Sketches for the City, an open dialogue on urban change, is finally out in the world.
Launched on Substack, this is a public manifesto for a model of development that reflects the emerging ways our societies now live, work, and connect. Informed by insight, research, and opinion – both within industry and beyond it – we’re revisiting the work of forward-thinking architects, urbanists, and economists, while making space to ask how modern urban living can be better organised and experienced.
Authored by James and Thomas Teatum at @noiascape , the first issue is ready for your reading. Head to the link in bio to catch James’ take on the state of housing – and what we need to get those 1.5 million homes right – while Thomas tackles the importance of ‘difference’ in our cities and neighbourhoods.
It’s been an absolute pleasure to play a small part in bringing this dialogue to life with Noiascape; stay tuned for lots more in the months ahead.
And if you’re looking for your next Substack read after SftC Issue #1, check out @emilywrightwrites ’ latest on Zaha Hadid, and @jasonsayer ’s @architectureontour – looking at a history of pedestrianisation and the future of Oxford Street.
It was a real pleasure to join Emma Nelson on Monocle Radio last Thursday morning, talking all things aviation and the future of air travel.
This moment is an interesting one for a convention like Passenger Terminal Expo, where I’ve been on the ground, hearing from industry. Conflict in the Middle East has halted flights throughout the region, and never has it been more clear that aviation must adapt and respond to unpredictability at speed.
Ahead of today’s recording, I spoke to several figures pushing airports forward:
Sherin Dawoud, Innovation Manager at Munich Airport: How are changing perceptions around biometrics transforming our travel experience?
Giovanni Russo, COO at Geneva Airport: What innovations do airports need to adapt for future capacity? How can they react in an age of uncertainty?
Peter de Leeuw, Head of Airport City Development at Vienna Airport: With an increasing number of airports forced to shut down due to external factors, how can they diversify their offer and build reliable financial stability?
But that’s not all I’ve been hearing about this week. I’ve been speaking with Julian Maynard about the importance of local identity, infused in the architecture of arrival, or with WW+P Architects about Mexico City’s preparations for the oncoming World Cup.
One key conclusion of the industry this week is that first impressions count; an airport is an expression of local pride, a powerful brand statement for a city or nation, and an evident expression of readiness for investment.
The ambition, across the map, is clear. And many players are already racing ahead.
Major thanks to the brilliant Monocle team for hosting me: Tom Webb, Christopher Cermak, Joana Moser, Elliot Greenfield, Annelise Maynard – and of course Emma Nelson herself.
An honour to be a (very, very) small part of The Globalist today – one of my very favourite programmes on the air.
Pictured above: Geneva Airport’s East Wing, by RSHP.
Some of the most important design decisions are also the most overlooked.
It’s something I’ve been talking (a lot!) about recently.
Chairing a roundtable last week on liveable cities, we unpacked how transport infrastructure plays a pivotal role in expressing the identity and character of a local place; with Stir Architects, we’ve been thinking about the quick and cost-effective wins that, in a new neighbourhood, have an outsized impact on our sense of community.
And in my latest piece for The Standard, I speak with two creatives on how both small and bold shifts in our surroundings – and, namely, our homes – affect our everyday.
Over the course of an evening's 'colour masterclass', Despina Curtis and Natalie Jones have imparted advice from their impressive portfolio of work with design greats. From projects with Tom Dixon and Carl Hansen & Søn to the creation of Caro – in one of my favourite parts of Somerset – this pair certainly knows their stuff.
Sat at a table in Islington scattered with swatches, encouraged to "Just go for it" in dressing up my rented flat, it was quickly clear that even the smallest of details – a boldly coloured shelf, an accent alcove, or a considered textural choice – leave a lasting impact on the character of our homes.
Major thanks to Prudence Ivey for such a fun commission, as well as Despina and Natalie who share such evident passion for what they do.
By the next masterclass I’ll have swapped my stark white walls for something bolder; I promise.
It’s been all systems go since November, when the opening date of Melbourne’s biggest infrastructure project in a generation was, at last, announced.
Working with the team at Maynard – many of whom have dedicated nearly a decade to this project – we’ve been driving a campaign that looks at its cultural impact on the city.
On Monocle Radio, Kate Pleban, Director at Maynard, and Avtar Lotay, Managing Director at RSHP Australia, joined Andrew Tuck for a reflective conversation on how infrastructure reshapes the everyday. They touched on Melbourne’s pioneering ‘open metro’, in which its brand-new stations are so much more than just stations, but rather generous spaces for civic life, an evolution of the traditional town square.
Last week, we hosted an event, just round the corner from our studio, to continue that very conversation. Joined by Professor Mark Stevenson from the University of Melbourne, and Luke Flanagan from the City of Melbourne, I asked Kate and her fellow panellists about what might come next.
How will we measure success, a quarter century down the line? What role does design play in reshaping the cultural fabric of our cities?
And, as with major infrastructure on opening day, this is just the start. Peter Brown and I took Maynard’s sustainable design approach on the road in Riyadh last month, and next Julian Maynard will ascend the stage for a keynote – and subsequent roundtable – on shaping liveable cities at Interchange in Manchester.
Thank you to Peter Bennetts for the fantastic photography, as well as Andrew Tuck and David Stevens for an engaging conversation on broadcast. The teams at RSHP, Hassell, and WW+P Architects have been superb collaborators, and CYP could not have been more helpful along the way.
‘We’re here to be disruptive.’
If I were asked to describe the team at Stir in a single sentence, that headline would come pretty close.
As one of my early freelance clients last year, I’ve had a lot of fun working with Stir Architects in the studio’s founding months – sitting down together to work out exactly what the firm stands for, and where its brand is going next.
And it’s all been building to this. With more than fifty opportunities in just six months alone, co-founders Ian Fenn and Rebecca Taylor have hit the ground running.
Architecture hasn’t ever been an easy industry. And as Ian and Rebecca explain to the AJ, never has that been more true than now. But every time we get together, I come away genuinely inspired, more positive and passionate about this industry than when I stepped into the room.
If you’re looking for a team of creatives that think hands-on, look at housing ‘not by numbers’, and care deeply about architectural responsibility, then Stir is the studio for you.
Major thanks to Richard Waite for the profile.
