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Articles by Sarah Simpkin
The Whiteley: Fosters transforms a piece of Bayswater history
To address the blank facade while retaining retail, the solution was to turn the building inside-out, placing a new public courtyard at its heart When William Whiteley set up shop in Westbourne Grove in the late 19th century, the street was nicknamed Bankruptcy Avenue for its rate of failed businesses. Today, beneath the polished facade of this former Queensway department store, runs a new parade of shops, a coffee house, gym and cinema, along with eight floors of residences and a hotel.
Review - Roaming Britain: Gypsy and Traveller Homes at RIBA North
“If we destroy this people, we’re destroying a little part of ourselves. The part we kill is not just show and empty flamboyance, but independence and the spirit of freedom.” This was the BBC voiceover to a 1969 documentary, which narrates a short film by Romany artist, Liza Mortimer called Take Us As We Are. Her work is part of RIBA North’s new exhibition, Roaming Britain: Gypsy and Traveller Homes.
Review: The Weight of Being at Two Temple Place
The Weight of Being: Vulnerability, Resilience and Mental Health in Art runs until 19 April and brings together a diverse selection of works by contemporary and 20th-century British artists to explore some of the ways in which mental health shapes artistic expression, Sarah Simpkin reports Source: Weldon Flooring Two Temple Place on the Embankment in central London was built for William Waldorf Astor in the 1890s Two Temple Place is the lignophile’s dream.
Dulwich College by alma-nac: a new lower school library and the refurbishment of its emblematic Charles Barry block
Designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards, the Raymond Chandler Library is analysing 12 months of in-use energy data to close a small operational performance gap, while also delivering restoration works to the school’s central Charles Barry building Source: ©JackHobhouse Dulwich College was founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn.
Dulwich College by alma-nac: a new lower school library and the refurbishment of its emblematic Charles Barry block
Designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards, the Raymond Chandler Library is analysing 12 months of in-use energy data to close a small operational performance gap, while also delivering restoration works to the school’s central Charles Barry building The cultural significance of a new building at an eminent independent school is not what it was 150 years ago.
Surface Reflections: a quieter, more thoughtful London Design Biennale
As the 5th London Design Biennale opens at Somerset House, Sarah Simpkin explores a quieter, more contemplative edition shaped by artistic director, Samuel Ross’s theme, Surface Reflections.
At Venice 2025: the architecture Biennale trades star power for shared ground
Sarah Simpkin reports from Venice, where Carlo Ratti’s Biennale weaves together hands-on collaboration, ecological reflection and cross-disciplinary experimentation Intelligens life in Venice There’s an indecipherable network diagram across a long wall in the Giardini that tries to explain the organisation of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. It charts the connections between the thousands of people involved.
Speedos, lidos and lost pools: a stylish look at swimming’s social past
The Design Museum’s latest exhibition explores a century of swimwear, culture and design, revealing how our relationship with water has shaped everything from fashion to public space, writes Sarah Simpkin The Design Museum’s new show, Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style, curated by fashion historian Amber Butchart, gives a lot of space to the tiniest of outfits.
Film review: The Brutalist - It isn’t really about brutalism…
Architecture is the device to explore wider themes in Brady Corbet’s ambitious three-and-a-half-hour-plus epic that looks set to sweep The Oscars, writes Sarah Simpkin Source: Universal Pictures Please note: This review includes plot details I didn’t go to see The Brutalist at the Barbican, but at the Curzon Mayfair. Its coffered ceilings and bas-relief walls aren’t brutalist, no.
Film review: The Brutalist - It isn’t really about brutalism…
Architecture is the device to explore wider themes in Brady Corbet’s ambitious three-and-a-half-hour-plus epic that looks set to sweep The Oscars, writes Sarah Simpkin I didn’t go to see The Brutalist at the Barbican, but at the Curzon Mayfair. Its coffered ceilings and bas-relief walls aren’t Brutalist, no. But given the cinema’s battles against development, it felt right for a film based around preserving the integrity of an architectural vision against commercial forces.
Londoners Making London: ‘There is a gap in physical space that creative, determined people fill’
From gardens to garment academies, Londoners Making London highlights grassroots projects reshaping the city, writes Sarah Simpkin Jan Kattein’s new book, Londoners Making London is not about architects, sorry, but brings together nine stories of entrepreneurs, activists and community groups transforming their own neighbourhoods. My copy arrived, appropriately, on local election day in May. A democratic process that relies on being able to procure available community space.
ヘザウィック・スタジオによる、立体的な庭園で包まれた〈麻布台ヒルズ〉低層部The low-rise Azabudai Hills is surrounded by a multi-storey garden by Heatherwick Studios ｜CULTURE｜TECTURE MAG（テクチャーマガジン）
2023年11月24日に、森ビルが虎ノ門・麻布台で手がける新しい街〈麻布台ヒルズ（Azabudai Hills）〉がオープンしました。その内のガーデンプラザ（C街区低層部）を、リード・アーキテクトとしてトーマス・ヘザーウィック（Thomas Heatherwick）率いるヘザウィック・スタジオ（Heatherwick Studio）が設計しています。 複合施設と立体的なランドスケープを組み合わせることで、観光客や地域住民が散策しながら互いにつながり、緑あふれるオープンな公共空間を楽しめる場所をつくり出しています。 ヘザウィック・スタジオが手掛ける「ソリューションとしての建築」 世界各地で手掛ける建築8選＋もうすぐ竣工する日本でのプロジェクト （以下、Heatherwick Studioから提供されたプレスキットのテキストの抄訳） 2023年11月24日、東京都心にヘザウィック・スタジオが設計した新たな街が開業した。...
Review | Upper Lawn, Solar Pavilion - ‘A book that reminds us what our profession is about’
Caroline Voet reviews an expanded edition of the 1986 book by Enric Miralles with Alison and Peter Smithson, about their Upper Lawn Solar Pavilion This book revisits the poetic diary, edited in 1986 with Eric Miralles, of the Smithson’s Upper Lawn Solar Pavilion, one of the most intriguing primary houses ever (re-)made.
Review | London of the Future
Chris Dyson is challenged and inspired by a new book, plotting multiple future trajectories for London Source: The London Society London of the Future was a book produced by The London Society in 1921 and edited by architect, Sir Aston Webb. A century on, the new edition is a long-anticipated sequel. Today’s book follows the same format of a compilation of essays, though this time, thankfully, they are not exclusively by men.
Review | The architecture of Kay Fisker: ‘These titles should be compulsory reading on every architecture course’
Matthew Wickens reviews two recent books on Kay Fisker, the renowned Danish architect It turns out, you wait 60-plus years for an English language book about Danish architect Kay Fisker, and two arrive at once! Until now English-speaking fans of Fisker have had to console themselves with the 20-page summary at the back of Hans Erling Langkilde’s 1960 monograph Arkitekten Kay Fisker.
AYA 2023 shortlists: Young Architect of the Year
In a series celebrating BD’s Architect of the Year Awards finalists, we look at the Young Architect of the Year shortlist Earlier this year BD announced all the architects who made it on to the shortlists for our prestigious annual Architect of the Year Awards. Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.
How the creative reuse of ordinary buildings is revolutionising approaches to regeneration
As the government’s levelling up agenda struggles to gain traction, a group of industry leaders share their thoughts on alternative approaches to regeneration For much of the past century, developers and architects told communities up and down the country that if they wanted to reinvigorate their towns and boost growth, the first thing they needed to do was knock down the old streets and buildings and replace them with new ones.
AYA 2023 shortlists: Public Building Architect of the Year
In a series celebrating BD’s Architect of the Year Awards finalists, we look at the Public Building shortlist Earlier this year BD announced all the architects who made it on to the shortlists for our prestigious annual Architect of the Year Awards. Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.
Review | Queer Nature at Kew Gardens
A new festival at Kew showcases a diverse range of voices and artists by exploring their relationship to plants and nature, writes Sarah Simpkin Decimus Burton’s Temperate House at Kew Gardens reopened in 2018 following a six-year restoration project by Donald Insall Associates. During their analysis of the building, paint studies revealed that in the 1860s, its walls were stone-coloured, with pale blue and white decoration, and that later blocks were originally painted green.
Review | Norman Foster at the Centre Pompidou: ‘Definitive… for now’
Source: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners The current Norman Foster exhibition at the Pompidou Centre feels significant, not only for its size and firsts (biggest by area, number of projects, drawings never seen, all that), but for the fact Foster designed as well as headlines it. Reason enough to take a train to Paris. That, and the joy of a trip to the Pompidou. Two French projects are celebrated from the off.
We’ve had enough of smart city clichés in visual design. Here’s a way to make it real
What comes to mind when you think of a smart city? A web of blue and white orbs against an evening sky? Maybe some icons floating above the rooftops, or a wave of binary superimposed on a cityscape? A turquoise infographic or two? Search “smart city” and you can see just how uniform this visual shorthand has become. Motion blurs and flying numbers over the city are supposed to signify an efficient flow of systems, data, energy, and information.
We’ve had enough of smart city clichés in visual design. Here’s a way to make it real
By Sarah Simpkin4 minute Read What comes to mind when you think of a smart city? A web of blue and white orbs against an evening sky? Maybe some icons floating above the rooftops, or a wave of binary superimposed on a cityscape? A turquoise infographic or two? Search “smart city” and you can see just how uniform this visual shorthand has become. Motion blurs and flying numbers over the city are supposed to signify an efficient flow of systems, data, energy, and information.
You look creative, but you sound like a bank
When I go into an architecture practice as a freelance writer, one of the first things I do, after agood nose around the projects, is get a sense of their tone of voice. In some cases, this has been thought about by someone; it’s easy to pick up and is consistently used, so I adopt that style. In others, there is no specific guidance, anything goes. Sometimes, I’m there to help a firm work out what their tone of voice is and put together a style guide or ‘brand book’.
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