Sadler’s Wells is a world-leading creative organisation dedicated to dance. Eimear Hanratty explains how O’Donnell+Tuomey architects went about ensuring its new building, Sadler’s Wells East, would make dance accessible to all.
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Primary school children from four schools in London have built a temporary performance structure at South London theatre Brixton House.
Organised by architecture educator Matt + Fiona, the project, called Let’s Build, was designed to teach participants creative and practical building skills that are disappearing from schools.
The number of students studying design and technology at GCSE level has seen the steepest decline of all creative subjects, having dropped by two-thirds in the last decade.
"Design and build projects of this kind are invaluable in helping to fill the gap left behind," said Matt + Fiona co-founder Fiona MacDonald.
"They give young people the agency to shape their own environments and grow in confidence and their own identities."
The performance structures are made of timber and will remain in the theatre for schools and community groups to use for free. It will also be used as a rehearsal space for the Brixton House Youth Theatre.
Brixton House, which commissioned the project, then plans to donate the structures to any interested schools or community groups.
The V&A and Royal Institute of British Architects have announced the end of a two-decade long partnership.
Their joint initiative, designed to promote the understanding of architecture, was established in 1999 and saw the opening of the UK’s first permanent architecture gallery at the V&A in 2004.
In a joint statement, the two organisations said strategic priorities of both institutions have shifted, but the partnership will run for a further five years, concluding in 2027.
RIBA is now focused on the creation of a cultural hub at 66 Portland Place, expected to become the House of Architecture, while the V&A is working with architecture and design curators to develop architectural collections across the museum’s three sites.
The Victoria & Albert Museum is offering up to £170,000 to design galleries at its East London site, due to open in 2025.
Two collection galleries will be established with outdoor terraces giving a view of the surrounding Olympic Park.
A tender document published this week said the institution expects to invite three to five candidates to submit designs, and that the contract offers the possibility of designing the entrance gallery too.
"We’re keen to embrace new approaches to museum display so are looking for designers who will challenge us to deliver exciting galleries that engage our audiences both now and into the future."
The heritage sector has criticised new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries’ decision to overturn Dorman Long Tower’s Grade II-listed status on her first evening in office, causing the building to be demolished on Sunday (September 19).
The 1950s Brutalist building had been added to the National Heritage List for England earlier in the week following the recommendation of Historic England, who valued the building as “nationally unique”.
But Dorries accepted an appeal from South Tees Development Corporation and Ben Houchen, the Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley, who argued the tower would costs the taxpayer more than £9m if left standing.
Architect George Clarke called the decision “heartbreaking”. Director of The Twentieth Century Society Catherine Croft said “a minister overturning a Historic England decision to list is always concerning”.
Dorries’ decision was based on the view the “building is not of the required special architectural or historic interest to remain listed," according to a DCMS spokesperson.
A £1m fundraising campaign and two years of support from insurers will allow the Centre to begin reconstruction on the Grand Hall after it was damaged by fire last year.
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A new guide by Julie’s Bicycle provides advice on integrating environmental sustainability into capital project funding bids.
Sue Ball explains why she believes that ‘slow architecture’ is the most effective way to create a sustainable future for depressed industrial sites.
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Regeneration is about regional partnerships striking the right balance between artistic excellence and community engagement, believes Nick Ewbank.
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Andrew Lock describes two architectural projects at the Southbank Centre that reveal the benefits of participation by users in the development of public spaces.
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Lecturer, curator and writer Ayla Lepine is an expert in Victorian art and architecture. In this first in my series of interviews with emerging women in the arts, we chatted about the challenges of working in the competitive world of art history
