The 25th Annual AIA UK Student Charrette - From Space to Place: Re-Imagining Station Court

Transforming the ROCA Gallery. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

On a blustery October morning, the ROCA London Gallery underwent its annual transformation from pristine sanitaryware showroom to buzzing design studio, littered with evidence of the creative chaos of the annual AIA UK Student charrette. Once again, the Zaha Hadid-designed space served as an inspirational backdrop for students, and its sinuous curves could be found subtly re-emerging in many of the teams' proposals.

Braving a London beset by protest marches, distracted by rugby matches and paralysed by public transport closures, this year's students were a persistent bunch. They were joined by last year's victorious Westminster team, whose victory encouraged many of their classmates to join the competition. They wasted little time in turning the Roca gallery into a vibrant creative hub on a chilly Saturday morning.  

Each team was assigned a mentor to assist and guide them throughout the day, and this year, we were pleased to welcome a number of RIBA chartered mentors, strengthening the bonds between the AIA and RIBA even as they prepared their teams for direct competition. The mentors helped their student teams navigate the competition brief and prepare imaginative proposals to transform Station Court, a little-used open space adjacent to the gallery, into a true place at the heart of the Imperial Wharf development. 

Teams approached the task creatively and with great flair, proposing new design districts, landscaped parks and inflatable pavilions that drew on Imperial Wharf's long industrial heritage, and sought to forge connections between the disconnected clusters of residential development surrounding the site.

Deliberating jurors; anxious competitors. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

This year's proposals were judged by a young and enthusiastic jury - Ali Abbas and Andrew Morris from Stanton Williams, Yasmin Khan Osborne from Rodic Davidson, and Amrita Raja, AIA UK President and Senior Associate at Woods Bagot. Despite the quick-fire format of the reviews, they were able to provide sensitive and helpful feedback to the students, with wide-ranging discussions touching on urban planning, community consultation and design, as well as presentation techniques and formats and the challenges and benefits of preparing hand-drawn presentations in a digital age. 

After a lively series of presentations, the jury retired to compare notes and determine which team would emerge victorious. To take the edge off the nerves, students and mentors passed the time in the showroom gallery, enjoying a drinks reception hosted by ROCA, and taking the time to peruse the fortuitously timed exhibition, 'Drawing Attention: The Digital Culture of Contemporary Architectural Drawing.' 

Faced with an array of creative proposals, the jury had a difficult time deciding on a winner. After much deliberation, Westminster once again emerged victorious, laying claim to another title for their school. The winning team's proposal, a series of pavilions distributed through an imaginatively planned landscape, impressed the judges for its consideration of existing use patterns, precise and thoughtful drawings, and varied design interventions. 

Runners up this year were also from Westminster, with a whimsical and convincingly presented proposal for a series of inflatable pavilions that drew inspiration from the site's history as a production centre for low-gravity gas for ballooning races. 

Although only one team could claim the title, the energy and creativity that fuelled the day was a testament to the enthusiasm of all the participants. Mentors from all teams were impressed by students' willingness to dive into the challenge and embrace the analogue format of the event. 

The AIA would like to extend our thanks to the jury for their engagement and insightful comments, and to the mentors Pierre Baillargeon, Stephen Lawler, Michelle Martin, Andrea Maugeri and Daniel Smith for donating their time and experience. Thank you also to David, Emma, Indra and the team at Roca Gallery London for their hard work throughout the day, and to ROCA and Laufen for their generous and continuing sponsorship. And of course, a huge thank you to all the students for their energy and enthusiasm, we hope you all had a great time and will encourage your classmates to join us again next year! 

The winning team, mentored by Andrea Maugeri RIBA BSc MArch ARB - Hafsa Syed / Nabiha Qadir /Maryam Daudi / Daniel Berende / Emanuele Volpe with jurors, event organiser and mentor. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

The runners up, mentored by Michelle Martin RIBA BA (Hons), MArch, ADPPA, AIA Int. ARB - Ella Reed / Alcina Lo / Aisha Nadim /Esther Calinawan / Maryam Islam with jurors, event organiser and mentor. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

Written by: Nicholas Kehagias AIA

Report From the Courts

We bring you copies of this summer's Reports from the Courts, first published in Construction Law and written by Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth from AIA UK Corporate Partner, Beale & Co.

Construction Law, May 2019

This issue focuses on:

• a dispute involving failure to submit a payment or pay less notice; and

• a widely publicised domestic client case that highlights the importance of a written agreement, a clear brief and clear and accurate record-keeping.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, June 2019

This issue focuses on: 

• a decision that serves as a reminder that where new evidence becomes available or where some part of the claim has been left undecided in an earlier adjudication, it may be possible to adjudicate again in relation to the same issue; and

• another that provides some clarification on liquidated damages.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, July 2019

This issue focuses on:

• a rare example of a court refusing to enforce an adjudication due to fraud; and

• a decision that might result in an increase in collateral warranties being sought by house purchasers.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, August / September 2019

This issue focuses on:

• one decision that confirms that the courts will enforce time bars to adjudication under NEC contracts in circumstances where the Construction Act 1996 does not apply; and

• another that emphasises the importance of clarity as to what is being agreed in relation to selection of adjudicators.

To read the full article, please click here.

Written by: Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale & Co.

AIA UK Members Attend Conference at Olympic Museum

On the 6th of September the AIA International Region and Dow jointly hosted EXCELLENCE: DESIGNING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.  The one-day conference took place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

AIA UK Chapter members Lester Korzilius, FAIA, Dan Smith, AIA, and Michael Lischer, FAIA attended.  Topics that were discussed included; Design Excellence for a Sustainable Future, Can Sport Help Create a Low Carbon Future, and the Science of Sustainability in the Built Environment. 

Michael Lischer presented a paper that described the sustainability program for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Kim Nielsen, a partner at Danish architectural practice 3XN, made a presentation on the design of the new headquarters building for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  After the formal presentations concluded, attendees toured the new IOC Headquarters building.

L to R: Christine Bruckner, FAIA, Past President International Region, Michael Lischer, FAIA, Lester Korzilius, FAIA

IOC Headquarters

IOC Interior

Written by: Michael Lischer, FAIA

WELL Building Standard™ Technical Lecture

Despite progressively more client requests to incorporate occupant health and wellbeing aspects into our designs, did you know that there are only seven WELL certified projects in the UK?  In response to last year’s AIA-UK member survey, in which an interest in more technical lectures was expressed, we sought to explore the WELL Building Standard™ a bit further.

On the evening of 10 September 2019, ISG plc hosted 25 AIA-UK guests for a technical lecture.  Dr. Magdalini Makrodimitri, of Norman Disney & Young's London office, presented the rating system and focussed on the preconditions and optimisations (that’s WELL-speak for prerequisites and credits) that would most affect architects and their design processes. The attendees represented a good cross section of our industry, with architects, contractors, and quantity surveyors all present, which made for interesting discussion from various viewpoints of the industry.

The sheer cost of certification was a major talking point, although it was noted that in the newest version of WELL, WELL v2, these costs have come down considerably.  This was thought to be the major barrier to uptake for WELL v1.

Dr. Makrodimitri noted where each precondition and optimisation alighted or surpassed UK and BREEAM requirements, which was a helpful illustration of where design teams would need to go above and beyond standard practices to achieve WELL points.

Please contact AIA-UK treasurer, Anna Foden, at treasurer@aiauk.org if you would like to contact Dr. Makrodimitri regarding the WELL Building Standard.

AIA UK Welcomes New Members

This has been a busy year for the Chapter’s membership committee. Membership is at an all time high of 235 members and 32 new members joined the AIA UK this year! The Chapter membership and Board of Directors would like to welcome the following members who have joined since the first of the year.

AIA UK Reduces Membership Dues

In an effort to keep AIA dues affordable, the AIA UK board of directors unanimously voted to reduce the 2020 chapter dues by the same amount the National dues are increasing.  This means your 2020 dues will be the same as 2019, despite the increase in National dues.