Brazilian architects in London: RIBA
A short walk from London’s bustling Soho and Oxford Circus, the Royal Institute of British Architect’s London headquarters was the obvious choice for the London leg of our feature on Brazilian architects working abroad.
The RIBA is the architecture community’s central reference point in the British capital. It is also a busy centre for all sorts of events related to the built environment, from smaller building design projects, through to larger scale urban developments.
Housed in a stunning Grade II listed building designed in the 1930s by architect Grey Wornum, the Portland Place RIBA head office is an architectural gem in itself; an opportunity we couldn’t let pass.
This spring closes and summer kicks off at the RIBA with a stimulating exhibition at the main HQ’s Gallery 2 and a big announcement – the winning designs for the annual RIBA Awards.
The Gallery 2 show visits South America, yet through another of the continent’s nations; Colombia. Colombian Architecture: A Visual Narrative of Two Cities explores the urban transformation of the country’s main cities of Bogotá and Medellín over the past 20 years; a series of architectural changes, crucial to the cities’ social inclusion, anti-violence and cultural legacy movements. The event is part of the 2010 London Festival of Architecture program and is sponsored by a group of supporting organisations, including the Embassy of Colombia.
The Institute’s 2010 awards for architectural elegance were announced a few days ago. They include 93 UK buildings and a further nine in the rest of the EU, with highlights such as the Carmody Groarke Regent’s Place Pavilion, 60 Threadneedle Street in London by Eric Parry Architects, Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum by Rick Mather Architects and the Creative Business Units in Aberystwyth by Heatherwick Studio. Featuring multiple winners for some categories, the Institute also welcomed many younger practices that won their first RIBA prize this year.
Smaller in scale but not in prestige and focusing on residential projects, the RIBA Manser Medal is another of the institute’s much-celebrated prizes. The annual award for the UK’s best new house was just relaunched a few days ago in partnership with HSBC Private Bank and promises to offer an array of amazing one-off residential designs, with the shortlist to be announced this autumn, followed by the winner later in the year.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Just a few of the organisation’s many events, be it an exhibition, an award ceremony or a lecture, there is always something on at the RIBA for the architecturally minded visitor.
AIANY Design Awards: ’The New Domino’ exhibition showcases the Rafael Vinoly masterplan for a 2200-unit development on the East River Waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At the centre of the site is a landmarked former sugar refinery. Until May 29.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Squire & Partners' radical restructure: 'There are a lot of different ways up the firm to partnership'
Squire & Partners announces a radical restructure; we talk to the late founder Michael Squire's son, senior partner Henry Squire, about the practice's new senior leadership group, its next steps and how architecture can move on from 'single leader culture'
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
First look at 19 Motcomb Street, Belgravia’s iconic Pantechnicon reinvented
Former Nordic-Japanese design and dining hub Pantechnicon reopens as 19 Motcomb Street with a trio of food and beverage concepts
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Oliver Spencer’s winter collection is a lesson in good outerwear
Prepare for sudden temperature drops with Oliver Spencer’s Alpine-inspired winter collection, ‘Postcards from Lech-Zürs’, whereby outerwear – crafted from traditional British fabric – is front and centre
By Jack Moss Published
-
Squire & Partners' radical restructure: 'There are a lot of different ways up the firm to partnership'
Squire & Partners announces a radical restructure; we talk to the late founder Michael Squire's son, senior partner Henry Squire, about the practice's new senior leadership group, its next steps and how architecture can move on from 'single leader culture'
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Meet the 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner: Livyj Bereh from Ukraine
The 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner has been crowned: congratulations to architecture collective Livyj Bereh from Ukraine, praised for its rebuilding efforts during the ongoing war in the country
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
RIBA House of the Year 2024: browse the shortlist and pick your favourite
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 shortlist is out, celebrating homes across the UK: it's time to place your bets. Which will win the top gong?
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The new Canada Water boardwalk is an experience designed to ‘unfold slowly’
A new Canada Water bridge by Asif Khan acts as a feature boardwalk for the London area's town centre, currently under development, embracing nature and wildlife along the way
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Museum of Shakespeare set to open in east London
The Museum of Shakespeare puts the remains of the ancient Curtain Playhouse at the centre of 'The Stage', a new urban development in the heart of Shoreditch
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
Paddington Square transforms its patch of central London with its 'elevated cube'
Paddington Square by Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been completed, elevating a busy London site through sustainability, modern workspace and a plaza
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Architectural car parks to drive into, in the UK and beyond
Architectural car parks form an important part of urban infrastructure but can provide a design statement too; here are some of the finest examples to peruse, in the UK and beyond
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Architectural Association's newest show uncovers the architectural legacies of rural China's lost generation
The Architectural Association’s ‘Ripple Ripple Rippling’ is not your typical architecture show, taking an anthropological look at the flux between rural and urban, and bringing a part of China to Bedford Square in London
By Teshome Douglas-Campbell Published