Architects Journal
March 2012

View all stories from this issue.

Armstrong Ceilings debuts energy-saving Coolzone system at Ecobuild

Eco-friendly systems that help to reduce a building’s energy costs, at the same time as they maximise occupier comfort, will debut with Armstrong Ceilings at Ecobuild 2012.
Budget 2012: Osborne OK’s Northern Hub acceleration

The Chancellor George Osborne has announced plans to speed up Network Rail’s Northern Hub electrification and upgrade programme.
Cracking up in Blackpool

Tragedy, and tooled-up council workmen, hit Blackpool’s new Comedy Carpet
Findlay’s Doha villa bulldozed for metro line

Kathryn Findlay’s seminal but unfinished villa in Doha for Sheikh Saud al Thani was demolished last Wednesday to make way for a new railway line
New practices: Hocking Architecture

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy
The Temporary City by Peter Bishop and Lesley Williams

A new book takes a pessimistic look at London’s temporary structures and sees their popularity as a sign of our downfall. Tim Abrahams is unconvinced
30 youngsters chosen to scrutinise London Olympic legacy

The Olympic Park Legacy Company has recruited a swathe of young east Londoners to oversee the future of the Olympic park
A bold attempt at regeneration or an icon too far? Titanic Belfast is a little of both

When Titanic Belfast - the World’s Largest Titanic Visitor Experience - opens on Saturday, locals will be confronted by a curious sculptural mass rising out of the city’s derelict dockland
Aecom unwraps tourist spot on Aussie Gold Coast

[First look] Global practice Aecom with Brisbane-based Malcolm Middleton Architects has completed a new visitor attraction on Australia’s Gold Coast
Aedas’s Birmingham skyscraper to be downsized

Developer Regal Property Group is to scale back plans for Regal Tower, its 200m-tall Birmingham skyscraper, according to reports
Afghan National Museum design contest launched

[Registration must be completed by 16 April] A single-stage ideas competition has been launched for a new National Museum of Afghanistan offering a £31,880 ($50,000) top prize
AHMM bags yet another Oklahoma project

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) hopes to win yet more work in Oklahoma City after receiving planning permission for a 3,250m² office project in the US town.
AHMM to design Google's King's Cross headquarters

Internet giant Google has reportedly hired AHMM to design its new UK headquarters close to King’s Cross station in London
AIA UK Design Awards

[Submissions must be received 16 March] The American Institute of Architects’ UK branch is calling for submissions to its 2012 design awards
AJ/Kingspan Benchmark 'Sketch a Facade' competition launches

The AJ and Kingspan Benchmark want you to get your pencils out
Allies & Morrison and Woods Bagot reveal London skyscraper plans

[First look] Allies and Morrison with Woods Bagot has revealed the latest plans for a 40-storey tower in the City of London
Allies and Morrison scoops planning for Nine Elms redevelopment

Allies and Morrison’s 5.6 hectare redevelopment of a Royal Mail depot in Nine Elms, London has won planning permission
Alsop scoops planning for Waterloo hotel

Will Alsop’s and Scott Lawrie’s ALL Design has won planning permission for its first UK project – a 995 square-metre apart-hotel on Lower Marsh near Waterloo Station
ARB elections: Brennan re-elected to ARB Board

Ruth Brennan has been re-elected to the ARB board after resigning from her seat on the committee last month
Architects must stop doing more for less

If clients aren’t moaning about fees, architects are coming too cheap, writes Christine Murray
Architecture for Humanity opens postcard ideas contest

[Submissions must be received by 15 April] Architecture for Humanity is seeking A5 postcard sized proposals for buildings or objects that could help improve the capital
Architecture PLB's Portsmouth ‘blade’ goes on hold

Architecture PLB’s £30 million ‘blade’ student accommodation skyscraper for the University of Portsmouth has stalled
Arc-ML submits Ikea east London plans

Arc-ML has submitted plans for a 10.5 hectare mixed-use development for Ikea’s property arm in Stratford, east London
Arup and Grimshaw land HS2 Euston revamp job

Arup with Grimshaw has been appointed to work on the redevelopment of Euston train station which will become a new London terminus for High Speed 2 (HS2) rail services
Arup reveals plans for Austrian mega-hospital

Arup is to design one of Europe’s largest hospitals in Vienna
Austin-Smith:Lord closes London office

Austin-Smith:Lord (ASL) has decided to close its London office almost four months after filing for insolvency
Australian mortgage lending falls 2%

The total value of mortgage lending in Australia fell by more than 2 per cent in January, official figures have revealed.
Avery's AeroNautica Museum scheme torpedoed

Avery Associates Architects’ £8 million AeroNautica Museum project in Southampton has hit the buffers following the withdrawal of its site
BCO is coming! Manchester chosen for 2012 conference

The British Council for Offices has launched its 2012 conference programme which will take place in Manchester on 23-25 May
BDP bags Kuwaiti cultural centre job

[First look] BDP has been appointed to design a cultural centre for Sabah Al Ahmad – a planned city in the Kuwaiti desert
BDP in final two for Danish hospital job

BDP is down to the last two in the final stage of a contest to design a new hospital in Denmark
Bennetts to replace 60s blocks with new City hotel

Bennetts Associates has bagged planning permission to flatten three ‘tired 1960s buildings’ close to St Paul’s Cathedral with a new 5-star Queen Hithe Hotel
Beyond the Tower and Spitalfields Life

[THIS WEEK] The history of the East End is not just for Londoners, writes James Pallister
BFLS split: Ian Bogle sets up alone

BFLS founding director Ian Bogle has announced his departure from the company
BFLS Tower set for approval after controversial plans are revised

BFLS’s contentious ‘Dalston Green’ scheme has been recomended for planning approval following revisions which include an upgrade of Kingsland High Street station
Black box: At the movies in Glasgow

Next time you see the streets of San Fran, Philly or NY at the flicks, it’s probably Glasgow, writes Rory Olcayto
Black Box: The Big Apple, I♥NY, 9/11...

It’s time New York called in the Mad Men for a rebrand
Black sheep

Sergison Bates’ retrofit in Noho has polished a seedy location and repaired the urban fabric, writes Felix Mara. Photography by Anthony Coleman
Blank ballot

Astragal hears interesting rumblings from Portland Place about who will succeed Angela Brady to become the next RIBA president in September 2013
Blonde on blonde

With its ubiquitous unstained timber, Waingels College is regarded as an exemplar project in contemporary wood. But how does it perform technically and as architecture?
Bouchlaghem named Nottingham Trent's architecture head

Nottingham Trent has appointed Dino Bouchlaghem as its new head of architecture
Brady bags consent for office-to-homes scheme

RIBA president Angela Brady’s practice Brady Mallalieu has won planning permission to convert a 1960s office block in Shepherd’s Bush into 30 new flats
Brennan third in ARB elections

Ruth Brennan was resoundingly re-elected to the ARB board despite calling RIBA president Angela Brady ‘a prat’ and resigning from her seat on the committee last month
Bridging Bow

A key interchange for almost a thousand years, Adams & Sutherland’s new walkways at Bow Riverside have opened up the waterway to the public once more
Bristol Green Doors 2012

Over 40 homes open their doors as part of Bristol Green Doors event this weekend.
British Council announces Venice Takeaway explorers

The British Council has revealed its 10-strong list of participants in its Venice Takeaway programme for the British Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale
Brits bid for piece of West Kowloon bonanza

A number of UK practices have registered their interest in the first major building to come out of a huge and controversial masterplan in Hong Kong
Broadway Malyan hunt for staff for booming Turkish outpost

Broadway Malyan has launched a recruitment drive for its Turkey office as part of an ambition to grow it from six staff to more than 30
Budget 2012: At a glance

Chancellor George Osborne revealed his 2012 budget today, promising higher stamp duty on luxury houses and increased investment in housing
Budget 2012: government hints at London airport growth

Chancellor George Osborne has given a further boost to Foster + Partners’ self-funded vision for a new airport in the Thames Estuary in today’s budget announcement
Budget 2012: Major stamp duties rise for high end residential

Chancellor George Osborne has increased stamp duty on homes worth over £2 million to 7 per cent, levying a 15 per cent charge on similar properties bought by companies
Budget 2012: NPPF comes into effect on Tuesday

The final version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be published within a week, replacing the current planning system with immediate effect
Budget 2012: The Chancellor's full speech

Read Chancellor George Osborne’s 2012 budget speech in full
Budget 2012: the industry reacts

The profession responds to Chancellor George Osborne’s budget, including plans to raise stamp duty and invest in homes for the armed forces
Bushboard Washroom Systems Executive Washrooms Without The Executive Price Tag

Bushboard Washroom Systems is proud to announce the relaunch of two of its most popular cubicle ranges which have been specifically developed to meet the ever-growing demand for executive washrooms without the executive price tag!
Cake in the Clouds culinary contest, Battersea Park

[Cakes must be assembled 3 June as part of the event] Architects-led teams are invited to design and bake the tallest cake possible to be enjoyed as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations inside Battersea Park, London
Cameron pledges new home boost with mortgage scheme launch

The Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday launched a government-backed mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme which the industry believes could see 100,000 extra new home sales
Careyjones Chapmantolcher's northern studios go into administration

Careyjones Chapmantolcher’s offices in Manchester and Leeds have been placed into administration following ‘difficult times as a result of the poor economic conditions in the regions’.
Carmody Groarke bags planning for temporary King's Cross eatery

Carmody Groarke has won planning permission to transform a disused petrol station in King’s Cross into a temporary restaurant
Caruso St John gallery for Damien Hirst set for 2014 opening

The new gallery in Vauxhall desgined by Caruso St John for British art star Damien Hirst is due to open in 2014
Cathedral Group's Martyn Evans: 'You can't innovate by staying indoors'

Martyn Evans, marketing & creative director of blossoming developer Cathedral Group talks to the AJ about what he wants from an architect, living in tents and advice from David Bowie
Charles Walker: ‘I won’t dismantle the RCA’

The Royal College of Art’s incoming head of architecture Charles Walker has been criticised for a proposed shake-up of the School of Architecture. The AJ speaks to the Canadian-born engineering whizz, who starts his role in September, about his plans
China property outfits shrink 5 per cent

Chinese developers took a major blow last week after premier Wen Jiabao spoke of his desire to maintain tight controls on property prices
Chipperfield and Hoskins bag Civic Trust Awards

David Chipperfield and Gareth Hoskins were among winners of special prizes at this year’s Civic Trust awards, held in Edinburgh
Chipperfield to overhaul Mies' Berlin masterpiece

David Chipperfield has been appointed to revamp Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin
Chippo, MUMA and Mecanoo among Cambridge urban extension victors

David Chipperfield Architects, Mecanoo, MUMA and Wilkinson Eyre with Mole Architects have been chosen from a raft of big names to design a new urban extension in north-west Cambridge.
Club Ecobuild

AHMM’s Nic Crawley Reports
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 08.03.12

Darlington’s new arts venue, Loughborough College’s hub and Hackney City Farm. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 15.03.12

Hong Kong’s Xiqu Centre, Croydon housing and a temporary New York concert venue. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 22.03.12

RIBA North East’s Forgotten Spaces, an Irish College extension and ‘proposals on a postcard’ for London. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Competitions: Editor's Pick, 29.03.12

Larbert Loch viewing platform, Witney Corn Exchange and Chichester’s Crane Street. The editor’s pick of this week’s top competitions
Complexity and contradiction are still the hallmarks of national planning policy

Paul Finch’s letter from London: Do you ever get the feeling that you are living in a parallel universe in which politicians have all gone slightly mad? Or sound as though they have?
Conran and Partners heads to Italian hills

UK-based architects Conran and Partners is set to start work on a masterplan for a community surrounding a spa hotel on a Tuscan hilltop in Italy
Constructing nature

Gillian Darley dissects the semantic confusion of a new book on Landform Building and finds the lines between topography and structure increasingly blurred
Creative architects will make the most of the new planning environment

Paul Finch’s letter from London: The new robustness toward design may concentrate the mind of those responsible for government procurement
Crown Estate unveils £400m St James’ redevelopment

Ken Shuttleworth’s Make and Paul Davis & Partners have been lined up to work on a huge overhaul of Crown Estate land off Piccadilly, central London
Croydon seeks architects for housing

[Requests to participate must be registered 11 April] The London Borough of Croydon is seeking architects for a new-build housing programme, from feasibility study through to planning permission and into development of documentation for Design and Build tenders
Cultural bonanza as Arts Council funding victors named

Nearly 30 cultural projects have been earmarked for a cash windfall from the Arts Council England as part of its first capital investment programme since 2003
CW-A bags planning for Holborn office-to-home revamp

Work has started on Cousins Wojciechowski Architects (CW-A) recently approved office-to-homes conversion of a Grade II-listed building in Holborn, central London
Darlington council seeks arts venue architect

[Requests to participate must be received 2 April] Darlington Borough Council is on the hunt for an architect-led team to design a new town centre arts venue
Deele College extension, Ireland

[Expressions of interest must be received by 16 April] The County Donegal Vocational Education Committee in Ireland is on the hunt for design services for a stand-alone extension to Deele College
Dick Cannon to chair 2012 Saltire Society Housing Design Awards

Scotland’s oldest design awards scheme has marked its 2011 Call for Entries with the announcement Dick Cannon of Elder and Cannon will be its guest chair
Digital edition: AJ 08.03.12

The Architects’ Journal | 08.03.12 | Number 9 | Volume 235 | Dixon Jones / Adams & Sutherland / Urban Salon
Digital Edition: AJ15.03.12

The Architects’ Journal | 15.03.12 | Number 10 | Volume 235 | Footprint
Digital edition: AJ22.03.12

The Architects’ Journal | 22.03.12 | Number 11 | Volume 235 | Niall McLaughlin | Sergison Bates | Featherstone Young
Digital edition: AJ29.03.12

The Architects’ Journal | 29.03.12 | Number 12 | Volume 235 | Peckham Charrette
Digital edition: Peckham Charrette

An AJ charrette for Peckham in association with Philips and the Borough of Southwark
Dow Building Solutions - Specifying insulation for inverted roofs: getting it right from the start

As Roofing Manager for Dow Building Solutions – manufacturer of STYROFOAM™ thermal insulation – I know a roof may be only 2% of the overall budget of a build. By Richard Powell, Roofing Manager, Dow Building Solutions
Ecobuild Day 1

Surface design with elastic bands from the University of Huddersfield
Ecobuild Day 2

From the Isover jury to the UK-GBC boat party
Ecobuild: Let the mayhem begin

Rory Bergin, head of sustainability and innovation at HTA, reports
Ecophon - On board with good acoustics

Passengers travelling through a brand new ferry terminal in Scotland are now benefitting from an acoustic solution from Ecophon, part of leading international materials company Saint-Gobain.
Ecophon - Seaham Contact Centre, St John’s Square, Seaham

Durham County Council’s Seaham Contact Centre opened in May 2011 and houses a library, Registrar’s office, housing and benefit advice sections and Customer Contact Centre.
Egret West and Guy Hollaway bag planning for Bromley regeneration

Studio Egret West and Guy Hollaway Architects £90 million regeneration of Bromley Town Centre has won planning permission
Egret West and Guy Holloway among Get Britain Building fund hopefuls

Studio Egret West and Guy Holloway Architects £90 million regeneration of Bromley Town Centre is among a swathe of schemes shortlisted for Get Britain Building funding
Enter the AJ Benchmark Sketch a facade Competition

Get your pens and pencils out - the AJ and Kingspan Benchmark invite you to sketch the facade of any building you like
Euston demolition plans dropped

Controversial plans to demolish and rebuild London’s Euston train station for High Speed 2 (HS2) have been abandoned
Exhibition standard

Dixon Jones’ shared space overhaul of Exhibition Road, London’s premium museum quarter, gives visitors the time to linger and look at some of the capital’s finest architecture
Farrell reveals Ally Pally plans

[First look] Terry Farrell + Partners has unveiled its masterplan for the transformation of London’s iconic Alexandra Palace
Farrell to review Aedas’ contentious Convoys Wharf masterplan

Terry Farrell and Partners has been appointed to review Aedas’ 18.6 hectare masterplan for the redevelopment of historic Convoys Wharf in Deptford, south east London
Farrell weighs into Vauxhall skyscrapers storm

Terry Farrell has spoken out against Squire and Partners’ proposals for two towers rising to 41-storeys at Vauxhall Cross in south London
Farrell’s revised Earls Court vision revealed

These are latest images of Terry Farrell’s 28-hectare masterplan for the redevelopment of Earls Court in west London
Farshid Moussavi to speak at AJ Women in Architecture luncheon

Acclaimed architect and original co-founder of Foreign Office Architects has confirmed she will address the audience at the inaugural luncheon and awards on 20 April
FCBS to submit £250m Belfast university plans

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) is set to lodge plans for its largest ever scheme - the competition-winning design for the University of Ulster’s new £250million Belfast City Campus
FCBStudios talk: 'How green is your refurb?'

FCBS, AHMM and Hawkins\Brown share best practice in low-carbon retrofit
Feeringbury Barn by Hudson Architects, Essex

Conversion of an extremely large 16th-century barn on a working Essex farm, which is Grade-II listed and had lain unused for a number of years
First look at gm + ad's last building

The last building designed by gm+ad before its split in 2010, the 6,000m2 Copenhagen Building in Glasgow, has finally completed
Fletcher Priest’s 16-storey tower goes on site in the City

Construction has started on Fletcher Priest Architects‘ 6 Bevis Marks, a site adjacent to the Gherkin. The office tower will include an extensive roof garden sheltered by a ETFE floating roof structure to allow use and access to views in all weathers.
Flora and fora

Pre-fab timber meant low costs and a speedy build at Sheppard Robson’s Hertzberger-inspired Waingels College
Footprint in the AJ

This week’s AJ is entirely devoted to green design - don’t miss it
Footprint Wire 09.03.12

Leeds Metropolitan University to open Sustainability Research Institute, on Building4change.
Footprint Wire 12.03.12

Leaked document on uncertainty of renewable energy targets in The Guardian is immediately dismissed by government, on DECC.
Footprint Wire 13.03.12

The Department of Energy and Climate Change [DECC] permit E.ON Green Power Plant.
FootprintWire 14.3.12

Vision for third and final section of New York High Line in The New York Times.
FootprintWire 15.3.12

Video of Odense, Denmark’s sustainable masterplan
FootprintWire 16.3.12

PRAUD’s ‘Seattle Jelly Bean’ proposes renewables and water recycling for 9-acre city centre site
FootprintWire 19.3.12

O’Donnell + Tuomey’s new student centre for LSE achieves BREEAM Outstanding
FootprintWire 20.3.12

Video of wind farm in western Chinese desert as part of renewables boom
FootprintWire 21.3.12

Danish practice EFFEKT win competition to design cancer counseling centre in Denmark
Forbo showcases the world’s most sustainable floor covering for today’s interiors

Manufactured using an unrivalled 97% natural raw materials - 70% of which are rapidly renewable - and with 40% recycled content, Marmoleum, the market leading linoleum brand from Forbo Flooring Systems, is the most natural and sustainable floor covering for today’s interiors.
Fosters partner reveals Scottish cities influence

Foster + Partners senior partner Andy Bow discussed his experience of Scotland’s ‘two great cities’ at last week’s AJ100 lunch club in Glasgow
Fosters wins planning for Paris twin towers

[First look + plans] Foster + Partners has won planning permission for two 320 metre-high skyscrapers located east of La Défense, in Courbevoie, Paris
Free AJ digital edition: Women in Practice

The acclaimed Women in Practice issue (AJ12.01.12), which features profiles of more than 60 female practice directors and partners, is now free to read
Future System's Ferrari museum finally completes

The new Enzo Ferrari Museum, the last project of the late Jan Kaplicky – the co-founder of Future Systems – has opened in Modena, Italy
George Ferguson ponders Bristol mayoral role

Former RIBA president George Ferguson is considering running for Bristol mayor
Go-ahead for Jonathan Hendry's 'medieval' homes scheme

Jonathan Hendry Architects has won planning permission for eight houses in the village of Waltham, north-east Lincolnshire
Government releases money for high street development

Housing minister Grant Shapps has accepted ‘virtually all’ the recommendations made in the Portas High Street Review and has announced a number of new town centre funding packages
Green Timber Architecture seminar in Edinburgh

Our January Women in Architecture issue has created a big stir, and reaction is still coming in. We recently received the following from Peter Wilson, director of the Wood Studio at the Forest Products Research Institute in Edinburgh:
Grimshaw bags Monchengladbach masterplan job

Grimshaw has won a competition to develop a masterplan for the centre of the German city of Monchengladbach
Growing Australian big hitter takes on more UK staff

Australian practice HASSELL has warned that it means business in the UK after securing two senior healthcare specialists from Nightingale Associates
Hackney City Farm seeks information point architect

[Submissions must be received by April 14] Hackney City Farm in London is looking for architects to design a new farm shop and information point for a 12m² site (pictured)
HCA allocates £70 million for empty homes revamps

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has revealed how its £70 million Empty Homes fund will be spent
Hearth of stone

How we extended and refurbished an abandoned bothy in a remote Scottish valley as a retreat for two artists, writes Neil Gillespie, Reiach and Hall
HHR wins planning for Uffizi-inspired Union Wharf scheme

Henley Halebrown Rorrison (HHR) has won planning permission for this £9.5 million residential-led, mixed-use project overlooking the Regent’s Canal in Hackney, east London
HOK nets planning for Doha shopping destination

HOK London chief Barry Hughes has hailed Qatar as the ‘Premiership’ of architecture after the practice secured planning permission for a retail and leisure scheme north of Doha
Holder Mathias’ £250 million Center Parcs scheme starts on site

Holder Mathias’ £250 million project to build the UK’s Center Parcs resort will start on site in the next few weeks
Homes for London?

[THIS WEEK] Shelter’s Homes for London proves there is hope for England’s capital yet, writes James Pallister
Hong Kong launches Xiqu Centre design contest

[Expressions of interest must be received by 10 April] The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority is calling for expressions of interest for the the Xiqu Centre, the first of the area’s 17 planned arts venues
How heavy is your urban landscape? Also, what gender is it?

Ian Martin becomes envious of Isis de Cambray
Hurd Rolland’s £40m Burnley development scrapped

A Hurd Rolland Partnership-designed £40 million shopping-ledl development in Burney has been scrapped
Imposter fined £5,000 for posing as architect

Bolton Magistrates’ Court has ordered Nichol Andrew Rosalie to pay a £5,000 fine plus £1,433 in costs for misusing the title ‘architect’
India infrastructure drive offers lifeline to UK architects

Senior Indian business figures are coming to the UK this month to promote design opportunities as the country spends £600bn on infrastructure over five years
Into the fold

Dellow Day Centre’s arts building welcomes visitors off the streets and provides a safe space for learning, writes Felix Mara. Photography by Tim Brotherton
Ireland's first skyscraper faces bulldozer as new plans approved

Gilroy McMahon Architects has won planning permission to knock down Ireland’s first skyscraper – Liberty Hall in the capital – and replace it with a new 22-storey scheme
It’s time for architects to embrace sustainable design – and reap the rewards

Architects have the training and expertise to drive the agenda on low-carbon development
Japan construction falls 28%

Japan’s top 50 construction firms saw orders fall 28 per cent in January as the strong yen and weak global economy hit the country’s fragile built environment recovery
Kerakoll - The GreenBuilding Rating: Building according to environmentally sustainable principles

As everyone who works in the industry is aware there is more and more emphasis on building in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
King’s Cross work still to be won

Argent is looking to appoint up to 10 new architects to work on its £2 billion King’s Cross redevelopment
Kingspan Benchmark sponsor AJ 'Sketch a Facade' competition

Kingspan Benchmark is proud to be joining forces with AJ on this ‘Sketch a façade’ competition
Kingston students construct replica of 17th century Japanese bridge

Ecobuild to display 1:3 replica of Kintaikyo Bridge
Knight wins Paddington Basin bridge

Knight Architects with engineers AKT II has beaten a top-secret shortlist to design a pedestrian bridge in Paddington Basin, London
Known core givens, unknown core givens and an imaginary conversation

Ian Martin pretends to write a blockbuster thriller – Forced Perspective
Kohn's Hackney Wick arts centre to open in May

Kohn Architects’ competition-winning White Building arts centre next to the Olympic Park in London will open this spring (2012)
KPF plans another City skyscraper

The AJ can reveal that KPF is working on a new 30-storey skyscraper close to Richard Rogers’ Lloyds of London building on Lime Street in the City of London.
Landscape and Intervention: Norwegian architecture at the RIBA

[PREVIEW] Reiulf Ramstand and Jensen & Skodvin Architects, two leading Norwegian practices, will feature in an exhibition at the RIBA
Landscape consultant for Eastcote House Gardens, Hillingdon

[Expressions of interest must be received by 16 April] The London Borough of Hillingdon is on the hunt for a lead consultant to work on an HLF stage two bid for Eastcote House Gardens
Lee Valley White Water Centre

A dual watercourse lessens the impact of energy-hungry water pumps and achieves major savings
Legalese: Avoid signing up to prohibitive terms in framework agreements

It is sensible to establish the nature and number of third parties who might be expecting warranties or third-party rights, says Mark Klimt
Legalese: Liquidated damages and indemnities

Legalese Signing up to contract clauses that insurers will not cover is signing a blank cheque, says Mark Klimt
Levitate unwraps Nottingham swimming pool

[First look + project data] Levitate Architecture and Design Studio has completed this £9 million leisure centre for Nottingham City Council
LHC wins go-ahead for luxury Plymouth Hoe flats

[Plans + project data] South West-based architects LHC has won planning permission for this £4.5million ‘luxury’ housing scheme at Plymouth Hoe
Lift off for Broadway Malyan’s Canada masterplan

Broadway Malyan is targeting further design work on a huge development it masterplanned in Calgary – now that individual projects within it are coming to life
Little map of horrors

A new book by Albena Yaneva attempts to map the controversies, scandal and intrigue that shape our buildings with laudable aims but flawed methods
Liverpool Waters lands planning permission

Outline planning permission has been granted for Peel Holdings’ £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters redevelopment scheme
London booms as regions go bust

As a wave of residential projects win planning, the gap between London and the regions has widened dramatically
London launches £30m architecture panel

[PQQs must be returned by 7 June] The Greater London Authority is seeking members for a new architecture, design and urbanism procurement panel
London Met students propose SunBloc House

Sole UK entry to 2012 Solar Decathlon competition.
Long House by Dan Brill Architects, Winchester

This house arose from the divergence between the clients’ brief and planning constraints, with the building form mediating between the two
Lord's Media Centre revamp gets underway

Future System’s Stirling Prize-winning Media Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London is being refurbished 12 years after opening
Maintaining urban form means having to keep up appearances

Ian Martin clashes with an old friend
Make and AHMM’s Camden vision vetoed

Make and AHMM’s controversial Hawley Wharf scheme in Camden Town, London has been rejected planning permission
Make reveals origami kiosk proposals for north London

Make has been commissioned by Camden Council to replace the borough’s existing street kiosks as part of a drive to clear up its pavements
Malindi & Providence by Simon Conder Associates, Porthtowen, Cornwall

Two new houses located on a dramatic, south-facing hillside overlooking the beach in the village of Porthtowan on the north Cornish coast
Manchester unearths forgotten 1970s tube line

Two Manchester university academics have discovered the forgotten half-built remnants of an underground rail line
Marathon not a sprint

Hattie Hartman gives a venue-by-venue guide to London’s ‘Green Olympics’, from cable-net roofs and low-carbon concrete, to the site’s infrastructure
Marlaw by Gareth Hoskins Architects, Glasgow

A new private house within the Pollokshields conservation area, a garden suburb with some of Glasgow’s finest Victorian villas
Mary Portas should have asked architects to re-imagine the British high street

The British high street is being killed by out-of-town shopping centre and the phenomenal rise of online shopping
'Material Wild' at SCIN gallery

The SCIN gallery’s new exhibition offers natural replacements to synthetic materials
Maybank and Matthews completes Hong Kong White Cube

[First look + plans] Maybank and Matthews Architects has taken the wraps off its 550m² White Cube Gallery project in Hong Kong
Mayoral contender moots Liverpool Waters enquiry

Mayoral candidate Liam Fogarty has demanded the government subject Peel Holding’s £5.5 billion waterfront project to a public enquiry if approved this week
McAslan and Squire reveal Elephant and Castle leisure centre revamp

[First look] Plans for a John McAslan and Partners-designed leisure centre and residential tower by Squire and Partners at Elephant and Castle in south London have been unveiled
McAslan unwraps King’s Cross station concourse

John McAslan and Partners’ dome-roofed concourse for King’s Cross station in London will open to passengers this weekend
MJP's Jersey home starts on site

[First look + plans] Work has started on this house in St John, Jersey, designed by MJP Architects
Moebius: Floating citadels and all-city planets

Moebius was the master of sci-fi architecture, writes Rory Olcayto
More Lakeside luck for 3DReid

AJ100 giant 3DReid has unveiled the latest in series of schemes the practice has designed for the huge Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex
New framework is lifeline for SMEs

Small practices may benefit from a new national framework for public schemes under £2 million requiring 66% of subcontractors to be local
New Practices: David Hughes 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: Mailen Design

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 'self-sustaining' DC CABE launches London Design Review Panel

Design Council CABE has launched a new London design review panel aimed at local authorities and potential planning applicants in the capital
New start and new vision for Yorkshire Chemicals site in Leeds

The Harris Partnership is to redesign Allen Tod Architecture’s masterplan for the former Yorkshire Chemical Works in Leeds for new owner Blenheim Developments
New York concert venue design contest

[Registration should be completed on 15 March] North Brooklyn’s Open Space Alliance is on the hunt for proposals for a temporary concert venue in New York
Nottingham architecture school completes Ecobuild pavilion

Students from the University of Nottingham Department of Architecture and Built Environment have created a pavilion from recycled shipping pallets at Ecobuild in London
Obituary: Bryan Russel Archer (1928-2012)

Archer Boxer Partnership co-founder and architect Bryan Archer has died age 83 following a protracted battle with cancer, writes Andrew Archer
Obituary: Lord St John of Fawsley (1929 – 2012)

The former Conservative Cabinet Minister and chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission has died at the age of 82
Obituary: Robert Elwall (1953 – 2012)

Robert Elwall, assistant director of the British Architectural Library at the RIBA, has passed away at the age of 59, writes Irena Murray
Off message

Hardcore RIBA aficionados need no reminding that this month we approach the first anniversary of past president Ruth Reed’s failed attempt to oust institute chief executive Harry Rich
Olympic firms told to ignore marketing ban

UK companies behind the London 2012 Olympic Games were urged to ignore publicity restrictions at a meeting with OLPC chair Margaret Ford and ODA chief executive Dennis Hone
Olympic Games '£2bn over-budget'

The London 2012 Olympic Games are running £2 billion over budget, according to a report by MPs
Olympic Infrastructure

The wind turbine may have been abandoned, but the park makes the most of energy generation and water conservation
On 20 April, Women in Architecture will storm Portland Place

The winners of the AJ Women in Architecture Awards will be announced at a glittering lunch
On board with good acoustics

Passengers travelling through a brand new ferry terminal in Scotland are now benefitting from an acoustic solution from Ecophon, part of leading international materials company Saint-Gobain
Oxford Brookes student's timber pavilion pops up at Ecobuild

Oxford Brookes student Stephanie Lewis’ winning entry for the Trada and Timbmet pavilion has been unveiled at this year’s Ecobuild
Patel Taylor’s Essex university student centre starts on site

[First look + plans + project data] Patel Taylor’s £16.5 million student centre for the University of Essex in Colchester has started on site
PCKO scoops Peabody housing contest

PCKO Architects has won the Peabody housing trust’s competition to design 150 new homes in Newham, east London
Police linked to construction industry blacklisting

Information contained on a database used to blacklist construction workers was supplied by the police or security services, a London employment tribunal heard
Populous' takes Olympic tips for New Zealand stadium

Global sports specialist Populous has confessed its design for a temporary stadium in earthquake-hit Christchurch was inspired by its work on the London Olympics
Pride of Peckham

‘Delighted that Architects’ Journal and Philips have chosen Peckham for their Liveable Cities design contest, hoping for some creative ideas.’
Project Orange revives Sheffield warehouse

Project Orange has completed this £1.2 million mixed-use redevelopment in Sheffield, reflecting the ‘industrial roofscapes that used to dominate the city’
Projects 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. Soon to come will be projects showing how Kalwall saves energy in supermarkets, the AEDAS specification for their seven Kno
Pyongyang's Architecture on trial

A two-volume guide to architecture in Pyongyang offers a startling contrast between propaganda and the reality of life in North Korea, writes Hyunjoo Lee
Reader offer - March 2012

Footprint have teamed up with Lars Müller Publishers to offer readers three free copies of Landform Building: Architecture’s New Terrain, edited by Stan Allen and Marc McQuade
Recalibrating the Olympic legacy, recalculating the Ally Palacy

Ian Martin brainstorms some disaster icons
Replacing Robin Hood Gardens - the developer's view

The deputy chief executive of the Swan Housing Group, Mark Thompson explains why the Smithsons’ ‘flawed’ Robin Hood Gardens has to be flattened for the sake of the local residents and the area’s wider regeneration
Residents mull legal action over vibrating Bellway block

Bellway has called in an independent structural consultant to assess complaints of excessive vibration at one of its major London developments as residents warn they may launch collective legal action
Revealed: The Doolan longlist aka the RIAS Awards shortlist

The 23-strong shortlist for the inaugural RIAS Awards, effectively the longlist for the 2012 Doolan Prize, has been unveiled
RIBA backs ‘crowd funding’ model

The RIBA and British Property Federation have thrown their weight behind an innovative funding model which allows communities to ‘crowd source’ the money needed to build new facilities
RIBA festival revives Architecture Week

The RIBA has effectively revived Architecture Week five years after it was controversially abandoned due to Arts Council budget cuts
RIBA North East launches Forgotten Spaces 2012

[The deadline for registration is 27 April] RIBA North East has launched a Forgotten Spaces competition for the entire North East region open to students, artists, designers, planners and architects from across the UK
RIBA photo library could be renamed after Elwall

The RIBA photography collection could be renamed in honour of late British Architectural Library curator and assistant director Robert Elwall
Richard Rogers and Laura Lee to judge AJ's first Women in Architecture Awards

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ figurehead Richard Rogers and Maggie’s chief executive Laura Lee have joined the judging panel for the AJ’s inaugural Women in Architecture Awards
Robin Hood Gardens plans clear latest planning hurdles

Horden Cherry Lee and Aedas’ controversial £500 million project to redevelop Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar, east London has cleared its latest planning hurdle
Rogers bags planning for Deptford mixed-use redevelopment

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ (RSHP) £42 million, 121-home redevelopment near Deptford train station in south east London has won planning permission
Rogers: 'East London could be the new West London'

Richard Rogers has told delegates of the MIPIM property fair that ‘West and east London could switch sides’ due to the intelligent masterplanning, transport infrastructure and investment as a result of the 2012 Olympics
S333 bags planning for Bloomsbury housing

[First look] S333 has won planning permission for five townhouses and two commercial buildings on the site of a former dairy in Bloomsbury, London
Scape design framework, Nottinghamshire

[Expressions of interest must be returned by 10 April] Local Authority-controlled company Scape System Build is on the hunt for building design and surveying services as part of a four year framework
Semi-naked trouser-ironers and the danger of a loosened belt

Paul Finch’s letter from London: Tam Dalyell is made an honorary fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
Shackerley launches new Sureclad brochure at Ecobuild

Visitors to Shackerley’s stand at Ecobuild will be the first to receive a copy of the new Sureclad Ventilated Façades brochure being launched at this year’s show.
Skylon Park masterplan, Hereford

[Expressions of interest must be returned by 9 March] The Hereford Enterprise Zone Board is seeking expressions of interest from architect-led teams to masterplan a new business area south of the city dubbed ‘Skylon Park’
Spanish roof tiles and a Dulux Dog

Black Architecture’s Tony Duckworth reports
Specifying insulation for inverted roofs: getting it right from the start

As Roofing Manager for Dow Building Solutions – manufacturer of STYROFOAM™ thermal insulation – I know a roof may be only 2% of the overall budget of a build, says Richard Powell, Roofing Manager, Dow Building Solutions
Stamp of approval

Stamp collectors and fans of Basil Spence behold: the Scottish Brutalist architect has been commemorated on a special Royal Mail postage stamp
Steni goes colour-ful natur-ally at Ecobuild

Cladding manufacturer Steni UK will exhibit both ends of its rainscreen panel spectrum, as well as its eco-friendly credentials, at Ecobuild, March 20 - 22
Steni goes colour-ful natur-ally at Ecobuild

Cladding manufacturer Steni UK will exhibit both ends of its rainscreen panel spectrum, as well as its eco-friendly credentials, at Ecobuild 2012 (March 20-22).
Studio Weave scoops Kedleston Hall job

The practice beat 168 entrants to design a contemporary art commission for the 18th-century Derbyshire hall, to open in August
Sturgeon North unwraps Bradford park pavilion

Sturgeon North Architects has completed this pavilion within Bradford’s new £24 million City Park which officially opened last weekend (24 March)
Successful Photomontages by Foundation CGI

A successful photomontage needs careful consideration from the start: Q & A. 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. Would the scheme benefit from an elevated photomontage? Elevated photomontages help illustrate how a schemeworks as a whole and the relationshi
Sustainable Water Industry Group

Footprint recently took part in a working lunch on the topic of drought. The event was organised by Neil Landsburg of the Sustainable Water Industry Group (SWIG) and hosted by David Lewis, Head Gardener at The Roof Gardens, Kensington
Taking an active interest in Passivhaus

This year’s Passivhaus seminar programme at Ecobuild is sponsored by Saint-Gobain Isover and next week I’ll be speaking in one of the sessions
Ten to watch

The latest crop of green products can be easily integrated into a building’s fabric to solve common problems in innovative ways, writes Sandy Patience
The Big Three

A lightweight stadium, a daylit Velodrome and a pool that pioneers low-carbon concrete
The changing face of digital mapping

Promap is the market leading digital mapping data provider to property professionals and offers architects the ability to export mapping data in a variety of easily accessible formats that is extremely targeted and relevant to them. In the last decade digital mapping has moved from being a niche area navigated by surveyors, to become an essential and accessible tool for architects.
The Countdown to Ecobuild

With less than a week to go until 2012’s Ecobuild, we’re busy adding the finishing touches to our Multi-Comfort House competition stand
The Diary of an Anonymous Academic #2

The second in a new series about the unreported trials and tribulations from the frontline of architectural education. This week: the crits
The future of the NHS depends on how we design for birth, death and everything in between

Paul Finch’s letter from London: There has been little attention paid to converting parts of homes into space where the ill can lead a civilised existence
The GreenBuilding Rating: Building according to environmentally sustainable principles

As everyone who works in the industry is aware there is more and more emphasis on building in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way
The house at Spanish Cove

On a craggy site on the Irish coast, Niall McLaughlin Architects’ precisely hewn home challenges our ideas of the familiar and the domestic, writes Stephen Best
The Hub, Loughborough College

[Expressions of interest must be returned by 4 April] Loughborough College in Leicestershire has tendered for architectural design services for a £6 million new-build project called ‘the Hub’
The new iPad: What architects need to know

Apple announced yesterday that their new iPad will be available on 16 March. It will feature a new processor, a five-mega-pixel camera and an improved screen. The device will cost from £399 to £659 and will be slightly bulkier than the iPad 2, which is to fall in price. Read the expert reaction:
The only thing that matters at MIPIM is the deal

Paul Finch’s letter from London: Like Nouvel and OMA in the City, private development should make a public contribution
Time running out to enter British Construction Industry Awards

The deadline is looming for entries into this year’s British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA)
Top British architects picked for Venice

David Chipperfield has chosen Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Farshid Moussavi and Caruso St John to exhibit at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale
Torbay tenders South West Consultancy Framework

[Expressions of interest must be returned by 16 April] Torbay Council is seeking design services on behalf of a group of South West England public bodies
Tough love

Low-maintenance brickwork facades were the best way of bringing value to our first social housing project, writes Alex Mowatt of Urban Salon
Townshend joins Shell Centre revamp team

Townshend Landscape Architects has been appointed to work on Squire and Partners’ masterplan for the redevelopment of London’s Shell Centre
Troldtekt launches £4,100 student ideas contest

[Registration should be completed on 1 April] Danish acoustic panels manufacturer Troldtekt is seeking ‘creative and original’ proposals from students using its wood and wool products
UK construction grows at fastest rate for a year

Last month, UK construction activity grew at its fastest pace in almost a year
UK-wide Prince’s House roll-out announced

The Prince’s Foundation has signed an agreement with a house builder to construct its Prince’s House for sale on the open market
UNStudio lands planning for Islington skyscraper

Dutch-practice UNStudio has received resolution to grant planning for a 30-storey residential tower in Islington, north London
Urban Splash to replace Tutti Frutti with modular family homes

Regeneration expert and urban developer Urban Splash has chosen the former Tutti Frutti site in Manchester for its first foray into mass house building.
US collaborations offer lifeline to UK firms

UK architects have been urged to seek joint ventures with local firms to take advantage of the slowly improving but extremely competitive US market
Video from Ecobuild: Result of the 2012 Isover Architectural Student Design Competition

Find out which of the eight shortlisted student teams won the competition PLUS Have your say and win an iPad
Video: Peckham Charrette

An AJ charrette for Peckham in association with Philips and the Borough of Southwark
Video: Richard Rogers on Women in Architecture

Richard Rogers discusses the glass ceiling, maternity leave and what has changed over the past 40 years
Wage survey: sole pracitioners' pay continues to plummet

Average earnings for sole practitioners has fallen again, dropping by seven per cent in the last year to £32,569
WE-EF’s new LED luminaires

Together with the latest VFL LED Series, all WE-EF’s LED exterior luminaires suitable for road and amenity lighting can be found in a new ‘LED Street and Area lighting’ catalogue.
What clients want: AJ survey results

Fifty top developers and local authorities including Urban Splash and the OPLC responded to our first client survey, revealing that 86 per cent of clients say architects’ design skill is the key factor in awarding work
What I learned at MIPIM: forget iconitecture, clients want long lives and loose fits

Gone are the days when clients could borrow enough dosh for a plot of land, a great design and the money to break ground
What the NPPF means for architects

The NPPF means planning policy is now more confusing than ever, says Christine Murray
Wilkinson Eyre misses out on Carlsberg brewery job

Wilkinson Eyre has been defeated in its bid to transform the New Carlsberg Brewhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark into a ‘brand and experience centre’
Winner in St Peter's Square contest revealed

A team led by German landscape stars Latz + Partner has won the international competition to redesign St Peter’s Square in Manchester
Wood Campus - New Wood Campus replaces Wood for Good Online Learning

For the thousands of architects using Wood for Good’s Online Learning RIBA-accredited CPD courses, it’s all change, with the launch of the new Wood Campus (www.woodcampus.co.uk).
Zaha Hadid's Aquatic Centre in local swimming gala

Zaha Hadid’s Olympic Swimming Pool opened its doors on Sunday, 14th of March to teenage swimmers and nearly 1,000 spectators
Zaha's Roca Gallery to host women in architecture debate

The Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Roca London Gallery in Chelsea Harbour is hosting a breakfast discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday

Architects JournalMarch 2012

Architects Journal
March 2012