Ben Flatman
Ben Flatman is the architectural editor at Building Design
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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
NewsHopkins Architects celebrates 50 years with City gathering
Leading figures from across the profession gathered in the City last night as Hopkins Architects celebrated 50 years of practice and reflected on its legacy and future direction
NewsEric Parry’s £750m Oxford medical and research campus approved
Redevelopment of Warneford Hospital site includes new mental health hospital, medical research centre and graduate college
FeaturesFrank Gehry: from LA experimentalist to the architect of the Bilbao effect
Ben Flatman examines how Gehry’s work evolved from local, materially driven invention into one of the most recognisable architectural vocabularies of his generation
FeaturesJack Pringle: ‘If the RIBA didn’t exist, you’d have to invent it’
RIBA chair Jack Pringle reflects on his role in stabilising the institute’s finances, implementing governance reforms and positioning architects to reclaim leadership in construction through the principal designer role
ReviewReview: Cosmos, Memory, Scale at the SOAS Gallery
Ben Flatman examines how architect and artist Karl Singporewala weaves architecture, heritage and personal memory into a rich body of work shaped by Parsi diasporic experience
FeaturesBarr Gazetas: designing a culture of sustainability
Ben Flatman discovers how Barr Gazetas is redefining what a sustainable practice can be – from its commitment to retrofit and social value to a culture of openness and long-term responsibility within the team
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
NewsBirmingham Airport appoints Arup to develop new masterplan
£300 million to be invested over the next four years
OpinionThe case for more specialist pathways in architecture is growing stronger
As construction grows ever more complex and other professions embrace specialisation, architecture risks being left further behind. Ben Flatman asks whether the time has come for change
NewsSeven shortlisted teams unveil designs for Museum of Jesus’ Baptism in Jordan
Designs by Níall McLaughlin Architects and heneghan peng feature among shortlisted proposals
NewsHowells wins outline consent for Edgbaston Street Gardens development at appeal
Plans assume relocation of Bull Ring Indoor Market traders to David Kohn Architects’ new market hall within Lendlease’s Smithfield development
NewsGovernment confirms £120m funding to reopen Oxford’s Cowley branch line
Passenger services will return to the line for the first time in 60 years, linking major investment areas to central Oxford and Marylebone
NewsDoodle Architecture and SODA Studio unveil proposal to pedestrianise Soho
The architect-led plan to transform central London’s entertainment district has received the backing of figures including Stephen Fry and Peter Murray
NewsBDP appoints new cities director
Natalia Uribe’s appointment intended to signal firm’s global commitment to sustainable city-making
NewsWorkload confidence dips as smaller practices report growing strain, says RIBA
September 2025 RIBA Future Trends survey finds overall confidence slipping into negative territory for the first time since January, with smaller practices hit hardest by a subdued residential sector
NewsCoffey Architects reveals plans for Iron Age–inspired retail and community hub in St Neots
The proposed Wintringham Hub would form the commercial and social heart of a major eastern expansion to the Cambridgeshire town, featuring retail, office and leisure spaces around a new public square
NewsRIBA commits to act as report exposes ongoing gender inequality in profession
New research commissioned by RIBA outlines entrenched inequalities across the profession and proposes 47 recommendations aimed at accelerating change
NewsStolon Studio wins consent for cafe and restaurant embedded in Rochester's medieval walls
The scheme will reveal long-hidden remains of a medieval gatehouse and create a new public courtyard
NewsFoster + Partners completes Techo International Airport terminal in Cambodia
New terminal building south of Phnom Penh forms the centrepiece of wider airport city masterpan