2024 AIA UK Student Charrette. The winning team mentored by Gregory Fonseca, AIA: Students from the University of Westminster, University of Reading, and University of Dundee: Fiona Gyamfi, Maame Frimpong, Clevy Bento, Robert Timberlake, Sarah Tolba, Hristislava Arabadzhieva, Benjamin Hanyecz.
AIA UK Highlights in 2024
The AIA UK chapter’s calendar is consistently busy, with a variety of events held in person and online. You can learn more about our different activities in our latest
Here are just some of the stimulating events which took place in 2024.
AIA UK/ RIBA 2023 Keynote Lecture – Thom Mayne
Due to diary and travel constraints, the 2023 Keynote Lecture was delayed and took place on the 30 January 2024. Thom Mayne’s presentation was a spellbinding overview of his practice and thinking, using projects as talking points rather than exploring individual buildings in depth. The talk was loosely configured around the themes of Early, Middle, and Current. Early projects include several California projects such as the Crawford Residence (1990) and the Diamond Ranch High School (2001). There was a heavy similarity to the theoretical work of Archigram, and it was no accident that Sir Peter Cook, one of the Archigram founders, was in the audience as Thom Mayne’s guest.
Photo by Gregory Fonseca
UCL East Marshgate By Stanton Williams
The 2024 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Building Tours” continued on the 30th May with a visit to UCL East Marshgate, designed by Stanton Williams. We visited a variety of projects over the year both in person and virtual. We visited projects ranging from Ombu in Madrid Spain by Fosters + Partners to Saltmarsh House on the Isle of Wight in England by Niall McLaughlin Architects.
Despite Stratford Station having been closed due to an incident with a train, a good audience managed to convene for a building tour led by Gavin Henderson and Ali Abbas, both from Stanton Williams. The building is 35,000m2 of new class space within an academic building centred at the heart of UCL East, which is the largest single expansion of University College London since its beginnings some 200 years ago.
2024 Design Awards Summer Gala
Gathering at the Royal College of Physicians on 12 June 2024, the AIA UK Chapter celebrated its annual Excellence in Design Awards. This year the chapter is also celebrating its 30th anniversary of serving the design community so the awards ceremony was combined with the annual summer social to become an action-packed gala event.
The evening began with a tour of the Grade I listed building by Sir Denys Lasdun, and the registration for places filled up quickly with eager attendees. Happily, the guide was able to accommodate extra guests as a remarkable and unexpected number of punctual participants chose to walk the varied interiors and landscape of the Lasdun design.
AIA UK 29th Annual Student Charrette
2024 AIA UK Student Charrette - 26 October
On 26 October 2024, the Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) gallery in London was transformed into a hub of creativity and collaboration for the 29th AIA UK Student Charrette. With over 70 Part 1 architecture students from 14 universities in attendance, the event embodied the power of participatory design to reshape public spaces for inclusivity, sustainability, and community vitality. Special thanks to KPF for sponsoring this year’s event and graciously opening their gallery space for the day, helping bring this ambitious vision to life.
The morning began with a warm breakfast reception, setting an inviting tone for the students, mentors, and jurors to connect and exchange ideas. Paolo Mendoza, AIA UK’s Emerging Professionals Director, then introduced this year’s brief, centered on “Empowering the Next Generation in Participatory Urban Design,” a call for future architects to contribute to London’s vibrant cultural landscape. Students were tasked with reimagining the Strand Aldwych area—a site steeped in history and cultural significance—as a dynamic public space. Their designs needed to respond to the area’s heritage while prioritizing sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity. The brief challenged students to embrace participatory urban design, encouraging them to create installations that engage the community in co-creating spaces that reflect their needs.
AIA UK / RIBA 2024 Keynote Lecture – David Lake And Ted Flato Of Lake I Flato Architects - 22 October
For many of our regular Movie Night attendees, cinema is a passion, and one they thoroughly enjoy. The AIA UK hosted its Movie Nights throughout the year including Tuesday, February 13, 2024, The Destruction of Memory. Based on the book of the same name by Robert Bevan, The Destruction of Memory tells the whole story - looking not just at the ongoing actions in Syria and other contemporary situations but revealing the decisions of the past that allowed the issue to remain hidden in the shadows for so many years. and on 19 March, Precise Poetry – Lina Bo Bardi’s Architecture. A documentary film about the famous Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914 in Rome - 1992 in São Paulo), who created poetry through architectural precision. and on 12 November, The Pavilion on the Water. A cinematic journey into the world of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa and his passion for Japanese culture.
AIA UK Sustainability Series
The AIA UK also hosted its 2024 AIA UK Sustainability Series – including; Wednesday 6th March 2024 with an online talk given by David Coley (Professor of Zero Carbon Design, University of Bath). On 29th May 2024 we hosted Mina Hasman (Sustainability Director, SOM, and Founder, Climate Framework) to discuss her work on The RIBA Climate Guide. We also hosted Innovative Construction through Bio-Based Materials on 26th June. We finished the series on 09th October with Sustainability in International Development with Article 25.
For more news from AIA UK, visit https://www.aiauk.org/blog
