Grace

A new exhibition that Warrington architects and others around the UK might like to visit is Designs of the Year 2015, on at the London Design Museum between March 25th and August 23rd.

Now in its eighth year, the awards are intended to celebrate design that perfectly encapsulates the year in question’s spirit, extends design practice, enables access or delivers change, with 76 nominees over six categories – architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

The new report suggesting how the face of British architecture will change over the coming years, with high rise farms and floating cities predicted to take centre stage in the future.

New research from a think tank made up of Linda Aitken, Toby Burgess, Arthur Mamou-Mani and Dr Rhys Morgan of the Royal Academy of Engineering suggests that underground basements will become a reality as people seek to create additional space, the Independent reports.

Derek Walker, the chief architect and town planner for Milton Keynes, has died at the age of 85.

Born in Blackburn in Lancashire, Mr Walker grew up in Leeds, studying architecture at Leeds Arts School before distinguishing himself as head of architecture at the Royal College of Art in the 80s.

Here’s a news story that award-winning architects in Manchester will no doubt find interesting – Polish architect Krzysztof Kotala has come up with the idea of constructing an underwater tennis court with a curved roof so players and spectators will be able to see fish swimming all around them during a match.

Keen to build it in Dubai, which is famed for pushing the boundaries of architecture, 30-year-old Mr Kotala said his design will be something totally original and should be built somewhere where a tradition of tennis-playing already exists – hence Dubai.

German architect Frei Otto – best known for his work on site at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Games – has been posthumously awarded the 2015 Pritzker Prize.

The 40th laureate of the prize and the second from Germany, Otto learned that he would be receiving the prize in January but he sadly died before it could be presented to him.

He is renowned for his work on the roofing of the Munich Olympic Park main sports facilities, as well as the German pavilion at the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, a series of tent structures in the 50s for the German Federal Exhibitions and the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover.