Design District, Greenwich Peninsula: A Curated Chorus of Creativity

Attendees gather for the tour of the Design District Masterplan. Photo by Hannah Corlett

To mark the start of the second half of 2025, the AIA UK enjoyed an insightful visit to the Design District on Greenwich Peninsula, East London. Held on 3 July, the tour was led by Hannah Corlett—founder of HNNA and master planner of the district alongside Alex Howard of the Design District management team.

Situated within the larger Greenwich Peninsula Masterplan, the Design District represents a bold experiment in curated urbanism. Developed by Knight Dragon and built by Ardmore, the project brings together 16 distinct buildings designed by eight architectural practices each tasked with creating a pair of structures described by Corlett as "brother and sister buildings" or "cousins." The aim: to foster a dynamic community of artists and creatives, with spaces that support both individual work and collective exchange.

Organised as a series of four courtyards and bisected by a central boulevard aligned with the Millennium Dome, the masterplan places emphasis on permeability, informal public space, and architectural diversity. Each architect was given two plots of similar size and brief but was asked to design without knowing the direction others were taking. The result is a strikingly diverse composition that feels, like the work of many hands over decades achieved all at once.

The tour, accompanied by Alex Howard, offered exclusive access to several buildings, showcasing the breadth of internal spatial strategies and design responses across the development. From material palettes to spatial typologies, the variation among the buildings reflects the richness of their authors’ approaches.

This ambitious and well-orchestrated masterplan reveals how coordinated architectural diversity, paired with thoughtful public realm integration, can yield a vibrant, coherent new piece of city where community and creativity are given the space to thrive.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

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Urbanest City Tour: Reimagining Mixed-Use in the Heart of London

Student Common Room. Photo by Katharine Storr

On Thursday, 12 June 2025, we had the opportunity to visit Urbanest City at 35 Vine Street, London EC3N—a recipient of the AIA UK Design Award in the Professional – Large Projects category. Designed by Hopkins Architects in collaboration with Apt, the project delivers a compelling mixed-use scheme that injects new life into the City of London.

This 11-storey development introduces a unique urban typology, combining 656 high-quality student residences with flexible office space, an incubator for start-ups, and a cultural venue anchored by a museum that houses a striking segment of the Roman City Wall. It’s an ambitious and thoughtful intervention in a location more traditionally associated with finance and commerce.

Photo by Will Scott

Urbanest City challenges conventional land-use expectations in the Square Mile. At first glance, one might question the viability of student accommodation in such a premium commercial location. Yet, its presence is both bold and welcome infusing the area with activity and vitality beyond traditional office hours. This shift toward a more integrated urban fabric signals a progressive evolution in city planning.

The student housing component is particularly impressive: contemporary, well-appointed interiors are complemented by a range of communal amenities, including two top-floor common rooms that offer expansive views across the London skyline. These spaces are designed to foster community while providing respite from the intensity of city life.

On the south side of the site, a separate building houses eleven floors of flexible workspaces designed to accommodate a range of tenants. The double-height reception offers informal meeting areas and connects directly to improved public realm along Vine Street and Jewry Street, enhancing the pedestrian experience.

Perhaps most unexpectedly, the project also incorporates a cultural programme. A publicly accessible exhibition space and museum entered either through a street-level café or a dedicated entrance featuring a restored and prominently displayed section of London’s ancient Roman City Wall. This integration of heritage within a contemporary setting is both educational and evocative, grounding the new development in the deep history of its site.

The student accommodation we toured bears little resemblance to the student housing of decades past. Urbanest City exemplifies how thoughtful design, and mixed-use programming can elevate urban living, creating layered, dynamic environments that serve a diverse community and enrich the city as a whole.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

View from the Café over the Roman City Wall. Photo by Katharine Storr

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A Model of Climate-Responsive Design: College Amadou Hampâté Bâ

College Amadou Hampâté Bâ by Article 25 Photo Credit: Toby Pear

On 29 May, we had the privilege of virtually touring the College Amadou Hampâté Bâ recipient of both the Professional - Medium Projects and Exemplary Performance in Sustainability categories at the 2024 AIA UK Excellence in Design Awards. Located in Niamey, the capital of Niger, the school is a low-carbon, passively ventilated campus designed by Article 25, a UK-based humanitarian architectural NGO named after Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The college name honours the legacy of Amadou Hampâté Bâ, the renowned Malian writer, historian, and ethnologist.

Situated north of central Niamey where monthly high temperatures range from 32°C in January to a blistering 41°C in April, the project responds elegantly to one of the harshest climates in the Sahel. In this context, where both resources and infrastructure are limited, the architecture stands as a transformative and inspiring model of sustainable design.

What immediately distinguishes the project is its use of local materials, particularly the reddish laterite stone quarried from the surrounding earth. This material, with its significant thermal mass, moderates internal temperatures by absorbing and slowly releasing heat. The design further reduces solar gain while enhancing natural ventilation, removing the need for costly and energy-intensive mechanical systems—a critical consideration in such an environment.

The classroom roofs are constructed using compressed earth brick vaults, over which lightweight "flying" metal roofs are suspended. These angled metal canopies create a narrowed opening at one end, encouraging air to be drawn through the roof cavity and promoting passive cooling. The metal roofs also shield the vaults from heavy seasonal rains, contributing both to durability and thermal performance.

Together, the rough-hewn laterite facades, vaulted earthen roofs, and soaring metal canopies create a poetic architectural language—one that embodies environmental sensitivity, material honesty, and cultural respect. The result is a masterclass in climate-responsive architecture that sets a powerful precedent for sustainable design in extreme climates.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

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Building Tours Q1 2025 - Young V&A and The Blue

Young V&A. Photo by Gregory Fonseca

The AIA UK launched its 2025 Building Tour series with a visit to the Young V&A, designed by De Matos Ryan in collaboration with AOC Architecture. This project was a recipient of the Professional – Medium Projects award at the 2024 AIA UK Excellence in Design Awards. The tour, held on Thursday, 13 March 2025, was led by José Esteves de Matos of De Matos Ryan.

Formerly known as the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Young V&A is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum located in Bethnal Green. It reopened in July 2023 following a £13 million, three-year redevelopment. The design team has not merely renovated the space but fundamentally reimagined it in partnership with its intended audience—young people. The result is an engaging, interactive, and empowering museum experience centred on learning through play.

The tour began in the reconfigured main atrium, where José Esteves de Matos explained how the architectural intervention sought to maximize natural light by reinstating the historic skylight and the grand arched glass opening aligned with the building’s main entrance. This central space, enhanced by vibrant colours and bold graphics, has been intentionally decluttered to function as a civic “town square.” A café situated at the far end further contributes to the space’s piazza-like atmosphere. Beyond the café, a dramatic sculptural spiral staircase—a spherical element clad in reflective surfaces—serves as a dynamic centrepiece, inviting curiosity and interaction from visitors of all ages.

The museum now houses over 2,000 objects, spanning from 2300 BCE to the present day, thoughtfully curated across three thematic galleries: Play, Imagine, and Design, each tailored to different age groups. The interior architecture skilfully leverages spatial volumes, colour, and graphic design to enliven the visitor experience. What sets the Young V&A apart is the meticulous attention paid to every detail—each surface and junction has been considered as an opportunity to spark joy and wonder. The result is an inspirational demonstration of care and craftsmanship, revealing a depth of thought and execution rarely seen in such transformative projects.

Exterior view of The Blue hotel during daytime. Image credit: Yu Zhi Lin.

On Thursday, April 17, 2025, we participated in a virtual tour of The Blue by Just Inn, designed by Tszwai So. This project was awarded a Commendation in the Professional – Medium Projects category at the 2024 AIA UK Excellence in Design Awards.

The tour commenced with an introduction by Tszwai So, who presented the conceptual framework behind the Emotionalism art movement. As one of its key proponents, So—alongside a global collective of creatives—advocates for a design ethos that prioritizes the communication of mood and feeling over conventional architectural norms. He explained that these principles were central to the design of The Blue. However, despite his articulation of the movement’s philosophy, I found it challenging to fully grasp how these ideals are manifested in the final transformation.

Located in the heart of Taipei, The Blue offers a compelling narrative on sustainability, expressed both within its interiors and through its newly transformed exterior. Originally a neglected commercial structure from the 1970s, the building has been thoughtfully reimagined into a vibrant urban landmark. Now housing 59 guest rooms, a forthcoming restaurant, and a public art space, the project exemplifies how adaptive reuse can honour historical context while embracing contemporary needs—thanks in large part to active community engagement. Tszwai remarked, “The public art space is not just a place for art, but a platform that invites community interaction and celebrates collective creativity.”

Throughout the tour, he elaborated on the project's modest budget and the unconventional process of construction, which proceeded without a traditional set of architectural drawings. He emphasized the extensive reuse of interior materials and detailed the meticulous effort behind selecting the building’s signature blue. While the choice of blue does not stem from a specific symbolic rationale, it was the result of an exhaustive exploration—from the iconic Taiwanese blue magpie to Yves Klein’s International Blue—to find the perfect hue. The final façade, infused with Taiwan’s native iron oxide, serves as both a visual anchor and a testament to material integrity.

Ultimately, The Blue stands as a masterclass in sustainable architecture. By retaining the existing structure, mechanical systems, doors, furniture, and even scrap metal, the project demonstrates how thoughtful reuse can lead to a building that is not only environmentally responsible but also emotionally resonant. In doing so, it exemplifies a design philosophy that values the emotional experience of space as much as its physical form.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

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UPCOMING TOURS:

• Collège Amadou Hampaté Bâ, Article 25 

  Medium Projects - Winner & Exemplary Performance in Sustainability

  Virtual Tour

  29th May 2025

  REGISTER HERE

• Urbanest, Hopkins Architects

  Large Projects - Commendation

  Live Tour

  12th June 2025

• Greenwich Peninsula Master Plan with a focused walk through the acclaimed Design District.

  Live Tour, led by Hannah Corlett and Alex Howard

  3rd July 2025

Virtual Building Tour – Ombú by Foster + Partners

Photo by Gregory Fonseca

The 2024 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” convened on 20 June with a visit to Ombú, designed by Foster + Partners (F+P) and completed in 2022. The tour was given by Taba Rasti, Pablo Urango Lillo and Emilio Ortiz Zaforas all from Madrid, Spain. The team provided a historic context of the renovation of Ombú, a transformative office building built for the Spanish infrastructure and energy company, ACCIONA. This retrofit project breathes new life into a historical industrial building in the Spanish capital, creating a sustainable exemplar of building reuse and revitalising the surrounding area. The concept development was focused on the workplace well-being of building’s occupants and the construction methodology for the restoration of historic and structural elements of the building.

Foster + Partners’ retrofit of the abandoned warehouse created 10,000m2 of workspace.   On the surface, it qualifies as one of  the least Foster-like building ever encountered. However, once one scratches below the surface, the structure exemplifies how practitioners should approach the design and adaptive reuse of the plethora of dilapidated and unused buildings in our global cities.  F+P has not only breathed new life into the landmark building but  also developed a carbon neutral workplace, providing an exceptional example of sustainability in action.  

During the tour, F+P team explained how they ‘kept it simple’ by stripping the building bare, ‘cleaning and polishing it up’ and inserting a simple giant-tiered cake of staggered platforms, formed of glulam slabs and columns on a diagonal grid.  
Despite its abandonment, the building was in a relatively good condition, meaning the restoration was a simple, straight forward clean-up of the brick and existing metal roof.  Inside, the lightweight tiered structure introduced to maximise useable space is made from locally sourced timber.  Like a piece of handmade, custom furniture, the craftsmanship is a delight.  Due to the generous existing glass openings and central skylight flooding the interior with additional natural light, artificial lighting is minimal. As a bonus, the glass integrates photovoltaics to generate electricity.

The gardens are impressive, due to the team’s intent to provide "biophilic spaces" to maximise employees' well-being through the building's connectivity to the outdoors. Madrid's moderate climate enables use of the workspaces outside as well as inside, providing a flexible and healthy regime. A natural timber element is brought into the existing building, further enhancing wellbeing and improving productivity.  

The adaptive reuse of Ombú is a demonstration to what can be achieved in providing modern uses in older buildings, whilst being led by responsible carbon neutral design.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its building tour series for the 2024 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2023 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link HERE for further information to participate in the next tour of Saltmarsh House by Niall McLaughlin on 12 September 2024.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

Building Tour - UCL East Marshgate with Stanton Williams

Photo by Gregory Fonseca

The 2024 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Building Tours” continued on 30th May with a visit to UCL East Marshgate, designed by Stanton Williams, completed in 2023. Despite Stratford Station having been closed due to an incident with a train, a good audience managed to convene for a building tour led by Gavin Henderson and Ali Abbas, both from Stanton Williams.  The building is 35,000m2 of new class space within an academic building centred at the heart of UCL East, which is the largest single expansion of University College London since it’s beginnings some 200 years ago.

As you approach the building from a distance, it has a civic presence. Currently, the other four proposed buildings in the masterplan have not yet been built, lending the building to be perceived as an “object building” within the landscape.  According to Stanton Williams, Marshgate is “designed to create a collaborative and cross-disciplinary educational environment focused on finding solutions to today’s biggest social, environmental, and technological challenges, drawing on the shared knowledge and expertise of the many faculties that will converge at the new East London campus.” 

We began the tour on the south side of the building, on the site where two further buildings are planned to be constructed, where our hosts explained the project’s material considerations. The building consists of eight stories, however, the design breaks-up the mass vertically to read as four main elements - the ground-level base with three further and distinct divisions of the mass and articulation of the facades.  Our hosts explained that Marshgate is built to echo the solidity and permanence of UCL’s original Bloomsbury campus. Its massing reflects the site’s industrial past, while responding to the sculptural quality of the adjacent Olympic structures. The sculptural form of the building is crafted with in-situ and precast concrete panels with its subtly graded tones and textures appearing to grow out of the ground, reaching towards to the sky.  The facades showcase in-situ, timber board-faced concrete on the lower floors and upper levels are shaped to enhance natural daylight and ventilation while the texture of the precast elements appear to get smoother, further defining the vertical divisions of the massing. There are additional minimalist accents of Corten steel cladding that define protruding architectural elements, announcing a point of entry.

During the tour, Henderson remarked on some of the history and the dialogue held with planners, with those negotiations having led to the civic and community-oriented solution at the ground plane. This project puts inclusion, health and well-being of the general public on par of importance with private interests by allowing public use and permeability on all four sides of the building.  This ethos, in fact, is becoming increasingly a necessity in city environments by “making spaces and places in urban centres for people” within non-public buildings. The ground level includes a network of publicly accessible spaces, including a café, public art displays, and activities designed to draw community organizations, schools, and the public into the “heart” of the building.

Photo by Gregory Fonseca

The internal public space is punctuated by a central, day-lit atrium that is naturally ventilated and vertically connects all the building’s activities. Its visible circulation routes include stairs and escalators, which in the words of our hosts, were designed with the intention to create further opportunities for “random encounters”. The programmed spaces include design studios, labs, lecture theatres, fabrication workshops, media studios, exhibition areas, a library, and a professor’s lounge. There are additional spaces throughout for collaboration and engagement with local businesses and communities which form a part of the civic aspect of the design.

The palette of materials is simple which adds to the elegance of the solution and includes in-situ architectural concrete, timber and powder-coated steel.  The curation of art throughout also plays a fundamental part of the ethos and the spirit of UCL East Marshgate.  From the sculpture of the globe, hanging in the main atria space, to the variety and scale of art displayed throughout, all assist in providing a sense of place for this multi-use university building. Given Marshgate’s design, public access, multiplicity of learning environments and collaboration spaces and elegant curation, UCL East Marshgate is an exemplar of the future of higher learning and civic architecture.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its building tour series for the 2024 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2023 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link HERE for further information to participate in the next tour of Saltmarsh House by Niall McLaughlin on 12 September 2024.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA