Founded in 1991, The Architecture Foundation is
Britain's oldest independent
architecture centre. It examines contemporary issues in architectural theory and practice, through a public programme that has involved exhibitions, competitions publications, lectures, films and debates.
The organisation ran the Yard Gallery in
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington.
The well after which it was named was redisco ...
as a temporary space experimenting in different ways of exhibiting and communicating architecture before moving to Carmody Groarke-designed headquarters in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
. Under the direction of
Sarah Ichioka
Sarah Ichioka is a British–American urbanist and writer based in Singapore. The founder of strategic consultancy Desire Lines, Ichioka is a proponent of regenerative design, biomimicry, and the incorporation of indigenous knowledge into urban pl ...
it gave itself a greater international remit, manifesting itself in 2009 through a series of exchange programmes. The Southwark headquarters also operated a project space, again hosting a variety of exhibitions, installations and talks.
The Architecture Foundation left the Southwark space in 2014 due to financial problems following the withdrawal of Arts Council funding. In 2015 it co-located with the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University's Central House in Aldwych. In 2015 it appointed its current Director, Ellis Woodman, who was tasked with restructuring the organisation on the basis of a private funding model. In the same year Phineas Harper joined as deputy director. Following London Metropolitan University's sale of Central House in 2016 the Architecture Foundation relocated to
The Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It off ...
in Kensington.
Since December 2019,
Cindy Walters
Cindy Walters (born 1963) is an Australian architect and partner at Walters & Cohen in London, England.
She studied in South Africa before moving to London in 1990 where she worked at Foster & Partners. ''Walters & Cohen'' was established in 19 ...
, co-founder and director of Walters & Cohen Architects has served as chair of The Architecture Foundation's board of Trustees.
[Will Hurs]
Cindy Walters appointed chair of Architecture Foundation
architectsjournal.co.uk Walters is the Architecture Foundation's fifth chair, following
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
,
Will Alsop,
Brian Clarke and most recently
Simon Allford, co-founder and director of
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris is an architecture practice based in Clerkenwell, London, with offices in Bristol and Oklahoma.
History
Set up in 1989 by Simon Allford, Jonathan Hall, Paul Monaghan and Peter Morris, the practice employs over 500 pe ...
.
References
External links
The Architecture Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Architecture Foundation
Architecture organisations based in the United Kingdom