Will Hurst
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British Journalism Award winner working at The Architects' Journal. Pushing reuse in construction with our #RetroFirst campaign. Email will.hurst@emap.com
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Articles by Will Hurst
Has London designed out children?
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson recently asked Britons to have more children in response to plummeting birth rates. The fertility rate is now 1.44 children per woman in 2023, the lowest on record and well below the replacement rate of 2.1 that is required to maintain a population. The decline in numbers is most visible in London, where the number of children starting school has dropped consistently lately.
Sexism in architecture: ‘no offence intended’ is no defence
Workplace discrimination often persists in subtle ways – unseen, unspoken – yet its effects can be profoundly unfair. One of the recurring tensions I’ve noticed is the unconscious assumption that a person’s intention justifies the impact of their actions. But does it? Too often, behaviour is excused as ‘just banter’ or brushed off with ‘no offence meant’, even when it clearly causes discomfort or exclusion.
Sense of place - and history - are key to the success of our cities
Ten years on from the publication of the important report by Foster + Partners and Historic England Cathedral Cities in Peril, many of the perceived tensions between new development and heritage persist: new development is viewed as an opportunity for economic growth or a destructive force affecting a city’s intrinsic character; heritage is a constraint holding back a city or a treasure to be preserved untouched at all costs.
Eight things for the next generation of architects to focus on
The upcoming Festival of the Future being held at the RIBA headquarters (before it temporarily shuts for building works) is a perfect opportunity for the profession to get behind the next generation of creatives. The two-day event, led by organisations working to improve wider representation within the built environment, will offer young people a glimpse into the profession.
Why you should get involved with design codes
The introduction of design codes in the UK, as part of moves to step up housing delivery, could represent a significant shift in planning policy to a more prescriptive, zone-linked and automated model.
The Secret Architect: Not enough juice
Aaaaand we’re back, bigger and better than before. Except my green juice leaked all over my new messenger bag and I’ve received a flurry of invites for ‘super fun’ get-to-know-your-colleagues presentations for the whole of 2025. Sounds … great. I’m gutted to miss them though, as there’s a weekly project update meeting over exactly that time, or there will be once I’ve remembered my password and scheduled the invite.
Why we need the word ‘care’ in the new ARB Code of Conduct
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the ARB decided to revise its code of conduct for architects to ensure competence and ethical practice remain at the forefront. The revised code is being consulted on now and there is still time to respond if you haven’t already done so. The simplification from twelve to six standards within the code is welcome and the emphasis on competence is very important in setting out a clear framework of conduct.
In an age of dizzying speed, architects need to slow down
Convenience is the new currency. It’s one of the main drivers of 20th and 21st-century economics and has helped create some of the wealthiest companies and people in history. Steve Jobs understood the benefits of a closed system designed for ultimate consumer convenience. Amazon tries to remove as many as many barriers as possible in order to get the money out of your wallet as quickly as possible.
The quest for sexy architecture is harming architects
We architects place a high value on aesthetics. We often obsess over intricate details, forms and skylines, and pat each other on the back by circulating highly curated images of our creations. It’s nothing new and, unfortunately, we live in a world where a sexy image of our last project is highly likely to help convince a new client to take a gamble and appoint us as their architect.
Whipped up by election slogans, the housing debate is turning toxic
In January this year, colleagues and I attended an event with the now former Minister for Housing, Lee Rowley. During a largely convivial exchange with a group of disgruntled, but by no means disenfranchised planners, the now former MP linked the UK’s housing crisis to ‘mass immigration’.
To save the RIBA, it needs to be decentralised Original
There is one thing we can gather from the results of the RIBA election: architects don’t care about the result. For those that missed it, the turnout for the election was 9.3 per cent of eligible voters. The shockingly low turnout is not new; recent turnouts for the last few elections have been hovering around 10 per cent, and I think this speaks volumes for the impact architects feel the RIBA has on their daily lives.
‘A new day brings a new government. Let’s seize the moment’
If you were born on the last day of the previous Labour government, you’d be picking your GSCE subjects now. Where were you the last time we had a Labour government? What do you know now that you didn’t know then? How much has changed in your life? In the lives of those around you? In the world?
Investing in green infrastructure, like retrofitting, is a no-brainer
A recent letter from the Environment, Farms and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) Committee to Environment Secretary Steve Barclay (see below) argued that the provision of green infrastructure should be a much higher priority in government spending. The committee is calling for an urgent re-evaluation of investment priorities to enable local authorities to provide and maintain green infrastructure, as well as for more support from central government generally.
Architecture needs rinse and repeat
Architects are deadline junkies – addicted to hitting milestones and habitually working under pressure. We are taught to work towards a specific, tangible moment in time, moving on to the next one once we’ve reached it. The idea that a project has a definitive end point is ingrained in each of us and so it’s not difficult to see why maintenance can be difficult for architects to embrace.
The Secret Architect: When your principles are in doubt … delegate!
It’s exam time again, and the panel has convened, trying to pass the next cohort of architects on to the register. I’ve learned to steady my expectations, as the pandemic continues to punish the most junior. Yet I note the upswing in mood among the Part 3s in the office. I indulge in a little optimism. The first couple of interviews are disarmingly benign. They’ve had a think, re-read the ARB Code of Conduct and would like to revise their stance on working cash-in-hand.
Architects are waking up to the value of urban trees
London may be the largest urban forest in the world but that doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels, argues Cristina Monteiro Enjoyed your complimentary access to the AJ? Register to read a limited number of free articles Keep reading - subscribe today A subscription to the AJ includes: Every issue of the AJ Every issue of AJ Specification Unlimited access to AJ articles online Daily newsletter and competition updates Access to the AJ Buildings Library
‘London’s mayor talks the talk on climate. Pity he doesn’t walk the walk’
There has been much head-scratching in the past week at the rapidly-widening gulf between new prime minister Liz Truss’ ‘cast iron commitment’ to deliver Net Zero 2050 and her drive to extract every last drop of hydrocarbons in the North Sea under the dubious pretext of the ‘energy crisis’.
AJ100 2022 - The Architects’ Journal
shedkm named AJ100 New Member of the Year 2022 28 Views It has been a great first year in the AJ100 for shedkm, which won two awards and was shortlisted in two other categories AJ100 Innovation of the Year 2022 winner revealed 7 Views Zaha Hadid Architects has won AJ100 Innovation of the Year for Striatus, a 3D-printed concrete bridge developed with Block Research Group at ETH Zürich Stride Treglown wins AJ100 Collaboration of the Year 2022 6 Views Stride Treglown has won the AJ100...
The Secret Architect: Facing down the crit bullies
I believe the term is ‘triggered’. I have been triggered by the ghost of architecture education past. A long-dead memory has returned to hang in the air like spray glue and last-minute prayers for the plotter ink to not run out. I’ve recently guest-tutored at a couple of undergraduate mid-project reviews and it has been… harrowing. Thanks to the pandemic, this is their first real life review.
The row over low-traffic neighbourhoods is a wake-up call to architects
There is a rosy picture painted that if we architects get out and consult people, everything is going to be okay. Consensus will be achieved and we can carry on designing our buildings and cities, business as usual. This is at best naive and at worst deceitful. We do need to engage, but to do so in contemporary Britain means understanding, among other things, a crucial social divide. We live in a polarised society and we don’t often talk about one of the most important splits: between young and old.
Aecom defends use of concrete on 'sustainable' Serpentine Pavilion
06 May, 2021 By Catherine Kennedy, Richard Waite and Will Hurst Aecom has defended the use of concrete on the temporary summer pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery. You have read 1 of 1 free-access articles allowed for 30 - days. For further access please register or log in.
Forgotten by design: the in-between spaces of council estates
Outdoor spaces in council estates are supposed to offer a sense of escape from the confined boundaries of a flat. With Covid-19 forcing people to work and study from home, green and open spaces have become even more of a necessity. I grew up on the Orchard Estate in south-east London and there is one open space that comes to mind when I think about what’s lacking here. It is covered with tarmac and is essentially an outdoor gym.
We need ‘guardian architects’ to protect our existing buildings
This month, a report released by the RIBA voiced support for post-occupancy evaluation (POE), recognising its contribution to making buildings ‘greener, healthier and better value for money’. But to overcome the environmental challenges we face, we need to go further. We have to urgently recognise and evolve the role of the architect to protect our existing buildings. We designers like to let sleeping dogs lie; not picking past projects apart to admit what could have been done better.
Dixon Jones shuts up shop after 30 years in practice
Founders Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones – who are both in their eighties – said the practice had been hard-hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as a longer-term failure to agree a succession plan. They had only in February published a second volume showcasing the work of Dixon Jones, covering the period 1998-2019. ‘Our book launch was in the National Gallery and then coronavirus happened,’ said Jones.
Lobby your MP on RetroFirst say architect campaigners
The campaign, launched just over a year ago in the face of climate emergency, calls on the government to introduce reforms in order to swiftly reduce unnecessary and wasteful demolition of buildings and promote low carbon retrofit and refurbishment instead. ACAN – already a backer of RetroFirst – is a highly active network of architects and other built environment professionals taking action to address the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown.
Help us before the rains come, says Beirut architect
Nachaat Ouayda is assisting local NGO Arcenciel with their Beirut Umbrella Campaign, which is being supported by a GoFundMe appeal set up in London by Ian Ritchie Architects and charity Article 25. The £100,000 appeal will fund the provision of reinforced polythene sheeting on as many as possible of the estimated 45,000 damaged buildings across the city after a massive explosion in the port area in early August killed 200 people and left an estimated 300,000 homeless.
Getting to net zero is hard: here are five tips for architects
Creating net zero carbon buildings is quickly moving from pipe-dream to reality. The climate emergency, new regulations and changing client attitudes will reshape the built environment, but achieving this standard is really hard and, as a profession, we need to be honest with ourselves about what is needed to meet the challenge. The first obstacle is to reduce the operational carbon in our buildings.
Ian Ritchie Architects and Article 25 appeal for Beirut help
On 4 August, a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored improperly at Beirut’s port exploded, killing almost 200 people, injuring 6,000 and leaving an estimated 300,000 homeless. Now, Ian Ritchie Architects and the humanitarian architecture charity Article 25 have spoken to the AJ about their efforts to help supply and install reinforced polythene sheeting on as many as possible of the estimated 45,000 damaged buildings across the city before bad weather sets in.
Want to better support the mental health of your team? Here’s five things to do
We know the stereotypes surrounding architectural workplace conditions: volatile workloads, long hours and doing more for less are just some of the potential triggers that add to the likelihood that a mental health issue will occur for an architect.
‘80 projects in 53 cities ... 2019 was a strong year’
21 September 2020 By Will Hurst. photography by Nigel Young #1 | Foster + Partners has held on to its position at the pinnacle of the AJ100 thanks to its strength in key international markets such as Asia, the Middle East and the USA Enjoyed your complimentary access to the AJ?
Next boss of British Land to speak at AJ100 Festival on Friday
Grigg has led the FTSE 100 developer – which has just been crowned AJ100 Client of the Year - for more than a decade. During this time, he championed greater diversity in the industry and oversaw a move away from retail as well as developing Broadgate, Paddington Basin, Regent’s Place and Canada Water, employing architects including AHMM, Make, DSDHA, Allies and Morrison and Arup Associates.
AJ100 Best Use of Technology 2020 award winner announced
HBERT, which Hawkins\Brown developed with UCL, was designed as a free, easy-to-use embodied carbon measurement tool which would allow design teams to visualise and analyse the carbon emissions of various material options during the design process. The tool, a Revit plug-in, currently uses free data from an Institution of Civil Engineers database, measuring the volume of all materials identified in the Revit model.
AJ100 Best Use of Technology 2020 award winner announced
HBERT, which Hawkins\Brown developed with UCL, was designed as a free, easy-to-use embodied carbon measurement tool which would allow design teams to visualise and analyse the carbon emissions of various material options during the design process. The tool, a Revit plug-in, currently uses free data from an Institution of Civil Engineers database, measuring the volume of all materials identified in the Revit model.
Will architecture students be ready to confront the climate crisis?
It's not just up to schools of architecture – practitioners and institutions should collaborate to place climate literacy at the core of architectural education, says Mina Hasman Enjoyed your complimentary access to the AJ?
The RetroFirst campaign has momentum. Now let’s make it unstoppable
There have been many false dawns, but the news that Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan’s St Peter’s Seminary near the Scottish village of Cardross might finally be resurrected is to be welcomed.
Fintech versus Traditional Banking
The financial services competitive landscape has evolved in recent years and it’s clear that fintechs have certainly disrupted traditional banks. Fintechs include any financial tech company that serves any of the following areas; lending, blockchain, Regtech, personal finance, payments and billing, insurance, capital markets, wealth management, money transfer and anything to do with the mortgage process.
Retrofit empty homes and bring them into use, says new RetroFirst backer
Joseph Daniels, founder and chief executive of Project Etopia, said the government would be eager to stimulate the property market as soon as possible following lockdown. He suggested this could be combined with tackling both the housing and climate crises by retrofitting empty homes and making them available to key workers.
Political donations: Mixing in politics
Construction firms are giving substantial sums to political parties. So which companies are donors and can money buy influence? The construction industry will tomorrow begin a pilgrimage to Brighton, Manchester and Birmingham for some serious lobbying as the party conference season kicks off in earnest.
Green King - the man trying to make Lendlease zero carbon
Paul King, the man in charge of sustainability at Lendlease, is getting a hard time from his colleagues right now – not that he’s complaining. ‘I’m now receiving lots of emails from across the business due to the climate activism we’ve seen recently,’ he says cheerfully. ‘People have an invitation to challenge.
Thornberry: Istanbul findings ‘deeply disturbing’
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has condemned what she called an "apparently callous disregard for safety" in the construction of the world’s largest airport. The $12bn new Istanbul Airport – which involved a host of leading UK architects and engineers – was dubbed 'the cemetery' by workers because so many were killed during the build phase a joint investigation by Construction News and the Architects’ Journal found.
Introducing RetroFirst: a new AJ campaign championing reuse in the built environment
The three demands of RetroFirst Tax Cut VAT rate on refurbishment, repair and maintenance from 20 per cent to 5 per cent Policy Promote the reuse of existing building stock and reclaimed construction material by introducing new clauses into planning guidance and the building regs Procurement Stimulate the circular economy and support a whole-life carbon approach in construction by insisting that all publicly funded projects look to retrofit solutions first Architects work in a problematic...
Garden Bridge legal bid targets Boris Johnson
Jason Coppel QC, an expert in public and procurement law, will examine the possibility of claims against the trustees of the Garden Bridge Trust – the charity which developed the project – plus the former London mayor and the public sector organisations which oversaw the cancelled £200 million project.
Thread by @WHurst1: "I've spent 5 yrs investigating Boris Johnson's , a self-inflicted disaster riven with dishonesty which cost taxpayers £43,000,0 [â¦]" #gardenbridge
To conclude on Johnson's leadership abilities, he was uninterested in detail & refused to listen to reasoned objections about his £200m+ vanity project. You were either with him or against him. Those in latter camp were branded 'demented enemies' and worse. Trump-like I'd say.
Garden Bridge Trust signed deal despite facing 22 ‘significant hurdles’
The Garden Bridge Trust rushed to sign the construction contract for its aborted crossing despite identifying 22 remaining ‘significant hurdles’ that the project still faced Newly released minutes from the trust’s board meetings – published last Thursday (17 May) after a legal wrangle – reveal how major obstacles were still unresolved when the trust signed the contract with Bouygues.
Revealed: TfL's sudden change of tune over Garden Bridge construction contract
Transport for London (TfL) believed it would ‘struggle’ to justify the release of £7 million of public money to the beleaguered Garden Bridge Trust just seven weeks before it agreed to do so in early 2016 The revelations have emerged in newly released minutes from the Trust’s board meetings, which have finally been published after being handed by the Trust to TfL, its public sector sponsor, at the end of February following a legal tussle.
Battle of Wills: writing about Alsop could be a hazardous experience
Will Alsop may not have liked my scoop on his practice – but he got his revenge, writes Will Hurst Walking into a high-security prison was somehow less intimidating than it should have been in the company of Will Alsop.
Battle of Wills: writing about Alsop could be a hazardous exercise
Will Alsop’s fame and business problems made him irresistible to journalists but he wasn’t above playing them to his own advantage, writes Will Hurst Walking into a high-security prison was somehow less intimidating than it should have been in the company of Will Alsop.
Former TfL officer has ‘case to answer’ over Garden Bridge procurement
The chair of the GLA Oversight Committee has told London mayor Sadiq Khan he must act over the ‘fiasco’ of the Garden Bridge and has pointed the finger at Transport for London’s former MD of planning Richard de Cani (pictured) In a strongly-worded letter to Khan sent on Wednesday (9 May), Len Duvall, a senior Labour London Assembly member, said it appeared the procurement process had been ‘deliberately’ distorted and that Richard de Cani had serious questions to answer.
SAVE battles on as work starts on Piano’s Paddington Cube
Campaign group SAVE Britain’s Heritage has been given an appeal date for its legal challenge to the government’s decision not to call in Renzo Piano’s Paddington Cube Construction work began this week on the controversial £825 million ‘floating’ glass office complex, which will replace the Edwardian former Royal Mail sorting office (by Henry Tanner) next to Paddington Station.
Johnson claims ignorance over journalist behind ‘horrendous’ Garden Bridge reporting
The Foreign secretary and ex-London mayor has claimed he is unsure of the source of ‘horrendous’ and ‘abusive’ Garden Bridge reporting he has previously and publicly attributed to the AJ During Boris Johnson’s appearance last month at a London Assembly hearing, he complained that the AJ had published ‘allegations of corruption’ and ‘insinuations’ involving Transport for London (TfL) officers, motivated ‘by a dislike that … the [AJ] journalist concerned has – of Thomas Heatherwick, who is not...
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