‘Hideous’ Liverpool Lime Street development awarded 2024 Carbuncle Cup

‘Hideous’ Liverpool Lime Street development awarded 2024 Carbuncle Cup

by • Architecture, News

A development on Liverpool's Lime Street has been crowned the UK's ugliest new building in the 2024 Carbuncle Cup, a competition organised by magazine The FenceA development on Liverpool’s Lime Street has been crowned the UK’s ugliest new building in the 2024 Carbuncle Cup, a competition organised by magazine The Fence. Designed by British studio Broadway Malyan and completed in 2019, the project replaced historic buildings with a hotel and student accommodation. The award citation called it the “very worst new building in Britain” since the competition last run in 2018. One particularly aspect that wound up the judges is the façade, featuring metal panels etched with images of the buildings in Liverpool that were demolished for the redevelopment.

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Electric arc furnaces could turn old concrete into zero-carbon cement

Electric arc furnaces could turn old concrete into zero-carbon cement

by • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

commercial propertyConcrete and steel production are major contributors to global CO2 emissions, but a new technology from Cambridge University offers a promising solution: recycling both materials simultaneously. This innovative process involves using old concrete in steel-processing furnaces to not only purify iron but also generate “reactivated cement” as a by-product. When powered by renewable energy sources, this method has the potential to produce entirely carbon-neutral cement, according to the research published in the journal Nature.

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Open competition launched to find design team for new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki

Open competition launched to find design team for new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki

by • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, Real Estate Company ADM, the City of Helsinki and SAFA the Finnish Association of Architects have launched an international, open design competition to find a design team for a new 10,050 sq m (GFA) museum building in Helsinki’s South Harbour. The new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki, Finland, is planned to open in 2030 and will combine the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki. These institutions were successfully merged in January 2024, and the new museum will retain and grow the staff of both its predecessors. More →

Reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel could be game changer for built environment

Reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel could be game changer for built environment

by • Architecture, Environment, News

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have now developed a method that makes it easier to scale up and facilitate the construction of more environmentally friendly built environmentBy reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel, it is possible to use less material and create slender, lightweight structures with a significantly lower environmental impact. The technology to utilise carbon fibre textiles already exists, but it has been challenging to produce a basis for reliable calculations for complex and vaulted structures. Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have now developed a method that makes it easier to scale up and facilitate the construction of more environmentally friendly bridges, tunnels and buildings. They say the technology has the potential to transform the built environment. More →

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

by • Architecture, Environment, News

The most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activismThe Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new horizon-scanning programme with a set of scans that identify the most pertinent environmental issues facing the built environment over the next ten years. Developed by leading academics, The Environmental Challenge themed horizon scans provide foresight into the most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activism. More →

Two in five architects say they are already using AI on projects

Two in five architects say they are already using AI on projects

by • AI, Architecture, News, Technology

New research by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) suggests that 41 percent of UK architects are already using artificial intelligence (AI) on at least the occasional projectNew research by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) suggests that 41 percent of UK architects are already using artificial intelligence (AI) on at least the occasional project, and of those, 43 percent think it has made the design process more efficient. The RIBA AI report includes the findings of a survey asking architects how they are using and plan to use AI. In the next 2 years, 54 percent of architects expect their practice to use AI, and 57 percent think it will improve efficiency in the design process. However, this ambition this doesn’t yet seem to be matched by investment, as 69 percent say their practice has not invested in AI research and development, and only 41 percent expect their practice to invest. More →

“Security-by-design” aims fall short, and building costs spiral as a result

“Security-by-design” aims fall short, and building costs spiral as a result

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

A report claims that despite an increased commitment to “security-by-design” principles, the industry is still spending significant time and money post-build to fix issuesA new report from Brivo claims that, while security is a new priority in building design, a mismatch between ambition and reality can lead to spiralling costs. The results of its research into integrated physical security in building design by Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) practitioners have been published in a report called The State of ‘Security-by-Design’: Is Security an Afterthought in Building Design?[registration]. The report claims that despite an increased commitment to “security-by-design” principles, the industry is still spending significant time and money post-build to fix security issues, risking dire retroactive effects. More →

Helsinki announces plans for new Museum of Architecture and Design

Helsinki announces plans for new Museum of Architecture and Design

by • Architecture, News, Workplace design

Helsinki City Council has agreed to part fund a new national museum of architecture and design. Design competition also announcedHelsinki City Council has voted to provide a donation of 60 million euros to the foundation responsible for establishing the new national museum of architecture and design. The Finnish state will match this funding, with an additional 30 million euros to be raised from private donations. With these commitments in place, an international design competition for the new museum building will be launched in April. The new museum will sit at the heart of a new pedestrian-friendly district in Helsinki’s South Harbour. More →

Revised plans submitted for joint tallest building in Western Europe

Revised plans submitted for joint tallest building in Western Europe

by • Architecture, News, Property

Eric Parry Architects have put forward revised plans for the One Undershaft tower in central London. A planning application for the project was first submitted to the City of London authority in 2016. The revised plans would make it the joint tallest building in the UK. More →

New RIBA guidance sets out to demystify smart building technology 

New RIBA guidance sets out to demystify smart building technology 

by • Architecture, News, Technology

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published its Smart Building Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published its Smart Building Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work. Developed with ScanTech Digital, Glider Technology, Kier and Hoare Lea, RIBA says this free resource will support anyone involved in the design of newbuild, retrofit or refurbishment projects to implement smart building technology. The Smart Building Overlay introduces smart building terminology and outlines the benefits of embedding smart building technology from the outset. Its principles can be applied to projects of all scales and scopes. More →

RIBA issues new guidance on including more people in decision making on buildings and places

RIBA issues new guidance on including more people in decision making on buildings and places

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News

One of the regular, longstanding gripes of our publisher Mark Eltringham (there are many) is that architects don’t particularly like non-architect folk having any sort of opinion on what they do. You can read him banging on here (ten years ago!) and elsewhere about the problems architects have with muggles. Now the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has pulled a rabbit from the hat by publishing new guidance to ensure that stakeholder engagement is considered, when appropriate, at every stage of planning, designing and constructing buildings and places. It remains to be seen what the rank and file make of this and what it means by ‘when appropriate’. More →

ARCHITECT@WORK set to welcome architects and designers to its March show

ARCHITECT@WORK set to welcome architects and designers to its March show

by • Architecture, Company news, Events, Workplace design

On 20th and 21st March ARCHITECT@WORK London will open its doors at the Truman Brewery and the team are ready to welcome the architecture and design community from London and everywhere else on both daysOn 20th and 21st March ARCHITECT@WORK London will open its doors at the Truman Brewery and the team are ready to welcome the architecture and design community from London and everywhere else on both days. Discover over 200 carefully selected product innovations brought to you by a selection of high-end brands. Register online and get your visitor badge. Admission is free for all trade visitors. More →

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