Love Architecture Festival 2013
Architecture has a role in daily life. It is all the places and spaces we live and work in. It is the buildings, streets, squares and odd little corners that make up our daily environment. This year’s Love Architecture Festival, put on by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), aims to celebrate architecture and engage the general public with architecture and the built environment – to reveal what makes great architecture, old and new. Taking place June 21-30 at various locations in the UK, typical events during the festival include exhibitions & films, walks & tours, family fun events, film screenings, and more. For more information on the events, please visit here.
A Complete List of the RIBA National Award Winners
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has unveiled the 2013 RIBA National Award winners, a shortlist of 52 exemplars in design excellence from the UK and EU that will compete for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize. This year’s award winners were selected from practices of all sizes and projects of all scales, ranging from a beautifully-crafted chapel in the back garden of an Edinburgh townhouse to the innovative yellow-roofed Ferrari Museum in Italy. Notably, one third of the UK winners are exceptionally designed education buildings.
The 43 UK buildings that have won an RIBA National Award are:
New Headquarters for the Metropolitan Police Service Competition
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) just announced the launch of a new design competition on behalf of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to create a new central London Headquarters – replacing their existing New Scotland Yard building. The Invited Design Competition provides architects/practices with the opportunity to produce a design for the renovation of this landmark in one of London’s most important and historic areas – to provide a modern, flexible and secure office environment for the MPS. The deadline for submissions is June 27. For more information, please visit here.
London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) New Global Center for the Social Sciences Competition
RIBA is now inviting expressions of interest from architect-led design teams with exceptional design skills for the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) New Global Center for the Social Sciences, the world’s leading center for social sciences. The next step in the campus development program is to further improve the School’s teaching, research and support facilities through the complete redevelopment of the center of its Aldwych campus. The new building that will be constructed will have a vital role to play in cementing the LSE’s position as a world renowned educational establishment and will become a place that inspires existing LSE students and will help attract new high caliber students and staff to the School. The deadline for submissions is June 14. For more information, please visit here.
Does the Cost of Architectural Education Create a Barrier to the Profession?
A recent report by the UK Architectural Education Review Group has highlighted the high cost of education as a barrier which prevents less wealthy students from accessing the profession, reveals BDonline. Among a number of concerns raised about the current state of architectural education, it says that the cost to study architecture in the UK could “create an artificial barrier to the profession based solely on a student’s willingness to accept high levels of personal debt”.
Architecture has long been seen as a pastime of the wealthy, as evidenced by Philip Johnson‘s claim that “the first rule of architecture is be born rich, the second rule is, failing that, to marry wealthy”. However, the report acknowledges the fact that making the profession open to people of all backgrounds is not only a moral imperative, but will be vital to bring the best talent into the field.
Read more about the barriers surrounding the profession of architecture after the break…
Charles Correa in Conversation with RIBA President Angela Brady
After generously donating an archive of over 6000 drawings and 150 projects, architect Charles Correa sat down with RIBA President Angela Brady to discuss his life and work as one of “India’s greatest architects.” The short interview touches on a wide range of topics, from the inspiration behind some of his greatest projects to advice for future architecture students.
“The thing about architecture is that you cannot teach it. You can learn it, but you cannot teach it. And a good school is a school which makes you passionate about architecture and that teaches you how to ask questions. [...] If you know how to ask the right questions, you will develop your own philosophy and your own visual vocabulary.”
Charles Correa: India’s Greatest Architect
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) presents the first major UK exhibition showcasing the work of renowned Indian architect Charles Correa (born in 1930). Rooted both in modernism and the rich traditions of people, place and climate, Correa has played a pivotal role in the creation of an architecture and urbanism for post-war India. He has designed some of the most outstanding buildings in India and has received many of the world’s most important architecture awards including the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (1984), Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1988) and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale (1994), and is still working today.
UK Survey Reveals Gap Between Large and Small Practices
A recent survey by the RIBA of over 2,100 UK practices revealed there is now a widening gap between ‘massive’ and ‘micro’ practices, with a ‘squeezed middle’ in between, as reported by BD.
This was the first mandatory survey of its members conducted by the RIBA, and gives a glimpse, for the first time, into the workings of every chartered UK practice. The RIBA’s executive director of membership and profession Richard Brindley described the findings as a “tale of two professions operating in different universes”. The polarized profession is most damaging to the practices in the middle; those of 10-50 employees which are large enough to have costly overheads, but not large enough to absorb them.
Large practices, employing 50 people or more, include just 3% of practices, but, thanks to their size, include 40% of registered architects. At the other extreme are practices of 10 employees or less, who account for 53% of practices despite employing a meager 10% of architects. The survey found that the majority of practices employs fewer than six people.
Read on for more results and analysis of the survey
RIBA Campaigns For Space and Light Requirements in New Homes
In preparation for a ministerial review of housing standards by the UK government, the RIBA has launched their “Without Space + Light” campaign aimed at advocating minimum requirements for total space and natural lighting in order to improve quality in new built homes.
The campaign, supported by a survey titled “Housing Standards and Satisfaction: What the Public Wants“, aims to combat the recent trend towards ‘shoe-box homes’, highlighting the dissatisfaction among owners of new homes when it comes to living standards and the fact that new homes are an average of 10% smaller than they used to be.
Not only are the space standards in UK homes poor compared to past housing, they also lag behind standards set by other European countries: in Ireland, new homes are on average 15% larger, in the Netherlands they are 53% larger, and most strikingly in Denmark they are a full 80% larger.
Read more about the campaign after the break…
Royal Gold Medal 2013 Lecture: Peter Zumthor
It’s a rarity that the architecture community is presented a chance to indulge in a Peter Zumthor lecture. Often referred to a architecture’s reclusive “man of mystery”, the Swiss legend has produced a handful of projects so eloquently designed that they have captured the attention of the world. In honor of his mastery, RIBA awarded Zumthor with the institute’s prestigious Royal Gold Medal in February. In this video, he gives the 2013 Royal Gold Medal Lecture at the RIBA, focused on the theme of Presence in Architecture.
The Reality Behind those UK Unemployment Statistics
The findings of the recent BD employment survey in the UK, revealing that 22% of British architects are unemployed, certainly makes for unpleasant reading, but it is important to look beyond the upsetting numbers to figure out what they mean.
Much more than a simple number showing the rate of UK unemployment, a closer look at the results highlights problems, exposes trends, and dispels myths – from the assumed truth that London is an employment “oasis” to the supposed strength the profession has shown in this economic crisis.
Read more analysis of the survey results, after the break…
Venice Takeaway: Ideas to Change British Architecture
Following the conclusion of David Chipperfield’s 2012 Venice Biennale, the British Pavilion has brought its investigations back to the UK to expand upon ten exceptional research projects that illustrate how architecture has shaped the culture and economy of countries around the world.
Should Amsterdam-style floating homes be built in London’s Docklands? Could the UK learn from Brazil’s successful identikit school-building program? Could Belfast be redeveloped by following a Berlin model? These are just some of the fascinating questions that will be addressed in a series of lectures, debates and events hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in collaboration with the British Council and the Architectural Association.
Mark your calendars for the following special events, which will run from February 26 through April 27, 2013.
Agenda: 4 Ambitions / Rem Koolhaas
As the 2012 Jencks Award winner, Rem Koolhaas charts the evolution of his ideas and built projects in this lecture provided by RIBA. He describes a double life split between practice and theory, two ventures reflected by his studios, OMA and AMO, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture and the Architecture Media Organization. Enjoy!
The lecture is chaired by Charles Jencks, designer, author and broadcaster.
via RIBA
RIBA’s ‘London Vauxhall – The Missing Link’ Competition
Launching January 14, RIBA‘s London Vauxhall – The Missing Link Competition is open to registered architects, landscape architects, urban designers and students of these disciplines worldwide. The Vauxhall area of London is at the heart of an area of huge new opportunity and Vauxhall One, the new Business Improvement District (BID) for Vauxhall are seeking design ideas to improve and enhance the public realm in Vauxhall, providing the ‘Missing Link’ between the New US Embassy Quarter and London’s South Bank. With multi-disciplinary design teams also encouraged, the intention is all entries will be exhibited during April 2013 at both the Garden Museum and an outdoor cultural trail through the parks and railway arches of Vauxhall. For more information, please visit RIBA Competitions here when the competition goes live next month.
Winners of 2012 RIBA President’s Awards for Research
Research plays an integral role in the evolution of architecture. To celebrate it’s importance and acknowledge outstanding research currently happening within the field of architecture throughout the UK, The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners of the RIBA President’s Awards for Research.
RIBA President Angela Brady said: “The RIBA President’s Awards for Research highlight and reward the outstanding research in architecture that is taking place across the country. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, your research is hugely appreciated and highly valued across the profession. Research into architecture provides a lasting legacy to all in the profession and reminds us of the importance of innovation and strategic thinking in our everyday work.”
The RIBA President’s Awards for Research, presented in four categories, were awarded to:
RIBA Design Ideas Competition: Great Fen Visitor Centre
RIBA Competitions recently announced their two-stage design ideas competition for the Great Fen Visitor Centre in Cambridgeshire. Great Fen is an internationally acclaimed vision, one of sweeping scale and ambition. Over the next 50-100 years, more than 3,000ha of largely arable land will be transformed into a mosaic of habitat: open water, lakes, ponds and ditches; reedbed; fen, bog and marsh; wet grassland; dry grassland; woodland and scrub. The competition seeks to to create around and between a restored fenland landscape which provides a living landscape for wildlife and people. Registrations will close on December 19. The deadline for Stage 1 design submissions is 2pm on January 10. To register, and for more information, please visit here.
RIBA’s 2012 Stephen Lawrence Prize awarded to King’s Grove
King’s Grove, an elegant new house squeezed behind two Victorian terraces in Peckham, has been awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Stephen Lawrence Prize 2012 – an architecture award that recognizes “fresh talent and smaller construction budgets”. The project, designed by London-based practice Duggan Morris Architects, was selected over four other contenders and was awarded last week, along with the 2012 Stirling Prize-winner, in Manchester. As you may remember, Duggan Morris Architects won last year’s RIBA Manser Medal.
Speaking about King’s Grove, the judges said:
Guangzhou International Finance Centre wins 2012 RIBA Lubetkin Prize
Now in it’s sixth year, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) 2012 Lubetkin Prize has been awarded to Wilkinson Eyre Architects for their Guangzhou International Finance Centre in China. This annual award is presented to the “best new building outside the European Union”.
RIBA President and judge, Angela Brady commented: “With exceptional vision and skill, Wilkinson Eyre Architects have given their clients and the city of Guangzhou an outstanding new 103 storey landmark. The tower’s diamond shaped structure, exposed throughout the offices, atrium and hotel, looks simple but is the hugely complex key to the success of this building. It not only allows the dramatic tapering atrium and raked floors but brings environmental benefits by using 20% less steel than similar buildings. Guangzhou International Finance Centre is a worthy winner of this important prize.”
RIBA awards architecturespossibles with 2012 Manser Medal
Maison L, the dramatic addition that transformed an 18th century orangery into an innovative contemporary house on the outskirts of Paris, has been awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) 2012 Manser Medal for best newly designed private house. The major restoration and extension was designed by christian pottgiesser architecturespossibles (CPAP), a well-published practiced based in Paris whose portfolio ranges from small private homes to large scale urban design. The French home was selected over four other impressive residences, seen here on the 2012 Manser Medal shortlist.
Continue reading for more.
Peter Zumthor awarded RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2013
Today, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) honored Swiss architect Peter Zumthor for his significant influence on the advancement of architecture by naming him the recipient of the 2013 Royal Gold Medal.
It all started in Switzerland, in 1979, when Zumthor founded his “small yet powerful and uncompromising practice”. Since, he has built a prestigious, international reputation for creating “highly atmospheric spaces through the mastery of light and choice of materials”. From his small rural chapels to the Thermal Baths at Vals, the Zumthor experience ignites the senses, with “every detail reinforcing the essence of the building and its surroundings.”
RIBA President Angela Brady, stated: “Peter Zumthor’s work renews the link with a tradition of modern architecture that emphasizes place, community and material practice. His writings dwell upon the experience of designing, building and inhabitation while his buildings are engaged in a rich dialogue with architectural history. I will be delighted to present him with the Royal Gold Medal.”
Continue to learn more.
RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize Shortlist
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the 2012 shortlist for the Stephen Lawrence Prize – an £5000 award that recognizes fresh talent with construction budgets of less than £1 million. The prize is sponsored by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation in memory of an aspiring young architect who tragically lost his life in 1993.
The 2012 Stephen Lawrence Prize shortlist is:
- Hill Top House, Oxford (private house) / Adrian James Architects
- Kings Grove, London SE15 (private house) / Duggan Morris Architects
- Hill House, Kent (private house) / Hampson Williams Architects
- The Dellow Day Centre, London E1 / Featherstone Young
- The Marquis Hotel & Restaurant, Dover / Guy Hollaway Architects
The winner will be announced at the RIBA Stirling Prize Dinner on October 13, 2012, in Manchester. The 2012 judges include architects Phil Coffey, Marco Goldschmied and Doreen Lawrence.
Continue after the break to learn more about each project.
