Our cover star this month is Andy Burnham – a man making local and national waves. Manchester is a city on the up, literally, and in his role as mayor Burnham is a major driving force behind that. The AJ spoke to him about how the city has become a model for growth and devolution.

There are three building studies which showcase Manchester’s style and spirit: Sheppard Robson’s deep retrofit of a city-centre office; Buttress Architects’ affordable, sustainable housing development in Ancoats; and Project 3 Architects’ flexible workspaces in retrofitted Victorian market halls.

While Manchester is set to become Europe’s fourth tallest city, in its next phase of development it will be spreading outwards with new and greener schemes. In the issue you can read a feature about this, which reveals a concerted effort to increase social and affordable housing over the next decade.

There are also some striking ‘then and now’ pictures of the cityscape from Euan Kellie, which show how far it has developed in just a few decades. Then we round up the best recently completed projects in the city, along with a map showing where all the upcoming developments are located.

Opinion pieces come courtesy of If_Do’s Sarah Castle, who shares her experiences of the city as a returning Mancunian, while Elizabeth Hopkirk argues that historic buildings should be protected amid the redevelopment rush.

Kunle Barker also writes on how to make your practice more resilient, and the Culture section carries a review of a provocative new book by OMA’s Reinier de Graaf which posits that architects have lost all credibility. Discuss!

Rounding out the issue are sketches by Gavin Watts, a competitions compilation, the AJ100 Awards shortlists, and contributions from David Grandorge and Hellman.

Colour profoundly shapes how we experience the built environment. In an often drab and worrisome world, colour can energise and elevate. It’s an important element in the architect’s toolkit.

This issue is packed with projects that demonstrate how colour can spur creativity, build communities, and inspire positivity. John Puttick Associates‘ colourful Preston Youth Zone features a ‘striking palette’, while Turner Works‘ vibrant retrofit of a derelict high street store celebrates the town’s carnival heritage. Also featured is Henley Halebrown‘s sunny yellow Barge Crescent development on London’s South Bank, as well as a feature on recent hospitality and retail interiors where colour is used to add mood and definition.

In News, Gino Spocchia and Josh Butler explore why John Lewis‘s build-to-rent housing delivery was left on the shelf, and Richard Waite looks into the increase in ‘Grey belt’ housing schemes being given the green light. Among other news, take a first look at Metropolitan Workshop‘s Maggie’s Cheltenham cancer care centre addition.

An Opinion piece by Toko Andrews discusses whether the next generation will see architecture as a profession worth investing in given rising tuition fees and student debt. Meanwhile, Aga Szedzianis examines the lack of architectural conversation on social media.

In Culture are reviews of MOULD Collective‘s book ‘Architecture Is Climate’ and a travelling exhibition on architectural heritage. This month’s sketches are by Hana Murakami from Pitman Tozer Architects.

Exteriors and landscaping: Chilton Square by Root and Erect; Woolwich Town Centre by Turner Works; Float House by TiggColl

Last December we brought back our popular Working Details supplement, and in this second edition you can find details ordered by material – brick, stone and timber – chosen from 20 buildings that have appeared in AJ Specification over the past 10 years.

This publication contains 104 carefully annotated drawings accompanied by project data and concise descriptive texts. Taken together, they offer a detailed insight into the ways contemporary architects are working with material, structure and craft.

As with previous editions, this volume aims not only to document how things are made, but to contribute to a wider conversation about architectural detailing: its methods, its meanings and its capacity to shape the experience of built form.

We hope it serves as a valuable resource for architects, students and researchers, and that the material strategies and technical ingenuity represented here provide inspiration for your own work.

NB: Orders placed after 17 December 2025 will be delivered after Christmas.

Façades and cladding: Lower School Library, Dulwich College by alma-nac; Burgess Park Sports Pavilion by Bell Phillips; and Old Vic Annex by Haworth Tompkins.

This crop of architecture students will enter one of the toughest early-career jobs markets in the past 15 years: a growing gulf between the supply of students graduating from architecture courses and demand from practices for architectural assistants.

And yet – we have been wowed, once again, by the sheer range on display in the AJ Student Prize, representing every ARB and RIBA-accredited course in the country. This talented cohort addresses issues ranging from intergenerational homes to silviculture and much in-between.

In our crammed special issue you can read a feature in which seven practice directors – including Sadie Morgan and Studio MUTT’s co-founders – offer their advice on how graduating students can prepare for their early steps in practice.

Our investigation into how the ‘broken’ higher education system is hitting architecture departments explores funding cuts and staff industrial action. While apprenticeships offer a welcome route into the profession, funding cuts threaten this approach.

We present the results of our second AI survey, which paints a picture of how architects are getting to grips with AI, showing that text tools are more popular than image generation. There are also tributes to Nicholas Grimshaw, who has passed away aged 85, plus bookies’ odds on who will scoop this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize. And if you didn’t make it to AJ Retrofit Live this month, then read our write-up to discover the top discussion points.

This month’s opinion pieces are from Chris Bryant on behaviour change and Robert Bevan, who argues that ‘Israel’s attacks on Palestinian culture and architecture also signal genocide’.

And if that wasn’t enough, there is our competitions round-up (which includes an extension to the National Gallery), David Grandorge’s photo selection, sketches by Natalia Kulesza and Hellman’s take on the Stirling shortlist.

Buildings nestled in burgeoning landscapes, productive gardens providing a community focal point, nature offering sanctuary and solace: the lush abundance of the summer months is on bright display in our July issue.

Four building studies are presented within these pages. For 16 years Barefoot Architects and Bridport Cohousing CLT battled to plan Hazelmead, the largest community housing project in the country. We discover that the effort put in has been rewarded, with the residents feeling a deep connection to their homes, community – and shared vegetable beds.

Feilden Fowles’ work on the Natural History Museum’s formerly underused gardens has created an engaging landscape of outdoor living galleries. The project includes a welcoming garden kitchen and nature activity centre, the latter sporting a sculptural gutter that deposits water into open channels so children can learn about the water cycle.

Our other studies are of Allies and Morrison’s dockside leisure centre and workspace at Canada Water, and FCBS’s Lambeth office block, which has pioneered innovative circular solutions in mass timber construction.

In News, it’s all change at Liverpool Street Station, as original architect Herzog & de Meuron bids to be reappointed to the high-profile job – it’s rumoured that towers on stilts are involved... We also publish all 20 projects receiving RIBA National Awards this year, along with the shortlist for the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards.

Elsewhere in the issue, Chris Simmons writes a column on redundancy entitled What to do if you’re chewed up and spat out by architecture, while the Secret Architect is lost in an obstinacy of project managers. And this month we have a bumper Sketchbook section, showcasing the best sketches from attendees at the AJ100 Awards in June.

Modern Methods of Construction: New Kingsland Housing by Emmett Russell Architects; New Wave House by Thomas-McBrien Architects; and Euston Skills Centre by FBM Architects.

To celebrate the 30th year of AJ Small Projects, we have shortlisted 30 schemes which are showcased in this special issue. Their range and creativity encapsulate what the AJ Small Projects award has always been about: giving well-deserved recognition to projects realised on more modest budgets.

In the issue you’ll discover a home that works with a restricted site and a mature plane tree; a deep retrofit of a cold, leaky 1970s house using natural, local and recycled materials; a pilot project for improvements across an entire block of 153 flats; and a contemporary interpretation of a traditional cottage in the Scottish Highlands.

In addition to the Small Projects shortlist, we also publish a building study on Pollard Thomas Edwards’ landmark development for Haringey Council that mixes homes, healthcare and social purpose, part of the first large-scale social housing programme of its kind in a generation.

Within News, you can read a feature on Part W’s campaign to shine a light on the urban barriers hampering women, and check out the UK’s pavilion at the Osaka World Expo.

In a packed Culture section The Ghost of Ian Nairn, via Ian Martin and Jason Hazeley, expresses his Outrage at today’s London: ‘Look at the Olympic Park: 560 acres of showing off, where there used to be paint shops and railway sidings ... Now what have you got? Basketball, Waitrose and ABBA.’ There is also a review of Dinah Bornat’s new book on child-friendly design, and a write-up of the RIBA’s recent youth event, Festival of the Future.

Rounding out the issue are our editor’s pick of competitions; a column by Kunle Barker on nature; RIBA president Muyiwa Oki on apprenticeships; plus more from David Grandorge, Sketchbook and Hellman.

This month’s culture-focused issue contains a review of The Brutalist, which is also the title of Hellman’s cartoon of Donald Trump that appears on the cover. As AJ editor Emily Booth writes, ‘Megalomaniac? Genius? The former property mogul’s cultural impact is already profound.’

We present studies of three cultural projects, including ‘a powerhouse for dance’: O’Donnell + Tuomey’s Sadler’s Wells East. Gianni Botsford’s retreat for creatives on the Isle of Wight, and Reiach and Hall’s museum expansion in western Scotland, are also in the issue. And there is a feature called Exhibitionists, in which we ask a range of practices to tell us how they approach museum and gallery fit-outs, in particular how they prioritise sustainability in their work.

In News, there is a profile of government architects – yes, they do exist – and a feature on infill development – the issues that are holding it back, and some potential solutions. We also share a first look at Niall McLaughlin’s designs for the Maggie’s Centre in Cambridge.

You can read a book review of Protest Architecture by Nick Newman, and there are columns by Hana Loftus (‘a hideous new footbridge underlines the poor state of design standards in the UK’), and Toko Andrews, who argues that architecture shouldn’t be an ‘old man’s game’ anymore.

In Competitions you can find out about the William Sutton Prize, while this month’s sketches are courtesy of Jack Oaten.