Allies & Morrison: The Latest Architecture and News

The City of London Corporation has approved a £191 million funding package for the first phase of the Barbican Centre's five-year renewal program. The initiative is aimed at addressing critical repairs and upgrades to this Grade II-listed venue, including improvements to accessibility, energy efficiency, and overall functionality of its aging infrastructure. The Barbican Renewal began in 2021 with an international competition for the multi-disciplinary design team to lead the efforts. In 2022, Allies and Morrison, Asif Khan Studio, and Buro Happold were selected, in collaboration with specialists in sustainability, heritage, landscaping, lighting design, acoustics, and more.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the six shortlisted projects for the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize. Awarded annually since 1996, this represents one the most important architecture prizes in the United Kingdom, striving to reward and highlight projects that envision a more inclusive future and engage actively with current challenges of the built environment. The selected works range in scale and program, from a national art gallery to an inclusive rural retreat, major urban regeneration projects, and even a London underground line. While some of the selected architects have received previous awards, including Mikhail Riches for the Goldsmith Street in 2019 and Jamie Fobert for New Tate St Ives in 2018, other architects such as Clementine Blakemore Architects and Al-Jawad Pike are at their first nomination.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has unveiled the 26 winners of the 2024 RIBA National Awards for Architecture, recognizing the finest examples of UK architecture and showcasing the country’s design and social trends. Established in 1996, the awards highlight outstanding architectural projects across the UK, from Northern Ireland and Scotland to the south of England. This year’s award celebrates projects that feature “inspiring examples of existing buildings and structures that have been given a new lease of life.” Recognized for intelligent design and collaboration with clients and local communities, the award winners also showcase innovative construction techniques and thoughtful material selections.

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A collaborative design team led by Allies and Morrison and Asif Khan Studio has been selected to renew the famed Barbican Centre in London, United Kingdom. The winning design proposal preserves the building’s original architectural language and provides new opportunities for the center's diverse community of artists, audiences, and partners, boosting the building’s accessibility and performance quality.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the shortlisted projects for the 2022 RIBA East architecture awards. The list of 22 buildings includes projects ranging from a small copper-clad home extension in Cambridge to a new youth and participation space at the Wolsey Theatre. All designs will be assessed by a regional jury, and the winning projects will be announced later this spring. Subsequently, Regional Award winners will be considered for the RIBA National Award.

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The Barbican Centre is up for a substantial renovation, and the City of London Corporation revealed the five shortlisted teams for the refurbishment of the Brutalist icon, among which are practices like BIG, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Adjaye Associates or Asif Khan Studio. The cultural venue at the heart of the eponymous post-war housing estate in central London was the subject of an international competition aiming to preserve its heritage while upgrading the ageing structure to contemporary requirements and artistic aspirations.

The Royal Institute of British Architects have announced fourteen buildings shortlisted from 48 entries for this year's RIBA South West Awards. The work includes six projects are by new and established practices based in the South West, as well as a series of new and reconfigured houses. All shortlisted buildings will be assessed by a regional jury with the winning buildings announced at an awards ceremony this May.

The City of London has released new visualizations showing how its fast-changing skyline will look by 2026, as 13 schemes are currently under construction or due to begin construction in London’s Financial District.

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In the foyer of their London offices, architecture firm Allies and Morrison is displaying "Archiflakes," a series of snowflake designs inspired by the floorplans of famous structures from around the world. Developed by staff member Maria Spada, the series was a response to an internal competition to design the office's seasonal decorations.

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British firm Allies and Morrison has been selected as the winners of an international competition to “restore, reimagine and rebuild” the historic Clandon Park mansion in Surrey, England, bringing the the National Park property back to life after it was badly damaged from a fire in 2015.

Selected from a star-studded shortlist, Allies and Morrison’s proposal was lauded by the jury for its bold yet balanced approach and ability to “respect the quality and character of the mansion house in its historic setting.” The jury found the proposal to be clear and thoughtful, while providing an appropriate level of drama and excitement.

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Six teams have been shortlisted in a competition to restore and renovate the historic Clandon Park mansion in the county of Surrey, England, after the National Park property received heavy damage from a fire in 2015.

Organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, the competition tasked teams with restoring and updating the interiors of the 18th-century Palladian house, as well as designing new flexible event spaces and visitor facilities within the existing building footprint.

The International Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust Scotland (IMPACT Scotland) has announced a shortlist of 6 teams in the running to design a new concert hall and arts center in the heart of the Edinburgh New Town World Heritage Site. The building, estimated to cost up to £45 million ($57 million USD), will house a 1,000 seat auditorium that will become the new home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

From 69 expressions of interest in the competition, six teams have been selected by IMPACT Scotland’s judging panel as finalists for the commission. The firms are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Intimidating to design a Design Museum for designers? No, because what you're doing is working with the challenges of the existing space.

In this new video from NOWNESS, the audience is treated to a viewing of the new Design Museum in London, courtesy of its interior architect John Pawson. Part interview and part guided tour, NOWNESS uses the unorthodox technique of giving the building's designer his own camera, making parts of the video an intriguing insight into how Pawson sees his own work.

Designed in collaboration with OMA and Allies and Morrison, the project is a thorough renovation of the former Commonwealth Institute building, a 1962 structure by Robert Matthew, a founding partner of RMJM. Pawson dwells on the experience of working with their dramatic hyperbolic paraboloid roof, the materials used in the design, and the challenges of working on such a sensitive project.

This month London's Design Museum will officially open its new home on Kensington High Street. The project, which has been redeveloped and designed in collaboration with Rotterdam-based practice OMA and London-based studio Allies & Morrison, has seen a Grade II* Listed Modernist monument sensitively restored into contemporary galleries. For John Pawson—who has been commissioned to create "a series of calm, atmospheric spaces" ordered around a large, oak-lined atrium—this scheme marks his first major public work.

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This edition of Section D, Monocle 24's weekly review of design, architecture and craft, explores London's new Design Museum – a significant expansion for the institution at an entirely new location in West London. The interior spaces of the former Commonwealth Institute Building in Kensington, which is Grade II-listed, have been renovated by John Pawson. Alongside the museum’s Deputy Director, Alice Black, the Monocle team investigate the thinking behind the relaunch and how the spaces are designed to accommodate a shifting audience.