Rory Olcayto

Rory Olcayto

Rory is an award-winning journalist and critic and editor of the Architects’ Journal.

Before his career in journalism, Rory studied architecture at the University of Strathclyde, worked in practice in Glasgow, Liege and Istanbul, and as a designer in the videogames industry. He also led a first-year design studio at Strathclyde University for two years and today is a guest critic at a number of UK and Irish universities.

Rory is a regular commentator on radio and television, and in national newspapers, and regularly speaks at industry events. Rory has been a BCI Awards judge since 2009, a RIBA Awards judge and in 2015, was a member of the Stirling Prize jury.

In 2015, under his editorship, the AJ was nominated for an unprecedented 12 media awards, winning four, with Rory picking up IBP magazine of the year on behalf of AJ (for the second time in a row) and architecture writer of the Year (the third time he has won the award).

Stories

Top 10 buildings to see at Open House LondonSubscription
13 September, 2016
More than 700 buildings are open to the public this weekend. Open House’s director Rory Olcayto selects his top 10
Artful creativity in London – it's a holding pattern at best Subscription
29 January, 2016Comments (1)
The five years of fun and spectacle at Peckham car park demonstrated a vital alternative to the dead hand of official ‘regen’
Pattern recognition: drawing and the art of architectureSubscription
22 January, 2016
Rory Olcayto examines the artistry that went into the creation of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre at the British Museum
From model-making to property development: do it yourselfSubscription
22 January, 2016
This week the AJ is celebrating craftwork: from model-making to hand drawing to developing your own buildings
We have lost a great visual communicatorSubscription
15 January, 2016
Scotland – and the world of architecture – are poorer for the untimely death of Gareth Hoskins
Parry's skyscraper: unlikely designer, pleasing designSubscription
11 December, 2015Updated: 14 December, 2015
When they are civic-minded, skyscrapers and ground-up regen are both valid and central to London’s future,
Architecture's back-story needs to broaden its scopeSubscription
27 November, 2015
It’s time to rewrite the history books to celebrate the unsung heroes and heroines of architecture
The ‘Uberisation’ of the economy will require a new generation of officesSubscription
26 November, 2015
A shift to freelance employment is leading clients to demand workplaces that feel more like homes than offices, says Argent managing partner David Partridge
Hart Street House by Richard Murphy ArchitectsSubscription
22 November, 2015Comments (2)
Forget RIBA House of the Year – Richard Murphy’s Edinburgh home is the AJ’s house of the year, writes Rory Olcayto
$Laurieston Transformational Area, Glasgow by Page\Park Architects and Elder and Cannon Architects$
Despite self-harm, Scotland's magnificent cities still shineSubscription
19 November, 2015Comments (1)
It’s not ‘ye banks and braes’ that define modern Scotland, but its surpassing urban architecture