He takes slivers of land and transforms them into thriving communities. As the great housing architect picks up the prestigious Soane medal, he reveals his plan to fix Britain, from Orkney to the Isle of Wight

Egypt’s golden boy and Bridget Riley’s dazzling arcs of colour join a towering indictment of empire – this year’s stunning art shows hit like a bomb

From corrupted country girls and rough sleepers to sleazy judges and drunken toffs, no one has captured London’s dark underbelly better than Hogarth

They are among the most talented architects of their age. Yet the credit, praise and awards have gone to men instead. Meet the women who are tired of being written out of history

Trinity Square, Hull; Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
A handsome installation outside Hull Minster and a candy-coloured miniature cityscape both use the language of ancient forms to say something new

Sir John Soane’s Museum; Tate Britain, London
Marc Quinn’s sculptures reduce classicism to blunt desire, while Cerith Wyn Evans’s Tate commission is an illuminated blank

Famed designer of Bank of England never got over wife’s death but the monument he created for her inspired Gilbert Scott’s iconic kiosk

The newly opened private quarters of one of Britain’s most original architects reveal morbid passions alongside the marvels

Architects have always used alluring (or deceiving) drawings to get their way with ‘meddling amateurs’ – as a new exhibition at the Soane Museum proves

Giovanni Piranesi's 18th-century gothic visions on a page are made real by 21st-century magic at Sir John Soane's museum