On Wednesday 16th May the annual RIBA Stakeholders’ forum was held in the grand surroundings of the Hochhauser Auditorium in the V & A Sackler Centre for Arts Education.

Under the theme of “The Iterative Design Process”, the day included talks from Sam Bernard, Dyson’s Head of Commercial Product Development, on the ideas behind their design and innovation philosophy, and Kevin Arthur of Elements Europe describing their innovative offsite manufacturing process.

The event also marked the official launch of the BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work, now free to download from RIBA Bookshops, and a progress update on the follow-up major review of the RIBA Plan of Work being undertaken during 2012/2013 .

The BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work, edited by Dale Sinclair, builds on the Green Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work and forms part of the response from the construction industry, and in particular the RIBA, to the Government’s commitment to have all its projects utilising BIM from the summer of 2012.

The document provides an Overlay that simplifies the BIM processes and clarifies terms which have caused confusion in the industry. Core BIM activities are considered in the guidance for each stage of the plan.

The BIM Overlay is not a fundamental review of the Plan of Work, but does provide guidance on the use of BIM in the context of the current Plan of Work.

Below are some pictures from the day:

Setting up (L-R: Alex Tait, Tara DeFabrizio, Bethany Winning)

Hot off the press, The BIM Overlay to the Outline Plan of Work

The Stakeholders' Forum audience arrive

Members of the Plan of Work Review Group deep in discussion (L-R: Richard Fairhead, John Orrell, Dale Sinclair and Ian Davies)

Dale Sinclair fields questions from the floor on the BIM Overlay

Alex Tait gets his hands on a copy of the BIM Overlay document

Executive Director Membership and Professional Support Richard Brindley discusses the new Plan of Work with Dale Sinclair

Cripps Building, St John's College, Cambridge (© Henk Snoek / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Though only on display for a few weeks, the Cambridge in Concrete exhibition has provided a space for the discussion of the post-war contributions to the architecture of Cambridge. Too often, attention and the camera lens are focused on the built achievements dating from the medieval period, when, within living memory, British architects have done so much more for the city.

University Library for the Arts Faculties, Cambridge (© Henk Snoek / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Until 25 May 2012, at the University of Cambridge, selected material from the RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection are on show to the public to highlight the work of architects in the 1950 and 1960s whose buildings dared to express their construction and utilised concrete, a material that was in contrast to Cambridge’s then existing buildings. Nevertheless, these modern structures respected the scale and form of their surroundings and enabled the city to accommodate the changing needs created by the post-war expansion of the university and growth in higher education. The consideration given to the picturesque landscape of Cambridge and the collaborative spirit of the age are partly reflected in one picture; included in the exhibition is an evocative image of the George Thomson Building, designed by Philip Dowson of Arup Associates, which sits low in landscaped gardens with a sculpture of a seated figure by Henry Moore in the foreground. Made of reinforced concrete, the mass of this building is broken into several blocks and relieved by the extended concrete frame raised on pilotis which offered sheltered circulation spaces, like the old cloisters, for the graduates living there.

George Thomson Building, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Writing in 1970, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was already declaring: “That there are failures among these many buildings goes without saying, but there are also masterpieces among them” (Pevsner p.42). Now, over forty years later, the public are invited to see for themselves the fruits of a building boom that gave commissions to great architects such as Hugh Casson, Denys Lasdun, Powell & Moya,  Leslie Martin and Basil Spence and added their modern designs – worthy of more attention – to ‘hidden’ Cambridge.

Read more about this exhibition in an interview with curator Dr Marco Iuliano from the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, in ‘Cambridge in Concrete: the boom years of Brutalism’. Admission to Cambridge in Concrete is free.

Reference:

• Pevsner, N., Cambridgeshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970

Over the past year on RIBA Blogs, the British Architectural Library has published posts on the Shard London Bridge. Using material from the Library, some have looked at the history of the site of the Shard, while others have been updates on its construction. Today it is the later, with photographs taken yesterday of how this colossal building will meet the ground and connect to London Bridge station and the surrounding streets.

The Shard nearing completion, view from London Bridge Street

London Bridge station entrance (centre) and entrance to the Shard (right), Joiner Street

Glass canopy over the entrance to the Shard, Joiner Street

Shard, view from London Bridge station platforms

(Photographs by Wilson Yau)

The Library’s current exhibition, through vintage material from the British Architectural Library Photographs Collection, looks at high-rise living in the post-war era across Britain, including Sheffield, Glasgow and London; the images on show are a startling contrast to the vision of the future offered by the Shard. Entry to High Society is free and the display is open to the public until 9 June 2012.

Park Hill Estate, Sheffield (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

A new image every month celebrating architecture, chosen from RIBApix, where you will discover over 60,000 images on architecture, landscape and the decorative arts.

Building Centre, 158 New Bond Street, London, 1930s (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Happy Birthday Building Centre! The centre is this month hosting events to celebrate 80 years of bringing together all those involved with the built environment. Founded in 1931, the Building Centre established its first premises at 158 New Bond Street, London, in 1932. Between 1942 and 1951 the centre occupied the then former headquarters of the RIBA at 9 Conduit Street before moving into its current premises at 26 Store Street– a former car showroom.

This month’s image from the 1930s shows the entrance of the centre’s first home, once fronted by a mural of city and domestic life designed by Marjorie Morrison.

Discover the history of architecture through the RIBA’s collection of 2,000 periodical titles. This month the British Architectural Library takes a look at a building which – like the Queen – is celebrating 60 years of  service:

Stockwell bus garage, London: the roof arches with skylights, 1952 (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Transport for London’s suite of depots, sheds and garages may not appear to be worth celebrating in comparison to the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, but it may be worth giving them a thought, as with just days to go before the election for the next Mayor of London, all the mayoral candidates have made transport a major issue of their respective campaigns. As public promises on transport policy are being made and the potential of their delivery analysed by critics and voters, most Londoners will remain unaware of the hidden infrastructure that keeps London moving. This month, one such piece of this vital infrastructure is also celebrating a 60 year landmark. Stockwell bus garage, opened in April 1952, is today a Grade II* listed building. When it became fully operational in 1953, leading periodicals such as the Architects’ Journal printed articles full of impressive statistics about the garage’s size.

Stockwell bus garage, London: Landsdowne Way façade, 1952 (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

The form of this building was generated by the need for a large unrestricted space of 73,350 sq ft for parking 200 buses. Designed by Adie Button & Partners, the bus garage was part of a wider scheme to replace trams. Everything these vehicles and their drivers could need to be able to serve Londoners was onsite: facilities for the fuelling, inspection and repair of buses, and for the employees a canteen and staffroom. Most of these services sat beneath the giant barrel vault created by reinforced concrete arches that span 194 ft and spaced at 42 ft intervals. Roof lights measuring 140 ft fill the gap between the ribs of the arches, allowing light into the depths of the 392 ft long main structure.

Stockwell bus garage: Interior, 1952 (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Low-rise and still fulfilling the same function since it entered service, it seems extraordinary that this man-made cave for buses is largely hidden from nearby main roads until one turns down the relatively quieter residential streets of Lansdowne Way and Binfield Road. With archive images from the Photographs Collection, and a few from this month, we can see it has changed remarkably little. After 60 years service it has gained some fans, such as writer Will Self: ‘It’s a lovely building – sinuous, curved, organic – and yet it exhibits the best constructivist principles…I could live in it for a year’ (Building, 2007).

Stockwell bus garage, London: Landsdowne Way façade, 2012 (Photograph by Wilson Yau)

Stockwell bus garage: Interior, 2012 (Photograph by Wilson Yau)

Stockwell bus garage: Exterior wall, 2012 (Photograph by Wilson Yau)

References:

• Building, 2007, Dec 14. Wonders & blunders; Architects: Adie Button & Partners and Broadway Malyan. 272(50), p.43.
• Architects’ Journal, 1953, Dec. 31. Bus garage at Stockwell for London Transport Executive; Architects: Adie Button & Partners. pp.820-822.

More  images of Stockwell bus garage and its construction can been on RIBApix.

London Book Fair: RIBA Librarian Jonathan Ridsdale (centre) with the president and staff members of the China Architecture & Building Press

There was a strong RIBA presence at last week’s vibrant London Book Fair; as well as the RIBA Bookshops stand, there was the roving presence of the British Architectural Library. Scouting for new books, RIBA Librarian Jonathan Ridsdale was able to meet a range of publishers at the event. The meeting with long-established Chinese publisher China Architecture & Building Press was particularly fruitful and the result has been the book collection of the Library has grown a bit more!

Recently published books on Chinese architecture, now in the collections of the British Architectural Library, RIBA

New books in the Library

Available now to RIBA members and the visiting public, via the Library’s Reading Room, is this valuable resource for the study of contemporary and traditional architecture and architectural history in China. A brand new series of monographs covers young firms whose work, whilst renowned in China, is relatively unknown outside the country, and other books document ancient Chinese monuments and buildings, some of which appear in UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List. With their dual language text, detailed plans and full colour photographs, these books will enable researchers to discover more about the diverse heritage of this region and the exciting new developments taking place there. At the time of writing the publisher is without a UK distributor, though they are in negotiation with RIBA Distribution. The Library is proud to be one few public repositories for such books within the UK – a sign of why it is considered one of the best architectural libraries in the world.

Chapter heading from 'World Heritage: Huizhou School Architecture in China' edited by Fan Yanbing

New books on contemporary Chinese architects, available in the Library

Audience at 'Focus on: The Modernist apartment block in London', RIBA

Material from the RIBA Library Photographs Collection on display

At the end of the talk, audience members got the chance to see material at first-hand with RIBA curator Valeria Carullo

Focusing on London’s inter-war Modernist apartments, yesterday evening the RIBA Library Photographs Collection held a talk as part of the latest series of late-night Last Tuesdays events at the RIBA. Using material from the collection, RIBA curator Valeria Carullo went through the fascinating history of some world famous and more obscure flats in London. Together, these projects highlighted a common theme: architects believed that through good planning and design they could improve living conditions for everyone, from Ealing in the west to the slums of the Stepney, and from leafy Hampstead to crowded Peckham in the south.

The talk looked at how these buildings made use of the new modern material, concrete. The new forms and spaces that concrete enabled architects such as Lubetkin, Tecton and Maxwell Fry to create were captured in remarkable images by some of the leading photographers of the day. These photographs were subsequently featured in popular journals, such as the Architectural Review who used them to promote better housing and a new way to build our cities.

Isokon Flats, Lawn Road, Hampstead, designed by Wells Coates (© RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Viceroy Court, Prince Albert Road, Regent's Park, designed by Marshall & Tweedy (© Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Many of these images from the talk can be seen online via RIBApix. The British Architectural Library and its collections are open to the public. On 26 June 2012 there is another free Last Tuesdays talk, Focus on: 19th Century Highlights, from the Photographs Collection.

Elsewhere in the building …..

‘Focus on: The Modernist apartment block in London’ was just one of several talks happening at the RIBA yesterday, all of which were celebrating architecture and architects. Along with free exhibitions and building tours, the bookshop, library and restaurant at 66 Portland Place were also open that evening. It was a busy night…

Last Tuesdays: Home exhibition, RIBA

Last Tuesdays: outside the Home exhibition, RIBA

Last Tuesdays: main staircase and atrium, RIBA

The next Last Tuesdays event is on 29 May and will celebrate the Jubilee.

Paxton’s sketch designs and a telegram regarding the building for the Great Exhibition of 1851( © V&A Images. Museum number: E.575-1985)

This is the final week of the V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership’s Albertopolis exhibition, so it seems only appropriate to look at an item that started it all off. Scribbled on a piece of blotting paper over 160 years old, is engineer Joseph Paxton’s initial idea for the Great Exhibition building. He was actually an employee of the Midland Railway company when, during a meeting of the railway board, he created the above rough sketch.

The drawing was in response to encouragement by others, including the Executive Board of the Great Exhibition, who were in the process of making the vast arrangements to bring the exhibition into being and to a deadline. The telegram is dated 15 June 1850 and addressed to Mrs Paxton, confirming that her husband’s submission (the rough sketch of an elevation and section) had been accepted. This was after the previous 245 original entries had been rejected as unsuitable for the site in Hyde Park and the exhibition’s Building Committee had decided to create their own design instead. Potentially slow and expensive to build, had the committee’s design been built, then the outcome of the exhibition – and ultimately the history of South Kensington – could have been very different. There is little doubt that Paxton’s Crystal Palace, as well as providing an iconic background for the Great Exhibition, contributed to the event’s success.

Albertopolis exhibition, Room 128a, Victoria and Albert Museum

Albertopolis is open until Sunday 29 April 2012 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Entry is free.

With the support of the rest of the RIBA and its members, the British Architectural Library is able to conduct vital work to safeguard part of the history of architecture. While the Library’s Reading Room at 66 Portland Place was closed today, several illustrated books dating from the 19th century in the RIBA’s collections were being carefully wrapped by RIBA staff member Elizabeth Adams. These books include ‘The spires and towers of England’ and the seminal ‘The grammar of ornament’. Now that they are safely packed, they will be sent away to undergo conservation. These beautiful items will return to the Library soon, where they will once again be available to any member of the public visiting the Reading Room.

With today’s post are a few snap shots of some of the hidden work of the RIBA:

Books being wrapped for protection, Reading Room, British Architectural Library

Examples of Egyptian architecture from 'The grammar of ornament'

Examples of Roman architecture from 'The grammar of ornament'

Cover to 'The grammar of ornament'

A bookplate revealing that this copy of 'The grammar of ornament' was donated in 1953 by Sir Banister Flight Fletcher, former president of the RIBA

St John The Baptist Church Kenstone from 'The spires and towers of England'

All images: © British Architectural Library

The Library’s opening times are:
10am – 8pm Tuesday
10am – 5pm Wednesday and Friday
10am – 1.30pm Saturday
(Please bring photographic I.D. for entry)

More images of the illustrated plates from Owen Jones’s ‘The grammar of ornament’ are available on RIBApix.

Keeling House, Claredale Street, Bethnal Green, London, 1959 (© RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

There’s just two weeks left to see ‘A Place to Call Home’, part of the RIBA’s Home Season. The material on show looks at the history of  British housing and comes from a range of sources, but much of it is from the RIBA’s own collections at the British Architectural Library; one particular item on loan stands out, the model of Keeling House. Designed in 1955 by British architect Denys Lasdun, this 16-storey block of flats was an attempt to break away from certain ideas to mass housing derived from Le Corbusier and to keep other elements that were relevant to British living conditions.

‘Lasdun was weary of a box-like approach to housing and interested in evolving new configurations better suited to pre-existing social and urban patterns.’ (Curtis p.49)

The result was a scheme of flats clustered in such a way so that each dwelling had views and access to light and air, just like the Unité d’Habitation, but accommodating the social nature and community spirit found in Bethnal Green. It was idealistic and designed for ordinary local people.

Models: foreground, Rowlett Street Housing scheme; background, Keeling House (© RIBA British Architectural Library)

By 1993 the occupants were moved out by the local council due to safety fears – Keeling House was in such a state of disrepair that there were threats that it would have to be demolished. Despite this, that same year it became the first post-war tower block to be given listed status, with the then Secretary of State for National Heritage saying Lasdun’s building was an ‘architecturally outstanding example of 1950s public housing’. (Architects’ Journal, 1993)

A Place to Call Home: Close-up of Keeling House model (© RIBA British Architectural Library)

The model, currently on display at the RIBA, is made of balsa wood – a contrast to the much harder veneers of white Portland stone aggregate used in the actual project which was completed in 1959. It shows the main form of Lasdun’s design: four towers clustered around a central core containing circulation and social spaces. It’s a reminder of what British architects achieved after World War II: rebuilding Britain and playing a part in making good housing available to all. There is still time to see this exhibition and entry is free.

After the exhibition the model will return to the RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collection, where it will be cared for by the RIBA’s conservator and preserved for future generations.

A Place to Call Home: Models in the background (© RIBA British Architectural Library)

‘A Place to Call Home’ and the rest of the Home Season is open until Saturday 28 April 2012.
Venue: RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London

More images of Keeling House, including original drawings, can be seen on RIBApix.

References:

• Curtis, W. J. R., Denys Lasdun: architecture, city, landscape. London: Phaidon, 1994
• Architects’ Journal, 1993, Dec 1. Lasdun’s high-rise housing listed. 198(21), p. 7