David Adjaye’s African architecture inspiration

By Laura Thomas

Producer, Dream Builders

David Adjaye created the Moscow School of Management

Ahead of a new series of Dream Builders, architect David Adjaye talks to the BBC World Service about his latest projects and African inspiration.

Shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2006 for his Idea Store library in Whitechapel, the architect of London’s Stephen Lawrence Centre now finds himself working on commissions around the world.

It includes the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington and the Cape Coast Slavery Museum in Ghana.

It’s been a career which has seen the 48-year-old re-imagine the public library and create a vast new business school in Moscow, as well as being in demand for residential buildings – with commissions to create houses for actor Ewan McGregor and artists Jake Chapman and Chris Ofili.

Meanwhile, a unique project to document the architecture of Africa has been a constant source of inspiration to Adjaye.

Over the course of 10 years he visited every single African capital city (except one, Mogadishu, for safety reasons) and photographed the buildings he found. He travelled alone with his camera, leaving his team behind him.

“I was inspired by people like Atget’s documentation of Paris before Haussmann changed it,” he says. “I felt I knew the continent well and I realised I knew six countries really.

“I felt there was this incredible cavity on this huge continent. I realised my colleagues had no idea about it and I wanted to show there is an alternative modernism that had really erupted in the middle of the 20th Century.

“There is an African modernity as there is a South American modernity and an Asian modernity that we are now starting to learn about – a regional way of building which is affected by this climate and incredible geography and geology.”

Born in Tanzania in 1966, Adjaye also carries with him ideas formed during a childhood in which he moved from country to country many times with his diplomat parents before settling in the UK.

“I just took it for granted that in Tanzania you would have Sikh communities, Hindu communities, Muslim communities, indigenous Arab communities – that was the world I was born into,” he says.

“East Africa was full of that mix and I then moved to West Africa, which was colonial, but burgeoning with independence ideas, a new modernity being built, new ideas about music, life and literature.”

The Stephen Lawrence Centre is now protected by a security fence after being vandalised numerous times

Nevertheless the architect is understandably resistant to any attempt to pigeon-hole him as an “African Architect”.

“I am of a generation of architects that are thrown into the spotlight to negotiate this,” he says.

“I have a genetic relationship to the continent, also a cultural and lived relationship. I now have an office in Ghana and other places [but] I am less interested in the definition than I am in the way I can use it to produce in the world.”

What makes Adjaye unusual among architects is his willingness to admit a building can fail.

His Stephen Lawrence Centre in London, built as both a community centre and a memorial to the murdered black architecture student, has been vandalised many times since its completion, and is now protected by a security fence.

“Yes, the project has failed. It’s gated, it has security cameras everywhere and it has barbed wire. But that is because of the context we are in now. I hope that in 10 years or in five years this changes,” he says.

The architect is adamant even had he known what the building’s fate would be, he wouldn’t have changed his design: “To change the design would be to respond to vandalism.

“There was a discussion about bricking up the windows [but] I would say no – it’s better to fail but to have a strong position, than to make something nobody wants to go to.”

As Adjaye looks ahead to the completion of his museum building in Washington and Ghana, he believes the Stephen Lawrence Centre represents a vital connection with these other two, creating a triangle of buildings.

For him, they are an exploration of our global history and a re-imagining of the story of the “triangular” Atlantic Slave trade.

“It’s a story that is part of all of our collective psyches – it’s a way for people to understand the nature of the modern world.”

Taken from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28692859

Riba awards: London trio up for top architecture award

The Shard, Aquatics Centre and London School of Economics’ student centre are three of six buildings nominated.

London’s The Shard, Aquatics Centre and the London School of Economics’ student centre have all been shortlisted for a prestigious architecture design award.

The Royal Institute of British Architects’ (Riba) Stirling Prize recognises excellence in buildings.

Six buildings have been recognised. The winner will be announced on 16 October.

Judges said the Aquatics Centre was a fitting backdrop for the Olympics; the Shard was a “great beauty” and the student centre was “startling”.

Of London’s architecture, Riba’s president, Stephen Hodder, said: “Almost every year there is a building from or around London that is shortlisted.

“There are two reasons for this; the quality of architects working in London and the amount of building activity in London. Also, behind a very good building there is a good client.”

Philip Gumuchdjian, chair of the Riba awards group which selected the shortlist, said London had been revitalised in the last 30 years.

“In 1980 there was a resistance to any foreign architect working in London or Britain, it was quite controlled.

“Now it’s more common and it’s added a great richness. It’s very cosmopolitan, just as London is.”

The Shard

Mr Hodder said: “The Shard is a very significant and elegant addition to the London skyline but the tower also has to work well in terms of how it engages with the street.

“The skyline of any city is always changing. I recognise that we have to respect the historic view and at the moment there’s a debate about tall buildings. But the Shard does not impact on the historic views but adds to it.”

“Whatever position you take, as you look across the London skyline your eye immediately goes to it; you almost don’t see the other buildings,” said Mr Gumuchdjian.

“The building is literally five shards of glass resting on each other, it’s pure sculpture.”

The building was designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Rory Olcayto, the editor of the Architects’ Journal, said the Shard marked the point of London’s origin; “like a giant flagpole it pinpoints the location of where Romans first crossed the Thames and then founded ancient Londinium”.

“It means so many other things too: it is a symbol of London’s reliance on overseas wealth, in that it was funded in the main by Qatari money.

“But it is also a symbol of how lofty London’s success has been in recent years compared with the rest of Britain.”

Aquatics Centre
Although it was built for London 2012, this is the first time the centre has been submitted for this award as the plan was for it to be judged after the legacy changes had been completed.

Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the building saw its wings, which were used to seat spectators during the Games, removed so that it could be turned into a swimming facility used by everyone.

“There’s serenity about the building which captures the spirit of water and the activity that goes on within,” said Mr Hodder

The Aquatics Centre was used in the Olympics for the swimming and diving competitions
“If sport – and keeping fit – is Britain’s new religion then Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre is the cathedral we want to worship within,” said Mr Olcayto.

“It’s cavernous interior is among the greatest of public spaces anywhere in Britain.”

London School of Economics
Mr Olcayto said the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, designed by O’Donnell and Tuomey Architects, “transformed how we perceive this world famous institution”.

The judges said every angle responded to the rights of its neighbours to light
“Everyone has heard of the LSE but few would be able to tell you what it actually looked like.

“No longer: now it has a striking landmark – and unlike other more recent icons, it fashioned from London’s traditional building blocks – bricks – rather than steel and glass.”

The building is made up of 46 standard shape bricks, 127 special bricks out of a total of 175,000, and not a single cut brick.

Mr Hodder saw the LSE building for the first time on Tuesday.

“I find very rarely do you come across a building which is truly original.

“When you delve beneath it all it is a very pragmatic solution to building in a very dense urban area.”

Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28336957

We need a Jamie Oliver of architecture to save us from uninspiring design says Living Architecture founder Alain de Botton

 

We get what we deserve when it comes to the uninspiring buildings devoid of design in which many of us live and work, according to a panel  member of the first government-commissioned review into architecture in more than a decade.

And Britain urgently needs a Jamie Oliver figure to do for buildings what the famous chef did for school dinners, says Alain de Botton, one of 11 experts on the Farrell Review commissioned by culture minister Ed Vaizey earlier this year.

“We need a Jamie Oliver of architecture because architecture is now where food was 20 years ago: in desperate need of improvement, which will happen when people grow fussier about being served substandard stuff,” said Mr de Botton.

It is the fault of the public’s “indifference to good design”, rather than “corporate greed” of building companies, argues Mr de Botton, founder of Living Architecture and honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba).

“They merely want to make money and they have zero confidence (rightly) that we would follow them in the venture of delivering quality at the necessary price.”

He added: “We need a public that will be appalled by tiny rooms, lack of storage space, tiny windows, poor insulation: and will do what they need to do when faced with it: refuse to buy.”

Victoria Thornton OBE, another member of the review panel, commented: “Recognising that architecture and urban design have an impact on our daily lives is the key to any change and this can only fundamentally happen if it is accepted as integral part of our education system – from schools through to public participation in the debate of our neighbourhoods and surroundings.”

The need for celebrity ‘champions’ of architecture will be a key recommendation of the review being led by Sir Terry Farrell, one of Britain’s most respected architects. His work includes the MI6 building in Vauxhall and the 441 metre high KK100 Tower in Shenzen, China – the tallest building ever designed by a British architect.

Sir Terry’s report, which will be given to ministers early next year, will also call for radical reform of the training required to become an architect. The cost of joining the profession is close to £100,000 and he recently commented: “It is the most expensive course to take and its relationship to income is the poorest equation of any profession. Something has to give…My biggest worry is that, unless we do something, the profession will become increasingly elitist.”

The government needs to be “much more involved in proactive planning…not top-down state planning; it has to be bottom-up.”

And the focus should be on improving on what we already have, according to Sir Terry. “If you look at how few new buildings we are constructing, you are not going to make a huge difference by changing the new stock. We need a new approach to town planning and how we manage and look after our cities.”

He warned he will not allow his review of architecture and the built environment to be used for political ends. “If they are messing around because it is election year, and are going to be cautious about what they say, I will speak out.” And the architect added: “I’m glad this is an independent review. I am not a party political person…it is my review, not theirs.”

Taken from: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/we-need-a-jamie-oliver-of-architecture-to-save-us-from-uninspiring-design-says-living-architecture-founder-alain-de-botton-9022994.html

How town planning can make us thin and healthy: Architects show that more green space and less housing density has a clear effect on public health

It isn’t hard to find an architect who will tell you that vast swathes of the British urban landscape are ugly, grey and unappealing – nor would you struggle to find people who agreed with them. But could it be that the look and the layout of our cities is actually bad for our health?

A new report from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) sets out to prove just that. Comparing rates of physical activity, childhood obesity and diabetes in England’s nine most populous cities, RIBA have found a clear correlation between the amount of green space, density of housing in urban areas, and the overall health of the local population.

They have also pinpointed the cities with the best and worst records on these key public health measures. Birmingham has the fewest physically active adults, while Liverpool has both the largest number of obese children and the highest rates of diabetes.

On the other end of the spectrum, the citizens of Leeds can boast the highest levels of activity while Bristol has the best outcomes for obesity and diabetes.

All four cities have plenty of parks – but it is the quality as well as the quantity of green space that counts, if people are to be encourage to walk around their city, go for a run, or let their children play outdoors, RIBA said.

Their report, “City Health Check”, found that the local authority (LA) areas which had the least physically active adults in the country – which included Birmingham’s Sandwell district, Brent in London and Gateshead in Newcastle – had on average twice the housing density of the most active areas and also 20 per cent less green space.

The pattern repeats itself even within an individual city. 69 per cent of land in Birmingham’s leafy suburb of Solihull is green space, and sure enough, the area has the lowest levels of childhood obesity of any LA in the study – 14.1 per cent. In Sandwell meanwhile, only a third of land is green space, and a quarter of children are obese.

A significant factor behind the gulf in health outcomes identified by RIBA is explained by the different levels of social deprivation across the country and across cities. Greener, leafier areas with a lower density of housing and well-maintained parks and pathways come with a house price premium. Richer people who can afford to live there can also afford to buy better food, pay for gym memberships and generally fit within a national pattern of health inequality – the richer the area you live in, the more likely you are to be healthy.

Nearly 26 per cent of children in Sandwell are obese (Alamy
Nevertheless, it’s clear that physical inactivity – a key cause of obesity and the catalogue of associated health risks – is a national problem. RIBA reports that 75 per cent of people living in the nine cities surveyed do not meet the Government recommended 150 minutes of physical activity every week. However, three quarters of people surveyed by RIBA said they could, in the right circumstances, be encouraged to do more walking each week.

Citing estimates suggest that the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes could be cut by 50 per cent if people were to meet physical activity targets, RIBA believes that the key to that encouragement – and an estimated £1bn saving for the health service – is better town planning.

“With responsibility for public healthcare devolved now from central Government to local authorities, it’s vital that planners and developers take the lead in ensuring healthier cities,” said. RIBA’s president, Stephen Hodder. “At a time of austerity and increased concern with physical and mental wellbeing, it’s shocking to discover that just by making public health a priority when planning cities, we can save the country upwards of £1bn annually through reduced obesity-related healthcare costs.”

But it isn’t simply the amount of green space a city has, according to his report, it’s the way it uses it.

Architects and urban designers could play a key role in “ mitigating the impact of a lack of green space and creating environments to support walking,” the report states.

Their practical recommendations include the creation of attractive, safe walking routes between green spaces, to encourage people to travel around the city by foot. Parks and recreations grounds themselves can be made more attractive as places to walk, run and play through simple measures such as improving walkways, letting in light by lowering any high walls or heavy vegetation and installing more bins and benches.

Residents in different cities responded to RIBA’s survey with different priorities. Citizens in Birmingham said they wanted more attractive parks and green spaces – and 40 per cent of those who weren’t getting enough exercise said that such improvements would make them want to walk more. People in Manchester said that the aesthetics of the city’s streets were more important, while in Sheffield and Liverpool, safer pathways linking key areas of the city with green spaces were emphasised.

Dr Ann Marie Connolly, director of healthy equity at Public Health England, the Government agency which oversees local authorities health interventions said that RIBA’s recommendations were welcome.

“We support closer working of public health and planners at a local level. We have, for example, produced two briefings on obesity and the environment: one on  the regulation of fast food outlets, particularly near schools and the other on encouraging physical activity and active travel. The briefings provide local authorities with ideas for action on how to reduce the adverse effects of the built environment on peoples’ health,” she said.

Tale of one city: Birmingham’s big divide

Only separated by a few miles geographically, the districts of Sandwell in the north-west of Birmingham, and Solihull in the south-east, could not be further apart in terms of public health.

Nearly 26 per cent of children in Sandwell are obese – the highest level of any local authority area across England’s nine largest cities. Nearby Solihull, meanwhile, has the best rates – only 14.1 per cent. Income-related health inequalities play their part, but a glance at the maps of each area immediately suggests another underlying reason for the difference.

Whereas 69 per cent of Solihull’s land is taken up by green space, including two large parks, and only 3.4 per cent of the area is covered by housing, only one third of Sandwell’s land is green space – parks are smaller and housing density is 7.8 per cent, double that of Solihull.

Sandwell Council said it would look closely at Riba’s report, adding tackling childhood obesity through leisure programmes and improving access to green space.

Taken from: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/how-town-planning-can-make-us-thin-and-healthy-architects-show-that-more-green-space-and-less-housing-density-has-a-clear-effect-on-public-health-9094289.html

Theis & Khan scoops contentious RIBA office comp

Theis & Khan has won the competition to overhaul the RIBA’s new offices

The 2010 Stirling Prize finalists saw off competition from Ben Adams, Moxon Architects, Shedkm, Piercy & Company and Spacelab for the £2.7 million job to revamp RIBA’s new administrative centre at 76 Portland Place, close to the institute’s existing headquarters.

Theis & Khan’s team which included Max Fordham and Price & Myers, was selected after interviews earlier this week.

Soraya Khan and Patrick Theis said: ‘We are thrilled to be appointed to lead the team designing the RIBA’s new offices; it is an enormous privilege and we would like to thank the selection panel. We look forward to delivering a high-quality sustainable design that both meets the RIBA’s aspirations for its new building and reflects the integrity of 66 Portland Place. We were intrigued by the potential synergies between the two buildings and look forward to developing these further with the RIBA.’

The winner was selected by a panel made up of Denise Bennetts of Bennetts Associates, Sasha Bhavan from Knox Bhavan Architects, RIBA president Stephen Hodder, RIBA chief financial officer Andy Munro and Oliver Richards of ORMS Architecture Design, with Glenn Howells acting as the RIBA architect adviser.

RIBA President Stephen Hodder, commented: ‘The selection panel was greatly impressed by all the shortlisted teams’ initial thoughts, approach to the project and their experience and ability to deliver within a constrained timeframe.

‘Theis and Khan gave an exceptionally considered approach and clearly demonstrated how they aim to meet our aspirations. We were particularly inspired by the team’s consideration of the relationship between our new premises and our main RIBA headquarters building, and how they had successfully delivered projects with such synergies in the past.’

The competition sparked controversy as its entry requirements stated entrants had to have a minimum turnover of £334,000 – a condition it was feared would exclude most smaller practices.

The new offices will replace the institutes existing offices at 77 Portland Place, housing all RIBA’s London-based staff under one roof, freeing up number 66 to become a building where RIBA said ‘staff and the public will experience, learn and debate architecture.’

Taken from: http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/theis-and-khan-scoops-contentious-riba-office-comp/8656185.article?blocktitle=News-feature&contentID=9529

Tea With An Architect

Gabrielle Omar, best known as the first architect to appear on BBC1’s hit TV show The Apprentice, is launching a new campaign, ‘Tea With An Architect’ to integrate communities with their local architect.

Director of architectural practice ‘Gabrielle Omar and Associates’, Gabrielle left The Apprentice hailing for a brand overhaul in the architecture profession. Following her increased interaction with the public after the show, Gabrielle has realised that the large, iconic buildings springing up in the City, and their association with ‘star architects’, overshadow the general public’s knowledge of what an architect’s role really involves. Her new campaign intends to integrate the community back with their local architect, spreading the word of the profession and the benefits it can bring to homeowners.

Tea with an Architect (TWAA), attempts to produce a platform where members of the public can find their local ‘tea session’ whether it be a ‘Tea With An Architect’ organised event or an existing running session that local architects have formed themselves. Within these ‘tea sessions’, people are invited to bring along ideas, designs and questions for a free consultation with a local architect on topics relating from anything to personal home renovation to desired community aspirations.

The RIBA and its members has backed Gabrielle with the launch of this campaign. Angela Brady, RIBA president commented: “I welcome schemes like “Tea with an Architect” and the RIBA’s “Architect in the House”, they are vital if we are to break down the initial barriers and encourage homeowners to meet casually with an architect. It is a great opportunity to meet architects often for the first time in a friendly setting over a cup of tea. Making ourselves more accessible as a profession is very important in helping the public understand what we do, and how we can help them have better designed homes.”

“Architects design all types of buildings and spaces, from a skyscraper right down to remodelling existing homes or doing a kitchen extension! We can help home owners achieve their aspirations as well as adding value through good design in creating better spaces and a more sustainable building.”

The TWAA website currently hosts small existing events such as the monthly ‘Saturday Architect Surgeries’ at the Bristol Architecture Centre, to larger existing events such as ‘Ask the Expert’ area at Grand Designs Live.

The first ‘Tea with an Architect’ organised event launches at ECOBUILD, at ExCeL London between 5th and 7th March 2013 and look out for us too!

www.teawithanarchitect.com

Source: http://www.architectnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=417:tea-with-an-architect&Itemid=90

Sainsbury Laboratory wins Stirling architecture prize

An £82m plant research centre at the University of Cambridge has won the UK’s most prestigious architecture award, the Stirling Prize.

The Sainsbury Laboratory was named best new building by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) at a ceremony in Manchester.

Judges praised the “calm beauty” of the winner, designed by Stanton Williams.

It beat nominees including London’s Olympic Stadium and the Hepworth art gallery in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The other buildings on the shortlist were Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, the Maggie’s cancer care centre in Glasgow and New Court, the home of the Rothschild bank in the City of London.

The two-storey Sainsbury Laboratory sits on the edge of the University of Cambridge’s botanic gardens and provides state-of-the-art facilities for 120 botanists carrying out research into plant development.

Stirling Prize judge and architect Joanna van Heyningen described it as an “extraordinarily good building”.

The researchers “deserve the best possible space in which to work, and that’s what they’ve been given”, she told BBC News.

“It’s a completely sublime building with the most extraordinary, beautifully designed natural light,” she added.

The site was funded by Lord Sainsbury, a former science minister and ex-chairman of the Sainsbury’s supermarket, who said scientists had traditionally had to put up with “appalling” buildings.

Stanton Williams received a £20,000 prize. Director Alan Stanton described the design as a 21st Century cloister, which encouraged scientists to interact and exchange ideas.

“Two scientists working on two pieces of research could bump into each other in the corridor and have a eureka moment, and say, my God, there’s the possibility of some really interesting scientific breakthrough here,” he said.

“Quite often, accidents are important, in science as they are in any creative endeavour. The building is there to try to ambush scientists into meeting and talking.”

Stanton Williams was the only practice to have three buildings on the longlist for this year’s Stirling Prize.

Its other entries were the Hackney Marshes Centre in east London and the new campus for Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design at King’s Cross.

The practice has previously built the Compton Verney art gallery in Warwickshire and the Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst, West Sussex.

‘Dreadful’ state

The Olympic Stadium lost out despite being one of the most high-profile buildings of the year.

The Stirling Prize is awarded to the best building constructed in the European Union and designed in the UK.

The Olympic Stadium was the most high-profile structure on the shortlist – but it missed out one year after the Olympic velodrome lost out on the same award.

Last year’s winner was the Evelyn Grace Academy, a secondary school in Brixton, south London, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

This year’s ceremony came after two judges were reported as saying that British architecture was in a “dreadful” state.

Sir Mark Jones told The Independent newspaper there was a “lack of feeling and lack of care” in many retail, residential and office developments, while fellow judge and Naomi Cleaver said local authorities were “rather unfocused and arbitrary” in their decision making.

Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19923820