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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Preparing to take the Mutual Recognition Agreement Exam

On Tuesday 8th April 2025 the chapter held a session on Preparing for the UK/USA Mutual Recognition Agreement for architects presented by Alex Miller, AIA RIBA and Bryan Oknyansky, AIA hosted at KPF architects offices in Covent Garden. The chapter has considered and campaigned for Mutual Recognition since its founding. Now with the process up and running as adminstered by the ARB, Bryan and Alex shared their experience as two of the early cohort to successfully pass the adaptation assessment exam. The event was well attended by practitioners at various career stages. We were appreciative that our guests included the attendance of Chris Williamson, RIBA, the 2025-2027 RIBA President.

While the ARB has refined the information available for candidates since launch including the Reference Sources Resource list, no study guide as such been available until now.

We trust the recording from this event and the slides from the presentation adapted as a guide assist future candidates seeking reciprocity.

Please find the event recording HERE and the presentation slides HERE.

Written by Alex Miller, AIA RIBA

Movie Night - Green Over Grey: Emilio Ambasz

“Every building is an intrusion into the plant kingdom and is a challenge to nature: we must devise an architecture that stands as the embodiment of a covenant of reconciliation between nature and construction, designing buildings so intrinsically connected to the surrounding environment that they cannot be separated from each other.”

— Emilio Ambasz

This powerful statement by Emilio Ambasz sets the tone for a vital and timely conversation—one that interrogates not just how we build, but why we build, and what values are embedded in our built environments. Ambasz’s words remind us that architecture is never a neutral act; it is an intervention that carries a responsibility to nature. His philosophy calls for more than sustainable design—it demands a deep, emotional, and structural integration between human-made forms and the natural world.

We concluded our Winter movie series with a sold-out screening of Green Over Grey: Emilio Ambasz at the BFI Screening Rooms. While sustainability and green architecture are often seen as contemporary movements, this documentary urges us to reconsider that narrative. What if we had embraced green architecture as early as Ambasz proposed? How different might our cities, our climate, and our daily lives be today?

Emilio Ambasz, born in Argentina in 1943, is an architect and industrial designer who also served as a curator and has authored several books on architecture and design. Though influential across numerous disciplines, Ambasz is increasingly recognised today as a visionary advocate for green architecture and an ecological approach to the built environment. For more than four decades, he has called for a reimagining of the relationship between human structures and the natural world, envisioning a future where nature is not an afterthought, but the very foundation of design.

Green Over Grey takes a broad look at green architecture by focusing on four of Ambasz’s seminal buildings—one from each decade between the 1970s and 2000s: the Casa de Retiro Espiritual (1975), the Lucille Halsell Conservatory at San Antonio Botanical Garden (1982), the ACROS Building (1990), and the Ospedale dell’Angelo (2008). These projects serve as both historical milestones and living case studies, underscoring Ambasz’s enduring commitment to a vision of architecture that is inseparable from the natural landscape.

Featuring exclusive interviews with renowned architects such as Tadao Ando and Kengo Kuma, Green Over Grey explores the emotional and transformative power of architecture—demonstrating how buildings can not only fulfil functional needs, but also uplift, heal, and harmonise with the planet.

The film leaves us with a powerful challenge: to build not just efficiently, but meaningfully—to create spaces that are as alive as the ecosystems they inhabit.

Thank you to all who attended both sold-out Winter movie screenings. We look forward to welcoming you—and other members—back to our Autumn movie screenings in September.

Written by Chris Musangi, AIA

Photo Credits: Chris Musangi, AIA

AIA CONTINENTAL EUROPE & AIA UNITED KINGDOM CONFERENCE / Cork, Ireland – ‘Genius Loci’ – Part III

The circular square at the Munster Technological University left a vivid, lasting, impression.  Photo Credit: G Meagher AIA

Day 3 & 4: Site Visits / Further Talks and Extension Day

After Saturday’s convivial dinner, the attendees regrouped on Sunday morning for a bus trip to the Bishopstown Campus of Munster Technological University (MTU) before returning to CCAE for the final afternoon session.  

• Shane de Blacam, Founder & Director de Blacam and Meagher Architects

Those few attendees who were not familiar with de Blacam’s work did not  anticipate grand architecture from a small technical college in Cork’s suburban outskirts.  However, on entry, they found MTU’s training facilities, student areas and a library encircling a main ‘square’ that made an unexpectedly strong architectural statement. 

With similar admiration, the Royal Academy on awarding de Blacam its 2003 Architecture Prize, described the MTU as ‘a brick colossus that elevates the former Institute of Technology … into a campus worthy of its new status as a Technical University’.  Read more about the architect and the MTU campus HERE and HERE.

Although all attendees tried, no one photographer could fully capture the circular enclave or the absorbing interior spaces.  MTU won the distinction of being the most photographed building of the Conference.  

Photo Credits: H Kessler FAIA & RD Reber AIA

Back at CCAE, the attendees were delighted when the MTU’s architect, de Blacam, joined the Conference, not only to discuss the MTU project, but also to repeat a talk he gave in London in 2023 on receipt of the Royal Academy architectural award.  

His anecdotes – full of wit and dry humour -referenced his early travels in America, his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, his work with Louis Kahn on the Mellon Centre for British Arts and Studies at Yale and his own later buildings in Dublin and Cork. ‘America’, he stressed, ‘means a lot to me’.

• David Flannery, Principle, Scott Talon Walker

  After 2 ½ days of intensive tours and talks, the attendees were now thoroughly attuned to Cork’s unique character and were able to relax and enjoy David Flannery’s further analysis, ‘From the City to the Sea / Cork’s Maritime Character’. 

  His history of Cork focused on Cork Harbour’s extra deep channels, its Atlantic aspect and the sailing ships using it.  Viking longboats, the Titanic and WWII battle cruisers – in other words, multiple invaders, traders and military armadas – all helped shape Cork’s distinctive ambiance.  Read more about the architect HERE. 

Photo Credits: E Fitzpatrick AIA RIBA

• Guilia Valone, Senior Architect, Cork County Council

  Guilia Valone addressed the Conference theme of genius loci with particular vigour, adding a Sicilian touch to Irish town planning.  In her many examples of ‘placemaking’ and ‘re-inhabiting the streets’, she developed her theme of preserving and enhancing the character of Cork's smaller surrounding towns under the mantra of ‘restore, reveal and redefine’.  It was evident that Valone is not fond of the automobile.

Photo Credit: E Fitzpatrick AIA RIBA

• John Hegarty, Director, Fourem Architects
  The final speaker in his talk entitled ‘Significance of Cork – Classical language in Architecture and Cork City’, started from the unusual perspective of finding similarities between Cork and other historic cities and places.  In what ways, he asked, was Cork in 1590 similar to Florence in 1493?  In its heyday, Cork regaled in classical buildings built in brick and clad in stone, but only a few remain today. He eagerly identified typical Cork architectural details that ‘anchored’ its historical character. See some selected details HERE.

EXTENSION DAY 

A Monday Extension Day for those intrepid attendees spending an extra day at CE Conferences has become a long standing tradition.  The Cork Conference Extension Day explored smaller towns surrounding Cork Harbour, primarily Kinsale and Cobh, and included several special attractions:

• The Joseph Walsh Sculpture Studio (See HERE) 

• The Charles Fort (See HERE)  

• Titanic and Lusitania Museum (See HERE)  

• Kinsale Library designed by Cork County Council (See HERE)  

In Kinsale, the attendees visited two contrasting RIAI award winning projects of note.  The Kinsale Public Library won the 2024 ‘Conservation, Adaptation and Re-Use’ award and O’Donnell + Tuomey’s Stone Vessel won the 2024 RIAI ‘Special Award for Collaboration between Designers and Craftspersons’.

The Stone Vessel and Extension Day Attendees.  Photo Credit: Ruth Murphy, Joseph Walsh Studio.

Cobh Harbour and the Kinsale Library.  Photo Credits: RD Reber AIA and H Giblin Int’l Assoc AIA FRIAI.

SUMMARY 

Photo Credit: Liam Quinn

The 2025 Cork Conference was a joint effort from the two first AIA International Chapters - AIA Continental Europe and AIA United Kingdom - and was attended by 60 architects and guests.

The organising committee - Etain Fitzpatrick AIA RIBA and Helen Giblin FRIAI AIA Int’l Assoc - began conference planning in 2019, anticipating a Fall 2020 date. However, the Covid pandemic intervened and planning was put on indefinite hold even as the organizers received continual pleas from AIA colleagues to set a new date. Spring 2025 with its beautiful weather became a happy choice for all.

Once planning was reactivated in 2024, the organising committee recruited Karen Hassey AIA RIAI for additional help. Then - as always - AIA CE’s Chapter Executive, Irene Reidy, stepped in to provide excellent coordination, organisational skills and patience to keep the show on the road.

The conference received essential support from the many speakers representing prestigious RIAI firms in Cork and Dublin who so graciously volunteered their time. Speakers and attendees alike were also thankful for the support of Cork City Council and Cork County Council. Their enthusiastic and warm welcome ensured all participants felt very much at home.

Additional information on the Cork Conference can be found here:

• Programme HERE

• List of Speakers HERE

• Speaker Bios HERE

Etain Fitzpatrick AIA RIBA, Irene Reidy and Helen Giblin FRIAI AIA Int’l Assoc, Karen Hassey AIA RIAI

Written by L D King, AIA (with assistance from E Fitzpatrick, AIA and H Giblin Int’l Assoc AIA)

On behalf of AIA Continental Europe and AIA United Kingdom

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In special recognition of 30 years of  cooperation and mutual appreciation between AIA Continental Europe and AIA United Kingdom, AIA UK  has assembled a collection of its newsletters honouring past CE and joint CE/UK events from 1996 that can be found HERE.

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AIA CONTINENTAL EUROPE & AIA UNITED KINGDOM CONFERENCE / Cork, Ireland – ‘Genius Loci’ - Part II

The River Lee and a limestone outcrop form the idyllic setting for the University College Cork.  Photo Credit: L King AIA

Day 2: Cork – Buildings for Culture and Education 

The second day of the Conference started with a long trek upriver to the tranquil campus of the University College Cork (UCC) for a leisurely exploration of its landscape and buildings and attendance at multiple well received talks. 

• Heinrik Wolterstorff, O’Donnell + Tuomey

  According to the morning’s speaker, Heinrik Wolterstorff, Sir Thomas Deane, the architect of UCC, undertook an extensive search on horseback in the 1840’s for the ideal site for the newly endowed Cork college. Following a branch of the River Lee, he eventually found a band of peasant farmers tending a lush meadow backed by a dramatic outcrop of limestone.  The idyllic site – sans peasants and horses - remains the backdrop for the college today.

The morning talks and tours focused on two buildings by O’Donnell + Tuomey.  Read more about the architects HERE.

First, the Hub - a student centre created out of a renovated, previously redundant building from the 1800s.  The Hub introduced the attendees to the UCC and served as the conference venue for the day.  Read more about the Hub HERE.

Photo Credit: H Kessler FAIA

Photo Credits: M Lischer FAIA

Second, the Glucksman Gallery - a dramatic new build, incorporating an art gallery and restaurant - completed in 2005.  The site on the edge of the campus was chosen to encourage attendance by the local community who might otherwise avoid encroaching on the ancient university.  Inserted amongst mature trees, the Gallery’s bold configuration distinguishes it from the original campus buildings, while at the same time its strategic window views connect it to both the wider neighbourhood and the place setting River Lee

Photo Credit: B Oknyansky AIA

Photo Credits: H Chong

During the campus tour, the attendees stopped for an unplanned but welcomed visit to the UCC Honan Chapel, built in the Hiberno-Romanesque revival style complete with vibrant, fascinating floor mosaics. The small, architectural gem exemplified the best of the Irish arts and craft movement (1894 – 1925).

Photo Credits: H Chong & B Oknyansky AIA

• Alex Ianchenko, the 2024 AIA Continental Europe Scholarship Recipient

• Dami Babalola, the AIA UK Sponsor Representing Axalta

• Nicola Smith, the AIA Continental Europe Sponsor Representing Laufen

After lunch at Lea’s in the Gluckman (sponsored by Axalta), the attendees returned to the Hub for a series of technical talks.  

Alex Ianchencko, the AIA CE Scholarship Recipient, gave an impassioned talk on her research into sustainability forecasts, starting with the startling statistic that the earth’s global emissions currently stand at a staggering 47 billion tons CO2 eq/year, whereas its safe operating space projects at only 2.51 billion tons CO2 eq/year.

Dami Babalola, the AIA UK Sponsor Representative from Axalta (powder coating manufacturer) charted her research into the transformation of colour trends over the last five years.  Her conclusions: architects and designers currently trend towards darker, warmer ‘earth tones’.  Read more about Axalta HERE. 

Nicola Smith, the AIA CE Sponsor Representative from Laufen (ceramic sanitary wares) stressed both its innovation and sustainability credentials.  In 2024, Laufen reached a milestone with its development of an electric kiln.  In 2025, Laufen received an Ecovadis platinum award for the top 1% of companies assessed for sustainability performance.  It aims to reach net zero in its production within the next few years.  Read more about Laufen HERE.  

• Merritt Bucholz and Karen Mc Evoy, Founding Directors at Bucholz McEvoy Architects

The day’s final talk featured Bucholz McEvoy Architects and their extensive repertoire of ‘low carbon architecture in Cork and beyond’ – or in the language of their talk, ‘breathing buildings’.  Their designs – that also incorporate extensive use of wood as a core structural component - were based on the analogy of a tree that breathes in CO2 and releases O2 without traditional HVAC solutions and paraphernalia.  Read more about Bucholz McEvoy HERE.  

Photo Credit: E Fitzpatrick AIA

THE CONFERENCE DINNER 

Saturday night gala dinners are an AIA CE tradition, with this year’s event held in an Irish stately home on the outskirts of Cork, Fota House on Fota Island. Before dinner, the attendees were given a tour of the house, which was originally built as an 18th century hunting lodge, then expanded in the 19th century.  The tour included both its downstairs kitchen and servants areas and its impressive upstairs dining rooms.

Photo Credit: L King AIA

Written by L D King, AIA (with assistance from E Fitzpatrick, AIA and H Giblin Int’l Assoc AIA)

On behalf of AIA Continental Europe and AIA United Kingdom