We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for two prestigious awards recognising our work on Southwold Church. The project, which involved creating new facilities and an open, flexible space to be used by the wider community, has reached the finals of the 2018 Presidents’ Award for the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association […]
Each major cultural era in Western society—the Renaissance, the Baroque, Modernism— had its register in five areas: art, music, theatre, dance, and architecture. Here Shaun Soanes takes a look at why architecture has been sidelined in the hip-hop movement. Historically, architecture has been inaccessible to disadvantaged students who may have grown up living in environments […]
Modern architecture is full of surprises but some of the interesting buildings around the world started life as a joke. Shaun Soanes investigates. In the 1930s, a British traveler in Southern California spoke of his confusion at the fantasy world he discovered there, created by local architects. Last month a new, updated version of California […]
Architecture is the art of designing and building structures for the benefit of communities. So what happens when the purpose of the project is to keep people out? Shaun Soanes explores the controversial concept of hostile architecture. From spiked protrusions on window ledges and metal park benches with solid dividers to forests of cement bollards […]
Studies show there has only been incremental improvement in racial diversity and the representation of women in architecture in the last few years. Here, just weeks after the sector celebrated International Women in Architecture Day – also known as #EthelDay – Shaun Soanes explains why we need to push for more. This is the picture […]
Architects struggle to drop the jargon and engage the public. That was the message from writer and broadcaster Tom Dyckhoff earlier this month after he started a furious Twitter argument by suggesting that architects speak in deliberately unintelligible language. Here Shaun Soanes joins the debate. “How architects talk: ‘Spatiality, interrogation, materiality, praxis.’,” Tom Dyckhoff wrote […]
Rapper Kanye West has created an architecture wing for his popular Yeezy brand. But does the profession really need a celebrity to “make things as dope as possible”? Here Shaun Soanes examines the flurry of speculation, excitement and ridicule surrounding the announcement. When Kanye West revealed that he was frustrated he was not taken seriously […]
We are delighted to announce that we have won two awards celebrating excellence in our sector. We won the category for Individual Trade for our work on Aldehurst, Aldeburgh and the Restoration category for St Edmunds Church in Southwold at the RIBA Suffolk Craftsmanship Awards 2018. The latter focused on giving the church greater flexibility […]
A “top ten” list of ideas to future-proof Ipswich has been put forward by a team of planners. Here Pippa Jacob explains why the project will breathe new life into the town for generations to come. The “Ideas for Ipswich” project is about uniting the creative minds of the community to develop a vision for […]
