Architects Journal
July 2012

View all stories from this issue.

Aedas loses London star but grows in US

Aedas has laid off the high-profile head of its London interiors group while announcing it is to open a second US office.
Animated pixel display lights up Olympic opening ceremony

The creative agency behind the animated pixels at the Olympic opening ceremony has described how it delivered the spectacular ‘human powered’ screen at Friday night’s event.
Former Rogers' duo complete Wimbledon mixed double

Emerging practice Lacey & Saltykov Architects has completed itsfirst project: two semi-detached family homes in south-west London
Local firm wins Hove Station contest

Brighton-based LCE Architects has won the competition to redevelop a site in the Hove Station area, partly occupied by a bus depot
Retrofit as creative catalyst

Bristol: Retrofit City celebrates transformational projects and is a sign of the Architecture Centre’s willingness to galvanise the profession and engage the public, writes Isabel Allen
RIBA Council election results revealed

Former MP Sydney Chapman, Elena Tsolakis and Dyer’s Dale Sinclair have been re-elected to sit as national representatives on RIBA Council
Studio Octopi scoops Delfina Foundation contest

London’s Studio Octopi with Cairo-based Shahira Fahmy Architects have won the contest to overhaul and expand the London home of the Delfina Foundatio
UK architects target Brazil to escape Eurozone

With a booming middle class and a healthy holiday market, Brazil’s strong economy offers British architects scope for new sports, housing and leisure work, writes Greg Pitcher
Walters & Cohen wins Scottish school prototype contest

Walters & Cohen to design the new Lairdsland Primary School in east Dunbartonshire, a prototype scheme which could be rolled out across Scotland.
We seem unable to treat designers with the credit they are due

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: why was there no reference to the architects at the London 2012 opening ceremony
100 new free schools revealed

The government has announced a fresh wave of more than 100 free schools
15% planning fee hike announced

The government has announced plans to increase planning fees by 15 per cent starting in the autumn
16 Stations in the Library

[From the AJ Buildings Library archives] As Felix Mara reviews King’s Cross by John McAslan + Partners in AJ12.07.12, a closer look at the 16 station in the Library
2% rise in proportion of UK women architects

The number of women on the ARB register now represents 21 per cent of the overall profession, up from 19 per cent in 2010
24 hour Peckham design challenge launched

[Applications to be returned by 27 July] Furniture designer Hendzel + Hunt has invited applications to its annual 24 hour design challenge which is to be held in Peckham
A performing dog decides Britain doesn’t have talent

Ian Martin has lunch with Bauhau and his companion Darcy Farquear’say
Adjaye unwraps brace of Washington DC libraries

[First look] Adjaye Associates has completed these two new libraries in the heart of the United States capital Washington DC
AECB Conference 2012

Natural building, mainstreaming straw construction, air tightness and Passivhaus discussed at this year’s conference
AHMM to overhaul BBC's television centre

AHMM is to oversee the overhaul of the 1950s BBC Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush, west London
AIA index: US misery continues

Demand for architects has plummeted again in the US, according to a respected barometer
AJ Poll: should RIBA have an annual sustainability award?

Vote in the poll
AJ Specification 07.12 - Colour & texture

Case studies by Slade Architecture, van Heyningen and Haward Architects and Do-architecture
AJ supplement: London 2012 Games Architecture

A guide to the Olympic buildings featured in the AJ Buildings Library, published with AJ02.08.12
American Hardwood - Refined dining in American white oak and walnut

Dare Studio is an award winning British Design Company producing contemporary furniture for luxury domestic interiors and high specification contract environments. The family-run studio was established in 2009 by Sean Dare and has become known for style, quality, and fine craftsmanship, setting a benchmark for the very best in contemporary design. Dare Studio offers mass produced solutions to the industry as well as bespoke commissions to cater for the individual.
An open letter to your future client, explaining what architects do

This column addressed to those of the 2,031 adults surveyed by InBuilding.org with YouGov who don’t know what architects do, writes Christine Murray
Applicants to UK architecture schools drop 12%

Architecture courses have suffered a 12 per cent fall in applications this year, according to new figures published by UCAS,
Aquatic Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Olympic swimming venue with a flexible seating arrangement designed to accommodate 17,500 spectators during the games, with a reduced capacity of 2,000 in legacy mode
ARB to overhaul 'lynching system'

The Architects’ Registration Board (ARB) has been forced to shake up the way it investigates complaints for the second time in two years in a bid to resolve ‘chronic problems’ with its Investigations Committee
Architect sought for £35m Great Ormond Street research centre

[Deadline for requests to participate 23 August] Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens’ Charity is on the hunt for an architect for a new research centre for rare diseases in children
Architect struck off ARB register launches appeal

Faheem Aftab, formerly of Manchester-based A-Cube Architects, is to appeal after being found guilty by the ARB of unacceptable professional conduct and erased from the register of architects
Architects invited to redesign Hounslow streets

[Requests to participate to be received by 3 August] The London Borough of Hounslow is on the hunt for an ‘innovative and accomplished’ architect to develop outline designs for the improvement of Hounslow High street and other streets in west London town centre
Architects need to listen says Ark's Katie Oliver

Katie Oliver, project manager at ARK Schools, explains the charity’s approach to improving school environments and educational standards
Architecture is not engaging with green infrastructure holistically

What will GI mean for small architectural practices? asks Sue Illman
Armitt report demands ‘urgent action’ on Olympic marketing

ODA chief executive John Armitt has called for his organisation’s approach to procurement and programme management to be used for all public projects worth more than £10 million
Around Town: Is Anything Broken?

[AROUND TOWN] Part of the Camden Fringe Theatre Festival, this comedy depicts one hour in the life of a very busy architect…
Arup architect wins Groucho Club bike stand competition

Architect Andy Barnes of Arup Associates has won the competition to design a bike stand for London’s Groucho Club in Soho
Bari railway corridor international contest launched

[Stage one submissions are due before 22 August] The Comune di Bari in southern Italy has launched an international ideas competition seeking proposals for two areas within the city
Basketball Arena by Wilkinson Eyre Architects

[London Olympics in the AJBL] The temporary Olympic basketball arena will host the basketball event at the Games
Battersea Power Station revamp to start next summer

The Battersea Power Station redevelopment will start next summer and is expected to be worth £8bn and create 20,000 construction jobs, the government has announced
Beijing CBD reimagined in Space Syntax’s low carbon masterplan

CAUPD/Space Syntax use urban movement analysis to remodel central Beijing
Books Received - July 2012

Footprint’s pick of the best green reads
Boris Johnson unveils £8m self-build programme

London mayor Boris Johnson has created an £8 million fund to boost self-build projects in the capital
Brisac Gonzalez bags Paris masterplan gold

Brisac Gonzalez with Paris-based Antoine Regnault Architecture has won the competition to design a £28 million mixed-use masterplan in Paris’ 17th arrondissement
Bristol Royal Infirmary, by Charles Holden (1912)

[From the AJ Buildings Library archives] See images, drawings and data for a hospital extension finished 100 years ago and still in use today
British bulldog

Clash Architects has made a compelling new entrance to the Churchill War Rooms with this tough bronze shell, writes Felix Mara. Photography by Richard Davies
British invasion

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’.
Buckley Gray Yeoman bags Essex school consent

Buckley Gray Yeoman’s masterplan for developing an Essex school has received planning consent
Call for entries: World Monuments Fund 2012 prize

[Submissions to be received before 31 July] The World Monuments Fund is receiving nominations for the 2012 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize
Call for team to design 1,000 pupil school in Ireland

[Expressions of interest to be received by 23 July] Louth County Council in the north of the Republic of Ireland is inviting expressions of interest from architect led design teams for a post primary school new build.
Canada's commercial construction reaches 3-year high

Canadian commercial and industrial construction has hit a three-year high, according to official figures
Cassidy + Ashton scoops planning for Bolton sixth form block

[First look] Cassidy + Ashton has won planning permission for a £5 million sixth form centre project for Bolton School in Greater Manchester
Castle Drogo: images, drawings and details

[Featured AJ Buildings Library project] By 1930 Edwin Lutyens had created Britain’s last castle entirely from granite, in 2007 Inskip and Jenkins had the task of restoring parts of the Grade-I listed landmark
CGI International Launches Online Specification Support with Pyroguard ‘Applications & Tests Selector’

CGI International, manufacturer of the Pyroguard range of products, and a leading independent manufacturer of fire glass solutions, has launched a new online ‘Applications & Tests Selector’ which is designed to streamline the selection of Pyroguard test evidence and make it quicker and easier than ever before to access the latest test certificates
Chris Brown: Olympics 'not best way to regenerate'

A regeneration expert has warned that London did not have time to maximise the benefits of hosting the Olympic Games
Claridge wins planning for Hull’s tallest building

[First look + project data] Claridge Architects has won planning for an 87 metre-high hotel tower scheme in Hull, which will be the tallest building in the city
Clegg signals help for stalled social housing

Housing association new build schemes could be unlocked with government help
Closing the gap

As this year’s London Festival of Architecture draws to a close, founder and organiser Peter Murray explains the role the event plays in bringing the profession and the public together
Colin Tweedy appointed Buildings Centre managing director

Colin Tweedy has been appointed as the new managing director of London’s The Building Centre
Competition - Win 'Prometheus chair'

The AJ is giving readers the chance to win an Omni armchair used on-set in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster Prometheus
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 05.07.12

A new city centre in Athens, a South Wales healthcare framework and Edinburgh Sculpture Centre. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 12.07.12

Design consultancy in China’s Luohu District, a railway corridor in sothern Italy and the world monuments fund calls for submissions. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competition
Competitions: Editor's pick, 19.07.12

Lviv monastery, University College Dublin’s Confucius Centre and Guildford College. The editor’s pick of this weeks top competitions
Competitions: Editor's pick, 26.07.12

London’s Highline, Dublin’s National Rehabilitation Hospital and the WAF student contest. The editor’s pick of this weeks top competitions
Construction output 6.3 per cent down in May

Construction output dropped by just over 6 per cent in May 2012 compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics
Construction Specialties Provides Aesthetic Solar Management Solution

Helping architects to create environments which optimise comfort and productivity, Construction Specialties (C/S) has launched Solarmotion Controllable Sunshades. The shading system is able to track the sun, reducing heat gain within a building by up to 85% and integrates with the building envelope to create a dynamic façade.
Construction starts on Heatherwick’s ‘Home of Imagination’

Work has begun on a distillery and visitor centre designed by Heatherwick Studios for gin brand Bombay Sapphire
Contest launched for ‘unbuilt’ projects

[Registration must be completed by 1 November] New York-based contest organiser d3 has opened an ‘unbuilt visions’ contest looking for unrealised and theoretical schemes
Cool, calm, connected

John McAslan + Partners’ makeover of London’s King’s Cross Station, with the dramatic geometry of its Western Concourse roof, is a fitting rehabilitation of Cubitt’s fine rail terminus, writes Felix Mara. Photography by Hufton + Crow
Co-opting Olympic success, heartache and anguish

Sarah Morris’ 18-arch long artwork is an Olympic feat itself, writes James Pallister
CPA downgrades construction forecasts as growth stalled until 2014

Construction output is set for a 5.8 per cent decline over 2012 and 2013, according to the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association.
CPD: Innovative envelope solutions

This CPD’s objective is to outline the development of insulated panel technology and improve understanding of innovation in modular building envelopes, helping reduce project complexity and risk
David Adjaye to design NY university arts centre

Adjaye Associates is to design a cultural facility for a university in New York
David Kohn completes White Building arts hub

[First look + plans] David Kohn Architects has completed this £550,000 transformation of a former sweet factory into an arts centre on the Olympic Fringe in Hackney Wick
Dernie named dean at Westminster

Architect David Dernie has been named the new dean of architecture and the built environment at Westminster University
Design contest opens for Lviv monastery complex

[Registration must be completed by 17 August] The Ukrainian city of Lviv has launched a public-realm design contest for its Bernardine Monastery complex
Design for your friends, redesign for your friends’ friends

Ian Martin designs the new Qatar Embassy
Design in the raw: The AA's new garden shed

Clad in cedar, corrugated metal and polycarbonate, a new shelter for project work at the Architectural Association’s Hooke Park campus, designed by the school’s own students with Mitchell Taylor Workshop, is anything but primitive, writes Ruth Slavid
Digital edition: AJ Specification, August 2012

Green Products
Digital edition: AJ Specification, July 2012

Colour & texture
Digital edition: AJ Specification, June 2012

Walls, ceilings and partitions
Digital edition: AJ05.07.12

The Architects’ Journal | 05.07.12 | Number 1 | Volume 236 |
Digital edition: AJ12.07.12

The Architects’ Journal | 12.07.12 | Number 2 | Volume 236 | King’s Cross
Digital edition: AJ19.07.12

The Architects’ Journal | 19.07.12 | Number 3 | Volume 236 | AHMM
Digital Edition: Royal Academy Architecture Awards

Celebrating 30 years
Docomomo blasts council over Elliott School redevelopment plans

International conservation campaign group Docomomo has hit out at Wandsworth Council’s controversial plans to partially demolish John Bancroft’s 1954 Elliott School in Putney, south west London
Doors close on another Newham pop-up

Struggling regeneration scheme Industri[us] has been closed for the rest of August after a request for emergency funding was turned down by Newham Council
Doors open at DSDHA’s flagship store for Bosideng

DSDHA’s flagship store for Chinese retailer Bosideng opened last week in London’s West End
Double dip? Architects don't think so

Construction output shrank by a whopping 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, but some architects say enquiries are on the rise
Dow Jones chosen to design new Cardiff Maggie's

South-London based Dow Jones Architects has been chosen to design a second Maggie’s centre in Wales.
Down on Dow

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
Dublin's National Rehabilitation Hospital seeks design team

[Requests to participate to be received by 23 August] The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin is on the hunt for architects to join a design team for a new 18,000m² healthcare building
Duggan Morris wins go-ahead for Richmond college scheme

Duggan Morris Architects has won planning permission for a new £5 million Arts and Education Wing at the Richmond Adult Community College (RACC) campus in west London
Ecophon - Awards win puts acoustic ceiling in the spotlight

Success at the AIS Contractors Awards has seen Ecophon, part of international materials company Saint-Gobain, together with Kenmor Ceilings and Partitions Ltd, recognised for its role in the acoustic ceiling design and installation at Durham County Council’s £5million Seaham Contact Centre.
Ecophon - Jaguar Land Rover dealerships

Showcasing two of the world’s most prestigious and admired car brands demands enormous attention to detail.
Ecophon - Jaguar Land Rover dealerships

Showcasing two of the world’s most prestigious and admired car brands demands enormous attention to detail. Over a many number of years, Saint-Gobain Ecophon has created acoustic suspended ceilings within countless Jaguar Land Rover dealerships throughout the UK.
Ecophon - Morrison’s Taste Kitchen

Race Cottam have enjoyed a long standing relationship with national retailer Morrison’s, and for this project were asked to design and develop their prestigious new taste Kitchen to coincide with the launch of their own-brand ”’M Kitchen’ range. An existing kitchen was fully refurbished to create the facility which is used to trial food products for the new range.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop contest launched

[Submissions must be uploaded by 20 July] The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Edward Marshall Trust is commissioning designers and artists to create craft furniture and ceramic designs for a new Sculpture Centre in Edinburgh’s Newhaven area
Education speaks

At London Metropolitan’s studio culture summit, leading academics called for a collaborative approach to learning, reports Merlin Fulcher
Edward Cullinan Architects' top ten tips for sustainable school design

This month’s sustainability talk focused on future-proofing primary schools
Emerging stars sought for new Chelsea café

A competition to design a £2 million café off the King’s Road in south-west London has been launched.
Emily Fribbance wins RIBA student representative race

Emily Fribbance of the Manchester School of Architecture has been elected to the student seat on RIBA council
End-of-the-world student projects should be welcomed by the profession

However alienated and doom-laded the explorations, we need students’ speculative creative energy, writes Rory Olcayto
Enter now: WAF 2012 ‘renew’ student contest

[Initial designs to be received by 30 July] Students have until Monday (30 July) to enter the World Architecture Festival’s 2012 student design contest
Everyone discounts, in large amounts

Ian Martin pimps pimped himself on the mass-market discount network
ExCeL Phase 2 by Grimshaw

[London Olympics in the AJBL] The largest competition venue at the London 2012 Games will host the boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling events
False start: ODA admits gaffe over claims Olympic Stadium on Stirling shortlist

The ODA has admitted blundering after claiming Populous’ London 2012 Olympic Stadium was already on this year’s Stirling Prize shortlist
FCH scoops planning for 'resurrected' £45m Liverpool scheme

Falconer Chester Hall has won planning permission for this hotel, housing and commercial mixed-use proposal for the mothballed Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool city centre
Fears over Rugby World Cup station delays dismissed

Campaigners have insisted their legal challenge to Rolfe Judd’s £40 million revamp of Twickenham Station in south-west London will not delay platform extension work ahead of the Rugby World Cup
Fire damages Zaha’s Baku cultural centre

The roof of Zaha Hadid’s controversial Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan has gone up in flames
First pictures: Coca Cola and BMW Olympic pavilions revealed

The AJ can exclusively reveal the first images of Serie Architects and Pernilla and Asif’s Olympic sponsors’ pavilions
Flexible Space Speaks Louder Than Words With AET

AET, the global leader in underfloor air-conditioning, has announced that installation of its Flexible Space System has now topped more than 2.5 million square metres, with the system helping to provide space saving, low energy comfort heating and cooling for some of the world’s most prestigious commercial developments.
FootprintWire 1.8.12

Today’s green news: Bartlett student reimagines London’s square mile
FootprintWire 10.7.12

Today’s green news: John Lin’s new twist on the rural courtyard residence embraces self-sufficiency
FootprintWire 11.7.12

Today’s green news: a ‘growing’ playground structure is introduced to Vienna’s museum quarter
FootprintWire 12.7.12

Today’s green news: Nouvel teams with Patrick Blanc to renovate nineteenth century Spanish brewery
FootprintWire 13.7.12

Today’s green news: Nakae Architects’ new house near Kanazawa, Japan uses environmental modeling to reinterpret local vernacular
FootprintWire 16.7.12

Today’s green news: Homes with poor energy efficiency are found to consume less energy than predicted
FootprintWire 17.7.12

Today’s green news: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects’ Yale NUS College in Singapore targets highest Green Mark rating
FootprintWire 18.7.12

Today’s green news: AA student Yvonne Weng wins Foster’s prize for sustainability and infrastructure
FootprintWire 19.7.12

Today’s green news: Photographs of Hungary’s worst toxic spill
FootprintWire 20.07.12

Today’s green news: Conceptual vertical banana farming in Paris
FootprintWire 23.7.12

Today’s green news: Green-roofed West Kowloon Terminus to link Hong Kong with China’s high speed rail
FootprintWire 24.7.12

Today’s green news: a wind-powered oil press
FootprintWire 27.7.12

Today’s green news: Olympic projects now on view in the AJ Buildings Library
FootprintWire 30.7.12

Today’s green news: Recycled cardboard lampshades by Greypants
FootprintWire 31.7.12

Today’s green news: Google’s new London headquarters achieves LEED Gold
FootprintWire 4.7.12

Today’s green news: MDRDV unveil Dutch city transformation for horticultural expo
FootprintWire 5.7.12

Today’s green news: Construction of ‘world’s largest solar bridge’ at Blackfriars reaches halfway point
FootprintWire 6.7.12

Today’s green news: Global photography and sustainability award Prix Pictet announce shortlist on theme of ‘power’.
FootprintWire 9.7.12

Today’s green news: Remains of existing farmhouse integrated into structure of Bergmeisterwolf’s latest domestic design
FootprintWire25.7.12

Today’s green news: Feilden Clegg Bradley’s Worcester Library achieves BREEAM Outstanding
FootprintWire26.7.12

Today’s green news: Rammed earth house proposal generates energy from ‘roof lake’ and micro hydro turbines
Forbo supplies integrated flooring for University of Bedfordshire

Forbo has supplied an attractive fully integrated flooring solution for the University of Bedfordshire’s new £34m multi-purpose Campus Centre building in Luton.
Formally, clients need a design, planning permission, and a set of production drawings, but that is only half the story

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: What clients value is what they will pay for - or at least they should do, says Paul Finch
Former ambassador joins Elliott School redevelopment protest

The former British ambassador to Iraq, Terence Clark, has spoken out against Wandsworth Council’s controversial plans to partially demolish John Bancroft’s 1954 Elliott School in Putney, south west London
Foster + Partners takes on Sugar Quays project

Foster + Partners has taken over the design of the Candy brothers’ Sugar Quays scheme on the north bank of the Thames next to Tower Bridge
Foster and Mecanoo among finalists for Kowloon art venue

Foster + Partners and Dutch stars Mecanoo have been named on an impressive five-strong shortlist to design one of the first buildings within the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong
Foster and Wilkinson Eyre land spots on Lubetkin Prize shortlist

This year’s shortlist for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize – awarded to the best new international building outside the EU – has been announced, featuring a raft of high-profile Asian projects
Foster knocked off Croydon job

Foster and Partners has been sidelined on the £500 million Ruskin Square scheme in East Croydon one year after winning outline planning for the 186,000m² city centre regeneration project
Fully clad Lady Godiva heads to London 2012

David Mahony of Birmingham-based practice PCPT is one of more than 80 volunteers transporting a 6m-tall Lady Godiva from Coventry to London by bicycle
Gallery: Thomas Heatherwick's showstopping Olympic 2012 cauldron

Thomas Heatherwick’s London 2012 Olympic cauldron, which was kept firmly under wraps until last Friday night, has been hailed almost universally as a design triumph
GKD - Sustainability as a template

Bead blasted stainless steel mesh on the greenest campus in the world; Two new halls of residence are being constructed on the campus of Education City in Doha for students from across the globe.These new buildings are setting international standards with the highest LEED certification available (Platinum). An intelligent sustainability concept makes for the most trendsetting study environment ever. The facades of the buildings comprise large-area solar protection elements made from bead blas
Glenn Howells submits plans for £450 million makeover of Paradise Circus

Glenn Howells Architects has lodged a planning application for its £450 million makeover of Birmingham’s Paradise Circus
GMW data hub proposal wins Olympic media complex race

[First look] GMW Architects is to transform the Olympic media complex into a digital hub after the London 2012 Games have finished
Gort Scott's post-riot hub completes

Gort Scott Architects has completed a new community hub in a disused yard next to council offices in Tottenham, which were burned out during the 2011 riots
Government announces £4.2bn rail investment

The government has announced an extra £4.2 billion investment in Britain’s rail network today, focused on the North of England, Wales and the Midlands
Government urges architects to blow whistle over procurement abuse

The government has created a ‘mystery shopper’ hotline where architects can anonymously report bad practice in the procurement process
Green shoots as Australian housing bounces back

The Australian housing market has bounced back dramatically and unexpectedly, official figures have revealed.
Grenville Gardens allotment project exemplifies community urban growing

Student-led design project empowers community to reclaim local park
Grimshaw and AECOM scoop Sydney rail gold

Grimshaw has been selected to design eight new stations as part of the new North West Rail Link in Sydney, Australia
Guilford College seeks architect for estate renewal

[Requests to participate are due by 3 August] Guildford College of Further and Higher Education is on the hunt for a design team for the renewal of its estate
Hadid Street?

‘Hadid Street’ was spotted on an Olympic Park legacy map last week.
Hawkins\Brown could face legal action over Corby Cube debacle

A sensational report published this week has revealed a catalogue of major problems with Hawkins\Brown’s ‘commercially and operationally flawed’ Corby Cube
Hawkins\Brown wins planning for Clapham Junction redevelopment

Hawkins\Brown has won planning permission for a contentious £120 million revamp of a Peabody housing estate in Clapham Junction, London
Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern Tanks unveiled

Herzog & de Meuron opened its transformation of a former oil reservoir into a new performance arts space last night
HLM & Studio Egret West plans to overhaul Greenwich town centre revealed

Studio Egret West and HLM architects reveal vision for ‘The Movement’
Hong Kong property tumble feared

Experts have warned of the heightened risk of a crash in the Hong Kong property market
In pictures: Egret West unwraps Clapham library scheme

Studio Egret West has completed Clapham One – an £80 million mixed-use library and residential project in Clapham, south London
In pictures: Google’s Central St Giles HQ revealed

[First look + project data] This is PENSON’s newly completed interior of Google’s new ‘super’ HQ in Renzo Piano’s Central Saint Giles development in Covent Garden, London
In Pictures: Kieran Timberlake’s US embassy submitted for planning

A detailed planning application has been submitted for Kieran Timberlake’s cube-shaped US Embassy located in Nine Elms, south London
In pictures: Monotti and Titman drinking fountain completes

Robin Monotti Architects and Mark Titman have taken the wraps of their RIBA competition-winning drinking fountain in Green Park
In pictures: Muf unwraps Croydon cricket interim use

[First look + plans] Muf architecture/art has completed a cricket practice facility on East Croydon’s Ruskin Square development plot
In pictures: Royal Academy winners celebrated at Lend Lease/AJ Awards

The winners of the architecture prizes at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition were celebrated at a special dinner last week hosted by sponsors Lend Lease and AJ
In pictures: Sketch-a-facade victors celebrated

The winners, jury and sponsors of the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch-a-Facade competition came together yesterday for a lunch at the Rivington Grill in Shoreditch, London.
Inaugural Passivhaus Awards celebrate UK’s sustainable building pioneers

Architype, Bere Architects and Parsons+Whittley scoop top prizes at the UK Passivhaus Awards
Insole Court restoration design team

[Expressions of interest to be received 15 August] Cardiff Council is on the hunt for a conservation architect to lead the redevelopment and renewal of Insole Court in Llandaff, Cardiff.
International firms sought to set regional design guidelines, Shenzhen China

[Forms must be received by 24 July] The People’s Government of Luohu District, Shenzhen in southern China seek design firms to compete to provide services in relation to the ‘regeneration and redevelopment’ of their Sungang Qingshuihe district.
It’s true: people don’t know what architects do

The public is largely ignorant of the work undertaken by architects according to shocking results of a new survey inspired by the AJ interview with Apprentice star Gabrielle Omar, writes Max Thompson
It's time to celebrate Olympic architecture

This is the moment to celebrate the Olympic designers even if LOCOG won’t, writes Christine Murray
Jacques Herzog: Message from below

Jacques Herzog recalls his first visit to the Tate Modern Tanks and explains how their sinister and dark rawness still shapes and inspires the museum
Japanese Shelter call for student home designs

[Registration must be completed by 28 September] Shelter has launched their 14th annual student design contest based around woodland homes and the use of timber.
Jason Bruges flicks switch on Coca Cola Olympic pavilion light show

Lighting designer Jason Bruges has completed a light installation within Pernilla and Asif’s Coca-Cola Beatbox pavilion on the Olympic Park
Jerry Tate scoops planning for gridshell country house

Jerry Tate Architects has won planning for a 500m² country house in Easton, Suffolk inspired by a sycamore seed
Jerry Tate's CSH 6 house in Suffolk

Lamella gridshell design based on a sycamore seed
John Robertson to refurbish historic BBC building

John Robertson Architects has secured a deal to refurbish the historic home of the BBC World Service
Kieran Timberlake's US Embassy: 'Nothing is ornamental, everything is performative'

‘Project of a lifetime; this is as good as it gets,’ says Stephen Kieran
Knight completes Stratford bridge project

[First look] High Wycombe-based bridge specialists Knight Architects completed a new footbridge over railway tracks in Stratford, east London
LAMP awards calls for lighing schemes

[Registration to be completed by31 September 2013] The Spanish lighting manufacturer ‘LAMP’ is now taking submissions for its annual lighting solutions awards
Lee Valley White Water Centre by FaulknerBrowns

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Olympic venue for the white water canoeing events that will become home to the British Canoe Unions performance squad and a facility for use by the general public
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands bags planning for Farringdon mixed-use

[First look + project data] Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands has won planning permission for Charterhouse Place – a 16,800m² mixed-use scheme in Farringdon, London
Listed: 1950s bombshell in Burnley

Architecture minister John Penrose has handed a Grade II-listing to a 1958 Modernist house in Burnley
'London 2012 puts to bed several myths about green architecture,' AJ sustainability editor Hattie Hartman tells Monocle

‘There is a widespread perception that green buildings are ugly, cost more and are full of wind turbines and PVs. The Olympic Velodrome is the opposite,’ Hartman says during an interview about her book, London 2012: Sustainable Design, on Monocle 24
London Festival of Architecture to go annual

The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) is to become an annual event, its director has confirmed
London’s Shard show branded 'anti-climax'

The light show to mark the external completion of the Shard last night has been widely criticised as an underwhelming flop
Long-term plan to regenerate riot-hit Tottenham

Proposals for the long-term development of Tottenham have been unveiled, a year after riots ripped through the north London district
Major museum revamp plans land lottery cash

Museum redevelopment projects by Foster + Partners, John Pawson, ZMMA and Cooper Cromar have received a cash boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
Make unveils Chinese debut

Ken Shuttleworth’s practice Make Architects has released these images of its first completed building in mainland China - a sales centre and exhibition pavilion in Weihai
Make’s Olympic Park south plaza scoops planning

Make and James Corner Field Operations have won planning permission for a new post-games public realm on the Olympic Park in east London
Masterful Cork

As the first MArch students graduate from Ireland’s only master’s course, Stephen Best considers the school’s pedagogical approach
McChesney and Atkins complete new frontage for New Scotland Yard

Ian McChesney Architects and Atkins have completed the redesign of the public realm outside New Scotland Yard central London
Michael Neylan dies aged 81

Bill Ungless, founding partner of Neylan and Ungless, remembers his colleague Michael Neylan who died last month after a long illness aged 81
Milton Keynes' Passivhaus: the most airtight house ever?

EcoDesign Consultants complete ‘The Passive House’ in Howe Wood Park
Minister rejects Southbank listing and grants immunity

Architecture minister John Penrose has gone against English Heritage’s advice and turned down the latest bid to list London’s Brutalist Southbank Centre
Mossessian reveals 'losing' Battersea Power Station plans

Mossessian & Partners and AECOM have released images of their proposals, drawn up for veteran developer Godfrey Bradman, to redevelop Battersea Power Station
Moylan hopes Olympic legacy housing could win Stirling Prize

Post-Olympic housing should be good enough to win the Stirling Prize, according to London Legacy Development Corporation chair Daniel Moylan
Murray: 'RIBA president should tell architects to ignore Olympic marketing protocol'

London Festival of Architecture founder Peter Murray has urged RIBA president Angela Brady to take a tougher stance on the Olympic 2012’s controversial marketing restrictions
Natural materials and an ecological approach at Architype's UEA Enterprise Centre

Proposal using thatch and rammed chalk revealed at this year’s AECB Conference
Nearly 50% of Spanish practices fear work will run dry within 12 months

Half of Spanish architects fear an empty order book at some point this year, a report has revealed
New construction data shows ongoing Eurozone volatility

Flat Eurozone construction data has masked volatility across the continent
New Light on Old Problems

The UK building industry has suffered an enormous ‘shock’ as a result of the recession. The days of plenty, ever increasing growth and full orders books have gone. At the same time the industry has also experienced a vast sea change. The nature and source of projects may be different but, at the same time, there have come opportunities and the biggest of them all is refurbishment and retrofit. Clients are now focusing their attention on the potential of existing facilities, schools, leisure
New practices: CRMA

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
New practices: Jonathan Lees Architects

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
New practices: M Studios

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
New practices: Studiowest Architects

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
Olympic Handball Arena by Make

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Venue for the Olympic handball competition
Olympic park in full bloom

Red hot pokers near the Water Polo Arena
Olympic Park legacy: North Park hub approved as South Plaza plans submitted

Erect Architecture’s has won planning permission for a community hub on the Olympic Park while James Corner Field Operations and Make have submitted plans for a post-games public realm
Olympic Stadium by Populous

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Purpose-built 80,000-seat stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies along with the track and field events for the London 2012 Olympics
Olympic stadium wrap set for Rio encore

Dow Chemical’s controversial £7m Olympic Stadium wrap could be converted into a sports shelter for the 2016 Rio games
Olympic treatment

Lyall Bills & Young’s secluded water recycling plant in the Olympic Park sets the standard for similar utilities, says Amanda Birch
Olympic Velodrome by Hopkins Architects

[London Olympics in the AJBL] One of the four permanent venues on the Olympic Park, the Velodrome provides a venue for the indoor track cycling events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Olympic Water Polo Arena by David Morley Architects

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Temporary 5,000-seat Water Polo venue purpose-built for the 2012 Olympics
Olympics boost client enquiries despite gag order

Practices involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games have reported an upsurge in work as a direct result of their involvement, despite LOCOG’s punitive marketing ban.
OMA among big names on Southbank redevelopment shortlist

The Southbank Centre has revealed the seven architectural practices shortlisted to revamp its Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery complex in London
OMI bags go-ahead for brick tower scheme

Salford City Council has approved this 327-home scheme in Sillavan Way by Manchester’s OMI Architects
Onassis Foundation opens Athens ideas contest

[Registration must be completed by 23 July] The Onassis Foundation in Greece has launched an ideas contest for a new city centre in Athens from Panepistimiou Street to Patission Street
One month to go: High Line for London contest deadline soon

[Deadline for entries 14 September] Participants have just one month left to submit schemes to the Mayor of London’s green infrastructure ideas contest inspired by New York’s High Line park
Only Gold Medallists need apply: Japan national stadium contest sets bar high

[Registration to be completed by 10 September] The Japan Sport Council has launched a stadium design competition open exclusively to winners of the Pritzker Prize, AIA gold medal or RIBA gold medal
Orbit by Ushida Findlay Architects

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Sculptural steel observation tower for the London 2012 Olympic Park
Overcrowding closes showcase east London 'pop-up' park

Police had to shut down the opening of the ‘pop-up’ London Pleasure Gardens at the weekend due to issues over crowd safety
Page/Park reveals plans for its largest ever scheme

Page\Park Architects has revealed images of its largest project to date: the new £60 million HQ for Scottish Power in St Vincent Street, Glasgow
Paul Finch: 'Treat Olympic designers with the courtesy and credit they are due'

The AJ’s Paul Finch has called for the country’s architects to be given the applause and appreciation they deserve for their work on London’s 2012 Games
Peabody Avenue

[New in the AJBL] Haworth Tompkins’ RIBA Award winning five storey residential block completes and terminates the avenue
Penrose announces Brunel listing bonanza

The government has added heritage protection to 42 structures on the railway line from London to Bristol
Peter Hansford named new chief construction adviser

Former Institution of Civil Engineers president Peter Hansford has been appointed as the new government chief construction adviser, a role he will take over from Paul Morrell.
Plans to re-use Olympic basketball arena in Rio shelved

Rio 2016 has abandoned flagship plans to recycle the £43 million London 2012 basketball venue
Pop-ups without planning permission and 15 per cent fee hike proposed

The government has revealed new proposals to allow ‘meanwhile use’ of sites without planning permission and a relaxation of the rules governing farm building conversions
Primary Substation for 2012 Olympics by NORD Architecture

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Black-brick electricity sub-station to provide power for the Olympic site, the athletes’ village and Stratford
Procurement: construction strategy's first year savings revealed

Savings of £72million have been made in the first year of operation of the Government’s construction strategy
Profession fears procurement overhaul

Architects divided over effect government plans to shave 15-20 per cent off construction costs will have on design quality, writes Mark Smulian
Project case studies about diffused daylighting

Kalwall project case studies are now a feature on the website. The first ones give architects the chance to see how Kalwall solved the problem - new or retrofit, cladding or roofing - and learn what the architect had to say. These feature a new health centre and interesting warehouse plus two refurbishments, one a public swimming pool and the other a failed pyramid roof. >READ MORE
Proposals to simplify planning applications announced

The government has launched a consultation into three key proposals aimed at speeding up planning applications
Prospects good for Brits in Burma

A senior figure at London-based architects Benoy has said he is ‘optimistic’ about the role for UK firms in Burma after joining a key trade mission to the country
Q&A with new BDP supremo David Cash

New BDP chairman David Cash talks to the AJ about a tough 12 months for the former AJ100 top-ranked practice and the potential for growth overseas
Queen opens Bomber Command memorial

Liam O’Connor’s £6 million Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London, has been officially opened by the Queen
Quiet intervention

Witherford Watson Mann’s sensitive re-occupation of Astley Castle saves the essential and excises the incidental, writes Joseph Rykwert. Photography by Helene Binet
Raft of post-war houses listed

Architecture minister John Penrose has listed a another clutch of Modernist houses on the back of an extensive study into post-war homes by English Heritage
Ravensbourne students complete Olympic folly in Greenwich Park

[First look + project data] Undergraduate students from Ravensbourne College have finished this sculpture, inspired by the London skyline, close to the Olympic Equestrian venue in Greenwich Park
Reaction: your thoughts on the RIBA Stirling Prize 2012 shortlist

Comment on the six projects vying for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize 2012
Reader offer - August 2012

Three complimentary copies of Lucy Bullivant’s Masterplanning Futures
Reader Offer - July 2012

Win one of three complimentary books
Relaxed planning rules, wrapped around a planning fee hike of 15 per cent

The government has served up another excrement sandwich to the profession, writes Christine Murray
Revealed: first pictures of Zaha Hadid boat

These are the first picture of the Z Boat - an 8m-long motorboat designed by Zaha Hadid for US art dealer Kenny Schachter
RIBA Regional Award winners

[Award winners in the AJ Buildings Library] Long House and 20 RIBA Regional Award winners in the AJBL
RIBA Stirling Prize 2012 shortlist revealed

The AJ can reveal the six contenders shortlisted for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize
RIBA survey: Architects’ confidence plummets

Architects’ confidence over future workloads took a turn for the worst last month – according to the latest data from the RIBA Future Trends survey
Rival Croydon schemes go head-to-head

Hammerson has signed up Urban Splash, Terry Farrell and RTKL in its battle against Westfield to develop a key swathe of Croydon
Rivals slam ‘standard’ seaside victor

Finalists say Littlehampton council wasted their time, effort and money after it chose BFLS’s Soundforms product in ‘Stage by the Sea’ competition
Roots Architecture Workshop returns to WOMAD Festival

Tangentfield’s Roots Architecture Workshop #3: 26th-29th July
Royal descent

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.
Royal Opera House Production Workshop

[New in the AJBL] Royal Opera House Bob & Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop by Nicholas Hare Architects
Rykwert and Partridge confirmed as judges for AJ Writing Prize

Eminent architectural critic Joseph Rykwert and Argent Group joint CEO David Partridge have been confirmed as judges for this year’s AJ/Berman Guedes Stretton Writing Prize.
Rykwert: ‘OMA's Rothschild is a symbol of Britain's oligarchy'

Joseph Rykwert has described OMA’s towering Rothschild Bank headquarters above the Bank of England as symbolic of our undemocratic society
SAS International Project Management Team wins Gold for Westfield Stratford City

SAS International is proud to announce that its project management division has won a Gold Judges Award at this year’s AIS Contractors Awards for their work at Westfield Stratford City.
School authority

Hawkins\Brown’s confident Kingston Business School plays a central role in re-organising a campus of ad hoc buildings, says David Howarth. Photography by Hufton+Crow
SCHOTT'S Secure Range Sets The Standard In Safety

Fire resistant glass can now be used in the protection of people and property as attack resistant glazing, with SCHOTT’s high performing secure range. The specialist products also suitably fulfill the additional requirements of protection against impact, burglary and bullet penetration.
Scuzzy Shoreditch's Tea Building: The triumph of AHMM's white collar funhouse

Rory Olcayto visits the continually evolving Tea Building, AHMM’s white collar funhouse in Shoreditch, London
Secret Garden Party begins hunt for 2013 architectural visionaries

Architects with burning ambition and a sturdy pair of wellington boots have been called on to propose installations for next year’s Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire
Sell Heathrow to fund estuary airport, urges Foster

Norman Foster has told the government to close and redevelop Heathrow airport to pay for a new Thames Estuary air hub
Shattered illusions

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.
Shock as Scottish practice offers rock bottom fees on Groupon

Camerons Architects defends ‘marketing strategy’ after attracting criticism for discounting professional services on bargain-basement internet site
Six compete for future home award

Five British firms are among six practices competing for the smart home of the future award
Softroom completes Wahaca restaurant on London’s Southbank

[First look] Softroom has taken the wraps off this 130-seat Wahaca restaurant built from multi-coloured shipping containers on London’s Southbank
Solar system installations have speed and safety sealed in with Geberit Mapress

With solar power technology on the increase Geberit has introduced a new colour-coded seal ring to its innovative Mapress press-fitting system for solar and industrial installations. The Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive, together with the Renewable Heat Premium Payment of £300 for solar thermal installations marks a growing trend for solar panels in commercial projects. Furthermore, solar thermal systems are now eligible for support in non-residential buildings at a rate of 8.5p/kWh and
South Wales health board launches £4m framework

[Expressions of interest should be received by 18 July] Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board in South Wales is seeking an architect for a £4 million framework agreement
Spam inbox blunder leads to Southbank shortlist rethink

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
Stephen Kieran: ‘A diplomat for sustainability’

Stephen Kieran of Kieran Timberlake tells Hattie Hartman about the design and planning process behind the US Embassy at Nine Elms
Stirling Prize 2012: bookies make Hepworth favourite

Bookmaker William Hill is backing David Chipperfield to win his second Stirling Prize with his Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield
Stirling Prize 2012: too much Koolhaas and no Khan

AJ editor Christine Murray gives her verdict on the Stirling Prize finalists - and the ones that got away
Stirling Prize ceremony will not be televised

This year’s Stirling Prize ceremony will not be broadcast on television for the first time in more than a decade.
Stirling Prize jury announced

The jury for the 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture has today been revealed by the RIBA
Street, wave and cyber gardening

Feilden Clegg Bradley’s Open Studio event for the LFA
Student Shows 2012: Architectural Association, School of Architecture

Merlin Fulcher explores the creative, speculative thinking on display at the Architectural Association
Student Shows 2012: Birmingham School of Architecture

Laura Mark is disappointed by the lack of emphasis on hand-drawing at Birmingham
Student Shows 2012: Cambridge University

Sahiba Chadha enjoys the astute design at Cambridge’s show
Student Shows 2012: Canterbury School of Architecture

Felix Mara finds activist architects in Canterbury
Student Shows 2012: Central Saint Martins

Rakesh Ramchurn visits CSM’s new campus and reimagines London as presented by seven CSM graduates
Student Shows 2012: De Montfort University, Leicester School of Architecture

Laura Mark is impressed by De Montfort’s heavily curated show
Student Shows 2012: Dublin Institute of Technology School of Architecture

Gary Boyd sees a renewed concentration of energies at DIT
Student Shows 2012: Dundee School of Architecture

Mark Chalmers sees the standard rising at Dundee’s atmospheric show
Student Shows 2012: Edinburgh School of Architecture

Johnny Rodger sees a fertilisation of ideas and approaches at Edinburgh
Student shows 2012: Huddersfield University School of Architecture

The University of Huddersfield has a practical approach to architecture, says Richard Waite
Student Shows 2012: Hull School of Art and Design

Jill Jones is excited by ambitious and experimental work
Student Shows 2012: Kent School of Architecture, University of Kent

The Kent student show strikes a balance between a structured and experimental approach, finds Felix Mara
Student Shows 2012: Kingston University London, School of Architecture and Landscape

Merlin Fulcher discovers a particularly relevant strain of radicalism at Kingston’s end of year show
Student Shows 2012: Leeds Metropolitan

Richard Waite on an inconsistent Leeds Met show
Student Shows 2012: Lincoln School of Architecture

The diversity on show at Lincoln captures Nigel Stevenson’s attention
Student Shows 2012: Liverpool John Moores University School of Art and Design

Dan Gibson discovers an LJMU show balanced between theoretical and practical thinking
Student Shows 2012: London Metropolitan University, School of Architecture

Mark Hackett visits the Met’s end of year show and finds a selection well placed to redefine architecture
Student Shows 2012: Manchester School of Architecture

James Jones, Design Director of Sheppard Robson, finds a BA lost in space and a BArch squeezed and confused
Student Shows 2012: Newcastle University School of Architecture

James Pallister feels the Brutalist heritage of the T Dan Smith era in Newcastle’s show
Student Shows 2012: Northumbria University

Steve Parnell finds a phenomenological and poetic ambience to Northumbia’s show
Student Shows 2012: Nottingham Trent University School of Architecture

Ben Bowley observes clear themes at Nottingham Trent’s relative new school
Student Shows 2012: Oxford Brookes University

Richard Rose-Casemore from Design Engine Architects visits the Chetwoods show
Student Shows 2012: Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a rich mix of the competent and the inspirational, reports Richard Rose-Casemore
Student Shows 2012: Queen's University Belfast School of Architecture

Stephen Best observes the transformation of Queen’s
Student Shows 2012: Royal College of Art

Simon Hogg finds a good deal of space and a good dose of wit and at this year’s RCA show
Student Shows 2012: Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment

Charlie Sutherland examines a diverse range of units in Aberdeen
Student Shows 2012: Sheffield Hallam University School of Architecture

Laura Mark finds a green, but lacklustre, display in Sheffield
Student Shows 2012: Sheffield School of Architecture

Laura Mark delights in the hand drawing and artistic interpretation of Sheffield’s student show
Student Shows 2012: South Bank University

India Wright sees a new emphasis on craft and processas South Bank redefines itself
Student Shows 2012: The Arts University College, Bournemouth

Warren Lever sees the value of being within the creative hub of an arts campus
Student Shows 2012: University College Cork Centre of Architectural Education

Stephen Best observes a new approach at Cork
Student Shows 2012: University of Bath Department of Architecture

Sahiba Chadha is surprised by the maturity of Bath’s output
Student Shows 2012: University of Brighton School of Architecture

Ben Adams on Brighton’s coastal focus
Student Shows 2012: University of East London, School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering

Merlin Fulcher visits the only university named on London’s Olympic bid and finds an array of ambitious regeneration projects
Student Shows 2012: University of Greenwich, School of Architecture

Marwan Abdo finds a school trying establish its identity at Greenwich
Student Shows 2012: University of Limerick School of Architecture

Ray Kappe sees SAUL reach maturity
Student Shows 2012: University of Liverpool School of Architecture

Hayley Chivers surveys nuclear waste disposal sites and rehabilitations of Eastern European concentration camps
Student Shows 2012: University of Nottingham Department of Architecture

Laura Mark sees improvement at Nottingham
Student Shows 2012: University of Plymouth School of Architecture

Mark Pearson is engaged by post-industrial Plymouth
Student Shows 2012: University of Strathclyde School of Architecture

Johnny Rodger senses a strong base of reality in Strathclyde
Student Shows 2012: University of the West of England Architecture School

Rob Gregory sees incredibly creative and convincing work at the UWE show
Student Shows 2012: University of Ulster School of Architecture

Stephen Best sobserves a show engaged in experimentation at Ulster
Student Shows 2012: University of Westminster, School of Architecture

Sahiba Chadha finds a diverse exhibition complimented by intellectual rigour at the University of Westminster
Student Shows 2012: Waterford Institute of Technology Department of Architecture

Relocation to a new building has brought a fresh energy to Waterford says Stephen Best
Student shows 2012: Welsh School of Architecture Cardiff University

Felix Mara is impressed by the level of competence at the Welsh School of Architecture’s show
Student shows: Sustainable Design 1

Footprint’s pick from five student shows
Student shows: Sustainable Design 2 - call for projects

Put your masters in sustainable design project online
Studio Egret West lands Skylon contest

Studio Egret West has won the contest to masterplan a new business area south of Hereford, dubbed ‘Skylon Park’
Studio Weave completes timber Aldgate installation

Studio Weave has completed its replacement for the ditched ‘giant goalposts’ in Aldgate
Successful photomontages by Foundation CGI

A successful photomontage needs careful consideration from the start. Some frequently asked questions: Is the photomontage for planning and marketing? Planning images should help the scheme blend in with the context while marketing images should make the scheme stand out and feel optimistic. Find out More >>
Surge in specification of the AR3500 Door Closer from HOPPE (UK)

HOPPE (UK), the manufacturer synonymous with innovation, quality and performance in hardware for the window and door and architectural sectors, is enjoying increasing success with its flagship overhead door closer, the AR3500, as popularity grows and specification increases. Andy Matthews, National Sales Manager for the HOPPE (UK) Ltd Architectural Division explains:”Our extensive range of Door Closers and Controls from the ARRONE® Range is proven in the market for over 15 years a
Sutherland Hussey among big names in Norway contest

Edinburgh-based Sutherland Hussey has been shortlisted for a cultural square scheme in the Norwegian city of Kongsberg
Swiss Miss

Christian Müller Architects talks Villa Vals, Utrecht and sustainability
Sydney launches $25 million library competition

Australia’s capital Sydney has opened a $25 million competition to design and build a new library inside the city’s ‘Green Square’ development
Ta da! RHWL bags Tara theatre project

RHWL Arts Team has won the contest to renovate the home of Tara Arts in Earlsfield, south London
TFL's cartoonish athletes catch your eye and stick in the mind

Capturing the essence of London was one hurdle too many for the artists of the Olympics posters, writes Rory Olcayto
The 2012 Olympics’ opening ceremony was really very English, not British

Key elements made it very clear Boyle’s extravaganza was deeply English, writes Rory Olcayto
The Diary of an Anonymous Academic #4

The fourth in a series about the unreported trials and tribulations from the frontline of architectural education. This week: Entrepreneurialism
The Diary of an Anonymous Academic #5

The fifth in a series about the unreported trials and tribulations from the frontline of architectural education. This week: Summer Shows
The Diary of an Anonymous Architect #11

The latest in an ongoing series about the day-to-day travails of an experienced and embattled practitioner. This week: collaboration
The Green Deal looms large

What will it mean for small architectural practices? asks Russell Smith
The ins and outs of Western Red Cedar

Building Centre Wood Talks
The Knowledge Transfer Centre

The Knowledge Transfer Centre is among several research buildings developed by the University of Sheffield and designed by Bond Bryan architects. The complex is a stunning exemplar for highly insulating Kalwall which is used as wall cladding on all the buildings, diffusing natural daylight and providing well-lit working environments. The emphasis on BREEAM Excellent ratings, low running costs and carbon neutrality is well described in Buro Happold’s report about the projects and the architect
The latest on the new 'green' US Embassy in Nine Elms

Livestreaming of Kieran Timberlake presentation Wed July 18 6:10 pm
The Olympic Park shows how green targets can foster design innovation

From the sustainability editor: On the eve of the 2012 Games, Footprint features one of the most innovative and least visible projects in the Olympic Park
The Olympics have put east London on the map

From the sustainability editor: Increased awareness of green infrastructure is an immediate Olympic legacy, says Hattie Hartman
The Olympics will be the remembered for spectacle and venues, not who checked your bags

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: London’s memorable permanent buildings and magnificent historic venues will provide a televisual feast for viewers, says Paul Finch
The RIBA Awards will never be perfect

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: The system will never be perfect. It is an example of the sorites paradox, says Paul Finch
The Shard is a genuine new icon

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: With the Shard, Irvine Sellar, Renzo Piano and the Qataris have done London proud, says Paul Finch
The Stirling Prize shortlist as chosen by 400 AJ readers

Adam Khan’s Brockholes Visitor Centre is the AJ readers’ favourite to be on the Stirling Prize shortlist
The Unlimited Edition

The Unlimited Edition is an urban research sampler, writes James Pallister
'The world’s most sustainable Games meets the world’s most sustainable car company'

Footprint visits Serie Architects’ BMW pavilion
Ticketing mishap restricts views in Zaha’s £268m Aquatics Centre

Around 600 spectators have been sold tickets for Zaha Hadid’s showstopper London 2012 Aquatics Centre unaware they will not be able to see the top of the diving board
Tim Abrahams’ new essay, entitled ‘The Stadium’

New essay takes a long view of the Olympic Stadium, writes James Pallister
Tim Soar at Article 25's Summer Party

Photographer exhibits collection examining Derwent Valley Mills in aid of building charity
Toffee Factory by xsite architecture

[New in the AJBL] This contemporary refurbishment and roof top extension to a derelict Victorian warehouse in Newcastle won a 2012 RIBA Award
Tom Emerson criticises RIBA for educational divide

Tom Emerson, the co-founder of emerging star practice 6a, has blamed the RIBA for fuelling one of the greatest divides within UK architectural education today
Treasury guarantee scheme to ‘unlock’ 230 projects

The Treasury is estimating that more than 230 projects could be ‘unlocked’ through its UK Guarantees scheme in the next three years
Triumphant Heatherwick sets Games alight: plans, models and reaction

The AJ can revealed the first drawings and models of Thomas Heatherwick’s show-stopping London 2012 Olympic cauldron, which was kept firmly under wraps until last Friday’s spectacular opening ceremony
UK architects are 94 per cent white

New figures released last week show that the ethnicity of the profession is becoming increasingly white
UK practices set sail for China despite crash fears

Despite a building slowdown, architects say measures put in place in China will ensure its recovery and hail the dawn of a ‘second design boom’ for UK firms, writes Greg Pitcher
UK tops international energy efficiency ranking

ACEEE ranks Britian as the most energy efficient economy in the world
Under construction: 9 of the 10 tallest buildings in history

[Top 10 in pictures] Only Burj Khalifa will remain in the 10 tallest buildings by 2016 - and 9 out of the top 10 structures will be in Asia
Union Station contest: LA OK for Grimshaw team

Grimshaw and US practice Gruen has beaten an impressive shortlist of international practices to land the competition to masterplan the redevelopment of Union Station in Los Angeles.
University College Dublin tenders Confucius Centre design contract

[Request to participate to be received by 24 July] University College Dublin has invited expressions of interest for a Chinese Studies building on its Belfield campus
Up in the air and gone with the wind

Ian Martin submits proposals for an elevated monorail
Video exclusive: Olympic Park from the air

A dusk flight over the Olympic Park shows a mini replica of the Thames inside Populous’ Olympic Stadium
Video: Heneghan Peng's Greenwich School of Architecture takes shape

Timelapse footage of five months of construction condensed into two minutes
Video: How we created Canada Water Library

CZWG Architects has released a new mini-documentary about its recently opened Canada Water Library
Video: Sapa building system

Video:Sapa
Vote now: Candidates vying for RIBA student representative role revealed

RIBA student members have less than two weeks to choose from four candidates standing to represent them at council
Wandsworth planning victory for Michael Trentham

Michael Trentham Architects (MTA) has bagged planning consent for this scheme in Wandsworth featuring four new townhouses and the conversion of a Victorian corner block
We-ef: Slim Silhouette

The keynote feature across WE-EF’s new FLC100 LED projector family are the slim luminaire housings - even the largest of the new projectors with an output of 3,570 lumens has a depth of only 80mm.Designed for lighting buildings, monuments, planting, etc. the range offers 4 beam distributions for each LED package. Additional diffusers, spread lenses and glare shields extend the lighting design options.
Wembley Stadium by Foster + Partners

[London Olympics in the AJBL] Stadium with 90,000 seat capacity and retractable roof, designed to maximise spectator enjoyment and retain iconic status
What do Owen Hatherley and Gregory’s Girl have in common? “Glorious” Cumbernauld

You could do a lot worse than look to the concrete new town of Cumbernauld for inspiration, writes Rory Olcayto
What’s the architectural equivalent of Prometheus?

I think we might need some new ideas – for just about everything, worries Rory Olcayto
Whitehall procurement chief quits

John Collington has resigned as government chief procurement officer after only two years in office
Whitehill-Bordon eco-town: Lessons for delivering green housing

Jury and participants reflect on eco-terrace design competition
Why procurement is going to get worse

The government’s new drive for cheap public sector buildings is designed to drive down fees, says Christine Murray
Work starts on Adjaye's affordable homes in Harlem

Construction has started on Adjaye Associates’ 124-home Sugar Hill affordable housing scheme in Harlem, New York
World Architecture Festival 2012 shortlists revealed

Judges name 301 international schemes that ‘rethink and re-use’ in the running for the awards event to be held at the annual festival in October, writes MerlinFulcher

Architects JournalJuly 2012

Architects Journal
July 2012