Negroni Talks

The Airing Architectures Dirty Laundry Series: #03 ARTWASHING Artists and gentrification already have an uncomfortable relationship. Creative communities have often drifted into less desirable areas where the rents are much cheaper, making unconscious changes around them and adding a ‘cool factor’ that in turn shifts the perception of a place. This process is old news and developers have cottoned...

The Airing Architectures Dirty Laundry Series: #02 BAMEWASHING Of the many massive social upheavals of 2020, the BLM protests made us ask difficult questions about persistent levels of racial inequality and how many of us are complicit with the current system. This has resulted in some positive moves within the built environment, with public sector procurement going through a shake-up. Local autho...

The Airing Architectures Dirty Laundry Series: #01 GREENWASHING The science is clear on the construction industry, it's one of the biggest polluters and contributors to climate destruction. There is more and more of a push for projects, practices and the whole built environment to be sustainable, but even a term such as that can make the industry's path to real change unclear. With 'Sustainable' b...

There’s No L In Architecture: Musings On Making Less & More In The Coming New Year. It’s been an interesting year to say the least. The world has witnessed unparalleled change and technology has had to step up and fill the void left behind by restrictions on work and social gatherings. But the architecture industry carries on regardless, as teams meet in virtual spaces and planning authorities...

Space Invaders: Architecture and A Freeing From The Physical. In the 2009 trial of the founders of Pirate Bay, the defendants were quoted as requesting that the language of the court be amended "We prefer AFK (Away From Keyboard) to IRL (In Real Life)" they said, "because we think the Internet is real." We've never been closer to breaking down the boundaries between physical and digital environmen...

Stand & Deliver: The Roll Of Finance In Architecture On the development highways, when money flows, everything is good. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. It is an environment where money makes money and risks are calculated. It’s a numbers game. Those with land ownership have the asset (the raw materials) and stand to offer those with financial backing and proven experience (the proces...

Is the icon in architecture about to disappear? Love them or loathe them, there are a series of buildings and structures that have become ‘iconic’ around the world - drawing visitors from far and wide and reshaping city skylines. Many argue that these totemic built forms are key to local regeneration as they attract people and money. This is not a wholly new phenomenon but recent success has led t...

Modern Architects Are Rubbish. (Banality II) Architects are supposedly part of the creative community so why are they so incapable of talking about cities and buildings in an engaging way? Unlike many artists, it is rare for architects to fearlessly pursue new ideas and commit themselves to provoking new ways of living and thinking. Are they too consumed with the making of architecture and the bro...

The Joy Of Architecture: Does Fun Follow Form, Function Fear & Finance? Where is the fun in contemporary architecture? As a process, creating buildings seems to revolve around function, finance and fear rather than freeing things up for flexible flights of fancy. To add insult to injury 99% of the time the end product is uninspiring and distinctly average. So do architects actually enjoy what...

Procurement is a pain. For architects seeking work in the public sector, progressive design & building knowledge is often overlooked for the cheapest and quickest means to meet the end. The requisite qualification seems to be held within organisations and methods that are perceived as being ‘risk adverse’ and in those parties who can offer fees that are just crazy small. Part of this problem i...

Awards: What Are They Good For? Absolutely Nuthin’! What is the point of Architectural Awards? Is it to win more work? Boost the ego of architects? Share beautiful projects with the general public? The proliferation of Awards means that they have become something of an industry within an industry and we are all guilty of seeking validation by submitting projects to be judged, despite knowing that...

Long hours and low pay are standard, all-nighters are a badge of honour, and leaving on time is derided as lacking the necessary commitment and 'working by the clock’. Why is architecture as a profession so notoriously tough on staff: Is it passion for the craft that piles on the pressure? An old-school macho mentality? Or does it all stem from the competitive unit/crit-system in education? In tur...

Architecture has a difficult relationship with privilege. Everyone knows the profession is not diverse enough, which is not surprising given the fees and the length of time it takes to study. The general public see the image of the architect as aloof but when education was free we saw the rise of the working class architect. Norman Foster describes his childhood on the wrong side of the tracks in...

The architectural community is very upset about climate change. They have banded together and done a petition and everything. Problem is, all the big name practices that started it are using a hell of a lot of concrete and building beautiful airports and energy-guzzling skyscrapers. Also, some architects went along to Waterloo bridge and joined a protest party but what did it achieve? It’s high ti...

We’ve had enough of the straight white male dominating the development industry. We need more diversity in leadership positions to invest in the places that will stand the test of time. Things are beginning to change but from boardroom to building site, investors to interns, the gender imbalance across the built environment is a problem for everyone. Are we satisfied that only 19% of board members...

In the information age knowledge is power and architects now seem unwillingly to part with their juicy titbits. Back stories, Chinese whispers and insider information were once regularly traded as part of an intricate network of professional gossip. The act of giving away secrets was generous but architects could often expect information in return but in recent times many practitioners see their p...

Why does British Housing Look So Mean & Nasty? There is an unattractive truth about British housing: the vast majority of it is really ugly. The built environment industry is very good at heaping praise on innovative, game-changing projects with awards and extensive coverage in the media but in reality these schemes serve the smallest fraction of the population. On top of this, we are a nation...