Ellis Woodman Editorial
Building Design
Ellis Woodman is the executive editor of BD. He is also architecture critic for The Telegraph. You can email him on ellis.woodman@ubm.com or follow him on Twitter @elliswoodman
Stories by this contributor.
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Maggie's North East by Cullinan Studio
22 May 2013
Ted Cullinan’s thoughtful Maggie’s Centre makes the most of Newcastle’s elusive sunshine and creates a home-like atmosphere on a hospital campus
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Architecture's 10 best retirement homes
17 May 2013
In the week that we review 51N4E’s care home in Nevelee, Ellis Woodman has scoured the world to find the world’s ten best retirement homes
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Arts centres must adapt to survive
16 May 2013
Funding cuts will see more buildings follow the fate of The Public, says Ellis Woodman
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Nevele care home extension by 51N4E
15 May 2013
A quietly radical intervention at a Belgian care home addresses the challenges of designing for an ageing population by changing relationships within and beyond the building
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Is this the end of the architectural style wars?
10 May 2013
Last week’s debate saw a tentative rapprochement between classical and modern
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Our future heritage battles will be fought on Twitter
9 May 2013
Battle over the Marquis of Lansdowne pub shows changes brought by social media, says Ellis Woodman
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Farrell won’t set the Thames on fire
3 May 2013
The latest plan for Convoys Wharf fails to address the development’s basic flaws, says Ellis Woodman
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Great Northern Hotel refurbishment by Dexter Moren and Archer Humphryes
1 May 2013
Lewis Cubitt’s Great Northern Hotel has been rescued from the shadow of St Pancras thanks to a flamboyant refurbishment
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Ripon College Cuddesdon chapel by Niall McLaughlin Architects
24 April 2013
Niall McLaughlin’s new chapel for a theological college represents a triumphant combination of poetic form and Christian symbolism
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Curating our views of the city
19 April 2013
Can the V&A help persuade a suspicious public of the importance of urban design?
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Style wars mask a shared agenda
12 April 2013
We need to discuss how the architecture of the past can inform that of the future
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Scott Brown deserves her Pritzker
5 April 2013
Committee failed to acknowledge the nature of architectural collaboration
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Rock of ages
4 April 2013
Fischli and Weiss’s double-edged rock art stops the traffic
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Notre Dame Roman Catholic Girls' Secondary School extension by Cottrell & Vermeulen
3 April 2013
With a striking bespoke design and a passionate client, this extension to a Roman Catholic girls’ school shows educational buildings can’t always fit the mould
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Vaizey’s real challenge is to get Whitehall to listen
28 March 2013
He may be saying the right things but the architecture minister isn’t getting through
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RIBA's Libyan aid is some reparation
28 March 2013
Helping the country set up a professional body is a moral issue as well as a practical one
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David Kohn Architects’ Carrer Avinyo apartment, Barcelona
27 March 2013
David Kohn’s reworking of an unusual domestic interior in Barcelona draws on the city’s architecture to create an urban space of drama and intricacy
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YAYA reflects our global workplace
21 March 2013
Our decision to open up the award to the EU responds to the realities of modern practice
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Houses on Slievebawnogue by Clancy Moore Architects
20 March 2013
Clancy Moore Architects’ pair of houses for a family in rural Ireland displays an ingenious response to the challenge of a difficult forested hillside site
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Startups fear a planning shutdown
15 March 2013
The government’s change-of-use proposals could see the end of creative office cultures
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Despite its flaws, the design competition is still a winner
14 March 2013
Though it can be a lottery, the competitive process remains a way for small practices to open the door
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Arts Council England offices, Manchester by Witherford Watson Mann
13 March 2013
Witherford Watson Mann’s Manchester offices for Arts Council England elevate workmanlike materials through artful handling to articulate the institution’s values in a time of austerity
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A commercial proposal
6 March 2013
Feilden Clegg Bradley’s scheme for the Southbank solves some problems, but fails to do justice to the existing buildings
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Dutch ministries by Hans Kollhoff
6 March 2013
The Hague’s tallest building, Hans Kollhoff’s ministries, provide a dynamic physical expression to match the city’s global reputation
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Don’t put out the light in our cities
21 February 2013
Changing the light legislation is a threat to the renaissance in Britain’s urban centres
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University of Limerick Medical School by Grafton Architects
20 February 2013
Grafton Architects’ buildings for Limerick University demonstrate the practice’s theory of placemaking
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Limerick’s university challenge
20 February 2013
Students at the city’s new architecture school are blazing a trail for regional design by reviving the streets in which they live
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Piranesi’s rebuilt reality
19 February 2013
The Italian artist’s drawings of Paestum, on display at the Soane Museum, are not as innocent as they look
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From Paestum to the Euston Road
14 February 2013
Reinstating Hardwick’s Euston Arch would be a fitting tribute to London’s great railway architecture
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Ironmonger Row Baths by Tim Ronalds Architects
13 February 2013
Tim Ronalds’ extensive overhaul of Ironmonger Row Baths represents a bold plunge into the world of pool design
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Passivhaus needs support as it reaches critical mass
8 February 2013
As the number of UK Passivhaus buildings looks set to treble, a lack of financial incentives is still holding the movement back
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Stadshal, Ghent, by Robbrecht & Daem with Marie-José Van Hee
6 February 2013
The radical introduction of a double-gabled hall by two local architects brings a new coherence to the city’s historic Emile Braunplein
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Be grateful that EH is still standing
31 January 2013
A year-long series of events is set to demonstrate that English Heritage is as relevant as ever
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Peter Zumthor: Wisdom of the mountain man
30 January 2013
The enigmatic yet widely revered Peter Zumthor will collect his RIBA Royal Gold Medal next week. He’s earned it.
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Ciriani sets the pace for UK copyright
24 January 2013
Legal protection for intellectual property could soon be tested in the UK
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Fluid structures: the pools every architect should swim in
23 January 2013
In the week that we review Craig Hamilton Architects’ new bath house at Williamstrip House in Gloucestershire we offer our choice of the world’s ten most glorious swimming pools.
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Williamstrip Bath house, Gloucestershire by Craig Hamilton Architects
23 January 2013
In the grounds of a 17th century house remodelled by Sir John Soane, Craig Hamilton has created a swimming pool indebted to early 20th century classicism.
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London leaves design out in the cold
18 January 2013
The loss of Design for London could yet rebound on politicians
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A revival could see housing back where it belongs
17 January 2013
Signs of life in the housing market could see the sector once again at the centre of architectural discourse
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Put Kuma’s V&A out of its misery
11 January 2013
Even if it is ever built, where will Dundee’s museum find support in these cash-strapped times?
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Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design by ARU
10 January 2013
Architecture Research Unit has kicked off the remodelling of London Metropolitan University’s Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design with a bold revamp of the building’s fourth floor
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The perils of the concert hall
7 January 2013
When it comes to controlling the budget, Nouvel and Herzog & de Meuron aren’t the first to hit a bum note with this building type
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The best architect-designed cow sheds in the Mooniverse
3 January 2013
If you think farm buildings have to be corrugated iron boxes, then you haven’t seen these yet
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For future reference: what to look out for in 2013
2 January 2013
We reveal the top buildings, books, exhibitions and events due to feature in BD over the next year
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2012 in review: a Kahn revival
24 December 2012
Ellis Woodman on a stellar year for the late great architect
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Shatwell Farm cowshed, Somerset by Stephen Taylor Architects
19 December 2012
Stephen Taylor’s cowshed represents a provocative marriage of classical and vernacular themes
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Louvre Lens by Sanaa
12 December 2012
Built on a former mine in the industrial town of Lens, Sanaa’s new outpost of the Louvre brings some of France’s greatest treasures to one of the country’s poorest areas
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Still inspirational after all these years
6 December 2012
Ted Cullinan first visited Corbusier’s Ronchamp chapel 57 years ago. This week’s Inspiration covers his return
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Architect of the Year Awards 2012: a golden year for British architecture
4 December 2012
In a year in which the eyes of the world were on London, the ninth Architect of the Year Awards featured two new categories, recognising the work of small practices as well as international challenges
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Young Architect of the Year 2012: Coffey Architects
4 December 2012
Coffey Architects’ beautifully conceived projects show it is a practice to be watched
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Building a body of research
3 December 2012
Ellis Woodman sees architects turn their own work into material for a PhD
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Mark Hayduk (1959 - 2012)
30 November 2012
University of East London tutor dies age 53
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Only good design can open the door
30 November 2012
Nick Boles’ attack on ‘pig-ugly’ housing is a step in the right direction
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Hoflaan 15 by Maccreanor Lavington Architects
28 November 2012
Gerard Maccreanor took inspiration from Adolf Loos for his suburban townhouse in Rotterdam — but building it was a painful five-year saga
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Join Canning Town’s Caravanserai
23 November 2012
Ash Sakula’s competition is a great opportunity for an emerging practice
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151 Church Walk by Annalie Riches and David Mikhail
21 November 2012
A heavily overlooked site in north London inspired architects Annalie Riches and David Mikhail to create four new dwellings… with themselves as the client
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When heritage becomes a dirty word
15 November 2012
Alan Bennett’s new play voices a forceful objection to the habit of reducing historic buildings to objects of spectacle
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The Guts, New Islington housing by Mae
9 November 2012
Hit by the recession, Manchester’s New Islington project has been rejuvenated with the arrival of Mae Architects’ social housing
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Lasdun’s drawings find a global home
8 November 2012
Digitisation means the location of an architect’s archive is less important than the quality of its preservation
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Assemble's team building is a glimpse of the future
7 November 2012
With the completion of its first permanent project, is Assemble emerging as a new model for architectural practice?
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Lebbeus Woods (1940-2012)
31 October 2012
Paying tribute to the architect, astute critic and visionary draftsman
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Londoners have that sinking feeling
26 October 2012
The demise of Gensler’s floating park shows that privately funded schemes need closer scrutiny
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YAYA 2012: Young, gifted and on track
25 October 2012
In one of the most challenging periods to be a young architect, this year’s Young Architect of the Year shortlist demonstrates that it is still possible to make great work if you are energetic in seeking out opportunities
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Zug Schleife apartments by Valerio Olgiati
24 October 2012
Valerio Olgiati’s career has been devoted to the pursuit of an architecture of exceptional monumentality and self-reliance. Ellis Woodman reports on his largest project to date, an apartment building in Zug, Switzerland
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Manser win blurs the boundaries
19 October 2012
It may have been the best house on the shortlist, but Saturday’s wildcard winner has kicked off a new debate over eligibility
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Tower Wharf Café by Tony Fretton Architects
17 October 2012
Tower Wharf Café succeeds in making a place for itself in the presence of near neighbours the Tower of London and Tower Bridge
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Kahn’s vision of freedom lives on
11 October 2012
Nearly 40 years after his death, the newly completed Four Freedoms Park accurately reflects its architect’s design
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park by Louis Kahn
10 October 2012
It has taken 38 years for the late Louis Kahn’s vision for a memorial park to the USA’s 32nd president to finally be realised in New York
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6 Burlington Gardens by David Chipperfield
5 October 2012
David Chipperfield will at last link the Royal Academy with 6 Burlington Gardens
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Self-build has little to offer architects
4 October 2012
The call to rejoin the self-build movement is seductive but there are likely to be few opportunities
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Architects must champion a new public discourse
28 September 2012
We need more figures from the profession to follow David Chipperfield in brokering fresh debate about the built environment
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Zumthor is a worthy medal winner
27 September 2012
This year’s RIBA Royal Gold Medal recognises its winner’s creative individualism
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Vaizey has asked architects what they want – so tell him
21 September 2012
The architecture minister’s request for a dialogue with the profession is a welcome change from the rest of the government’s approach
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Siemens Crystal is a sustainable gem
20 September 2012
Building in London’s Royal Docks opens
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A good day for post-war buildings
19 September 2012
With much post-war architecture under threat, it is cheering to see the Commonwealth Institute beginning a new life
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Synthes headquarters, Solothurn, Switzerland by Märkli Architekt
19 September 2012
In his headquarters for the Swiss company Synthes, Peter Märkli has built one of the most astounding buildings of its era
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Carbuncle Cup winner 2012: Ship in a throttle
13 September 2012
Grimshaw’s disastrously conceived restoration of the Cutty Sark is winner of this year’s BD Carbuncle Cup, tragically defiling the very thing it sets out to save
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Vaizey makes a welcome return
13 September 2012
The arts minister’s new responsibilities come just as the profession needs a sympathetic ear
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Architect of the Year Awards 2012 shortlist announced
11 September 2012
Rogers Stirk Harbour, Stanton Williams and Adam Khan on shortlist
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Who at the AA will take responsibility?
7 September 2012
The AA Council remains remarkably silent about how the school came to be £5.5 million out of pocket
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In video: Carbuncle Cup shortlist 2012
7 September 2012
Ahead of announcing the winner of Carbuncle Cup, Ellis Woodman takes his camera around this year’s shortlisted monstrosities…
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Venice video: David Chipperfield exclusive
31 August 2012
“Most good architects believe that they are contributing something beyond just the professional task of the realisation of a commission.”
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Venice Biennale 2012: The Corderie
30 August 2012
Chipperfield’s Common Ground show in the Arsenale packs a lot in — but it’s worth the effort to get to the end
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Venice Biennale 2012: The Padiglione Centrale
30 August 2012
Satisfaction guaranteed as Common Ground continues at Giardini
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Louis Kahn’s New York park to open after 38 years
24 August 2012
Four Freedoms project was derailed by near bankcruptcy of city in 1970s
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Celebrity politics distracts us from the real issues
24 August 2012
Terence Conran is the latest household name produced to camouflage the government’s lack of credibility on the built environment
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Café culture comes at a cost
16 August 2012
Public spaces that were once open to all are now the sole preserve of those with money in their pockets
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Clapham Library by Studio Egret West
8 August 2012
Studio Egret West’s new building provides an attractive model for the involvement of the private sector in civic life
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Industri[us]: Festival of Upcycling
7 August 2012
The creative spaces of east London’s Industri[us] upcycling festival well repay an Olympic detour
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Lubetkin’s ideals have been replaced by extravagance
26 July 2012
With more UK architects working abroad, the Lubetkin Prize should be growing in significance but at what cost to its original values?
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Carbuncle Cup 2012: the shortlist
22 July 2012
After months of public nominations, these six are one step closer to winning architecture’s wooden spoon…
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Chipperfield's Venice Biennale exhibits previewed
19 July 2012
Fat, Hadid, Zumthor and Wenders among contributors
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British schools cannot compete
18 July 2012
An exodus of teaching talent is part of the reason our schools are underperforming
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Tanks under the lawn
17 July 2012
Herzog & de Meuron’s Tate Modern Tanks open
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Soane Museum refurbishment by Julian Harrap and Caruso St John
11 July 2012
The first phase of the restoration of the museum at Lincoln’s Inn Fields aims to bring three buildings as close to the original vision as possible
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The path to a lasting legacy
6 July 2012
Without pedestrian access the Olympic Park will yield no benefits for the people of east London
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Only the RIBA can put the prize back in the spotlight
5 July 2012
If no broadcaster is going to bring the Stirling Prize to the public, the task falls to the institute itself
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Architecture students reveal how beautiful urbanism can be
2 July 2012
European housing surveyed in new research from Stephen Bates and Bruno Krucker’s TU Munchen programme
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Don’t build this Dubai on the Mersey
28 June 2012
Liverpool’s historic fabric survived because it was adaptable. Can the same be said for Liverpool Waters?
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Dagenham Park Church of England School by AHMM
27 June 2012
One of the last BSF schools, AHMM’s Dagenham Park pioneered an off-site fabrication system that enabled fast, high-quality construction on a restricted budget
