All articles by Amanda Birch

  • Futurehome passivhaus street context
    Technical

    Technical Study: Futurehome Passivhaus, South Gardens, London

    2017-12-13T07:00:00Z

    Maccreanor Lavington has pushed the boundaries of Passivhaus design by including bay windows on a scheme at Elephant Castle

  • Maggies Centre Oldham
    Technical

    Technical study: Maggie’s Oldham

    2017-06-26T08:00:00Z

    dRMM’s centre for the cancer care charity hovers above its landscaped garden like a giant treehouse – and represents the practice’s most ambitious use yet of cross-laminated timber.

  • Garden Halls
    Technical

    Technical study: Garden Halls, London

    2017-03-17T08:00:00Z

    TP Bennett and Maccreanor Lavington’s elegant stepped facades in the heart of Bloomsbury show how off-site methods can help student accommodation to raise its game. Amanda Birch reports

  • Aerial view of 22 Bishopsgate
    Features

    Wellbeing: 22 Bishopsgate, London

    2017-03-10T06:00:00Z

    The team behind the City of London’s latest tower is putting employee health and happiness at the top of the design agenda, with health-food bars, meditation areas and even forest bathing all part of the mix. Amanda Birch reports on the UK’s first major WELL-certified new-build project

  • Citizen M Tower of London axometric diagram
    Technical

    Manufacturing the future

    2016-11-21T07:00:00Z

    Architects shouldn’t be frightened off by Mark Farmer’s calls for modern methods of construction - they should see it a new opportunity for creativity

  • 771_Goede_Doelen_Loterijen_N197
    Technical

    Goede Doelen Loterijen by Benthem Crouwel Architects

    2016-10-14T09:52:00Z

    Once completed, the new home of the biggest lottery charity in the Netherlands will be the first refurbished office building in Amsterdam to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding

  • The Smile
    Technical

    Is hardwood the future of timber construction?

    2016-09-16T07:00:00Z

    As Alison Brooks Architects’ gravity-defying installation at the London Design Festival shows off the structural benefits of cross-laminated hardwood, Amanda Birch examines the growing uptake of CLT solutions

  • ThomsonAdsett concept home
    Technical

    Smart floors: Step-by-step care

    2016-08-19T07:00:00Z

    Sensor technology embedded in floors could be about to revolutionise patient monitoring in elderly care and dementia homes

  • British Airway i360
    Technical

    The i360 tower by Marks Barfield Architects

    2016-06-17T08:00:00Z

    The £46 milllion i360 tower in Brighton may claim accolades of being the tallest moving observation tower, the first vertical cable car and the world’s most slender tower, but the execution of its design and build is the real talking point

  • David Attenborough Building by Nicholas Hare Architects
    Technical

    David Attenborough Building by Nicholas Hare Architects

    2016-05-13T08:00:00Z

    Nicholas Hare Architects has preserved the integrity of the original Arup Associates brutalist Cambridge landmark while ensuring the radical remodelling works well for its new users. Becoming an exemplar of sustainability was something it took in its stride

  • Biot A Lab
    Technical

    Reinventing the green wall

    2016-04-15T08:00:00Z

    A new bio-receptive concrete panelling system could mean urban green walls that don’t need expensive maintenance and provide a better environment for plants too

  • Virtual reality headset
    Technical

    Virtual reality: A whole new world

    2016-03-18T07:00:00Z

    Convincing virtual reality used to be the stuff of science fiction but now the technology is catching up. With Oculus Rift and PlayStation releasing home devices, VR is finally going mainstream. Could it be a useful tool for architects?

  • Arup
    Technical

    Technical: Seeing the light

    2016-02-19T08:00:00Z

    Research has shown the effects that the brightness and colour of indoor lighting can have on personal wellbeing and performance, which could impact on the way interior architects are expected to approach new designs. Amanda Birch reports

  • Crouch end picture house
    Technical

    Crouch End Picture House, by Panter Hudspith

    2015-12-17T08:00:00Z

    Having given new life to a nondescript 1950s building, this £4.5m north London picture house is setting new standards for sustainable cinema design

  • Here East Gantry
    Technical

    Here East, Hackney Wick, by Hawkins Brown

    The former media hub of the London 2012 Olympic Games is presently the focus of a £100m redevelopment and soon to be a creative hub – in what its developers hope is the start of a wider regeneration in the east London region

  • Energiesprong
    Technical

    What the Dutch can teach us about cladding

    2015-09-11T06:00:00Z

    Energiesprong, a Dutch government-supported super-insulation approach, is being transferred to the UK housing market. Could it offer an answer to the country’s environmental and fuel poverty issues?

  • ALA VA
    Technical

    Interior flooring with a local twist

    2015-08-21T06:00:00Z

    Amanda Birch’s study of three distinct examples of interior flooring examines work in London, Zanzibar and India by Amanda Levete, Jestico Whiles and Project Orange

  • Woodspeen 10
    Technical

    The Woodspeen, West Berkshire by Softroom

    2015-07-17T07:00:00Z

    The extension to this 1827 Victorian pub relies on natural materials, including its distinctive thatched roof, to complement the original building, despite its noteworthy design

  • additive manufacturing
    Technical

    Could you 3D print your building components?

    2015-06-19T06:00:00Z

    New developments in additive manufacturing are being used to make real building components that are lighter, more cost effective and structurally just as strong as their counterparts, but use 75% less material

  • A double height atrium has been carved out of the building to create a sense of drama and maximise natural lighting.
    Technical

    Institution of Structural Engineering by Hugh Broughton Architects

    2015-05-15T06:00:00Z

    Hugh Broughton and Expedition Engineering have turned an awkwardly shaped existing office building in Clerkenwell into a showcase of structural innovation