Kiosks and food trucks bring energy to locations – we should take note
The parade of temporary interventions on our streets injects them with joy, colour and life – and has lessons for architects, argues Eleanor Young
2 April 2025
Studio Saar: architects without borders
From Somerset to Rajasthan, ‘global, hyperlocal’ is how distinctive practice Studio Saar operates – thanks to its industrial backing and the impetus of its founders
1 April 2025
The regenerative projects that show us how buildings can positively affect the planet
The few truly regenerative buildings across the world can teach us how the built environment could help to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis
1 April 2025
Interchange brings the drama to Paris's new suburban orbital metro
Gare de Villejuif-Gustave Roussy Villejuif, part of Paris's new orbital metro, is a dramatic effort of civil engineering
The importance of designing spaces that sound as good as they look
Sound, too often the afterthought of building design, can make people feel inspired and connected to spaces
In association with Crittall
Beyond black: steel windows get colourful
Everyone's favourite fenestration solutions are now available in three new metallic palettes
Cowley Manor: an old swimming pool becomes stone-clad hotel space
At a listed country house hotel, De Matos Ryan devised a stone and timber-framed pavilion on the former site of a swimming pool
Judgement is architects' definitive skill: we should use it responsibly
Judgement and quality can set architects apart from AI and close the gap between profit and public good
In association with Maxlight
Glazing shapes the way a space is experienced
Useful and beautiful, sliding doors can also be the core component of an architectural vision
MacEwen award 2025
The commended and winning schemes that celebrate architecture for the common good
The dementia care home provides a sense of familiarity and self-determination
Stephen George & Partners’ new bus station is an unusually ambitious piece of civic infrastructure
Manalo & White’s conversion of a Bangor church into a home for a Welsh language theatre company
The square has been co-conceived, designed and constructed by local residents
Powers of Ten competition: play with scale to gain pounds
Competition: create an object, installation, building or urban intervention that plays on the idea of scale, to create wonder, drama or even shock
Costed: Envelope and cladding materials
Nicola Sharkey, UK insights and research lead at Gleeds, advises on envelope and cladding product costs
In association with Duration Windows
How to retain character when replacing a steel window
Cost-effective, A-rated aluminium alternative offers slender design and easy installation
In association with Newframe
Solar PV glass canopies: overhead cover and endlessly renewable power
System works in daylight - not just sunlight - and without the need to be south-facing or installed at 45 degrees
Poetry and pragmatism: the Chinese architect behind Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium
The RIBA hosts a retrospective of acclaimed Chinese architect Li Xinggang
Rowan Court: shrewd placemaking on an unloved triangle of land
Satish Jassal Architects' red-brick development of council homes in Haringey makes creative use of a difficult plot
Roofing and cladding
Zinc is the material of choice for three innovative projects
A modern new-build completely at home in its Loire Valley setting
Integrated solar PV electricity generation can look good too
A1/A2 fire rated panels in aluminium, fibre cement and extruded porcelain
It's the entire roof build-up that's important - not just the vegetation
Is Paris’s Wood Up a template for future timber housing projects?
As well as providing Parisians with housing, LAN Architecture’s 16-storey tower has also served as an experimental research project for the development of timber as a building material, with many of its elements requiring laboratory testing from scratch
3 January 2025
Churches: ancient walls that hold enduring values
Religious architecture shows mass communications are not only a modern-day purview
In association with Knauf Insulation
How to specify rainscreen insulation that performs as designed
Choosing the right product helps to translate your specification into as-built performance
Getting the UK building will need bold thinking
Ambitious action must follow the many announcements on planning reform, if we are to see change during this parliament.
In association with Markilux