Designing for better education?

Most architects know that school environments affect students’ performance, and could be forgiven for feeling smug at the contents of an independent report by academics at the UK’s Salford University if it were not for the fact that it is unlikely to influence clients and budget holders. We talk exclusively to co-author of the HEAD Project report, Professor Peter Barrett of Salford University.

Groucho Reading

Groucho Reading

Tech Focus: Kalzip

Kevin Turton from Kalzip talks to Michael Hammond about how manufacturers are adopting BIM and how this can be of benefit to architects.

Michael Hammond stars on ArchiTALK

Jane Decker and Sebastian Eilert interview WAN's Editor in Chief, Michael Hammond, on radio show ArchiTALK, broadcast live from Miami, Florida.

Tech Focus: Zaha Hadid Architects

An enlightening discussion with Simon Johns and Shaun Farrell from Zaha Hadid Architects in London and Phil Bernstein from Autodesk analysing ZHA's use of Revit software.

Tech Focus: Kalzip FC Façade

Michael Hammond speaks to Trahan Architects' Brad McWhirter about firm's structural repairs to the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, utilising the specially developed Kalzip system.

Effectiveness - the next big thing?

As the industry begins to give more thought to the impact of quality architecture on a building's users, Michael Hammond asks 2010 WAN Effectiveness Award winner Larry Speck of Page Southerland Page 'Is effectiveness the next big thing?'

Tech Focus: Loblolly House

Michael Hammond interviews lead architect on the Loblolly House project Marilia Rodrigues and Autodesk’s Erin Rae Hoffer about the use of Revit in the project's design process.

Interview with John Wells Thorpe

In his wide-ranging career, John Wells-Thorpe has designed more than £65 million worth of building projects in the UK and overseas. Excelling at art from an early age, it was almost natural that John should become an architect, and he studied at the School of Architecture in Brighton before winning an award to study in Rome – where the young student, faced with modern Italian design in a historic city, felt like a child in the world’s best toy shop.

Looking over the fence

Is our healthcare design effective? Richard Mazuch is a director of design research and innovation at London based Nightingale Associates and a WAN AWARDS judge, and says no.

The WAN Effectiveness Awards are sponsored by Buro Happold

Mind the gaps

SWA Group’s Rene Bihan explains why Landscape Architecture can best frame historical and cultural places.

Exclusive Interview

Phil Bernstein, vice president, industry strategy and relations, Autodesk AEC tells WAN why Building Information Modeling is redefining the way in which projects are designed. It’s a whole new way of working and there’s no going back…

Food for thought...

Acoustics are a vital component of any restaurant design, but are these elements sometimes overlooked for the sake of aesthetics? WAN talks to two acoustics experts, Emma Greenland at WSP and Adrian Passmore at Arup to find out...

NLA - Creaming off cash?

After Michael Gove accused architects of 'creaming off cash which should have been going out to the front line', the NLA hosted a breakfast meeting where design professionals aired their views on the Building Schools for the Future Programme...

The dark side of Dubai

Luxury island developer Safi Qurashi is facing jail in Dubai after signing cheques worth more than £50m without sufficient funds. WAN talks to Qurashi's legal adviser Radha Stirling to get to the bottom of this complex case...

Is there any hope for schools of the future?

President of the RIBA Ruth Reed talks to WAN about the effects of the Government's decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future Programme...

Opening the box of dreams

Ed Schlossberg chats to WAN's Jennifer Potash about his striking design for 'Dream Cube' - the Chinese Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010...

What do architects know about climate change?

UIA President Louise Cox talks to WAN direct from Copenhagen at the UN Climate Summit about the worrying perception of architects' importance in the climate challenge...

A Swiss architect abroad

Courtesy of World Radio Switzerland's Swiss By Design programme, Presenter Jennifer Davies talks to eminent architect Bernard Tschumi about his entry into architecture and his move from his homeland to Paris...

A modest master of architecture

Courtesy of World Radio Switzerland's Swiss By Design programme, Presenter Jennifer Davies talks to Pritzker Prize winner Peter Zumthor, author of many outstanding yet modest buildings in Switzerland and beyond...

The architect who retired from retirement

Will Alsop talks with WAN about the truth behind his 'retirement' and his plans for RMJM now that he is heading their new flagship office...

It shouldn't happen to an architect...

London's buzzing with Charles Bancroft's new thriller whose complex plot is threaded through the capital's architectural community. Rob Gilbert faces every architect's worst nightmare when one of his buildings collapses. Facing ruin, he fights to clear his name but that's when events really start to spiral out of control. Only for the brave hearted.

Listen to this intriguing podcast of the Prologue, exclusively produced for WAN.



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Welcome Mrs President

Ruth Reed is the first ever female President of the RIBA, taking the baton from Sunand Prasad. Here she tells WAN what she has in store for British architects under her leadership at the organisation...

Entering the Cocoon

The centre-piece of the new Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London, the Cocoon, is an extensive library of 20 million plant and insect specimens and is the largest sprayed concrete structure in Europe. The project's architect, Anna Maria Indrio of CF Moller Architects took time out to show us around...

Laying down the law

RIBA President Sunand Prasad seeks to put an end to the Royal Question - Should the UK's Prince Charles be able to point his Goldfinger at ongoing projects to have the architect banished?

Wimbledon's Ace

Lead Architect for the recently completed Wimbledon regeneration, Dale Jennins of Populous, talks of the break away from HOK and why umbrella sellers at the iconic stadium have a reason to be worried

Shattered facades?

UK Conservative politician John Gummer has claimed that glass facades will become a thing of the past in a Tory Government. Arup's Global Leader of Materials and Facade Engineering, Andrew Hall gives his reaction to the claim.

Future Schools

Julian Weyer, Partner at the Danish architects CF Moller, fast forwards to what could be the next generation of school design and explains how they do it in Denmark.

When Great became green...

Ken Yeang discusses the design of the UK's greenest hospital wing, an addition to London's famous Great Ormond Street Hospital, as we ask how sustainability can operate during a recession.

Still rising

Heading the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Antony Wood holds a strong insight into architecture today - he shares this with WAN to reveal that buildings need not shrink amidst the financial chaos.

Future tech schools

Gensler's Global Head of Education design and the headmaster of tech school prototype, Kent New Line Academy, talk with WAN about the relationship between technology and school design and where this could lead us in the future.

Educating Design

Mairi Johnson, Design Director at Partnerships for Schools talks exclusively to WAN about the UK’s ambitious nine billion pound school upgrade programme.

A message for Boris...

Prolific London architect Sir Terry Farrell is pushing forward his ambitious vision for the Thames Gateway Parklands and has a clear message for the new London Mayor, Boris Johnson who wants to relocate Heathrow Airport in the Thames Estuary.

No time for complacency

WAN’s Michael Hammond catches up with Norman Foster at Barcelona and finds some forthright views on how architects can still find opportunities within a recession..

Scott Sarver

How do you re-model an ancient city for the 21st Century? Scott Sarver, CEO of DeStefano + Partners, tells us how and why this is necessary in the South Korean capital city of Seoul.

The inaugural World Architecture Festival 2008

Paul Finch takes us to Barcelona and talks to WAN about the forthcoming extravaganza of architecture. A fascinating insight into the process and reasoning behind the selection of a winner from 722 entries.

Nick Seierup

How do changing attitudes and times affect design? Perkins + Will's Nick Seierup discusses how civic building in LA has been affected by generational shifts.

Live from the Venice Biennale

Live from Venice, Gareth Hoskins talks to WAN about the importance and relevance of delivering architecture to an international audience.

Moving to the Empire State

BBG-BBGM New York's Bruno Grinwis tells WAN about the challenges and glories of making the 1930's icon, the Empire State Building, their new home.

Getting London on track

This week’s green light for London’s £16Bn/10 year Crossrail project will create 14,000 construction jobs. Douglas Oakervee, Executive Chairman of London Crossrail talks exclusively to WAN about the challenges facing London’s largest infrastructure undertaking in recent times…

Exporting the dragon...

David Roberts CEO Aedas Asia talks exclusively to WAN about how his 750 strong Hong Kong office now reaches out to mainland China, Machau and Dubai....

Credit Crunch

WAN host an exclusive breakfast briefing by Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon to discuss how to come out on top in the Credit Crunch.

Meet the Big Guys

An exclusive insight into how three basic ground rules helped grow Gensler into the world's largest architectural practice with with 3249 staff in 30 offices. Meet Chris Johnson Managing Principal, Gensler Europe/Middle East and Ken Baker Co-Managing Principal, Genlser Europe/Middle East...

Please accept our apologies for the sound quality in some parts of this recording...

Peter Murray

Peter Murray, the man behind the first London Festival of Architecture talks exclusively to Michael Hammond about this huge project.

Prison Design. Will Alsop thinks outside the box...

The UK's prison system is in meltdown with the highest incarceration rates in Europe and no viable strategy in sight. Re-offending rates are at an all time high. Will Alsop, one of the UK's most visionary architects has strong views on prison design and recently launched an initiative called Creative Prisons, aimed at challenging current attitudes to prisoner rehabilitation.

Time travelling with Autodesk

Phil Bernstein, Vice President, industry strategy and relations for Autodesk AEC takes us back in time to the first Autodesk product and tracks its evolution through the current BIM phase and expores how architectural software may look in the future.

Unqualified Disaster?

Alan Weinstein, President of AIA Queens Chapter, tells WAN why some residents of New York think that the Mayor is "insane" following an amendment to the buildings charter which could leave an unqualified person in charge of the city's 975,000 buildings...
Alan would like to clarify that when talking about the architects in relation to the WTC he meant that they entered the surrounding buildings in the days after. He added: "The heroic actions of the emergency workers on that day were superhuman - God Bless the FDNY and the NYPD and all who gave their lives to protect us."

Jim Stafford

Jim Stafford, Associate Principle of Perkins and Will, tells WAN about their huge project in India and discusses its indications of a burgeoning Indian economy

Thierry Renault

Thierry Renault, Deputy Managing Director of Reed MIDEM gives WAN the low-down on MIPIM, the world's property market.

Rob Smith

Rob Smith, Associate at Arups talks to WAN about a new damping system for tall buildings that could enable structures to go even higher.

Erick van Egeraat

Erick van Egeraat talks to WAN about his design for Federation Island and how architecture is changing in scale.

Moshe Zwarts

Professor Moshe Zwarts from Zwarts & Jansma Architects talks to WAN about his proposals for an underground city in Amsterdam.

Defender of the Dome

Senior Director at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Mike Davies, reveals the real story behind the Millennium Dome and talks us through London's new T5.

David Mangin

Parisian architect, David Mangin talks exclusively to WAN about the challenges of the redevelopment of the notorious Les Halles in Paris.

Peter Weingarten & Sudhir Jambhekar

Peter Weingarten and Sudhir Jambhekar of FX FOWLE talk to WAN about the challenges facing Mumbai......

Nick Reynolds

Nick Reynolds, Principal at HOK Sport takes us on a walkaround at the O2 Arena in London. Please note, this file is 30MB and the tour is over 30 minutes but well worth it!

Ken Yeang's Eco Skyscrapers

WAN talks exclusively Ken Yeang about the increasing sustainabilty challenges facing architects and about his new book Eco Skyscrapers.

Wheel of fortune

Creators of the London Eye, David Marks and Julia Barfield talk about the unique challenges they had to overcome to get the wheel off the ground and their vision for London's energy generation.

Richard Rogers in Paris

Richard Rogers talks to WAN with his son Abe at the opening of the new retrospective exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Paris now celebrating its 30th birthday...

Will Alsop explains his vision for Croydon

Exclusive interview with Will Alsop discussing the unique challenge of this south London borough.

2012 Olympic Stadium design unveiled

Why Olympic design may never be the same. Rod Sheard, stadium architect at HOK Sport, talks to WAN about the dramatic stadium proposal for the 2012 London Olympics.

Sketches of Frank Gehry - Reaction

At our very own private screening of Sydney Pollack's short film, Sketches of Frank Gehry, WAN gauges your reaction to the film.

Cement manufacturers come clean

Exclusive interview with Howard Klee of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) about the impact of cement manufacture on building design.

End of an era....

WAN talks to Dennis Sharp about the life of Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, who died last week from heart failure.

Building a winner

Alexander Schwarz was David Chipperfield’s project architect for this year’s Stirling Prize winning Museum of Contemporary Literature in Germany. We catch up with Alexander at Dusseldorf Airport…

Daniel Libeskind

An exclusive WAN interview with inspirational architect Daniel Libeskind, designer of the master plan for ground zero and the world trade center site.

Al Manakh

Rem Koolhaas, Mark Wigley and Ole Bouman discuss the history, culture and architecture of The Gulf region at the launch 'Al Manakh' hosted by the Netherlands Architectural Institute in Rotterdam. Please excuse sound quality, due to live on-stage recording.

Perrault's Parisian visions

Dominique Perrault designer of the iconic Bibliotheque Nationale meets President Sarkozy and talks exclusively to WAN about the vision for Paris.

Inside the WTC ' War Room'

Richard Paul of Rogers Stirk Harbour takes us into the design room at the WTC where three of the world's most prolific firms are collaborating to meet a punishing schedule.

The Architecture of Parking

Simon Henley talks exclusively to WAN about his new book, the Architecture of Parking with guest Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society.

Meet the president

Sunand Prasad, the RIBA's new president joins WAN's new friday programme This Week to discuss current news and provide a unique insight into how he will address some of the challenges facing architects in the UK and abroad.

Is London in the shadow of New York?

WAN's Michael Hammond talks exclusively to Lee Polisano, KPF's president about the differences between architecture in London and New York.

Building the Burj

WAN's Michael Hammond in London talks to George Efstathiou of SOM in Chicago. George is managing partner for the project and talks exclusively to WAN about the challenges facing super-tall buildings and the future...

Exclusive video of Foster and Partner's tower in London

Paul Lynch of glazing specialist Mero Schmidlin gives an insight into the challenges of installing glazing panels above the streets of London - in inclement weather.

Zaha Hadid wins RIBA Award

London based Zaha Hadid has won the 2006 Jencks Award. The award is given to an individual who has recently made a major contribution simultaneously to the theory and practice of architecture. Previous recipients include Cecil Balmond, Foreign Offices Architects and Peter Eisenman. The award was given at the RIBA's London headquarters in London this week by Charles Jencks.

Buildings that answer back?

An experiment is taking place this week which innovatively allows a building to respond to its design. Machines for singing is sponsored by the UK's arts council and involves "wiring-up" the fabric of the structure with sensors to detect ultra sonic and supersonic responses to activities within the building.

Evelina Childrens' Hospital

Find out why this London hospital will set a new benchmark standard in healthcare. Take an audio tour of the new facility with the client's project manager Alastair Gourlay and Hopkins Architects directors Pamela Bate and Andy Barnett.

Guy Battle

Founder of international consultancy firm Battle McCarthy talks about the increasing effect environmental issues are having on the shape of architecture

Chris Wilkinson

Founder of London based Wilkinson Eyre, twice winner of the UK's Stirling Prize and now designing the world's 4th tallest building.

Ken Shuttleworth

30 years as Foster's right hand man, designer of London's Gherkin, Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport (the largest building in the world) and Europe's tallest skyscraper, the Commerzbank in Frankfurt.