Why do we not learn from the past? We have lost the art of urban planning that creates great spaces for people to work in, live in and enjoy – you only have to look at the redevelopment of Vauxhall. In the UK, we have a reactive system, though there are some bright spots such […]
I last visited the Pallant House Gallery many years ago, just after the new extension, and I had forgotten what an excellent modern art gallery it is – a surprising and pleasant find in Chichester where you don’t expect to find such an excellent gallery of modern art in a historic town, most famous for […]
You might think that only the British would do something as apparently mad and eccentric as collecting, cataloguing and preserving plant seeds. It seems, however, that we are not alone; there are apparently over 1000 seed banks across the world, albeit many are specialised, including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway opened in 2008, […]
The Burlington Gardens wing of the Royal Academy was originally built for the University of London between 1867 and 1870 by Sir James Pennythorne. Long isolated from the main building of the Academy, the recent refurbishment has joined the two buildings together, but its classical interiors have now been disrupted by an architectural installation and […]
Up and down the country there are much-loved buildings and engineering structures at the heart of their communities, many owned by local authorities, sitting empty due to lack of funding, the need to find new 21st century uses or to the cost of refurbishment. We have seen too many of these swept away over the […]
I had not planned to visit the ICA, but, as I was visiting the de la Cruz Collection and had already parked in the unique artistic parking structure, Museum Garage, where there is a minimum of 3 hours, I decided to explore the ICA after the de la Cruz Collecion. I am glad that I […]
While exploring Miami, I thought it was time to move out of the centre and investigate the art collections in Wynwood and the Miami Design District, not an area I have explored in detail before. I have to admit that I didn’t quite know what to expect, but was blown away by the de la […]
The University of Portsmouth’s new Future Technology Centre appropriately sits between the Business School and the Faculty of Technology. Designed by Stride Treglown, it is also an exemplar of sustainable construction. The Centre is an extension to the existing Portland Building with four floors providing an integrated, but separable, suite of facilities from the 3D […]
Was it an act of folly or an act of faith when, with the all-consuming political debate on Brexit swirling all around like a great mist, and the potential departure date only three weeks away, to hold a major 3-day event on future ideas and innovations in the construction industry. Someone had to do it, […]
The three Brutalist towers and extensive piazza of the Economist Building in St James’s, London, with steps down to the neighbouring streets, designed by architects Alison and Peter Smithson was radical in its day, set alongside the traditional architecture of Mayfair, and, though completed in 1964, still looks new and fresh today. I would doubt […]
"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul."
(Thomas Moore)
To be an architect means having a wide range of interests - architecture, art and creativity in all its variety of forms, sustainability, science and innovation. The greatest interest is often where these different worlds overlap and collide - that is when something imaginative often occurs that pushes us all forward to another place
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