The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (22 September 2016) announced the shortlist for the 2016 President’s Awards for Research. The annual awards celebrate the best research in the fields of architecture and the built environment. This year, a record-breaking 75 submissions were received from 14 countries. The shortlist for the 2016 President’s Awards for Research is as follows: Cities and Community The Common Camp: Temporary Settlements as a Spatio-political Instrument in Israel-Palestine Dr Irit Katz, University of Cambridge, UK Palestine Regeneration Team (PART) Dr Yara Sharif, Golzari NG Architects and PART, UKDr Nasser Golzari, Golzari-NG Architects, PART and University of Westminster, UKProf Murray Fraser, Bartlett School of Architecture and PART, UK Living Well with Dementia at Home: Understanding the Role of the Home Environment Dia Soilemezi, University of Portsmouth, UK Design and Technical Supertall Timber: Design Research for the Next Generation of Natural Structure Dr Michael Ramage and Dr Rob Foster, University of Cambridge, UKSimon Smith, Smith and Wallwork, UKKevin Flanagan & Ron Bakker, PLP / Architecture, UK UK’s First Amphibious House. Can-float Amphibious Building Richard Coutts, Baca Architects, UKRobert Barker, Forrest Mews (Formerly Baca Architects), UK The SPAB Building Performance Survey 2015 Report Caroline Rye and Cameron Scott, ArchiMetrics Ltd, UK History and Theory Asmara – Africa’s Modernist City: UNESCO World Heritage Nomination  Edward Denison, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UKMedhanie Teklemariam and Dawit Abraha, Asmara Heritage Project, Eritrea The Texture of Politics: London’s Anarchists Clubs 1882-1914  Jonathan Moses, Royal Holloway University London, UK ‘Spotless Lilies and Foul Smelling Weeds’: Architecture and Moral Cleanliness in Victorian Magdelen Convents Kate Jordan, Bartlett School of Architecture, UK Annual theme: Learning from Projects Make Public: Performing Public Housing in Ernö Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower  David Roberts, Bartlett School of Architecture, UK Hybrid Building and Hybrid Practitioner: An Unbuilt Clan-Community Hall in a Chinese Natural Village Xiang Ren, Sheffield School of Architecture, UK Low-energy, In-situ Refurbishment and Building Performance Evaluation of a Historic Town Council Building Prof Rajat Gupta and Dr Adorkor Bruce-Konuah, Oxford Brookes University, UKAdrian Kite, Ridge & Partners LLP, UKAlex Towler & Nicole Lazarus, Bioregional, UK Susan Mackrell, Bicester Town Council, UK Dr Kat Martindale, RIBA Head of Research and Innovation, said: “We were thrilled to receive so many research projects this year, and from all over the world. The work submitted provides a glimpse of the global workings and interactions of architects, students and academics but it has been the number of collaborations that have stood out this year.” Peter Clegg, Chair of the judging panel and Senior Partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: “Research is embedded in architectural best practice: innovation depends on it, conceptual thought demands it and the profession needs to recognise it more than it does at present.” “We were gratified therefore that the redefinition of the RIBA President’s Awards for Research has resulted in an unprecedented increase in responses from practice, as well as a record number of submissions from the UK and around the world.” ENDS Notes: 1. For further press information contact: Callum Reilly callum.reilly@riba.org 020 7307 3757 2. For general enquiries about the awards contact research@riba.org 3. The RIBA President’s Awards for Research were established in order to reward and encourage outstanding research in architecture carried out by students, academics and practitioners. The awards are given in four categories: Cities and Community, Design and Technical, History and Theory and an annual theme, which this year was Learning From Projects. 4. The Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. www.architecture.com   Posted on Thursday 22nd September 2016 Source link

There is now clear evidence that the record value gap between the prime London housing markets and the rest of the UK has begun to close, with all regions outperforming the capital in the first quarter of 2016, according to latest figures from international real estate adviser, Savills.  The long awaited ripple of recovery out from London is now established, as buyers from the capital recognise that their buying power relative to the country has peaked and seek to take advantage of the equity earned in their homes over the post downturn years when London significantly outperformed the rest of the country, including the prime suburban markets within the M25. Londoners accounted for 30 per cent of all buyers in the prime suburban and commuter markets in the first three months of this year compared to just 23 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.   Their presence is most pronounced in the higher markets, accounting for 39 per cent of all buyers in the £1-2million bracket and 43 per cent of buyers of homes over £2million, up from 30 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in the first quarter of 2015. To see a table of the Savills prime London and regional indices to the end of Q1 2016, please click here. The strongest quarterly house price growth was seen in the outer commuter belt, up to an hour’s commute by train from the centre of London, but the recovery is now spreading into the broader South of England and, to a lesser extent, the Midlands and the North, though these regions are still 6.6 per cent and 12.5 per cent below their 2007 peak. However, these averages conceal significant regional variations, with Cambridge, Winchester and Bath recording annual price growth of 10.6, 7.3 and 6.8 per cent respectively.  This reflects a post credit crunch trend of urban locations outperforming village and rural properties. To see a table of urban, village and rural growth, please click here. “The years since the market bottomed out in early 2009 were characterised by much stronger house price growth in prime London than in the rest of the country,” says Sophie Chick, associate director, Savills residential research.  “The stamp duty increases introduced in December 2014 changed the balance, with the impact on prices more significant in the higher value London markets.” Source link