Australian Institute of Architects’ Post

What a fantastic step towards inclusion for designers to understand, conceptualise and implement.

As a follow-up to our perspective a few weeks ago on The New York Times article, “An Architect Who Builds Community Wins the Pritzker Prize”, we've been inspired yet again by the recent Bloomberg piece, "Dallas Is Looking for Design That Can Tackle Loneliness." One of our group strategy directors, Hugo Lamb, gives his perspective. How can it be possible that in a city, in a place of infinite possibility, where millions of interactions take place every second, we can be lonely? Cities by their very nature are the ultimate engineering of the social environment. They are monuments to our inherent drive to connect, to be together, to be everything but lonely.Yet loneliness is a growing problem in every city around the world. Recent research from the University of Sydney has placed some responsibility on the design of cities. But, in my view, it is the speed of cities that is the problem. Cities move at the speed of culture, the speed of industry, the speed of the modern world. They have been rapidly accelerating in the information age, and the moment we look up from our phones we feel left behind.The urban interventions that are profiled in this thought-provoking piece by Bloomber’s CityLab each have their merits, but perhaps don’t acknowledge the bigger issue: we aren’t placing the same value on the slow spaces within cities as we do the fast spaces. Slow spaces are where we learn to be social. They are intrinsic to our wellbeing, and the wellbeing of our community. To design them well, we need to think holistically and in detail. These are complex platforms for people, and they deserve our best architecture and imagination. Find the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gbihcNGu #LonelyCities #LonelinessEpidemic #Placemaking #SocialCities #ResilientCities #UrbanPlanning #UrbanStrategy #CityLab ⁠

Paper Published: In this paper, we further our examinations of Home-Based business, and how their continuation have been shaping the threshold of public and private spaces, physically, culturally and architecturally. What are the local factors from part of these transformation? In what way has home-based retail contributed to the making and transforming of domestic spaces as presented in other building typologies, such as modernist-style apartment buildings? More in link below: https://lnkd.in/gE7eYekz About the Journal: Home Cultures (The Journal of Architecture, Design and Domestic Space) by Taylor & Francis has Journal Metrics Scopus of Q1 (2024).

Sydney Design Week, which ran from 15-24 September, proposed an exciting multi-disciplinary program, curated in response to an essay by the French philosopher Bruno Latour. Latour was an advocate for a stronger connection between nature and society, exploring this through an attempt to understand all the complex and intertwined factors that affect this relationship. Amodern, the title of the 2023 Design Week, explored six different areas; Eco Systems, Material Cultures, Communal Cities, Micro Cycles, Connected Threads and Photofields. Individually, they dive deep into the details of how singular ideas can build a sustainable world and society. Together, these focus areas paint a holistic picture of the complexities and opportunities we face as we move forward. Creative directed by Keinton Butler, the design week intended to include as many different voices as possible. Butler noted, “The idea is to open up the discussion around entrenched ideas and narratives about production and consumption and to involve greater Sydney and some of the practices we haven’t worked with before. I think with the sociological and ecological context in which design operates, where designers are tasked with responding to the changing climate, design practices are becoming more cross-disciplinary and complex as a result.” The sentiment puts collaboration and knowledge exchange at the forefront of its exploration - together we can all work for a better future. We’re interested to hear if you made it to any of the events? Let us know in the comment section below. #AustralianArchitecture #ArchitectureCommunity #NetworkingEvents #AustralianDesign #TheArcAgencyAU

"Less is more." - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. This simple yet profound statement from a famous architect reminds us of the power of simplicity and efficiency, especially when it comes to building our cities. Today, as we face the challenges of making our urban areas more sustainable and living spaces more efficient, this idea has never been more relevant. Our cities are more than just buildings; they're communities that reflect our hopes, our problems, and our solutions. With environmental concerns on the rise, it's crucial that we focus on making our cities work better for both people and the planet. This means we need to think carefully about how we design and build. Every new building or space should not only look good but also be good for the environment and easy for people to live in. This includes using cleaner, greener technologies, choosing materials that don't harm the planet, and designing homes and buildings that use energy wisely. Making homes more efficient is especially important because it directly affects people's lives, how much we use resources, and how we impact the environment. By tackling these issues, we can create cities that are not just places to live but spaces that care for our well-being and the health of our planet.

One story is never enough – is a statement that became a central theme of the 'Unlocking Potential' seminar held by the #IrishArchitectureFoundation earlier this week.  Loughlin Kealy, Valerie Mulvin, Ruth O'Herlihy, Grainne Shaffrey, Steve Larkin, and Vicky Landy, the nominees of the #EUmiesAward, spoke about ways of listening to the buildings. So, when a moment comes for the owners to move on, they leave behind the stone and mortar - the body - and their stories embedded within it - it's soul. Our job is to make sensible use of them both.   The projects presented at the seminar managed this masterfully by adding new composition layers, re-interpreting the form by accessing the past with imagination, and sometimes found the optimal solution by allowing time to pass. All this can only be achieved through rigour and hard work. And trying different things.   During the adaptation, the need to transform the elements of the building into something they were not planned for – like a Part M-compliant staircase or a fire-protected compartment wall – can be highly complex. The problem is exacerbated due to solutions always being bespoke and non-transferable. There is room to improve here for the building regulations.    So, we take great care of important buildings full of stories. But what about all the existing structures with less significant tales? Can we give them a new story by reinventing them now?    An essential aspect of the renovation, beyond improving the energy efficiency of the building and the health and well-being of its occupants, is consistently adding value. This typically involves diversifying the use of space, creating more flexible and adaptable layouts, and expanding the footprint. However, it can also include finding a unique opportunity specific to the building. This financial game-changer, boosting returns on investment, could become a new story.   At STW, we had the privilege to work with the stories and create them on many wonderful projects, such as MoLi - Museum of Literature Ireland, The Kiln Building, Carroll's Factory and Miesian Plaza. #stwarchitects #adaptivereuse

By converting the bridge into a public space, a major piece of infrastructure shifts its purpose and, more importantly, its recognizability, from a utilitarian one to an experiential one.

I remember 10 months ago, of the image on the left, the work we were carrying out for well over a year then. Now, on the right, a small snip of a much wider development that represents the culmination of this project, coming to rendition, and all the team involved can only be proud of what we've achieved! Another section of this impressive icone of British history and architecture is now coming live, and another part, will carry on being renovated to bring it into fruition, reshaping Whitehall Campus estate to enable a more efficient civil service, within a smart, hybrid, inclusive and sustainable workplace. #governmentprojects #gpa #workplacetransformation

Anthony Harris AIA, LEED AP, CDT, a senior architect at Quinn Evans, shares his insights on the transformative renovation of the Capital One Arena in a recent article by the Washington Business Journal. The piece highlights how local architects would reimagine the arena and its adjacent areas. In the article, Anthony emphasizes the area's significance as a focal point for civic and social infrastructure while also highlighting the opportunity for sustainability initiatives. "Sports teams, at their best, can be points of pride and connection, acting as civic institutions as that contribute to a city's identity. This can be especially vital to a city as diverse and transient as the District...[A] modernized Capital One Arena provides an opportunity for the building and the site to embrace its role as a civic asset – contributing not just to the commercial revitalization of the area but also to the civic and social infrastructure of a neighborhood. Capital One Arena could fundamentally reimagine the role of the sports arena by becoming a locus of social life and activity beyond game days or special events, providing a function for residents as well as fans and concert-goers." Learn more about our mission to discover design solutions that enrich lives and make a long-lasting, positive impact 🔗 www.quinnevans.com/mission Subscribed to the WBJ? Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3TTh2Rr #QuinnEvans #Architecture #UrbanDesign #Sustainability #CommunityDevelopment #CivicInfrastructure #SportsArena #WashingtonDC #WashingtonBusinessJournal

With sciences R&D developments increasingly migrating to amenitized urban areas, more and more opportunities for architectural innovation are being uncovered. In this blog, my colleagues Brent Van Gunten and Keith Nielsen share how two key Gensler projects in Berkeley and Seattle are prime examples of this innovation, and what they could signal for science buildings of the future. https://ow.ly/8kFM30szbnJ