In this issue: Learning from the local with Piers Taylor; Revisiting Kevin Roche’s Dublin catalyst; expert insight into specifications from Nick Schumann; Atelier Ten on the adaptive reuse of Space House; Josh McCosh on low-impact practice; Bovenbouw Architectuur and David Kohn Architects’ Hasselt Beguinage; alma-nac’s new library at Dulwich College; Allies and Morrison’s Passivhaus student village for Cambridge; Materials Library with tp bennett and more.
Collective Works
Collective Works discuss challenging received wisdom and the imperfect systems which are causing harm, and using the language of the seasons to frame the rhythm of company life.
Jan Kattein Architects
Jan Kattein Architects reflect on 15 years of retention, re-use, repurposing and repair – and giving an antique gramophone horn a brand new steam-punk lease of life.
Purcell
Purcell discusses the challenges involved in maintaining and adapting our built heritage to meet the needs of today whilst planning for a more resilient tomorrow.
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School of Specification – Fire Safety for Principal Designers
Simón Santamaria, Technical Development Director at Stantec, has produced a School of Specification module on fire safety for principal designers. Here he explores the distinction between compliance and conformity, as well as the tools for evaluating competence and quality in fire safety design.
Reflections: Walt Disney Concert Hall
John Pardey revisits Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, examining its conceptual origins, exuberant material language, and its legacy within a generation shaped by icon-making architecture.
Review of 2025
2025 has been a year of looking closely – at buildings that endure, at ideas that travel, and at practices quietly reshaping the values of architecture. From the long view offered by the Architecture Today Awards to encounters with unexpected projects, places and people around the world, AT editor Isabel Allen looks back on a year rich in surprise, conviction and renewed optimism about what architecture can still achieve.
Material Cultures
Material Cultures explain how they are challenging conventional construction cultures in a bid to bring architecture closer to agriculture, land management and landscape.
Caochan na Creige wins RIBA House of the Year
Named RIBA House of the Year 2025, Izat Arundell’s self-built home in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides was recognised for its sensitivity to place, hyper-local materiality and assured response to an extreme landscape.
Looking back at Battersea Power Station
WilkinsonEyre director Sébastien Ricard reflects on the long and complex journey to restore Battersea Power Station, exploring how flexibility, mixed use and deep respect for heritage were essential to transforming a near-derelict industrial monument into a resilient piece of city.
My Kind of Town: Manijeh Verghese
Open City CEO Manijeh Verghese marvels at Mumbai's rapid transformation and asks how you can slow the pace of change to a rate that allows its people to shape its future.
Reflections: Chapel of Reconciliation
John Pardey revisits de Blacam & Meagher’s Chapel of Reconciliation at Knock – a landmark of 20th century Irish Architecture – tracing its pilgrimage roots, profound materiality, and overarching influence on a new generation of Irish architects.
Five minutes with… OGU Architects
AT catches up with Rachel O'Grady and Chris Upson to find out what's next for Belfast-based OGU Architects, and hear about their use of demountable structures to trial urban change, engaging communities in their city's future.
School of Specification – Materials Passports
Rachel Hoolahan, Associate Director at Orms, has produced a School of Specification module on Materials Passports. She considers the advantages and challenges of implementing materials passports as well as how project teams can start using them.
A new future for Udaipur
Ananya Singhal of Studio Saar explains his game plan to rescue his hometown of Udaipur, India, from the ravages of uncontrolled development and empower its residents to envisage – and insist on – a regenerative future.
Reflections: Ronchamp Chapel
John Pardey on how Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Chapel marked a revolutionary departure from his machine-age classicism — a sculptural, light-filled sanctuary where curved walls, hooded towers and a hovering roof reimagined the possibilities of modern sacred architecture.
Dispatches from Udaipur, India
Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu chat to AT about the lessons to be learnt from rickshaws at rush hour, intergenerational households, and Krishnamurti's wise words.
Dispatches from Izmir, Turkey
Office of Displaced Designers (ODD) is calling on UK construction professionals to support She Repairs, an initiative to help women in Izmir's displaced communities to provide their households with a safe and comfortable home.
School of Specification – Introduction to Specifications
Nick Schumann shares some of the lessons learnt from a career as a leading expert on design management and specifications, particularly how they relate to costs, purchasing, risk management, and various construction contract types.
My Kind of Town: Ole Scheeren
From childhood days spent wandering around his fathers architecture school, to his formative arrival in the city on Schenzhen, Ole Scheeren takes us through his three-decade-long relationship with China's tech capital, tracing it's evolution from fishing village to global megacity.
Dispatches from Dublin: John Tuomey, O’Donnell & Tuomey
From the AT Schüco Dublin City Dialogue event, John Tuomey, who was recently awarded the RIAI Gandon Medal lifetime achievement award alongside Sheila O’Donnell, reflects on the barriers facing emerging Irish architectural talent, the need to build true neighbourhoods rather than unit numbers, and why he remains optimistic about the future of Irish architecture.
Still Standing: Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland, 2010
Kevin Roche’s only completed commission in his home town survived bureaucratic infighting, spiralling budgets and public disdain to become a catalyst for the revival of Dublin’s Docklands as a thriving business district.
2025 AT Awards Winners announced
The winners of the 2025 Architecture Today Awards for buildings that stand the test of time were announced on Thursday 13 November at Space House London. See who were the winners in each of the 11 categories for this year.
Josh McCosh, van Heyningen and Haward
Josh McCosh of van Heyningen and Haward argues that meaningful progress on low-carbon construction demands immediate legislative action, a shift to natural materials, and industry-wide accountability for real building performance.
Dispatches from Sir John Soane’s Museum: Madelon Vrisendorp
AT speaks to artist Madelon Vriesendorp, the first UK-based female recipient of the Soane Medal, about her enduring connection with Sir John Soane, the playful legacy of Flagrant Délit, and why imagination, instinct and curiosity remain at the heart of her work.
See the 2025 AT Awards winners revealed at Space House London
Celebrate with the winners of the 2025 Architecture Today Awards for buildings that stand the test of time at Space House in London on Thursday 13th November.
Dispatches from Shanghai: Studio Vapore
We spoke to Italian architect, Erica Borsa of Studio Vapore, about why she set up shop in China and about A Gentle Reclaim, the practice’s poetic installation for the 'Shanghai Picnic' architecture biennial.
AT Business Breakfast: Delivering the next generation of green buildings
Architecture Today’s latest Business Breakfast explored how client priorities are shaping commissioning, procurement and design for buildings that meet the complex challenges of long-term sustainability.