A selection of the best news stories from the past year
The past 12 months have been blighted by project delays due to issues at the Building Safety Regulator and worries over the UK’s persistently sluggish economy. But 2025 has also been a year of announcements for huge projects, from the new Old Trafford stadium and Heathrow airport to plans for Universal Studios UK, set to be the biggest theme park in Europe. Here are some of the biggest news stories from the year.
Fosters reveals plans for Manchester United’s 100,000-seat Old Trafford replacement
Published in March
Manchester United FC has unveiled plans to replace Old Trafford with the UK’s largest stadium and confirmed Foster + Partners as the £2bn scheme’s lead architect.
The club has published the first images of the much-anticipated scheme this morning, showing a 100,000-seat stadium surrounded by three 200m-tall spires and sitting at the centre of a sprawling mixed-use development.
BSR boss blames lack of design expertise for gateway 2 delays as he admits ‘underestimating’ challenge of new regime for industry
Published in April
The deputy boss of the Building Safety Regulator has blamed a lack of industry design expertise for contributing to gateway 2 delays as he admitted “underestimating” how hard the transition to the new regime would be for firms.
Health and Safety Executive deputy director Tim Galloway told Building Design he had assumed demonstrating fire and structural safety in higher risk schemes, including residential buildings above 18m, would be “something that [industry firms] would already be able to do”.
Government ‘sought to influence’ Met Police on Chipperfield’s Chinese embassy plans, inquiry told
Published in February
A planning decision on proposals to build a Chinese ‘super-embassy’ in London has been “politically pre-determined at some of the highest levels of central government”, a lawyer for local residents has told a public inquiry into the scheme.
Simon Bell, representing the Royal Mint Court Residents Association, said the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had “sought to influence” independent public bodies which had objected to the proposals, including the Metropolitan Police.
Trump administration announces White House ballroom designed by McCrery Architects
Published in August
The Trump administration has announced plans for a major new addition to the White House complex, a 90,000sq ft state ballroom intended to host large-scale events and official functions. Washington DC-based McCrery Architects has been appointed as lead architect, with engineering firm AECOM also on the team.
The project, scheduled to begin in September 2025, is described by the White House as a response to long-standing constraints on the building’s capacity to host large-scale events. The new facility is intended to seat 650 guests, significantly exceeding the 200-person seated capacity of the existing East Room.
Government approves Universal Studios UK theme park with construction set to start as soon as next year
Published in December
The government has given the green light to plans by US media giant Universal to build the biggest theme park in Europe on a site in Bedfordshire.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced its approval of the special development order for the 476-acre Universal Studios UK scheme yesterday.
Foster & Partners named winner of competition to design national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II
Published in June
Foster & Partners has been named as the winner of the competition to design a £46m national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II.
Norman Foster’s practice triumphed over a high profile shortlist of five with a design for a “family of gardens” on the chosen site in St James’s Park.
Birmingham City FC unveils plans for new Heatherwick-designed stadium
Published in November
Heatherwick Studio has unveiled plans for a new 62,000-seat stadium for Birmingham City Football Club featuring a ring of towering chimney-like structures.
The new ground at Bordesley Green has been designed in collaboration with US stadium specialist Manica and film director Steven Knight, the lead writer on the next James Bond film.
‘It’s the end of architecture’ – Patrik Schumacher declares war on woke culture
Published in February
Patrik Schumacher, principal of Zaha Hadid Architects, has claimed that architecture as a discipline has ceased to exist, blaming “woke virtue-signalling”, political distractions and stagnation in architectural education for its supposed demise.
In a 13,000-word essay titled The End of Architecture, published in the Serbian architecture and philosophy journal Khōrein, Schumacher argues that architecture “has self-dissolved, eroding its intellectual and professional autonomy under the pressures of anti-capitalist politicisation and woke virtue-signalling”.
Chris Williamson to give up architect title to highlight ‘absurdity’ of ARB registration model
Published in December
Chris Williamson will not renew his ARB registration and will relinquish the title of architect from next year in order to highlight the “absurdity” of the current regulatory system.
The RIBA president and WW+P co-founder said he was making the move to draw attention to flaws in the registration model, which protects the legally restricted title “architect” but provides no oversight of the competence of those undertaking architectural activities.
Government and mayor to slash affordable housing requirement from 35% to 20% to revive stalled London housebuilding
Published in October
The government and the mayor of London have announced their much-anticipated package of support to help boost the sluggish housebuilding market in the capital.
A joint policy paper this afternoon confirmed developers will be able to secure planning permission without a viability assessment on private land where they commit to 20% affordable housing, down from 35% under current policy.
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