London: The Latest Architecture and News

In the realm of media architecture and its role in supporting struggles for social justice, the recent Media Architecture Biennale 2023 (MAB23) in Toronto, Canada, shed light on a captivating aspect: The rapid and vast propagation of solidarity lighting in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The synchronized illuminations, infused with activism and global art projects, became a powerful emblem of worldwide support for Ukraine during its time of crisis. Two emphatic female political leaders in Europe initiated the lighting solidarity message. Surprisingly, the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag illumination on iconic buildings worldwide defined an image of solidarity even faster in the press than large crowds of people in anti-war protests the weekend after the war began.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the six projects selected for the shortlist of the 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize. The annual award is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious recognitions in the field of architecture, judging projects on a range of criteria, including design vision, innovation, originality, and the capacity to engage and delight the occupants and visitors. Sustainability and accessibility are also crucial conditions for the selection. This edition’s shortlist includes projects by architects such as Apparata, Sergison Bates Architects, and Adam Khan Architects, featuring for the first time at the Stirling Awards Shortlist, as well as practices that have previously won, Witherford Watson Mann Architects and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.

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WilkinsonEyre has been selected to design a new college campus on the Olympic Way in Wembley, London, to serve as the new educational facility for the College of North West London. The project is designed to cater to over 300 students per week in addition to the 250 staff members. The new facility will offer classes in engineering, the built environment, and green skills, as well as digital technology, computing, health, and social care. The new campus scheme has recently been granted planning permission at the Council’s Planning Committee meeting and has now been passed to the Greater London Authority for final approval.

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While visiting this year’s Serpentine Pavilion, the ArchDaily team has a chance to sit down with French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, the designer behind the temporary structure built in the Kensington Gardens in London. The conversation touched upon Ghotmeh’s motivations and concepts that prompted this pavilion titled À table, conceived as an invitation to sit down together at a table, to enjoy sharing food and engaging in open dialogues. Delving into her Lebanese roots, the architect also expands on her methodology and the desire to create space for conversation and decision-making while encouraging conviviality among people of different backgrounds and experiences. The ArchDaily team also talked to Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, about the pavilion as a platform for architecture and the arts.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the 30 winners of the 2023 RIBA National Awards for Architecture, providing an insight into the country’s architecture, design, and social trends. Among the key themes observed this year, the need to rebuild communities and to find sustainable ways of practicing stand out as the main concerns of the participant architects. The response to these themes is varied, ranging from buildings that aim to offer opportunities for collaboration for students to creating stimulating social spaces for the elderly or providing creative programs at a neighborhood scale. All the projects selected have been in use for at least one year and have provided data regarding their environmental performance. Examples of sustainable design include both new buildings, following the Passivhaus certification, and renovation of existing structures.

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