engineering.
AKT II has been awarded two awards in this year’s 2022 Tall Building Awards.
When we talk about pollution, there’s a form of it that’s almost everywhere but gets relatively little coverage: light. Artificial lighting has become integral to our modern civilisation, however its excessive use is now harming health, disrupting ecosystems, and even interfering with humanity’s understanding of the universe. In this article, AKT II’s bioclimatic associate Mattia Donato highlights the scale of the problem, and talks through what we can do as designers to create a – metaphorically – brighter future.
In central London, the new Marshall Building is a multifunctional academic facility that’s been designed by Grafton Architects for the existing urban campus of the London School of Economics (LSE). Inside, the project’s programmatic challenges are turned into a clear design opportunity, with a series of tree-like transfer structures that now form part of the building’s – and the university’s – architectural narrative. In this video, AKT II’s design directors Marta Galinanes Garcia and Chris O’Meara share some of the engineering insights behind this new ‘tree of knowledge’.
AKT II together with BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Heatherwick Studio and Atelier Ten, are working in partnership on delivering Google’s new King’s Cross office.
A new mixed-use that presides over the City of London’s Holborn Circus has been granted planning approval.
Summer has landed at the RA, and it’s as arty and joyful as ever. The Royal Academy’s iconic Summer Exhibition showcases art in all forms, including architectural works and sculpture.
Vinegar Yard, a new 20-storey life-sciences mixed-use development in London Bridge in Southwark, has just been recommended for planning consent from the Greater London Assembly.
For World Environment Day, we look at the successful story behind the waterless garden in the city of Sharjah and take the opportunity to hear from Elisa Gatto – environmental biologist, expert in urban vegetation, climate change adaption strategies and land productivity – and Mattia Donato, AKT II associate on ways to synergistically produce clean energy and food.
AKT II’s regional expansion continues with the recent selection of a new university scheme, following the winning proposal of an international design competition. We are supporting ADP Architecture and O’Donnell + Tuomey on the design of a £35m student centre at the University of York.
Good architecture and planning can make a significant difference to the way places work, both socially and on an environmental level.
139 tonnes of salvaged steel from a scheme currently being demolished in the City of London will be used in the Roots in the Sky development which is due to start on site in the coming months and complete in Q3 2025.
Following on from our groundbreaking work on the South Bank Tower extension, we’re working with HCL Architects for our client CIT Group, where we are taking the same principle with an existing 16-storey tower in Islington and extending it 13-storeys. By doing so, we ended up saving 35% of the carbon footprint of a new-build.
We’re thrilled to be part of the team that is designing an international airport in India. The team, consisting of AKT II alongside Nordic – Office of Architecture, Grimshaw, Haptic and STUP, were selected by Zurich Airport International after a concession agreement with the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
We’re supporting Studio Egret West, and have reached the final six in an international design contest for a revamp of Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.
Kingston University Town House has been awarded the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
Is mass timber all its hyped up to be? Jennifer Bonner and AKT II’s co-founder Hanif Kara think so, and they’ve written a book to explain why.
This proposed new high-rise development forms part of the expansive, masterplanned Nine Elms development zone in south-west London.
Oxford University’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities received unanimous approval earlier this week.
We’ve been working with Zaha Hadid Architects, alongside SWECO on PrismArch. Now in its second year, we’re continuing to research into a ‘prismatic blend’ between aesthetics, simulation models, and meta-information that can be presented in a contextualised and comprehensive manner in virtual reality.
AKT II’s co-founder Hanif Kara has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.
100 Liverpool Street has taken home two further award wins in the past month, after being awarded ‘Project of the Year’ at this year’s Building Awards and, winner in the ‘working’ category at the New London Architecture Awards for 2021.
Inner-city areas are becoming ever more densely populated. Mixed-use schemes are increasingly prevalent, while their conflicting spatial requirements are getting more and more challenging. The newly completed One Crown Place – a ‘city within a city block’ that’s been delivered by CBRE Development Management for MTD Group – exemplifies all of this very well. In this article, our design director Steve Toon shares some insight from the project’s new high-rise elements, and examines the engineering moves that have safeguarded their uses’ functionality.
We’re supporting Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) on a 24-storey office tower based in Houndsditch for our client Brockton Everlast.
Plans for Plot 25, a student building within the Brent Cross Town masterplan, have received unanimous approval from Barnet Council’s planning committee.
The proposed redevelopment of 120 Fleet Street has been granted planning permission by the City of London Corporations’s Planning and Transportation Committee.
The Beacon of Hope is a demountable public artwork that showcases the structural potential of Bamboo. It’s designed by artist Joseph Williams and hand-built by his Bamboology team, with some engineering from AKT II. In this video, Joseph, our engineers and Climate Art’s founding director and curator Dzmitry Suslau share some of the design innovation involved.
The Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition has returned for 2021, with Sir David Adjaye RA curating this year’s Architecture Room, in the theme of ‘climate and geography’. AKT II has helped to design five of the exhibited projects.
AKT II are supporting ECF, CBRE, Jon Matthews Architects, Hilson Moran and Abacus to revitalise St Helens town centre, with a new park area, hotel and flexible commercial Grade A office space.
AKT II is working with Zaha Hadid Architects and SWECO on PrismArch – a virtual-reality aided collaboration that blends cross-disciplinary aspects of architecture in a multi-simulation environment.
AKT II is collaborating with Kadans Science Partner on their recent acquisition; Merlin Place in Cambridge, which is located opposite the entrance to Cambridge Science Park.
