AIA BIKE TOUR / Exploring Peckham & South London

Last year’s Bike Tour on 12 Sep 20 was the first face-to-face AIA UK Event after 6 months of the 1st Covid-19 lockdown.  Addressing the uncertainty of the times, the Newsletter tour follow-up included the note: ‘we still do not know at the time of writing whether this bike trip was a brief interlude in the world of social distancing or a foretaste of normality’s return’.  

Unfortunately, it proved to be a brief interlude… It took a 2nd lockdown and a full year’s wait until  AIA members would meet up again first at the 10 Sep 21 Summer Gala and then on the 18 Sep 21 Bike Tour.  After those further 12 months of Zoom meetings, gusts of fresh air were finally in the offing.  

Unlike those of previous years, the 2021 Bike Tour included an in-depth review of one location and one architect’s work before venturing off to explore South London’s architectural heritage. 

Ben O’Looney is known to AIA members as the guide to past bike and walking tours; as an architectural lecturer for New York University’s London programme; and as leader of  architectural River Tours for Open City.  However, he is also a practicing architect, with a busy office in Peckham.  That location is important because O’Looney is pre-eminently a community architect –  the kind who is greeted by local clients and friends as he walks along the streets, who designs local shop signs as a favour, who delights in local diversity, who immerses himself in local architectural history…   

The highlight of this year’s tour was a comprehensive visit to the Peckham Rye Victorian train station (C H Driver FRIBA/1866), currently undergoing the initial stages of serious preservation work under O’Looney’s guidance.  As he opened the ornately railed stairwell wing to the station’s otherwise inaccessible waiting-room-cum-ballroom, an assortment of station users asked to join our mini ‘tour’.  Station preservation works – in addition to the recently approved (and much needed) renovation of the working parts and the removal/replacement of semi derelict, surrounding buildings – has generated wide public interest.

With our bikes safely tucked away for the duration, and accompanied throughout the technical discussions by one willing local resident who recorded our session, we were treated to a tour and an enthusiastic critique of all aspects of the Station’s revival – including, inter alia (!) - local material sourcing; colour selection; insulation solutions; access limitations; replication v conservation dilemmas; brick cleaning, structural analyses; commercial concessions…  the whole gamut of project details. 

A short tour of other O’Looney projects down the currently (but unfortunately only temporarily) pedestrianised Rye Lane followed the Station visit, including renovations to a 1930s retail façade at the former Holdrons Department Store (T P Bennett/1935); a new build residential/retail unit; various shop front interventions; and a mosque addition.  There was insufficient time for further O’Looney locations in the area (see HERE).

After a brief visit to the popular Peckham Festival at the Bussey Buildings - former industrial buildings saved from demolition in 2009 via a local campaign and now an increasingly popular destination for the young and trendy  – bike touring started in earnest, with a leisurely meander from Peckham via Goose Green to Dulwich, Forest Hill and then – for the more intrepid only – to Bromley. 

Scattered among residential and all too busy South London streets there was a catalogue of architectural projects to wonder at – the local prize winning Bellenden Primary School and Nursery (Cottrell & Vermulen/2019); a modern housing development (Tikari Works/c2020); a modern church (HOK); the Victorian East Dulwich Hospital (H Jarvis & Sons/c1885); clapboarded, vernacular houses; an unusual Victorian all concrete house; the Victorian masterpiece of Dulwich College (C Barry Jr) alongside a modern teaching laboratory (Grimshaw); and the Royal Bell Hotel in Bromley (E Newton RA /1989).  

The belated – we were behind schedule by at least 2 hours – picnic lunch was held in the grounds of the Dulwich Gallery, where the local staff allowed us a brief look-in to Soane’s 1810 Georgian masterpiece, its  fantastic art collection and unusual mausoleum – with American architect, Rick Mather’s, 2000 café addition nearby.

The final push – literally for some of us (there is a rather steep hill along the South Circular Road) – took us to the Horniman Museum (C H Townsend/c1890s) with its spectacular trio of Art Nouveaux, Arts and Craft and modern (Allies & Morrison) façades and its equally spectacular views of London.  A long day, but an eye opener.  London’s diverse architectural heritage never ceases to amaze…

Follow the route via the ‘Slide Show’.  Pictures contributed by the AIA Chapter Board member participants, including - Etain Fitzpatrick AIA, Lorraine King AIA, Maria Loring AIA, Joerg Matthaei, Alex Miller AIA and assorted guests.  Look out for the surprise guest appearance of past UK Chapter President, Robert Rhodes AIA, and family. 

Written by Lorraine King, AIA

AIA UK Sustainability Talks 2021

The severity of the Climate Crisis is becoming ever clearer, with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on 9th August 2021 laying out the stark reality that climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying.  With buildings responsible for around 40 percent of all carbon emissions (and a lot of other environmentally damaging effects and emissions as well), our role as architects is significant, and our design decisions will be highly impactful for generations to come.  To help our members better understand sustainability issues, best practices, and innovative approaches, the AIA UK Chapter created a dedicated Sustainability Initiative in 2019.  This year, with the November UN Climate Change Conference CoP26 in Glasgow rapidly approaching, we have continued these activities online, reaching a wider and broader audience than ever before with our greatest range of speakers yet. In summary:

We kicked-off the year with the story behind the design and construction of the award-winning Cork House – in Windsor, shared by CSK Architects (as part of our ongoing virtual Building Tours series).

Kelly Doran, of MASS, then shared his personal research and work on 'Climate Positive Design', highlighting the challenges of the current normative design, specifying, procurement systems and incentives, as well as the need for a different and more thoughtful approach so we can design, specify, and build carbon positive architecture.

In April we collaborated with the AIA International Region to create their ‘Implementing Change’ Spring Conference to draw attention to international issues, approaches, and challenges around making meaningful change in how we design and build more sustainably. We hosted three of the key events, including the keynote lecture and discussion with Ed Mazria of Architecture 2030, who laid out the facts and figures of where we are, where we need to be, and a possible path for how to get there, in his talk ‘Architecture of the Earth, Not Just On It’.

In May we were joined by Sustainability Consultant Lucy Townsend of BDP, to talk us through 'Navigating a Pathway to Net Zero', highlighting the policy landscape, problematic approaches and definitions, and the exciting opportunities for us to reach this goal. 

In July Patrick Bellew, Co-Founder of Atelier Ten, built on these discussions as he questioned ‘Sustainability and the Road to Net Zero?’ by talking us through the details of some of his firm’s innovative projects across Europe, North America, and Asia.

In October we will continue these discussions with Raphael Lafargue from Transsolar.

Throughout the year we have been working closely with Architecture 2030 to push for meaningful action at CoP26 in November.   As part of this process, we were a foundational signatory to the CoP26 Communiqué.  We continue to work with AIA National as we approach the November conference - stay tuned for updates!  

If there are any speakers, events, or particular discussions you would like us to host, please get in touch at sustainability@aiauk.org.

Written by: Mark Breeze, AIA 

AIAUK 2021 Excellence in Design Awards

The AIAUK’s Excellence in Design Awards were held virtually on the 30th of June, thanks to our generous sponsor Portview.  Despite the complex year we’ve all experienced, it was encouraging to see so many high-quality entries.  It is true testament to the enduring nature of our profession.  The awards were judged based on their design achievements, design intentions, distinguishing aspects of the design resolution, and sustainability, which focussed on the AIA Ten Measures of Design Excellence.

Our thanks go out to our jury panel, which included:

• Katharine Storr, AIA UK President

• Jane Duncan OBE, Architect, Jane Duncan Architects + Interiors

• Wesam Al Asali, Architect and Researcher, University of Cambridge and IWlab

• Kiru Balson, Senior Sustainability Consultant, Max Fordham

• Hattie Hartman, Editor and Qualified Architect, Architects Journal

• Mouzhan Majidi, FAIA, RIBA, Architect, Chief Executive at Zaha Hadid Architects

• Paul Scullion, Director at Portview

The 2021 awards were chosen from three overarching categories: Professional, Emerging Practice and Sustainability.  Within these categories the jurors chose winners across a diverse range of scales and sectors.

The Winners

A huge congratulations to our winners and special commendations.  The full video of the night’s winners can be found here.

EMERGING PRACTICE

Winner: Red Hill Barn, TYPE Studio

Photo Credit: Rory Gardiner

PROFESSIONAL

Small Projects – Winner:Quarry Studio, Moxon Architects

Photo Credit: Tim Soar

Small Projects - Special Commendation: Freeholders, Mole Architects

Photo Credit: Nick Guttridge

Medium Projects – Winner: Magdalene College Library, Niall McLaughlin Architects

Photo Credit: Nick Cane

Medium Projects - Special Commendation: ESTEAM Centre, Somerset College, Walters & Cohen Architects with 2AD Space Architects

Photo Credit: Somerset College André Engelbrecht

Large Projects – Winner: 100 Liverpool Street, Hopkins Architects

Photo Credit: Charles Hosea

EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE IN SUSTAINABILITY

Winner:1 Finsbury Avenue, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Photo Credit: Timothy Soar

Written by Anna Foden, Assoc. AIA

Sponsored by

MEMBER NEWS / Architects at the Art Biennale?

Image Credit: Elizabeth Casqueiro

The LONDON ART BIENNALE – claiming ‘artistic excellence from all over the world’ - took place from 30th June to the 4th of July 2021 at the Chelsea Old Town Hall on the King’s Road.  Not sure how many artists displaying are also architects, but there was at least one – our AIA UK Past President (2003), Elizabeth Casqueiro, AIA.  

Unfortunately, Elizabeth could not attend in person from Washington, DC, due to Covid travel difficulties, so the Chapter was represented instead by Lester Korzilius and Lorraine King, both past Chapter Presidents who know Elizabeth well.  And, Lester at least is both an architect and an artist.

The ornate interior of Chelsea Town Hall was largely camouflaged by the proliferation of art – art on the walls, art on stands, art in the sub rooms, art in the corridor… But Elizabeth’s work was easily identifiable by its unusual tall shape AND its overall quality. Read more about here successful, post architectural career HERE.

Written by: Lorraine King, AIA 
This note has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to member news. If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in newsworthy projects, research or events, please bring them to our attention via secretary@aiauk.org and we will publish the story. We will not know what has been achieved unless someone tells us!

Virtual Building Tour – Carnaby Court by Rolfe Judd Architects

As a new member of the AIA UK Board, I agreed to take on the responsibilities of managing the chapter’s 2020 building tour series and set about arranging that year’s first traditional site visit to 1 Finsbury Ave, developed by AHMM. In an all too familiar scene by now, the pandemic’s arrival changed everything.  Whilst the ensuing health crisis upended daily life and left an indelible mark on the globe, on the local scale it also forced us to innovate new ways of working, learning and rebuilding our sense of community.  Hence, the AIA ‘Virtual Building Tours’ were created and kicked off in July 2020. 

During the past year, I have had the pleasure of hosting a variety of tours ranging from noted industry stalwarts like Zaha Hadid Architect’s Leeza Soho to lesser known works such as CSK Architect’s Cork House.  We have had the opportunity to learn about these award-winning projects from concept to completion and explore the completed designs that ranged from intimate scale installations to large-scale buildings.  While the physical experience of interacting and exploring a building could never be fully replicated, the virtual tours have added a new dimension to our tour experience.  They have enabled us to broaden our geographic scope and engage with the primary principals who have educated us on the genesis of concepts, delved into the minutia of the detail and the explained the fabrication processes of a variety of innovative construction technologies and materials.  This tour intimacy has opened up a refreshing way to explore newly completed and innovative buildings.

The 2021 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” of AIA UK Design Award winners continued on 08 July with a visit to Carnaby Court, designed by Rolfe Judd Architects (RJA) and completed in 2019. 

Jonathan Carter, RJA Board Director, led us through a detailed visit of the six-storey, mixed-use building consisting of two linked structures, located at 22-25 Kingly Street and 14-18 Foubert’s Place in Soho, London. The building is uniquely positioned just off iconic Carnaby Street, well-known not only for its past contributions to commerce and the arts but also as a modern retail and leisure destination.  Jonathan began the tour with a pictorial history of Carnaby Street from the 1930’s to present day to give us a sense of the character of Carnaby Court.  Some amazing historic photographs included one of John Lennon standing in front of the gentleman’s loos on Broadwick Street.  

The project consists of retail space and a restaurant at ground level with commercial space on the first and second levels on Kingly Street. Sophisticated and adaptable residential apartments, including terraces and balconies, are located on the second and fourth levels of both Foubert’s Place and Kingly Street, with individual access through an internal courtyard.  The twelve apartments were fully fitted out to a high standard, with simple and crisp details with flexibility in-keeping with the current ethos of contemporary living.

This award-winning project is a significant part of the revitalisation of Carnaby Village. As highlighted in the tour, the site was previously cleared and developed as a shopping centre in the late 1960s.   Demolishing the shopping centre created the opportunity to “repair the urban grain,” with a new high-quality development. The project area, primarily owned and curated by Shaftesbury PLC, is now a bespoke mix of uses creating a unique community spirit that makes a positive contribution to the character of the area.  The building was described by Carter simply as “a place where you could eat, shop, work, live and play.” He went on concluding that such mixed-use developments are “the future of where we go as a city”.

During the tour, Jonathan gave a detailed explanation of how the facades were developed and the street elevations designed in response to simple urban design principles of ‘block, width and height’. The façade development articulates these principles using a base frame, a secondary frame and infill elements.  The result is a building that sets up contextual plot widths, mediates between adjacent buildings and provides rhythm to the street scape.  

The architectural response to scale and rhythm of the facades was based on a rigorous contextual approach. A key ambition, however, according to Carter was to develop a language that responded to the very heart of the historical character of Carnaby Court which was vibrant, fun and expressive.  RJA developed a materials palette that mixes a simple base brick with a stunning mix of green and blue Pyrolave-glazed, stone bricks and panels from the south of France. The two street elevations have been given different, but similar, colour combinations to give each facade an individual but related expression.  The attention to detail and the articulation of each element is noteworthy and crisp.  This layering has resulted in a building that is both respectful of its current context and of its colourful past.

The AIA UK Chapter will host its last virtual building tour series for the 2021 season on 12 August 2021.  Follow this link for further information to participate in the next tour of Belle Vue by Morris + Company. In our return to physical tours, we hope we might be able to combine features of virtual tours with traditional ones for an enhanced experience.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

Member News / Diana and the Paradigm Network

I am pleased to announce that Diana Yu, AIA - a fellow AIA UK Board Member and successful Chair of the Chapter’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Committee since its inception last year -  has been appointed as Committee Member of the Paradigm Network.  Congratulations to Diana on her prestigious new role! 

The Paradigm Network is a professional association of architects who are passionate  about increasing Black and Asian representation within the built environment. It exists to support, encourage, and help talented architects from Black and Asian backgrounds in education, and as they progress in their careers. It is also keen to promote the development of Black and Asian-led practices. 

The Paradigm Network believes that encouraging a more diverse design team reflects the society we live in and creates a richer one. Architecture can drive the potential to transform people’s quality of life, stimulate the economy, and enhance the environment.

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Diana has been living in the UK for the last eight years and qualified as a US architect whilst abroad in 2019.  She is currently a Senior Associate at ADAM Architecture and has a broad range of experience on projects including speculative housing schemes, inner-city urban regeneration work, and residential new builds.  She is also currently the Events Coordinator for the Traditional Architecture Group (TAG) and a Young Professional Member of the International Network of Traditional Builders, Architects, and Urbanists (INTBAU). She aims to use her experience and various roles to champion and inspire the next generation of young architects from all backgrounds.

The AIA UK chapter is committed to promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the architectural profession. We strive to understand how social mobility, gender parity, BAME & LGBTQ+ representation, mental health & well-being, and the inclusion of those with disabilities can be improved. Through our events and initiatives, we seek to raise awareness of the challenges which are still prevalent within our industry and to offer our support and resources to those who may need it.  Please lookout for the AIA UK Membership survey which is being launched on 13 Sep 2021. This survey will help us understand the demographic makeup of the Chapter’s membership, what kind of events might be of interest, and what subjects might be of relevance for all of our future initiatives in the upcoming few years. 

To learn more about our Committee, contact AIA UK Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at edi@aiauk.org. 

Written by: Christopher Musangi, AIA 

This article has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to member news.  If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in newsworthy projects, research or events, please bring them to our attention via secretary@aiauk.org and we will publish the story.  We will not know what has been achieved unless someone tells us!  We welcome pictures as well as stories…