Opinion
Latest Opinion
The net zero challenge: feeling is believing
Forget everything you thought you knew about building design if you want to achieve net zero, writes Susan Roaf
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Will Oki the radical survive contact with the RIBA?
We should all wish Oki well, but he faces an uphill struggle, writes Ben Flatman
Where was the architecture in Coventry’s year as City of Culture?
Why has Coventry turned its back on its rich 20th century architectural heritage, asks Joe Holyoak
How to bring others along on your net zero carbon journey
Net zero is achievable but the profession has a vital role to play in teaching other stakeholders how it’s done, writes Satish Jassal.
Why is it so difficult to build a high street?
We can create thriving new high streets, but it requires curation and a different financial model, writes David Rudlin.
Architecture without (too much) ego: answering the retrofit challenge
Pragmatism, agility and flexibility are vital qualities when working on a building that requires updating, says Ed Williams of Fletcher Priest Architects
Birmingham is seizing its moment to drive real change
The Commonwealth Games have given Birmingham a once in a generation opportunity to transform a formerly struggling part of the city
What’s stopping us from having a better work-life balance?
If it’s 5pm and you are reading this, please stop procrastinating. Turn off your computer and go and make the most of your evening, says Anna Beckett
There is a candidate for everyone in this RIBA election, so go and vote!
RIBA members have every reason to be disenchanted but this list of candidates offers a real choice, writes Ben Flatman
This is a more restrained Stirling prize shortlist, but not lacking in quality
Despite some surprising inclusions, this year’s Stirling prize has nominees to match the best from any previous year
This is a more restrained Stirling prize shortlist, but not lacking in quality
Despite some surprising inclusions, this year’s Stirling prize has nominees to match the best from any previous year
Overheating buildings are architects’ responsibility too
It’s time to rethink your attitudes to thermal comfort - if not for the sake of the planet, then for the sake of your insurance premiums, writes Eleanor Jolliffe.
Why I’m backing Jo Bacon for RIBA president
Jo Bacon is an experienced leader who already has an existing track record of meaningful reform at the RIBA, writes Amin Taha.
The future of the high street is here… and it’s industrial
’Last mile logistics’ has the potential to help reinvigorate our high streets, writes Simone de Gale
The Bartlett report was flawed and risks undermining academic freedom, to the detriment of all
By failing to carefully differentiate between accusations of genuine abuse and what may just be personal grievances, the Howlett Brown report has unfairly tarred all staff with the same brush and put academic independence in peril, writes Austin Williams
Birmingham’s Smithfield regeneration project risks marginalising the communities who use its markets
Birmingham has a once in a generation opportunity to repair the damage done to its historic markets quarter in the 1970s, but risks further harm if it simply gentrifies the area, writes Joe Holyoak
Why I’m backing Sumita Singha for RIBA president
Sumita Singha has the experience and the skills to lead the RIBA and unify its diverse membership, writes Jane Duncan OBE PPRIBA
Boris Johnson may be going, but his built (and unbuilt) legacy will live on
More than any of his predecessors, Boris Johnson was a PM obsessed with big building projects, writes Ben Flatman
The Bartlett open letter was an irresponsible use of institutional power
Social media accounts accused by a group of architects and academics of leading a “witch hunt” against Bartlett staff following last month’s bombshell report into alleged abuses at the school are the inevitable response to decades of inaction from UCL, writes Future Architects Front co-founder Charlie Edmonds
The joy of designing and building appropriately
”Sustainability” is too vague a concept when it comes to the environmental crisis that we are facing. We need to think in terms of “appropriate design” and embrace new procurement models, writes Felix Holland
It’s time to stop using ‘pastiche’ as a pejorative term
The word has long been used to unfairly malign architects working in the classical tradition. We need to reclaim the term and celebrate the fact that precedent and tradition are at the heart of most good contemporary architecture, writes Giles Heather
What’s stopping us from designing more holistically?
Architects and engineers need to work together more closely to realise the opportunities for efficiency, and beauty, says Anna Beckett
What exactly do we mean by ‘landscape led’?
A recent report exposes the collapse in green space provision in new development but the reason is not what you might expect, writes David Rudlin
Do we value our profession so little that its future competence is left to chance?
The current education system is formalised and standardised and largely divorced from the realities of practice. It is not really designed to produce good architects, writes Eleanor Jolliffe
Renewing my insurance should not have been such an ordeal
Navigating brokers, underwriters and soaring premiums, Satish Jassal provides his insights into the insurance crisis facing the profession.
Selling off social homes is not the answer to the housing crisis
Instead of building the new social housing we need, Boris Johnson is fixating on populist policies we already know don’t work, writes Ben Derbyshire
Two rooms and two curators: this Summer Exhibition is mixing things up
The RA’s architecture room focuses on the climate emergency but only underlines the inadequacy of most architects’ responses, writes Ben Flatman
Brace yourselves for the next wave of fire and safety regulation
Several new pieces of legislation are coming in response to Grenfell and many architects are having to run to catch up, writes Andrew Mellor
Bartlett report sheds much-needed light on our profession’s wider failings
The Bartlett sought to break down its students in order to build them back up again in the school’s own mould, writes Ben Flatman
What is Oxford Street for?
Footfall is still down, so some radical new thinking is needed to save one of the UK’s most iconic streets, writes Martyn Evans
We should all be striving for sustainability
MiddleCap’s Tomáš Jurdák explains why pushing the environmental performance of buildings is not simply a matter for the planning system
Why I’m supporting Muyiwa Oki to be the next RIBA president
Former president says progressive candidate could “hugely enrich” the institute as nomination deadline looms
Reducing embodied carbon through facade design
Mark Voss shares his perspective on the industry’s challenges facing the reduction of embodied carbon associated with the building facade and how early input from facade designers can help
The Coach: It’s OK to get angry – it’s how we deal with our anger that’s key
There are workplace situations in which anger seems to be the only legitimate response and it can then be used as a force for good, says Louise Rodgers
