Sofie Pelsmakers News Today

The past year saw a bonanza of new books of interest to Canadian architects—many of them authored by Canadian designers. As the holidays approach, we offer our round-up of the year’s best books. You may also be interested in this round-up’s companion post, our 2021 Holiday Gift Guide. For the big-picture thinker Old Stories, New […]

Edited by Sofie Pelsmakers and Nick Newman (RIBA Publishing, 2021) Over the last 18 months, we have all thought a lot about change: with Covid-19, wildfires and record-breaking extreme weather in many areas of the country, and global political and social upheavals. The idea of “building back better” is a positive message—and in any case, […]

AJ Climate Champions: episode 8 AJ Climate Champions podcast – Steve Webb & Wilf Meynell: ‘We’re brainwashed into steel and concrete mode’ In this third episode dedicated to retrofit, Steve Webb of Webb Yates Engineers explains how to persuade clients to use more timber and stone while Wilf Meynell shares Studio Bark’s approach to Victorian house extensions Webb describes what it will take to transform an industry fixated on concrete and steel, and outlines simple steps to decarbonise...

AJ Climate Champions podcast: Owen Hatherley on Modernism + Will Hurst explains RetroFirst In a bonus episode of the AJ’s podcast series, we talk to Owen Hatherley about the retrofitting of Modernist buildings and to the AJ’s Will Hurst about our RetroFirst campaign Author and critic Hatherley describes approaches to the retrofit of Modernist buildings, lessons learned from post-Soviet housing and why he thinks White Design’s straw-bale Lilac Cohousing in Leeds could be a replicable new-b...

AJ Climate Champions: episode 6 AJ Climate Champions podcast – Anna Heringer: ‘You can build with clay in a very modern way’ The final episode in the AJ’s podcast series features an interview with German architect Anna Heringer In this six-episode series, Hattie Hartman and her co-host George Morgan interview change-makers and innovators who are transforming architecture by designing in ways that respect planetary boundaries. Our six champions offer inspiration as well as sharing essent...

AJ Climate Champions podcast – Sarah Wigglesworth: ‘Sustainable architecture is fantastically creative’ The penultimate episode in the AJ’s podcast series features an interview with Sarah Wigglesworth In this six-episode series, Hattie Hartman and her co-host George Morgan interview changemakers and innovators who are transforming architecture as we know it by designing in ways that respect planetary boundaries. Our six champions will offer inspiration as well as sharing essential know...

AJ Climate Champions: episode 4 AJ Climate Champions podcast – Haworth Tompkins’ Diana Dina: ‘We want to share ideas with other practices’ The fourth episode in the AJ’s podcast series features an interview with Haworth Tompkins’ head of sustainability, Diana Dina, plus a discussion on Foster + Partners and ZHA’s departure from Architects Declare In this six-episode series, Hattie Hartman and her co-host George Morgan interview changemakers and innovators who are transforming arch...