Architects Journal
June 2012

View all stories from this issue.

‘Counter-Modernist’ Domenig dies at 77

Günther Domenig, the ‘expressionistic, counter-Modernist’ Austrian architect has died aged 77.
As one era draws to a close, the same era begins all over again

Ian Martin includes Dame Zaha in his opening ceremony
Elsie Owusu collaborates with Sir Peter Blake on low energy house in Hackney

Prefabricated panels erected on site in three days
Kevin McCloud defends architect in Swindon housing storm

Kevin McCloud’s Haboakus development company will continue to work with Glenn Howells Architects despite a range of problems with its RIBA Award-winning The Triangle housing project in Swindon
No end in sight for eurozone woe

The outlook for UK architects working on the continent remains bleak despite fears over a Greek exit from the euro having eased after the election of the New Democracy party and the formation of a pro-austerity coalition last weekend
Vince Cable: housebuilding is key to recovery

The business secretary has called for government financing guarantees to encourage public and private housebuilding
235 RIBA Award winners

Browse RIBA Award winners from the past 50 years including 25 of this year’s winners
6BD by Elips Design

[New in the AJBL] 6BD by Elips Design, London (2012)
Aalto students' pavilion

A temporary timber pavilion provides a meeting place for Helsinki World Design Capital 2012
AECOM opens international student contest

[Registration should be completed by August 31] AECOM has launched its annual international student contest open to both current students and graduates
Affordable housing starts slump by 65 per cent

New starts for affordable homes fell by 65 per cent this year, according to the latest government figures.
AJ exclusive: BCIA 2012 finalists revealed

A pop-up opera house, a refrigerated film store and a museum dedicated to the Titanic have all been shortlisted for this year’s British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA)
AJ exclusive: finalists for Retrofit Awards

The AJ can reveal the 73 projects, shortlisted in 13 categories, for the 2012 Retrofit Awards
AJ exclusive: St Cross College shortlist revealed

Walters and Cohen has been named on a four-strong shortlist to complete the West Quadrangle of St Cross College in Oxford
AJ readers' Stirling Prize shortlist competition results

Winners of the AJ readers’ Stirling Prize shortlist competition announced
AJ Specification 06.12 - Walls, ceilings and partitions

Case studies by Christ & Gantenbein, Grimshaw Architects and Scott Brownrigg
Alan Higgs finishes iroko-clad gem

Work has finished on this 290m2 extension to a grade II-listed house on Richmond Hill, west London by Alan Higgs Architects
All change – the future of travel

Beyond Green’s Joanna Yarrow says long-haul flights need to become a once-in-a-lifetime event
Allies & Morrison bags Finnish harbour win

Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners (AMUP) has taken joint top prize in an international ideas competition for Helsinki’s South Harbour
Alsop to headline AJ-backed art symposium

Will Alsop will join artist Bruce McLean in conversation during an AJ-backed symposium next Tuesday (26 June) for the London Festival of Architecture (LFA)
Altman to step down as Olympic legacy chief

London Legacy Development Corporation chief executive Andrew Altman today announced he would step down after three years in the role
Alumasc - Swisslab Maintains Integrity at Quinton’s Court

Alumasc’s Swisslab External Wall Insulation (EWI) system has been used as part of the major refurbishment of Quinton’s Court in Needham Market, a mixed use development comprising commercial premises and social housing managed by Suffolk Housing Society
An act of folly

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
Architects at risk from China ‘scam’

Architects across Europe, including Lubetkin Prize-winning Gianni Botsford Architects and Cambridge-based Mole, have been targeted by an alleged Chinese scam
Architects could ruin UK’s finest gridiron townscape with lazy urban design

Don’t wreck one of Britain’s finest gridiron townscapes with gimmicky urban design, pleads Rory Olcayto
Architecture student salary expectations 20% above reality

Part 1 students salary expectations are nearly £4,000 above what employers are willing to pay them upon graduation – according to a survey by RIBA Appointments and Newcastle University
Armstrong Ceilings goes full circle … and more

Interior building solutions provider Armstrong Ceilings has enhanced its portfolio of island systems, or canopies, with the launch of curved and circular versions of its popular Axiom Classic range.
Barnfield College seeks architect for campus project

[Requests to participate to be received by 19 July] Barnfield College in Bedfordshire is seeking an architect to progress phases two and three of its Bedford Road campus project from RIBA stage C to completion
BDP lands Bispebjerg hospital job

BDP has won the international competition to masterplan a new hospital and psychiatry unit at Bispebjerg in Copenhagen, Denmark
Big names lined up in Manchester hotel contest

Ian Simpson, Hopkins and Ted Cullinan are among the six practices shortlisted to design a luxury hotel on the site of the demolished Worsley New Hall in Greater Manchester
Biomorphis reveals Edinburgh Leith Walk cycle path plans

Biomorphis has floated plans for a new pedestrian and cycle path on disused railway tracks in the Scottish capital
BioRegional at Rio + 20

Simon McWhirter reports
Bisset Adams scoops Monza library jackpot

[First look] Bisset Adams has won a design competition for a new library in Monza, Italy
Books Received - June 2012

This month’s new green books
Brits among finalists for Swedish super-lab

Foster + Partners and HOK have made an international shortlist to design one of the world’s biggest research facilities
Brookfield snaps up £340m London Wall scheme

A £340 million development in London has been picked up by Brookfield Office Properties after the City of London Corporation agreed to transfer Hammerson’s lapsed option agreement
Buckley Gray Yeoman scoops planning for St Katharine Docks refit

[First look + plans + project data]Buckley Gray Yeoman has won planning permission to refurbish Commodity Quay at St Katharine Docks in London
Burwell Deakins bags £7m Plymouth University drama job

[First look] Burwell Deakins Architects have been appointed to design a new 1,600m² performing arts centre for Plymouth University
California university opens 'zero net energy' design contest

[Submissions must be received by 1 October] The University of California in Merced has opened a competition to design a residential or administrative office building which consumes zero net energy
Cancer Treatment Centre design competition, Basingstoke

[Expressions of interest to be returned by 29 June] Hampshire Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust has launched a competition to design a new cancer treatment centre in Basingstoke
Carbon Disclosure Project – 2012 Global Report

Cities with targets report three times the GHG reductions of cities with no targets
CDMS unwraps West Sussex house

[First look + plans + project data] Brighton-based CDMS Partners has completed this £730,000 private house project in Thakeham, West Sussex
CIOB opens photography competition

[Images must be submitted by 25 July] The Chartered Institute of Building has launched it’s annual photography contest which this year raises funds to support construction in Haiti
Clarify your specific obligations to comply with industry standards

Legalese: In most cases, the question is whether the architect has exercised reasonable skill and care
Clark defends NPPF despite drop in approvals

Glenigan data shows planning approvals fell by over a third in the month after the introduction of the government’s policy shake-up
Clash opens new Churchill War Rooms entrance

The new entrance to the Imperial War Museum’s Churchill War Rooms in King Charles Street, London, has opened to the public
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 14.06.12

A cancer treatment centre in Basingstoke, South Korea’s Daegu library and University College Dublin’s campus. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 21.06.12

A new Hadrian’s Wall visitor centre, an urban ideas contest in Finland and Swansea innovation hub. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 28.06.12

Three famous contests recreated, Barnfield College and the London Festival of Architecture. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Contest resurrects three high-profile design competitions from history

[Submissions must be uploaded by 17 July] The Zagreb Society of Architects in Croatia has launched three ideas competitions revisiting past contests
CPD: Lightweight natural stone and glass ventilated rainscreens

The full title of this CPD is ‘Lightweight Natural Stone and Glass Ventilated Rainscreen Facades and the Requirements of Modern Architecture’
Croydon College by Nightingale Associates

[New in the AJBL] Extension between the two wings of the 1960s Fairfield Building at Croydon College
Dartmouth Park's pavilion reborn

Work has finally completed on Bryant Priest Newman Architects’ £900,000 pavilion for Dartmouth Park in West Bromwich
DC CABE seeking new top-level recruits

Design Council CABE is looking to recruit a new head of design review as well as a head of programme development
Debate: British Architecture Now - what do the 2012 RIBA Awards tell us?

The AJ will be hosting an evening of discussion and debate about the state of contemporary British architecture following the announcement of this year’s RIBA Awards
Demolition in pictures: Glasgow's Red Road bites the dust

The demolition of Glasgow’s infamous Red Road housing estate began last weekend with the controlled explosion of a 25-storey block
Demolition threat to £295m Olympic press centre

The international broadcast centre and neighbouring media centre could be demolished following the games under plans currently under consideration
Design workloads in US drop

US architecture workloads have fallen sharply, according to a report.
Developers asked to find Hyde Park Barracks a new home

Developers are being asked to identify new London sites to rehouse the troops currently based at Hyde Park Barracks
Digital edition: AJ07.06.12

The Architects’ Journal | 07.06.12 | Number 21 | Volume 235 | O’Donnell + Tuomey | Barbara Weiss Architects
Digital edition: AJ14.06.12

The Architects’ Journal | 14.06.12 | Number 22 | Volume 235 |
Digital edition: AJ21.06.12

The Architects’ Journal | 21.06.12 | Number 23 | Volume 235 | RIBA Awards
Digital edition: AJ28.06.12

The Architects’ Journal | 28.06.12 | Number 24 | Volume 237 |
Done deal: Battersea Power Station sold to Malaysians

Malaysian consortium SP Setia and Sime Darby have exchanged contracts and snapped up Battersea Power Station for £400 million
Dyer conjures up Oz scheme

[First look + project data] Dyer has completed its competition-winning OZ shopping mall in Krasnodar, southern Russia
Ecophon - Acoustics are top of the class after triple awards win

The importance of classroom acoustics has been underlined after three schools treated with Saint-Gobain Ecophon’s acoustic ceilings were recognised at the BCSE Best of British Schools Awards (Thursday 21 June)
Edgley creates aluminium studio and rubber-clad house in Hackney

Edgley Design has built this artists’ studio and two-bedroom house on the site of a former workshop in Hackney, east London
Emerson to headline London Met summit on studio culture

6a Architects co-founder Tom Emerson will deliver the keynote address at London Metropolitan University’s ‘studio culture’ conference next weekend
Evidence-based design supports wellbeing and growth

A third of corporate executives rank productivity and health as top sustainability concern
Exclusive AJ Stirling Prize Videos
Exclusive images from Europe's tallest residential tower

These are the first images from the top of Broadway Malyan’s under-construction One St George Wharf tower, in Vauxhall, London
Exclusive: 3DReid student prize 2012 winner revealed

Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture Part II student Andrew Piggott has won this year’s 3DReid Student Prize
Falzinc enhances The Arthaus

Nearly 1,500 sqm of Kalzip’s cost-effective Falzinc foldable aluminium building material has been installed by All Metal Roofing on the walls and roof of The Arthaus, a unique development of stylish apartments and mixed use commercial floor space located in the chic new boutique area of Hackney. Read More
Farrell unveils Holborn overhaul vision

[First look] Terry Farrell and Partners has revealed his masterplan to revamp the Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles areas of London
FCBS reveals BBC Manchester redevelopment plans

[First look] Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has unveiled 74,000m² plans for the mixed-use redevelopment of the BBC’s former Manchester headquarters
Findlay's Way

Now that the ArcelorMittal Orbit is up, its most outstanding architectural feature is the long walk down, finds Rory Olcayto
First look at Wilkinson Eyre and Grant's Singapore supertrees

A massive tropical park in Singapore designed by Wilkinson Eyre and landscape architects Grant Associates will open next week (29 June)
First look: Capita Symonds and Gerry Judah's Goodwood centrepiece

These are the first snaps of sculptor Gerry Judah’s centrepiece for the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, which was held last weekend (28 June - 1 July)
First look: sandbag centrepiece for LFA

Roz Barr Architects with engineers Ramboll has revealed these proposals for a temporary urban park outside the NLA’s home in Store Street as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture (LFA)
FootprintWire 11.6.12

Today’s green news: Project Pressure maps African glaciers
FootprintWire 12.6.12

Today’s green news: ‘World’s largest solar park’ captured by satellite
FootprintWire 13.6.12

Today’s green news: Japanese architects balance black-box and natural light
FootprintWire 14.6.12

Today’s green news: Herzog & de Meuron to design timber children’s hospital in Zurich
FootprintWire 15.6.12

Today’s green news: British storm chaser photographs extreme weather events
FootprintWire 18.9.12

Today’s green news: Wetlands-inspired ecosanitation system in San Francisco Civic Centre
FootprintWire 19.6.12

Today’s green news: Kengo Kuma Associates’ design facade of planters
FootprintWire 2.7.12

Today’s green news: London shop reuses floorboards and scaffold for display shelves
FootprintWire 20.6.12

Today’s green news: Australian firm complete naturally-ventilated ‘Cloud House’ in Melbourne
FootprintWire 21.6.12

Today’s green news: Rooftop vegetable garden at new Twitter HQ
FootprintWire 22.6.12

Today’s green news: Easy-maintenance green wall in Barcelona
FootprintWire 25.6.12

Today’s green news: Park Associati’s prefab, mobile restaurant employs lasercut aluminium solar shading
FootprintWire 26.6.12

Today’s green news: IDV Solutions map every earthquake since 1898
FootprintWire 27.6.12

Today’s green news: Portuguese architect’s solar-powered cork shelter
FootprintWire 28.6.12

Today’s green news: Danish firm design hospital extension
FootprintWire 29.6.12

Today’s green news: Congestion-easing Emirates Air Line opens
FootprintWire 3.7.12

Today’s green news: Japanese architects’ cross-braced cedar house in Osaka
FootprintWire 7.6.12

Today’s green news: LAVA to design HQ in bid for UN’s Green Climate Fund
FootprintWire 8.6.12

Today’s green news: Biorock helps restore coral reefs
French money heading to London, predicts AFR chief

The chief executive of AIM-listed Aukett Fitzroy Robinson (AFR) has predicted a surge of investment in London from French tycoons fleeing the country’s rocketing millionaire tax
Fretton lands planning for Deinze town hall

[First look + plans + project data] Tony Fretton Architects has won planning permission for a 7,500m² town hall and administrative centre in Deinze, Belgium
Genesis' Tracy Williams: ‘Variety brings vibrancy’

Deputy director of development at Genesis Housing Group, Tracy Williams applauds architects who respond to the way people live
George Ferguson has thrown his hat in the ring in the forthcoming mayoral election in his hometown of Bristol

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: Mayoral campaigns are ideal opportunities to put retrofit and architecture on the political agenda, says Paul Finch
Get your pencils out

The winner, runners-up and student winner of the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a Facade competition
GKD - Yamuna Stadium in Delhi shines with stainless steel mesh façade

The use of metallic mesh in stadium construction is a real success story. Indeed, important sporting venues throughout the world have enjoyed great success with this functional and visually striking material. The world’s leading technical weaving mill GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG from Düren, Germany, celebrated its Indian premiere with its first major project in the country. On the occasion of the Commonwealth Games 2010, a multifunctional stadium was created in the capital city of New Delhi as a
Glastonbury Tor, a village green and a farmyard - Olympic opening ceremony plans revealed

Film director Danny Boyle has revealed plans to transform Populous’ Olympic Stadium into the ‘rolling British countryside’ for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games
Green energy at the World Horticultural Expo Floriade 2012

The World Horticultural Expo Floriade 2012 in Venlo, Netherlands, reveals the potential for green infrastructure to reshape the way we live today
Green light for £113m Manchester regeneration scheme

The government has given the go-ahead for a £113 million, 25-year regeneration project in Manchester.
Green shoots? Workloads up and unemployment down

Unemployed architects have fallen in number for the fifth consecutive month as RIBA research indicates workloads are on the up
Green Sky Thinking - Call for Entries

Open City’s free week-long event is an opportunity to showcase sustainability
Greenest in show

If you want to win the Stirling Prize, your building had better be sustainable. Hattie Hartman picks the low-energy contenders
Grimshaw's Bronx housing opens doors

Grimshaw’s competition-winning affordable housing development in New York’s notorious borough, the Bronx, has officially opened
Hadrian’s Wall visitor centre contest opens

[Expressions of interest to be received by 19 July] The Northumberland National Park Authority is seeking architectural design services for a £5.7 million visitor centre and youth hostel at the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site
Hairy House

[New in the AJBL] Hayhurst and Co’s RIBA Award winning green roof extension
HASSELL bags Tbilisi zoo project

The London-office of Australasian giant HASSELL has been appointed to design a new zoo on the outskirts of the Georgian capital Tbilisi
How the RIBA Awards 2012 were judged

Rory Olcayto explains how this year’s 50 RIBA Award-winning projects were selected
Ideas contest opens for £4.3m library in South Korea

[Registration must be completed by 30 July] South Korea’s Daegu Architectural Culture Confederation and the International Union of Architects have opened an ideas contest to design a £4.3m Library in Daegu City
Imposter dealt £1k fine for claiming to be architect

Anthony Ibbitson has been ordered to pay a £1,000 fine for unlawfully using the title ‘architect’
Impressions of Phnom Penh

Colonised. Rebuilt with a unique Modernist twist. Evacuated. Bombed. Squatted. Few cities have had to contend with such scale of upheaval as the Cambodian capital, finds photographer Shannon Sadler
In pictures: Architecture schools' Olympic installations revealed

A series of installations for the London 2012 Olympics designed by architecture schools in the capital have been revealed
In pictures: Doolan Prize shortlist announced

The AJ can reveal the 14-strong shortlist vying for the this year’s largest cash prize in British architecture: the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award
In pictures: East London ‘pleasure gardens’ pop-up installations revealed

RIBA London has revealed a string of commissions to help transform the Royal Docks into a contemporary pleasure gardens
In pictures: Make's Olympic Handball Arena

These are the latest pictures inside the 7,000 capacity ‘Copper Box’ Olympic handball and modern pentathlon venue
In pictures: Penoyre & Prasad wins Kent uni library contest

Penoyre & Prasad has won the competition to design the new £12 million extension to Templeman Library at Kent University, Canterbury
In praise of the quizzical line

Jay Merrick on drawing
In pursuit of the Blue Green Dream

SWIG calls for vital coupling of water and green infrastructure
Installations sought for Alexander Thomson's Holmwood House

[Submissions must be received by 30 July] The Glasgow Institute of Architects (GIA) has launched a contest to design installations for the parlour of Holmwood House
It is a pity that architects don’t talk more often about volume

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: Architectural discourse would benefit from a little more volume and a lot more time, says Paul Finch
Japanese construction work booms

Japanese construction orders soared by more than a third in April 2012, official data has revealed
Judges in dialogue: narrowing it down

The judges - AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a facade
Judges rule in favour of SPPARC’s Southwark tower

The developer behind SPPARC Architecture’s Quill skyscraper, Investream has won a long legal fight to build the 31-storey project in Southwark, London
Kevin McCloud's dramatic twist

The question is: will they pull it off?’ asks Kevin McCloud, as another over-ambitious, underfunded Grand Designs gets stuck in the minefield of construction.
KONE sustainability diary: KONE's transformed elevator portfolio

[Sponsored post] This month KONE has unveiled a completely transformed elevator portfolio to the global marketplace, its largest new product offering for years. Here Simon Dow, business development director for KONE explains more.
Kongsberg opens cultural square design contest

[Requests to participate to be received by 9 July] The city of Kongsberg in Norway has launched an ideas contest for a new cultural square within the city centre
KPF, Foster and Rolfe Judd scoop major Nine Elms skyscraper approvals

A raft of major skyscraper schemes by Foster + Partners, KPF and Rolfe Judd in Nine Elms, London have been given the green light
Large fall in number of Australian home approvals

The number of monthly housing approvals Australia has dropped by a quarter compared to this time last year, official data has revealed.
Libraries in the AJBL

British Library + Ruskin + Birmingham + Ussher
Lighting design pioneer Jonathan Speirs dies

Lighting designer and architect Jonathan Speirs has died after losing his long fight against cancer
Live blog: The London Festival of Architecture 2012

The London Festival of Architecture 2012 runs from 23 June to 8 July – post your top picks and memories of the event here
Localism as a launchpad for sustainable communities

Majora Carter says ‘you don’t have to move neighbourhood to live in a better one’
Loch Leven Bird Hide

[New in the AJBL] Icosis Architects’ RIAS Award winning bird hide on the shore of Loch Leven
London Festival of Architecture photography contest launched

[Images should be received by 1 July] Space Syntax and Hype! have opened a photography competition for the London Festival of Architecture
Make's London Wall to be sold off

The future of Make’s high-rise 46,450m² London Wall Place project is looking increasingly uncertain after the site was put back on the market
Malcolm Fraser bags Scottish National Gallery overhaul job

Edinburgh-based Malcolm Fraser Architects has been appointed to revamp the Scottish National Gallery
Mangera Yvars wins green light for park pavilion

[First look + project data] Mangera Yvars has bagged permission for this park pavilion in west London
Mikkeli expansion ideas contest, Finland

[Submissions should be received by 1 October] The Finnish city of Mikkeli has opened a two-stage international ideas competition for its Satamalahti area
Morley's revamped lido makes big splash at Hurlingham Club

[First look] These are the first pictures of David Morley Architects’ rejuvenated outdoor pool at the Hurlingham Club in west London
Moxon pipped to post again

London-based Moxon Architects has narrowly missed out on winning two major international contests, this time in Taiwan
Nashville brownfield ideas competition launched

[Registration to be completed by 27 July] The Nashville Civic Design Center in Tennessee has launched an ideas contest for a 30 hectare brownfield site beside the Cumberland River
New French president - new hope for Rogers' Grand Paris plans

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) believes the change of Government in France will boost its chances of working on the overhaul of Paris.
New practice: Ruth Brennan 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: Inter Urban 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: Markus Jatsch Partners

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
NV Nuon seeks fit out architect for Amsterdam HQ

[Requests to participate should be received by 13 July] Ductch energy company NV Nuon is on the hunt for an interior architect for its new headquarters in Amsterdam
Object failure

Douglas Murphy’s The Architecture of Failure raises spectres of abject ruins in recent practice and theory, writes Richard Weston
Observing the space limit, sending out the right signals

Ian Martin meets the Tamworth residents’ vocal group
Olympic Architecture

[New in the AJBL] Ushida Findlay Architects, Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond’s Orbit and Make’s Handball Arena
Olympic Park legacy masterplan approved

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has won planning permission for its 6,800-home masterplan to transform the Olympic Park following the games
On the scrap heap

The demise of Thomas Heatherwick’s £2 million B Of The Bang sculpture in Manchester has not been happy for anyone
Open for business: Chipperfield's Paris management school

David Chipperfield Architects’ new 9,500m² gateway buildings at HEC School of Management in Paris will officially open this Friday (15 June)
Open House: Smarter cities, smarter thinking

This year’s conference centred on the cohesive development of our cities
Open-City launches Green Sky Thinking call for entries

Architecture charity Open-City is receiving proposals for its annual Green Sky Thinking sustainable design summit
Orbit: Awkward, bizarre, sublime

Felix Mara experiences the eccentric ArcelorMittal Orbit tower and sculpture at close quarters. Photography by Simon Kennedy
OSA creates Manchester boating lake

The Office for Subversive Architecture (OSA) has transformed Manchester’s Piccadilly Basin into a boating lake and artists’ studios
Oxford college to launch contest for revamp of Stirling’s Florey Building

Richard Rogers and Ricky Burdett advise Queen’s College on redevelopment of Stirling’s Grade II-listed student residences
Parnaby and Mortimer to fight for ARB vice chair

Richard Parnaby and Andrew Mortimer have gone head to head in the race to become the next ARB vice chair
Parnaby bags ARB vice chair role

Richard Parnaby has been elected as ARB’s new vice chair
Pascall + Watson after RMJM for £200k unpaid fees

Pascall + Watson has been forced to take legal steps to recover around £200,000 in unpaid fees from RMJM
Passivhaus Award shortlist

The shortlist for the first Passivhaus Awards has beeen announced
Peabody’s Claire Bennie: ‘We like to try new talent’

Claire Bennie of Peabody explains how small schemes are ideal for allowing less experienced practices show what they can offer
Peckham is my number 23

The Theory of the 436 Bus Route explains why Peckham is an emerging epicentre, writes Rory Olcayto
Penny-pinching as an Olympic sport

Olympic victory could be ours if we moved past the veneer and encouraged artistry from the core, says Paul Finch
Piercy & Co finishes ‘pared-back’ Bloomsbury townhouses

Piercy & Company – formerly Piercy Conner Architects – has completed this £1.4 million, three-townhouse scheme in the Bloomsbury Conservation Area
PLB nets planning for contest-winning Merchant Taylor school scheme

[First look + plans] ArchitecturePLB has won planning permission for a new design and technology building at Merchant Taylors’ School in Northwood, Middlesex
Private & confidential

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.’
Public Records Office of Northern Ireland

[New in the AJBL] Todd Architect’s RIBA Award winning Headquarters for PRONI, one of three national archives in the UK
Queen's birthday honours: Zaha Hadid becomes dame

Double Stirling Prize-winner Zaha Hadid has been made a dame in the Queen’s birthday honours
Reader Offer - Discounted BSRIA course 'Introduction to BIM'

25% discount for AJ readers
Reader Offer - Half-price pass to AECB Conference on June 28/29

Good networking and lots of technical expertise
Reader Offer - June 2012

Five complimentary copies of ‘Food for the City’
Reader Offer - Passivhaus seminars with Wolfgang Feist

Three complimentary passes for upcoming sessions in London, Cardiff and Glasgow
Renewing the “DuPont™ Corian® Experience”

A refined and enhanced colour palette for DuPont™ Corian® high-tech surface, offering an exclusive resource for timeless sophistication and versatility in design
Renzo Piano: ‘Architecture is not frivolity’

Renzo Piano, the architect behind the Shard in London, explains why it is important to try to change the perception of the profession
Revealed: BP's mirrored box pavilion

These are the first images of KBW Design’s and AND Architects’ pop-up pavilion for oil and gas giant BP at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Revealed: Diverse shortlist for King’s College London quadrangle

An eclectic shortlist including Zaha Hadid and two Spanish practices has been chosen for the £20 million overhaul of King’s College London’s main campus
Revealed: images of Chelsea FC's Battersea bid

Chelsea FC has revealed images of how it intended to convert Battersea Power Station into its new home
Revenue and global workforce up as Atkins steadies ship

The number of architects employed by international giant Atkins both in the UK and abroad has stabilised
RIBA Award EU winners 2012

RIBA Award EU winners 2012: Listed alphabetically by practice
RIBA Award National winners 2012

RIBA National Award winners 2012: Listed alphabetically by practice
RIBA Award winners 2012

See images, drawings and details for 30 of this year’s RIBA Award winners in the Library
RIBA Award winners 2012 + analysis

Our RIBA Awards special offers a picture of UK architecture today, says Christine Murray
RIBA Award winners: choose your Stirling Prize shortlist
RIBA Awards 2012: AJ launches special coverage

The AJ will reveal all 164 RIBA Awards 2012 winners in a special edition of the magazine on 21 June which will be followed by an RIBA debate about the victors July 17
RIBA facing half a million pounds shortfall

The RIBA is £500,000 in the red due in part to increased expenditure and a fall in income from events bookings this year
RIBA International Award winners 2012

RIBA International Award winners 2012: Listed alphabetically by practice
RIBA membership survey shock results

Responses from 635 practices reveals nearly half are ‘dissatisfied’ with the work of the RIBA, calling for more benefits, lobbying and services, writes Merlin Fulcher
RIBA price hike

Why must architects now pay £383 for RIBA membership and not £385, as they do in Scotland?
RIBA regional award winners

More than 20 of this year’s RIBA regional award winners
RIBA Regional Award winners 2012

RIBA Regional Award winners 2012: Listed alphabetically by practice
RIBA student wage survey: tenth unpaid in work and men earn more

The RIBA has revealed shocking data which shows that 11 per cent of students in work placements are still unpaid and that male graduates earn more
RIBA to hike members' fee

The RIBA has announced plans to up its annual members’ fee from £370 to £383
Rio+20 - the UN conference for sustainable development

Despite Rio+20, sustainable design is gaining traction in the UK, says Hattie Hartman
Rory Olcayto: 'These six buildings should make the Stirling shortlist'

These six buildings should make the Stirling shortlist. Why? Just because, writes Rory Olcayto
Round the bend

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’
Royal approval

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
RSVP now: Women in Architecture event this evening

The AJ is hosting a free talk and panel discussion with winners of the inaugural Women in Architecture Awards and The Apprentice architect Gabrielle Omar at the NLA in London
Ruckus continues over 20% VAT plan for heritage buildings

The government has come under fresh fire for its proposed VAT levy on alterations to listed buildings with critics claiming it had failed to provide an adequate transition period for affected projects
Runner up: Adrian Baynes

Runner up of the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a facade
Sapa Building System technical essay: Felix Mara on award-winning envelope design

[The Sapa Building System technical essay, RIBA Awards 2012] More than the plan, more than the section, and even more than form, the envelope is central to how a building communicates, writes Felix Mara
Scarcity upsets the assumption that architects should be defined solely through adding stuff to the world

Sustainability in practice: The scarcity of our planet’s resources may shift how the architectural profession sees itself, writes Jon Goodbun with Deljana Iossifova and Jeremy Till
School house

John Pardey’s residential retrofit of the former Oaklands College points the way for similar buildings ripe for conversion, writes Felix Mara. Photography by Andy Matthews
Scott Brownrigg's sponsored cycle for Article 25

Staff will ride 45 miles in support of built environment charity this Sunday 1 July
Scottish Bonanza as first ever RIAS Award winners named

Only five of the 23 ‘brilliant’ buildings shortlisted by the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland (RIAS) have missed on winning one of its inaugural ‘standalone’ awards
Seattle floating bridge contest opens

[Registration closes 10 August] Washington State University has opened an ideas contest to design a cost effective bridge replacement in Seattle
Shapps under fire over 'Return to Pathfinder'

Campaigners have attacked Housing Minister Grant Shapps for reneging on his promise to stop the widespread bulldozing of hundreds of homes in Liverpool
Shulman Auditorium

[New in the AJBL] BGS Architects’ RIBA Award winning green roof extension lecture theatre
Sketch a facade entries ABC

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with ABC
Sketch a facade entries DEF

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters DEF
Sketch a facade entries GHI

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters GHI
Sketch a facade entries JKL

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters JKL
Sketch a facade entries MNO

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters MNO
Sketch a facade entries PQR

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters PQR
Sketch a facade entries STU

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters STU
Sketch a facade entries VWXYZ

AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade competition received 588 sketches - entrants with surnames beggining with the letters VWXYZ
Sketch a facade: Kingspan Benchmark

Sponsor’s statement
Slice of life

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.
South Oxhey Baptist Church

[New in the AJBL] Thompson Bradford Architects’ part refurbishment and extension of a 1950s church
Stride Treglown Green Week

Today all eight UK offices have turned off all artificial lighting
Student Shows 2012: Mackintosh School of Architecture, University of Glasgow

Alan Dunlop’s finds the early years at the Mac bursting with life
Student Shows 2012: The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College of London

Ben Adams visits the Bartlett and finds a show with a surprising emphasis on craft
Student winner: Oscar Plastow

Student winner of the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a facade
Sturgis unveils Reading tower plans

Simon Sturgis Associates has revealed plans to replace Reading’s 1974 Thames Tower with a 25-storey office skyscraper
Sub-editor, The Architects' Journal

An opportunity for an experienced sub-editor to join The Architects’ Journal on a fixed term contract to cover maternity leave
Submit now: WAF Awards entries close on 30 June

Architects have until Saturday to submit schemes to this year’s World Architecture Festival awards taking place from 3 to 5 October
Sustainability can help ‘future-proof’ commercial property market

Recent research reveals that 35 percent of commercial property occupiers have no environmental policy or targets in place
Swansea University innovation hub

[Requests to participate to be received by 2 July] Swansea University is on the lookout for an architect-led team for a new £1.2 million innovation hub
Textured tiles from Spain

Decorative finishes take on a durable new life, courtesy of the Spanish tile industry’s advanced expertise in manufacture.
The future of architecture is mobile

UK-GBC’s final Lessons Learned seminar: ‘Delivering Sustainable Temporary Venues’
The Hurlingham Club, Outdoor Pool

[New in the AJBL] David Morley Architects’ RIBA Award winning outdoor pool
The launch of a new publishing company

James Pallister gets into the swing of the London Festival of Architecture
There's nothing clear about NPPF

Greg Clark says he’s simplified planning, but the view from the coalface is different, writes Christine Murray
Things that make you go ‘oooh!’

One outstanding, exquisite piece captivated the judges of this year’s RA Summer Exhibition Architecture Prize, writes Rory Olcayto
Thinking outside the hub, conceptualising a new club

Ian Martin strengthens the international epic space community
Third place: Richard Hutchinson

Third place in the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a facade
Tom Russell wins green light for Bristol scout hut

Bristol-based Tom Russell Architects has won planning permission for this timber-boarded scout hut
Tricycle Cinema by Foster Wilson Architects

[New in the AJBL] Tricycle Cinema by Foster Wilson Architects, London (1998)
UNESCO takes first steps to remove Liverpool's world heritage status

Liverpool is facing the threat of losing its World Heritage Site (WHS) status due to the potential impact of Chapman Taylor’s controversial £5.5billion Liverpool Waters scheme
U-turn fears over Heneghan Peng's post-Olympics bridge transformation

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has rejected claims Heneghan Peng’s brightly-coloured Central Park Bridge could remain in ‘games mode’ following the Olympics
Victoria Thornton on the importance of ‘designed in’ sustainability

Open-City’s Smarter Cities, Smarter Thinking conference takes place June 21/22
Vote for your Stirling Prize winner
What has the RIBA done for you lately?

Plenty, and not enough, writes Christine Murray
WIA award winners and apprentice star share top tips on business success

The challenges of flexible working, construction’s male imbalance and site experience dominated the first in a series of wide-ranging AJ debates on business practice
Wilkinson Eyre’s east London cable car opens to the public

The Emirates Air Line, the cable car across the Thames designed by Wilkinson Eyre, has been officially opened by Boris Johnson
Wilkinson Eyre's London cable car to open this month

Wilkinson Eyre’s £50.5 million Emirates Air Line cable car will carry its first passengers over the River Thames at the end of this month
Wimbish Passivhaus and Hadlow College Rural Regeneration Centre

[New in the AJBL] Two PassivHaus projects by Parsons + Whittley and EUROBUILD
Winner: Paul Middleton

The overall winner of the AJ/Kingspan Benchmark Sketch a facade
Without the elevator, there would be no skyscraper

Footprint visits KONE’s HQ to discover the new challenges being set for elevator companies in what they call ‘people flow’
Work begins on Broadway Maylan's Portuguese villas

Construction work has started on this 11 villa-development in Portugal designed by Broadway Malyan

Architects JournalJune 2012

Architects Journal
June 2012