Grace

If you’ve been reading the news recently, you’ve probably heard the term ‘defensive architecture’ – but what exactly is this and what does it mean for our towns and cities in the future?

Manchester architects (Cheshire) will tell you that defensive architecture is the modification of public spaces and buildings to discourage people from loitering. No doubt you’ve heard of the homeless spikes that have been cropping up in various places around the UK over the last couple of weeks – last month, for example, department store Selfridges installed some of these outside its flagship branch in Manchester, a move that attracted criticism from charities such as Crisis.

London could benefit from more than one million new homes over the next ten years if it underwent a programme of densification.

If this was rolled out in other areas across the country, it could be particularly good news for architects in Manchester and other major UK cities.

This is according to London First and estate agent Savills’s report named Redefining Diversity, showing house building could be expanded to take advantage of several areas of the capital with low housing density.

Susan Emmett, Savills’ director of residential research, said: “The opportunities to ensure that London is getting the most out of the development process are considerable, especially in the outer boroughs.”

Architect Richard Rogers is renewing attempts to have Robin Hood Gardens – a residential estate in east London designed in the 60s by Alison and Peter Smithson – listed, writing to some 300 leading professionals in the construction industry to ask them to lend their support to the campaign.

According to Architects Journal, the listing recommendations for the site could be put before Tracey Crouch, new heritage minister, by today (June 19th), although it’s possible that the campaigners may have time to drum up even more support as Historic England is still to submit its report.

Westminster Abbey. This stunning building has been around since the 960s and has been thoroughly spoiled by various monarchs over the years. It’s set the standard for architecture in the country for centuries and is an absolute must-see for any architecture student who feels the need for a bit of inspiration in their own work.

Architects in Southport will no doubt be interested to read some of the ideas that their peers have come up with to help address the housing crisis in London, with the aim in mind being to find innovative ways of increase the housing density without affecting quality of life.

Think-tank New London Architecture (NLA) collected 100 ideas from architects around the UK, as part of the group’s plans to find a way to construct 440,000 new properties in the capital. In all, ten of the ideas will be shown to mayor of London Boris Johnson and later considered by town planners working on changing London in the future.

Architects in Bury and elsewhere in the UK may be interested to go on a new tour of the UK being launched by the National Trust to celebrate Brutalist buildings in the country.

Dubbed Brutal Utopias, the project will feature behind-the-scenes tours of numerous buildings in cities across the UK, including the University of East England, Park Hill flats in Sheffield and London’s Southbank Centre.

In addition, guided tours will also be put on around London on board the organisation’s 1962 Routemaster Coach with cultural and architectural experts charting the visions and outcomes of this particular building style.

This year’s Carbuncle Cup Award goes to the Walkie Talkie, a skyscraper in the City of London that has had rather a chequered history since it was completed in April last year.

The 37-storey office block came under fire in 2013 for melting rather expensive cars on the streets below by reflecting light during the summer.

According to the BBC, Jaguar driver Martin Lindsay returned to his car after a two-hour absence to find that the badge and wing mirror had melted.

Members of the public are now being asked by the Bank of England to nominate their favourite architects, designers, painters, photographers and filmmakers, one of whom will be chosen to replace economist Adam Smith.

“There are a wealth of individuals within the field of visual arts whose work shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society and who continue to inspire people today. I greatly look forward to hearing from the public who they would like to celebrate,” Mark Carney, governor of the Bank, said at the launch of the nominations period at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London this week (May 19th).

A new campaign has been launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to draw attention to issues in the built environment, including developing flood-proof communities, building good quality homes, providing energy-efficient buildings and addressing the state of school buildings in the country – a scheme that any Manchester architect may like to get behind.

Dubbed #BuildaBetterBritain, the initiative is calling for the government to ensure that homes are built that people actually want to live in. In all, 300,000 properties must be built each year, with 1.5 million new homes required during the next parliamentary term.

As award-winning architects in Manchester, AWA understands the importance of sustainability in modern design. And it appears we’re not alone, with the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recently calling on the government to put environmental issues first when constructing new-builds.

The CCC made a number of recommendations in a new progress report that highlighted the dangers of ignoring energy efficiency measures. One of the key suggestions was the development of new infrastructure that helps tackle encroaching climate change.