Tag: architecture

Take a piece of the Royal Academy’s Sensing Spaces home with you

The seven architects behind the creative exhibition Sensing Spaces have already started selling off many of their installations ranging from a bundle of branches by Li Xiaodong to the chaise longue signed by the architect Diébédo Francis Kéré. The contemporary exhibition transformed the Royal Academy’s galleries as well as questioned the viewer’s perception of space…. Read more »

Wordsearch On The Run

NYC Half Marathon – Running through the Streets of NYC With almost-perfect weather, a slightly new course and over 20,000 other runners (including Olympic medalist, Mo Farah), on March 16th, I ran the NYC Half Marathon! This was my 8th half marathon and most memorable. I surpassed my goal time, dedicated my run to two… Read more »

The Broadgate Estates Ride to MIPIM 2014

I have a long relationship with this ride – having been the sole support driver for the first Cycle to Cannes event in 2005. Peter Murray, our Chairman (and my father) decided, after a few years of successful long-distance cycling coupled with charitable fund-raising, to float the idea of a ride to Cannes. He did… Read more »

Bespoke Support

This year at the Carlton Club we have teamed up with Bespoke Careers. Bespoke are supporting us in our endeavours, sponsoring the first of two evenings at the Carlton Hotel. This will be the second time we have worked together, following success of the Stirling prize after party in September 2013 A much anticipated part… Read more »

Mipim Carlton Club

Hurrah! The return of the famous late-night MIPIM Carlton Club means the market is back! After last year’s successful event we can now all enjoy a relaxing wind down amongst our peers after a satisfying day’s business at the Palais. In it’s early days, back in the 1990s the MCC was a relaxing environment where… Read more »

Spice

Founded in 2008 and based in Beijing, Spice is a niche agency that focusses solely on the property sector in China. Clients are typically International developers with large scale projects as well as some of the larger national Domestic developers. The majority of projects are mixed use or commercial in nature although increasingly Retail has… Read more »

Animated Inspiration

Swiss video artist Guillaume Reymond has been causing a stir in the creative industry for some time. He originally wanted to be an architect but ended up working in video art. His latest project and by far our favourite is the Animated Tower where he used 110 students from Switzerland’s Health Vaud High School to cleverly… Read more »

Ambition and Optimism

I write this blog from an ex-pat bar on Robertson Quay overlooking the Singapore River. I’m in the ‘Lion City’ to give a lecture about communications at the World Architecture Festival and to check out the new Wordsearch office in the city headed up by Jack Stiller. The last time I was in Singapore was… Read more »

Article 25 Auction

Peter Murray, Chairman of Wordsearch, is one of 100 architects and artists who have sketched, painted and drawn the area to the north of the City of London including Broadgate, Hoxton and Shoreditch. The works of art will be auctioned on November 28th in aid of the charity Article 25 which provides schools and shelter in… Read more »

10 of the World’s Most Brilliant Eco-Architecture

Architecture as a profession is a vital ground for sustainable modernisation. Design is a powerful tool in addressing the worsening problem in climate change. The brilliant solution: the green design principles. Sustainability requires thinking ‘green’ at every stage in the building lifecycle, starting with the decision to build new or to renovate. Greenery is actually… Read more »

Architectural Shipping Containers

Usually little more than a vessel for carrying something from A to B, in recent years the humble shipping container has undergone something of a renaissance. Many creative architects are now turning to this simplistic material to create innovative spaces for everything from homes, to shopping centres, to full-on cities. Shoreditch’s Boxpark – just a… Read more »

Battersea opens its doors

Ever wanted to take a walk within the walls of Battersea Power Station?  At the end of this month, the doors of the famous grade II listed landmark are opening to the public for only the second time since 1983.As part of the Open House London weekend, participants will be able to explore the historic… Read more »

The UK’s best student accommodation

It is once more that time of year when starry-eyed youngsters leave the parental home en masse. We are of course talking about moving to university, something that millions of homes across the globe are currently going through. While much has been written on the trials and tribulations of moving out and meeting new people,… Read more »

How the Brits love a loser

A fabulously ridiculous unforeseen consequence of the absurdly bulbous Walkie-Talkie has been the discovery that it’s concave and reflective front is focusing the rays of the September sun onto a tiny patch of Eastcheap causing anything and everything in it to either melt or spontaneously combust. 20 Fenchurch Street, designed by Rafael Vinoly, is a… Read more »

240 Blackfriars

Stretching proudly across the famous River Thames, Blackfriars train station has undergone a radical redevelopment in recent years. Sleek, shiny and stunning, the revamped station is now a vantage point for great views across the river, as well as a welcome glimpse into TFL’s plans for futureproofing London’s transport. With the station now standing as… Read more »

Going against the grain

While here at Wordsearch the tools of our trade are words and images, our clients’ are predominantly the sleek provisions of steel, concrete and glass. These materials seem to epitomise the very nature of modern architecture; though perhaps we could be due a change. An emerging trend among the more inventive architects in the industry,… Read more »

The revolution will be energised

Undoubtedly one of the most important considerations architects and developers must consider in the modern world is a build’s environmental impact. In an increasingly Earth-conscious business environment, questions are often asked as to the energy efficiency, recyclability and renewability of all builds, big or small. First hand experience of this has yielded some interesting results;… Read more »

Here comes the sun

By the time you read this, no doubt our fleeting British summer heatwave will be long gone, consigned to memory for another year. We will however, hopefully still be reaping the benefits of the vitamin D surge such a blast of sunlight brings with it – which is more than can be said for many… Read more »

The importance of staying grounded

When surrounded by high-rise architecture and ever-expanding skylines – as we so often are here at Wordsearch – you would be forgiven for keeping your head in the clouds. Spires and skyscrapers are a lofty expression of ambition, and an increasingly rare example of a physical indicator of development in an increasingly digital age. With… Read more »

map²: a treasured map

I have fond memories of the humble paper map. Long before the proliferation of the smartphone, digging out the old, muddied Ordnance Survey map from the back pocket of the car seat and scouting around to find the correct route had a palpable feel of adventure to it. While few would deny the practicality of… Read more »

Shedding some light on 1WTC

  We are on the home straight. As the U.S.’s annual Independence Day celebrations rolled around once more, New York City’s One World Trade Center was again illuminated in the red, white and blue colours of the Stars & Stripes. However, this time the tower’s spire was in place – standing at 1,776 feet (a… Read more »

Boris backs Battersea

  July 4th marked the start of something truly special for London, with construction work commencing on the Battersea Power Station redevelopment. The occasion was marked by a visit from Prime Minister David Cameron, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razakas and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. “There is no going back now,” said Boris at… Read more »

The Power is Back On

  Battersea Power Station has sat derelict and abandoned for more than 30 years, the power station, which is the largest brick building in Europe is now preparing to undergo a huge transformation. The masterplan will bring life back to the station itself and the surrounding area with an exciting mixed-use development. The scheme will rejuvenate… Read more »