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Making the world a better place - through design
Building Design has launched a new initiative placing social value at the heart of our coverage
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Designing for every body: Jos Boys and the radical potential of disability-led design
Architectural activist, teacher and campaigner Jos Boys has spent decades questioning who architecture is really for. In this profile, Mary Richardson explores how her latest work reframes access as a political, creative and collaborative practice
Demolition, density and distrust in Birmingham: estate renewal in a bankrupt city
With Birmingham in financial crisis, Joe Holyoak explores how plans for Ladywood and Druids Heath risk repeating past mistakes, and excluding the very residents they are intended to serve
HTA gets green light for relocatable homes pilot scheme in east London
18-unit scheme seeks to address the growing demand for temporary housing
Architecture and Social Change: Shaping an Impactful Practice
Jan Kattein explores Brian Holland’s compelling new book, which brings together 15 practitioners reimagining architecture as a tool for justice, collaboration and civic empowerment
How the principles of B Corp help us perform better as a business
As the backlash against ESG and EDI grows – especially in the US – Rachel Bell explains how a values-driven approach is strengthening Stride Treglown’s culture and improving the service it offers clients
2,000 young people, one mission: Rethinking access to architecture at the Festival of the Future
Mary Richardson reflects on how last weekend’s Festival of the Future brought over 2,000 young people to RIBA’s 66 Portland Place, aiming to break down barriers to built environment careers
The built environment belongs to everyone – so why are young voices so often excluded?
As the Festival of the Future takes place at Portland Place, Neil Onions challenges the industry to break down barriers and give young people a meaningful voice in architecture and urban design
Material Cultures: the radical architects rethinking how – and what – we build
Mary Richardson meets the practice advocating for bio-based materials to decarbonise construction
A new era for housing? Why co-design is a critical tool for inclusive development
Tom Greenall and Jane Wong introduce a new online co-design resource intended to support more inclusive and meaningful community participation in the development process
What’s stopping us from improving diversity?
With International Women’s Day approaching, Anna Beckett asks how early gender stereotypes shape career choices – and what the construction industry can do about it
Amid all the uncertainty, architects are already working to rebuild Gaza
While Donald Trump sets out his contested vision for Gaza’s future, Palestinians are seeking to reanimate their devastated landscape, writes Emma Dent Coad
The future faces of UK architecture
Mary Richardson meets three young alumni of Beyond the Box who share, in their own words, how the initiative shaped their paths into architecture
Youth-designed pavilion unveiled in Camden’s HS2 meanwhile garden
The six-metre-tall pavilion and performance space, ‘Reflect’, was co-designed by young people in collaboration with social enterprise MATT+FIONA and Fitzrovia Youth in Action
Jan Kattein: architect as catalyst – ‘A transformational impact can be achieved with limited means’
As Jan Kattein Architects unveils its latest project at Westminster’s Church Street Triangle, Mary Richardson takes a closer look at the work of this innovative firm that weaves social practice into its inspiring and colourful placemaking
A failure of planning? The uncertain fate of Birmingham’s historic markets
Despite eight centuries of history, Birmingham’s markets are being sidelined in the city’s latest redevelopment plans – with traders facing an uncertain future and no clear strategy for continuity, writes Joe Holyoak
Why the key to reviving our towns is people-centred regeneration
It is time for the government to focus on ‘thriving towns for a revived nation’ writes Ben Derbyshire
No demolition, no compromise: Civic Square’s radical approach to the future of urbanism
In Birmingham’s Ladywood, Civic Square is championing a radical, community-led approach to urbanism, writes Joe Holyoak
Dian Small: embracing her new role as mentor and disruptor
Dian Small speaks to Mary Richardson about her new role at the London School of Architecture and its potential to drive change for underrepresented practitioners
Compact living, big impact: Dovehouse Court’s lesson in sustainability and community
Designed by Mole Architects, Dovehouse Court is the UK’s first Passivhaus-certified almshouse scheme
Putting children and young people at the heart of housing design
Dinah Bornat explores how housing design can better meet the needs of younger generations
Closing the skills gap: Alison Watson on transforming built environment education
Alison Watson MBE is a woman on a mission to transform education in the built environment
Chief Medical Officer’s report calls for active travel, improved housing, and cleaner air in cities
The annual report highlights how urban environments impact health
London School of Architecture launches new programme to support under-represented practices
Fully funded one-year pilot programme will provide mentorship, business development, and practical learning opportunities
Taskforce calls for cross-departmental unit to lead national older people’s housing strategy
Wide-ranging paper also calls for planning presumption in favour of later living housing and requirements on Homes England to support its expansion
School closures threaten London’s future as a city for families
Soho Parish Primary School’s financial struggles reflect wider demographic trends, including declining birth rates, post-Brexit migration, and the long-term impact of Covid-19, challenging the city’s multigenerational identity
Beyond the Box: delivering real social value in the built environment
For the latest in BD’s Boomers to Zoomers series, Mary Richardson talked to Neil Onions, head of Beyond the Box, a social enterprise with a reputation for finding innovative ways to empower underrepresented young people within the built-environment sector
‘Because the spaces work for children, they work for everyone’ – how the Whittington estate fosters a community for all ages
Mary Richardson talks to two architects who have made a film about the child-friendly estate where they live, to find out what’s so special about its design
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