A&B 2014

The Changing Scene of Architecture
and building product development
INTRODUCTION – With the General Election looming next year, our Politicians are already making promises about
spending our money, which may eventually be difficult to balance/deliver. George Osborne has promised that
£7Bn is to be invested ‘Up North’ to create a Northern Powerhouse to complement London, with the emphasis on
transport, culture, power and science! This includes investment in new roads, new trains, and new Scientific Institutes,
creating many new jobs and opportunities. Doubtless, the other Parties will be making similar, if not heavier/greater
investment to capture our votes.
TRENDS IN ARCHITECTURE – We are increasingly creating seamless finishes and specifying smoother materials
such as marble and concrete, using more calming colour palettes often dominated by white, and encouraging more
transparency and natural light into our buildings.
THE WORKPLACE – We are now returning to the Age of Minimalism in the New Millennial era, searching for more
privacy and creating quiet zones when at work. Face–to–face interaction is growing and Video traffic is increasing
exponentially with links such as 4 Billion You–Tube and growing Skype use.
We have possibly become too sedentary at work (which appears to contradict the belief that the human body was
never intended/evolved/formed to be seated) so the trend to have standing/mobile flat–pack desks may help to
reduce/reconcile sitting for too long. The layouts of our office space and our activities at work should encourage
more exercise in the workplace.
EDUCATIONAL – The much maligned pre–fabricated school (and social housing) of the 1970s is now being replaced
with standardised, more flexible, high quality aesthetic spaces, with 60+ year life expectancy to address the chronic
shortage of school places – anticipated 20% shortfall by 2015.
WORLDLY CHALLENGE – We face a world of increased conflict, environmental challenges, mass migration, with
reducing resources where economic growth is expected from emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Russia and
South Africa. More sustainable energy harvesting solutions, with a reduction in waste, must be one of our greatest
challenges.
LOCAL CHALLENGES – We are facing a housing shortage (an under–supply of 30% less new affordable homes
being built, when compared with 2007–8). Stamp duty changes, will help younger homebuyers. The demands on
the intrusion into the Green Belt, with the enthusiasm for burgeoning Garden Cities, and in certain cases Local Plans
which do not fully address the concerns of expanding into the Green Belt and have no policy/strategy for making
better use of Brownfield sites. This applies particularly in Town Centres, where an increasing number of unused
properties such as shops and redundant factories are not seen as an attractive proposition to some Developers. The
Challenge must be to stimulate more incentive to develop Brownfield sites, possibly with a new Greenfield levy to
subsidise Brownfield Developments.
PRODUCTS – New materials such as super strength UK researched *Graphene will ultimately be expanded for use in
the Building Industry (and not left wholly to N.A.S.A. to develop), perhaps exploring its flexibility in tunnelling and
sub–structures. In moving forward, occasionally we need to look back at the designs we appear to have left behind
or forgotten. Why not re–introduce brick bonds like Flemish, English Part Wall bonds instead of the monotonous
stretcher bonds, surely cost–effective mass production methods are now available even within the cavity wall
construction?
OUR CHALLENGES – Architects and Designers need to consider how to strike a balance between global and local
values allowing for cultural as well as brand manifestation.
Other challenges include new CDM Regulations under the guidance of H.S.E. by re–aligning the co–ordination
function and cut down on the ‘mixed messages’ of the current version of the Regulations.
* Graphene is a crystalline allotrope of carbon with 2-dimensional properties. In graphene, carbon atoms are densely packed in a regular
sp 2 -bonded atomic-scale chicken wire (hexagonal) pattern. Graphene can be described as a one-atom thick layer of graphite. It is the basic
structural element of other allotropes, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. It can also be considered as an indefinitely
large aromatic molecule, the limiting case of the family of flat polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING UK | 3