All articles by Amanda Birch
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TechnicalTechnical Study: Futurehome Passivhaus, South Gardens, London
Maccreanor Lavington has pushed the boundaries of Passivhaus design by including bay windows on a scheme at Elephant Castle
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TechnicalTechnical study: Maggie’s Oldham
dRMM’s centre for the cancer care charity hovers above its landscaped garden like a giant treehouse – and represents the practice’s most ambitious use yet of cross-laminated timber.
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TechnicalTechnical study: Garden Halls, London
TP Bennett and Maccreanor Lavington’s elegant stepped facades in the heart of Bloomsbury show how off-site methods can help student accommodation to raise its game. Amanda Birch reports
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FeaturesWellbeing: 22 Bishopsgate, London
The team behind the City of London’s latest tower is putting employee health and happiness at the top of the design agenda, with health-food bars, meditation areas and even forest bathing all part of the mix. Amanda Birch reports on the UK’s first major WELL-certified new-build project
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TechnicalManufacturing the future
Architects shouldn’t be frightened off by Mark Farmer’s calls for modern methods of construction - they should see it a new opportunity for creativity
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TechnicalGoede Doelen Loterijen by Benthem Crouwel Architects
Once completed, the new home of the biggest lottery charity in the Netherlands will be the first refurbished office building in Amsterdam to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding
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TechnicalIs hardwood the future of timber construction?
As Alison Brooks Architects’ gravity-defying installation at the London Design Festival shows off the structural benefits of cross-laminated hardwood, Amanda Birch examines the growing uptake of CLT solutions
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TechnicalSmart floors: Step-by-step care
Sensor technology embedded in floors could be about to revolutionise patient monitoring in elderly care and dementia homes
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TechnicalThe i360 tower by Marks Barfield Architects
The £46 milllion i360 tower in Brighton may claim accolades of being the tallest moving observation tower, the first vertical cable car and the world’s most slender tower, but the execution of its design and build is the real talking point
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TechnicalDavid Attenborough Building by Nicholas Hare Architects
Nicholas Hare Architects has preserved the integrity of the original Arup Associates brutalist Cambridge landmark while ensuring the radical remodelling works well for its new users. Becoming an exemplar of sustainability was something it took in its stride
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TechnicalReinventing the green wall
A new bio-receptive concrete panelling system could mean urban green walls that don’t need expensive maintenance and provide a better environment for plants too
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TechnicalVirtual reality: A whole new world
Convincing virtual reality used to be the stuff of science fiction but now the technology is catching up. With Oculus Rift and PlayStation releasing home devices, VR is finally going mainstream. Could it be a useful tool for architects?
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TechnicalTechnical: Seeing the light
Research has shown the effects that the brightness and colour of indoor lighting can have on personal wellbeing and performance, which could impact on the way interior architects are expected to approach new designs. Amanda Birch reports
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TechnicalCrouch End Picture House, by Panter Hudspith
Having given new life to a nondescript 1950s building, this £4.5m north London picture house is setting new standards for sustainable cinema design
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TechnicalHere East, Hackney Wick, by Hawkins Brown
The former media hub of the London 2012 Olympic Games is presently the focus of a £100m redevelopment and soon to be a creative hub – in what its developers hope is the start of a wider regeneration in the east London region
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TechnicalWhat the Dutch can teach us about cladding
Energiesprong, a Dutch government-supported super-insulation approach, is being transferred to the UK housing market. Could it offer an answer to the country’s environmental and fuel poverty issues?
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TechnicalInterior flooring with a local twist
Amanda Birch’s study of three distinct examples of interior flooring examines work in London, Zanzibar and India by Amanda Levete, Jestico Whiles and Project Orange
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TechnicalThe Woodspeen, West Berkshire by Softroom
The extension to this 1827 Victorian pub relies on natural materials, including its distinctive thatched roof, to complement the original building, despite its noteworthy design
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TechnicalCould you 3D print your building components?
New developments in additive manufacturing are being used to make real building components that are lighter, more cost effective and structurally just as strong as their counterparts, but use 75% less material
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TechnicalInstitution of Structural Engineering by Hugh Broughton Architects
Hugh Broughton and Expedition Engineering have turned an awkwardly shaped existing office building in Clerkenwell into a showcase of structural innovation