Features

Hollaway Studio has designed the world’s first purpose-built, multi-storey skatepark in Folkestone, UK, as part of a major ongoing programme to regenerate the seaside town. The landmark building features three skateparks, a climbing wall (the tallest in the south east of England) and a boxing ring. It opens to the public this month.

Forme Architecture + Urbanisme has delivered an atypical project – the conversion of a horticultural greenhouse into a hospitality room, located in the private garden of the breast cancer clinic Clinique Saint Jean de Dieu, within a conservation area in Paris.

One of the key design trends of recent years is the installation of feature walls and feature floors – and the popularity of these are showing no signs of slowing down. Whether it’s for a commercial or residential project, feature walls and floors are the ideal way to create an eye-catching space.

Paul Foster is this month’s exclusive Q&A profile. The Associate Director and Healthcare Lead at Sheffield-based practice Race Cottam Associates (RCA) discusses his current portfolio and shares more about his inspiration together with advice for aspiring architects.

Our homes have long been our castles. And in the last two years, they’ve had to be everything else too. Our homes have also had to work overtime as gyms, office spaces, coffee shops and entertainment destinations. Now, as we emerge back into the world, it’s time to restore our homes to their rightful place. To do that, we’re going to need lots of colour, writes Garry Cohn of COHN Design.

An innovative landscape intervention for a new ephemeral burial model based on nature.

Sollertia, a firm specialising in textile architecture and the design, fabrication and construction of lightweight tensile structures, has extended its innovative services and expertise. Backed by an experienced team of professionals who specialise in high-performance technical textile structures, Sollertia’s comprehensive service offering focuses on creating bold, durable and innovative solutions that are advancing the state-of-the-art architecture.

Barely a few months since COP26, the new year is a poignant reminder that the climate clock is ticking and of the urgent action needed to limit global warming to 1.5˚C. While there is hopeful progress in the growth of green energy and electric vehicles and a shift towards sustainability in business, there is still significant work to do to address decarbonisation in the UK housing sector. Stewart Little, CEO of IRT Surveys, explains how new, data-rich technologies enable property owners, landlords, developers and construction businesses to make smarter retrofit decisions and achieve improved sustainability.

Jean Hanna, Design Director at WWA Studios, has over 30 years’ experience in delivering large-scale projects for new-build and remodelled extra care, retirement housing and general needs housing schemes at a range of urban and rural locations. Here, she answers a few questions about her career and looks back on the path that led her to the position she holds today.

Although one of our oldest building materials, traditionally covering the domes and spires of our city skylines, copper also offers limitless possibilities for contemporary architectural design. The numerous natural surfaces and alloys available today, deployed in various forms and systems, give copper timeless qualities, particularly suited to juxtaposition with historic buildings. Here, copper specialist Aurubis explores how innovative architects optimise the potential of this intriguing material.