RIBA responds to Draft London Plan

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the publication of Mayor of London’s Draft London Plan. RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said “Me and my team at the RIBA look forward to working with the Mayor of London... View Article

Future Watch – Setting the stage for regeneration

With cities’ night time economy being seen as increasingly important in the future, Tim Foster, partner at Foster Wilson Architects, reflects on how theatre design projects that put placemaking at their core can catalyse regeneration. Following the debate around placemaking... View Article

Site Lines: Master Builders for the 21st century

Bruce Bell of Facit Homes says that the emergence of digital methods of creating buildings means that architects can recapture their former territory as Master Builders. Throughout the 20th century, architects have steadily become further removed from the process of... View Article

Editor’s Comment – December

It is somewhat hard to know what to make of Phillip ‘joker’ Hammond’s recent Budget, given that it contains a lot for housing, as rumoured, and perhaps more than some feared, while at the same time raising yet more questions... View Article

RIBA responds to Industrial Strategy

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has welcomed the Government’s new Industrial Strategy, but CEO Alan Vallance has made it clear the Institute sees this as the start, not the end of engagement between business and the Government. RIBA CEO Alan Vallance said: “An effective... View Article

RIBA, Atkins and AHR respond to Autumn Budget announcements

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), multi-award winning architecture and building consultancy practice AHR, and Atkins – one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies – have responded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Budget to... View Article

Why we should allow daylight to shine

Chris Lowe of BDP, tells us about the role of natural light in inspirational, interesting and healthy buildings – and why artificial light doesn’t really cut-it. Daylight is important to the human condition. It can improve our health, wellbeing, creativity... View Article

The benefits of steel as a building material

For some time now, steel has been gaining popularity as a building material for buildings of all forms across the United Kingdom. Now, however, we have a much better understanding of the numerous benefits that using steel as our primary... View Article

View point – Nigel Ostime from Hawkins\Brown

A continuing wage gap between architects working in different sectors is presenting a further obstacle to diversity of new entrants to the profession. Nigel Ostime from Hawkins\Brown suggests a different approach. Economic commentators are observing an increasing gap between the... View Article

Ask the architect – Mungo Smith – MAAP

Mungo Smith is a renowned specialist healthcare architect, and was director of Medical Architecture and Art Projects (MAAP) in the UK until 2012, when he moved the firm to Sydney, Australia. He tells ADF why an architect’s life down under isn’t always plain sailing. AFTER SETTING UP SHOP IN AUSTRALIA, WHAT ADVICE... View Article

View Point – Tim Burgess of CoveBurgess Architects

Tim Burgess of CoveBurgess Architects says that grass-roots answers are needed to the problem of practices finding it harder be located in London’s rich diversity. Our modern cities are the current embodiment of humans’ desire to gather into groupings that... View Article

Practice Profile – Colman Architects

Emerging from a desire to ‘do things better’, over their 30-year lifespan Colman Architects have produced a wealth of diverse projects from sleek gallery spaces to colossal Chinese masterplans. Sébastien Reed investigates. The project is the all-important thing – Colman... View Article

Site Lines – The real value of human-centred design

‘Human-centred’ buildings offering users better technology or greater material comfort will always be the exception rather than the rule as they are costly and challenging. This is a perception Atkins is trying to counter, as Rebecca Wicks reports. The needs... View Article