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Major Regeneration Project in Vancouver Approved
Having gained consent at the first and second reading, The Passages, a one million square foot mixed use residential development in Vancouver was approved at the City of Surrey Public Hearing and third reading yesterday.
Having gained consent at the first and second reading, The Passages, a one million square foot mixed use residential development in Vancouver was approved at the City of Surrey Public Hearing and third reading yesterday.
The Passages site is at the heart of the emerging Surrey City Centre in Vancouver, where there is a drive towards a high-density, transit-orientated and walkable downtown core to address a critical housing need. The character of tall buildings and how they merge to form a beautiful skyline with humane and diverse streetscapes has been a key design driver.
The proposal for The Passages on Whalley Boulevard is for an open city block, with free-flowing public space at its heart, lined by a mix of uses which aim to serve its residents and the wider City of Surrey. The Passages proposes buildings without a front or back; all façades are on display and active, serving as extensions of the public realm.
There is an opportunity to create an exceptional urban condition by focussing on freedom of movement and public space accessed by a series of passages, leading you to an open piazza at its centre. This is an unusual urban strategy in North America, where city blocks tend to be enclosed, and dense. Therefore, the urban design has chosen to focus on a scheme with an activated heart, bringing movement through the site and offering a wide range of activities for residents and neighbours to use and enjoy. An amenity for the city.
There are three building typologies proposed across the site: Tower, Mansion Block and Point Block. Together they offer a variety of typologies and scale, which individually contribute to the unique character of the development, offering façade variety, texture and family structures, all contributing to offer a stimulating backdrop to the landscaped passages at grade. We have sought to refer to natural forms such as stone for the low-rise buildings, made up from the ground like monolithic carvings. As for the towers these refer to dense vertical forests. The textured bark of trees, tonal references from moss and lichen come with a strong desire to resist ‘flatness’ and complacency associated with residential architecture of this scale.
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Sto-Foundation: November Talks
19.11.2019, University of Stuttgart
Alison delivered a presentation to the University of Stuttgart for the Sto-Foundation November Talks season. She began her lecture entitled “Making it real – Archetypes and Ecosystems” by reading a statement on today’s crises in which she commented: “We overuse the word crisis”.
Alison delivered a presentation to the University of Stuttgart for the Sto-Foundation November Talks season. She began her lecture entitled “Making it real – Archetypes and Ecosystems” by reading a statement on today’s crises in which she commented: “We overuse the word crisis”.
Alison Brooks – November Talks
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International Quarter London, Competition Win
Alison Brooks Architects have topped an international competition to design two new residential buildings within the International Quarter London (IQL) development in Stratford, east London. Lendlease and LCR announced today that Alison Brooks Architects was selected from five practices invited to submit initial designs for two new residential and mixed-use buildings within the 22-acre development.
Alison Brooks Architects have topped an international competition to design two new residential buildings within the International Quarter London (IQL) development in Stratford, east London. Lendlease and LCR announced today that Alison Brooks Architects was selected from five practices invited to submit initial designs for two new residential and mixed-use buildings within the 22-acre development.
The buildings will include commercial space, a creche, and over 330 homes; increasing the number of properties available at IQL via affordability schemes such as Shared Ownership and Help to Buy.
Public consultation on a final set of designs is expected to begin in January, and the proposals will be consulted on and exhibited locally. They will demonstrate the very highest standards of architecture, while also melding seamlessly into the existing mix of residential, commercial and retail property at IQL. Plans for the public spaces around the buildings will refine the original masterplan and provide a continued focus on outside space, accessibility and nature.
Justin Davies, Head of Residential at Lendlease, Europe said: “Alison Brooks Architects have a wealth of experience in designing high quality residential buildings, and they have been hugely collaborative throughout this process. We are keen for that approach to continue as we take forward a project that will see us double the amount of housing on offer at IQL.
Adrian Lee, Development Director at LCR, said: “These designs will play a crucial role in delivering much-needed new homes for London and contributing to the Government’s housing targets, while bolstering IQL’s reputation as one of the capital’s top destinations to live and work. The area has leading cultural institutions and outstanding leisure and sporting facilities on its doorstep, which help it stand out as a great place to locate. We look forward to welcoming Alison Brooks Architects to the IQL team to bring new flair and design excellence to Stratford and to ensure that the new buildings will have sustainability at their core.”
Alison Brooks said “We’re honoured to have been selected to work amongst the exceptional architects working in the IQL and the wider Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park context. Our intention is to bring new character and urbanity to this park-side site, evoking the spirit of early 20th Century residential towers of New York and Chicago. Our proposal is conceived as a series of nested hexagonal columns that form ‘park ledges’ rising above a colonnaded base. We look forward to developing this concept with Lendlease and the wider Stratford and QEOP communities.”
IQL stands at the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The joint venture development between Lendlease and LCR is creating a vibrant new neighbourhood within the heart of Stratford, which brings together new homes, offices, and a diverse range of shops.
Image: Makower Architects’ masterplan for the International Quarter London.
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In Conversation with Alison Brooks, Parlour Magazine
Parlour Magazine have published an in-depth interview with Alison Brooks, in which she discusses a range of topics including her early career, the value of professional recognition, urban housing project work, the challenge of balancing work and motherhood, and the future of the profession.
Parlour Magazine have published an in-depth interview with Alison Brooks, in which she discusses a range of topics including her early career, the value of professional recognition, urban housing project work, the challenge of balancing work and motherhood, and the future of the profession.
“I started studying architecture at the University of Waterloo in Canada in 1981 and graduated in 1988. It was a long education, because the Waterloo program involved working every other semester after the first year, so that stretches out the program by about two years. It means that you’re very skilled up and switched on by the time you graduate….”
In Conversation With Alison Brooks
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Wood In Architeture, Florence
14.11.2019 16:00, Palazzo Pucci, Florence
Michael Mueller delivered a lecture at the Palazzo Pucci in Florence, on ABA’s approach to designing with timber. The event was organised by The Plan Magazine and AHEC (American Hardwood Export Council).
Michael Mueller delivered a lecture at the Palazzo Pucci in Florence, on ABA’s approach to designing with timber. The event was organised by The Plan Magazine and AHEC (American Hardwood Export Council).
The hall of the Palazzo was packed with about 400 architects – some had to stand throughout the more than 2 hours event.
David Venables (AHEC) described the variety of American hardwood species: they are now trying to introduce more red oak to construction. He also discussed new ways of mapping deforestation and growth of forests and explained how quick the American hardwood regrows, even with harvested timber.
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This Is Not A Fake, Bartlett International Lecture Series
23.10.2019 18:30, Bartlett School of Architecture
In the context of a contemporary culture saturated with the virtual and the illusory, Alison Brooks delivered a lecture to the Bartlett on both the agency of the architect and the role of architecture as a critical grounding force. She described the ways in which memory, conscious and sub-conscious experiences of ‘real’ places contribute to instinctive creativity (a fundamental human characteristic and critical form of authorship in architecture).
In the context of a contemporary culture saturated with the virtual and the illusory, Alison Brooks delivered a lecture to the Bartlett on both the agency of the architect and the role of architecture as a critical grounding force. She described the ways in which memory, conscious and sub-conscious experiences of ‘real’ places contribute to instinctive creativity (a fundamental human characteristic and critical form of authorship in architecture).
Introduction to Lecture:
This Is Not A Fake
‘I thought I should start by explaining what I mean by this lecture title. I’m sure everyone in this room is aware of the number of crises we’re facing as a society, and as human culture in general.
There is the climate crisis. We’ve finally realised that the artificial division between “human culture” and “nature” carried down through centuries of so-called “human progress” must be reversed. This a huge project that should bring together all of humanity, and in which architecture must play a very big part.
There is the crisis of truth. Facts are manipulated by biases of many kinds, by political, religious, or commercial agendas. What is real? There is even a crisis in the overuse of the word crisis! We are simultaneously becoming immune and over-sensitised to transgressions of behaviour and language, to natural and man-made disasters, to image bombardment that digital communication has enabled.
So where does that leave architecture?
I’d like to put forward a declaration of optimism. That, although we are operating in a maelstrom of information and disinformation, the work of the architect is not a fake.
Problem solving, imagining, detailing, producing instructions for building: these acts although sometimes dream-like are commitments to the real, the solid, the permanent, the instrumental. We are tied to the fundamentals of being: we make places for people to spend time, share experiences, form memories and collectively flourish.
We hope projects and clients will offer us opportunities for poetic licence and, as a result, enrich others’ lives with meaning. We all know this is a privileged role that comes with huge responsibilities to current and future generations, institutions, corporate entities and the planet.
Maybe the most important role that being an architect allows us, within limits, is to express our individual conscience. Architects Declare, that I have signed up to, is fundamentally an expression of conscience. It is a catalyst for change in personal behavior and working practice. Therefore my position is that through our individual expertise, poetic instincts and collective conscience, architects are uniquely able to commit to, and act on, a better common future. We humans are part of the real and natural world and our project, as architects, is to prove it.’
This Is Not A Fake, BD Magazine
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Architecture Alive in Malta.
19.10.2019 18:30, MUZA Valletta
Alison presented a lecture on New Archetypes and the Civic Ideal at the Architecture Alive event in Malta organised by Studjurban and the Malta Planning Authority. Alison discussed the role of the archetype as a critical architectural and conceptual framework for her work.
Alison presented a lecture on New Archetypes and the Civic Ideal at the Architecture Alive event in Malta organised by Studjurban and the Malta Planning Authority. Alison discussed the role of the archetype as a critical architectural and conceptual framework for her work.
Archetypal forms, spaces, organisations and relationships structure our individual experience and collective memory. They act as a springboard for our individual creative acts. She will illustrate how her practice works with archetypal models and local histories to create an experimental, culturally specific architecture including her seminal new academic Quadrangle for Exeter College, Oxford; the Mies van der Rohe nominated Ely Court; the York Castle Museum and residential towers in the UK and Canada. These projects represent the extraordinary range of scales, geographies and social structures; each exploring an expressive materialality and a search locally resonant, sustainable building practice.
Alison Brooks – Architecture Alive
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ROME XL Exhibition
16.10.2019—1.11.2019, Istituto Italiano di Cultura
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto celebrates the work of past Waterloo Architecture Rome Program graduates in a new exhibition in Toronto. The exhibition includes student sketches by Alison Brooks seen alongside built work and new project influenced by her time in Rome.
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto celebrates the work of past Waterloo Architecture Rome Program graduates in a new exhibition in Toronto. The exhibition includes student sketches by Alison Brooks seen alongside built work and new project influenced by her time in Rome.
RomaXL presents drawings by a selection of highly accomplished Waterloo graduates completed during their Rome term, together with examples of their built work. This juxtaposition reveals unexpected influences of Roman architecture, landscape architecture and urban design on Canadian architects today.
The exhibition features work by Alison Brooks, Johnson Chou, Jean Colonnier, Shelley Craig, Alexander Josephson, Chris Pommer and Lisa Rapoport, Paul Raff, Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe, John Shnier and others.
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BASE – Big Architecture and Sustainability
7.10.2019—7.10.2019, The Venue, De Montfort University
More than 700 Architecture and Arts students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) gathered for the first week of the academic year to take part in BASE (Big Architecture and Sustainability Event) where the discussed their future impact on sustainable design and communities. Alison Brooks presented a lecture on Experimental Sustainable Archetypes.
More than 700 Architecture and Arts students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) gathered for the first week of the academic year to take part in BASE (Big Architecture and Sustainability Event) where the discussed their future impact on sustainable design and communities. Alison Brooks presented a lecture on Experimental Sustainable Archetypes.
As well as the lectures, which also featured presentations by Matthew Barnett Howland, Oliver Wilton and Louise Palomba, a series of workshops involved students getting together in groups to think and work creatively, such as dreaming up a perfect building for a celebrity and designing the structure in miniature out of paper straws, or coming up with ideas of how society can work in a more sustainable way.
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Oktyabrskaya masterplan in Kaliningrad
Our contribution to the Oktyabrskaya masterplan in Kaliningrad has been supported by the municipal governor, and is moving onto the next stage of design development and subsequent permissions. Working with Strelka KB, the overall masterplanner, for the government client body DOM.RF (formerly AHML), we were asked to design a series of related concept apartment building typologies which overlook a new public park.
Our contribution to the Oktyabrskaya masterplan in Kaliningrad has been supported by the municipal governor, and is moving onto the next stage of design development and subsequent permissions. Working with Strelka KB, the overall masterplanner, for the government client body DOM.RF (formerly AHML), we were asked to design a series of related concept apartment building typologies which overlook a new public park.
Streetscape and programmatic considerations have been important in the emerging design – as we are creating a zone of the city that is lively and active. The development site for our project within the Oktyabrskaya Masterplan in Kaliningrad is a high-density urban quarter consisting of residential courtyard blocks with 5 to 9 floors and commercial double and single height ground floors. The ten concept apartment buildings we have designed are conceived as ‘Palazzos’ with more or less symmetrical massing which define a strong edge to the park. Strategically located towers with up to 20 floors provide spatial accents at the main square and at the transport hub at the entrance to the site. We developed these typologies in a very short space of time, with each block designed by a different architect in the studio according to a set of overriding design principles. They were produced for the masterplan to illustrate the future potential of the development.
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Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
10.06.2019—12.08.2019, Royal Academy
Varnishing Day at the RA Summer Exhibition this afternoon. We are showing two models in the Architecture Room: Exeter College in Oxford, and The Smile. The collection was curated by Spencer de Grey this year, with a focus on design and sustainability.
Varnishing Day at the RA Summer Exhibition this afternoon. We are showing two models in the Architecture Room: Exeter College in Oxford, and The Smile. The collection was curated by Spencer de Grey this year, with a focus on design and sustainability.
“Alison Brooks uses structural cross-laminated and sustainably-forested Tulipwood in her Smile pavilion, resulting in a building with a negative carbon footprint.”
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Architects Declare – A Climate and Biodiversity Emergency
Along with 16 other UK winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize, we have signed an open letter declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency, making a commitment to positive action in response.
Along with 16 other UK winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize, we have signed an open letter declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency, making a commitment to positive action in response.
The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats.
For everyone working in the construction industry, meeting the needs of our society without breaching the earth’s ecological boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in our behaviour. Together with our clients, we will need to commission and design buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.
The research and technology exist for us to begin that transformation now, but what has been lacking is collective will. Recognising this, we are committing to strengthen our working practices to create architecture and urbanism that has a more positive impact on the world around us.
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Public Housing: A London Renaissance
16.05.2019—18.07.2019, NLA, The Building Centre
The opening of a new exhibition at the NLA this week at London’s Building Centre. A review of current trends in London Estate housing.
The opening of a new exhibition at the NLA this week at London’s Building Centre. A review of current trends in London Estate housing.
“This exhibition shows how London boroughs are working to deliver high-quality, pleasant and affordable homes on estates, smaller sites and large-scale areas of regeneration across London, to create places that can also support the sustainable growth of the capital.”
Alison Brooks Architects have contributed a number of our projects in Kilburn including Ely Court.
The exhibition will open from 16 May to 18 July 2019, at The Building Centre.
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Forest of Fabrication Symposium on ‘Re-Imagining Timber’
3.04.2019 14:00, The Building Centre
Alison presented our work in relation to the innovative use and the future potential of wood in architectural construction, alongside Alex de Rijke of drMM Architects and Amin Taha.
Alison presented our work in relation to the innovative use and the future potential of wood in architectural construction, alongside Alex de Rijke of drMM Architects and Amin Taha.
Other speakers included: David Venables of the American Hardwood Council, our client for The Smile project; and Johannes Rebhahn of specialist timber contractor Wiehag. Thanks to the host of the event, Vanessa Norwood of The Building Centre for facilitating such an interesting discussion that touched on wide ranging themes from technical design, the future of wood as a material in construction, well-being and the management of the world’s forests to provide a sustainable source of construction materials.
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Maggie’s Taunton Awarded Planning Permission
We are delighted to announce that our design for a Maggie’s Centre in Taunton has been granted planning permission.
We are delighted to announce that our design for a Maggie’s Centre in Taunton has been granted planning permission.
Maggie’s have stated “We’re really excited to be bringing a Maggie’s to Taunton which will help thousands of people with cancer in the area and beyond. We’re incredibly grateful that we’ve been awarded planning permission, and we look forward to creating a very special place that people with cancer, their family and friends can benefit from.
We’re looking forward to working in partnership with the Beacon Cancer Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital and Alison Brooks Architects, and are committed to working with the council to create a brand new playground as part of the project for local residents and their families to enjoy.
We welcome more discussions with local residents and are keen to work with them so they feel part of the project and are happy with the outcome so that everyone can enjoy the space.”
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University of Manitoba
21.03.2019 18:00, John A. Russell Building
Alison Brooks is providing a lecture titled ‘Ideals, then Ideas: Authenticity, Generosity, Civicness and Beauty’ at the University of Manitoba on 21 March 2019.
Alison Brooks is providing a lecture titled ‘Ideals, then Ideas: Authenticity, Generosity, Civicness and Beauty’ at the University of Manitoba on 21 March 2019.
In her talk she will discuss her practice philosophy, architectural approach and the ideals of ‘authenticity, generosity, civicness and beauty’ relating her current and recently completed projects. These include the new Cohen Quadrangle for Exeter College, Oxford University and new models for urban housing such as Ely Court, shortlisted for the 2017 Mies Award for Contemporary European Architecture.
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Architects’ Journal: Alison Brooks Lands York Castle Museum Redevelopment Job
Architects’ Journal have announced Alison Brooks Architects appointment as Lead Architect and Masteplanner of the multi-million-pound redevelopment of York Castle Museum
Architects’ Journal have announced Alison Brooks Architects appointment as Lead Architect and Masteplanner of the multi-million-pound redevelopment of York Castle Museum
‘York Museum Trust has appointed the London-based practice, working with Richard Griffiths, Purcell and Todd Longstaff-Gowan Landscape Design to draw up concept work and a masterplan for the ‘reimagined museum’.
The practice was chosen from a shortlist which included Stanton Williams; Purcell Architecture; Simpson and Brown; and Wilkinson Eyre.’
“For us, Alison Brooks Architects were the ideal choice despite never working on a museum project before. We felt that they had brought together a great team and, more than anyone else, they understood the site and our approach to the project.” Reyahn King, Chief Executive, York Museums Trust
To read the full article, click here.
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Building Design: Alison Brooks lands York Castle Museum redevelopment
Building Design has published the announcement of our appointment as Lead Architect & Masterplanner for the York Castle Museum redevelopment.
Building Design has published the announcement of our appointment as Lead Architect & Masterplanner for the York Castle Museum redevelopment.
“The practice will work with Richard Griffiths Architects, Purcell Architecture and Todd Longstaff-Gowan Landscape Design, Real Studios, BDP, Appleyard and Trew, and BuroHappold Engineering on the project, described by the museum as multimillion pound.
York Castle Museum had shortlisted five practices for interview to lead the project: Alison Brooks, Purcell Architecture, Simpson & Brown, Stanton Williams and Wilkinson Eyre.”
To read the full article, click here.
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Alison Brooks Architects appointed for the York Castle Museum Redevelopment
We’re delighted to announce our appointment as Lead Architect & Masterplanner for the York Castle Museum Redevelopment.
We’re delighted to announce our appointment as Lead Architect & Masterplanner for the York Castle Museum Redevelopment.
Our scheme with Richard Griffiths Architects, Todd Longstaffe-Gowan Landscape Design & Purcell will offer an inspiring new Museum Quarter for York.
The RIBA stage one phase of the project will see the creation of masterplan and concept designs for the re-imagined museum in preparation for the Heritage Lottery Funding Campaign. The development will be a significant part of the City of York Council’s plans for the regeneration of the Castle Gateway area.
“The number of applicants for the project has been phenomenal; this was a very competitive appointment.” Paul Lambert, York Museums Trust
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Architizer: 19 Women Architects to Watch in 2019
Alison Brooks has been named in Architizer’s ’19 Women Architects to Watch in 2019′.
Alison Brooks has been named in Architizer’s ’19 Women Architects to Watch in 2019′.
“Alison Brooks’ The Smile – a 2017 A+Award Jury Winner in the Pavilions category — is one of those projects that seems to be everywhere, its image proliferating in both print and social media years after its construction. Conceived as a “habitable arc poised on the horizon,” the engineered wood structure was created as a pavilion for the 2016 London Design Festival. The building quickly garnered international attention, and has been viewed online — by one estimate — over 290 million times, a testament to the fact that great design still has the power to make an impact.!” Julia Gamolina, Architizer
To read more, click here.
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