AHMM

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.

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

Neil Spiller is Editor-in-Chief of AD. Previously he was Hawksmoor Chair of Architecture and Landscape, and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, London. Prior to this he was Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and Construction and Professor of Architecture and Digital Theory. Spiller is also known as the founding director of the Advanced Virtual and Technological Architectural Research Group based at the University of Greenwich. This group had its own PhD and Masters programmes and conducted research into advanced technologies in architectural representation and into the impact of advanced technologies on 21st century design.