Photographer: Andrew Meredith | ArchDaily

Trends Always Come Back: Retro Aesthetics with Modern Materials

Valeria Montjoy — Thu, 19 May 2022 04:00:00 +0000

As transitory as trends may be, they always have a way of coming back. We see it all the time in fashion, with clothing pieces we thought were long gone coming back in style and reconquering the market. Interior design is no exception. Although this century has set the ideal on subtle sophistication and simplicity – with white surfaces, clean lines and slick gloss finishes –, bold retro enhancements are reviving in residential and commercial interiors. Whether in the form of vibrant colored walls, floors with intricate geometric patterns or vintage-looking furniture pieces, there seems to be a renewed appreciation for design elements inspired by trends from the second half of the 1900s, particularly from the 50s to the 80s.

RIBA Announces 2022 London Awards Winners

Dima Stouhi — Thu, 05 May 2022 08:00:00 +0000

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winning projects for the 2022 RIBA London architecture awards. The list of 42 buildings includes projects ranging from a sustainable council housing development to a cookery school for children, showcasing the best architectural interventions in London over the past two years. The projects were selected by a regional jury, who visited all 66 shortlisted projects. RIBA London Award winners will now be considered for a highly-coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced in June.

Construction and Design Trends of 2021: The Recurring, The Popular, The Relevant and The Substantial

Paula Pintos & Clara Ott — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 04:00:00 +0000

As we look back at the architecture projects we have published in 2020, as part of our yearly review, we were able to distinguish many recurring elements and solutions in terms of materials, programs, and functions.

Recycling Brick Constructions in the UK: 14 Building Restorations and Extensions

Paula Pintos — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 11:00:00 +0000

The use of brick plays a very important role in the architectural history of the United Kingdom. Construction techniques that involve brick and stone have been in constant progress. In fact, brick production improved over time, making the material the most popular one in the construction industry. From the 18th century onwards, brickwork was predominantly used in domestic and industrial architecture, but later on, it was introduced to the structure of warehouses and factories, as well as other various forms of infrastructure.

Spotlight: Peter Zumthor

AD Editorial Team — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 04:30:00 +0000

Known for his sensuous materiality and attention to place, 2009 Pritzker Laureate Peter Zumthor (born April 26, 1943) is one the most revered architects of the 21st century. Shooting to fame on the back of The Therme Vals and Kunsthaus Bregenz, completed just a year apart in 1996 and 1997, his work privileges the experiential qualities of individual buildings over the technological, cultural and theoretical focus often favored by his contemporaries.

White Rabbit House / Gundry & Ducker

Paula Pintos — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 03:00:00 +0000

The house is part of a terrace of 1970s neo-Georgian houses, built on the site of demolished large Victorian Villas. This terrace is one of many similar examples built in a ten year period from the mid-1960s around Canonbury. Whilst the front facade was designed in the Neo-Georgian style, the interior layout and design were generic 1970’s housebuilders. Stripping out the entire interior back to just the external walls and the roof, we inserted a new interior as a modern interpretation of a Georgian house interior. The design is centered around a cantilevered pill-shaped staircase that sits in a triple-height space with the upper rooms accessed directly off the stair.

Lauriston Road / Gundry + Ducker

Martita Vial della Maggiora — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 01:00:00 +0000

The project is a two-storey extension to a ground floor and basement maisonette within a Victorian terraced house. Previously ,across the rear of the house , was a collection of ramshackle lean-to structures all sitting a metre below the adjacent garden level. The new extension now contains the main living space plus a studio room upstairs. The extension gives the lower flat its own identity, envisaged as a separate building sitting in front of the original, the rear elevation introduces a formal facade in front of the informal original.

Holly Hendry Wins the 2019 Experimental Architecture Awards with Playful Sculptural Works

Niall Patrick Walsh — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 04:30:00 +0000

Artist Holly Hendry has been announced as the winner of the Experimental Architecture Award, organized by the United Kingdom’s Arts Foundation. London-based Hendry's sculptural works employ the language of architecture and building to challenge the notion of space, permeated by a fascination with rear spaces and open cracks.

Art or Architecture? 13 Projects That Blur The Boundary

Ariana Zilliacus — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 09:30:00 +0000

Whether architecture is a form of art or not has often been a controversial topic of conversation within the architecture world. If one goes by the general definition of the word "art," architecture could potentially fit within the umbrella term: "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." As anyone involved in the architectural discipline probably knows, there is an abundance of varying definitions of the word "architecture," so whether its primary purpose is to achieve beauty or to organize space is evidently up for discussion.

T2 Shoreditch / Landini Associates

Daniel Sánchez — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Landini Associates teamed up with iconic Australian tea brand, T2, to launch the company’s first international store in London. Situated in the heart of Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street, the space features a raw, striped back interior that serves as an antidote to the polished slickness of traditional British tea houses.

Brick Awards Shortlist Unveiled

Katie Watkins — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 01:00:00 +0000

The Brick Development Association, representing the UK and Ireland, has unveiled its shortlist for the 2014 Brick Awards. The awards recognize excellence in design and construction using brick in 14 different categories. Among the contenders are Zaha Hadid Architects' Serpentine Sackler Gallery , Universal Design Studio's Ace Hotel and Mecanoo's The Library of Birmingham. The winners will be announced on November 12.

Ace Hotel London / Universal Design Studio

Becky Quintal — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 01:00:00 +0000

Universal Design Studio designed exteriors and interiors of the Ace Hotel London, including 258 guest rooms, an 1,800 square foot seventh floor event space, a 2,700 square foot restaurant, Hoi Polloi, and a 3,900 square foot lounge and reception area comprised of retail units, a bar, café and art gallery. Both exterior and interior design focus on traditional craftsmanship, embedding the space within the historic context and material heritage of Shoreditch. Material choices are informed by East London's longstanding role as a centre for the performing arts, as well as a historic home to skilled trades like shoemaking, furniture making, rope making, ship building and silk weaving.

Peter Zumthor: Seven Personal Observations on Presence In Architecture

Gili Merin — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Known for his superior design and unparalleled craftsmanship, the 2009 Pritzker Laureate and 2013 RIBA Gold Medal Award winner, Peter Zumthor, was recently invited to speak at the School of Architecture in Tel Aviv University. In a lecture titled “Presence in Architecture - Seven Personal Observations,” Zumthor shared some of the inspirations behind his greatest projects, giving us insight into his poetic, intelligent, (and some might say) “nearly divine” mind.

Zumthor: "Apostle of the Real"

James Taylor-Foster — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In an article for Vanity Fair Paul Goldberger unravels the Swiss Mystique surrounding Peter Zumthor's personality and work, describing him as a "cross between Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Proust, with perhaps a tiny bit of Bob Dylan thrown in." With completed projects few and far between, but executed with intense experiential thought and craftsmanship, the article explores how Zumthor's motives has informed his rigorous attitude to architecture. Having recently been awarded the RIBA Gold Medal, the "cult following" that Goldberger described in 2001 seems to only be getting stronger. You can read the full article here.