Ask the Architect: Christopher Gray

Christopher Gray, director at SLR Consulting, tells ADF how he has nurtured the importance of landscape-led masterplanning in his career, and why resilient green infrastructure including sensitive SuDS has to sit at the heart of future development. What made you... View Article

Ask the Expert: Jonathan Lowy

James Parker speaks to Jonathan Lowy, operational marketing manager at VM Building Solutions UK, about changing perceptions of zinc; exploring its growing use in architecture, sustainability credentials, long-term value, and enduring misconceptions. How has architects’ perception on using zinc evolved... View Article

View Point: Luke Macnab of Feilden Clegg Bradley

Luke Macnab, architect at Feilden Clegg Bradley, says the potential of AI to transform design has to be balanced with ethical and environmental questions. Heraclitus observed that change is the only constant in life. Throughout history, humans have created and... View Article

Ask the Architects: Pablo Lambrechts & Lindsey Webster

ADF gets the lowdown on the working life of husband-and-wife team Pablo Lambrechts and Lindsey Webster, who co-founded their practice L+ Architects in 2018 What does the role of architect now mean across residential & wider sectors? Pablo Lambrechts: The... View Article

Practice Profile: WGP Architects

Kim Neville explores WGP’s 20-year journey, including how it trademarked a model for human-centred, sustainable design, while pursuing AI and a collaborative culture to drive impactful architecture. WGP is a relatively young practice, founded just 20 years ago. As with... View Article

The real value of AI for architects

Karl Smith at Creative ITC explains how architectural practices can move from experimenting with AI to strategic integration, by leveraging structured data for measurable outcomes – thereby building their capability to serve future needs. More than half of architecture professionals... View Article

View Point: Trevor Morriss

Trevor Morriss, principal at SPPARC, discusses its “heritage-led” adaptive reuse of Modernist icon Ravenscourt Park Hospital into new London housing; and what architects can learn from its guiding principles of fresh air and sunlight, a century on. Despite its key... View Article

Ask the Architect: Jennifer Dixon

Jennifer Dixon, director at Fereday Pollard, speaks to ADF about her love for the profession, and why architects must better articulate the value they bring in order to grow their presence in projects. What made you want to become an... View Article

Do wood burning stoves belong in future homes?

Ben Paul of Neu Architects puts his case for why he believes architects should not specify wood burning stoves as part of future homes, based on the reality of their use. As the UK moves toward net zero and cleaner,... View Article

Practice Profile: CPMG Architects

This established education sector specialist was transformed following a management buyout, embracing innovation and a people-focused culture, as Kim Neville reports. Founded in Nottingham in 1997, CPMG has undergone a profound transformation, accelerated by a pivotal management buyout in 2011.... View Article

View Point: Sean Ronnie Hill

Passivhaus architect Sean Ronnie Hill explains how simple passive design measures plus AECB-aligned targets could be the key to cutting peak summer loads in UK homes. For all the attention given to heat pumps, smart home dashboards and active cooling... View Article

Ceramics’ creative freedom

Ceramic cladding can offer designers creative freedom by uniting ‘timeless materiality’ with modern performance. So says Robert Flello of Ceramics UK, exploring how ceramics are increasingly used to shape contemporary buildings, bringing versatility, sustainability, and innovation. Ceramics have been part... View Article

Practice Profile: Fereday Pollard

Kim Neville speaks to practice co-founder Chris Pollard to uncover how the privately-owned firm, turning 30 this year, specialises in large-scale infrastructure projects with the differentiator of putting ‘humanising architecture’ at the forefront. Fereday Pollard was established in 1995 by... View Article

View Point: Dr Stephen Hamil

Dr Stephen Hamil of NBS explains why better data standards and Digital Product Passports are vital to fix the industry’s fragmented systems and safeguard its future. For several years now, UK construction has been beset by issues around material quality,... View Article

Engineering-out structural emissions early

Jack Brunton and Ioana Price of AECOM explore how designers can redefine carbon calculations by assessing carbon at the early design and optioneering stage. The built environment is a significant contributor to the UK’s carbon emission and is responsible for... View Article

Practice Profile: AtkinsRéalis

AtkinsRéalis is a firm that has redefined architectural practice, blending engineering precision with people-centred design, with sustainability and collaboration to the fore. Kim Neville reports. AtkinsRéalis’ journey began with an unorthodox move, establishing an architecture arm within what was formerly... View Article

Emberton House, Olympia: From cars to culture

Trevor Morriss, principal at SPPARC discusses how the practice embraced the challenge to convert a historic multi-storey car park at London’s Olympia in the Streamline Moderne style into a hotel and school, as part of the site’s cultural redevelopment. “Adjoining... View Article

Practice Profile: ECD Architects

Founded in 1980 as Energy Conscious Design, the subsequently abbreviated ECD Architects merged energy research with architectural practice. It later joined multi-disciplinary construction ‘one stop shop’ N-able Group in 2007, which was in turn recently acquired by the RSK Group... View Article