We can't build the quality homes we need without both good design and placemaking. This month’s issue of the AJ showcases schemes that illustrate both.
In Buildings, we unveil how Renzo Piano’s Paddington Square scheme has improved rail travellers’ experience, how Caruso St John has helped stitch together a neglected corner of Camden, and how John McAslan + Partners’ multi-modal ‘post-Troubles’ transport hub is providing a gateway into Belfast.
To combine the dense energy of a city with the pastoral beauty of the English countryside, Mae founding director Alex Ely puts forward a bold and progressive vision for the future of urban development in the UK – a new type of place based on connection to nature and sustainable growth.
News stories are filled with tales about delays on decisions, backlogs of applications and arbitrary refusals. Meanwhile, planning officers in cash-strapped councils struggle to keep their heads above water. We ask those at the planning coalface what needs to change to fix the nation’s ‘broken’ planning system.
Also in this month’s issue, photographer David Grandorge reflects on ‘Low Tech’ architecture and Fran Williams visits ‘Concrete Dreams’, an exhibition showcasing Newcastle’s Brutalist vision.
