Talks & exhibitions
Alison Brooks at Toronto International Architectural Roundtable
Alison Brooks will be in Toronto this November for The Buildings Show Toronto International Architectural Roundtable, where she will discuss Design Solutions for the Housing Crisis with Alfonso Femia, Janna Levitt and Ouri Scott. Co-sponsored by the Ontario Association of Architects and moderated by architectural critic Adele Weder, she will outline the challenges presented by the housing crisis both internationally and in Canada. The conversation will explore strategies to tackle these challenges across design and policy.
Alison Brooks will be in Toronto this November for The Buildings Show Toronto International Architectural Roundtable, where she will discuss Design Solutions for the Housing Crisis with Alfonso Femia, Janna Levitt and Ouri Scott. Co-sponsored by the Ontario Association of Architects and moderated by architectural critic Adele Weder, she will outline the challenges presented by the housing crisis both internationally and in Canada. The conversation will explore strategies to tackle these challenges across design and policy.
At ABA, our dedication to inclusive city-building is grounded in the belief of housing as civic building. Working with private and public sector clients and local communities to deliver affordable, sustainable, and diverse neighbourhoods, we strive to foster equitable opportunities for both urban and rural societies. Get your tickets here.
When: Nov. 29, 2023 – 9:00 to 10:30am
Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre South Building, 222 Bremner Blvd, Toronto
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The Architects Series – A documentary on Alison Brooks Architects
Presented by THE PLAN magazine for Iris Ceramica Group, the 31st instalment of the series will be premiered on Thursday September 14 at the Iris Ceramica Gallery in Clerkenwell, London.
Presented by THE PLAN magazine for Iris Ceramica Group, the 31st instalment of the series will be premiered on Thursday September 14 at the Iris Ceramica Gallery in Clerkenwell, London.
Join us in the premiere of The Architects Series – A documentary on Alison Brooks Architects. Presented by The Plan magazine for Iris Ceramica Group.
Earlier this year, we welcomed the cameras of The Plan into our studios in Kentish Town for the filming. The documentary includes interviews with Alison Brooks along with our team, presenting the ideas and thoughts behind our day-to-day practice and key architectural projects.
The documentary will be screened at the Iris Ceramica Group Gallery in Clerkwenwell, followed by a live lecture by Alison Brooks. Assistants will be able to ask questions, moderated by Hana Nihill – Architecture Awards Manager at the Royal Academy of Arts.
The event will also be live-streamed.
Date: September 14, 2023, 18h
Location: ICG Gallery, 61-67 Old Street, London EC1V 9HW
Entry: Free, registration needed
Programme:
18:00h Welcome and screening of the documentary
18:30h Context is Everything, lecture by Alison Brooks
19:15h Q&A led by Hana Nihill
19:45h Refreshments
Register for in-person and online event here
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Cornell AAP, ‘(An)Other University – A Place in Common’
Alison Brooks was honoured to teach at Cornell AAP this spring as Gensler Visiting Critic supported by AAP co-tutor Hanna Tulis. The studio ‘(An)Other University – A Place in Common’ investigated the nature of university as a civic institution and carrier of culture.
Alison Brooks was honoured to teach at Cornell AAP this spring as Gensler Visiting Critic supported by AAP co-tutor Hanna Tulis. The studio ‘(An)Other University – A Place in Common’ investigated the nature of university as a civic institution and carrier of culture.
Its starting point was history and etymology of University, a compound word that, from the Latin, might translate as ‘seeking truth, together’.
In response to perceived and actual conditions of exclusion, universities are being asked to deliver a more holistic civic mission beyond their boundaries to create a wider ecosystem of social value and community benefit. The studio asked these questions: How can architecture operate between the campus, the city and its public to offer a Third Space or Commons? How can it act as a platform for participatory cultural discourse, in which all citizens can contribute to the accumulation and transmission of knowledge?
The project was sited in Montreal, an island city renowned for its multi-cultural character, its urban ‘mountain’, many universities, and brutal winters. Many of its residents, in particular its Kanien’kéha Nation and other indigenous communities, feel excluded from its landscapes of learning, both phenomenologically and physically.
The Studio was asked to re-imagine the ways in which the university’s traditional spaces – Library, Lecture Hall, Refectory, Auditorium – could become a more inclusive, composite architecture, re-casting the campus boundary as an inter-cultural place of assembly, social service and knowledge creation. Not only Library, but also Living Archive, Cooking and Recording Studios; not only Auditorium, but Agora, Maker Spaces, Talking Circles and Medicinal Gardens; spaces supporting more diverse forms of knowledge creation.
The studio’s comprehensive architectural projects emerged from a series of contextual investigations: a Typological Manual of Learning Institutions followed by the Imaginary Ideal: an intimate learning space in the idiom of magical realism. Group research included production of a Montreal Atlas encompassing infrastructure, rituals, institutions, food and ecologies and on-site experience of Montreal in winter. Within a critical conceptual framework each student produced a comprehensive architectural proposal synthesising cultural programme, spatial organisation, structural principles and material, using locally sourced structural timber, clay and stone.
Arch 4101 Students: Madeline Esquivel, Abdulrazaq Alkhaled, Marina Bernardi Peschard, Jun Oh Koo, Binghua Lei, Jiawei Wu, Jocelyn Pang, Khushboo Vyas, Njillan Sarre, Zachary Sherrod, Steven Liu, Francheska Reed
Special thanks to studio contributors & guest lecturers: Louis-Thomas Kelly, Margaret Carney, Stephan Chevalier & Sergio Morales, CCA-Canadian Centre for Architecture, Nicole Ives
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Home Ground @ABA for the London Festival of Architecture 2023
This June, the office welcomed visitors to experience our Home Ground installation. After being exhibited at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale ‘How will we live together?’ and then travelling to Germany in 2022 for the Biennale Meets Roma exhibition, our installation finally found a home at our studio in Kentish Town.
This June, the office welcomed visitors to experience our Home Ground installation. After being exhibited at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale ‘How will we live together?’ and then travelling to Germany in 2022 for the Biennale Meets Roma exhibition, our installation finally found a home at our studio in Kentish Town.
As part of the festival, we held an event where Alison Brooks and Associate Ceri Edmunds discussed the role of the Biennale in architectural culture, the ideas behind our installation and the projects it represents.
Alison Brooks and Associate Ceri Edmunds discussed our approach to the installation, the process of making it during Covid-19 times, and the projects it presents. We finalised the evening with a conversation about the role of the Biennale in the making of architectural culture.
One of our initial intentions for the installation was to generate a space for discussion. It brings us much joy to see the exhibition’s continued significance.
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Architects, not Architecture Keynote Speech
Alison Brooks spoke of her Canadian upbringing and architectural inspirations in a unique London event that prohibits speakers from talking about their practice’s work.
Watch the full keynote speech by clicking here.
Alison Brooks spoke of her Canadian upbringing and architectural inspirations in a unique London event that prohibits speakers from talking about their practice’s work.
Watch the full keynote speech by clicking here.
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Reconceptualizing Urban Housing at the Venice Biennale 2023
ABA work is on show at the Palazzo Mora in Venice as part of the Reconceptualizing Urban Housing exhibition. Organized by the ECC and curated by Canadian architect Heather Dubbeldam, the exhibition brings together a group of women-led practices from around the world presenting new housing models that redefine what collective housing can be and how it can support liveability for its inhabitants. The exhibition features our projects Unity Place, London and Quayside, Toronto.
ABA work is on show at the Palazzo Mora in Venice as part of the Reconceptualizing Urban Housing exhibition. Organized by the ECC and curated by Canadian architect Heather Dubbeldam, the exhibition brings together a group of women-led practices from around the world presenting new housing models that redefine what collective housing can be and how it can support liveability for its inhabitants. The exhibition features our projects Unity Place, London and Quayside, Toronto.
Participants:
Alison Brooks Architects, UK
Adengo Architecture, Uganda
Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Canada
Manuelle Gautrand Architecture, France
Eleena Jamil Architect, Malaysia
Fernanda Canales Arquitectura, Mexico
Studio Gang, USA
Meyer-Grohbruegge, Germany
Mecanoo, Netherlands
The exhibition will be on from May 20 to November 26, 2023 at Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy.
Visit the exhibition’s website here.
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Madame Architect Interview
This December Alison Brooks was interviewed by Julia Gamolina, the founder of Madame Architect.
This December Alison Brooks was interviewed by Julia Gamolina, the founder of Madame Architect.
“We need more women creating the built environment, creating the cities in which we live. We need to inspire more young girls and women to be the makers of our world.”
To read the full interview, click here.
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IE University Guest Lecture
In November, Alison Brooks travelled to IE university to present her works to graduate students, placing an emphasis on sustainable, context-driven design.
In November, Alison Brooks travelled to IE university to present her works to graduate students, placing an emphasis on sustainable, context-driven design.
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Siza Talks 2022
16.11.2022—18.11.2022, Porto, Portugal
Perspective Forum Venice: A New Age of Wood
Alison Brooks headlined a conference sponsored by AHEC and attended by hundreds of architects and industry professionals this November.
Read about the event here.
Alison Brooks Features at the Monterey Design Conference
Headlining alongside an impressive list of international design talents, Alison Brooks featured as a keynote speaker in Monterey, California for CAIA’s famed Monterey Design Conference.
Headlining alongside an impressive list of international design talents, Alison Brooks featured as a keynote speaker in Monterey, California for CAIA’s famed Monterey Design Conference.
Learn more about the event and speakers by clicking here.
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Opening Keynote Speech ‘Transformations’ Cadence Exeter College Cohen Quad
30.09.2022—2.10.2022, Samsung KX
Alison Brooks spoke for the American Institute of Architects, kicking off a 3-day conference focused on London, King’s Cross and its transformations since the last AIA London Conference in 2014.
Alison Brooks spoke for the American Institute of Architects, kicking off a 3-day conference focused on London, King’s Cross and its transformations since the last AIA London Conference in 2014.
Alison Brooks presented her work with a talk entitled ‘Context in Architecture.’ Cadence, Cohen Quad and the LSE Global Hub design proposal were all covered as case studies.
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Biennale Meets ROMA
3.06.2022—17.11.2022, ROMA KG Campus Burgau, Germany
The ‘Home Ground’ installation will be exhibited at the ROMA KG campus in Burgau, Germany until November.
The ‘Home Ground’ installation will be exhibited at the ROMA KG campus in Burgau, Germany until November.
We are glad to be featured in this exhibition alongside models by Peter Pichler Architecture, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Storia Na Lugar, LOVE Architecture, Kozo Kadowaki, Enlace Arquitectura, Daniel López-Pérez, and Reiser + Umemoto. →
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Alison Brooks Closing Keynote Speaker at Banffsessions
6.05.2022—8.05.2022, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Alberta, Canada
Alison Brooks will be the closing keynote speaker at the Alberta Association of Architects’ BanffSessions conference.
Alison Brooks will be the closing keynote speaker at the Alberta Association of Architects’ BanffSessions conference.
The theme of the conference is ‘ADAPTATIONS’. Brooks’ presentation will focus on context, authenticity, generosity, civicness and beauty.
Visit the conference homepage here.
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Alison Brooks to speak at The Good Business Festival
23.03.2022 11:10–12:00, Met Cathedral Crypt, Liverpool
Join Alison Brooks in conversation with Osama Bhutta and Ayesha Hazarika, as part of The Good Business Festival. Titled House Nation, the panel discussion will delve into the challenges and opportunities of post-lockdown living: how can designers and urban planners rethink housing design and placemaking? →
Join Alison Brooks in conversation with Osama Bhutta and Ayesha Hazarika, as part of The Good Business Festival. Titled House Nation, the panel discussion will delve into the challenges and opportunities of post-lockdown living: how can designers and urban planners rethink housing design and placemaking? →
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Cultural Formations
18.02.2022—7.04.2022, Clare Hall, Cambridge
Building Stories | The Awards Talks
15.02.2022 13:00–14:00
Join Alison Brooks and Amin Taha as they discuss the unique story behind House on the Hill, recipient of the RIBA House of the Year 2021. Register here →
Alison Brooks to speak at CTU Prague, Faculty of Architecture
6.12.2021 17:00–18:30
Join Alison Brooks for her ‘Re-Invent’ lecture, as part of CTU Prague, Faculty of Architecture’s November Talks series. The presentation will be livestreamed on CTU’s YouTube page.
Join Alison Brooks for her ‘Re-Invent’ lecture, as part of CTU Prague, Faculty of Architecture’s November Talks series. The presentation will be livestreamed on CTU’s YouTube page.
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Alison Brooks to speak at ‘Re-Evaluation’ Conference
19.10.2021 10:25–11:00
Join Alison Brooks for her ‘Home Ground – Exploring the Civic Role of Housing’ lecture, as part of the ‘Re-Evaluation’ Conference.
Join Alison Brooks for her ‘Home Ground – Exploring the Civic Role of Housing’ lecture, as part of the ‘Re-Evaluation’ Conference.
A collaboration between the International Academy of Architecture (IAA) and the Italian Pavilion at the 17th International Venice Architecture Exhibition, the digital event is set to offer an open exchange of visions and proposals towards a more communal future. Watch it here →
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Education Estates Conference 2021
12.10.2021 14:00–15:00, Manchester Central
Alison Brooks and Professor Sir Richard Trainor, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, will present the Cohen Quad at the Education Estates Conference 2021. Register here →
Alison Brooks and Professor Sir Richard Trainor, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, will present the Cohen Quad at the Education Estates Conference 2021. Register here →
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Alison Brooks to speak at the Kosovo Architecture Festival 2021
17.09.2021 18:00–20:00, Pristina, Kosovo
As part of this year’s edition of the Kosovo Arch Fest, Alison Brooks will be giving a keynote lecture at the ICK – Innovation Centre Kosovo.
As part of this year’s edition of the Kosovo Arch Fest, Alison Brooks will be giving a keynote lecture at the ICK – Innovation Centre Kosovo.
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Accelerate 2021 | Open City’s Programme
Alison Brooks Architects is delighted to be supporting Accelerate on a journey towards a more diverse, open and inclusive industry.
Alison Brooks Architects is delighted to be supporting Accelerate on a journey towards a more diverse, open and inclusive industry.
Providing 30 sixth form students from across London with a series of skills workshops in a university environment, Open City’s Accelerate Programme offers one-to-one mentoring at an architecture practice, as well as in-depth bespoke guidance on university applications. As part of the Mentor Partners, we look forward to inviting the students to cultivate a critical questioning of the built environment. Learn more about the programme →
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Your Brent Magazine | Durham & Gloucester Court
Spring 2021’s edition of ‘Your Brent’ magazine features an article with some new residents of ABA’s Durham & Gloucester Court, part of the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration.
Spring 2021’s edition of ‘Your Brent’ magazine features an article with some new residents of ABA’s Durham & Gloucester Court, part of the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration.
When asked whether they still supported the award-winning regeneration of the estate at the residents’ ballot, the community overwhelmingly backed the council’s plans to continue rebuilding the neighbourhood – with 84% voting yes. We are honoured to be part of this journey and contribute to a real sense of place and belonging. Explore the story →
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Alison Brooks Shortlisted for Female Frontier’s 2021 Architect of the Year Award
Alison Brooks is delighted to be shortlisted in the Architect of the Year category in the Female Frontier Awards: Powered by WAN 2021, alongside 6 influential and esteemed colleagues from around the world.
Alison Brooks is delighted to be shortlisted in the Architect of the Year category in the Female Frontier Awards: Powered by WAN 2021, alongside 6 influential and esteemed colleagues from around the world.
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Cohen Quad Exeter College, Oxford is a Civic Trust Awards Winner 2021 Fitzhugh Auditorium
Alison Brooks Architects is delighted that the Cohen Quad, Exeter College, Oxford has won a 2021 Civic Trust Award at the 5 March ceremony.
Alison Brooks Architects is delighted that the Cohen Quad, Exeter College, Oxford has won a 2021 Civic Trust Award at the 5 March ceremony.
Thank you Civic Trust Awards and congratulations to all award winners. Delve into the announcement and explore the winning projects. →
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The Uses of History: Dialogue of Forms | Lecture by Alison Brooks
Co-hosted by the Association of Dundee Architecture Students and Edinburgh’s EUSAS, Alison Brooks’ lecture delved into “The Uses of History: Dialogue of Forms.”
Co-hosted by the Association of Dundee Architecture Students and Edinburgh’s EUSAS, Alison Brooks’ lecture delved into “The Uses of History: Dialogue of Forms.”
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People, Place, Planet #3 | Lecture by Alison Brooks
For this lecture at RIBA Somerset, Alison Brooks talked through some of her recent award winning and exemplar works and explained how they are borne out of contemporary constraints.
For this lecture at RIBA Somerset, Alison Brooks talked through some of her recent award winning and exemplar works and explained how they are borne out of contemporary constraints.
“People, Place, Planet #3” explored the power of context and how it refreshes and invigorates her work, becoming the story behind her designs. There was a particular focus on the local context and story of the Taunton Maggie’s Centres.
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Raising the Roof | Agata Toromanoff
Agata Toromanoff‘s new book “Raising the Roof – Women Architects Who Broke Through the Glass Ceiling” celebrates the achievements of women architects in every corner of the world. Alison Brooks is delighted to be in the company of such inspirational professionals.
Agata Toromanoff‘s new book “Raising the Roof – Women Architects Who Broke Through the Glass Ceiling” celebrates the achievements of women architects in every corner of the world. Alison Brooks is delighted to be in the company of such inspirational professionals.
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Alison Brooks | Telegraph Luxury Magazine
This week’s Telegraph Luxury Magazine features Alison talking to Caroline Roux alongside other ground breaking female architects – Farshid Moussavi, Eva Jiricna, Stephanie Macdonald, Jee Liu and Sadie Morgan.
This week’s Telegraph Luxury Magazine features Alison talking to Caroline Roux alongside other ground breaking female architects – Farshid Moussavi, Eva Jiricna, Stephanie Macdonald, Jee Liu and Sadie Morgan.
“Last year Alison Brooks completed one of the UK’s most stunning private houses, in the Wye Valley. She added a black-clad extension to an 18th-century farmhouse, and inside has created the ideal setting for her client’s huge collection of tribal artefacts. ‘It’s been a 10-year project,’ she says. ‘It’s amazing to work so closely with a client, because you are telling their story. But I bring the same care to social housing. I’d never design anything I didn’t want to live in myself.’
Brooks has built theatres, galleries, and was the first woman to design a major addition to an Oxford college. The Cohen Quad at Exeter College, completed in 2019, is an extraordinary S-shaped building with internal cloisters composed of spruce fins.”…
Photographs by Tereza CERVENOVA Styling by Tara GREVILLE
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4 Feb 2021, 5pm (GMT) Alison Brooks is presenting at the Chamber of Architects Milan
Join us live for a virtual visit to #Milano 4 Feb 5pm (GMT), 6PM (CET). Alison Brooks is presenting s part of a series entitled “The Contribution of Women in Contemporary Architecture: The British Example”.[more..]
Join us live for a virtual visit to #Milano 4 Feb 5pm (GMT), 6PM (CET). Alison Brooks is presenting s part of a series entitled “The Contribution of Women in Contemporary Architecture: The British Example”.
For more details visit the hosts website Chamber of Architects of the Province of Milan‘ .
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20 Jan 2021 | Lecture to the Cross-border Canada ― USA Visual Arts and Built Environment Program
6pm EST, 11pm GMT
You have the chance to join students from VABE at Alison Brooks’ lecture by registering, free of charge on VABE’s website
6pm EST, 11pm GMT
You have the chance to join students from VABE at Alison Brooks’ lecture by registering, free of charge on VABE’s website
Visual Arts and the Built Environment [VABE] is a unique combined, and cross-border program, between the School of Creative Arts [SoCA] at the University of Windsor (Windsor, Ontario) and the School of Architecture at the University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, Michigan). The program offers undergraduate students a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a general BA in Visual Arts with 4 years of combined study at two university institutions →
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4 Feb 2021 | Webinar Conference on Women British Architects
Alison Brooks is a keynote speaker at the next Webinar Conference on Women British Architects organised by Milan Foundation of the Chamber of Architects in collaboration with the Media Partner Editorial Group Design Diffusion World. Tune in on February 4, 2021, at 4:30 pm. →
Alison Brooks is a keynote speaker at the next Webinar Conference on Women British Architects organised by Milan Foundation of the Chamber of Architects in collaboration with the Media Partner Editorial Group Design Diffusion World. Tune in on February 4, 2021, at 4:30 pm. →
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17 Nov 2020 | CTBUH Live-Streaming Three City Conference
On November 17, Alison Brooks will be presenting alongside esteemed colleagues from around the world, including Lord Norman Foster, Mun Summ Wong, and Patrik Schumacher, to discuss what the future of cities could look like post-COVID.
On November 17, Alison Brooks will be presenting alongside esteemed colleagues from around the world, including Lord Norman Foster, Mun Summ Wong, and Patrik Schumacher, to discuss what the future of cities could look like post-COVID.
Could we emerge from this pandemic committed to creating more sustainable and resilient urban environments? View the program and join this great event on the link.
In the second quarter of 2020, much of the world’s office workforce transitioned to working from home. But many homes were never intended to double as workspaces; childcare takes on entirely new, daunting dimensions; and the lack of traffic into central business districts is severely damaging local economies. A panel of leading experts discusses how they’ve dealt with the work-from-home surge in their own lives and companies, and how we’ll work next.
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Victorian Society Lectures
29.01.2020 18:30–20:00, The Art Workers' Guild
Re-engaging with the Past: New Architectural Approaches In the third lecture of The Victorian Society winter lecture series The Victorian Society, in which Alison Brooks discusses the role of archetype as a critical physical and conceptual framework for human experience.
Re-engaging with the Past: New Architectural Approaches In the third lecture of The Victorian Society winter lecture series The Victorian Society, in which Alison Brooks discusses the role of archetype as a critical physical and conceptual framework for human experience.
Alison will explained how she transforms these models into an experimental, culturally specific architecture. Works discussed include her seminal new Quadrangle for Exeter College, Oxford; a competition-winning scheme for York Castle Museum; a new Maggie’s Centre in Somerset; and a private house in Hampstead. Each of these projects engages in a dialogue with historic forms, materials and patterns in search of a contemporary iconography. The ongoing debate about how to adapt and reuse old buildings has reached an exciting stage. A new approach to reconciling old and new in architecture has emerged in recent years, one that is neither purely conservationist nor historicist but instead adopts a fresh, innovative approach. In this Victorian Society lecture series seven leading architects discuss this new trend and what it means in their work.
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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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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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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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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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