright red Sacco Zanotta beanbag, and the prize had to be reallocated.
Blank walls

27-Sep-2001
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Cracked columns

27-Sep-2001
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Design under fire

27-Sep-2001
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Eye-catching

27-Sep-2001
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look who's talking

27-Sep-2001
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Number's up

27-Sep-2001
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Repeating on us

27-Sep-2001
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Twist of fate

27-Sep-2001
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A REPLACEMENT WEMBLEY STADIUM

13-Sep-2001
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Core values

13-Sep-2001
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Donor card

13-Sep-2001
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Glossy comments

13-Sep-2001
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Harsh words

13-Sep-2001
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House style

13-Sep-2001
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Ambridge outrage

19-Jul-2001
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Canned design

19-Jul-2001
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Fan club

19-Jul-2001
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Foundation course

19-Jul-2001
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Mews that fits

19-Jul-2001
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Social cities

19-Jul-2001
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Trainspotting

19-Jul-2001
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Wrong message

19-Jul-2001
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Back in kilter

12-Jul-2001
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Knight like this

12-Jul-2001
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look who's talking

12-Jul-2001
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Market forces

12-Jul-2001
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Risky business

12-Jul-2001
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Sixties club

12-Jul-2001
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Steel appeal

12-Jul-2001
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20 years young

5-Jul-2001
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Business futures?

5-Jul-2001
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Market forces

5-Jul-2001
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On their metal

5-Jul-2001
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Quality time

5-Jul-2001
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Display case

21-Jun-2001
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East Enders

21-Jun-2001
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Honour bound

21-Jun-2001
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look who's talking

21-Jun-2001
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Morality play

21-Jun-2001
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No time for thrills

21-Jun-2001
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Poetry in motion

21-Jun-2001
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Tall tale

21-Jun-2001
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Ashes to ashes

14-Jun-2001
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Barry recalled

14-Jun-2001
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By numbers

14-Jun-2001
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Dull barometer

14-Jun-2001
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Getting shirty

14-Jun-2001
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look who's talking

14-Jun-2001
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Pincer movement

14-Jun-2001
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Spot the joins

14-Jun-2001
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Dinner parties

7-Jun-2001
Of the many architects present at the RA dinner, several had cause to look pleased with themselves. David Chipperfield, BBC victor in Scotland, was congratulated by all and sundry, but claimed he was still only getting commissions abroad.Nicholas Grimshaw, Piers Gough, Ian Ritchie, new Architecture Foundation chairman Will Alsop, Colin St John Wilson, Michael Manser, Charles Jencks, Ed Jones, Sir Philip Dowson, Sir Richard MacCormac, Gordon Benson and Sir Michael Hopkins were among ...
In the web

7-Jun-2001
Thanks to HTA (community architect Hunt Thompson to those of you with longer memories) for an invitation to see its new community 'consultation website'. It evangelises thus: 'Our shared vision of Sustainable Placemaking must now encompass the possibilities of creating communities on the World Wide Web that complement their physical counterparts. Place will soon no longer be solely defined by their physical attributes, but also by their representation on the Internet.' Indeed. I see ...
Lighter than air

7-Jun-2001
My old friend Richard Murphy has passed the test to become a licensed micro-pilot. Now he really will be above it all.
look who's talking

7-Jun-2001
Congratulations to John Dawson of ALS Architects of London SW17 for his winning caption. This week's topical image shows politicians waving, not drowning, in the Thames by the Houses of Parliament. Captions on a postcard please by first thing Monday morning to: AJ Astragal, 151 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4GB, or fax 020 7505 6701.
Own goal

7-Jun-2001
England football manager Sven Goran Eriksson has had to give up on buying a £2.475 million penthouse in Battersea's Montevetro apartment block, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership (and Hurley Robertson).The Football Association has told him to buy something 'less prominent', according to the London Evening Standard . Less prominent? You can't get to Montevetro on public transport!
Pigs in clover

7-Jun-2001
As foot-and-mouth disease returns to discomfort both farmers and politicians, help is at hand from an unlikely source - super-cool Dutch practice MVRDV. Its latest exhibition features a film, Pig City , in which the porkers are accommodated in one of the practice's favourite high-rises. 'The animals will be better off, the quality of meat will improve, the transport of livestock will not be necessary, all diseases will be eradicated and the Netherlands will have room to breathe.' Check ...

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