The RIBA Journal

1 week ago | ribaj.com | Chris Foges

How did this project evolve? Traditional Irish settlements had ‘rambling houses’ whose door was always open. Harpists, fiddlers and singers would turn up on a rainy night and need to be put up somewhere. Our experimental Rambling Houses are for the encouragement of gathering and conversation. I’d met the furniture maker Joseph Walsh at a crafts exhibition. Having asked us to design a test piece, he spotted a sketch in my notebook of a conceptual ‘vessel’ for zenithal light, and offered to make it.

3 weeks ago | ribaj.com | Eleanor Young

What are the patterns we are looking for in our building designs? And can babies help us discover them? Eleanor Young investigatesWhat do babies spend time looking at? Faces were long thought to be what would draw their attention most. But one research project has shown that babies spend more time looking at a picture of a building.

1 month ago | ribaj.com | Eleanor Young

Neurophysiological responses by Cleo ValentineOur research at the University of Cambridge explores the intersection of architectural design, neuroscience and human health. We are investigating how architectural facades affect neurophysiological responses, with a particular interest in understanding the relationship between visual patterns and forms in building facades and measurable changes in brain activity and stress responses.

1 month ago | ribaj.com | John Jervis

At the launch of the Venice Architecture Biennale, held at the Ca’ Giustinian in February, journalists questioned Carlo Ratti closely on Michelangelo Pistoletto, the politicisation of architecture, and this year’s theme, ‘Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.’ A month later, ill-prepared after time-zone confusion, I ask Ratti over Zoom if he possesses the ability to switch off, if he feels exhausted, if he’s ever considered building himself an extension.

1 month ago | ribaj.com | Laura Mark

In the past two decades, Sheffield city centre has been undergoing an overhaul. The latest piece in the puzzle includes a new sustainable office building, Europe’s largest food hall – and, importantly, the bringing back to life of some of the city’s most important heritage assets. Tasked with this was a team made up of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS), Lathams and Leonard Design.