Construction Declares in conjunction with Architects Declare invites you to a series of multi-disciplinary meetings around the UK, open to all.

Engineers, Landscape Architects, Contractors and Project Managers have all declared, and we need others to join us. All built environment professionals must be part of these discussions for real change to take place, so please pass on details of this event to other built environment professionals in the area.

This first regional meeting in Yorkshire will be looking at where we all start, and how to simplify the message. The meeting will feature a presentation on Construction Declare's aims by Peter Clegg, FCBStudios founding partner and member of the Architects Declare steering group, and a presentation on the theme followed by open discussion.

Tickets are free but, if you are able, please consider making a donation towards our running costs by selecting free with donation.

Peter Clegg, Senior Partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios will deliver the RIBA South West Annual Lecture of 2020 in partnership with University of Plymouth.  The lecture is called 'Beyond the Declaration: ‘A response to the climate and biodiversity crisis’  and will be the launchpad to a series of RIBA events about Climate Change. 

Peter Clegg established FCBStudios with Richard Feilden in 1978 and is regarded as a pioneer in environmental design. He has over 40 years' experience in low energy architecture and is active in research, design and education. 

Bringing the best minds together, BEYOND 2020 is our opportunity to create the missing link between the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and the built environment.

Now is the time to plan the cities and communities we want and need, both now and in the future. It is up to everyone in the construction value chain and beyond to play their part in planning and securing a sustainable built environment for the future: architects & engineers, constructors, materials suppliers, building owners & municipalities, regulators, financial institutions and IT players. No group is too big or too small to be neither irrelevant nor unaffected.

Peter Clegg, senior partner at FCBStudios, joins a panel of speakers at BEYOND 2020, to discuss: "Decarbonisation of the building sector – the value chain perspective"

This event will discuss how, while conceptions of ‘a good life’ for those living in our cities has evolved, the role of the architect - the professional responsible for interpreting the people's needs - remains steered by idealism; informed by institutionalised and hierarchical notions of race, class, economics, and style; and blind to the reality of people’s quality and experiences of life. The role of the architect in building relevant and adaptive places, which elevate societal wellbeing, seems to be in jeopardy.

A panel of speakers to discuss how a much more close and careful knowledge of communities’ needs should be put into practice to break down dysfunctional and dangerous tradition. Arguing that architecture is understood to be hierarchical and individual, but architects are not the sole drivers in the creation of the built environment, the speakers will ask if architecture can be more horizontal.  

Streamed live on The Bartlett School of Architecture's YouTube channel, this event will be a discussion between co-hosts Tyler Ebanja, Lolly Griffiths and Naomi Rubbra and speakers Pooja Agrawal and FCBStudios Architect Antonia Blege. 

This event forms part of The Bartlett International Lecture Series Autumn 2020. 

Construction Declares in conjunction with Architects Declare invites you to a series of multi-disciplinary meetings around the UK, open to all.

This first regional meeting in the North East/North West will be looking at approaches to engaging different types of client with sustainable design. The meeting will feature a presentation on Construction Declare's aims by a member of the steering group, and a presentation on the theme by Simon Branson, FCBStudios Partner based in Manchester, followed by open discussion.

Engineers, Landscape Architects, Contractors and Project Managers have all declared, and we need others to join us. All built environment professionals must be part of these discussions for real change to take place, so please pass on details of this event to others in the area.

Tickets are free but, if you are able, please consider making a donation towards our running costs by selecting free with donation.

TEDxBath brings the launch of TED Countdown to Bath, coming together on the subject of climate change.

On 10.10.2020 from 3-4pm there will be a free online session where we will hear talks from famous movers and shakers, including our own Peter Clegg, Senior Partner at FCBStudios and low energy architecture pioneer, interspersed with some incredible speakers set for Spring 2021 Inter-Connected event, before handover to the global TED Countdown event at 4pm.

The global event featuring many famous personalities including Prince William, Al Gore and Ursula von der Leyen will highlight the impact of Climate Change, promote action to address the causes and inspire ideas for a better future.

Countdown means asking ourselves the big questions: what’s the state of the climate today? What does climate science know? How are we going to achieve a net-zero future? How do we centre climate justice in our work?

Whilst some debate what COVID 19 might mean for the future of tall buildings the many benefits of truly mixed-use high-density buildings within our city centres cannot be ignored. Or does the future for our urban developments tend towards more horizontal, distributed but still a relatively dense model like Kirkstall Forge? 

Simon Branson Partner & Manchester Studio Lead, FCBStudios joins a panel of, John Bushell Principal, KPF, Cecilia Lindstrom Associate Director of Research and Urban Design, Studio Egret West, Marie-Louise Schembri, Design Director, Hilson Moran and Albert Williamson-Taylor Co-founder & Director, AKT II, who will be moderated by Ciaran Malik, Lecturer & Researcher, Royal College of Art.

This event is part of the London Festival of Architecture, organised by AKTII.

Post event note: You can now rewatch the talk here.

Heritage has a wide interpretation and is not limited to any particular timeframe: it does differ from one place to another. However, restoration and protection of heritage buildings are important to society as these buildings are the visual representation of the journey a place has taken over time. Saving our history is very much part of saving our world!

10 expert panellists from Singapore, UK, Gulf, China and other ASEAN countries, including Geoff Rich, Partner, FCBStudios and Annalie Riches, Founding Director, Mikhail Riches will present their insights into heritage and conservation work from different parts of the world.

This event is in collaboration with the UK’s Department for International Trade and RIBA Singapore Chapter and is an Initiative of Singapore Archifest 2020

Post event note: You can now watch this event online. 

FCBStudios Associate and researcher Dr Joe Jack Williams will be speaking on day 2 of this conference. The virtual two-day event will introduce participants to key concepts and tools for assessing the impact of design and material choices, showcase best practice and pioneering approaches, and support practices seeking to position themselves at the forefront of the green recovery.

Day 1 Sessions include:

• The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge
• Designing for minimal energy consumption
• Retrofitting Suburbia
• Cradle to Cradle design principles
• Circular Economy thinking at the Brussels World Trade Centre

Day 2 Sessions include:

• How to talk to your client
• Marketing your sustainability credentials 
• Optimising structures in the design process
• Interrogating the whole life carbon impact of your project
• Transforming your practice

COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of our social and economic fabric whilst at the same time emphasised what we value most – our social infrastructure (from the NHS to our schools), the climate emergency and social equality. Organisations and businesses have been swift in getting the wheels turning to address the latter two; in a race to secure their future and sustainable growth. But are our schools equipped to do the same? 

Dr Joe Jack Williams, Associate, FCBStudios joins Michal Cohen, Director, Walters & Cohen, Harry Daniels, Professor of Education in the Department of Education, University of Oxford, Hau Ming Tse, Research Fellow in the Department of Education, University of Oxford and Marta Galiñanes-Garcia Design Director, AKT II, and the discussion will be moderated by Sarah Williams,  S Williams Architects and RIBA Climate Advisor.

This event is part of the London Festival of Architecture, organised by AKTII.

Post event note:  You can now rewatch the event here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how we imagine, design and plan our cities, every sector across the industry must respond and adapt. From public realm to transport, from schools to office space, places and spaces must evolve at pace to accommodate new behaviours and support a healthy population.

As we start to comprehend the long-term implications, FCBStudios Associate Dr Joe Jack Williams joins leading industry experts across different sectors to reflect on how the industry is changing and what creative strides are being taken towards a post-pandemic London. How do we ensure we are rebuilding a London that can withstand any future crises and that we have a profession equipped to embrace a whole new approach? Joe will look at the future of education as we move through recovery from COVID-19.

A write up of the event is available here.

FCBStudios HR Associate Jayne Rolls joins the Panel for this interactive online event to provide a forum to discuss issues and problems that practices are facing as they navigate their way through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At this week's practice clinic, we discuss how practices can manage their staff resources during challenging times.

Aimed at practice owners, sole practitioners and architects working in small practices, this session welcomes any questions you may have.

Panellists:

Ruspesh Vara - RIBA Job Board
Yvonne Mathurin - Head of HR, Aukett Swanke
Sean Peacock - Head of HR, Stride Treglown
Jayne Rolls - HR Associate, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Peter Clegg will chair a lecture by Danish practice 3XN where they will present some of the practice’s most innovative and human-focus architecture. The event is part of the RIBA + VitrA Talks Series and the London Design Festival 2020.

Founded in Denmark in 1986, 3XN are known for projects grounded in the application of ongoing research into how human behaviour both reflects and influences buildings and the wider environment. In 2007 3XN founded a sister company GXN dedicated to innovative research into circular design, behaviour design and digital design. In this lecture, we will be joined by behavioural specialist and Head of Operations Susan Carruth and Architect and Senior Partner Audun Opdal, who will show us how GXN’s research is directly fed into the work of 3XN to create some of the most innovative buildings in the world.

GXN combines research-based knowledge from the social sciences with design and architecture skills to offer a full scope of specialist services in the field of behaviour design. By focusing on human experience and social sustainability, they create insights, formulate strategies and design solutions to increase human well-being. 

Image courtesy of IOC / 3XN / Itten Brechbühl / MØRK, Adam

Rollout and delivery, serving local needs, and the future for design, construction and adapting schools in the wake of COVID-19.

FCBStudios Partner and Schools sector leader, Helen Roberts, will be speaking at this conference, which will examine the priorities for England’s school buildings.

It comes with the announcement of ten-year school rebuilding programme worth £1bn by the Prime Minister which will target schools in greatest need of repair and include investment in schools in the North of England and the Midlands, with rebuilds being greener and using modern construction methods.

The agenda will bring out latest thinking on developments and key issues including:

• the rollout and delivery of buildings, including land acquisition, free schools, and ensuring that schools are built in the areas of greatest need
• how the new £1bn in funding for school buildings should be spent, with further information about the scheme and the projects expected in the autumn Spending Review
• improving the design and construction process for new schools - including the design of learning spaces - and ensuring that refurbished schools are sustainable and meet long term needs

The beauty of the architectural model is the highlight of Messums Architecture 2020, with a focus on examples that illustrate the narrative within the accompanying symposium. One of the highlights will be the installation of “Presences” a 6m high and 4m wide interactive architectural model from Niall McLaughlin Architects last seen at the Architectural Biennale 2018, shown alongside an extensive exhibition of models designed for artists’ studios, galleries, arts schools and libraries. FCBStudios have contributed models of Alexandra Palace and the Southbank Centre, London. Other contributors include Invisible Studio/ Piers Taylor, Jenny Jones, Matheson Whiteley, Feilden Fowles,  vPPR, Stiff + Trevillion and Niall McLaughlin.

The exhibition is set against the backdrop of the recreated Studio of Dame Elisabeth Frink set within Messums 13^th Century barn and memorial to her creative process.

This year’s symposium at Messums Wiltshire considers the radical changes going on in the spaces we inhabit. From the context of both our own private and individual environments to how we will engage with each other publicly in the future, we have all become increasingly aware of the space we are ‘living within’. Set against the backdrop of Elisabeth Frink’s studio, which was her creative space at Woolland, we join leading minds from the fields of Architecture, Interior and Garden design to consider how good design has and is adapting to the changed environment and our contemporary concerns.

Continuing our collaboration with the Commonwealth Architects Association on the Planning for Climate Change and Rapid Urbanisation CPD series, Peter Clegg with co-chair a panel discussion on Upscaling Delivery of Climate Responsive Design

This event will be jointly hosted by the Commonwealth Association of Architects and INTBAU (the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism), and will focus on local and traditional methods of designing and building from across the Commonwealth. Adapted to climate and context, these methods are naturally sustainable and low carbon, and can be easily adapted to meet 21st century needs.

With nearly 50% of the projected increase in the world’s urban population to 2050 forecast to be in the Commonwealth, there has never been a more important time for members of the Commonwealth to come together to tackle the challenges of climate change and rapid urbanisation; challenges which have now been compounded by the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The session will be co-chaired by Harriet Wennberg, INTBAU and Peter Clegg, FCBStudios. The panel will include:
Yasmeen Lari, Architect and founder of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan
Peter Rich, Architect, Light Earth Designs
Lauren Shevills, Architects Climate Action Network and Architects Declare
Inhee Chung, Global Green Growth Institute
Fatou Dieye, SKAT Consultancy

Previous lectures in the series can be watched here.This lecture is available to watch after the event here.

Heritage Led Regeneration is the second of two lectures delivered by FCBStudios for the Commonwealth Architects Association pilot programme of CPD lectures, which aim to facilitate knowledge exchange between member organisations and member firms, to help promote mutual understanding and greater awareness of issues related to climate change and rapid urbanisation together with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

FCBStudios Partner Geoff Rich describes the value of heritage led regeneration in terms of the reuse of existing buildings, and the potential to generate social and economic value. 

For further details of the programme, click here.

For the latest edition of Archimake's teatime interviews with leading architects, engineers, design professionals and professionals in the built environment, host, Anton talks to FCBStudios Associate Ron Nkomba to understand more about these roles and how they shape the city and our lives. 

Archimake award winning design education workshops build creativity and design confidence in children and enable advanced drawing, making, and design communication skills. By the end of each term children present their urban design project in 3D models and 2D orthographic drawings. having developed these skills with architects and engineering guidance. Children master creativity, logic, reasoning, physics, proportion, problem-solving, design communication, teamwork and leadership. Research shows that children who are creatively confident believe that they can make a positive difference in society and also creative workshops like Archimake, lead to an increase in health and well being.

Climate Responsive Design is one of two lectures delivered by FCBStudios for the Commonwealth Architects Association pilot programme of CPD lectures, which aim to facilitate knowledge exchange between member organisations and member firms, to help promote mutual understanding and greater awareness of issues related to climate change and rapid urbanisation together with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This lecture is to be delivered in two parts.  Part one will be delivered by FCBStudios Partner Peter Clegg, and Architectural Designer Isabel Sandeman and is focused on ‘A Manifesto for delivering Climate Responsive Design’, providing an overview of climate responsive design including a reminder of the importance of passive design principles and low carbon construction.

Part Two, entitled ‘Collaborating for Sustainable Development’, provides a case study from FCBStudios Partner Rachel Sayers and Shatotto Principal Rafiq Azzam of how the principles of Climate responsive design have been used on a project in Bangladesh to create an inspiring and comfortable educational environment for the Aga Khan Academies Unit.

Following on from our fully booked live event on 29th June, 'Material Matters', which included 5 presentations exploring the impact of embodied carbon of common building materials, we are continuing the conversation at this 'round table' debate, chaired by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios' founding partner, Peter Clegg.
 
The discussion will aim to tackle some of the most pressing arguments around sustainable material choice. How good or bad is recycling compared to reuse? How renewable are renewable materials? Can we trust the embodied carbon figures that are provided by manufacturers? And should we even be producing more materials when we look at what is available in the system right now?
 
Join our panel of experts and materials enthusiasts from Arup, Expedition, Webb Yates and FCBS

There is a growing awareness of a performance gap, between the way learning spaces are designed to work and how they actually function.

With a changing climate, the gap is in danger of increasing and so the need to close this gap is now urgent. And we need to do this whilst avoiding mechanical, carbon hungry solutions.

To understand what works, we will be sharing some real examples of key characteristics that have been identified in the best performing school environments. These suggest a number of solutions, that could be incorporated into both new build and retro-fitted to existing schools to help ensure all spaces are comfortable, to support learning and reduce their carbon footprint.

Dr Joe Jack Williams, Associate, FCBStudios will join Ann Griffin, RIBA Client Adviser, Director of Architects Collaborative and Sui-Te Wu, A strategic client adviser as part of the online Festival of Learning Spaces to discuss the issues.

Where are we now? Where are we going? How are we going to get there? In a discussion chaired by architect Piers Taylor, policy advisor Gwen Buck and Architects Declare steering group members engineer Clara Bagenal George and architect Peter Clegg join the Architecture Foundation on Day 65 of their 100 Day Project to discuss what the Architect’s Declare pledge has achieved one year on, what needs to change in terms of policy, why it is so hard to make genuinely low carbon buildings - and what zero carbon means in any case. 

Join some of the UK’s leading environmental thinkers and join in the discussion to help Architects Declare understand what else needs to be tackled, as we career ever deeper into a pre-apocalyptic climate emergency.

Ian Taylor Managing Partner of FCBStudios and James Woodall, Sustainability Manager of Allies and Morrison will lead a conversation about Communicating and delivering sustainability. The online event is part of the Curatorial Conversations programme of the Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism Architecture.

Supported by RIBA

With an intensity in a warming and wetter climate, what can be done to maintain fit for function well-being and comfort levels in schools without resorting to excessive carbon-intense cooling?

In this webinar, part of the Festival for Learning Spaces, Sarah Williams, RIBA Client Adviser, in conversation with Dr Anastasia Mylona and Dr Joe Jack Williams will explore the existing school design standards and how developing adaptation strategies will shape future thinking.

Understanding Embodied Carbon in Building Materials

This event brings together a panel of speakers to talk through the processes involved in the creation of common building materials. Each process contributes to the final product; how they are extracted, how they are formed, and how we use them. Understanding these steps will enable us to make more informed decisions and lessen our impact on the environment.

Chaired by Hattie Harman, Architects Journal Sustainability Editor

Speakers:
Nick Hodges, FCBStudios - Timber
Eva MacNamara, Expedition Engineering - Concrete
Steve Webb, Webb Yates - Stone
David Bates,  FCBStudios - Ceramics
Lex Harrison, Arup - Brick

In order to meet our climate change targets the UK’s building industry needs radical change. Over the last year, various organisations have produced guidance on this topic, this event brings together the work from UKGBC, RIBA and LETI that has been published in the last 12 months. This includes the UKGBC’s Zero carbon framework, the RIBA 2030 climate challenge and the LETI Climate Emergency Design guide. There will be quick-fire presentations on the guidance and how they relate to each other.

Architects Declare Steering Group members Clara Bagenal-George (Elementa/LETI) and Peter Clegg (FCBStudios) will be speaking at this virtual event at 3pm on 18 June

A discussion will then follow the talks focusing on Net Zero in the South West, what the barriers and challenges are, and how to overcome them. In order to facilitate this discussion, we will send round a quick 10 min survey to those that sign up, to get feedback that can kick start these discussions.

This event is brought to you by LETI, RIBA, UKGBC, CIBSE and the Energy Hub.

Agenda
Presentations 15.00-15.30

• UKGBC- Advancing Net Zero programme- Karl Desi-UKGBC
• RIBA 2030 challenge- Gary Clark-RIBA/HOK
• LETI- Climate Emergency Design Guide- Debby Ray – LETI/Woods Bagot

Q+A 15.30-16.00 (Representatives from Energy Hub and CIBSE will take part in the Q+A)

Please note there is a UK wide event happening on a similar topic on the 11th of June so if you do not work or live in the South West please click the link below to join the UK wide event.

The use and design of the educational estate needs to adapt to meet zero carbon targets by focusing on operational changes, the adaptation of existing facilities and investment in new exemplar carbon neutral facilities.

Ian Taylor Partner at FCBStudios and  Andrew Dobbs, Director- Willmott Dixon Construction will discuss how we can do this. 

The Festival of Learning is a month long series of webinars and online events connecting the education community.

In a fast-moving world, loaded with digital technology, sometimes it is good to go back to basics, slow down and engage with nature. This has become even more poignant in recent months when children and adults have had more free time to spend outdoors and reconnect with the outdoor spaces on their immediate doorstep. As schools begin to welcome learners back into the fold, the opportunity to embrace outdoor education has become more significant.

Speakers include:
Cath Lester, IBI Group
John Newman & Karen Turnbull, ADP
Andy Gibson, Mindapples
FCBStudios Partner, Ian Taylor,

Ian will present Climate Emergency Landscape: The design of our physical environment needs greater emphasis on the benefits to people through: positive biodiversity impacts, focus on local character, adaptation for climate change, and greater connectivity between interior and exterior spaces.

This webinar is part of the Festival of Learning Spaces and will look at designing learning space with nature. 

Circular Economy Eurovision will be a fun and light-hearted exploration of some of the most exciting and innovative circular economy solutions around Europe.

Viewers will be wowed by demonstrations of cutting edge, sustainable technologies and business models.

Participants include (but are not limited to):

• Blast Studio: beautifully designed products grown from waste and living organisms 
• Precious Plastic (NL): a combination of people, machines, platforms and knowledge aimed at creating an alternative global recycling system:
• Renewcell (SE): sustainable fashion brand, pioneering innovative closed-loop production facilities
• Rype Office: beautiful, sustainable and affordable remanufactured office furniture:
• the New Raw: research and design studio working towards closing material cycles and strengthening local production 

Viewers will have guidance from our expert panel,  which includes FCBStudios Associate Tim den Dekker, and, with the support of our fantastic host, will be able to vote on their favourite solution.

The winner will be crowned Europe’s leading Circular Economy solution.

Circular Economy Eurovision is part of the London Waste and Recycling Boards’ Circular Economy Week

In 2017 the UK emitted 384,706,789 tCO2e.
That is nearly 400 million kgCO2.

In 2017 the whole world emitted 36,153,000,000 tCO2e.
That is over 36 billion kgCO2.

But we can make different choices.
It starts with the materials we use and how we use them.

Carbon Counts is an online, interactive exhibition, which draws together key metrics for some of the most common materials used in architecture today.

Carbon Counts seeks to start a conversation. It is a springboard to encourage wider debate, so that as an industry we can work together to continue to research, test, analyse and develop. Visit the exhibition here as part of  LFA Digital. 

The London Festival of Architecture is the world’s largest annual architecture festival taking place right across London every June. Exceptionally, for this year, the festival in June will be a new digital festival with the wider core public programme taking place later in the year.

As we slowly begin the process to ease out of lockdown, businesses, organisations, public bodies and government are all having to re-evaluate how they operate in the future. The "New Norm" has elevated itself into our vocabulary and thinking but what does this mean for the way we deal with sustainability and climate change.

Join Dr Joe Jack Williams, FCBStudios, Claire Thomas, Integral Engineering and Simon Ebbatson, Elementa to discuss whether out of the COVID 19 crisis an opportunity has presented itself to energise the debate on sustainability or if, by having to kick start the economy to avoid a deep depression, climate change and measures to tackle emissions will be put to one side

The Alliance of Construction Networks provides sector specific networking and knowledge sharing through regular monthly breakfast events held at the RICS in London.

Making Models is a short film made by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios with Kate Goodwin, Head of Architecture and Drue Heinz Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts which explores in more detail how and why we use architectural models and the skill and craftmanship that goes into their creation. 

Whether used to generate or test ideas or as a tool to communicate with clients and the wider public, architects have been using models for centuries. An integral part of the design process, cutting, pinning, shifting, adding or subtracting small pieces of card or blocks of foam creates room for inspiration and drives the design process, whereas an intricately created showpiece, be it a miniature replica of the final scheme, or an abstract object which celebrates a core element of the design thinking, are sculpted and formed to stand the test of time, a piece of art in their own right.

Kate will be in conversation, online, with FCBStudios partner Hugo Marrack and modelmaker, Cassidy Wingrove, as part of the Architecture Foundation 100 Day Studio. For more details and to join the event click here.

Over the last 2 years, Laura Mark and Jim Stephenson have been working together on 'Practice', a new series of documentaries about architecture. Having finished the first episode, on Piers Taylor of Invisible Studio, they would now like to raise money for future episodes.

Jim Stephenson said "It’s an exercise in slow film making. We envisage a series of films that focus more on the process of design, rather than the end product. We want to use a slower pace, spending more time with the architect, getting to know how they work. We want to create a documentary series that is considered and reflective, avoiding frantic camera angles, fast cuts and soundbites."

FCBStudios is hosting a premiere screening of Episode 1, followed by a Q&A session with Laura, Piers and Jim Stephenson. If you'd like to come along, or if you'd like to support this series of films, you can visit their Kickstarter Page and either purchase a ticket, or choose from a variety of other rewards, from a set of exclusive postcards to branded episode sponsorship. 

FCBStudios have teamed up with Young at Art to deliver a Cardboard Cities workshop as part of Your PLACE. Your PLACE is the big family day out in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter taking place during Belfast Children’s Festival.

Exploring the theme of PLACE, children and their families will be invited to create cardboard buildings to be part of a cardboard city to be exhibited for the duration of the Children’s Festival in the FCBStudios Belfast exhibition space.

Can we save architectural practice from obsolescence?

Underpinned as it is by the principles of growth and progress, architecture risks becoming ever more obsolete. The built environment is a significant cause of the climate and ecological crises, implicated in the economic systems that produced them. But could it be the solution? From the promises of technofixes to that debatable word 'sustainability' the next series of Fundamentals, hosted by writer and broadcaster Tom Dyckhoff, discusses the most urgent issue facing the planet today.

Speakers:
Professor Peg Rawes, The Bartlett School of Architecture
Peter Clegg, FCBStudios 
Professor Elizabeth Shove, Lancaster University 
Zoë Svendsen, METIS 
Andrew Simms, New Weather Institute

PechaKucha London, in collaboration with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, will take place 20 February 2020 as part of International PechaKucha Day!

Join PechaKucha London and FCBStudios at their Fitzrovia office to explore Material Matters and visit ‘Carbon Counts’, a timely exhibition which explores how material choice in building design relates to carbon emissions.

Speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds, from architecture to product design, lighting to bio-fabrication, will delve into their work with ‘materials’, and look at their relationship to the environment, sustainability and climate change all whilst following the PechaKucha rules of 20 images for 20 seconds each.

Speakers will include

Matthew Barnett Howland, Director of Research and Development, CSK ARCHITECTS
Oliver Wilton, Director of Technology and Lecturer in Environmental Design, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
Ruth Kelly Waskett, Associate, Hoare Lea
Juan Ferrari, Associate Director, Hoare Lea
Thomas Leech, Director, Department 22
Marcus Rothnie, Architect, FCBStudios
Tom Duggan, Creative Director,Thomas Duggan Studio

It's set to be a poignant, fast-paced night of conversation!

LETI's Climate Emergency Design Guide outlines the requirements of new buildings to ensure our climate change targets are met - setting out a definitive journey, beyond climate emergency declarations, into a net zero carbon future. It is specifically aimed towards developers/landowners, designers, policymakers, and the supply chain. It aims to help to define ‘good’ and to set clear and achievable targets.

The Guide covers 5 key areas: operational energy, embodied carbon, the future of heat, demand response and data disclosure. Our methodology includes setting the requirements of four key building archetypes (small scale residential, medium/large scale residential, commercial offices, and schools). The guide was developed by over 100 LETI volunteers over a period of 12 months, including Dr Joe Jack Williams, Researcher at FCBStudios.

This guidance demonstrates that the building industry knows how we should be designing buildings. In 2020 buildings that adopt these requirements now will be seen as leaders. By 2025 these requirements must become standard design practice otherwise the building industry will not meet our collective responsibility in this climate crisis.

LETI believe that in order to meet our climate change targets, in 2020 10% of all new projects developers and designers are involved in, should be designed to meet the requirements set out in this guide. Design teams will have the opportunity to register their projects as LETI Pioneer projects, to share knowledge and overcome barriers with other design teams working towards the same goal.

Peter Clegg, Partner, FCBStudios said: 'Following the recent declarations of climate and biodiversity crises, a new sense of urgency that has emerged within the environmental movement in architecture. It is characterised by an awareness of embodied as well as operational energy. It is focused on cradle-to-cradle lifecycle assessment of our buildings, and it is driven by the passion and enthusiasm of a new generation of architects and engineers who are determined to make change happen. The London Energy Transformation Initiative sits at the heart of this movement and their guide provides an inspirational ‘call to action’ for everyone in the built environment.'

Download the guide here.

What is the point of Architectural Awards? Is it to win more work? Boost the ego of architects? Share beautiful projects with the general public?

The proliferation of Awards means that they have become something of an industry within an industry and we are all guilty of seeking validation by submitting projects to be judged, despite knowing that more often than not we will miss out. Why do practices put themselves through this lottery? Meeting the award criteria and putting projects forward for consideration is often costly and the benefits can often be hard to see.

We’re told that a win will propel a studio into the limelight, however since it's doubtful if many people outside the profession will ever know about it, there remain questions about the advantages or purpose of this 'newfound fame'. Do awards truly reflect actual quality in architecture, or in being seduced by appearances do they reward and therefore mask bad architecture?

Meanwhile, the same cabal of practices seem to be hoovering up the majority of the prizes and they’re often to be found on judging panels themselves. Are architectural awards rigged or politicised to reflect sentiment, the times, or worse; a self-referentialism that is seen to respond to the kind of project/practice that won previously.

Should we be judging buildings like you do films, music or books anyway? It’s not as if anyone in their right mind is going to commission another version of a design that's already won an award. Awards, what are they good for?…...Absolutely nuthin!

Peter Smisek, ICON (Chair)
Rab Bennetts, Bennetts Associates
Veronica Simpson, journalist
Fliss Childs, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Nick Searl, Argent

The Negroni Talks – hosted by architects Fourthspace and sponsored by Campari – were set up to capture the lively and provocative debates that took place in the European café culture of the early twentieth century. For this talk, we are grateful for the support from BuildUp, a network of marketing and communications professionals working in the Property and Construction sector - https://buildupnetwork.net

FCBStudios Partner, Geoff Rich, will be participating in the UN Habitat World Urban Forum (WUF10) in Abu Dhabi.

He will be speaking as part of the event on ‘Heritage & Culture-led development and Sustainable Architecture’ organised by UIA and AUA, and supporting the practice’s ongoing initiatives with the Climate Heritage Network and the Commonwealth Architects Association.

The Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) will hosted by Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirate from 8 – 13 February 2020 with the theme Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation.

If you would like to meet with Geoff at WUF, please contact jenny.stephens@fcbstudios.com

The Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) will hosted by Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirate from 8 – 13 February 2020 with the theme Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation.

Please join us for an evening to mark the launch of the second edition of The Architecture of Natural Cooling, by Brian Ford, Rosa Schiano-Phan and Juan Antonio Vallejo.  

Mario Cucinella, Architect, Hon FAIA, Int Fellow RIBA (Founder MCA Bologna and New York) will provide a short introductory talk. 

Overheating in buildings is commonplace, even in temperate regions like northern Europe. However, increasing our dependency on air-conditioning in response to increasingly hot summers, dumps more heat into our cities at the hottest time, further raising urban air temperatures and demand for more cooling. There are better ways to keep cool while reducing carbon emissions and running costs.

This book describes how this can be achieved. It provides a ‘how-to’ guide for architects and engineers on the application of natural cooling in new and existing buildings.   It assists policymakers seeking to expedite and incentivise a switch away from conventional air-conditioning, and it provides guidance on theoretical principles and practical applications, and on performance evaluation, before describing a series of case studies of buildings in Europe, China, India and the USA. Working with our environment rather than against it, fostering greater understanding of the climate where we live, and re-learning some of the simple lessons from the past may help us to live more sustainably in our rapidly warming world.

The second edition of The Environmental Imagination by Dean Hawkes is a major revision of the book first published in 2008.  In a sequence of essays, it explores the relationship between technics and poetics in environmental design in architecture. 

The essays are based on detailed studies of buildings by major architects from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from Sir John Soane to Peter Zumthor, as they seek to create rich and diverse environments. New buildings have been added to the study and a number of major buildings have been revisited.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Rayner Banham’s, The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment, the book concludes with a critical tribute to that seminal text.

Books will be available for purchase at the launch.

This event is part of the Carbon Counts events programme. Carbon Counts is an exhibition about material matters and runs until March in the FCBStudios London Gallery.

The winning and commended entries of the third Architecture Drawing Prize, held in partnership with Make Architects and the World Architecture Festival, are exhibited at Sir John Soane’s Museum.

FCBStudios’ architectural assistant Michael Paul Lewis has received a commendation for his artwork entitled ‘Drawing Architecture’ in The Drawing Prize at the World Architecture Festival.

Shortlisted in the ‘hand-drawn category, Drawing Architecture is a celebration of the design process; documenting over one thousand individually hand-drawn ink diagrams, sketches and annotations. The piece spans ten years of architectural thinking and includes work from his time at Bath University, competitions and live projects at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.

Click here to view Drawing Architecture.

Launched in 2017, the prize is conceived to celebrate and showcase the significance of drawing as a tool in capturing and communicating architectural ideas. It embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally-produced renderings, while recognising the enduring importance of hand drawing.

An exhibition of paintings by Pauline Little which is both a documentation of and meditation on the dormant winter garden. This is explored through a series of abstract cross-sections of the soil revealing the unexpectedly active life found during this fallow time of year.  The result is a series of paintings which waver between portraiture and pure abstraction. The vulnerability and resilience of our ecology parallels our own human weaknesses and perseverance. 

Pauline Little studied at The Cooper Union in NYC and Middlesex University in London and now lives and paints in Bangor, Northern Ireland.  An active artist for 25 years, she taught at Surrey Institute of Art and Design and her paintings are held in public collections at Sheffield University, The Cooper Union and other art collecting organisations.

Carbon Counts is an exhibition about material matters which is running in our London gallery space until March 2020 and will form a backdrop to a series of curated events.

FCBStudios’ response to the Architects Declare manifesto advocates an accelerated shift to low embodied carbon. In order to achieve this, we have committed to interrogate the material choices in all our work.

By understanding the embodied and emitted carbon in the construction and life cycle of our designs, we will be able to make better informed choices to improve the impact of our work on the environment.

Carbon Counts draws together key metrics for some of the most common materials used in architecture today. Read more about these here.

The embodied carbon of a building is made up of the impacts from the extraction, processing, manufacture and packaging of the materials we use; the carbon emissions resulting from their transport and construction on site, maintenance over their life span and what happens after the building is demolished.

Each totem in this exhibition has the same volume as 1kg of CO₂ - the equivalent volume of CO₂ emitted by the manufacture of the piece of material held in each totem.

Carbon Counts seeks to start a conversation. It is a springboard to encourage wider debate and discussion so that as an industry we can work together to continue to research, test, analyse and develop.

We must arm ourselves with this knowledge because we have to act.

We will have to make difficult decisions: balancing longevity vs. embodied carbon/style vs. substance/perceptions vs. experience/tried and tested vs. new technologies.

In doing so, we can continue to create spaces which are engaging, are sensitive to their external environments and which touch the planet lightly.

What is the role of a university in the 21st century?

Universities are some of the largest landowners in the country, and the University of Bristol owns many of the city’s most iconic heritage buildings, from the Wills Memorial Building to the Royal Fort and the Victoria Rooms.

As our Universities seek to engage a larger constituency of people and embrace talent from across society, what does that mean for their future estates? How does the design of our future university buildings change this important relationship between the institution and the city?

The University of Bristol is embarking on a ‘bold reimagining’, an ambitious investment in the city centre. As one of Europe’s largest regeneration programmes, a new campus will be built in the heart of the city centre, a stone’s throw from the busy platforms of Temple Meads. The Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus will signal the gateway to the city and aims to transform a neglected area into a vibrant new quarter of the city.

 The design decisions taking place now will affect the future of the city and the academic life incubated at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.

Whether you are a citizen, an urban designer, a heritage enthusiast, university staff or student – join us for a preview of this new landmark for learning.

Join Barra Mac Ruairí, University of Bristol, Mike Keys, FCBStudios, Lise Benningen, Grant Associates and Claire Smith, Buro Happold, to explore the challenges of the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter Campus.

To celebrate the final event of a sold-out year of talks at The Architecture Centre, please join us in the Arnolfini Bar after the talk for a Christmas drink. This is an excellent opportunity to network and meet the speakers and our team after the event.

During CIBSE Build2Perform Live 2019,Joe Jack Williams, Researcher, FCBStudios and Tim Taylor, Senior Consultant, Faithful+Gould will present a seminar on Resilience of Schools to Climate Change.

This seminar will explore how to: understand the impacts of climate change in various types of schools; find out the most efficient and cost-effective mitigation options; and find out how this above will impact the design of schools in the future.

The resilence of schools to climate change project looked at how climate change will impact schools through the use of modelling and monitoring and was supported by the CIBSE Schools Design Special Interest Group and the Department for Education. 

According to a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018, there are only 12 years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Beyond this increase, the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and mass poverty will be significantly worsened. The potential adverse effects on the planet cannot be overstated. In order to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5°C, carbon pollution will need to be cut by 45% by 2030 and further reduce to 0% by 2050.

The built environment sector accounts for around 40% of all UK CO2 emissions. Design, construction, occupation, maintenance and demolition of the world’s built environment consumes 50% of the raw materials used annually. Of the 200 million tonnes of waste generated in Britain every year, approximately 60% is construction debris.

It’s clear that the climate emergency is the biggest challenge facing our planet and our profession. Wholesale and systemic changes are required to ensure the industry does everything within its power to reduce its carbon emissions drastically over the next two decades. This will require the assistance of policymakers, industry leaders, clients and the support of the general public. As the statistics above illustrate, if the built environment can achieve net-zero carbon by 2050, the industry would go a long way to help avert global climate catastrophe.

This year’s RSAW Annual Conference will seek to contextualise the serious risks posed by climate change, hear from industry experts to understand what has been done already to effect change and determine what is required in the immediate future.

We will consider the opportunities that climate change will present to architects to lead the industry through positive influence, knowledge and technological innovation. Best practice exemplars will illustrate what can be achieved with the understanding and consent of willing clients. We will also explore the enormous worth in retrofitting existing buildings. Peter Clegg, FCBStudios will round off the day in the long-established ‘Inspiration Hour’ to ensure delegates leave feeling stimulated and uplifted following an intensive day!

Challenging preconceptions about Passivhaus.

Join Max Fordham's Sophia Barker and guest speaker Nick Hodges from Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios for a lively discussion on the opportunities and challenges of Passivhaus in practice. 

Destination CQ (www.destinationcq.com) Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District has teamed up with Belfast Design Week 2018 to run an urban design challenge for local students and recent graduates with a prize fund of £500 and the chance to see your winning design realised.

Destination CQ has a particular interest in the public realm and the spaces between the buildings within Cathedral Quarter; to make it an inviting, welcoming and attractive space through design such as way-finding, pavements, streetscapes, lighting, data mining and the internet of things.

The solutions for the design challenge could be short, medium or long term interventions; working with buildings, businesses or public spaces. It was a chance to come up with an innovative design that helps the area become an inviting, welcoming and attractive space. The Destination CQ area includes Smithfield and Union, Cathedral Quarter and Laganside and shares a boundary with its Belfast One BID neighbours along Gresham Street, North Street, Bridge Street and High Street. 

The results of the Urban Design Challenge are showcased at FCBStudios Belfast Studio, with a launch event on Wednesday 6 November 18.00-19.30.

The Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) will host ARCASIA FORUM 20, celebrating 50 years of Arcasia, with the theme Architecture in a Changing Landscape.

Never before in the history of humanity has one witnessed such unprecedented speed and nature of change in every facet of human life as happening today. From the technological to the political, from climate to migration, and from cities to regions, unprecedented change and transformation, and at a remarkable rate, mark our epoch. Architects are negotiating everyday with increasingly volatile contexts of shifting economic, physical, technological and geo-political landscapes. In order to address many facets of these undeniable phenomena, the theme, Architecture in a Changing Landscape, is expected to evoke thoughts, innovations and ideas appropriate for the present and future state of architecture.

Peter Clegg will be delivering a keynote speech, alongside eminent international figures including Shigeru Ban, Woha Architectus, Sidhartha Talwar and Hanif Kara.

ARCASIA FORUM is the biannual conference of The Architects’ Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA), a Council of the presidents of the National Institutes of Architects of twenty-one Asian countries that are members of ARCASIA. The conference is a platform for the on-going discussion of current architectural ideas pertinent to the region. This is a gathering of prominent architects and thinkers intended to serve as an Asian 'catapult of minds' on matters concerning architectural and environment in the Asian context.