Building Studies
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Building StudyOlympia reborn: How London’s historic exhibition venue has been revitalised for the modern age
The £1.3bn transformation of the historic venue in west London has added entertainment, hospitality and workspace to an already congested site. Thomas Lane visits one of the capital’s most complex construction projects
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Building StudyThe Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration: Tim Ronalds Architects reanimates New River Head
Ben Flatman explores a sensitive reworking of Clerkenwell’s New River Head, where Tim Ronalds Architects weave galleries, education spaces and a cafe into a historic site shaped by four centuries of change
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Building StudyV&A East, Stratford: A museum built for a different generation
Opening in the shadow of the former Olympic Park, V&A East seeks to reframe what a national museum can be. Debika Ray visits the building by O’Donnell + Tuomey to explore its architectural strategies for accessibility, sociability and civic presence
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Building StudyA lesson in ‘elegant frugality’: DSDHA’s Henry Moore gallery
A £5m refurbishment of a former farm building in Hertfordshire embodies the spirit and life of the artist while radically cutting embodied carbon and operational energy use
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Building StudyA quietly radical housing project: Metropolitan Workshops’ resident‑led Passivhaus scheme
This 24‑home scheme for Phoenix Community Housing in Lewisham brings contemporary low‑energy design to the Bellingham Estate, echoing its Arts & Crafts origins while meeting today’s demands for family housing
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Building StudyFrom stranded asset to grade A office: how a facsimile facade made all the difference for a failing, listed building in central Manchester
So much heat leaked from Manchester’s grade II listed Pall Mall that it was being used only for storing cardboard boxes. In what is believed to be a first, developer Bruntwood SciTech and architect Sheppard Robson got consent to replace the failing 1960s facade with a thermally upgraded facsimile, demonstrating ...
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Building StudyHornsey Town Hall: a brilliantly conceived and highly sensitive – if mildly eccentric – restoration
Residents of Crouch End in north London have had a long and sometimes fraught wait for Reginald Uren’s 1935 former council HQ to reopen, but they now once again have a building to enjoy and cherish
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Building StudyJewry Wall Museum, Leicester: A sensitive refurbishment of Trevor Dannatt’s brutalist former college
With the college now closed, the museum which was tucked away on the ground floor has spread its wings to fill the whole building. Owen Hatherley reports
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Building StudyBirdcage of Paradise: Three Chamberlain Square
FCBStudios’ latest addition to Birmingham’s Paradise masterplan pairs bold terracotta detailing with net-zero credentials, creating a vibrant workplace beside the city’s historic Town Hall
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Building Study‘They’re a demanding group of people’… Keeping the scientists happy at the University of Cambridge’s new Ray Dolby Centre
Architects Jestico + Whiles were challenged to make the Cavendish Laboratory’s science accessible to the public while meeting the demands of its top researchers. Daniel Gayne visited to see how they did it
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Building StudyDesigned to change the world: Inside Oxford University’s new £200m Life and Mind Building
NBBJ’s research facility brings together experimental psychology and biology departments to address challenges including climate change, mental health, food security and AI. Thomas Lane reports
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Building StudyDulwich College by alma-nac: a new lower school library and the refurbishment of its emblematic Charles Barry block
Designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards, the Raymond Chandler Library is refining its energy performance after a year in use, while the team also restores the school’s central Charles Barry building, Sarah Simpkin reports
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Building StudyBackstage at The Old Vic: Haworth Tompkins crafts a contemporary counterpoint to a Georgian icon
Within a slender 10m slot on Waterloo Road, Haworth Tompkins has delivered an extension that redefines The Old Vic theatre’s relationship with its city
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Building StudyOxford opens its doors: Hopkins’ Stephen A Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
Ben Flatman explores how Hopkins Architects’ Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities embodies a shift in Oxford’s academic culture
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Building StudyFrom discontented planners to a glorious summer: Van Heyningen and Haward’s Leicester Cathedral extension
The number of visitors to Leicester Cathedral soared following the discovery of Richard III’s tomb. The opening of a new heritage and learning centre marks the completion of Leicester cathedral’s masterplan to improve facilities for staff and visitors alike, Thomas Lane reports
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Building Study76 Upper Ground: Denys Lasdun’s 1960s South Bank vision is realised at last
The IBM Building was a cut-down version of architect Denys Lasdun’s plans for a complementary neighbour to the National Theatre on the banks of the Thames. AHMM’s recent refurbishment, which sees the building brought firmly into the 21st century, means that original vision is now complete
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Building StudyDesigning, building and growing the natural way: Wolves Lane community centre unveiled by Studio Gil and Material Cultures
Straw, clay and reclaimed materials come together in a strikingly unconventional eco build in north London. Mary Richardson reports on a project that rethinks not just how we build, but who gets to do the building
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Building StudyUnpacking the museum: the V&A Storehouse in Stratford opens its doors
Ben Flatman visits the V&A’s new public store in east London, where the backstage world of conservation, curation and storage is placed front and centre
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Building StudyA Serpentine Pavilion for anxious times – but is that enough?
This year’s pavilion by Marina Tabassum is grounded in thoughtful references and a clear intention to engage with the site. Mary Richardson explores why it fails to resonate