AHMM is a premier international architectural practice. Established over 30 years ago, it has won numerous awards including the Stirling Prize. Through the contributions of journalists, clients, fellow professionals and academics, this AD issue celebrates the practice’s achievements in all areas of architectural production, featuring archive material, new works and unparalleled access to the AHMM organisation, revealing new insights into their work and urban philosophies.
To get to this eminent position, the office has consistently responded in innovative and imaginative ways to the changing imperatives of art, science and economics that influence our built environment. These parameters have metamorphosed considerably since AHMM was founded, in terms of advances in digitisation, material science and changes to contract management, what constitutes sustainability, procurement routes, construction methods, collaboration and architectural education.
Above all this AD will explore AHMM’s practice as a holistic design project in itself, in terms of building buildings, but also in using a design ethos to cope with shifts in workload and the firm’s varying business activities and its administration over the years, thus providing insight for a future generation of potentially successful architectural professionals.
Table of Contents
About the Editor
Neil Spiller 05
Introduction
Urban Artefacts
Developing the Delightful City
Neil Spiller 06
Setting The Stage
Dressing It and Making the Props
Neil Spiller 12
Continuity With a Difference
Rising to Prominence
Paul Finch 20
Very Much an English Story
Peter Cook 30
The ExtraOrdinary
Some Thoughts on Architecture and the Theatre of Everyday Life
Simon Allford 38
Reimagining the Home
Isabel Allen 46
A Passion to Repurpose
Flexibility for the Future
Martyn Evans 54
Opening Up Educating
Institutions, Opening Up Methodologies
llis Woodman 62
À La Recherche d’AHMM
Jay Merrick 70
The Invention of Projects that Create an Address
Roger Zogolovitch 82
Being Signiicant
The Problem of What We Cannot Measure
Hanif Kara 88
Colourful Collaboration
Creating Joyous Ambiences
Morag Myerscough 96
Environmental Design
From the Intuitive to the Parametric
Patrick Bellew 104
A Symbiotic Relationship
Reminiscences of the Family
Joe Morris 112
The New Establishment
Politics and Performance
Frances Anderton 118
From Another Perspective
Old Buildings, New Architecture
Richard Grifiths Architects
Neil Spiller 128
