Ellen Peirson

1 week ago | archpaper.com | Ellen Peirson |Kristine Klein

At the entrance to Victoria and Albert Museum’s (V&A) historic home in South Kensington, wide stone steps rise toward an ornate facade of carved Portland stone, with heavy wooden doors set beneath an archway that declares culture as cathedral. It’s built to inspire, yes, but also to intimidate—to display the spoils of a national collection shaped by colonial reach. On the other side of London, the same institution has opened its doors to V&A East Storehouse, with access to over 250,000 objects.

Jan 20, 2025 | architectsjournal.co.uk | Peter Cook |Ellen Peirson

The building, designed by Nimmo & Partners to replace the 1930s Associated British Pictures Corporation’s headquarters, which previously stood on the site, has been expanded by John Robertson Architects to offer 2,739m2 of office space over eight floors. The increase in floorspace was enabled by removing rooftop plant screen to create an additional office level and partially infilling the rear courtyard. The refurbishment respects the character of the surrounding heritage area.

Jan 15, 2025 | architectsjournal.co.uk | Ellen Peirson

The building sits as an infill to a courtyard created by other houses and flats owned by Hackney-based housing association Shian Housing, as well as the Grade II-listed Pitfield Street Library. On the library's exterior, glazed tiles echo the interior of the Hoxton Baths which occupied the site before being demolished after the war. The six new homes make use of the brownfield land which, until recently, had just been used as storage.

Jan 9, 2025 | archpaper.com | Ellen Peirson

The medieval city of Canterbury is steeped in history, at the end of ancient pilgrimage routes in the southeast of the U.K. The spires of Canterbury Cathedral tower over the tightly wound streets of the city center, but two miles northeast of the cathedral is the University of Kent. Designed by William Holford in a pared-back Brutalist style, the Kent School of Architecture is now the center of a campus that has sprawled over the years.

Jan 8, 2025 | archpaper.com | Ellen Peirson

In North London, a greenhouse has become a music venue for cacti. “This is where the musicians sit and play for the plants,” Elki Guillen explained. “Sometimes we invite humans, but it’s mainly for the plants.” Guillen is the guardian of the cactus house at London’s Wolves Lane Centre in Haringey, a community food growing center on a site home to a series of 1970s greenhouses that were once owned and run by the local council.