UK: The Latest Architecture and News

Recent architectural announcements showcase a global range of projects. This month, some of the most recognized architectural offices in the world have announced ambitious projects, some engaging with local communities, rediscovering and revitalizing existing structures, or contributing to complex architectural landscapes. Among them, BIG revealed their proposal for Saadiyat Island, a cultural district that gathers some of the world's most famous designers. Additionally, Populous revealed a new performance center, KCAP is developing a framework for an eco-industrial park, and Henley Halebrown is working to revitalize an overlooked structure in Belgium, reopening it to the local community. Read on to discover a collection of recent announcements from the architectural world, peeking into established architects' processes and recent announcements.

+ 22

The Centenary Building at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, was designed by Hodder Associates in 1994-95 to accommodate the Spatial, Graphic, and Industrial Design courses at the University. One year after its inauguration, in 1995, the building was named the winner of the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize, one of Britain's most prestigious awards. Now, less than 30 years after its completion, the award-winning building is set to be demolished, sparking criticism and debates regarding the attitudes towards recent works of architecture.

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.

+ 3

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.

+ 26

London Design Biennale has opened on June 1^st, 2023, at Somerset House, bringing together participants from around the world to celebrate new forms of international cooperation through design. The Biennale, now in its fourth edition, will display more than 40 installations focused on the theme ‘The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations,’ chosen by this year’s Artistic Director, the Nieuwe Instituut, Instituut, led by Aric Chen. In addition to the national participants, the Eureka exhibition will showcase cross-disciplinary innovations from UK’s leading research centers.

+ 14

Every year since 1996, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has hosted the RIBA London Awards to celebrate outstanding works of architecture from across the United Kingdom. This year, the list of winners includes 52 buildings ranging from a senior day-care center in Blackheath to a cultural hub in Greenwich and a subtle intervention in Hackney’s de Beauvoir conservation area. All RIBA London Awards winners will be considered for the RIBA National Award, scheduled to be announced on June 22^nd.

+ 48

National Museums Liverpool (NML) has revealed a revised version of the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront, led by architect Asif Khan and artist Theaster Gates. The plans include the redesign of the public spaces at Canning Dock, a historical area central to the Liverpool docks. As part of the Waterfront Transformation Project, the interventions aim to create accessible public spaces to better serve the community and to create a link between the surrounding museums. The preliminary proposal is now open for public consultation.

+ 4

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) announced a commitment of more than US$10 million to go towards preservation projects to protect culturally significant places from around the globe in urgent need of intervention. The initiatives vary in scope, from winterization efforts at Ukrainian heritage sites to protecting remote archeological sites representative of Peru’s Chachapoyas Civilization. The suite of projects launching in 2023 aims to address and help mitigate the threats that heritage sites are facing: conflict, climate change, and underrepresentation.

+ 11

Architects play an important role in creating healthy, functional and aesthetically pleasing environments. Interior design represents a natural continuation of the same prerogative, and its importance has been accentuated in recent years, from the lockdown forcing many people to remain indoors for extended periods of time, to the rise of remote work. The task of the interior designer is not decorating spaces, but planning for an effective use of space, understanding the needs of the user and highlighting the intrinsic qualities of a space. Acoustics, lighting, material properties and proportions all play a role in achieving a coherent and enjoyable interior space.

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights interior design projects submitted by the ArchDaily community. From a pastel-colored library in Turkey to a renovated symphony hall in San Diego, US, this selection of unbuilt projects showcases how architects design interior spaces by integrating textures, materials, light, and color in well-proportioned spaces. The article includes projects from Turkey, US, Switzerland, Indonesia, UK, and Denmark.

+ 64

On Friday, King Charles III has released the New Year Honours List 2023, recognizing those in the UK who have demonstrated exemplary service or achievements in their fields. Ghanian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Lesley Lokko is among those who have been named an Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to architecture and education. In December 2021, Lesley Lokko was announced as the Curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, which will be held from Saturday, 20 May to Sunday, 26 November 2023.

Designed by Atkins, a new zero-carbon secondary school in West Sussex has received planning permission from the West Sussex County Council. The school will be created at Homes England’s new Brookleigh development near Burgess Hill and will offer educational facilities to 900 local children. The building is designed to generate its own renewable energy on-site, eliminating the need for any fossil fuels. It also aims to achieve Passivhaus certification, the highest standard od energy efficiency a building can reach.

The Royal Institute of British Architects has awarded RIBA House of the Year 2022, to a "contemporary new family house in rural Dorset," the Red House by David Kohn Architects. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the structure "reinterprets the style in an intentionally provocative way [...] [with] playful eccentricity, including oversized eaves, patterned red brickwork, and contrasting bold green details".

Established in 2013, RIBA House of the Year is awarded to the best new house or house extension designed by an architect in the UK. Previous winners of the award that celebrates excellence and innovation in home design include Alison Brooks Architects for House on the Hill (2021), McGonigle McGrath for House Lessans (2019) HaysomWardMiller for Lochside House (2018), Richard Murphy Architects for Murphy House (2016), Skene Catling de la Peña for Flint House (2015), Loyn & Co for Stormy Castle (2014) and Carl Turner Architects for Slip House (2013).

+ 29

The Westminister City Council adopted a resolution to grant planning permission to the National Gallery for a series of adaptations, including Selldorf Architects’ restoration proposal for the Sainsbury Wing, originally designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. The plans to remodel were revealed earlier this year as part of the NG200 Project to celebrate the National Gallery’s bicentennial in 2024. The first intervention proposal for the Sainsbury Wing was met with widespread criticism, which led to a revision of the plans, released in October this year.

+ 3

Architecture office Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled plans to revamp the Liverpool Street station in London. The scheme includes “vital upgrades” aimed at transforming the Victorian-era station into a fully accessible transportation hub fit to accommodate the 135 million people using the station annually. It also includes the addition of 840,000 square feet of offices and a 190,000 square feet hotel in two new structures, 10 and 6 stories high, respectively. These new interventions have attracted criticism from conservation groups. The proposal is currently undergoing its first round of public consultation. The development is overseen by Stellar, working with MTR, the operator of rail transport services and Network Rail.