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2 months ago | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Cristina Andrade Monteiro |Will Hurst
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.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Will Hurst
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.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Cristina Andrade Monteiro |Will Hurst
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.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Toko Andrews |Will Hurst
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.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Toko Andrews |Will Hurst
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.
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Aug 7, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Jas Bhalla |Will Hurst
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’.
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Jul 17, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Toko Andrews |Will Hurst
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.
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Jul 5, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Smith Mordak |Will Hurst
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?
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Apr 29, 2024 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Cristina P. Monteiro |Will Hurst
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.
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Aug 30, 2023 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Toko Andrews |Will Hurst
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.
