The building approval processes in New York and London offer a fascinating contrast in how two global cities approach urban development. Both prioritize public consultation and sustainability, but New York’s rigid zoning system stands in sharp contrast to London’s more flexible, policy-driven approach. These differences reflect each city's unique challenges and governance styles.

This post explores the pivotal role of Design and Access Statements (DAS) in shaping London's urban landscape and contrasts it with New York's zoning-driven approach.

It becomes clear that London prioritizes inclusivity, accessibility, and design quality, whereas New York emphasizes efficiency and vertical growth.

At Child Graddon Lewis, a small team of us were assigned the task of exploring the Reimagine London prompt through illustrations on our shopfront windows. My concept, titled "I Am Not a Robot," unexpectedly captured the team’s interest. This project not only taught me valuable lessons in project management but also allowed me to explore illustration on a much larger, more public scale than ever before. This illustration series is currently work in progress, with updates to come. 

I recently had the privilege of leading the organization of the final lecture at the Serpentine Pavilion featuring this year's designer, Lina Ghotmeh.

This project has been a culmination of all the skills I have learned over the years from leadership, coordination and professional practice. The most applicable skills came from the small renovation projects at Gensler - ‘patch & match’ projects where there were so many details to capture and many odds and ends were new/re-used/relocated.

Thank you so much to everyone that came (and tried to come) to the show. I am also flattered to be awarded the Head of Programme Award for my work and contributions to the college.

We invited Charlie from the Future Architect’s Front (FAF) to speak for our series, whose contact was shared through a professor of our’s. I was first introduced to Charlie’s work during the height of the pandemic when I was still residing in the US. His account on Instagram shared anecdotes about the long hours and exploitative conditions that I was all too familiar with. These serious topics were shared in the language of digestible pop culture: cynical/tongue in cheek architecture industry related memes designed to be glanced at for about a millisecond.

I have been hired to breathe new life into a two bedroom property located in South West London. The Victorian property was subdivided into three separate flats, but a previous renovation in 2006 was poorly done, leaving the flat in desperate need of refurbishment. My task is to reimagine and revitalize this space to create a comfortable home for a young, creative professional.

Before the exams, we had a review session to check our progress before the final exam in June. The review was attended by a limited audience, including Tania Lopez Winkler and guest critic Jim Eyre, who served on the panel.

One of the highlights of being a student again has been running Inside/Out. I find it inspiring from a design perspective and enjoy listening to our guests' "starting out" stories, which are often a little clumsy and unexpected. Recently, I was disappointed to learn that I didn't get a job I really wanted. I had put a lot of thought and effort into the application, but unfortunately, the position was removed before I even started due to uncertain market conditions.

We hosted an Inside/Out lecture with Carmody Groarke last night. Lukas Barry (Associate Director) centered his lecture around 3 projects. I most admire how the studio has a resourceful approach to design, and how these ideas have translated into a low impact attitude to making longer lasting architecture that looks to retain, reuse and reinvent our collective built heritage.

The panel was led by senior tutor, Tania Lopez Winkler with Sylwia Poltorak and Lucas Lawrence (Studio Egret West) as our guest critics. This was a midterm review where I presented the initial design scheme and self defined brief to the panel of external critics.

Congratulations to Madame Architect for featuring over 400 women across all their verticals. 400+ amazing stories - it is easily my favourite design publication because it holds space for the alternative pathways and the broader stories behind a woman’s job title.

I enjoyed the Inside/Out lecture with Carla Swickerath from Studio Libeskind. The lecture delved into the firm's distinctive approach to architecture, which emphasizes the importance of memory, history, and culture in the design of the built environment. Some of the firm's most well-known projects, such as the Jewish Museum in San Francisco and the World Trade Center redevelopment, were highlighted as examples of this approach in action.

Our W.I.P (Work In Progress) Show is hosted online and in person this year. My work from the Royal College of Art was exhibited.

A sincere thank you to Adam and Maria from RETROUVIUS for accepting my invitation to speak for our lecture series last night. They celebrate the tactile personality and emotional quota that reused materials bring and celebrate age/patina and the narrative that brings.

In the lecture, Beata shared insights on making a career as an interior designer drawing on her own experiences. She focused on finding your creative eye, unlocking the imagination and sources of inspiration as well as practical and less glamorous elements such as getting a job, taking risks and dealing with difficult clients.

The Wood Chip Barn is a digitally fabricated barn created as part of the Architectural Association’s Design and Make Summer Course in 2016. The barn provides storage for wood chip to fuel the Biomass Boiler House in the Hooke Park estate. The primary structure of barn consists of 20 discrete beech forks that were 3D scanned and optimally configured for structural performance. The design consists of two vierendeel style arching trusses that received robotically machined connection geometries that enabled the structure to sustain vertical and lateral loads.