ARCHITECT@WORK London opens its doors today and plays host to the UK architectural community at Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, Wednesday and Thursday 1-8pm. The global two-day trade event is aimed at architects, interior designers and specifiers with a focus on innovation. The two days include free admission for registered trade visitors and complimentary catering throughout, encouraging networking and downtime as well as deal-making opportunities.
Leading international architectural product suppliers are showing over 200 innovative products and offering the latest innovations in surface solutions, lighting technology as well as interior and exterior fixtures and fittings. All exhibitors go through a rigorous selection process, with an external judging panel overseeing the product selection, to ensure that this is one of the UK’s most highly respected trade shows of its kind.
The theme for ARCHITECT@WORK LONDON 2019 is “future-proof”. In an age when change is measured in seconds, not years, and sustainability is a necessity, not an extra, architects and designers are increasingly tasked with proposing projects with longevity. How can practitioners ensure they are taking the lead when it comes to future-proofing their projects and who is setting the agenda for tomorrow’s built environment?
To tie in with the theme, design consultancy and library MaterialDriven is presenting MATERIALS THAT…, a curated collection of materials and projects have been future-proofed by either having health benefits, being adaptable, resilient or complete a cycle. …ARE HEALTHY will focus on materials that contribute to health and well-being and are not only toxin-free but also toxin-absorbing, including fabrics embedded with seaweed and carbon negative composites made with captured greenhouse gases. …ADAPT will showcase modular products that can easily be moved or made larger/smaller….ARE RESILIENT will include durable materials that can withstand all the elements. …CLOSE THE LOOP will highlight materials that have longer life-cycles and can be reused, repaired and recycled rather than being sent to landfill, from bioplastics to bricks grown from mycelium.
One of the installations at this year’s show is artwork designed by Belgian contemporary conceptual and sculptural artist Studio Job, provided by glaze specialist Koninklijke Tichelaar. Koninklijke Tichelaar’s complex restoration of a seventeenth-century flower pyramid, one of the most prized pieces in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, prompted the Pyramids of Makkum project. Four designers were asked to come up with a contemporary response to the flower tower. They had to keep to the idea of an ornamental vase and stay within the dimensions of the original flower tower. The designers were at
liberty to include any aspect of the historical context or tower they so desired.
Other show features include a project wall by world-architects.com and RIBA’s Pop-Up Book Shop for Architects and Designers.
Wednesday 30 January
15:00 – Modern Methods
Offsite construction and prefabrication are the buzzwords of the day but they are bringing about a quiet revolution within the built environment. A series of high-profile case studies will be explored in this talk, demonstrating how modern methods of construction are changing building design across all sectors.
Chair: Sarah Yates, New London Architecture
Hazel Rounding, shedKM
Dave Lomax, Waugh Thistleton
Kevin Gray, Formwork / BeFirst
Mark Rintoul, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
16:15 – Sarah Wigglesworth in conversation
Architect Sarah Wigglesworth has been championing sustainable design for decades and has created projects that foster social wellbeing, while retaining her environmental credentials. In this special interview she will reveal the key projects that have shaped the practice, as well as upcoming work that demonstrates the evolution of their work.
Chair: Hattie Hartman, Architects’ Journal
Sarah Wigglesworth
17:30 – Back to the future
Demolishing old buildings and replacing them with new ones is expensive and bad for the environment. The truly sustainable approach for the city is one that renovates and reimagines its built heritage, making it fit for purpose for the contemporary occupant. This panel of experts will look at a range of case studies, from homes to offices, galleries to exhibition centres.
Chair: Chris Foges, Architecture Today
Catarina Kohut, Jonathan Tuckey Design
Trevor Morris, SPPARC
Nicola Rutt, Hawkins\Brown
Alexander Lervik, industrial designer
Thursday 31 January
15:00 – Eco is not a dirty word
Sustainability is absolutely integral to the future of the built environment but there are still only a few companies that are creating truly innovative projects and developments. The speakers on this panel will explain the power of green design, with small boutique projects that wrap around trees, mega structures and sustainable strategies for healthy city development.
Chair: Eleanor Young, RIBA Journal
Jerry Tate, Tate Harmer
Cany Ash, Ash Sakula
Piers Taylor, Invisible Studio
16:15 – Zero carbon cities
What can we do to make our cities carbon neutral? The technology exists but we need good design coupled with developers and local government to make it a reality. This panel of experts will prove that zero carbon isn’t science fiction, it’s happening now and it’s obtainable for everyone.
Chair: David Michon, freelance design journalist
Linda Thiel, White Arkitekter
Bill Dunster, ZEDfactory
Clare Murray, Levitt Bernstein
Becci Taylor, Arup
17:30 – Brave new world
Architects and designers have historically played an important role in helping us visualise what our world might look like in the near future. By using cutting-edge technologies and radical forms, we are encouraged to look ahead and not back. However, restrained and rational projects have become the fashion in recent years and this talk explores the work of a few brave souls that are creating the places and spaces of the future, inspiring the next generation.
Chair: Helen Parton, freelance design journalist
Aleksa Rizova, ALEKSA studio
Adam Nathaniel Furman
Stefano Dal Piva, ACME
Daniel Blaker, Nulty
