News
Alison Brooks and Carlos Chauca Galicia Lead Workshop for Master of Advanced Studies in Collective Housing
06.2024
This June, Alison Brooks alongside Carlos Chauca Galicia, led a studio in the Master of Advanced Studies in Collective Housing – a collaborative postgraduate program for qualified architects offered by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and ETH Zürich.
This program focuses on housing, city, and energy studies, combining practice-oriented design synthesis with integrated disciplines and theoretical issues of dwelling and housing.
In Praise of Shadows: Towers of Madrid Nuevo Norte
In the workshop, the task is to re-imagine the residential tower so that it is liveable, generous, and welcoming of shade and darkness and attuned to the climate of Madrid. The seven tower schemes will evolve the qualities of the city’s finest ‘street architecture’ to find new form and expression, giving darkness and light equal consideration.
Using the text “In Praise of Shadows” by Japanese writer Junichiro Tanizaki, the workshop also addressed the increasing reliance on tower typologies in urban development to fund economic models in Europe’s metropolitan centres. High-density residential developments reflect the costs associated with land purchase, decontamination, infrastructure installation, and the funding of social, economic, cultural, and ecological infrastructure in new neighbourhoods. Tall buildings are thus a prerequisite for new metropolitan neighbourhoods. This principle is evident in the planned regeneration of Madrid Nuevo Norte, where the central urban gesture – a new park over the rail lands – is lined with tall buildings.
Site:
The Madrid Nuevo Norte project, also known as the Chamartín project, aims to transform the northern part of Madrid into a modern, sustainable, and connected district. Covering approximately 2.3 million square meters (3.3 million including the railway tracks), it stands as one of the largest urban regeneration initiatives in Europe.
The development encompasses a new financial district along with extensive residential, commercial, and green areas. It will feature 1 million square meters of residential space, including 10,500 new housing units, 20% of which will be affordable. Additionally, there will be 1.6 million square meters of office space and 400,000 square meters dedicated to green spaces and parks.
MCH Students:
Anwar Abbassi, Kailey Akins, Derrick Christensen, Thomas Christensen, Edgardo Cruz, Viktoriia Denisova, Jose Eduardo Delgado, Julio Ferré, Pedro Gaxiola, Rafailia Mandi, Eduardo Maldonado, Karla Madrigal, Diego Martínez, Ximena Real, Elizaveta Nikolskaia, Ayush Patel, Betul Sahin, Kunal Sonawane, Sofia de Luca, Milagros Ucha, Antoine Voruz, Mariam Yasser.
Computational Design Group Launch
06.2024
We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Computational Design Group, led by our esteemed colleague Daniel Tihanyi, who will be taking on the role of Head of Computational Design.
This research-led group will push the boundaries of computational design, visualization, and AI, while also providing invaluable training for our team.
Since joining ABA Daniel has been a driving force in advancing our digital agenda, introducing innovative software and computational techniques that have radically enhanced our capabilities as a practice. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, Daniel’s leadership will ensure Alison Brooks Architects remains at the forefront of innovation and technical excellence within the profession.
Stay tuned for more updates as we embark on this exciting journey!
University of Toronto Competition Win
05.2024
We are honored to share that Alison Brooks Architects, in collaboration with Adamson Associates, has been selected by the University of Toronto to revitalize the Claude T. Bissell Building for the Faculty of Information.
This landmark project will modernize the 7,000 sqm Bissell Building, a key part of the renowned John P. Robarts Research Library complex, into a sustainable and exceptional center for information studies.
The revitalization will create accessible, inclusive spaces such as research and design labs, classrooms, and makerspaces, supporting the Faculty’s mission to advance technology for the public good. We are dedicated to creating a new, vibrant gateway to the St. George Campus, enhancing its identity and supporting innovative learning.
Our core design team is supported by a talented group: David T. Fortin Architect, ERA Architects, The Planning Partnership, and Arup.
Stay tuned for more updates on this landmark transformation!
Alison Brooks to speak at OAA Conference in Niagara Falls
05.2024
Alison Brooks will be speaking at the Ontario Association of Architects Conference on Thursday the 23rd of May. Her speech is entitled: “Social Equity and Future Heritage: Housing as Civic Building.”
Urban housing frames the space of our civic commons. It gives both form and identity to our streets and neighborhoods, and, at the same time, “home” provides the physical and cognitive framework through which we experience the world. Housing architecture therefore embodies a critically important relationship between the individual and the collective, the household and society. In the context of the biodiversity crisis, urban housing as civic infrastructure must also play a significant role in transforming the relationship of architecture to nature. The way we conceive, design, and construct housing must start to serve nature, not only humans.
For 25 years, Alison Brooks Architects London has made housing design a pillar of our practice: to restore its civic role as a generous, resilient frame for public and private life. We see housing as mixed-use places for productivity and work, and as places of resilience and adaptability over time. In this talk, Alison Brooks will outline the urban design policies, frameworks, and quality standards that support inclusive and resilient housing in the United Kingdom, and her context-inspired design strategies that have underpinned her work in the U.K. and internationally.
Pictured, The Western Curve, our practice’s tallest building to date—a 69-storey tower and education space at Waterfront Toronto is designed to re-establish local ecologies in Toronto’s emerging Dream & Great Gulf Quayside masterplan.
Unity Place Receives RIBA London Award
05.2024
Designed in collaboration with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Gort Scott, our 100% affordable housing scheme for Brent Council, ‘Unity Place’, has been awarded a prestigious RIBA London Award.
“During the jury’s visit, residents expressed their delight with the project and their accommodation (…) This project shows how it is possible to provide high-quality, sustainable and affordable housing, embodying the local council’s commitment to elevating the standard of living for its social residents. Through community engagement, careful planning, selection of materials and, importantly, a willingness of the three architectural practices to share a common ambition, language, and goals, Unity Place has set a benchmark for future residential developments.” – RIBA Award Judges
See the full RIBA Journal article of the jury’s thoughts: https://lnkd.in/eiEWSRuR
Alison Brooks Delivered Closing Keynote at AIBC Conference 2024
04.2024
British-Canadian architect Alison Brooks delivered the closing keynote on April 24, 2024, at the AIBC (Architectural Institute of British Columbia) Conference, held in-person at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.
In her keynote, “Context is Everything,” Alison Brooks, founder of Alison Brooks Architects in London, explored themes such as civicness as a condition of reciprocity, the creation of future contexts, infrastructure for the arts, embracing new global narratives, and identity and inclusion.
Her talk closed the AIBC Conference 2024 in Vancouver, which featured nearly 30 sessions over two days. The conference theme, “Act,” highlighted the pivotal role of architects in the built environment, exploring technical actions, the art and science of architecture, and the impact of architectural professionals on their communities.