publications
Design Council: Leading Women in Design
November 20, 2018
Alison Brooks is featured in Design Council’s ‘Leading Women in Design’ series. The series celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 which for the first time, granted some women the right to vote in the UK.
Alison Brooks is featured in Design Council’s ‘Leading Women in Design’ series. The series celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 which for the first time, granted some women the right to vote in the UK.
To mark this anniversary Design Council feature a series of ‘Leading Women’ who have each made invaluable contributions to shape the world that we live in today over a course of twelve months.
In her interview Alison explains why the UK should take a leaf out of Canada’s book when it comes to secondary school education, and why complex problems should always be tackled with simple solutions.
“Alison Brooks is a woman on a mission. Flying to and from Boston to lecture at Harvard, creating an experiential installation for this year’s Venice architecture Biennale, being named as one of London’s most influential people in 2018 by the Evening Standard – there is a non-stop energy in the air. ”
To read the full article, click here.
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Arch Daily: 30 Most Influential Architects in London ReCasting The Smile East Parkside
October 25, 2018
Alison Brooks has been named by Arch Daily’s as one of the 30 most influential architects in London.
Alison Brooks has been named by Arch Daily’s as one of the 30 most influential architects in London.
“The founder of Alison Brooks Architects has been praised for her installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale, while also overseeing major works such as The Smile, and the first high-rise for the Greenwich Peninsula in London.”
To read the full article, click here.
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New London Quarterly
10.2018
Alison Brooks Architect’s scheme Ashley Road East features in this Autumn’s NLA Quarterly.
Alison Brooks Architect’s scheme Ashley Road East features in this Autumn’s NLA Quarterly.
“The application [to redevelop central Tottenham Hale] encompasses five pieces of land, with six buildings delivering 1,036 new homes,15 retail spaces, co-working and office space, a health centre and open space, created by practices AHMM, Alison Brooks Architects, Pollard Thomas Edwards and Grant Associates.”
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The Plan: Housing / Not Housing: Re-thinking the Architecture of the City
10.2018
The Plan magazine have published Alison Brooks’ editorial critique ‘Housing / Not Housing: Re-thinking the Architecture of the City’ in this month’s issue.
The Plan magazine have published Alison Brooks’ editorial critique ‘Housing / Not Housing: Re-thinking the Architecture of the City’ in this month’s issue.
In her editorial critique, Alison discusses the housing crisis and the role of architecture in responding to the ever increasing population influx.
“We can see that the housing crisis lies at the intersection of land economics, planning policy, social policy and daily quality of life” Alison Brooks
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Trailblazing Women in Architecture Who Have Changed Life for the Better
28.09.2018
Alison Brooks features in Homedit’s article on 23 trailblazing women in architecture.
Alison Brooks features in Homedit’s article on 23 trailblazing women in architecture.
“Architecture has not been an easy profession for women, but from the very start, a talented and courageous cadre of female architects has pushed the boundaries and fought for recognition. Some worked in the shadow of a mentor or spouse, making groundbreaking achievements, only to receive no credit. Throughout the decades, these bold professionals laid the groundwork for today’s talent, allowing their work to be front and center. Moreover, many of these women waged a battle not to be recognized as women in architecture, but simply as talented and innovative architects. Period. Here’s a list of some trailblazers you should know about……… London-based Alison Brooks is best known for designing intelligent, stylish houses but also cultural buildings. Her belief that single-use buildings are obsolete has driven her goal of addressing problems such as the quality of housing and public space.”
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Evening Standard Homes & Property
12.09.2018
Ely Court featured in the Evening Standard Homes & Property article ‘Future London, Kilburn’.
Ely Court featured in the Evening Standard Homes & Property article ‘Future London, Kilburn’.
Brent council is holding a rolling sequence of competitions to choose designs for each phase of the [South Kilburn Estate] regeneration. Winners have so far included Alison Brooks Architects, which designed Ely Court, with 43 flats, for Catalyst Housing.
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Monocle Summer Weekly Issue 1
09.08.2018
Alison Brooks features in the 1st edition of the Monocle Summer Weekly Paper on the fears of Brexit for architecture and creative industries.
Alison Brooks features in the 1st edition of the Monocle Summer Weekly Paper on the fears of Brexit for architecture and creative industries.
“Losing the ability to win projects easily in Europe is a disquieting prospect for architects in particular. The ease with which UK practices can pitch for EU business is key to firms such as Alison Brooks Architects….Brooks fears that after Brexit she might lose access to the Official Journal of the European Union, the industry portal where any government project within the EU which has a building cost of more than 144,000 Euros must be put out to tender and listed.”
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Canadian Architect: The Anglo-Canoids
01.07.2018
Alison Brooks alongside Adam Caruso headlines Canadian Architect’s article on the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Alison Brooks alongside Adam Caruso headlines Canadian Architect’s article on the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.
“Two of the most astonishing installations at the 2018 Venice Biennale are by Canadian architects whom most Canadian architects have never heard of. Born and educated in Canada, and with only the rare evidence of a round British vowel to give away spending almost their entire professional careers abroad, Alison Brooks and Adam Caruso are amongst the highest-regarded architects of their generation in the United Kingdom. They are both in their fifties, and now arriving at a scale and range of commissions that correspond with their talents. And these two are but the tip of the iceberg of Canadians of all ages working in British offices, and, increasingly, opening their own practices.
To read the full article, click here.
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Venice Biennale 2018: Freespace on a Tight Rein ReCasting
31.05.2018
Alison Brooks Architects ‘ReCasting’ features in the AJ’s review of the 2018 Venice Architectural Biennale, described as “gently optimistic and touchy-feely and unusually coherent”.
Alison Brooks Architects ‘ReCasting’ features in the AJ’s review of the 2018 Venice Architectural Biennale, described as “gently optimistic and touchy-feely and unusually coherent”.
Rob Wilson states “Particularly immersive is Alison Brooks’s contribution: an elemental series of ‘totem’ spaces which you actually walk or slide yourself bodily into: threshold, passage, roof-space. These riff off corners from her housing projects – with mirrored walls and ceilings which complete the spatial experience, visually leading off into infinity around you.”
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The Observer – Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 – A Joyous Treasure Trove ReCasting
27.05.2018
Our installation ‘ReCasting’ features in Rowan Moore’s Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 review in the Sunday Observer.
Our installation ‘ReCasting’ features in Rowan Moore’s Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 review in the Sunday Observer.
“Alison Brooks, Canadian-born and British-based, has built a composite of elements of several of her housing projects – a vaulted threshold, a canted roof space, a cloister – in plywood and mirrors, in order to show how an architect can “frame everyday life” with memorable spaces.” says Rowan Moore
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Design Boom: Alison Brooks Architects Recasts Urban Housing at Venice Architecture Biennale ReCasting
27.05.2018
Design Boom published ‘ReCasting’ following the opening of the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Design Boom published ‘ReCasting’ following the opening of the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Responding to the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale’s theme of ‘freespace’, Alison Brooks Architects creates a large-scale, highly experiential installation. called ‘ReCasting’, the work addresses the subject of housing and urban dwelling, specifically with a focus on the practice’s related work.
The space, which also comprises an amphitheater, is divided into four inhabitable ‘totems’: threshold, inhabited edge, passage, and roofspace. each one offers a particular spatial, emotional and sensory experience, revealing housing architecture’s meaningful civic role. this is through forms of mirrored surfaces, organic geometries and forced perspectives that harness the corderie arsenale’s specific qualities of light and volume.
[less..]The Guardian: Venice Architecture Biennale Review ReCasting
24.05.2018
Upon the opening of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale Architettura 2018, Alison Brooks Architects’ installation ‘ReCasting’ features in The Guardian’s ‘Venice Architecture Biennale review’.
Upon the opening of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale Architettura 2018, Alison Brooks Architects’ installation ‘ReCasting’ features in The Guardian’s ‘Venice Architecture Biennale review’.
Oliver Wainwright writes “London-based Canadian architect Alison Brooks has constructed a tableau of habitable totems that recreate in-between moments from some of her buildings, using a clever combination of plywood and mirrors to conjure a curving colonnade, an infinite cloister and a grand vaulted threshold. They are dreamlike fragments that speak of the potential of housing to create moments of delight beyond the dwellings alone.”
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FT Series: Venice Biennale 2018 ReCasting
May 15, 2018
Alison Brooks was interviewed by the Financial Times, ahead of the unveiling of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia on 23 May.
Alison Brooks was interviewed by the Financial Times, ahead of the unveiling of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia on 23 May.
Alison Brooks Architects have been invited by Curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara to participate at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, running from 26 May to 25 November 2018. The theme for Biennale Architettura 2018 is FREESPACE, a word which describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture’s agenda.
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Alison Brooks Interview with the Globe & Mail
02/05/2018
Following her keynote lecture in Toronto, Alison Brooks was interviewed by The Globe & Mail, Canada’s most widely read newspaper, on the responsibility of architects to make great buildings, better cities, and to deliver high quality design, joy and beauty.
Following her keynote lecture in Toronto, Alison Brooks was interviewed by The Globe & Mail, Canada’s most widely read newspaper, on the responsibility of architects to make great buildings, better cities, and to deliver high quality design, joy and beauty.
“Her career of three decades in Britain suggests a lesson for design professionals: That fighting for the ideal building and city is their job, and sometimes they can even win.” writes Alex Bozikovic. “Her buildings are respectful of traditional urban design, sensitive to the city around them and are both beautiful and inventive.”
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Building: Women in Architecture – on a role
08.03.2018
Alison Brooks was interviewed by Building, along side fellow female architects, Karen Cook, Teresa Borsuk and Gorana Shepherd on International Women’s day.
Alison Brooks was interviewed by Building, along side fellow female architects, Karen Cook, Teresa Borsuk and Gorana Shepherd on International Women’s day.
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Ideals then Ideas ABA 21
01.01.2017
This book marks 21 years since the founding of Alison Brooks Architects. It presents an overview of ABA’s built and unbuilt work within a set of conceptual, formal and material themes that have emerged over the past two decades.
This book marks 21 years since the founding of Alison Brooks Architects. It presents an overview of ABA’s built and unbuilt work within a set of conceptual, formal and material themes that have emerged over the past two decades.
It also aims to communicate four ‘ideals’ that underpin Alison Brooks’s work in architecture: Authenticity, Generosity, Civicness and Beauty. The naming of these ideals is an attempt to distil the motivations behind the urban, spatial, tectonic and experiential qualities of ABA’s architecture. They intend to provide an alternative to the assumption that architecture is the result of a reactive orchestration of project criteria (site condition, building economics, spatial and technical performance, legislation) into a formal organisation of architectural ideas that may or may not represent the architect’s values, experience, or place and culture in which the project appears. Without subjectivity, the architect loses authority. An alternative narrative is that the motivation of the 21st Century architect and the source of his or her invention could be their particular ideals; social, political, cultural and artistic, that form the source material for an architecture of specificity through which a client’s and a community’s needs can be met.
Cost: £40
Please note we are currently out of stock.
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CLADmag
21.02.2018
Alison Brooks features as the cover article on CLADmag’s first issue of 2018.
Alison Brooks features as the cover article on CLADmag’s first issue of 2018.
Following The Smile winning the Display Award at the 2017 World Architecture Festival in Berlin, Alison was interviewed on timber building, protecting the public realm and the unsung role of architects.
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The Plan – Did you say “wood”? The Smile
12.12.17
The Smile features in this month’s issue of The Plan on the technological innovation of it’s use of CLT panels.
The Smile features in this month’s issue of The Plan on the technological innovation of it’s use of CLT panels.
The article looks at three very different projects illustrating the use of hardwood as a structural building material; The Smile, Maggie’s Centre Oldham (dRMM Architects) and Warner Stand at Lords Cricket Ground (Populous).
“The Smile’s disarming simplicity conceals years of research into the cross-lamination of hardwood fibres and is the first structure built with industrial-sized panels of hardwood CLT” The Plan
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Celebrating Excellence in Wood Architecture: 2016-17 Wood Design Award Winners The Smile
01/10/2017
The Smile has been published in the Wood Design & Building Awards’ book ‘Celebrating Excellence in Wood Architecture’ which features all 2016-17 winning projects across the globe.
The Smile has been published in the Wood Design & Building Awards’ book ‘Celebrating Excellence in Wood Architecture’ which features all 2016-17 winning projects across the globe.
“This structure cleverly uses site placement and materials. It’s a symmetrical, lifting, heavy object in front of an old building that is heavily grounded, and the two work together beautifully. It has this automatic connection with such incredible difference that it’s surprising and delightful.” – Jury
Books will be available to purchase shortly.
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designboom: Interview with Alison Brooks
17.11.2017
At the World Architecture Festival 2017 in Berlin, Alison was interviewed by designboom about our award winning ‘The Smile’ and why she thinks the public should be involved in discussions about architecture.
At the World Architecture Festival 2017 in Berlin, Alison was interviewed by designboom about our award winning ‘The Smile’ and why she thinks the public should be involved in discussions about architecture.
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