Architecture Masters

Many architects start their career dreaming of their perfect commission – perhaps the chance of creating an iconic building that defines a city. Few architects though get the opportunity to totally redefine and reshape whole swathes of a city. Our guest this week is not an architect but a developer, having made his name at Argent through his acclaimed urban regeneration work, initially at Brindleyplace […]

The post Roger Madelin – Episode 9 first appeared on // Moving On //.

Many architects start their career dreaming of their perfect commission – perhaps the chance of creating an iconic building that defines a city.

Few architects though get the opportunity to totally redefine and reshape whole swathes of a city.

Our guest this week is not an architect but a developer, having made his name at Argent through his acclaimed urban regeneration work, initially at Brindleyplace in Birmingham and then through the vast transformation of Kings Cross in London. Kings Cross has become a defining example of bold well-managed urban regeneration.

In the early 1980s Roger studied Building Management and Engineering at university before entering world of work in the midst of a deep recession.

In 1987 he joined the fledgling developer Argent. Two years later he became a director, and went on to become Chief Executive in 1997.

He was awarded a CBE for services to sustainable development in the 2007 Queen’s Honours List. In 2010 he became an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA

Last year he left Argent to join the FTSE 100 developer British Land, where he’s leading the exciting transformation of 46 acres of land in Canada Water in South East London.

For this week’s episode we join Roger at British Land’s offices in Mayfair.

On the programme this week is Kate Goodwin. Kate studied architecture at the University of Sydney and also as an exchange student at McGill University in Montreal. After finishing University, in 2003 Kate left her native Australia and moved to London. Following a brief stint temping in various roles including at the BBC, she started work as Architecture Programme Coordinator at the Royal Academy of […]

The post Kate Goodwin – Episode 8 first appeared on // Moving On //.

On the programme this week is Kate Goodwin. Kate studied architecture at the University of Sydney and also as an exchange student at McGill University in Montreal.

After finishing University, in 2003 Kate left her native Australia and moved to London. Following a brief stint temping in various roles including at the BBC, she started work as Architecture Programme Coordinator at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Over the intervening 14 years Kate rose steadily through the ranks going on to become both the Academy’s Drue Heinz Curator of Architecture, and Head of the Architecture programme.

In this week’s episode we talk about conceiving and curating the widely acclaimed Sensing Spaces exhibition. We talk about the Royal Academy’s 250th anniversary and David Chipperfield’s plans for the new architecture centre. We also find out about the upcoming Renzo Piano exhibition.

We consider what London has gained from Sydney and what Sydney has learned from Melbourne. And we talk about the interplay between art and architecture.

Finally we discuss gender in the field of architecture. We consider how a better built environment requires a better gender balance, not just amongst those who  create architecture but also amongst those who are responsible for its commissioning, financing and planning.

We speak to Kate in the imposing and slightly intimidating General Assembly Room at the Royal Academy.

On the programme this week is Hugh Broughton. Hugh is perhaps best known for his practice’s work designing the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI Research Station. Its bright red and blue modules set atop large hydraulic stilts loom large over the glistening white Antarctic landscape. The research station’s iconic outline has entered the popular imagination, having featured both on the front of a Royal Mail […]

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On the programme this week is Hugh Broughton.  Hugh is perhaps best known for his practice’s work designing the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI Research Station. Its bright red and blue modules set atop large hydraulic stilts loom large over the glistening white Antarctic landscape.

The research station’s iconic outline has entered the popular imagination, having featured both on the front of a Royal Mail Stamp and the back of a Two Pound coin. More recently the station featured on a BBC Horizon documentary, which covered the extraordinary process of moving the building.

After university in Edinburgh and a brief spell working with John McAslan, Hugh founded his own practice in 1996. Following their successful work for the British Antarctic Survey, the practice went on to forge an enviable track record for their other work in remote and polar regions – as well as work closer to home on a string of cultural and heritage projects.

In this week’s episode we talk about the chilly task of designing for the Antarctic, about working for NASA and the architects’ role as a marriage councillor.

We discuss the joy of winning competitions and the pain of losing them. And we consider the benefits and necessity of having many strings to your bow.

On the programme this week is Michael Squire. In 1976 Michael founded his eponymous practice from a basement studio in Pimlico. Over the intervening 41 years the practice has grown at a prodigious rate, now being ranked as the 9th largest architecture firm in the UK, according to the AJ100 rankings. The firm now employs more than 215 staff. The practice has moved several times […]

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