Consort Architectural Hardware was tasked with delivering the full ironmongery package for the multi award-winning hospitality landmark in Cape Town, The Cape Grace Hotel.

The Cape Grace Hotel has long been celebrated for its timeless style and exceptional guest experiences, earning prestigious accolades such as Africa’s leading Hotel of the Year and Design Hotel of the Year.

Following the most extensive refurbishment in its history, the hotel reopened its doors to guests, marking a significant moment for one of South Africa’s most celebrated hospitality destinations. The fresh look represents a technical, multifaceted upgrade and has firmly positioned Cape Grace as a modern classic rooted in its iconic V&A waterfront setting.

Consort Architectural Hardware, commissioned by 1508 London’s Dubai Studio, was well placed to supply a complete ironmongery package capable of meeting the project’s ambitious design vision together with essential fire and life safety compliance requirements.

An environment reimagined

During an 8-month renovation, every corner of the hotel was reinvented, from the grand foyer experience to its 112 luxury guestrooms, suites and signature hospitality spaces including the spa, swimming pool area and its famous Bascule Bar. The design - profoundly inspired by Cape Town’s tranquil landscape and cultural identity - incorporates layered materials and delicate details, designed to guide guests through a cohesive and immersive journey of relaxation and exploration.

Ironmongery played a critical role in the narrative, achieving both the operational performance of the building and the architectural clarity between its interior spaces. In line with the demands of a high-traffic hotel environment, durability, compliance and long-term performance were central to hardware specification. Consort supplied premium EN 1906 Grade 4 lever handle sets suited to heavy-duty applications, with all components Certifire approved and paired with high-specification lock cases to ensure fire door integrity across the scheme.

“Early on, it was clear the brief demanded hardware solutions that could balance reliability with a refined guest experience. Our chosen products had to seamlessly blend with a naturally aesthetic-led environment whilst also ensuring they were robust enough for intensive use.” – David May, Consort Architectural Hardware

A bespoke multi-profile lock cylinder system was also developed to align with the hotel’s operational hierarchy requirements, supporting efficient access control without compromising security. To maintain the refined architectural language of the project, concealed hinges and door closers were consistently aligned with flush door detailing in order to preserve clean lines and reduce the visual interruption on each guestroom doorset. The result: a coordinated hardware solution designed to balance the demands of guest comfort, safety and long term performance.

Clean design, heightened style

The ironmongery palette was carefully developed to complement the hotel’s renewed identity – refined, tactile and deeply connected to its regional context. Satin PVD Gold and Brass tones were selected to harmonise with the surrounding material scheme, sitting alongside textured timber veneers and layered interior finishes whilst complementing local artwork and exterior views of the famous flat-topped Table Mountain.

"The Cape Grace had a strong identity long before we arrived and our role was to honour that rather than reinvent it. Celebrating South African heritage was central to every design choice, from the palette and materials through to the hardware. Consort's ironmongery felt like a natural extension of that thinking. The consistency of finish and quality across every doorset gave the project a coherence that really tied the design together, and felt true to the spirit of the building." - Myriam Raad, Interior Designer, 1508 London

Knurled textures and grained cast pad pull handles were used to emphasise depth and tactility, reinforcing the handcrafted essence of the interior design and accentuating the waxed and polished grain door veneers. Hinges and closers were also concealed from view, highlighting clean lines and allowing the visible hardware elements to take on a dual role, with bespoke ironmongery handles functioning as both practical components and sculptural design features within each space.

Greater lifecycle performance

Sustainability considerations formed a key part of the specification strategy for The Cape Grace Hotel. All hardware components used throughout the project were selected for proven longevity - determined by testing performance - with an aim of reducing replacement cycles and minimising the environmental impact over the building’s lifespan.

Consort’s in-house PVD finishing technology provided a highly durable surface treatment, removing hazardous solvents and volatile organic compounds to significantly extend product life when compared to traditional plated finishes. The manufacturer’s Premium Range was also supplied in plastic-free packaging, with recyclable materials used throughout. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) were accessible across key product lines, supporting transparency and informed material selection throughout the project’s specification.

In addition, Consort’s ‘Buy Back’ scheme encourages the recovery and reuse of architectural hardware at the end of a product’s service life. This further reinforced the commitment to a more sustainable and circular approach to architectural ironmongery.

This project was a category winner at the GAI Specification Awards 2026.

For more information on Consort Architectural Hardware, visit Material Source Studio London, where Consort is a Partner.

The UK has committed to reaching Net Zero by 2050, and with construction responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions, the sector is under pressure to cut waste, lower embodied carbon, and improve energy efficiency.

James Pound, architectural assistant at DAY Architectural, believes sunflowers could play a significant role in reducing the embodied carbon of built environment-based materials. Although cultivated for oil and floristry, much of the plant, particularly the stalk, is burnt or discarded after harvest. This releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere.

Working alongside MSc physicists, Joash Webster, and Charlie Phillips, James has been testing how this overlooked material can be combined with hydrated lime to create Sun-crete, a bio-based insulation inspired by hempcrete. Early results are promising: with a U-value of 0.15 W/m²K, it already exceeds the 0.26 W/m²K threshold required to meet Passivhaus standards.

More broadly, our conversation with James has been particularly inspiring since it demonstrates how architects and designers within industry are actively shaping a more responsible and regenerative built environment through material exploration.

Here, James shares the research and experimentation behind Sun-crete, and the wider potential of sunflower-based construction.

What lessons from hemp-based construction informed your approach to Sun-crete?

"My inspiration for the project came from a lecture given by a member of architecture firm, Assemble, where they spoke about agricultural farm waste and using these by-products to create construction materials. When I first started to explore sunflowers in construction, I experimented with a range of different uses, ranging from cladding to render. After an in-depth investigation, I decided the most appropriate application would be an insulating construction block.

"The most obvious precedent for this in the natural material world is hempcrete. As it grows in popularity among smaller private builds - particularly across Europe - a much more established resource pool of technical details and construction methods has emerged. Sun-crete was created using a similar approach to hempcrete, utilising key ingredients such as hydrated lime to form the bricks. Similarly to hemp-based construction, the wet material is pressed into timber formwork, achieving strong, solid blocks that can remain within the frame or be used as standalone pieces.

"The low-carbon, circular methodology has also been borrowed from hempcrete, looking at the importance of both carbon-sequestering materials and low-transportation carbon emissions (A2 to A4 in the Whole Life Carbon Assessments, WLCA). Sunflowers can be grown, dried, harvested, and manufactured on, or within close proximity to the site - The Flat House by Practice Architecture is a useful hemp-based precedent for this."

Can you walk us through the process of producing Sun-crete - from harvesting, to forming the final insulation blocks?

"The process of constructing the material is based on simplicity and accessibility. I believe a key incentive to build with natural materials is to create a hands-on approach that can be recreated by all without previous experience. The sunflower industry is one of the most wasteful agricultural industries; most are grown only for seeds (oil) or for florists (only the top of the plant). The leftover stalks are left to dry and then commonly burnt, releasing high levels of stored carbon dioxide.

"It is just before this point that the construction industry would ideally intercept the dried stalks, offering to harvest and alleviate farmers of their waste product. The stalks are then split open, and the pith (a useful by-product for loose-fill insulation) is removed from the centre. The dried, bark-like stalk can then be chipped using a wood chipper, or by hand with scissors (if you are, like me, a student without the budget), before being mixed with hydrated lime and water.

"This leaves you with a wet, mouldable mixture that can be pressed into formwork in a range of shapes and sizes. It should be noted that the smaller the scale, the more challenging it is to create a sharp edge. After around 48 hours, this mixture will be dry enough to remove from the formwork and be used for construction. Over the next week or so, it will continue to dry, turning lighter in colour and increasing in rigidity as the lime in the mixture carbonates."

What did hands-on experimentation reveal about Sun-crete? Were there any surprising discoveries about the material’s properties?

"The process of scientific collaboration was arguably the most beneficial part of the material development: not only in getting a result to highlight the feasibility of Sun-crete, but also in learning about the material's qualities and limitations.

"The experiment was led by MSc students, Joash and Charlie, who planned out the experiment, gathered the equipment needed, and persuaded the lead technician that this was a worthwhile project. Over two weeks, we tested around five different iterations of the material, varying in chip size and lime content, aiming to discover the best variation in terms of thermal efficiency.

"Throughout the testing process, a lot was revealed about the material. When calculating the volume of the test bricks by submerging them in water, we discovered that the material temporarily loses structural integrity when oversaturated. This highlighted the need for further testing, particularly if the material was to be used externally on a project. This quality mirrors that of hempcrete and any other lime bound bio-material, losing strength when wet but quickly recovering as they dry and the lime begins to carbonate.

"Architectural features such as large roof overhangs are common in natural material construction and would be essential to protect the Sun-crete from direct driving rain. However, the material was initially proposed as an insulation structure and, like hempcrete, it would not be exposed directly to the elements. Its water permeability would actually enhance the building, aiding the breathability of the walls by absorbing excess moisture and releasing it during drier periods.

"The testing was a success. We achieved a thermal conductivity of 0.095 W/mK with blocks at an approximate density of 285kg/m³. This result is highly encouraging, as it sits comfortably within the industry standard range for hempcrete, which typically falls between 0.05 and 0.138 W/mK.

"We also believed that with further refinement of the material we could achieve a lower value. By using industrial wood chippers to achieve more controlled chip sizing, we can optimise the density and air-pocket distribution within the blocks, further enhancing their insulating performance."

With the right processing infrastructure, could sunflower-based materials become as common as hemp-based alternatives? Is it an ‘un-tapped’ resource?

"I believe there is a hesitancy to bring new natural materials into the market, definitely in the architectural world, which is currently defined by the now fully established Building Safety Act 2022. There will always be difficulty persuading insurers and clients of a material's safety; however, this is mitigated through precedent and experience with new materials.

“Turkey carries out a significant amount of sunflower production. There is 2,500,000 tons of sunflower stalk waste per year. This is a serious problem for farmers...” (Binici et al., 2020).

"There are plenty of sunflower farms in the UK with enough waste product to start harvesting and constructing smaller builds.

"However, should the material demand increase, the farms would need expanding. Unlike hemp, you do not need specific licensing to grow sunflowers, so these temporary, localised farms can be established up all over the country, provided the climate permits (sunflower growth is much more successful in the South)."

What are the biggest opportunities for scaling sunflower-based construction materials?

"Sun-crete is a good starting point for expanding and scaling natural materials formed from byproducts as the material itself is easily used and understood. Contractors can follow the established methods for hempcrete and work it into buildings in the same way.

"Cost is a significant driver within practice, and Sun-crete isn't just an environmental choice, it is a pragmatic economic one. By utilising a farmer's waste product, the cost of the material is essentially reduced to the cost of transportation. While similar in binder costs, the hemp shiv used for hempcrete must be purchased from a licensed processor, adding a significant layer of expense.

"While readily available commercial insulations may be lower in initial cost, the negative environmental and ecological toll is incomparable to Sun-crete. When factoring in recent shifts towards Whole Life Carbon Assessments and the necessity of circular building practices, Sun-crete offers a solution for future-proofing."

Can you share with us what your next steps in developing or applying Sun-crete in architecture?

"The next steps for the project revolve around a multitude of testing, both to optimise the material but also to further develop accessibility and guidance. This includes creating detail packs that architects could use to see how the material works; 1:1 testing of the material in construction; and gathering interest to create a support network of invested people to help achieve these goals. As seen by the previous collaboration with Joash and Charlie, it is necessary to have a team of varied skills to develop a material, involving creatives, scientists, and trade workers who will actually work with the material.

"There is a significant opportunity to test the material in drier climates, particularly in nations that are major contributors to the sunflower industry, such as Turkey. With the support of interested parties, this could become a feasible farm-to-building model that could be replicated internationally. Developing countries would offer a particularly compelling place to start, as the research could provide an opportunity to create affordable housing as a direct by-product of existing agricultural waste streams."

You're working at the intersection of design and material science; how has this project influenced the way you think about architecture?

"Working with materials hands-on gives a completely different insight into the design process. Creating from a material-first approach develops designs bespoke to the specific materials, creating new languages of architecture (often leaning towards traditional forms such as large overhangs or thicker walls).

"As seen in practice, collaboration with a wide range of people in the construction industry is imperative to see a feasible design reach its end goal. Working with material scientists adds a new dimension to architecture, a new approach grounded in empirical testing."

More broadly, do you think architects need to become more involved in material invention and experimentation?

"Yes. There are far too few practices that get involved with material experimentation. Some best-practice examples for natural material experimentation are: BC Materials in Brussels, Atelier Luma in France, and both Assemble and Material Cultures in the UK.

"There must be change in our use of construction materials to help reduce the footprint of the industry. This has to be through experimentation and repeated attempts at involving new materials into projects. The industry will not sway to new materials without first seeing a multitude of successful examples."

If you're interested in getting involved in the project, know of any further opportunities for testing in the UK or abroad, or just want to know more, please get in touch with James.

At our seminar in Glasgow this month, we continued our quarter-long conversation on the topic of AI.

While both the panellists and guests agreed that AI can inevitably speed things up, and take away certain, often 'mundane' tasks, there's no replacing human judgement. AI, after all, is simply just code. However, there was an underlying yet palpable feeling of unease in the room.

Amid the usual good spirit that you’ve come to expect from our seminar sessions, the forum-style format of this event allowed honest thoughts and feelings to bubble to the surface. In some cases, it was clear that built environment professionals are finding AI tools useful in their day-to-day. But there were also gaping plot holes in the narrative of our future. How do we tackle the compounding sustainability issues only being accelerated by the rapid evolution of AI? What do we do when peoples’ jobs become obsolete? What’s being done to up-skill young people for the new roles that will be created? And what will these jobs actually be?

We acknowledge that an hour-long discussion won’t provide resolutions. But seek, through our cross-country conversations, to support wider sector movements.

Just as our panellist David Reat’s PhD was on the architecture of the three Star Wars trilogies, the topic of AI has both a light and dark side. It’s emotive. Personal. There’s no doubt about that. Everyone has an opinion on AI. And that’s exactly what this seminar provided a platform to air. Judgement-free.

So, AI: Destroyer or creator? Here’s what our Glasgow Studio community thinks…

Creator or destroyer?

To begin, Session Host & Director, Material Source Studio, David Smalley, asked, “AI is quite obviously taking over mundane tasks, but how do you feel about it taking over more creative work?”

David Reat, Director, Cultural Studies in the Department of Architecture at the University of Strathclyde, shared that he’s had to rework the entire cultural studies programme for his department based on the rapid adoption of AI tools. To ignore AI’s impact would be catastrophic, he believes.

“Jonathan Charley, who was my PhD supervisor and my predecessor, looked at architectural history and theory and questioned its relevance today, and he started to introduce things like decolonisation into the course - equality, diversity. I then took that up and ran with it. And the latest challenge - or opportunity - is Artificial Intelligence.

“As a university, no executable decision has been made yet on our position on AI. But personally, it had a big bearing on the hypothesis of my dissertation, so I embraced it immediately.”

David shared he's noticed “just how pervasive it was across the board”, since LLMs (Large Language Models) become more readily available 3-years ago. “You started to see a shift, in essence, in artworks and essays that were coming from students. And I thought, ‘Well, I have to understand what’s going on here.’”

Just as visualisation is changing in practice (a theme discussed in-depth by the guests at our roundtable in London), so too is it in education settings.

With all of this in mind, David has “completely remodelled the cultural studies course, from ‘product to process’, knowing full well that we will move to delivering something through AI. There’s no point denying that we’re using it.”

While David believes AI creates possibilities for imagination and communication – “I view it as a representation technology” – he commented, it also risks destroying skills by way of “understanding why things look the way they do - and, more importantly, judgement.

“I think that’s the critical thing with AI: the ability of the human being there to judge something. I think the question is how we use it, not if we use it,” David added.

Fellow panellist Rich Wilson is CEO of Gigged.AI. Having worked in the technology sector for 20-years, he reminded guests that AI is not new – “Though marketers like to badge it as new, it’s actually 75 years old,” he said.

LLMs may have taken the spotlight over the last couple of years, but machine learning, which is what they’re based on “was a very cool thing about 10-years ago,” Rich added.

And this is “just one little strand of AI as a whole,” Rich stressed, sharing that it was the banks that were early adopters of this technology, “AI would be used by Barclays, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. They have thousands of AI engineers in Glasgow alone – they have done for 10, 15-years. A lot of the AI models that the banks use are built in Glasgow.”

IBM he referenced as being at the forefront of advancement in AI and automation (this is where our panellist in Manchester and London, Dr Phil Tetlow worked for over 20-years.)

For Rich, after working with one of the largest advisory companies in the world, Gartner, advising global companies on “what to do with AI, what to do with data, and what to do with digital transformation,” he decided to set up his own business comprising a human and AI orchestration platform. “What we do is we take human skills and AI skills, and merge them together,” Rich shared.

Pioneers in this field, Rich added that people thought 5-years’ ago they were “crazy”, but – a proud Glaswegian company – the firm now works globally - Fortune 500, FTSE 100 - and is headquartered here in the city. “We still hire real people, not just AI,” he said, reassuringly.

The world of AI is currently akin to the “Wild West”, Rich suggested. In reference to the speed of evolution, he said, “Something you knew 26-months ago is redundant already. It’s moving like we have never seen before, and it’s only going to keep moving.”

On whether it’s a destroyer or creator, for Rich, it has already destroyed the need for a lot of tasks. In call centres, for example, more often than not we’re speaking to software robots, he said. There are also certain roles for which the need has “plummeted” Rich shared – based on his experience in recruitment.

“In IT design, when we first started the platform, one of the biggest skills we had demand for was UX design - how you use an app, how you use a website, how it looks and feels. The demand for that has plummeted.”

“Why?” asked Host, David.

“You still need people to do it; you just don’t need as many”, Rich replied.

Taking a broader view, “When you think about creation, the big think tanks such as the World Economic Forum, McKinsey, Bain & Co., the feeling is that AI will create more jobs than it displaces. I agree with that in time, but I think where we are at the moment is the opposite,” Rich stated.

In the short term, the statistics paint a stark reality, Rich said. “AI is definitely meaning that people are refraining from hiring. Full-time hiring in the UK is down by 36% every quarter. It’s the lowest it’s ever been for full-time roles.”

“Why is that?” Host David, asked. “Is that all related to AI?”

“You can blame the economy, but AI is definitely a factor,” Rich responded, adding, “I think it will get worse before it gets better. I’m an optimist, and I do feel it will get better and it will create more jobs. We’re just in a really weird time.”

In terms of what kinds of jobs might be created by the advent of the mass adoption of AI, Rich said “the hottest job in the world just now is AI trainer". Anyone with a skill – such as architecture – can be paid around $100-$200 per hour to train AI tools to “know right from wrong” because they “still need a human to say what they can do,” Rich added.

Another job that’s been created, and is very relevant to architects and designers, is the creation of data centres. Many in the room already have projects of this nature in their portfolio, so intense has the demand become in the past couple of years.

“You’re going to need people to design those data centres, build them, secure them. You’re going to need the HVAC engineers. So there’s going to be lots of demand, because the more you use AI, there’s a reason it’s more expensive, it needs compute. Compute is just a data centre,” shared Rich.

What should remain human?

“What parts, in your view, should remain human?” asked Host, David. “What should, and what will?”

Going back to the word “judgement”, panellist David said, “Artificial Intelligence is only going to get exponentially more and more sophisticated, but we still need that judgement quality in terms of ethics, morality - just the pure creative process.

“Generative AI, whether it’s textual or visual, is an encyclopaedic aggregator. It just scrapes things it’s already seen and works off coding to bring you back what it thinks you want to see…”

“And it says, ‘Well done’”, Host, David added, in reference to our earlier discussions which uncovered LLMs’ pre-set programmes for people pleasing. Something that can be dialled down in the back end of the likes of Claude or ChatGPT, Dr Phil Tetlow told us in London. This isn’t for those with a sensitive disposition though, David Reat said. (“If you do that it can be quite cruel, at times.”)

A question that has reoccurred during our conversations on AI is whether, in architecture, it’s just part of the next chapter for the profession.

David Reat is a trained architect, and commented, “I’ve seen, in my lifetime, architecture shift from pens - Rotring pens in the office I worked in - to machines. At the office I worked in, in London, they were wary of computers. All the other architecture practices were taking off because they could do things in a tenth of the time, and they still kept steadfast. There was some kind of romantic glory to it. But they eventually realised - too late.

“I shifted from pens to computers during my Masters. I’ve seen that transition. That was 25-years ago, and now it’s moving on to AI.”

Looking back further, David referenced perspective drawing in the Renaissance – “it changed the way architects worked.”

From master builders with plans, sections, elevations to Brunelleschi devised perspective to understand how space was represented, people said, ‘What’s happening?’, David shared. “Architecture became a different thing.” This progressed to pen and ink, to photocopying, and then computers.

“Do you think it’s just a process that we’re going through?” asked Host, David.

“It’s just a new chapter. It’s a new technology, and it will eradicate certain positions in offices, but it will create others - just like AutoCAD did,” panellist David responded.

By his own admission, David said he uses AI “All day. Every day. Across five or six platforms.”

Though we should be wary of simply becoming editors of AI’s work, he warned. “We need to keep critical thinking. That’s crucial. You have that ability for critical thinking and judgement, because it can’t do that. It can synthesise it,” he commented, seconding Rich’s earlier point.

Another warning was given in relation to AI’s ability to hallucinate. Filling in the gaps because it “thought that was what I wanted to hear.”

A collective shudder rippled around the room.

Rich agreed that “critical thinking and decision-making” should sit with humans. Why? One reason is because the largest source of information that LLMs such as ChatGPT and Claude run off is Reddit.

For anyone not familiar, it’s “Where millions of people gather for conversations about the things they care about, in over 100000 subreddit communities” according to the digital platform’s ‘about page’. Or, as David Reat put it, “It's the internet’s version of Benidorm”.

Because of this, we must ask, “how good is the information that’s getting pulled in?” Rich suggested.

“And to David’s point: these models are not human,” he continued, “They’re not sentient. They’re lines of code. That’s all they are. And they hallucinate. That thing David just described - that’s called a hallucination.”

Rich shared a similar scenario of hallucination, where Claude made assumptions on sales data – most of which was inflated and simply not true. That was for a private-equity-backed businesses' board pack.

Perhaps we will get to a stage with Agentic AI where we won’t need to review its work. But, for now, critical thinking and decision-making are, well, critical, agreed the panel.

"I’m of the view that AI is a tool, and it can be used powerfully. But it’s not a sentient being. It’s not your coworker. It’s not a real person. It is still just lines of code that are very sophisticated, but it can - and will - still make stuff up.” - Rich Wilson

Offering the audience the floor, Host, David asked for questions.

One of David Reat’s past students, Laura-Alexandra Popa, Architect, Convery Prenty Shields Architects, asked, “I’m an architect now, and I’m bound by my code of conduct to take care of the environment. And we all know the sheer amount of water that it takes to cool these data centres that power the AI. And at the same time, I agree it’s a very powerful tool that we can use both in practice and in our education. But how do we balance this keeping up with technology with the physical implications for our environment?”

“It’s a great point,” David responded, “as a dichotomy, I can only see, as a species, what we’ve done with the ability to create and destroy. It’s like nuclear energy: it’s incredible what that can do; it’s horrific what it can do. And I think the great scientific minds will adapt to it.”

Rich gave a controversial take. “I think the water usage in data centres isn’t what it’s made out to be. However, the power usage is huge. People think to cool a data centre it needs a load of water. That’s not actually true, but you need a load of energy to cool them. They’re not actually water-cooled; they’re cooled by massive air conditioning. It’s just a big room full of server racks.

“We’ve had them in Scotland for years, but they do need to be cooled and they do take tons of power. There are going to be lots more. Unless we can work out other power sources to power them… Scotland will invest a lot of time and effort there, thankfully.”

Another problem is, he said, that data centres need to be near their power source. “A lot of the data centres aren’t actually near the wind farms we’ve created, which I don’t understand, but maybe we can fix that,” he added.

“Overall, whether it’s water scarcity or the environment, AI does have a detrimental impact on the environment, and the increased usage will have a detrimental impact.”

Jenna Nutivaara of Planform Architects in the audience shared that, “In Helsinki, they utilise the excess heat from data centres and feed it into district heating networks from surrounding neighbourhoods." (Jenna followed up with some further reading on this, linked here).

Focusing on the fear-factor associated with AI, Mark Alcorn, Managing Director, c2 concepts, asked from the audience, “I think we probably all have a sense of this fear factor about the destroyer aspect of AI. So if it’s to be believed - and not a hallucination - that the US President just asked for early access to versions of AI - new, different and way more powerful - (and that we haven’t heard of) - what’s the risk?”

Rich shared that it’s a platform called Mythos. (You can find more information on this via the AI Security Institute).

Created by Claude, it’s alleged that an early preview of Mythos has been given to the US government for testing purposes.

“It can do things that no AI model can do”, Rich commented. “This is where warfare comes in: how do you use AI models in cybersecurity?” he added.

Things are going to get “pretty dark” before they get better, Rich believes. Especially in the UK, where AI is currently unregulated. That’s something that’ll change, Rich predicts.

Is all AI equal?

From the audience, Nick Walker, Director – Heritage & Townscape, Iceni Projects, had a question about the concentration of wealth and power. “How do we ensure that we do create this wonderful world where AI is doing all the grunt work so we can spend our time writing plays and being paid to be creative? Or is it just going to make rich people richer?”

Rich responded, “I think it will make rich people richer, for sure. But this is where regulation comes in. I honestly do think there will be serious legislation and regulation that will come in, which will really harness it.”

Regarding this, Felicity Parsons, Architectural Writer and Writing Skills Trainer, shared a recommendation for a book she’d found to be enlightening on the topic of AI and ethics. “Emily Bender, who’s a professor of computational linguistics at the University of Washington, has written widely on the ethics of AI use, and a book for a general audience called The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want, along with Alex Hanna. It’s very accessible. And though I wouldn’t say she’s an AI sceptic, she’s sceptical about the hype.”

Mass hype surrounding AI use (tying back to Dr Phil Tetlow’s likening to an opiate) has led to AI slop, suggested audience member, Matthew Trainer, Forrest Group. With this in mind, “Is AI too accessible?” he asked the panel.

Censorship should not be introduced, David said. But the introduction of price models is an inevitability, Rich suggested. Though many are currently on LLM free plans, this will become a thing of the past, he believes.

“Anthropic’s revenue in the last 9-months has gone from $6 billion to $36 billion. The reason they’ve done that is they’ve changed it from price per seat to a token price model. Uber has said it's used its tokens for the year already - in 4-months - because they changed it. Anthropic was subsidising it.

“The reason OpenAI and Anthropic were raising so much money was they were paying for your access to their data centres – which cost a lot of money to run. Every time you paid £20 a month, it was probably costing them £120 a month in ‘compute’ i.e. the running of the data centres.

“Anthropic just announced they’re going to IPO. That means they need to make a profit now, so they can’t subsidise it. OpenAI is going to do the same. So you’re going to see a massive spike in prices.”

Chris Carr, Workplace Consultant, SPACE, asked, “What’s the percentage of people using free accounts on AI tools currently?”

Rich believes it’s around 90%. (A Google search confirms this as approximately 95% of people who use generative AI platforms (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) rely exclusively on the free tier).

Audience member, Zoe Miller, Owner, Zoe Miller Interiors, asked a question around ownership. “Who should be responsible for policing AI? Should it be us as designers and architects? Should we have the responsibility to be that final end point?”

David believes it comes back to the point about judgement. “In an exam period, I can tell immediately if it’s a student who’s used it, and the onus is on them to be honest about that”, he shared.

“I think you should police it. You know yourself if you’ve written something or drawn something.” - David Reat

Rich added, “If you crash your car, whose fault is it - the car or you? If you spray paint a wall, whose fault is it - the spray can or you? It’s the person. AI is a tool. So however you use it - if you use it for nefarious activities - that’s on the individual person, or the company who’s done that.

“But in terms of policing, the better word is regulation. There will be more regulation around how the big companies use them, yes. More pricing, more regulation.”

Acceptance without understanding?

Mariana Novosivschei, Sustainable Design Lead and PassivHaus Designer, MLA, expressed her acute sense of worry, saying, “My question is to the panel, but also to the room. We’re accepting AI as a given in everything we do – an inevitability. It’s coming. There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to accept it.

“We’re accepting statements like, ‘AI won’t take your job, but a person using AI will take your job.’ So we are accepting all these ethical issues because really we cannot do anything about it. And we’re accepting that the power is not held by people that we vote for, but by some private companies. All in the hope that it will take some mundane jobs out of our hands and it will make our life easier.

“But is it actually? Because we keep checking stuff, because we’re worried about hallucinations etc. How is it improving things for us?”

This clearly resonated with those in the room. We are receiving very mixed messages through media coverage about AI. But in reality, have we succumbed to something that we don’t have the full picture of, or any control over?

Panellist, David said, “To me, it’s agency. There are a lot of things in life controlled by big corporations, not just AI. I can only speak as an architect: the idea of looking at something and knowing yourself whether you were the author, the creator of that, is down to you.”

Mariana agreed there are lots of things controlled by corporations, “but they’re not as consequential as AI”, she added. “If we want to be more efficient and free up our time, it doesn’t really free up our time. It just means we climb to something quicker.”

“I think the ‘free up the time’ thing is a false economy”, David continued. “I think you will dedicate more time to other things. That’s happened in architects’ offices now. What architects were doing in the ’50s and ’60s to what they were doing in the ’90s till now is very different.”

Saf Khan, Assistant Project Manager, Turner & Townsend, asked from the audience about the younger generation. “We’ve seen AI is used a lot by younger generations, so should we be worried about the lack of intelligence from younger generations coming into practice?”

“Yes”, answered David on the panel. “And this is where parents come in, isn’t it?”

Alison Stobie, Co-founder, Neurodapt & Part 1 Architectural Assistant, BDP, shared her thoughts that neurodiverse people will become highly sought-after in the workplace – “To stand out against AI as individuals, being more diverse, is going to help the situation, rather than going against it.”

Kirsten Davis, Senior Sustainability & Impact Lead, CRGP Limited, asked a question regarding academia, “How are you (David) currently assessing students’ work, and as AI becomes more widely used, how do you measure both their work and their critical thinking skills, which are so important in architecture and creative practice, alongside their use of AI?”

Speaking from his own experience, panellist, David, replied, “In academia, I’ve looked at: what ultimately am I tasking the student on? It maps to ARB and RIBA criteria. I have to ensure my student comes to class - quite a few of them in here (audience members) have survived it [audience laughed] - and they leave having learned something. It’s not just a box to tick. It’s not really about the product at the end. It's about the process to getting there."

Lucy Galloway, Associate, MLA, asked from the audience, “Is there any evidence to suggest that AI is affecting social skills in the younger generations?”

“It’s a valid question because it’s double-edged,” panellist David replied. “AI came about at a time when we were also dealing with Covid – being on Zoom all the time – being insular.

“I think there is a social issue there. I encourage the students to criticise each other: ‘Where did you get that?’ Challenge that kind of thing. Because if they turn and say, ‘I just got ChatGPT to do it,’ then the conversation’s over. If they engage and say, ‘I asked it this,’ and they start to challenge it, that’s different.”

There is emerging evidence that younger people are in fact shunning AI use and interaction. "Young adults in the workforce are significantly more ​likely to view AI as a risk than a benefit" - states Reuters. As well as reports that its use is also potentially contributing to loneliness and social anxiety. A study published by Marmalade Trust, a charity which works to reduce loneliness, found: "A quarter of Gen Z would rather talk to AI than a real person." [Source: The Independent]

As the session drew to a close, Host, David, asked the panel and audience for their concluding thoughts. Not conclusive, mind – there is much more to be discussed on this topic, of course, and that’s something we’re dedicated to carrying on – tonight we’ll hold a roundtable in Glasgow to chat further.

For David Reat: “The future of design will not be determined by what AI can create, but by what humans choose to value, question, and take responsibility for."

For Rich Wilson: “AI is not the great destroyer of the workforce that the frontier labs have us to believe. It replaces tasks, never judgement, which means the future still rests on the quality of human thinking, not the power of the AI.”

For Morven Thomson, Architectural Technologist, BakerHicks: “AI is a tool, not a person, and should be acknowledged and utilised as so.”

For Kirstine Robinson, Associate Director, Space Zero: “Wellbeing, critical thinking and environmental impact needs to be considered when discussing AI.”

A huge thanks to our panel for sharing their insight with us, to you, our audience, for being so open and candid in sharing your thoughts, feelings and fears as well as asking thought-provoking questions. And thank you to our supporters for this event, Parkside Architectural Tiles - Partners at Material Source Studio Glasgow, London & Manchester.

The conversation now continues at a dedicated roundtable on the topic of AI at Material Source Studio Glasgow. Have something to say? Let us know on LinkedIn.

Top takeaways at a glance

• AI is both a creator and a destroyer - it destroys some tasks and potentially jobs in the short term, but generates opportunity in the longer term
• Process over product is becoming the stance for authorship in education, and likely practice too
• Hallucinations and inaccuracies designed to "please humans" are not edge cases; they can create serious professional liability and we should be wary
• LLMs reflect existing inequities and bias and may amplify these - designers must actively analyse through critical thought.

Insight from Kathryn Lloyd, Colour Specialist, Crown Paints

"Historically, workplace design was shaped by efficiency, with offices planned to support output and minimise distraction. Often, that led to the creation of spaces defined by hard lines, with little flexibility.

"That is, of course, changing. Offices are no longer expected to support just one type of task or one model of productivity. They need to accommodate concentration, collaboration, moments of pause and social connection within the same environment. Workplace design is becoming more human as a result, with greater emphasis on comfort, inclusivity and how a space actually feels to use day to day.

"A core consideration is a growing recognition that colour has a much bigger role to play than simply finishing a scheme. Used strategically from the outset, it can shape mood, define purpose, support navigation and help create environments that are genuinely easier to inhabit."

Designing offices for multiple ways of working and the needs of everyone

"One of the clearest examples of this is the move away from uniform environments. A single open-plan floor with one overarching palette simply doesn't reflect the reality of how people work. Instead, successful workplace design now involves creating varied settings that support different activities – quiet zones for concentration, collaborative spaces for teamwork, areas for creative thinking and moments of pause.

"Colour becomes a strategic zoning tool in this context. It helps people understand the purpose of a space at a glance and creates natural transitions between different modes of working.

"The choice of palette requires more consideration of individual needs than it once did."

"Offices are not experienced in the same way by everyone. Sensory factors such as colour, contrast and visual stimulation can have a meaningful impact on comfort, concentration and wellbeing. Crown Paints' Designing for Neurodiversity report found that 92% of architects and specifiers believe neurodivergent-inclusive design is becoming increasingly important, while 79% report a knowledge gap around the impact of these elements within their own organisations.

"So, what does neuro-inclusive colour scheming look like? We know that people respond to colour differently; a colour that is considered calming by one person may be overstimulating to another. I believe the key to successful workplace scheming is defined zones to support areas of collaboration or deep focus and concentration. The colour scheme should support these different zones with a palette that works harmoniously while incorporating a variety of hues, chroma, and tones to support the different ways in which people work best.

"The key is recognising that highly saturated palettes or strong visual contrast may energise some users while increasing distraction or discomfort for others. This doesn't mean creating bland spaces – it means understanding when a space needs to stimulate and when it needs to calm."

The value of softer, earthier palettes

"As office environments become more focused on wellbeing, there is growing relevance in palettes that feel grounded and natural. Browns, muted greens and gentle mid-tones can help move workplaces away from a harder-edged, more clinical feel while maintaining professionalism.

"These tones are effective because they create a quieter visual backdrop that doesn't compete for attention. This approach is supported by Crown Paints’ wider Colour Insights, a future-facing forecast that draws on cultural, design and lifestyle trends to create practical palettes for different types of space.

"Within this framework, the Choreography palette uses a variety of muted warm & cool hues to suit those workers who are easily over-stimulated.

"The more energising Disrupt palette – including electric blues, vibrant orange and yellow accents – can then be introduced selectively to bring vitality into social areas or collaborative spaces, creating clear distinctions between different zones."

Practical considerations: designing with colour from the outset

"For architects and designers, all of this points to the importance of thinking about colour strategically and early in the process. It should not be something applied at the end once the layout is resolved. In offices, colour plays too important a role in zoning spaces, supporting different user needs and influencing how people feel within the environment.

"It also needs to be considered in relation to light.

"Colours look very different depending on the light in which they're seen: reds and yellows will appear more vibrant and energetic in a west facing space, whilst they'll appear quieter and less saturated in an east or north facing space."

"Just as importantly, colour choices need to be supported by coatings that can meet the practical demands of busy workplace environments. Crown Trade Clean Extreme offers architects and designers the flexibility to specify from thousands of colours, while also delivering a highly durable, cleanable and scrubbable finish. This makes it particularly well suited to high-traffic areas, shared spaces and environments where walls need to retain their appearance over time, helping to extend maintenance cycles without compromising the overall design intent.

"Testing colours in context and understanding how they interact with artificial lighting are essential steps in creating schemes that genuinely support how the space will be used. You can visit our dedicated presence at Material Source Studio in London, Manchester and Glasgow, where you can see our colours in person using our lightbox – experiencing how they respond to different lighting conditions before specifying, as well as collecting a fan deck or Pure Paint Samples to support project planning.

"Ultimately, the most thoughtful office design is moving away from one-size-fits-all environments towards workplaces that support a broader range of needs. Colour has a central role in that shift – helping to define different zones, support neuro-inclusive design, create comfort and strengthen a connection to the natural world. For designers, it represents both a challenge and an opportunity to create environments that work better for everyone."

For more information, download the Crown Paints Designing for Neurodiversity report here

Award-winning creative consultancy Motive has transformed the new London headquarters of conversational AI pioneers PolyAI into a brand-led workplace that reflects the company’s premium positioning, inventive culture and rapid growth trajectory.

Located in Paddington, the new workspace builds on an existing Cat A+ fit-out, reimagined by Motive to express PolyAI’s purpose, personality and ambitions through immersive storytelling, bespoke installations and carefully considered spatial design.

Creators of the world’s most lifelike conversational AI voice assistants, PolyAI helps businesses deliver natural, human-centred customer conversations without long hold times or frustrating automated experiences. As the company’s team expanded, the workplace needed to evolve alongside it — becoming a space that could both support the realities of fast-growth and embody the distinctiveness of the brand.

Collaborating closely with PolyAI’s brand and people teams, Motive translated the company’s creative identity into physical form while retaining the feel central to the brief.

“Motive took what we wanted to do with the brand – premium and elevated – and were still able to be creative with it,” said Kylie Whitehead, VP of brand & marketing at PolyAI. “They challenged how we thought about the brand creatively and how we can interpret that in terms of space.”

Visitors arriving into the workspace are greeted by the classic operator phrase “How can I help?”, illuminated against shimmering black tiles inspired by PolyAI’s textured visual identity. Opposite sits a hand-painted timeline charting the evolution of the telephone, culminating in a bespoke London phone box installation — one of several long-held ambitions brought to life through the project.

Throughout the space, Motive created moments that connect PolyAI’s technology to the physical environment in playful and tactile ways. In the boardroom, framed Chladni plates — visual patterns formed by sound wave frequencies — sit above the acoustic wall treatment, referencing the science of voice and communication at the heart of PolyAI’s platform. Nearby, a custom 3D-printed logo constructed from vintage telephone receivers nods to the inspiration behind the PolyAI brand mark itself, with each handset subtly featuring the company logo.

The open-plan workspace was reconfigured to better support the growing team, introducing additional desks, soft seating and a dedicated all-hands area for company-wide collaboration.

Meeting rooms feature bespoke artwork inspired by British colloquial greetings and regional expressions, reflecting PolyAI’s ability to understand diverse accents and speech patterns naturally. Elsewhere, a customisable pegboard installation encourages employees to shape and personalise their surroundings — reinforcing a culture of ownership, creativity and experimentation.

The result is said to be a workplace that 'balances sophistication with personality, translating PolyAI’s technology and culture into a highly immersive environment.' Functional yet expressive, the space captures the company’s ambition to make AI interactions feel more human — while giving its team a workplace that feels unmistakably their own.

Danielle Miller is the new Chair of Women in Property Scotland. A role she will undertake alongside not only her professional position as associate director at BE-ST - Built Environment - Smarter Transformation - but also while becoming a parent for the first time.

Recognising the importance of openness and communication in order to understand one another, Danielle has been candid about her own journey, both personal and professional in order to inspire others to do things in the way that works for them.

Her theme for her tenure as WiP Scotland Chair is ‘male allies’, which, during our chat she said, “might sound unusual for a women-focused community.” But the reality is that women currently only make up around 20% of leadership and board-level roles in the UK built environment and construction sector – “We can’t make change without bringing men along with us,” Danielle explained of her reason for choosing this focus.

With WiP membership at an all-time high (unsurprising to anyone who’s ever been to a WiP event, as sponsors at the annual dinners, winter and summer drinks, we can wholeheartedly say the atmosphere the organisation cultivates, cross-country, is unparalleled), Danielle is keen to support with this upward trajectory of involvement, through events, WiP’s mentorship programme and educational outreach.

In the conversation to follow, we speak to Danielle about her plans for WiP Scotland, plus we find out what her role at BE-ST entails and how it's supporting the collective sector journey towards hitting net zero.

To start, could we chat through your professional background?

“I’m associate director for Stakeholder Engagement at BE-ST - Built Environment - Smarter Transformation. I’ve been there for six and a half years. Our mission is to accelerate the built environment’s transition to net zero. Of course, everyone is on a different journey, so we’re not here to tell people they’re behind, we’re here to support them, wherever they are.

“I started in the events team and grew from there. Being on the marketing and operations side is great because you get to work across the whole organisation. You see all the projects, programmes and training - it’s a really cool place to be.”

Where are you based?

“We’re based in Blantyre, just outside Glasgow. This year especially, we’re focused on taking what we do elsewhere through training, events, and hands-on skills, so we’re not just centred on Glasgow. For example, our team has just been down in London for Futurebuild. Rather than a traditional stand, we run hands-on training and bring equipment down so people can really experience what we do.

“Our own big events season is in the autumn. We run BE-ST Fest, which includes a summit day, an international retrofit conference day and an awards night. It brings people together from across the UK and beyond. Last year we had a group from America join us, which was brilliant, sharing where each of us is on our journey and learning from one another.

“This year we’re doing things differently too, we’re going to the four corners of Scotland with events in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Dumfries as a starting point.”

Scotland is often seen as leading on sustainability. Does it feel that way from your perspective?

“It can feel like that, but we work a lot with partners across England, Ireland and Wales and they’re often leading on different things. Ireland, for example, is really ahead on PassivHaus. Everyone is tackling net zero in different ways, and policy and practice varies hugely, which creates challenges. Collaboration is the key. We’re all trying to understand one another’s position and support each other to move forward rather than getting stuck when facing barriers.”

Who are BE-ST’s clients or stakeholders?

“It’s a real mix. We’re partly funded by the Scottish Funding Council, which connects to the policy side. We’re hosted by Edinburgh Napier University, so we have strong links with universities and R&D programmes. We also support industry, often partnering on bids, or supporting organisations with our marketing capability. Our stakeholders cover industry, academia and policy, and we often describe ourselves as a key communicator between those groups.”

Turning to Women in Property – congratulations on becoming Scotland’s Chair! How did you first get involved?

“BE-ST took a table at the annual dinner each year, and I went along expecting it to be a networking event. I’d never been to anything like it - especially not a construction-focused work event - and I loved it. Our CEO, Stephen Good, suggested I might want to get involved, so I spoke to the Chair on the night, Mairi Murray, and it grew from attending events to joining the committee.

“I initially joined to help with the events programme, then got more involved in schools outreach and the student awards. I’ve now been on the committee for four years.”

How quickly did you move into leadership roles within WiP?

“Very quickly! I took up the Junior Vice-Chair role two years ago, then Vice-Chair, and now Chair this year. I never thought I’d be Chair, honestly, I thought ‘there is no way I could do that.’ But I had support from my workplace and from the WiP community, and also at home, because it does take evenings and weekends, so your family needs to be on board too.

“And it’s a very female thing to assume you wouldn’t be good at it. Sometimes it only takes one person to say, ‘You can do that,’ and you start to believe it.”

What’s your theme for your year as Chair?

“My theme is ‘male allies,’ which might sound unusual for a women-focused community. But the reality is women currently only make up around 20% of leadership and board-level roles in the UK built environment and construction sector. We can’t make change without bringing men along with us.

“We also don’t want men to feel uncomfortable at our events. The goal isn’t a room full of women, or a room full of men - it’s everyone together, making space for everyone.”

How are you putting that theme into practice at events?

“For our key events - like the annual dinner, the student awards celebration and winter drinks - I’ve asked the committee to bring their own male ally: someone who has supported them in their career. For our upcoming event we have around 120 attendees and about 40% are male, which is brilliant.

“It also helps in workplaces where someone might need to justify their WiP membership to a male manager. If you bring them along and let them see what WiP is about, it doesn’t take long for them to understand the value.”

You mentioned the annual dinner, which our team took a table at this year and loved – for anyone that couldn’t be there, what was the evening like?

“It was our biggest dinner ever: 475 attendees. We also raised around £20,000 for charity, Chriss House - so that was fantastic.

“The theme was ‘sequins and success’ and the energy was incredible from start to finish. We were up dancing before the starters were even served, which threw the staff timing off a bit, but it shows the atmosphere. It didn’t feel like another corporate event; people were engaged and excited to be there.”

People have described your speech as particularly inspirational. What did you focus on?

“Part of it was about male allies, but a big part was also about my two charities for the year: miscarriage and menopause.

“I chose them because they have extreme effects on women, yet women are often expected to just carry on at work. It links back to male allies too - people being more aware of what may be happening in someone’s life and understanding how to support them.

“There is more conversation now around menopause, but miscarriage is still not really spoken about, even though it affects 1 in 4 women. I wanted to raise awareness, fundraise, and remind women they’re not alone.”

What response did you get after sharing those themes?

“I received lots of emails afterwards - from women, but also from men. Some said they didn’t know how to support their partners through miscarriage or menopause, or how to support colleagues. Just opening the door to the conversation made a real impact.”

You ended the evening with a quote, what was it, and why was it important?

“The quote was: ‘Don’t look down on anyone unless you’re helping them back up.’

“I wanted to encourage everyone: if you see someone being overlooked, marginalised, or belittled, don’t ignore it. Remember what it felt like early in your own career. One person stepping in can change someone’s path - and their confidence - completely.”

What do you hope to achieve during your 12-months as Chair?

“You can’t do everything in 12 months, and I’ve got big shoes to fill. But one goal is to keep the momentum going post-COVID - our membership is the highest it’s ever been, and we’ve sold out every event from January to now.

“I also want to support our committee - there are 23 of us - so people feel empowered to make decisions and keep pushing forward.

“And ultimately, if more people take that idea of helping others ‘back up’ into their workplaces and behaviours, that’s a real legacy. Women in Property often gives people confidence: confidence to ask for change, to try something new, to feel supported. If I can help open a few doors and encourage that, I’ll be proud.”

For someone keen to get involved, where should they start?

“Firstly, becoming a member is the main route, and it opens up lots of opportunities. We have three key focus areas:

“Events: We run around 70 a year comprising networking, CPD, site visits and more.

“Mentoring: You can be a mentor or mentee, and it’s UK-wide, so you can be matched with someone outside Scotland based on what will help you most.

“Schools outreach and student awards: We work with schools and academia to widen awareness and opportunities in the sector.

“Our events are open to both members and non-members, so if you see something online that interests you, come along. A committee member will always be there to chat. We also collaborate with organisations on events, sponsorships and site visits.”

The mentoring programme sounds particularly powerful. What makes it work?

“It’s intended to run for 12 months, but some people have continued their mentoring relationships for years because the match was so strong. Even a short regular call - 15 minutes - can make a huge difference when it’s someone outside your organisation who understands the industry and can offer perspective.

“And like becoming Chair, people sometimes think, ‘I couldn’t be a mentor, I don’t know enough.’ But once you’re matched, you realise how valuable your experience can be to someone else.”

Finally - what’s next for you personally, and how will you manage Chair responsibilities alongside becoming a parent for the first time?

“I’m currently eight months pregnant, due in June - this will be my first child. I wanted to continue as Chair through this period, with the support of BE-ST, WiP, and my husband. It felt right for me. Not everyone wants to do that, and that’s completely fine, but I didn’t want to lose myself during a time when everything changes.

“I’m also trying to be honest about the reality of pregnancy and what it takes. I didn’t appreciate how hard pregnancy itself can be - fatigue, brain fog, and having to stop being the ‘yes person.’ I’ve been sharing some of that openly, because it’s important. It’s also a reminder of what it’s like for women returning to the industry after maternity leave - things have changed, teams have changed, confidence can change.

“Practically, I have a strong support system. Our Vice-Chair and Junior Vice-Chair will step up, especially for the first couple of months, and I’ll come back in when needed. We’ll see how it goes - but I want to show that if it’s something you want to do, it is possible to keep contributing in a way that works for you.”

Find out more about WiP Scotland, and sign up for membership here.

AI: Intriguing or an essential part of creating memorable experience? is the question we posed to a stellar group of built environment professionals at our recent roundtable at Material Source Studio London, continuing our conversation on the hugely divisive topic of AI.

It’s clear that AI is already changing practice. Though this is not always in the ways we might first have expected. As has been mirrored during our events in Manchester on the topic of AI, this rapidly developing technology appears to be speeding up the obvious parts, complicating the human parts, and forcing the industry to re-justify where value really sits.

From assisting the architectural process itself - visualisation was identified as an area where AI has already made a significant impact – to creating complexities in the client/architect relationship - clients are increasingly providing AI-generated images as briefs, creating challenges around perceived value of architectural work, positives and negatives were equally raised during the discussion (touted as likely to appear “naive in just a few years” due to the rapid rate of AI development).

In terms of experience specifically, a report by Deloitte states, “AI can help enrich guest experiences while preserving the human touch, thus redefining luxury hospitality”. A sentiment that was, in part, mirrored by our group.

As session chair, David Smalley, Director, Material Source Studio framed it, the central question now is not whether AI is present (it is), but how it’s impacting the day-to-day of architecture and interior design professionals. And as for whether it’s simply intriguing, or an essential part of creating a memorable guest experience across stadia, workplaces, hospitality and mixed-use settings, the jury is still fully out. Read on for a detailed run-down of the commonalities and anomalies shared by our guests, based on their individual experience.

Our guests

Shifting sector landscapes

To begin, Session Chair, David Smalley asked, “Where do you expect the biggest AI shift to be happening – or where is it perhaps already happening?”

It’s most definitely happening came the response from the group.

“I expect it everywhere. The interesting question is maybe the timing of it - who gets affected at what times?” commented Maria Tam, Spatial Psychologist, Make Architects. “The visualisation process is the most obvious one in our field,” she added, referencing job cuts and a broader cultural sense that perhaps image-making has been devalued.

Nick Tyrer, Associate Director, BDP Pattern, added, “I’d almost go as far as saying the loss of visualisation teams has already happened. People aren’t fully caught up on it yet, but those jobs are gone.”

Though inside the apparent consensus, there was a crucial counterpoint from a design-and-build perspective. With two-to-three-week tender cycles, visuals aren’t simply “pretty pictures”, said Lorna Martyn, Visualisation Team Lead, Morgan Lovell – “they’re contractual and operational promises.”

“Our actual visuals are almost exactly what we would have on site. We have to produce photo real, very detailed visuals within two to three weeks.”

In this sector area, AI isn’t replacing the visualisation team; it’s changing their role. “We’re shifting towards more of them being in director roles,” Lorna argued - less render machine, more storytellers.

For Daniel Morgans, Director, Chapman Taylor, visualisation simply means communication. And that’s by any means. “I’d say the early stages are about communication. Someone comes to you to do something [the client], and then you communicate back what that is. That’s no different from a sketch, a model, an AI render, a CGI, a video. It’s just communication. And that’s already happened.”

This distinction between visualisation and narration matters, because the industry’s early AI adoption has been undeniably image heavy. Yet several people around the table hinted that the next major disruption won’t be in producing a seductive concept - rather it will be in what happens after the concept is agreed. In other words, let visualisers craft a narrative, and use AI for buildable, contractually robust, and legally defensible structures. That’s where the real value potential lies, suggested the group.

Client-cum-designer

If visualisation is now frictionless thanks to AI, client expectations are being reshaped in real time, sometimes before architects even enter the room, shared the group. Amalia Radasanu, Architectural Assistant, Chapman Taylor, described receiving AI imagery from clients as if it were a brief, a solution, or both. “Sometimes, when the client uses AI and you’re using AI as well, it can be tricky because there’s not much difference between the client and the architect. You need to juggle it and balance it well, set a boundary, and understand where communication between the AI, the client, and the architect stops and starts.”

"Where does communication between the AI, the client, and the architect stop and start?”

An increasing use of AI by clients is leading to this apparent devaluation in some areas of an architect’s skillset, Nick believes. Namely, image production. “They’re starting a project with the perception of that’s the value of an image. That it only takes seconds to produce.”

There’s also the issue of client authorship to contend with, warned the guests in unison, making it socially and politically difficult to critique what’s been generated. “You can’t go back and say, ‘This is just really cliché,’” Nick noted, because the client’s emotional investment has already hardened into a sense of ownership: “They feel ownership because they created it.”

The conversation moved on to ponder: if a client can generate something ‘good enough,’ what exactly are they paying for?

“The question becomes: what’s your value? If I can generate an image and you’re going to send me an image that’s similar, why are we paying you for three months’ work?...” Nick added.

The room’s collective answer was consistent, even when approaches differed - architects still deliver feasibility, safety, structure, performance, planning intelligence, operational reality, and the discipline to say no. The problem is that those values are potentially becoming harder to communicate than seductive 'marketing' imagery.

On the topic of imagery, when it comes to engineering, Stuart McHendry, Director, Scotch Partners, said that it’s important to work from a business case first, rather than idealistic visuals. “With refurbishment, you need to understand the requirement, then work from the business case into design rather than starting with a romantic image. We have to assess viability and then get engaged in thinking about what it might look like.”

Miguel Machado, Associate, John McAslan, described the growing danger of early-stage photorealism, “It fixes expectations too soon, and could force teams to ‘backfill' the details to match the image rather than allowing the design to develop.”

Brian Greathead, Founder, Manalo & White argued that clients still “want to be surprised and enlightened.

"Clients want something they wouldn’t have thought of themselves.”

And actually, “If the client is coming with a finished idea, they’re not going to use our creativity”, he added. In effect, if they don’t value the process, they perhaps wouldn’t have prior to the advent of AI anyway.

Beyond visuals

For several people around the table, the most immediate, practical AI impact in day-to-day work isn’t glamorous, they shared. It’s administrative, contractual, forensic. It’s also potentially adversarial.

“It’s only a matter of time before some massive legal cases because of architects, engineers, contractors delivering AI slop full of mistakes and issues,” Nick predicted. With meeting recordings, auto-minutes, and searchable transcripts, a project can become an evidence engine - useful for accountability, but also weaponisable, he commented.

At the same time, the group was realistic about why “agentic” automation of technical production isn’t fully here yet. Tools may promise drawing generation, but responsibility still sits with humans. And insurers, contracts, and courts will decide how far practice can safely lean on automated systems.

Miguel captured the looming question aptly, “When something goes wrong and the explanation is ‘It was generated by AI,’ what happens next?”

POE actuality

“AI’s impact on visualisation sounds as though it’s a given,” said David, “so where else is it impacting?”

Post-occupancy evaluation was raised. And if any topic ever feels as though it’s a ‘should’ rather than an ‘is,’ it’s this. AI promises easier behavioural mapping, performance monitoring, and smarter feedback loops, but the incentives clearly still don’t line up for the majority of clients.

Maria described how computer vision might one day support POE through “object detection models and segmentation,” enabling rapid mapping of movement and behaviour, yet admitted, “at the moment it’s very jumpy, you really have to train a particular set of data.”

Others argued the bigger barrier isn’t technical, it’s commercial and political. POE is the first thing cut, unless the client is committed from the start.

“It’s never implemented unless it’s very, very purposeful from the client, right from the start,” commented Brian.

“If the client representatives have been approving your design decisions, do they want a post-occupancy evaluation evaluating whether or not they’ve made the right decision?”, added Maria.

Plus, it’s not always clear which budget – whether OpEx or CapEx, Stuart said – that POE should be covered under. Similarly, building owners would be more invested in the idea than occupiers, he added.

While AI may reduce the cost of evaluation, it doesn’t automatically create the appetite.

Exacting experience

“Where is AI changing experience into something memorable?” David asked.

The response reflected hospitality as where the clearest tension lies. Hotels and restaurants are built on care, intuition and human exchange. AI can optimise systems, but can it create the feeling of being genuinely looked after?

“The danger is that hospitality is driven by human interaction. And so actually any move to remove humans from the system is inherently dangerous,” Brian warned.

"Any move to remove humans from the system is inherently dangerous."

From a spatial psychology lens, Maria explained why, “When you take away people’s sense of control they tend to try and re-exert that control and that creates a negative user experience.”

“In retail, that’s already happened,” suggested Stuart and Miguel. “We go in, we don’t speak to anyone, we use machines, beep the groceries, and go out in two minutes.”

That idea of control bridged multiple typologies. In an office, it’s temperature and meeting rooms. In retail, it’s self-checkout and the loss of assistance. In a hotel, it’s an interface nobody understands.

Yet the conversation also revealed the upswing of personalisation. The example of a high-end bank raised by Nick was described to have achieved a frictionless welcome: recognition, preference memory, drinks ready.

In theory, hotels could do the same. In reality though, the guests collectively recoiled at how quickly ‘personal’ can become ‘creepy.’

And this didn’t just come down to a moral or emotional concern; it’s a design concern. The whole point of travel, hospitality, and culture-led environments is “discovery”. Over-optimisation can kill that aforementioned element of surprise and delight.

Analogue will be favoured once again, believe Daniel and Brian. Records were brought up as an example. Miguel spoke of craftsmanship and a return to the value of human skill.

AI will drive a bifurcation in experiences, Brian believes, with cost-effective automated experiences at budget level (for high street chains of hotel), and premium human-interaction experiences at the luxury end. "Perhaps we will pay more for human interaction," suggested Miguel.

In hospitality settings, “You still want to be able to go to the restaurant and go, ‘I don’t know what I want. Surprise me.’ And actually, AI is no good for that,” Brian said – “the backlash is here.”

"The backlash is here.”

At the far edge of possibility, the most radical ‘experience’ scenario discussed wasn’t a smarter room, it was augmented perception. Imagine wearables that let a guest override the environment, “If this was a red chair and I find that really intense, I could segment that out in real time and it will appear, to me, to be blue,” Maria shared.

But of course, there is a trade-off here. If everyone experiences a space differently, what happens to shared reality, especially in public venues designed to bring people together?

Identity, aesthetic & scale

When considering experience, nowhere is this more evident than at a stadium. David asked, “How is AI helping you create stadiums that make memorable, joyful experiences?”

“In general, there are two streams”, replied Nick. “One is identity and aesthetic. Every club has an identity they want to portray - how it represents them and their fans - and they want something different to their neighbours. That’s a poster a kid puts on their bedroom wall: something unique.

“Then there’s the experience at scale. You’re designing a building for 50,000 people to inhabit at once. There’s safety, crowd flow, but you’re dealing with data: how do you guarantee the right sightlines, manage the design so 50,000 people are safe and enjoying themselves, get the best view, without making the building too big?”

With AI now used in the design of stadia, what used to be linear becomes recursive: “AI speeds things up, but it also makes analysis more live. Previously you’d build it virtually and get it analysed as a separate step; now turnaround between adjusting and seeing results is simpler. So you make better-informed decisions at the right time, rather than picking it up later.”

This is where AI begins to feel essential, not because it invents the idea, but because it helps teams see consequences sooner, and coordinate complexity with less waste.

The broader point that experience isn’t only inside the stadium was also raised. It starts days before, when fans plan travel, hotels, routes, upgrades, food, and rituals. The building is the host, but the ecosystem is the event.

If AI becomes the layer that stitches together planning, travel, ticketing, wayfinding and service, then “experience design” becomes partly digital, and partly about protecting what must remain human.

Dopamine & dependency

As if often the case with AI, underneath the professional debate ran a personal one – namely, around how AI changes they way we think.

Brian described using ChatGPT in a contractual dispute and discovering “the essentially sycophantic nature of ChatGPT,” which kept reinforcing confidence.

The danger wasn’t misinformation, it was behavioural: a loop of reassurance, escalation, and dependence. “It also gives you a dopamine hit, it’s inherently addictive,” Brian added. A sentiment raised by Dr Phil Tetlow, panellist at the previous weeks’ seminar in London on the topic of AI.

This tied into a bigger worry about education and the profession’s future. If early-career designers don’t do the “repetitive” work where judgment is built, how do they become the decision-makers later?

“The real question is not whether AI will design buildings - it’s whether people will still remember how to.”

“I’m concerned about this hollowing out process without the opportunity to learn,” Maria commented.

A particularly poignant thought was shared by Lorna, “The real question is not whether AI will design buildings - it’s whether people will still remember how to.”

Quietly becoming essential

“So, is AI intriguing or essential for creating memorable experience?” David asked, bringing the conversation back full-circle.

The guests didn’t offer a simple verdict, but came up with something more useful.

AI is already essential in the background - speeding communication, compressing feedback loops, scanning complexity, and supporting operational performance. But in the foreground, where emotion, surprise, care and authenticity live, AI is at risk of flattening the very qualities designers are paid to create.

Perhaps the real design task now is not adopting AI wholesale, but deciding - project by project - where automation improves experience (less friction, more clarity, better performance), and where it destroys it (less control, less humanity, less surprise and delight).

Bringing the session to a close, Nick said, “This technology didn’t exist five years ago… and by all accounts we’re still accelerating. We’ll likely look back on today’s debate as naive…”

Just as the motorcar industry did to The Pony Express. Just as the inventor of the electronic word processor did to Underwood. Just as Industrialisation did to Agriculture. Our journey continues.

A huge thanks to all our guests for their insight shared, and to our supporter for this event, Brita Group - Partner at Material Source Studio London.

The conversation continues in Glasgow on 3 June with our seminar: AI: Destroyer or creator? Get your ticket here.

Top takeaways at a glance

• Visualisation was identified as an area where AI has already made a significant impact.

• Clients are increasingly providing AI-generated images as briefs, creating challenges around perceived value of architectural work and, in some cases, blurring boundaries between client and architect roles.

• The use of physical sketching or AI-generated sketches is being employed to psychologically convey that designs are not yet fixed.

• A prediction was made that AI will drive a bifurcation in experiences: cost-effective automated experiences at budget level, and premium human-interaction experiences at the luxury end.

• The question of whether architects will still remember how to design without AI was raised as a key long-term concern for the profession.

• The pace of AI development means that current conversations may seem naive in just a few years, with the technology still accelerating rapidly.

When you visit Material Source Studio in Manchester, Glasgow and London, you can explore flooring options from 6 world-class brands.

From real wood flooring to linoleum, marmoleum, vinyl & LVT, carpet and rugs, you'll find ranges suitable for any and every commercial interior project, under one roof and all year round.

Our flooring brand Partners are:

• Atkinson & Kirby - Glasgow
• Forbo Flooring Systems - Manchester, Glasgow, London
• Karndean Commercial - Manchester, Glasgow
• Milliken - Manchester, Glasgow
• Nesite Access Flooring (Parkside) - Manchester, Glasgow, London
• Russwood - Glasgow

On visiting our Studios, you can gather both inspiration and information, through dedicated PODs with hundreds of takeaway samples, plus the brands' newest flooring collections used in our real-world Studio settings, including our co-working hubs - designed specifically to aid you as interior designers, architects and property professionals in your specification journey.

Take a closer look at our flooring Partners below, and visit Material Source Studio Manchester, Glasgow and London to experience their ranges in-person. Once you've checked in at 1 of our Studios you're a Member of all 3 - they are free and open to the architecture and interior design community 5-days a week, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

Atkinson & Kirby

Atkinson & Kirby is a leader in hardwood flooring, supplying the highest quality sustainable floors to projects around the world.

Established in 1903, Atkinson & Kirby’s flooring collections have been expertly curated following the latest design trends, providing a variety of flooring options to suit every project.

They hold an extensive list of environmental and sustainable accreditations, and are able to source high quality sustainable timbers to craft their floors.

Atkinson & Kirby’s dedicated Specification Team work directly with architects, designers and contractors, offering a bespoke flooring service tailored to the client’s individual requirements and specification.

Partners in Glasgow

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Forbo Flooring Systems

As the leading global manufacturer of flooring solutions, Forbo prides itself on offering a truly comprehensive product portfolio with leading-edge products, specifically designed to cater for every area of a project.

Ever since the company began making floor coverings, starting with linoleum more than 150 years ago, the commitment has always been the same: to create better environments in all the spaces in which people, work, live, interact, relax, heal, learn and play.

From entrance to exit, whether new build or refurbishment, Forbo’s integrated flooring portfolio can help specifiers, interior designers and facilities managers to create beautiful and inspiring - yet functional - interiors. Its dedicated and passionate team can work with you to choose the right flooring solutions for your project.

Partners in Manchester, Glasgow, London

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Karndean Commercial

At Karndean, the team "sees flooring differently". They travel the world in an ongoing quest to deliver exceptional floors that inspire and delight.

From the ancient forests of Europe, to the remote Australian outback and beyond, Karndean seeks out expressive and intriguing forms in the natural world to influence its unique floor designs.

By combining these original features with cutting edge design, Karndean creates simply beautiful floors that bring your vision to life.

"We take our clients on an endless journey of design discovery."

Partners in Manchester and Glasgow

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Milliken

Milliken is a leading designer and manufacturer of floor coverings as functional and sustainable as they are inspiring and original; designed and made from their award-winning design studios and manufacturing facilities in Wigan.

Milliken creates a full range of beautiful and considered floor coverings, from carpet tiles and luxury vinyl tiles through to entrance flooring solutions providing a one-stop-shop for the latest in design-led flooring.

All Milliken’s flooring products are carbon neutral everywhere in the world.

Partners in Manchester and Glasgow

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Nesite Access Flooring (Parkside)

A raised floor - also called a floating floor - is a dry flooring system made up of modular panels supported by a galvanised steel framework.

This creates an elevated, accessible floor with a technical zone underfloor designed to discreetly accommodate essential building services - such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), electrical, and data networks - ensuring flexibility for complex commercial environments like offices, data centres, hospitality venues, airports, and retail spaces.

Whether your priority is visual impact or functional flexibility, Parkside Architectural Tiles' Nesite Raised Access Flooring delivers a solution that adapts to every design vision.

Partners in Manchester, Glasgow, London

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Russwood

Russwood has been helping customers achieve design excellence in the built environment since 1990. Based in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, with a team in Glasgow’s Merchant City, it is a trusted UK supplier of high-quality, sustainable timber cladding, decking, flooring, and interior cladding products.

Its ethos is built on quality, expertise, innovation, environmental responsibility, and community.

Combining unrivalled technical knowledge with exceptional customer service to support architects, designers, and contractors, Russwood can bring your vision to life. By offering durable, high-performance timber products sourced with sustainability in mind, Russwood aims to create beautiful, lasting spaces while minimising its impact on the planet.

Partners in Glasgow

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Become a Member of Material Source Studio

Tipping Point East (TPE) is a circular construction hub based in Silvertown, Newham, East London.

A charity founded by three organisations: Material Cultures, RESOLVE Collective, and Yes Make - each bringing different but complementary expertise in design, research, education, and community-based construction, TPE signifies a refreshing, practical approach to reuse, tying in perfectly with the City of London's 'retrofit first' policy.

The site is home to a material yard, a reused materials store, training workshops, office space, and a growing programme of courses and knowledge exchange. The ambition, supported by the Mayor of London and Newham, is for it to become Europe's largest circular construction hub: a place where the theory of the circular economy meets real practice.

Having recently visited for a tour and a catch up with those involved, Abbie La Rooy, Material & Product Advisor, Material Source Studio London was keen to share the unique narrative of how TPE came to be, how as sector professionals we can get involved, and where it's headed next. In the conversations to follow, each of the organisations tells their portion of the story in their own words.

Purposeful inception

Why now?

"Construction and demolition generate 65% of the UK's waste, and the built environment as a whole accounts for around 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the shift to circular practices has been slow – not for lack of will, but through lack of infrastructure. There was nowhere to reliably source, test, certify, or learn to work with reclaimed materials at scale.

"The three founding organisations of TPE had each hit that wall independently in their own work: operating at the margins of what's possible without a shared base, shared resources, and the kind of footprint that makes circular construction viable at volume. No single organisation could take on a site of this scale alone. With strong existing relationships between the three partner organisations, joining forces was the natural move, and it's what made securing the Silvertown site in the Royal Docks possible.

"TPE is Material Cultures’, RESOLVE’s and Yes Make’s answer to that missing infrastructure: a place that makes circular construction practically viable, not just desirable. There's a strong local dimension to this too: Newham is one of London's most under-resourced boroughs when it comes to well-paid, local employment, and the green skills transition represents a genuine opportunity to change that."

Who's it for?

"TPE is genuinely broad in its reach. At the local level, it's for Newham residents offering training, volunteering, and access to well-paid skilled work in a growing sector. For the construction industry, it's a resource for sourcing and learning to use reclaimed materials. For architects, designers, and developers, it's a place to test ideas and access knowledge. For schools, universities, and researchers, it's a collaborative partner in education and study. Cultural institutions are already engaged as materials partners. And for policymakers, it's an evidence-based demonstrator of what a circular economy can actually look like in practice."

What's the initial response been?

"Strong and positive, from a wide range of directions. The founding organisations already have significant networks across the design and built environment sectors in particular, and more broadly connections across public institutions, philanthropy, and academia. Those relationships have translated into real early momentum.

"During the launch week that started 2 March, we were hearing from friends in the sector that we were the 'talk of the town'. That week we toured around at least 450 people, and that was before we even officially moved our offices in on 8 April. The launch week led to 40 requests for site visits, with the construction and development sectors being particularly keen to see the operations." All very reassuring, indeed.

Material Cultures

How did designing a space that you knew you’d be working in change your approach (if at all)?

"It gave us a kind of freedom we don't usually have. When you're designing for yourself, you can take on more risk: there's no client to convince, no lengthy approval process before you try something new. So we used it as an opportunity to really push what's possible with bio-circular materials, to test combinations and details that we hadn't tried before. It also meant the relationship between design and build was unusually close, with the Material Cultures and Yes Make teams working side by side throughout, making decisions together on site as materials arrived or unexpected challenges came up."

Can you talk us through where the materials used in the build were sourced from?

"The wall linings are a good place to start: we used three different types of bio-board that we had originally used in the Thirst exhibition at the Wellcome Collection, and which came back to us after the show was taken down. The first is a Wetland and Wheat fibreboard made by a German company called Zelfo.

"It uses innovative technology to bind the boards through a chemical-free process: the fibres are broken down at a microscopic level so they bind through compression alone, and the material is fully bioregenerative. The second is a strawboard, also German, which uses mineral binders rather than the synthetic adhesives you'd find in something like MDF. It’s made by Strohplattenwerk Müritz. And the third is a hemp board made by the Loam Project here in the UK. Hemp matures in a hundred days, needs no pesticides, and these particular boards are bound with agricultural waste sugar resin, which lightens over time like timber does.

"Beyond the bio-boards, the CLT panels came from a floor slab stripped out of 36-38 Berkeley Square in West London, and the glazing was salvaged from an office strip-out at G&G House, where we were able to reuse bespoke secondary glazed windows that would otherwise have gone to waste."

In general, what are the biggest challenges when specifying bio-based and reused materials on projects?

"Perceptions play a big part.

"With bio-based materials specifically, seasonality is something you have to consider early on in the project. With plant-based products, supply isn't always steady, and early engagement with manufacturers is key.

"There are widespread assumptions about what bio-circular materials can and can't do, and much of the work we do at the start of a project is to challenge misconceptions and explain the approaches to everyone from clients to contractors.

"Then there's detailing: making sure bio-based materials are specified appropriately within building regulations, which tend to be written around very different types of materials. With reuse, it also comes down to having the right design team to engage with materials confidently and adapt the workflow to allow designs to adapt to the materials that are actually available."

Are clients more receptive to using them now compared to say 5-years’ ago?

"Definitely. The awareness is growing around bio-based and circular materials, and there’s also more awareness around the toxicity of conventional materials that are now commonly used in building our homes, and which release compounds like VOCs. But there’s still some way to go in making bio-based and circular materials the default option for the construction industry, and that’s what we’re working towards."

Resolve Collective

How do you plan to collaborate with the communities local to TPE?

"Our practice is built around working translocally, ensuring we build relationships with communities and practices supporting local people and valuing knowledge in their place. This will continue in our work in Newham!

"More specifically, our major offer at Tipping Point East is Material Store, a circular infrastructure that turns cultural sector waste into community assets. Here we are growing a community around material circularity by developing a membership programme that offers access to space, material and knowledge. This will be discounted for Newham communities and our programming will ensure to face the needs of Newham's local communities and the organisation that support them."

Are there any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

"One of the most exciting things about Material Store is it serves as an infrastructure platform for creative organisation locally and across the city, to allow them to weave in circular principles into their pre-existing community focused practice. Through this channel we are lining up to support some amazing projects with material and design support over the summer.

"This includes an ambulant library design and build with Assets of Community Value (ACV) Magazine and publication SKIN DEEP for the launch of their new seasons, as well as a series of sound system builds and workshops with youth centres across the country in collaboration with musician and community organiser Eerf Evil. We are also the material partner for the upcoming Free Books Campaign in July which will involve designing and installing a series of structures to host a weekend of activities and events for the Campaign."

You describe your collective as ‘interdisciplinary’, could you explain what this means?

"There is a practical and poetic meaning to this. On a practical sense, our team do not all come from the same discipline and it has been that way since our conception in 2016. It means that our relationship to ‘disciplines’ or ‘fields’ is unrestricted. Building on this as perhaps more existential, we tend to move in between disciplines in order to support our communities and meet our mission, this extends beyond architecture, art and those named in the introduction.

"We learn from existing fields and aspire to push new possibilities, finding comfort in the spaces in between and outside of."

"This allows us to understand and interrogate the broader systems and structures that shape our realities."

How do you find balancing working with institutions, like the V&A, whilst maintaining a radical and critical approach?

"There are many roles to play in enacting positive change and because of the time and conditions we emerged in, creative institutions became a potential site for our interrogations and interventions. By and large, they were and continue to be sites for experimentation but the grand ambition of the practice wasn’t centred around recognition by or reform of these institutions. It means we are able to focus on the potential of these collaborations without centring their ambitions.

"Institutions like the V&A are often sites that have hosted an iteration of our emerging infrastructures or a manifestation of our methodology; however the relationship has evolved and shifted with our evolution as a practice. For example, many of the institutions we used to build spaces in and platform our communities through are now material resources for our own community facing, circular infrastructure.

"Finally, whether inside or outside of the institution we ensure the message stays consistent and the way our practice is shaped and the way we turn toward the communities we support remains the same."

Yes Make

When working with reclaimed materials, what are the biggest challenges in collaborating with the various stakeholders?

"The challenges are different depending on if we are recovering materials from them or if we are supplying materials to them. Generally we take the majority of materials from major developments (where the London Plan requires Circular Economy Statements) and supply them into smaller projects & structures that do not have the same level of compliance requirements for the materials used.

"Recovering Materials: This is a very smooth workflow for us having been doing this for a number of years. The main challenges are around getting developers and contractors to plan material recovery pre-tender/pre-contract when they are establishing a project as opposed to last minute calls when they are on-site and need large volumes of materials gone immediately. Default practices are very much a 'just in time' exercise where you get everything onto the floor, cut it up into wheelie bins and order a skip to throw it in.

"Recovering materials requires different equipment and handling practices (not wheelie bins). We need to make sure that contractors have all of the stacking, racking, packing and protection materials to ensure their team has everything they need upfront. Done correctly this is more efficient and cost effective than conventional methods of cutting materials into wheelie bins and skipping them. All contractors have a fleet of wheelie bins.

"Supplying materials: This is a longer burn regulatory piece for the major development scale of project. Currently we supply predominantly into smaller projects and structures and not into major developments or buildings over 18m in height that have a much higher regulatory burden.

"Whilst we supply materials into smaller projects we are working through the material categories below to resolve the regulatory requirements to enable their use at all scales of construction. We have prioritised the highest impact materials - (embodied carbon x volume arising / complexity). Please note this list excludes timber, steel and other material categories that have established processes for reuse.

• Internal glazed partitions
• Lighting and electrical components
• Sanitary ware
• Internal doors (excluding fire doors)
• Internal fire doors
• External doors
• External windows."

How can the construction industry change the way they build to best preserve materials for future projects/secondary use?

"As there are many I’ll share as a list;

• Remove/reduce the use of wet or hot applied sealants (silicon/mastik, butyl seals) in favour of dry sealing methods that use compression and materials like expanded neoprene to achieve an equivalent seal without contaminating the material

• Lift size is the biggest factor currently in whether or not large items such as glazing, doors, furniture etc… are reusable. Designing with lift access as a constraint not only opens up much more reuse opportunity it also makes for a much more efficient process of construction and deconstruction where material does not need to be craned and manually handled up and down stairs. In practice this means constraining the module size of fit out materials or recognising the sustainability benefits of larger lifts.

• Transitioning from waste management plans to material recovery plans as the dominant way in which materials arising from demolition are considered. This is a very different thought process and will help to enable greater consideration of reuse at the earliest stage in a project.

• Design for disassembly and ease of replaceable components definitely needed

• Material passporting for materials going into new projects also necessary for ease of tracking material histories."

How will the space and resources at Tipping Point East change the way Yes Make can work/scale up?

"Prior to Tipping Point East we were working from a tiny workshop in a community garden in south east London. Our space and operating constraints meant that we could only take a tiny percentage of solid timber, almost certainly less than 0.5% of everything we were being offered. In numbers this would look like a ton or two every couple of months.

"Not only have we recovered hundreds of tons of materials that would go for landfill or incineration but we now have complete buildings worth of materials that we are now using to design and build carbon negative buildings."

"We now work across timber, doors, glazing, insulation, masonry, sanitary ware, electrical components with weeks where we will handle 50+ tons of materials without blinking."

Can you share any plans that our audience of architects, interior designers and property professionals can get involved in?

"Right now we are building out the capacity of our yard and factory with a view to launching our full service offer in early summer this year so watch this space!

"We are developing a self-service backend on our website that will allow full public access to get immediate answers on available materials, recovering materials to us, costs, support and guidance on reusing different material categories and support to access the wider reuse network so that teams can have a one-stop shop to resolve circularity for their projects.

"We are developing a range of CPD offers that practices can draw on to deepen their ability to deliver material led design projects for new schemes and how to develop a material recovery plan where projects involve deconstruction and material removal."

Tipping Point East is located at 10 Charles Street, Silvertown, London, E16 2BY. For more information visit tippingpointeast.com, and check out the FAQs for direct contact info to TPE's operating partners to access materials, programmes and services.

A photographic exhibition is taking place throughout June 2026 to showcase how Manchester has evolved throughout the three decades since the IRA bombing.

‘Manchester then and now’ coincides with the incident’s 30th anniversary and will feature rare archival images of Manchester with contemporary photographs of the same location years later.

Developed by Euan Kellie Property Solutions in collaboration with Luma Marketing and us as exhibition hosts, Material Source Studio Manchester, the month-long event serves as a striking visual narrative of resilience, regeneration and architectural evolution.

Key shots chart the immediate impact of the bomb and the city’s recovery, while other views show the ripple effects of the city’s regeneration.

The exhibition will kick-off with a launch event on 3 June 2026, with keynote speaker, Tom Stannard, chief executive at Manchester City Council, before opening to the public from 4-30 June with events taking place throughout.

Reflecting on recovery, resilience and what’s ahead, these events will examine the challenges that followed the devastation and the key ingredients that enabled Manchester’s transformation into one of the UK’s most dynamic and resilient cities.

Examining how the built environment sector can help shape a city that is adaptable, inclusive and resilient, ready to meet the challenges of the next 30 years, the events will feature input from a range of spokespeople. These include longstanding leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, Rachel Haugh from SimpsonHaugh, Nick Russell from Salboy and Jessica Bowles from Bruntwood SciTech.

Euan Kellie, founding director of Euan Kellie Property Solutions, has captured a lot of the exhibition’s modern-day photography personally, much of which has featured in his popular ‘Flashback Friday’ LinkedIn posts.

“Over the past decade or more, Manchester has changed at a pace that would have been hard to imagine in the past. The city centre has expanded in every direction. Entire neighbourhoods have been redefined and the transformations keep coming.

“Some parts of the city are completely unrecognisable versus how they were in 1996 and there are some stellar examples of regeneration that have come off the back of a truly devastating event.

“At times, it’s hard to remember the way things were and this exhibition will provide a platform for reflection, discussion and celebration of what the city has both achieved, plus what it’s got in store for future generations," said Euan Kellie.

Featuring 30 ‘then and now’ images of Manchester, the photographic exhibition will showcase landmark views from across Manchester, including Rolling Street (Middlewood Locks), Princess Road and Great Jackson Street (Deansgate Square).

Visit the exhibition from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, at Material Source Studio, 1 Federation Street, Manchester, M4 4BF, from 4-30 June 2026. No booking required.

When we think about the secret sauce in the hospitality destinations we all love, what ingredients might it include? These spaces that spark joy and feel instinctively welcoming. For Adam Storey, founder and creative director of S+Co, it’s an orchestra of small details, a combination of ingredients, that - when blended - seem effortless.

Scottish born creative agency, S+Co crafts extraordinary experiential destinations to eat, drink and play. Embedding brand narrative into architecture and interiors, the team are passionate about storytelling that transcends traditional interior design.

So, how do you craft spaces that move people? The answer lies in the material choices, Adam shares. Materials are vehicles to tell stories. Providing sensory triggers throughout a space - from the heritage warehouse details of the Northern Quarter referenced in Manchester’s Great Northern Market, to the clay plasters and curved forms that make Holon in Glasgow’s West End. For S+Co, materials do more than finish a space - they anchor its emotional narrative.

Yet behind the effortlessness of a well loved space lies engineered precision. Guest flow, operations and atmosphere must work in choreography between emotion and logistics, storytelling and staff interaction. The experience must always come first, but it collapses if the space doesn’t function seamlessly.

Unsurprisingly, the practice has been shortlisted in five categories at this year’s Scottish Design Awards. Amongst those shortlisted include Old Town Chambers, Autograph Collection, which received a Craft nomination for the thoughtful evolution of its hotel brand. This project combines storytelling, graphic design and local craftsmanship to deliver a distinctive sense of place.

Referencing projects like Elvis Evolution and Edinburgh's much loved Little Capo in the conversation that follows, Adam breaks down how S+Co set out to design hospitality spaces that people genuinely connect with, and, crucially, remember.

To kick off, can you please introduce us to S+Co?

“S+Co is a creative agency working across brands, experiences and spaces. At the heart of our practice is the proposition piece of how we bring an experience to life and embed it into brand narrative and the interior architecture of a project.

“Another way that we often describe ourselves is that we create extraordinary experiences to eat, drink and play. That sense of playfulness and immersion is important to us. We’re interested in storytelling that transcends traditional interior design - environments that feel experiential rather than decorative.”

You’re predominantly based in Edinburgh, but have just set up a studio in London?

“Although we’re based in Edinburgh, some of the more dynamic projects we’ve worked on over the years are based across the UK, and particularly in London. We recognised the need to have a wider presence down there, coupled with the ability to service projects from a London base with ease. It has enabled us to connect with ambitious, forward-thinking clients on a national scale.”

Designing through an emotional lens

At S+Co you talk about approaching each project through an emotional lens. What constitutes a truly emotive space? And how do you access that lens at the start of a project?

“There’s a primitive, human reaction we all carry when we’ve seen something that moves us. When we connect with a piece of art or architecture, there’s often a reaction we can’t fully explain - to do with perspective, form and atmosphere.

“In hospitality especially, there are a combination of factors that come together to make that place feel special. It’s an orchestra of many small details: light levels, temperature, the sounds you hear, the things you touch, the smells, the way the staff welcome and interact with you, and how the space speaks to you. All of these small, incremental factors shape an emotional response to a space, whether it be relaxed, energised or excited.

“Designing an experience means carefully considering the customer journey: from arrival to departure, and every emotional transition in between. This is accentuated when designing immersive environments at scale. Our projects balance immersive theatre and storytelling with functional hospitality.”

How do you collaborate with clients to define and execute its signature brand experience?

"We’ve just finished a brand repositioning project for an Edinburgh hotel becoming part of the Marriott Portfolio. To meet Marriott Autograph Collection standards, the property’s brand narrative needed to permeate through every brand DNA touch point, from stationery and website, to the room experience and the hospitality offering.

“For Elvis Evolution, we set out to design hospitality spaces for the experience that continued to tell the story amongst the live theatre. When working on projects like this one - we’re working with what we call ‘In world IP’ - taking people into that world of superfans. The subtleties and touch points in that space need to feel authentic for the experience to be believable, and consequently a more intensively immersive space.

"When designing spaces to eat, drink and play for immersive theatre or entertainment, storytelling becomes paramount. You’re transporting people into a world that already exists in their imagination. Every detail must feel intentional.

“Whether we’re talking about a traditional hospitality project, or immersive theatre - every design project should be experiential. At S+Co, this is how we have always approached our projects, customer experience underpins everything.”

Storytelling through materials

Can you tell us about how you approach material choices at S+Co?

“Materiality is key to storytelling. I think it goes back to how people respond and think about certain materials. There are traditions and stereotypes interwoven into them, as well as cultural associations and nostalgia tied to certain materials.

“The Great Northern Market at Manchester Airport is inspired by the Northern Quarter’s heritage warehouse buildings and its vibrant street art culture. We reference the crittall windows and warehouse-style proportions alongside a vibrant colour palette and backlighting reminiscent of the city’s streets. This vibrancy draws you into the space through a long corridor and into a lively dining environment.

"It's the places that we love the most that feel like they haven’t been “overdesigned.” Instead they feel effortless. Designing for the senses is getting this harmony right. It’s like the flavours of a good meal."

“Another project we’ve worked on that champions materials as storytellers is Holon - a wellness centre in the heart of Glasgow’s West End. Designed to guide clients towards full health, we thought critically about how materials could emulate this feeling of optimisation and wellbeing. Clay plaster finishes soften the space, cork walls and flooring provide warmth to the touch, and curved forms symbolically call to the idea whole health. The metallic detailing nods to performance optimisation, while rounded forms evoke a sense of calm.”

Experience vs function: finding the balance

How do you consider all the senses when crafting a space?

“Little Capo is one of those projects that has all the right ingredients. Edinburgh's most popular new restaurant opening, this is a vibrant spot known for its Italian-inspired small plates menu and an undeniably energetic atmosphere. The design isn’t overbearing. It works in harmony with other factors. The food is exceptional, the drinks are crafted with care, the light levels on the bar are just right, and music feels effortlessly in keeping with the space. How the staff interact with you completes the atmosphere. That’s the magic of hospitality right there!

"It's the places that we love the most that feel like they haven’t been “overdesigned.” Instead they feel effortless. Designing for the senses for us, is getting this harmony right. It’s like the flavours of a good meal.

"When guests share a space enthusiastically and sincerely, that’s the true measure of emotional impact."

“The strongest projects come from total alignment - where vision, trust and collaboration exist from the outset between client and designer to deliver that perfectly balanced space. Designers can deliver the environment, but the client’s operational delivery of that space to the customer completes the experience.”

“At S+Co, we’re not divas that go away and come back with this big bold statement of a design proposal. We really like to get under the bonnet of our client’s DNA - that’s the first phase of design. Little Capo is a good example of a strong brand and interior concept that was delivered on a very small budget, but feels authentic, and human.”

Can we talk about functionality vs experience within hospitality? How do you map a guest’s journey?

“When designing hospitality destinations for immersive environments such as Elvis Evolution, practical hospitality and theatre had to function as one. There was a natural friction for ground with six show spaces, three of those being bars and restaurants.

“We came in as hospitality consultants to help shape the look and feel, but also figure out how to get these spaces to function appropriately - juggling architectural FAR (Floor Area Ratio) strategy with food and drink operations. This meant balancing: food and drink service for 180 guests, timed transitions between rooms, and seamless spatial choreography. It had to feel effortless - even though operationally it was complex.

“Immersive work requires precision. It means managing guest flow, and designing for movement - very much like an airline boarding sequence - and ensuring that guests can order, eat and move comfortably within these tightly timed rotations. The experience must always come first. But the experience is broken if the space doesn’t operate functionally.”

How does S+Co as a team ensure it is nailing guest experience across all brand touch points?

“We focus on both brand and architecture. Within our team are architects that think with an open minded perspective. Similarly, the brand team aren’t just thinking about the graphics, they’re considering the brand experience and touch points throughout a guest’s journey. These constant conversations between technical architectural delivery and brand experience shape our holistic approach to experiential spaces.

“Like any team, diversity is the most important thing here. We want the strengths of someone that is more technical working alongside those focused on colour and material. The S+Co style is more of an attitude than a set aesthetic.”

The future of hospitality

Beyond revenue and footfall, how do you as a team measure the success of that experiential project?

“Beyond commercial performance, there is definitely a sweet spot when it feels good in the creation. It's the chemistry between the client's vision and the team that has delivered the project being in complete alignment.

“In terms of measuring the output from a guest’s perspective, it’s people organically sharing their experience. This could be social media engagement that feels authentic, or honest word of mouth around the city. We’re not interested in creating gimmicky ‘Instagram moments.’ When guests share a space enthusiastically and sincerely, that’s the true measure of emotional impact.”

What does the future of hospitality look like to you?

“Hospitality is shifting. We’re seeing increasing demand for wellness and optimisation-led experiences - spaces that consider environmental, social, and elemental factors. Elemental being a space’s connection to nature. These factors can be the ingredients of the food and drink coupled with the ingredients in that scheme’s interior palette.

“How people work, play, live, and exercise is evolving. We’re seeing growth in alcohol-light or alcohol-free social spaces for people that still want to come together to connect. People want connection, but they also want balance.

"The most meaningful work comes from empathy - understanding how others think, feel and move through a space."

“We’re in the very early stages of developing a project at London Fields which will be a co-working, creative space with galleries and lounges. It will be a multi-functional, day-to-night environment which considers fitness and wellbeing.

With food and drink on multiple levels, this elevated street food destination offers goods from independent, local vendors alongside events and music. Across its four-floors, London Fields will provide spaces for people to work, play, eat and socialise in a single day.”

What piece of advice would you give to emerging designers on how to create purposeful spaces that emotionally resonate?

“Personally, I’ve always followed what I’m passionate about. I’d urge designers to consider what personal drivers of your own you can bring in. Know your niche and work out how to make it meaningful to others. The most meaningful work comes from empathy - understanding how others think, feel and move through a space.

“In short, emerging designers should follow what genuinely excites them, understand their “why”, look beyond trends, and most importantly, stay curious. Good design is psychological. It’s about imagining yourself in someone else’s shoes - across different demographics, abilities and backgrounds - and designing with compassion.”

What’s next for S+Co?

"What’s next for us is an exciting period of expansion across hotel and place-led projects. We’re currently shaping two new hotel brands from the ground up, applying our 360° approach. Bringing brand, interiors and architecture together, to create cohesive and memorable guest experiences.

"We’ve also recently begun work on the interiors for the transformation of Edinburgh’s Royal High School into Scotland’s National Centre for Music - a landmark cultural project that offers the opportunity to reimagine a historic building as a world-class destination for performance, rehearsal and public engagement.

"Alongside our client work, we also design and build our own cabins through Corr Cabins - an independent venture that is entering a new phase of growth as the global hospitality industry shifts towards more modular, wellness-focused forms of accommodation.

"Rooted in Scotland and crafted in Scottish timber, Corr Cabins responds to increasing demand for places that feel more connected to landscape, slower in rhythm, and more meaningful in experience. It is gaining international interest as a luxury product that can be delivered to remote parts of the world, and we’ve been working on projects all over the place - from French vineyards, to Hebridean distilleries.

"Across everything we do, the focus remains the same: shaping environments that go beyond aesthetics - influencing how people feel, how they connect with place, and how those moments stay with them.”

For our seminar event at Material Source Studio London, part of our Clerkenwell Design Week programme of activity, we put the spotlight on a topic we’ve been passionate about since the inception of Material Source 8-years ago.

Panellists: Hannah Elisabeth Jones, Material Inventor, PhD Candidate; James Lawrence, EU Product Development Leader, Gensler; Ian Hunter, Material Researcher, Materials Council; Paula Camiña Eiras, Founder, Co-Obradoiro, joined session host, Material Source Studio Director, David Smalley, to discuss future materials and the challenges of specifying them.

While the challenges are clearly plentiful, and in some cases, prevalent, there were plenty of hopeful statements and an underlying sentiment that our sector is moving in the right direction.

The challenges of specification

To begin, David asked the panel, “What’s the biggest challenge to getting future materials specified?”

The first challenge, Hannah shared, are a material’s origins and ingredients. “If you don’t know what something is made of, where it came from, or how it was processed, you can’t confidently specify it. Not just because you need to know how it performs, but because you need to stand in front of a client and say, ‘This is safe, this is right, and here’s why.’" That’s material integrity, she said. The ‘ingredients list’ matters as much as the finish.

Another challenge, according to Ian, is knowledge. “You can’t know what’s new until you know what’s old." We’re surrounded by materials - tens of thousands of options - and the explosion of choice has been accelerated by global supply chains and post-war industrialisation. “That’s exciting”, Ian said, “but it’s also overwhelming. And a lot of the challenge isn’t access. It’s understanding what a material can do, what it can’t do, and what it’s really good for.”

For Paula, a challenge lies in a lack of consideration for end of life. To what happens to this material when it’s done? If the story stops at ‘it’s recycled’ or ‘it’s recyclable,’ we’re not finished. We need transparency around the full lifecycle: how it breaks down, whether it can be disassembled, whether it’s likely to be recycled in the real world, and what damage it might cause if it isn’t.

And then, for James, it's “getting the alchemy right”. Future materials don’t get specified on technical performance alone. A mix is required - the right client, the right timeline, the courage to take a step into the unknown. Plus, the narrative that helps people understand why the material matters. In other words, even if the material is brilliant, the project still needs conditions that allow specification to happen.

Assessing the risks

When talking about specification, the word ‘risk’ cannot be avoided. And there are many strands to that concept. A risk to humans (safety, toxicity, fire performance). There could be a risk to the client (cost, reputation, project delays).

But without the specification of future materials, ultimately, there’s risk to the planet (waste, carbon, pollution, unintended consequences), Hannah said. "To create truly human-centred spaces, you ultimately have to holistically consider Earth-centred design - because we need the Earth."

Financial risk was also raised. R&D takes time. Certification takes time. Testing takes time. And all of that costs money, and sometimes it leads to ‘aborted work’ - a promising idea, that doesn’t make it across the line. James also pointed out the non-negotiable reality: no material can be used that creates liability that no one can insure.

“So then,” David asked, “what does it take to get a future material commercially ready?”

From an “enthusiastic client and a convincing story” (James), to “evidence-based claims, and certification backed by real testing” (Hannah), it was once again stressed that it’s a combination of factors that a sustainable specification make.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) were mentioned by Ian as “one of the best tools we have right now for transparent environmental performance”, but, of course, those need proper production data behind them – at least 18-months. And there is significant cost involved, which can prove too high for individual innovator designer-makers.

One audience question referenced the interior designer’s role specifically. “Are we talking about materials that can actually be specified, or are we talking about speculative research that’s not ready for the real world?

“Because you can walk into a show, meet a young inventor with an exciting material made from waste - and it might smell, it might not have an application, it might not be certified, and it might not be safe to put into a building." The question was fair: "As interior designers, what are we meant to do with that?”

The answer from the panel was to acknowledge the journey. “Some materials need a controlled environment first, like a showroom, an installation, or a pilot space, where you can test, learn, and de-risk before bringing it into larger projects,” said James. "And if you want to specify new materials confidently, it helps to learn from the ones who’ve already pushed through that process.”

The cost of being sustainable

Another question from the audience enquired, “How do you convince a client to pay more upfront for a more sustainable option?”

“Sometimes you prove durability with testing. Sometimes you prove emotional durability - people value what they love, and they keep what they value,” responded Hannah.

“Sometimes you tie the material back to a company’s values and make it non-negotiable, so it doesn’t get cut during value engineering,” added James.

“And sometimes”, Paula added, “you reframe the conversation from ‘cost per unit’ to long-term value: longevity, brand alignment, carbon reduction, and the story the space is able to tell.”

The ‘story’ piece came up a couple of times throughout the conversation. If a client sees and touches a material in real life, it becomes harder to remove. The ideal situation, Ian said, is to “bring the client into the material exploration, let them experience it, and let them fall in love with it.” Because when they want it, it survives the budget pressure.

Champions and barriers

“Who are the champions of future materials?” asked David.

James described it like a barbell. On one end, you have small designer-makers and radical innovators; on the other, you have large corporates with big goals, budgets, and pressure to meet ESG targets. The magic happens when you connect them, he said. When the corporate mission meets the maker’s innovation and designers help translate it into something buildable.

“And the blockers?”

Scalability. Clients are interested in whether it can meet demand. If it can be delivered on time. Is replication across sites possible? A beautiful prototype is not the same thing as a reliable supply chain. And that doesn’t mean small-batch innovation isn’t valuable the panel agreed, it just means we all need to be clear about where it fits, and how it could scale responsibly.

David asked how manufacturers can help.

“Be willing to be challenged, at every stage of design,” was Hannah’s answer. “The next generation of designers can help bring fresh perspectives, but manufacturers have to create the time, space, and funding for development.

“Designers need to ask questions – such as where are the gaps? What can be changed in production? What alternatives exist for fibres, dyes, finishes, binders, and processes?”

The danger of greenwashing was raised. For Ian, we must be transparent, and honest in the claims we make.

“'100% recyclable’ sounds great, but it isn’t always the whole truth. Plenty of things are theoretically recyclable. The real question is whether they’re actually recycled, whether they’re likely to be recycled, and whether recycling still relies on virgin inputs and high energy use. Transparency matters more than marketing lines.”

A question from the audience asked for the materials the panel are most excited about. And interestingly, the consensus was to look back in order to look forward.

Material potential

Cork was suggested by Hannah. With a reminder to acknowledge material provenance. “Natural cork is regenerative, but it takes time: decades before first harvest, and years between regrowth cycles. Then there’s agglomerated cork, often mixed with synthetic binders that complicate disposal. Know what you’re using.”

Ian referenced stone - not as a surface finish, but as a serious structural material. “We take stone from the ground, burn it, grind it down, and turn it into concrete… just to recreate what stone already is. Looking back can sometimes be the most radical move,” he said.

Wood and mass timber were also highlighted by Paula and James. “There’s something powerful about watching an industry rethink what’s possible - tall buildings that once had to be steel now using engineered timber at scale, with performance that responds to real safety concerns like fire behaviour.”

This is not nostalgia. It’s looking at traditional materials through the lens of innovation.

A question from the audience asked about the potentials of bamboo.

“If you’re in Europe, hemp is the ‘European bamboo’”, Ian shared.

Bamboo often involves long shipping routes and heavy processing with resins and glues to become the products we specify. Again, the narrative theme returned. The full story matters.

Innovation acceleration

“What would help to accelerate the adoption of future materials?” David asked.

“Investment and legislation,” came the reply from Paula.

“It’s push and pull,” added James. “Investment helps future materials survive the long road of R&D and certification. Legislation creates the push.”

“Carbon guidelines, lifecycle assessments, and planning requirements can force the market toward lower-carbon choices, which in turn pushes manufacturers and clients to move faster,” Hannah added.

The session closed on hope. Paired with practicality. More clients are opting in. More material start-ups are building real solutions. More designers want to use them. Arts and sciences are mixing more than ever, and designers can translate breakthroughs into something people actually want in their spaces.

“What’s happened in the last 10 years is enough to give me hope. Including this building. Material Source Studio existing in Manchester, Glasgow, and London is a really good example that change is happening. The shift is on its way, and the knowledge is being provided now. That gives me hope because knowledge is power, and it’s understanding how we can best specify materials,” commented Hannah.

Bringing the conversation to a conclusion, one of the key takeaways was that specifying future materials is not just a design decision. It’s a chain of trust. Trust in ingredients. Trust in performance. Trust in end of life. Trust in the story. Trust that a client will back it. Trust that the supply chain can deliver it. And trust that we’re building toward something better, not just something new or for now.

A huge thanks to everyone who joined us for this special seminar session, to our wonderful panel for sharing their insight, and to our supporters for this event, Studio Partners: CDUK, Forbo Flooring Systems, ILIV, Orac UK, IMPACT ACOUSTIC®.

Join us at Material Source Studio London today – Thursday 21 May - until 7pm for more events, installations and brand activations. And be sure to explore our Future Materials Library® - the UK's largest open collection of regenerative materials for built environment use, open in London, Manchester & Glasgow all year round.

Key takeaways

• Future material use should be guided by legislation and industry standards to drive adoption of lower-carbon, healthier, and higher-performing materials.

• Collaboration between experimental designers and industry manufacturers can accelerate the acceptance and scalability of emerging materials.

• A responsible design future starts with putting materials first - making informed material decisions before the design process begins.

Clerkenwell Design Week kicks off tomorrow at Material Source Studio London from 8am. In preparation, we wanted to share a preview of what you can expect by way of activations and installations from our Studio Partner brands.

From a sculptural design trail, to disruptive colour palettes, circular tiles, and world-first regenerative materials, in addition to our packed events programme, there's so much to explore at 120 Saffron Hill all this week - and beyond.

Register for your free CDW badge here. And we'll see you from tomorrow.

Agua Fabrics

Immerse yourself in soft, sumptuous spotlight materials from Agua Fabrics, including Rizada, Oruga and Segunda.

All stunning aesthetically, and optimum in performance for commercial interior settings.

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Ash & Lacy

An innovative, real brick cladding system - now BBA Certified - will be showcased by Ash & Lacy.

Mechslip is not an extruded brick slip. This genuine brick innovation allows architects and specifiers to use real brick slips with the inspired efficiency and versatility of a mechanically fixed brick slip cladding system.

The MechSlip Brick Cladding Systems offers more than integrity of design. Featuring tough, yet lightweight 6063T6 grade aluminium support rails, it exceeds the rigorous testing standards set by the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology (CWCT).

Ash & Lacy will also exhibit its Rainscreen Façades - cladding systems applied either during the initial construction of a building or as over-cladding as part of refurbishment of an existing building. The VariAL CF is a concealed fix baffle jointed cassette rainscreen system, with a range of fully adjustable aluminium support systems. Best suited to horizontal applications, with options for installation to suit both walls and soffits.

Explore these new architectural solutions all this week.

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Arte Wallcoverings

Arte is a passionate designer & manufacturer of sophisticated wallcoverings.

Explore the latest from their collections throughout the week, as well as joining their panel discussion: Walls That Speak - The Future of Texture, Pattern and Innovation in Interior Wallcoverings.

Join designers Toni Black of House of Black and Sadie Bengali of David Collins Studio, alongside Arte Senior Designer Gemma Verheijen-Beenen, for an insightful conversation exploring design innovation and the growing role of wallcoverings in interiors, hosted by Elspeth Pridham of The Insider.

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BRITA

Family-owned BRITA has been at the forefront of filtration and water dispensing technology since 1966.

Headquartered in Germany – but now operational across 69 countries globally – BRITA specialises in fully-supported water programmes that help businesses achieve their health, wellness, and sustainability goals.

During Clerkenwell Design Week, you can explore BRITA's interactive POD, as well as joining its Single Origin Coffee Tasting: To Filter or Not to Filter - drop in sessions 2-4pm on Wednesday.

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CDUK: Materials Revived, Surfaces Reformed

Materials Revived, Surfaces Reformed launches at CDW - a design trail crafted by CDUK and comprising a celebration of narrative-rich surfaces, transformed into sculpture.

Located inside Material Source Studio London, a series of crafted artworks tell the stories – past and present – of unique surface solutions from CDUK, including Polygood®, PaperStone®, and Corian®, all either made from recycled matter, or latterly, repurposed and reutilised through the Vita Nova take-back scheme and Reutilize.

See it for yourself at 120 Saffron Hill.

In addition to the design trail, you can also explore CDUK's refreshed POD, now featuring the ability to test materials under varying light temperatures to support specification in your schemes.

CDUK will also launch a new product offering: Montelli® Surfaces - a decorative solid surface material, which can be used in a variety of interior applications in both commercial and residential sectors.

A composite polyester product, Montelli® is produced by a continuous casting process, meeting strict quality control standards. It is also silica-free, making it a safer choice for both fabricators and manufacturers. The 20mm slab thickness offers an ideal value-engineered solution for kitchen and bathroom surfaces, while the 12mm thick sheet provides additional flexibility for fabrication and installation.

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Consort Architectural Hardware

A selection of Consort's latest collections, including Premium and Bespoke Pull Handles & Premium Lever Handles & Matching Accessories, will be highlighted alongside the team's capability within the bespoke services of ironmongery.

Throughout the week, Consort will also be offering a preview of its new Revit Scheduling Integration (plug-in), which aims to simplify and automate the door hardware schedule for architects.

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Colour Stories: Baked Clay

Curated by the Material Source Studio Creative Team, Colour Stories: Baked Clay explores materiality through the lens of a medium that takes on a spectrum of patina over the course of its life. Clay reveals hidden landscapes underneath our feet. The ground is both a surface and vessel, a place where the past exists not as fixed marks, but as forces in constant transformation.

Expressed in palette form, Baked Clay features products from our London Partner brands. Explore rich terracottas through the likes of Crown Paints' colours, Saison, Burning Incense and Cherrywood; and Forbo Furniture Linoleum - a furniture and flooring solution made from 94% natural raw materials - presented in shades of Brick and Burgundy.

Continuing the conversation in design dialogue are ceramic artworks by London-based ceramicists, specially-selected in response to Baked Clay.

Heather Gibson - Surfacing

Heather Gibson’s ceramics explore the threshold between art and the everyday object. Her making process is through a combination of sculptural hand-building, gestural mark-making and glaze alchemy – utilising both electric, gas and wood reduction firing techniques.

Through her process she uses clay as a canvas to explore trace, time, memory and mark-making. Drawing inspiration from geology, archaeology and abstract expressionism, her ceramics serve as portals into the intricate topographies of human memory, and unseen landscapes concealed beneath the Earth’s surface.

As part of Colour Stories: Baked Clay, Heather exhibits with us key pieces from Surfacing, her first solo show at County Hall Pottery, for its inaugural Potter in Residence.

Jihyun Kim in collaboration with Golden Earth Studio - Teoju

Jihyun Kim is a Korean ceramicist based in Cockpit Studios. Teoju is made using London construction clay in collaboration with Golden Earth Studio and will be on display as part of Colour Stories: Baked Clay.

Teoju is inspired by the Korean God, Teojusin, traditionally represented as the god of land, who protects the earth where the home is located.

In this piece, Jihyun Kim interprets this narrative by incorporating earth sourced from beneath London homes, layering the work with a sense of place and quiet reverence. This connection between material and meaning transforms Teoju into a contemplative vessel, both protective and poetic, rooted in cultural symbolism and urban archeology.

Crown Paints: Disrupt launch

Disrupt is the latest colour palette to have been born out of Crown Paints psychology-driven expertise, introduced through a large-scale mural, and explored through a paint workshop event.

From a product perspective, Crown Paints will showcase indoor and outdoor solutions, including Crown Trade Clean Extreme, Crown Trade Fastflow, Sandtex Trade Extreme Exposure, and Sadolin Superdec.

Crown Paints will also host an inclusive design panel at Clerkenwell Design Week - bringing together leading experts in neurodiversity and dementia for a discussion exploring how colour and design can create more inclusive environments.

The Inclusive by Design: Colour, Lived Experience and Inclusion panel will take place in our Theatre, and will be chaired by Emily Jeffers, Diversity & Inclusion Specialist for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The panellists include:

• Magda Mostafa - Founding Partner and Principal of StudioTM, a design consultancy specialising in Autism and Neuro-Inclusive Design
• Dave Wilson-Wynne - Dementia care specialist at the University of Stirling and thought leader
• Kelly Grainger - Autistic / ADHD neurodiversity consultant, specialising in inclusive workplaces
• Kathryn Lloyd - Colour specialist at Crown Paints with experience of utilising colour within inclusive designs

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Enea

Joining us from the Basque Country, cooperative furniture brand Enea will showcase pieces from its collections including Ekuru - a lounge chair designed to allow users to enjoy moments of peace and quiet; Gura - a workspace solution designed as an enveloping shape to provide a balance between comfort and beauty; and Lore - a comfortable and elegant seating solution that can be crafted in multiple configurations to fit your project's specification needs.

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Fired Earth

Brand-new for Clerkenwell Design Week, Fired Earth unveils a stunning selection of product samples from its popular collections, including: Ixworth; Medina Zellige; Monet Marble; Jaipur; East Hampton Marble; Seaspray Green Marble; Provence; Forecast; Louvre Marble; Carnival; Aegean Pink Marble Blends; Avalon Marble; Calcatta Viola Marble.

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Future Materials Library®

During CDW you can explore our extensive Future Materials Library® - the UK's largest open collection of regenerative materials for built environment use. With over 100 material samples, including our seminar panellist, Hannah Elisabeth Jones' 100% GRASS, joining us for Future Materials: The challenges of specifying them, on Wednesday 20 May, 2pm.

Also featured are Partner products from CDUK and Impact Acoustics, supporters of our seminar event too, with PaperStone and Polygood included from the former brand, and Tofu Tiles from the latter.

It's worth noting that the Future Materials Library® is a permanent feature across all our Studio locations, all year round.

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Forbo Flooring Systems

Discover the latest collections from Forbo Flooring Systems with hundreds of samples at its dedicated POD, including Allura Decibel, Flotex Planks, and Tessera.

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Grestec Tiles

For CDW, Grestec Tiles focuses on two brand-new launches.

Circularity - Artiza and Marika will launch during the show, both featuring 61% recycled content. Artiza is a standout for it’s elongated 60x185mm brick format with a handcrafted, high-gloss aesthetic.

Technical Innovation - Grestec's new Coretone™ technology will be debuted across the Erde and Brindle ranges. A through-body porcelain where the design and minerals are fused throughout the full depth of the tile rather than just printed on the surface, both are engineered for high-traffic areas with a safety rating of ≥36 PTV.

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Habitech

Habitech's theme for CDW is the 'Sound of Intent'. While structure, light, and thermal performance are usually at the forefront of specification decisions, sound, Habitech believes, often gets left to chance.

The team invites you to visit the Sonance Design Gallery: providing project inspiration. And in Meeting Room 2, you're invited to experience a demo of the Sonance Invisible Speakers.

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ILIV

ILIV is a trend-led premium fabric brand, known for designing stylish high-performance fabrics for hospitality, commercial and residential spaces.

During CDW, explore its latest fabric collections with takeaway samples, plus attend its Pastries, Pattern & Performance Painting Workshop on 19 May, 11am.

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Impact Acoustic

Fancy getting your hands dirty? Grab a coat and make your own Biocircular Tile with Impact Acoustics. The Cotton Making Lab is taking daily walk-ins between 8am and 7pm at Material Source Studio London. Rethink how acoustics are made. Visit the pop-up lab to dive into the material science of Impact's fully circular products and physically shape your own custom acoustic tile.

The technicians will be working live in our Studio window - you can't miss them.

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Liquidline

Liquidline creates premium workspace refreshment solutions that enhance the everyday workplace experience. Visit the team during CDW for a coffee and a demo of their latest coffee and water stations.

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Lumenear

Lumenear brings spaces to life with innovative acoustic lighting that transforms both sight and sound.

Crafted in the Netherlands from sustainable PET Felt, Lumenear's lighting not only illuminates but also absorbs noise, creating a perfect balance of atmosphere and comfort.

Meet the team during CDW and explore the latest products through interactive workshops each day.

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Mode Lighting

Founded in 1970, Mode Lighting is a British manufacturer of architectural lighting control systems with over five decades of industry experience. Explore their latest solutions during CDW.

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Muraspec

Muraspec Wallcoverings is an international leader in the commercial and bespoke wallcoverings industry.

During CDW, you can explore its latest collections including its brand-new murals. Muraspec is also hosting an event on Thursday: Restore, Realign & Rejuvenate.

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Orac

Orac unveils its new Art Deco Collection at CDW, created in collaboration with interior architect Aurélie Penneman to mark 100-years of Art Deco.

The collection reframes Art Deco as a design language of proportion, rhythm and precision, expressed through six themes: Infinity, Myline, Vertical Lines, Horizontal Lines, Rounded Shapes & Arches, and Fluidity & Pattern.

New launches include Infinity cornices (C992, C993, C994), S425 Scallop skirting, panel mouldings P9902 Link, P9903 Bobbin, P9904 Pearl and P9905 Medallion, plus 3D wall panels W125/W125A Swirl and W126 Chain.

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Parkside Architectural Tiles

This week will see the launch of TerrazzoTech from Parkside Architectural Tiles, offering a modern approach to traditional terrazzo. Crafted from premium marble pieces bonded with resin, it delivers a refined through‑body Terrazzo surface with exceptional visual depth.

Its innovative production method enhances strength and technical performance while allowing for a reduced thickness - minimising raw material use, weight and cost without compromising durability.

TerrazzoTech is available in 45 colours, multiple formats and six finishes, including contemporary fluted textures.

Moreover, in collaboration with Harmony, Parkside Architectural Tiles is also introducing 4 new wall tile ranges.

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Radii

Radii is a specialist in the design, manufacture and installation of the highest-standard partitioning, stunning architectural glass solutions and certified glazed fire rated systems.

See Radii's bespoke solutions in situ in the Studio, and attend its drop in clinics, CPDs, seminar session on vertical farming, and 'one for the road' closing party.

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Schlüter-Systems

Brand-new Partner at Material Source Studio London, explore Schlüter-Systems' comprehensive portfolio of products developed to support architects, designers and contractors across the UK. New ranges include edge protection profiles, waterproofing and uncoupling membranes, underfloor heating, drainage systems and design finishes.

Combining German engineering with dedicated UK technical expertise, Schlüter-Systems provides specification support, RIBA-accredited CPDs, and hands-on training.

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Whirlpool Bath & Spa Co.

Join Whirlpool Bath & Spa Co. at CDW 2026 for an exclusive preview of Glacier – a brand-new bath collection.

With a selection of contemporary styles and finishes available, Glacier is perfect on its own or enhanced with one of Whirlpool's bespoke spa systems. Technically superior, the matt baths are the ideal solution for residential, hospitality, marine and healthcare settings alike.

Discover their POD all week during CDW.

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Explore the full list of London Partners here

Working across academia, innovation, and craft, Paula Camiña Eiras sits at a compelling intersection - material research that is as much about ecology and systems as it is about culture, identity and place.

In her previous positions as associate lecturer on the MA Biodesign course at Central Saint Martins, and Biodesign Lead at Dulcie Skincare (formerly Haeckels), Paula has led and contributed to projects spanning edible packaging, algae bioreactors and biocomposites - always with an emphasis on regenerative thinking and material storytelling.

Her ongoing craft-led project, Co-Obradoiro Galego, connects contemporary design with basketry traditions in Galicia, Spain, exploring how local resources and coastal material landscapes can shape new futures.

In a recent interview, we sat down to discuss Paula’s unique approach to regenerative design, while considering how this might feed into more supportive systems for the future of our built environment.

Paula will join us as a panellist during Clerkenwell Design Week for our seminar (20 May, 2pm) on the topic of specifying regenerative materials. Get your ticket for Future Materials: The challenges of specifying them, here.

To start, can you talk us through your career journey so far?

“When I look back at my career journey, I’d say I’ve been focusing on three different areas. The first is the academia sector, where I was an associate lecturer on the MA Biodesign course at Central Saint Martins, UAL. The second is innovation, where I’ve specialised in materials, including my previous role as Biodesign Lead at Dulcie Skincare (formerly Haeckels), and developing commissions for Zara Home. And the last sector is craft, through my project Co-Obradoiro Galego, which explores the intersection between material research, tradition and contemporary design in my region, Galicia in Spain.”

You’ve worked on projects for Red Bull, Sebastian Cox and Selfridges. How do you approach a project across such different contexts?

“For any type of project, it always starts with the idea of integrating a regenerative system. To do that, I look at materials - especially bio-based materials - and how those materials can take shape through collaborations. Sometimes those collaborations are with brands, like Red Bull or Selfridges, and other times they’re with makers, start-ups, innovators, individuals.

“It always starts with the idea of integrating a regenerative system.”

“Those projects are different in their outcomes: the Red Bull edible cup; the Sebastian Cox project, where we co-developed biocomposites like seaweed chalk that spoke about the landscapes of Margate for a pop-up store in Edinburgh; and the Selfridges activation, which involved an algae bioreactor. But I think together they prove the power of material storytelling.”

What do you mean by 'material storytelling'?

“Materials can offer the possibility of developing something new for products, but there are other sides to how materials help us understand their landscape; the material landscape. It’s the idea of how a product has been made, who has made it.

“By introducing products or materials into a different context, there’s an opportunity for human empathy and reflection. So the question becomes: how can you design biodesign narratives that are accessible for customers and people, but also engaging? Ideally, those narratives spark reflections on new material realities, aiming for better solutions - not only for humans, but also for the planet.”

When you start developing a material, where do you begin?

“It’s about understanding the context you are developing a material for. That means understanding the ecological needs: what’s the end life cycle of that material? Understanding the social needs: who is benefiting from that material, and how are they going to experience it? And on a cultural level: what’s the connection of that material to the territory, to the heritage?

“When you consider those three aspects, you can arrive at a more long-term solution, and it can create a deeper connection between people and material landscapes.”

Are there any new materials or types of organic matter inspiring you right now?

“I find inspiring the materials, or the matter, that have been overlooked, rather than trying to come up with something completely new. I’m interested in byproducts that can be reshaped to meet present or future needs, while still connecting to the context. Those are the materials that resonate with me.”

You have taught at Central Saint Martins, how do students respond to these ideas?

“Some students arrive already having detected certain needs; others haven’t yet. So it’s about supporting them, coaching and mentoring them through the process.

“Last year, I tutored 11 students in their final MA projects. My approach starts with understanding not only their professional background (which is increasingly mixed in terms of disciplines), but also their personal background: who they are, where they’re coming from, what culture has shaped them, and where they see themselves after the master’s. Then we take it from there.

“I think when you work like this, it’s when you design with purpose, but also with identity. It’s very individual.”

Biomaterials have come a long way in the last decade. Do you think the sector is where it needs to be?

“I still think not enough. We’re not yet in a market where the biodesign position truly exists. We’ve made a lot of progress over the last few years, but there is still more progress to be made.”

What needs to happen to accelerate progress?

“We need larger infrastructures and companies investing in these types of solutions. Not just as ‘special projects’. They should become the go-to solution, rather than a feature project.”

What do you think holds investment back?

“One aspect is a misunderstanding of the aesthetics of biodesign - connecting biodesign to ‘nature-inspired’ solutions that were perceived as not meeting the aesthetic values or preferences people are used to.

“But when you develop a material, you also design its aesthetic, you ask how do you want the material to look? If you start by looking at already familiar system materials, you can be in a position of advantage, both for public acceptance and from a making perspective.

“With biodesign, we don’t have to redesign the whole process. Innovation can be about rethinking existing systems, processes, and tools, and ensuring the material is compatible with them. Then you can start talking about scaling in an efficient way.”

So for you, what does ‘true sustainability’ mean?

“Sustainability is not enough. Sustainability is about less harm, less damage, fewer resources. But we have to be talking about regenerative thinking and regenerative systems in design.

“We have to be talking about regenerative systems in design.”

“It’s the idea of regenerating context, introducing materials that have a positive impact not only on the environment, but also on society and culture. That’s what we should be aiming for.”

Do you have a favourite material to work with?

“If I think about my favourite material, I wouldn’t choose one I developed myself, I’d choose one I’ve learned a lot from. And that material is wood.

“Through Co-Obradoiro Galego, I established a collaboration with basket weavers where I’m from originally, and I’ve been learning from this community for the last couple of years about vegetal fibres in the region. Wood has shown me the beauty of understanding the whole process from resource to product: harvesting, cutting, meeting design requirements, and how the material behaves depending on how you treat it.

“There is something beautiful about wood’s connection to heritage, time and people.”

"Heat changes its colour. Water makes it flexible. It’s resistant over time. And it has a tactile warmth."

What does Co-Obradoiro Galego explore in practical terms?

“Basketry is believed to be one of the first crafts, because we’ve always needed to store things. With basketry, depending on the function, the wood follows a different pattern and is treated differently. Even the baskets are called different names depending on their use.

“In my project, the baskets are not functional in the traditional sense, they are more of a statement about the climate situation and the challenges affecting the region, including how this impacts basketry and the social context around it.

“I also explore new resources that follow the same philosophy as basketry by looking at local organic matter - often from the sea, from the Atlantic Ocean - to reconnect the basketry community with fishing communities, as it was historically. Basket makers used to craft baskets for fishing and carrying fish, but that disappeared with the introduction of plastic. The work creates a space for reflection on that shift, and on how we might rebuild those connections through new material realities.”

What’s next for you?

"Next, I’m looking to amplify my impact at a bigger scale at the intersection of strategy and innovation, while continuing to evolve Co-Obradoiro Galego."

For our latest seminar in London, we brought together two seemingly opposing themes. AI, and sustainability. The notion of one supporting the other perhaps seems, on the surface, unfathomable. The questionable credentials of technology in terms of energy and water usage have remained no secret. But on closer inspection there’s more to the conversation than we possibly initially believed.

To truly understand the gargantuan nature of the topic that emerges when these two themes collide, our panellist Dr Phil Tetlow, a technologist and socio-technical thinker whose work spans IT architecture and data ecosystems, suggested that we must first ask ourselves: what does sustainability mean in the age of AI?

In Phil’s view, we must broaden our perception of sustainability to include the information ecosystem: Large Language Models have absorbed huge amounts of online content and now – facing a scarcity of fresh training material - growth in synthetic data production has surged. This, in short, is a problem, he said.

AI is a tool, Phil argues, though it’s a “second-order” tool within a larger system where humans themselves are the primary “tool” driving unsustainability.

Fellow panellist, Will Arnold, Head of Sustainable Materials, Useful Simple Trust & Technical Author, UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, concurred. AI is fundamentally neutral and should be treated as a tool - useful, but not decisive. He emphasised that the climate crisis is driven primarily by human choices and structural incentives (e.g., demolishing and rebuilding rather than reusing), and AI does not change the impact of those core decisions.

The age-old saying “a worker is only as good as their tools”, sprang to mind. So if AI is simply a tool, without influence, what can we do to change and sustain our future, as the humans that are using it?

AI: Positive or negative?

To begin, Host of the session, David Smalley, Director at Material Source Studio, asked, “AI: Net positive or net negative for the climate challenges that we face?”

Will responded, “I’m going to start by totally disagreeing with the question in the first place. I think of it as totally neutral. AI is a tool. To my mind, it’s in the same family as the calculator, the typewriter, the coffee machine. And we can use that for good, or we can use it for other things. By itself, it won’t solve anything.”

Addressing the other half of the session’s theme, sustainability, Will added, soberly, “We’re living in the middle of an existential crisis. There was news out this week that the Gulf Stream is 50/50 likely to slow down to the point at two degrees warming where this country would get the same sort of weather patterns that Alaska has at the moment.

“This gives an idea of the magnitude that we’re dealing with when it comes to sustainability. This is really scary stuff. And to my mind, AI by itself is not going to solve it."

“AI is a tool we can use along the way to do lots of clever things, but it won’t undo all negativity by itself.” - Will Arnold

Giving an example specific to the built environment, Will commented, “If I choose to knock down a building and build another in its place that does the exact same function, I’m doing all sorts of ecological damage by doing that. But it’s my choice. Whether or not I chose to use ChatGPT to write a bit of text to convince the planning authorities that it was the right thing to do… that won’t change the fundamental decision that I made to knock something down and start again. That’s what I mean when I say AI is a tool.”

An emphasis on the evident need to tackle sustainability was echoed by Phil, who said, “Sustainability is really interesting, really important, because it is one of the topics of our age. If we get it wrong, we really get it wrong, and there’s a full stop at the end of that sentence.

“To counterbalance that, AI’s a big deal as well”, he added. “AI is a tipping point at planet level.”

Returning to Will’s point about AI being a tool, Phil stated to the audience, “If you think of AI as being anything other than a tool, you’re making a mistake.”

The real power of that tool, he shared, “is understanding where, when, and why you use it.

“But then there’s a hell of a lot of naivety out there, even amongst the highest-level professionals. We really, really need to address that,” he stressed.

Also mirroring the sentiment shared by Will that AI as a tool is at the mercy of humans as decision makers, Phil suggested "it’s a second-order tool".

“What do I mean by that?” he said, “Well, sustainability is the thing that we’re really talking about, I think, and we need to address. The tool that’s actually causing the problem of sustainability on the planet today is me, you, and every other human on the planet. So we are the tool at planet level that is actually causing that crisis.

“There is a tool beyond that tool: the second-order tool, which is AI; essentially a second-order existential opportunity or failure within the grander system that is the ecosystem of this planet.”

(“If that doesn’t take your mind to a point where you want to explode, then I’ve done it wrong,” he added, to laughs in the audience).

There’s a question within a question to be answered as part of this discussion, Phil believes, and that’s “what does sustainability mean in the age of AI?”

While the average person on the street may not really have a firm grasp on what ‘sustainability’ means, it is, of course, ingrained in the psyche of built environment professionals, woven into the very bedrock of our conversations for at least the last 10-years. For our community, Phil said, “If you talk to a professional, you’ll get the angle that Will’s played, which is: it’s about concrete, it’s about steel, it’s about buildings, it’s about sucking oxygen out of the air, carbon depletion, all of that type of thing.”

This isn’t, in fact, the whole picture when it comes to sustainability anymore, Phil argues.

“The angle that I play on top of that is this: sustainability is exactly that. It’s not necessarily about natural resources. It plays out in the synthetic world as well.

“We’ve now reached the point where the LLMs (the ChatGPTs of this world) have drunk the entire Internet. And the problem is that they are still hungry for training material. So there are companies on this planet today who are making billions upon billions of dollars per annum synthesising data to feed into these AIs simply because they don’t have enough natural resources - in other words, information that has come from the web - to keep them happy.

“Now, what’s interesting about that is that’s essentially pushing the arc of what we would consider to be human to a point where I would argue - and argue forcefully - that there is a valid definition of sustainability in there as well. Can we, should we, must we sustain that artificial growth of the intelligence that we’re increasingly relying on as a tool to help the human world cope with the crisis that it’s in? I would strongly suggest that we’re in a very, very dangerous place.”

Not a technological problem

As a tool, Will shared that AI does have the answers to help solve the climate crisis. But that alone is not enough. “If I say to Claude, or ChatGPT, or Co-Pilot, ‘What does humanity need to do in order to limit global warming to two degrees, in order to stop these tipping points such as the Gulf Stream stopping completely?’ it will give me a pretty accurate list of all the interventions we need to make. Because it scrapes all that data from the experts who know very easily how to get us off fossil fuels, how to decarbonise cement-making, how to make sure we never have to make steel using coal ever again. All of that stuff exists. All the technological solutions exist."

The problem, he said, is not a technological one.

“It’s a societal problem, a political problem, a capitalist problem.” - Will Arnold

What LLMs lack, Will commented, is context. They’ll find the most logical web of solutions to a problem such as the Gulf Stream, but in reality, the volume of societal, economic, political, historical factors at play will make its suggestions, however viable in theory, unviable.

“All of those bigger, knottier, more complex human problems, those are the bits that humans have to solve. And this comes back to the idea that AI is just a tool.”

If the context was somehow removed, David asked, “Could AI solve our climate challenges?”

Phil compared the potential of AI to that of Twitter – “that was just a tool, but if it hadn’t been for Twitter, we wouldn’t have had the Arab Spring. That singular tool, when it was put in the right hands at the right time for the right reason, managed to almost overthrow multiple regimes across the planet."

“Do I think that we might get a similar episode occurring with sustainability? I think the right answer has to be: please God, yes.” - Phil Tetlow

The notion as to whether AI is truly, as first thought, a neutral tool was here called into question by Will. “It’s a tool, agreed, but when asked a question it does seem to tend towards the affirmative, in that if I want to get it to back up my thinking behind something, it seems to be much better at doing that than doing critical pushback on it?” he asked Phil.

Will’s assumption is real, Phil confirmed. “If you go into the settings of ChatGPT, you will actually find that there are switches in there that direct the answers towards the affirmative to deliberately please the user. You can switch all of those off and get an independent opinion. That’s one of the first things you should do when you engage with any AI: essentially neutralise it."

This, Phil added, is “a marketing ploy for the companies” – the marketeers at LLM firms want us to believe that AI is genuinely fond of us.

A genuine supporter?

Moving onto solutions, David asked, “Where is AI genuinely helping on the subject of sustainability?”

For Will, LLMs support with communications – “they're good at making sense of things, and executive summaries and reports. Nine times out of 10 they'll be right.”

Phil suggests there is a great deal of untapped potential for built environment professionals, largely using AI for tasks such as the above. “AIs can do things that humans naturally cannot. I’ll give you some examples...”

From the handling of huge volumes of data – “AIs can handle millions upon millions – billions - of head-loads of data in one go, and we need that for sustainability – to assessing micro-currents or micro-climates to build into a meta-model that something or somebody needs to absorb “then the world’s AIs will be able to do that”, shared Phil.

“The other thing that AIs are good at is seeing the non-obvious. You can apply very forceful guardrails over AI to basically say, ‘This is what we see as the world’s best experts.’ Here’s the source data, here are the source opinions, here’s what we get out of the AIs. Then there are specific fields of mathematics - one of them is called homology - and homology is the field where, if you put a wire frame around a donut, mathematical homology will tell you where the hole is in the middle. You can apply homology over AI and it will mathematically tell you what you’ve missed.

“That’s important in areas like sustainability because the chances are that the real answer is going to be somewhere that humans have not seen yet.”

"We should ask AI 'What don’t I know?' then?", continued David.

Phil responded, “The ways to use AI are: the monotonous and the mundane – ask it to do the tasks that are time-consuming or repetitive; ask it the obvious; and, where the real magic is; bend it out of shape.

“For example, I never, ever go to a Large Language Model and prompt it directly. What I’ll do is I’ll go: ‘Here’s an idea. I’d like you to write me the most efficient prompt to give me the best answer you possibly can, based on the trace of the idea.’”

Ethics & education

A question from audience member, Diego Correa, Creative Director, Diego Correa Interior Design, raised the dual subjects of ethics and education. “Firstly, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the ethics of AI use yet, and secondly, there are millions of humans on this planet, but only a very small percentage of those people know how to get the most out of AI. How can we even consider (the masses), we will catch up? Sounds an impossibility?"

Tackling both elements, Phil responded, “I can give you a very precise answer to your first point. There are a lot of good people and a lot of good organisations around the world that care a lot about ethics in AI.

“Most of the standards bodies are included in this – some I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. The world’s brightest minds are working on it.

“The problem that we have got is that it takes the standards bodies such as the BSI typically 18-months just to get their head around a problem, then another 18-months to eventually set standards in place. Now, AIs are evolving more at a rate of 18-minutes rather than 18-months. There is a disparity that is wrong."

“The goodness is, there are a lot of good people looking at it. Unfortunately, the human mechanics are just way too slow to keep up.” - Phil Tetlow

Addressing the second point from Diego: “Where does ethics fit in the equation with regards to sustainability?”, Phil replied, “That’s almost an impossible question to ask.”

Answering the question with a question, Phil continued, “Just because something is ethical for you and I, is it ethical for the planet?

“You can translate that into: is it alright for 15 million people to die if six and a half billion people survive? That is a question above governments.”

Taking a wider view of sustainability as part of ESG strategy, Blair Boyle, Associate Workplace Designer, Savills, asked from the audience, “In terms of governance, you mentioned AI being a tool. Tools can be used for great things, for terrible things, and also for very frivolous things. This week there have been reports about tech companies who incentivise or encourage staff to use however many tokens per month because it’s going to be part of their rewards package. But there have also been reports of companies who regret firing workers and replacing aspects of that role with AI because it’s now more cost-effective to actually have junior staff do those things.

“Do you think there’s going to be any changes in the way that AI is governed in terms of how efficiently it should be used, so it’s not frivolously thrown around?”

Will shared that at the Trust, an AI policy was brought in “about a year or so ago to try and start to get people to at least think about when they do and don’t use it, and what they do with it. In very simple terms: if there’s something you could do without it, you should do it without it. And that has been quite a good guiding principle, we’ve found.

“What’s interesting”, Will continued, “to your point about what happens to staff, is that even in a world without AI, as a more senior engineer in my firm, it would usually be quicker for me to do something for my client than it would be for me to train up a graduate so they can do it. But if we all worked on that principle, we’d hollow out our companies really, really quickly. Our entire profession would die, because those of us who know how to do it well right now would do it until the age when we retire, and then nobody would design any buildings.”

AI, Will believes, is doing a similar thing – taking away tasks that prior to now would have come under a budding engineers' charge. “To me, AI is kind of the same thing. What we risk if we get too used to using it - whether it’s the mundane stuff or even the creative stuff - what we miss out on is training ourselves to do all of that. And we become totally reliant on it. This goes beyond even technical skills and creative skills. It goes to our culture. What it means to be designers and professionals and humans.”

“We want to have a culture where it’s ok to be wrong, so that people feel okay to say the silly thing. And you lose all of that if you think you’ve got this God on your phone that will tell you the right answer all the time.” - Will Arnold

Another question came from Timna Rose, Founder & Creative Director, Studio ATARA in the audience, who said, "Approaching this from a more simplistic (more broadly recognised maybe) question of sustainability, I have real 'user guilt' when it comes to its potential to negatively impact the environment, how do you manage your 'user guilt?'"

“I don’t have any guilt using it, actually, when it comes to environmental impact, because the research I’ve done tells me that every time I do a search, give it something to do, I'm responsible for emissions in the realms of a gram to five grams of carbon dioxide. It’s that order of magnitude,” responded Will.

“I’m working on projects where the carbon emissions of building that project is 100,000 tonnes. So you’re talking a billion times as much carbon. So actually, if in the course of that project I use AI a million times to get it to be better, we are still completely outweighed,” he added.

The case for Small Language Models

Continuing on the topic of LLMs, audience member Steven Gale, Portal Architects, shared a view that perhaps using AI tools of this nature to undertake mundane tasks on a mass scale is incorrect, “I wondered if there’s more power for the everyday use of AI in solving complex problems that you can’t write a mathematical expression to solve. In other words: indeterminate structures – think, if you’re a civil engineer - multiple multivariate occupancy data that you can then use to design buildings a bit better without guessing. It’s like Small Language Models. We limit the horizon of data, so the results are specific to the problem.

“Do these things exist?”, he asked the panel.

Phil agreed with Steven’s suggestion – “AI is a very broad field. And we’re dealing with something that isn’t even 5% of the overall field. But when we’re talking about Large Language Models and neural networks, they have specific ways of trying to answer specific problems.”

He offered some advice, “One of the things that I’ve done, for example, is you might ask a Large Language Model to help you enter a specific niche area, but then what you’ll do is you’ll control the responses from that Large Language Model using specifically smaller models or algorithms because you approximately know the target that you’re aiming for as an expert.”

“Large Language Models are good at scale. They’re good at precision. They’re good at broad and deep thinking. But they’re not good at direction. They’re not good at planning. They’re terrible at things like compassion, empathy, and so on and so forth. If you get that blend right, then it literally is magic.” - Phil Tetlow

“For those that want to use AI responsibly, what guiding principles should they follow?” asked David.

“I think one of the guiding principles is to treat it as a tool,” said Will. “It doesn’t replace the need to think about why we’re building, how we use less materials to do so, how we reuse what we’ve already got, how we treat materials that are currently incredibly impactful in so many damaging ways, how we treat those as really scarce so that we try and use them more sensibly, how we do that for good, and how we try and do it in a way that encourages others to do the same thing, to create that industry change.”

Phil believes the answer can be distilled down into a series of soundbites.

“Blair in the audience spoke about governance. Here, I might suggest that the word ‘provenance’ fits in. When you’re talking about provenance, most people don’t understand what provenance is. So there’s an education piece that needs to be done there.

“The real problem that we have got is traction at the professional practice level. Which means every one of you going out on your daily routine and prophesising and educating and sitting people down and going, ‘This is a big deal, and this is the way you have got to behave.’ Because that’s what professionals are supposed to do.

“We’re currently in this ‘opiate phase’, everybody’s like headless chickens at the moment. It’s going to take time for that to settle out. But the mechanics of the human machine to allow that settling to take place; AI will run away with it before then. So we’ve got some challenges.”

As the session drew to a close, Will made the poignant comment: “Technology will not save us.”

Referencing the fact that though technology has moved on, a concrete office building designed today will be three times as heavy as the equivalent that was built in the 1960s, with three times as much environmental damage - despite the engineers having access to all the same technology.

“We use three times as much material because we’re now in a world where material’s got cheap and labour’s got expensive, and we want to build it quicker, and it has to be more eye-catching so we can put it on Instagram. And therefore, we build an office building where the columns are 12 metres apart from each other, the whole thing waves out over the side of the A5, and it’s covered in plastic. It’s nuts.

“And yet we could have made it more efficient the same way they did with cars, but we haven’t done.

“Coming right back to that earlier point: all of this stuff is there. It’s a tool. The problem is not the tool; the problem is the people using the tool are not pushing us in the right direction.”

Much ground was covered in just an hour. So before we headed into the Studio for more conversation over food and drinks, David asked two audience members for their key takeaways from the session:

James Coop, Make Architects, said: “AI is naturally affirmative. Introduce anomalies to overhaul the data that it’s going through. Learn how to bend AI into a horseshoe.”

Paul Dare, Dare Design Studio, added: “As professionals, we need to hang onto our professionalism and not let these tools take over. We’ve spent a long time learning what we do, AI is a great tool that can help us speed things up.”

A huge thanks to our expert panel for sharing their insight, to you, our audience, for joining us and asking thought-provoking questions. And thank you to our supporters for this event, Agua Fabrics, CUPA PIZARRAS - both Partners at Material Source Studio.

The conversation now continues at a dedicated roundtable on the topic of AI & experience this Thursday at Material Source Studio London. And at our upcoming seminar in Glasgow: AI: Destroyer or creator? Get your free ticket here and join the discussion.

Top takeaways at a glance

• AI is part of the sustainability equation, like it or not.
• Think carefully about what 'sustainability' actually means. It's more far reaching than you might expect.
• Use AI to find the hidden secrets to help attain sustainability. There's lots of room for improvement.
• AI is an imperfect tool - critique it, check it, be cautious.
• AI cannot undo a poor human starting point.

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Muraspec's low-energy, low-emission production process uses advanced digital printers with exceptional efficiency in accordance with ISO 20690:2018. This allows fast production and highly competitive lead times while maintaining the highest environmental standards.

Printed on a wide range of premium base materials produced by Muraspec on site, these digitally printed murals are cleanable, lightfast, CE compliant, and supplied with biocide to help inhibit microbial growth where required. Combining advanced technology, senior expertise, sustainability, and expert craftsmanship, Muraspec brings your vision to life with confidence and precision.

The new Muraspec Mural Book also includes a curated set of standard wallcoverings for every mural design, making it easy for designers to create balanced and harmonious schemes for their projects. In addition, thousands of standard products are stocked in Muraspec's Kent factory and are readily available for immediate shipment.

With an extraordinary legacy rooted in British craftsmanship since the 1850s, Muraspec serves elite clients across hospitality, healthcare, retail, commercial offices, cruise ships, and residential sectors, combining innovation, artistry, and reliability, bringing world-class wallcovering solutions to every surface.

Muraspec will be showcasing its latest collections at Material Source Studio London next week for CDW 2026, as well as hosting an event: Restore, Realign & Rejuvenate on the Thursday. Visit 120 Saffron Hill (19-21 May) to explore what's new from Muraspec.

Part of the regeneration of Walthamstow town centre, The Eades Walthamstow redevelopment forms a "striking new residential addition to this mixed-use site". Set above the existing retail complex, the scheme introduces contemporary living spaces while enhancing public areas and connections through the heart of the development.

Designed by KKA Architecture and delivered by du Boulay Projects Ltd, the project combines high-quality materials and elegant design detailing to create a cohesive architectural language across residential, entrance, and public areas.

At the heart of the specification were Radii's Dovetail P64 ‘Plus’ double glazed timber-framed partitions, installed throughout Level 1 common areas.

Building upon Radii's standard Dovetail system, the ‘Plus’ configuration introduces timber mullions and transoms, providing added architectural structure and definition while maintaining the natural warmth of timber.

The system was installed across wide expanses and curved sections, with solid core timber vision panel doors in both single and double leaf configurations to complement the design.

As part of Radii’s commitment to sustainable design, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are available for Dovetail P64. The system’s responsibly sourced timber replaces traditional aluminium framework, combining refined aesthetics with a natural feel.

Dovetail Plus enhances this approach, creating a more defined architectural presence without compromising environmental credentials.

Across the entrance and common areas, Linear 50 aluminium framed single glazed partitions were installed to create clear visual connections and a refined architectural rhythm throughout the scheme. At Ground Level, the system formed elegant curved glazed sections with distinctive Rio feature banding, complemented by automatic Hogan single glazed double leaf door sets — achieving seamless accessibility and a cohesive appearance through the matching 50mm aluminium profile.

On Level 1, leaf-and-a-half aluminium framed Hogan door sets were installed within corridor areas, maintaining consistency in both aesthetic and performance across the development.

Together, these installations showcase Radii’s precision in delivering high-quality aluminium framed glazed partitions and doors, ensuring material continuity, exact alignment, and enduring visual balance from the entrance through to upper levels.

On the Ground Floor and Level 33, Radii installed FirePro glazed fire-rated screens and doors, providing certified fire protection while maintaining seamless visual continuity throughout the space.

The specification included EI60 rated double doors with EI120 rated overpanels and side screens — all achieved without the need for separation posts, thanks to FirePro’s robust, fully tested configuration.

Further installations incorporated single and double leaf doors, some with automatic closers, as well as mullion and transom arrangements reaching heights of up to 3400mm. FirePro delivers exceptional fire performance and design consistency across varying rating requirements, with fully certified transitions between EI60 and EI120 zones.

Radii’s delivery for The Eades Walthamstow exemplifies the Radii team's fire-rated and certified glazing expertise, combining advanced product development with material specialisation across timber, aluminium, and steel.

Each element — from the precisely engineered curved glazing to the bespoke fire-rated configurations — reflects a commitment to design integrity, technical performance, and exacting installation standards.

This project highlights how Radii’s integrated approach transforms complex architectural concepts into refined, buildable realities.

Discover more by visiting Material Source Studio in all locations. If you're heading to Clerkenwell Design Week (19-21 May), Radii is hosting a roster of events. Click here for details and to book your place.

Continuing the conversation on Artificial Intelligence and its impact in the built environment sector at our recent roundtable in Manchester, we brought together a brilliant group of well-placed guests to discuss how the adoption of AI and technological tools are helping shape community spaces.

Delving into new areas of discussion, we not only considered the design of these settings, but the guest experience from an operational perspective too.

While some of those around the table have thoroughly embraced new technological tools, others said their approach was ‘light touch’. This variety of experience made for an interesting chat that furthered our exploration into the sector’s stance on AI, both now and into the future.

Our guests

To begin, Session Chair, David Smalley, asked the group, “Where are you using AI at the moment to create specific impact?”

“For visualisation”, came the response from Lucy Durkan, Associate Director, Chapman Taylor. “It’s a light touch at the moment, but what we’ve found recently with the likes of ChatGPT is it’s got a lot better at visuals. We still design all of the spaces: we use Revit and we bring them into Enscape. We quite often fully render everything; we’ve applied all of our own finishes; we know exactly what we want it to do. But we find that using AI is almost one step away from going to a 3D visualiser, so it’s just enhancing things.”

Up until very recently – indicative of the speed at which AI is evolving – Lucy said AI was poor at visualisation. A view shared by all the roundtable guests.

Highlighting a point made at the previous week’s seminar in Manchester on the topic of AI, David suggested, “You’re basically putting the exam question in, and asking, “Where have I gone wrong?” You’re asking it to help, not feeding it and expecting a design back?”

Lucy agreed – “That’s the key part – you have to feed it.”

Playing devil's advocate, David Cryer, Project Architect, AFL, stated, “Scarily, you don’t have to. You can just say, in my world, ‘Design me a hospitality lounge for a stadium,’ and it will do it, but it won’t be perfect. It’s better the more you give it. And obviously it’s better for us, because we still have a role in it if we feed it a SketchUp model or a Revit model. And if you don’t give it anything to go off then everyone will end up with the same answer.”

For Fahad Ajmal, Associate Architect, AtkinsRéalis, AI’s support for feasibility is “saving a lot of time and cost.” If you consider AI as a colleague, or two, there are efficiencies to be made, he said.

In terms of the tools, Fahad commented that while NanoBanana was one of the best models that could be used for 3D, ChatGPT may have just taken up the mantle thanks to the aforementioned update that Lucy referenced.

At SpaceInvader, AI is mostly used as a search tool currently, shared Imogen Woodage, Associate Director there. “We spend a lot of time looking for the right sort of images to present to the client initially,” Imogen said, “and when we’re putting a mood board together, and there’s one image and the colours aren’t quite right, we can use AI as an editing tool.”

This is not in the early stages of design work though, Imogen stresses – “the early stages are our creative part. That is us getting out, understanding the brief, the project, the site, the light, the temperature, the space, the scale - the human element - which it cannot do.”

"The early stages are our creative part."

Later down the line where there are timely and not so creative processes to undertake, such as putting documents together, AI is being used to “quicken things up.”

Creative or creator?

In response to David’s earlier point about AI’s ability to “scarily” generate content from scratch, Imogen says their team never asks AI to “create me a visual” – “it’s dangerous”, Imogen added. But it’s not uncommon for clients to do it, she suggests.

“But then it’s our job to explain why it doesn’t work”, added Nicki Hearne Interior Designer, Nicki Hearne Interior Design. “Because we look at it and go, ‘Well, the scale’s wrong, the line’s wrong.’ That’s because we’re creators; we’re highly trained. We’re always looking to critique and challenge.”

At TSK, where Conor Gantly is Head of Digital Transformation, responsible for the use of AI internally, he shared that understanding where the technological tools fit into the creative process is still “very much being tested – but it’s definitely not to replace human thought or creativity.”

Where AI is proving useful, Conor added, is for shrinking timelines – “they’re a big crunch, so we’re looking at how we can turn consultancy around in 5-days instead of 2-weeks.”

To assist AI in assisting the TSK team, Conor told the group that custom models are fed winning bids and documentation from 30-years of human experience – “TSK has been around for 30 years; it’s been built on people, not built on AI.”

“We’re then getting it to produce something repeatable that we know is us: our voice, how we as a business operate.”

A collaboration with the University of Salford through Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership is also aiding TSK in making more sustainable product and materials choices, with AI being used to match products that can meet specific requirements for certifications such as BREEAM and LEED. “AI will expedite putting sustainable products forward swiftly”, Conor commented.

“AI will expedite putting sustainable products forward swiftly."

For Stephanie Popescu, Project Architect, DMWR, AI is mostly being used for visuals and feasibility, in a similar vein to Fahad – AI accelerates feasibility, analysis, option testing, which is "where good design actually begins". And here, Stephanie made the point that AI should not be left unchecked, echoing a statement made by panellist Jason Taylor at our recent seminar: human judgement is crucial.

“AI is brilliant at averages. Architecture isn’t. You can't expect AI to think for you. Poor prompts, poor data, poor outcomes. For AI to be better, you need to know how to steer it in the right direction. It’s not going to take away from our creativity and our critical thinking. In the end, it’s our judgement that is the most important thing - can this be built? Our instinct knows why something feels right. AI can’t answer that. It can suggest, but it’s up to us as designers to make the call”, Stephanie said.

At 3DReid, Hayley Moreton, Architect there said the practice is looking at a 2-year roll into AI usage. A view shared by others around the table, there seems to be, on a sector-wide scale, some trepidation about the tools and training to embrace and undertake. Purely because of the speed at which AI is evolving.

Scoping out the landscape tentatively is the path that Nicki is taking too, having embarked on a Post-Grad in Design & Technology Education. “I’m not the biggest fan of AI, certainly for use in creative pursuits. But I am using AI. In my research at the moment, I have a lot of long academic papers to wade through. So I’m using AI: I’m feeding long papers in and saying, ‘Summarise this.’ It gives me the key bullet points, and then I decide whether I’m going to spend hours wading through it in depth.”

Though in cases like this, AI is proving useful, Nicki shared the concern that critical thinking is a skill that could be lost to future generations if we’re not careful.

"Critical thinking is fundamental to what we do - but will that still apply for future generations of designers?"

“We have curious brains. We need to understand how everything works. We want to know how to build it. Critical thinking is fundamental to what we do - but will that still apply for future generations of designers? Will we de-skill ourselves by relying on AI? When I say ‘ourselves,’ I’ll probably be out of the game by this point, but kids coming through today - when they’re in their 20s and 30s - will they have developed their critical thinking skills to the same extent that we’ve had to?”

Despite her reservations, Nicki recognises the paradigm shift that AI has forced – “it’s the new Industrial Revolution”, she said.

Critical thinking

“Are you concerned about young people coming out of University being devoid of critical thinking?” David asked.

“Apparently our kids are going to be the first generation to be less cognitively developed than their parents,” David Cryer replied.

“The important thing is what happens to the juniors coming into your firms: how much are they relying on AI day-to-day? We learned without AI, and we have to acknowledge it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re not letting our juniors come in and answer everything with AI and rely on it, because, ultimately, they won’t be able to replace you because they’ve not learned the ‘why?’”, Conor added.

AI proficiency in the younger generation of designers coming through into practice is an advantageous skill, Imogen suggested, having recently hired junior members of the team who can create with AI (amongst having other, more traditional skills).

“Where do you draw the line between a human-created design and an AI-created design?” David asked. “And how comfortable are you in stating the fact AI has been used?” he added.

The point was raised by David Cryer that there are some parts of an architect’s role where “it would be silly not to use AI” such as for tidying up documents – “We’re still feeding the data; it’s just making it sound better.”

“We’re still feeding the data; it’s just making it sound better.”

But when it comes to a creative skillset, the guests agreed that a designer must input first.

In general, clients “haven’t yet caught up”, Fahad said, in reference to their expectation of an architect or designer stating whether AI has been used in the process or not. This is especially true after tender stage, once a project is in motion, “there’s nothing stating that you need to say you’re using AI. There’s no contractual obligation.”

“But surely that’s going to change, isn’t it?” David enquired.

Inevitably, yes, came the response.

“One of our biggest fears is that clients expect us to work quicker for less. Essentially, AI can quicken up processes. I think then it’s our duty even more to justify what we do - our purpose, our position - and how much we are still needed,” Imogen commented.

Though the efficiencies that AI's making aren't necessarily saving time on a project, Lucy suggested, rather supporting architects’ own mental health, she said. “AI can mean you’re not sat there all-night writing text. It relieves you a little bit.”

Nicki agreed. “We all have days where we’re drawing a blank, and AI can be used to help you get started, make suggestions, and you take it off in your own direction once you get into the nuts and bolts of it. It helps you spend more time being creative, or refining.”

For others around the table including Stephanie, AI is helping by being a sounding board, especially when writing emails – “it can help by making people more concise and neutral.”

David Cryer said the key is to be professional in our prompting of AI, so it doesn’t overstep, “You have to say, ‘only change the text where necessary.’ If you ask it to re-write an email, it will literally - like Joey on Friends using the thesaurus - change 80% of the words. And I think, I would never send an email like that.”

In this way, Hayley suggested that AI doesn’t always save time, “because by the time you’ve checked what it’s come out with and then prompted it again…”

Enhancing or hindering guest experience?

Moving the conversation on, David asked, “Tell me how AI is impacting the guest experience?”

The relationship between technology and experience should be seamless, Stephanie said. It’s more about the invisible performance. The irony is the better it works, the less you notice it. "Like good acoustics, it's only obvious when it fails. We’re moving from fixed spaces to responsive ones. Lighting, acoustics can adapt to behaviour, improving comfort, navigation, and engagement. The building is starting to behave like a system, not a backdrop."

For David Cryer, who specialises in fan experience in stadiums, “AI is helping people on the other side of the world experience what the local fan is experiencing in the stands - interactive, immersive theatres that put you in the stadium.

“On the operational side, AI is enhancing the customer experience through faster turnstiles with facial recognition. Frictionless kiosks where you’re not dealing with a person” – “which is contentious”, David acknowledged, “but you’re getting your pint quicker. At football matches, you have 15 minutes to get 60,000 people served.

“And for operators, they’re getting live feedback on what beer is selling out faster.”

“How much is AI being used in stadiums? Are you ahead of the game?” David Smalley asked.

“AI is used quite a lot, mainly because of mass crowds. It’s used for crowd modelling. We work out how many kiosks we need, how many points of sale we need. It’s not based off a rule of thumb; it’s based off crowd modelling that tells you those guys only have to queue five minutes,” David shared.

In the workplace sector, Conor said AI is helping businesses to understand hybrid working: “who comes in, why they come in, and when. It’s a big challenge.”

Understanding live situations is also useful in hospitality environments, Hayley added. Which impacts on guest experience.

“I think there are benefits with the M&E and back-of-house functions. For instance, the hotel might be able to tell that the air conditioning unit’s broken straight away, whereas typically it might take a day to get fixed.”

Stephen Cunliffe, Director, Lumenear UK, made the suggestion that perhaps some of what is currently being badged as AI is in fact not new technology, commenting, “We use control systems that do heat mapping. They tell you occupancy and feed it back to the end client. If a certain area is more populated during the day, then we can change the energy levels and use in those areas. That’s been out forever. That’s not AI; that’s just intelligence.

"What’s the difference between 'intelligence' and 'artificial intelligence'?”

An article has been written on this very topic, stating, “Yet in the modern tech landscape, where any semblance of automated decision-making or pattern recognition is deemed 'AI,' these old technologies could easily be rebranded. It was not that they suddenly became more intelligent, it was that our marketing-driven language has shifted.” (Mitchell A. Sobieski for the Milwaukee Independent).

The thing that has changed, David Cryer said, is the “speed at which AI can do it.”

Going one step further

Imogen added, “AI can help us take it that one step further,” referencing the gathering of data leading to the likes of personalisation for hospitality guests, for example, “we have facial recognition, it can remember a person’s specific settings.”

At SpaceInvader, the impact of technological advancement in hospitality settings has meant things like designing in room for robot cleaners to move around hotels, Imogen shared.

However, she was quick to add that designing for technology is not at the forefront of the decision making process, “We’re not designing around technology; that’s the wrong way around it. We’re designing for all aspects. Technology is part of that - screens, being seamless, being in the right place. You only notice technology when it doesn’t work, and that’s frustrating. Hospitality is all about guest experience. Nothing kills it more than arriving somewhere and not being able to check in because it doesn’t work, for example.”

Specifically, guest check in has been enhanced by the rise of AI, those around the table agreed. “In a lot of hotel lobbies now, gone are the days of a big desk. It’s pods, podiums, iPads. It’s efficiencies in space,” Imogen continued.

With the client in mind, she said, “Operators always want to make more money. Enhance front-of-house by shrinking it, and get more rooms into a hotel. Lose space in front-of-house, shrink back-of-house. So we have smaller check-in and more efficient check-in. And spaces that aren’t just for check-in: ‘I’m going in for a coffee,’ ‘I’m going in for a meeting.’ ‘I’m on the way to the station; I’ll pop into this lovely hotel lobby because it doesn’t feel like a hotel; it feels like a coffee shop.’”

Though “the human element is still vital”, Imogen said we should, “let the mundane be handled by AI.”

“The human element is still vital. Let the mundane be handled by AI.”

“How close are we to a hotel room that’s totally personalised?” asked David.

“Operationally, we’re not that far”, Fahad replied, “But the transaction between the human and the AI: to get it to that level, you need a third-party application.

“At the moment, a lot of us are using it on the front end. We can’t use it in stages 3, 4, or 5 because the technology isn’t there, or you need a third party to implement it operationally. We don’t have the skill set to design and build an application that provides that technology. Though it’s just a matter of time.”

Asking a question in relation to the front end work that Fahad mentions, Stephen enquired as to how designers feed AI technical information about lighting to produce the correct lighting visualisation for CGIs? “Because when I see CGIs, the lighting is pretty much always wrong, and won’t look that way in reality.”

The consensus was that the lighting is enhanced on a CGI for “selling to the client”. And with ChatGPT’s latest update on imagery, again it was said to be “scarily good” at this particular part of the process now. Perhaps too good depending on the stage a project’s at, with CGI’s having to be wound back to sketching stage in some cases, it was said.

Designers will always sketch though, Imogen said.

Fahad shared that at University, the use of any digital media was deterred in favour of doing things by hand.

Nicki said the move to CAD from drawing boards was “The first technology revolution” for the profession. “Going from massive boards, and the older generation saying it took weeks drawing by hand. This is the natural next step for the next technology phase.” The challenge lies in finding the balance between not losing the design process, and working efficiently, Nicki added.

Clients love hand-sketching it was agreed, because they can input. But it’s potentially a dying skill – “It’s a skill that’s been lost. Some directors can knock out a sketch that looks amazing in five seconds. Juniors can’t; they CAD everything. When a client sees a final image, they think it’s fixed and they get worried. When they see a sketch, they fill in the gaps”, Nicki commented.

Touching on the future of AI in the architecture and design sector, David asked the group to consider where we might be headed in the next 5-years?

Celebrating humanity

David Cryer responded in celebration of genuine human experience, “In my sector: imagine going to a football stadium. It’s the most human experience you could have. Rain in your face. Hugging some random bloke next to you, abusing the referee - those things.

“I quite like the thought of us all going down this dystopian AI monotony, but then what I’m designing in stadiums is the breakaway; the release, the freedom from that. As long as stadiums are integrating AI in an invisible way, then we’re good.”

Imogen agreed that the same can be said for hospitality. “Hospitality is about human connection. I absolutely think AI and technology are part of that, but they’re part of it. They’re not it, unless your brief is ‘I want a tech-centred hospitality space.’ Use it to benefit what we’re doing. Use it to enhance what we’re doing, and the experience.”

“If AI becomes detrimental to connection, then we’re using it wrong”, added Nicki.

“We can definitely use AI to assist, but it shouldn’t make any of the decisions for us. That’s our job,” Hayley said.

Essentially, commented Stephen, “let’s not lose control.”

A huge thanks to all our guests for their insight shared, and to our supporter for this event, Lumenear UK - Partner at Material Source Studio Manchester & London.

The conversation continues in London on 7 May with our seminar: AI: Sustainability champion, or insupportable? Get your ticket here.

Top takeaways at a glance

• AI is supporting designers with the visualisation process in practice - it works best when fed with the initial design work of experienced professionals. The consensus was that it should not be allowed to create from scratch.

• Tech tools are saving architects time, leading to greater wellbeing, and allowing for a more balanced work/life by taking away monotonous tasks to reduce late-night workload.

• There's a need for continued digital literacy to try and keep up with the rate of change. Concerns were raised around AI potentially reducing critical thinking/skills in future generations.

• In all cases it was agreed guest experience has been enhanced by AI - in stadiums through immersive/interactive experiences for remote fans; operational tools like facial-recognition turnstiles and frictionless kiosks to speed service.

• AI is seen as the next tech revolution similar to the move from hand-drawing to CAD. Though hand-sketching as a skill should be retained. It helps clients feel involved and avoids over-finality of renders. There was a strong call to “keep it human.”

Alighting the tube at Wapping Station on a welcome, unseasonably warm day in March, we were immediately struck by the beauty of this area of the London borough, Tower Hamlets. A redeveloped former docks area right on the bank of the River Thames, Wapping Wall is the home of architecture practice, Manalo & White. And it has been for some time, Brian Greathead, Founder & Director, shared. 14-years to be exact.

Founded back in 1999, Manalo & White comprises a “diverse and cohesive team of designers collaborating on architecture and interiors, weaving pragmatism with playfulness to create rigorous, inclusive and joyful places.”

Fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and a good-humoured collective approach over individual ambition, in addition to being purposeful and practical, all underpinned by a focus on user needs over spectacle and showmanship, Manalo & White applies this approach to a wide range of sectors.

Their workspace reflects this. It’s not been crafted for show. Rather created to meet the needs of the team, while being usable – almost akin to a workshop. The elements that make up the Manalo & White studio have largely been acquired, as either ex-samples, materials repurposed from their previous office, or fixtures inherited from previous tenants Hawksmoor and reused. Everything feels purposeful though. It all has its place.

Taking Laura Connelly and David Smalley from the Material Source team, alongside Katie Hill and Karl Reeves from Parkside Architectural Tiles, for a walking and talking tour of the space was Brian Greathead, Founder & Director, alongside Lauren Li Porter, Associate Director, Manalo & White, giving us the stories behind every detail that bring the workspace to life.

Coming together

“The best design decisions sometimes start with something as basic as a table”, said Brian, as we stood towards the back of the studio admiring the view beyond. When “trying different heights of tables and chairs”, “doing what most people don’t bother to do”, Brian added, “sitting down and actually giving them a go for themselves before specifying”, an idea struck the team about what was needed for their own collaboration area.

A “proper” desk height would usually be around 750mm, Brian shared. But in this case, they wanted something slightly higher. Tall bar tables, though they look great, “don’t really hold up for a full day of thinking”, so were, quite literally, off the table, he said.

“Then we tried a 900mm-high table with the right chairs and had that rare moment where you instantly feel the difference in your body. Comfortable. Upright. Easy to talk. Easy to focus. So that was what we went with”, Brian commented of the 20-person table where everyone has access to the best seat in the house.

This experiment connects to the bigger belief: the “best seat” shouldn’t belong to one person, Brian explained. “If the common area is the best place to sit, nobody’s guarding it, and nobody’s stuck in a pecking order. Some days there are two or three of us up here, other days it’s four or more. People move around. I’m nomadic anyway, and I like a space that doesn’t force you into the same posture, the same desk, the same mood for eight hours.”

True of the workspace generally, Brian continued, “Chairs and tables quietly dictate behaviour. Benches, comfy seats, stools - they all nudge people toward different ways of working. Benches let you squeeze more people in. Sofas make it easier to perch for a quick chat. Stools and taller tables change the feeling of someone coming up behind you. At dining height, someone leaning over your shoulder can feel oddly intrusive. At the higher level, that same moment feels more like an easy conversation. It’s subtle, but it matters.”

Moving on up

“When we came out of lockdown, we’d grown”, said Brian. “We went into 2020 with 14 people in the office, and came out the other side with 20. Suddenly the old space wasn’t big enough. So we worked out a deal and moved from downstairs, up.

“The move wasn’t just about more room”, Brian added, “it was a reaction to how work had changed.”

Part of this was a desire to include a material samples library in the space – it actually takes up half of the office. A clear indicator of how important tactility is to the team.

“During lockdown, like everyone else, we were choosing materials from images and PDFs. Deliveries were turning up at people’s flats, and homes were filling up with samples. But the bigger issue was that we were losing our connection to what things actually felt like.

“A tile can look perfect on a screen and be a horror show in real life. We had one that looked like terrazzo on a PDF, but in person it was clearly a cheap imitation. That was a wake-up call. So one of the main goals in the new studio was simple: get materials out where people can see them and touch them. Not hidden in boxes. Not buried in a sample library that nobody wants to dig through. If we’re designing real spaces for real people, we need to stay close to real materials. Texture, weight, shine, edges, how it ages - those things don’t come through on a screen”, Brian said.

While exploring this area of the office, Brian also pointed out some parts of the space that had been inherited - that didn’t entirely feel like them, Brian admitted, but that they didn’t have the heart to rip out for the sake of it. Of the meeting room, Brian said, “There was a screen with that slightly cobbled-together, found-object energy that I do like in principle, but it was made from different coloured doors, and it felt ‘noisy’. I didn’t want to rip it out because that felt wasteful, but I also didn’t want to live inside someone else’s design. The solution ended up being almost embarrassingly straightforward: paint it the same colour as the other doors. Suddenly it calmed down, made sense, and became ours.”

This notion of ‘owning the space you work in’ was a reoccurring theme of the chat. Every detail matters.

The art of experimentation

The office is split by a wall, and that’s not an accident either. “A big room can feel smaller and more usable when you break it down into zones. It’s also part of encouraging people to move. I’m always pushing the idea that you should get up, get off your desk, change position. The way you think changes when the way you sit changes. Sitting for eight hours, half-slumped, staring at a screen isn’t just bad physically, it’s bad for the work”, suggested Brian.

Lighting is another constant experiment. “We inherited lighting that isn’t great, but we’ve been swapping tubes, testing different LED options, and playing with colour temperature”, Lauren told us. “Daylight temperature matters when you’re reviewing finishes. In winter there’s so little actual daylight that you need a way to check materials in conditions that resemble real life.”

The workshop corner tells the same story. “We’ve got tools, bits and pieces for model making, and while I’d love to say we build models all the time, we don’t as much as we should. Time and budget always get in the way. But having that workshop energy in the studio still matters. It keeps things physical. It keeps the making mindset nearby”, said Brian.

And then there’s the “secret second life” of the sample library: the cocktail bar. Hospitality, Brian said, is really integral to how the team works. “We want clients and collaborators to come in, feel welcome, have a drink, talk properly. Sometimes we open the bar just for ourselves as well, and office parties stop being that awkward thing you dread and become genuinely good fun.”

“Somewhere along the way I got into cocktails, properly. I used to think cocktails were expensive nonsense, why queue at a bar when you can just get a beer? Then someone taught me what to order and when: a Negroni before dinner, an Old Fashioned after. Once you see it as craft, you start paying attention. Like materials, it’s about the details: balance, timing, the right thing in the right context.”

Over in the corner flashes a neon sign. A good old fashioned American dive-bar style one. “I kept asking for it, and then one day it appeared: the most generic “bar” sign you can imagine, like something from an American dive bar in a film. It’s perfect. It gives the space permission to be playful”, said Brian, fondly.

Going right back to the beginning, Brian said it was playfulness too that fuelled the studio’s origin story. “We had this moment with ChatGPT where someone asked it about “Manalo & White” and it confidently invented an entire backstory about two architects who don’t exist. It was hilarious and unsettling at the same time. It reminded me that if clients use AI to find designers, you can’t ignore it. You have to teach the internet who you are, or it will make something up!”

The name Manalo & White actually comes from Brian and his DJ partner’s “two favourite Barry’s”. “He bet I wouldn’t name the practice after it. I did. It was meant to be a stopgap. Twenty-five years later, it’s still here. I keep asking if we should change it, and so far, nobody has voted ‘yes’.”

Style backed substance

Brian and Lauren shared that when it comes to projects, a lot of Manalo & White’s work sits within the hospitality and residential sectors: hotels, student accommodation, and the shared spaces that make those buildings work. “The last year has been tough across the industry”, shared Brian, “but we’ve felt something that also feels familiar: repeat clients calling with projects and asking to negotiate fees, rather than endless beauty-parade pitches. They’re not always big, but this keeps the engine running.”

For student accommodation (PBSA), the design challenge to solve there is not style-related, but operations, the pair said. “You can spend an hour and a half talking about parcel systems, because if the logistics of that don’t work, the reception staff spend 90% of their time firefighting, and residents get frustrated. It sounds boring until you realise that friction is what people remember. Remove the friction and the whole building feels better.

“There’s a line I love: to design for students, you have to become a student of students. It’s true. You have to understand how 18-year-olds live now, and how they’ll live two years from now. It changes the way you see priorities: privacy, safety, social space, quiet space, tech that works without drama”, Brian added.

Returning to the importance of ‘trying before you buy’, in projects, Brian said, “We made a rule internally: no one specifies a chair unless they’ve sat on it. It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed how easy it is to pick something that looks great and feels awful. We have one chair that became the ‘naughty chair’ because it taught that lesson the hard way.”

The same goes for finishes, he said. “It’s not only about cost, lifecycle, and provenance. It’s also about tactility, durability, how it ages, how it wears.”

“In many projects we’re trying to hit a “four-star hotel” feel on tight budgets, which means understanding where to spend and where to simplify”, added Lauren. “Tiles, for example, can be brilliant: durable, easy to maintain, and visually strong. But you have to deploy them with intention because labour adds up.

“We’ve also been pushing into the parts of design that people don’t photograph: acoustics, comfort, and sensory experience. We’re visually saturated as a culture, so the temptation is to design for the camera. But good spaces are fully sensory. When you start thinking about neurodiversity, or dementia-friendly principles, you realise those ideas don’t just help some people, they make spaces better for everyone.”

Testing, testing

For this reason, experimentation and creativity is central to the Manalo & White team’s practice.

For one particular project, Lauren is experimenting with acoustic products making them stand-out design elements, not hidden panels. “Taking shapes from something local, like Roman mosaic patterns, and scaling them up into large acoustic relief panels can turn function into artwork. It’s that sweet spot: visual joy, tactile quality, and practical performance, all at once.”

As we said our goodbyes, a lasting thought impressed that this, in summary, is exactly what the studio is: a working test bed. Tables and chairs that prove a point. Lighting that’s constantly being adjusted. Materials you can touch. A space that supports focus, movement, conversation, and hospitality. For Manalo & White, it was never about making an office that was outwardly impressive. It was about creating a place where the work is allowed to grow and get better because the environment is doing its job. And sometimes, that starts with acknowledging that opting for a slightly higher table can make all the difference in the world.

A huge thanks to the Manalo & White team for hosting us at your HQ. And thank you to our supporters for this instalment of In Practice, Parkside Architectural Tiles – Partners at Material Source Studio London, Manchester & Glasgow.

Manalo & White: At a glance

Founded: 1999

Location: Wapping Wall, London

Team members: 20

Sectors: Residential, Hospitality, Arts, Community, Education, Heritage, Industrial, Retail, Workplace

Website: manaloandwhite.co.uk

Aurore Baulier, founder of Atelier Baulier is a passionate Passivhaus designer, offering solutions to future-proofing our existing homes, rather than building new.

“With roughly 80% of the buildings that will be in use in 2050 already standing today, decarbonising our existing stock is essential if we are to address the climate and biodiversity crisis.”

At a time when decarbonising our homes has become an urgent priority both economically and environmentally, the role of thoughtful retrofit and low-carbon design has, arguably, never been more important. Aurore leads a small yet influential architectural studio based in Hackney that is helping to shape this transition. “Being an architect today”, Aurore puts, “is therefore not primarily about building new, but about future-proofing what already exists - and how this is done is critical.”

Working predominantly across residential retrofits, extensions, and some new builds, Aurore and her team employ Passivhaus principles where possible to craft comfortable, energy-efficient homes designed around the needs of their occupants.

Recently shortlisted for the RIBA London Awards for Twin Pitches, a residential retrofit and extension, the practice is recognised for its sensitive approach to upgrading existing buildings. Central to this work is the use of natural, bio-based materials that support healthy interiors, while reducing embodied carbon. Focused on material honesty and practicality, Atelier Baulier demonstrates how retrofit can transform everyday homes into resilient, low-energy spaces for the future.

From an organic farm to a global fashion house

“I grew up in Brittany on an organic farm, so sustainability was simply part of everyday life. We built and repaired buildings ourselves, often using the materials that were available locally.

"In 2015, I began taking on residential projects on the side. One of the first was designing a new built house for my sister. That project helped me realise how much I enjoyed working directly with people and designing homes. Eventually, I decided to establish my own studio in 2017.”

“Working like that gives you a very direct relationship with materials. You understand how they behave and why they’re used. It wasn’t about following a sustainability trend - it was just a practical, resourceful way of building. Looking back, it was an incredibly valuable experience and it definitely shaped the way I approach architecture today.”

You studied Sustainable Architecture at the University of Gothenburg. Can you tell us about your education here and how it has influenced you?

“Nearly 20 years ago, the University of Gothenburg was the only university in Europe offering a Masters qualification in Sustainable Architecture, so it was the obvious choice for my Erasmus destination. Sustainability wasn’t yet on the agenda in France, where I was studying, so it was a formative experience. The programme taught me a lot. It wasn’t just about environmental performance, but also about the ethical and societal impacts of the spaces we create.”

Shortly after this, you worked at Louis Vuitton, which must have been quite a shift...

“Yes, it was almost a complete contrast. I worked mostly on pop-up retail projects and exhibitions. The role involved collaborating with designers and architects on temporary installations and retail environments.

“A big part of my work there was coordinating the projects and ensuring everything came together on site - managing the relationship between designers, craftspeople, and construction teams. What I really took away from that experience was the level of attention to detail and craftsmanship. The standards were incredibly high, and there was a real focus on quality and finish.”

Good residential design: From the inside out

How did you transition to launching your design practice in London?

“Before starting my studio, I worked for Universal Design Studio, who invited me to move to London. I stayed there for about six years and worked across several sectors including; retail, hospitality and museums. Those years were a really important foundation. My training was originally in architecture, but over time, I became increasingly interested in interiors and how spaces are experienced on a daily basis.”

Something that stands out in your work is how cohesive the architecture and interiors feel. The materials often carry from the outside into the interior spaces...

“Yes, absolutely. For me, architecture and interiors are part of the same experience - you shouldn’t design them separately.

“I’m very interested in the honesty of materials - letting them do more than one job. For example, a plywood ceiling might be both the structural layer and the finished surface. It’s not simply a decorative layer applied afterwards. I like that clarity - it shows how the building is made, rather than hiding everything behind finishes.”

Do you often find yourself explaining that approach to clients, the idea of designing from the inside out?

“Yes, quite often. Sometimes people want to design an extension purely from the outside so they can secure planning permission quickly, and only later think about the interior.

“But that approach can cause problems because the interior layout and the way people live in the house should inform the architecture. I prefer to start by understanding how the space will actually function - how people live, move and gather throughout a space. I then allow the exterior to respond to that.”

Your projects strike a balance between feeling curated and still very lived-in. How do you achieve that?

“Practicality is always very important to me. Materials need to be robust and able to age gracefully. I avoid finishes that feel too precious and enjoy the honesty in the material choices I select. I actually like materials that develop patina over time because they become part of the story of the house. A home should still feel beautiful in twenty years, not just on the day it’s finished.”

When you begin a project with a client, how do you start to understand their lifestyle so you can design a space that really supports them?

“It starts with long conversations. We talk not only about their current lifestyle but also how they imagine living in the house in twenty years. Are they planning to stay there long-term? How does their family life work? What are their hobbies? How do they host guests? What happens at Christmas?

"These details might seem small, but they reveal a lot about how people actually use space. And because we work closely with clients for several years during a project, it’s important to really understand their lives."

You’ve worked across many sectors, including retail and museums. What drew you specifically to residential design?

“Residential work allows you to have a direct impact on people’s everyday lives. The spaces we live in influence our wellbeing, our mental health, and how we experience daily life.

“In retail projects, the lifespan can be very short - sometimes only a few years. But a home might last for decades. I want to design durable spaces that improve people’s lives - homes that will support the changing needs of families over a long period of time.”

Passivhaus principles in practice

“I’ve always been drawn to passive design approaches that work with a building’s context rather than against it. Creating comfortable, energy-efficient spaces without relying heavily on technology has been a guiding principle in my practice from the start.

"Materials need to be robust and able to age gracefully. I avoid finishes that feel too precious and enjoy the honesty in the material choices I select.”

“I only completed the Passivhaus Designer course a couple of years ago, and it has been invaluable in deepening my technical understanding of building fabric performance and detailing. Even though most of our work focuses on retrofits and extensions, we strive to incorporate Passivhaus principles wherever possible.

“Our goal is not just to design homes that our clients love, but also to provide them with energy security and long-term comfort in their everyday lives.”

How do you apply Passivhaus principles to the existing buildings you’re working with?

“The core principles remain the same; good insulation, airtightness, high-performance windows, and effective ventilation.

“With existing buildings, it’s more complex because you’re working with what’s already there. Sometimes you only fully understand the structure once work begins on site. But that process can also be very interesting because improving the performance of existing buildings is essential since roughly 80% of the buildings that will be in use in 2050 already standing today.

“In one recent project we aimed to reach Enerphit level performance (PassivHaus for retrofit) even though we didn’t put all measures in place due to budget constraints. After monitoring the energy use, we found that the building actually performed very close to the target. This shows that relatively simple interventions, done carefully, can make a huge difference.”

Residential retrofits

Let's talk about retrofit - what are the opportunities and the challenges?

“Absolutely - this forms the core of our work. The UK has some of the least insulated housing stock in Europe, which helps explain why around 19% of our total carbon footprint comes from building operational emissions.

“With roughly 80% of the buildings that will be in use in 2050 already standing today, decarbonising our existing stock is essential if we are to address the climate and biodiversity crisis. Being an architect today is therefore not primarily about building new, but about future-proofing what already exists - and how this is done is critical.

“We have all heard about the retrofit insulation failures; a recent report by the National Audit Office revealed that 98% of external wall insulation installed under government funded schemes now require repair or replacement. This underlines how vital it is to have a strong understanding of building physics and materials, as well as a skilled team to deliver the work properly.

“Wherever possible, we use natural and bio-based materials to keep embodied carbon low while also creating healthy, comfortable living environments. Most of our projects combine retrofit with an extension to optimise space and functionality.

“We recently completed a garden room in North London - in fact, it is larger than many of the extensions we have designed so far. As always, we sought to minimise the project’s carbon footprint, collaborating with our structural engineers, Webb Yates, to develop a timber frame structure supported on screw piles instead of conventional concrete foundations.

"The timber frame was prefabricated with millimetre precision in a workshop, delivered to site fully labelled, and assembled efficiently by the team. It is a highly effective construction method, reducing waste and saving time. We’re looking forward to sharing photographs of this project later in the spring.

"Bright & White Dental was also an interesting project. The client wanted to create a calmer and more welcoming environment because dental clinics are often very clinical and cold.

“We used warmer materials and colours to create a more relaxed atmosphere. Even the treatment rooms were designed to feel softer and more comfortable. The goal was to make patients feel at ease rather than anxious. The material choices were key to crafting this soothing atmosphere."

Are there any lesser-known aspects or misconceptions about retrofit that deserve more attention?

“There are several key principles to keep in mind. For example, when insulating a wall, the first few centimetres deliver the greatest benefit - even just 5cm of insulation on an external brick wall can reduce heating bills by more than half.

“Airtightness is equally important, and continuity is critical. There is little point in insulating a wall thoroughly if details such as window reveals are overlooked - heat will always find the weakest points and escape. It may seem painstaking, but every junction and detail must be carefully considered to ensure the overall performance of the retrofit.

"98% of external wall insulation installed under government funded schemes now require repair or replacement. This underlines how vital it is to have a strong understanding of building physics and materials, as well as a skilled team to deliver the work properly."

“Ventilation is another essential aspect. Older houses typically rely on uncontrolled draughts to refresh the internal air. When retrofitting and making the building envelope airtight, it becomes crucial to address ventilation at the same time.

“An average household generates around 10 litres of water vapour per day through breathing, showering, drying clothes, and other daily activities. If this moisture is not removed through a proper ventilation system, it will accumulate, leading to condensation, mould growth, and potential damage to the building fabric.”

From your perspective, what changes are needed in legislation or policy to support better retrofitting?

“Education is a big part of it. Many buildings are still being renovated using synthetic materials or impermeable systems that trap moisture. Applying cement render to traditional brick walls for example can cause serious problems. This is because it prevents the building from breathing. Water becomes trapped, leading to deterioration.

“We also need a more skilled workforce trained specifically in retrofit techniques. Retrofitting older buildings requires a different approach than new construction.”

Decarbonising our material choices

What natural or low-carbon materials are you particularly interested in working with right now?

“I’ve been working with hemp and lime boards recently. They have good acoustic properties, regulate humidity, and provide thermal mass. They’re also breathable, which is very important for healthy buildings.

“Stone bricks are also a material on our drawing board at the moment. Unlike traditional clay fired bricks, these come out of the ground ready to use, no need for firing. Therefore the embodied carbon of this essential building material is around eighty percent less than clay bricks.

“Another material I like is wood fibre insulation. It’s made from waste wood fibres and performs very well. Sheep’s wool insulation is also excellent, especially British wool products, because it doesn’t require much processing. The key advantage of many natural materials is that they work with the building fabric rather than against it.

“When it comes to insulation, I generally refuse synthetic varieties. We try to teach our clients the long-term benefits of natural alternatives, and they usually agree."

When you propose these materials, is it usually something clients are already asking for, or are you introducing them to the idea?

“Most of the time it’s something I introduce. Clients might not be familiar with these materials initially, but once you explain the benefits they usually understand and are on board very quickly.

“I remember one project where we used hemp-based materials extensively. The clients had two teenage sons, and one of them said the space made him feel incredibly calm. That really struck me, because it shows how people can feel the impact of materials even if they don’t consciously understand why.”

Alongside your work at Atelier Baulier, you are the Climate Action Coordinator for the Natural Materials Group. Can you tell us about your role here?

“I’ve been involved with ACAN, Architects Climate Action Network for several years. As a coordinator, I facilitate the Natural Materials Group, chair meetings, contribute to our Natural Details Library website, and organise webinars.

“This year, I was also elected to the steering group, so I’m involved not only in the day-to-day work but also in shaping the organisation’s broader campaigns and strategic direction.”

What’s next?

“Atelier Baulier is continuing to focus on high-quality residential projects, including retrofits, extensions, and new builds, with a strong emphasis on sustainability, materials, and occupant comfort.

“We’re especially excited about applying Passivhaus and low-carbon principles to more projects, helping clients future-proof their homes while reducing energy use and environmental impact.

“We’re also working on small-scale commercial projects, including retail schemes, such as our collaboration with our friends at The Dusty Knuckle, a bakery known for its great ethos and community focus.

“Looking ahead, we hope to take on larger projects while continuing to develop practical, efficient, and low-carbon design solutions, maintaining the architectural quality and meticulous craftsmanship that define our work.”

The Hemp Carbon chair collection by Vepa UK straddles style and sustainability.

This new range while being a variant of Vepa's existing Hemp collection, has a significant addition: material pioneer Plantics has further developed the previously introduced bio-resin into Carbon Capture Composite. The addition of biochar (also referred to as charcoal) creates a deeper, more powerful colour and a modern appearance, without compromising on Vepa's core principles.

The foundation of the chair remains unchanged. 100% biological, natural and recyclable. Developed together with Plantics, based on Vepa's circular design principles and finished with natural linseed oil. No coatings, no additives that hinder reuse. What you see is what the material itself expresses.

"Hemp Carbon not only contributes as a more sustainable product, but also to a healthier environments. By choosing biobased raw materials, we reduce the use of fossil resources and lower environmental impact throughout the lifecycle. This benefits the planet, today and in the long term."

Vepa shares that Hemp Carbon has been crafted to fit seamlessly into the workplace shift towards more homely, comforting settings. The addition of Carbon Capture Composite gives the chair a deep, contemporary colour that suits modern interiors while maintaining its natural character. The subtle colour variations are not imperfections, but proof of a pure material. Each chair is unique.

For users, this is more than an aesthetic choice. Natural materials feel warmer, age beautifully and contribute to a pleasant, human-centred working environment. Hemp Carbon therefore supports both sustainable buildings and the wellbeing of the people who use them every day.

The range comprises: Hemp Fine Carbon / Hemp Medium Carbon / Hemp High Carbon.

What makes Hemp Carbon unique, you might ask?

• The shell is 100% biological, natural and recyclable
• Made from hemp fibres and bio-resin
• Addition of the natural material Carbon Capture Composite for a deep, modern colour
• Subtle, natural colour variations per product
• Finished with linseed oil
• Developed according to circular design principles
• Fits perfectly within modern, sustainable interiors
• A portion of the CO₂ captured during biomass growth remains stored in the chair long-term, contributing to CO₂ reduction efforts.

Hemp Carbon is not just a new colour variant. It is a next step in how Vepa approaches materials, form and responsibility. A chair that demonstrates that sustainability does not have to be light or understated, but can be bold, expressive and timeless.

Discover more by visiting Material Source Studio Manchester & Glasgow, where Vepa is a Partner.

Our latest seminar in Manchester kicked off our focus theme for this quarter: Artificial Intelligence. During the first of our conversations on this hotly debated topic for 2026, forming the focus for our next 6 events, as those of you in the room were privy to, sparks definitely flew. Myths were debunked. And, while questions were answered, many more emerged.

We brought together two experts with a varied wealth of experience, Dr Phil Tetlow - Visiting Professor, Author & IT Architect - formerly at IBM for 24 years, and Jason Taylor - Senior Lecturer in Digital Education & AI Leadership, Manchester School of Architecture. With Host – Material Source Studio Director, David Smalley, asking, "AI: novelty or non-negotiable?", seeking to go beyond the hype to decipher what "AI means to those that are commissioning, designing, and operating workplaces".

Kicking off the discussion, David asked the panellists what they thought the most pressing question may be for our audience? “What’s the burning question they have, do you think?”

Will I be replaced by AI?

“It’s got to be: are architects going to be replaced by AI?”, responded Jason.

Phil agreed, adding, “It’s probably the right question to ask.”

“Should they be worried, then?” David continued.

Jason replied: “Architecture has never stood still. Over the last 50 to 60 years in particular, what Mario Carpo helped frame as the digital turn in architecture has brought repeated paradigm shifts that have changed how the profession works, from computing and modelling through to simulation, fabrication and digital communication.

"AI feels like the next major phase of that shift, but one that is different in scale because it begins to affect not just how we produce design, but how we conceive it. It changes the design thinking process."

As well as in workplace environments, the impact can also be felt in the education sector, Jason added, in terms of “evidencing the way that students learn. How do we benchmark these things?”

Overall, his belief is that, “AI is not necessarily a worry, but it’s a chance for us to be cautious in the way that we utilise the tools that we engage with.”

For Phil, another human emotion comes into play at the mention of AI. “First of all, everybody in the room knows this already, but AI is a big deal. Full stop. End of sentence. New paragraph. A better question is: should I be worried or should I be excited? And I think, in equal measure, both.”

“Why?” asked David.

“Because we are seeing a paradigm shift”, Phil answered, concurring with Jason’s point, but, it’s bigger than that, he suggests. “We’re also seeing a major catalytic effect to a degree that we’ve probably never seen before in humankind.

“There are some statistics you need to get your head around before we even start to talk about AI. You need to realise there are 7 times more people on the planet today than when I was born. I’m just about to turn 60. And the other thing is that there are more people alive today than have ever been alive in the entire history of the human race.

“Now, if you think about that as a scale multiplier: if you get a catalytic shift in capability, if a technology arrives that can catalytically enhance or augment humankind, it’s going to do it in a way like we have never, ever seen before.”

Obtuse improvement, acute negativity

Phil likened AI to the arrival of the printing press or the automobile, “because they’re all equivalent trends”, he commented. “And whenever you ask me about any type of major sea change or advance like that, I always make the following point: what you generally see is obtuse improvement across the board.”

Of course, everything that goes up, must come down. What Phil suggests is the positive/negative opportunity of AI is a seesaw. It’s yin and yang.

A Best Practices Group Contributor of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Phil spoke about how the overhaul of HTML in 2005, which led to the birth of the World Wide Web as we know it today, is akin to what’s happening with AI. “What you saw with the World Wide Web is education standards rise across the globe. You saw massive employment opportunities. In certain parts of the world, you saw a level of poverty decrease. Good thing, you would say.

“If you talk to Tim Berners-Lee about this, he’ll say, ‘Everything about the World Wide Web was positive.’ And I’ll say, ‘From an obtuse standpoint, yes.’

However, Phil warned, “you will also see acute negativity.”

While the World Wide Web has opened up a wealth of positivity for so many, it has also facilitated things that are “really, really dark”. “You will see the same thing with AI”, Phil said.

As an IT architect with 3 decades’ worth of chartership, Phil suggested that the whole point of architecture is that “it’s a profession, and we are custodians of an elite set of practices.”

For that reason, a responsibility lies with architects as professionals, Phil believes, “it is incumbent upon us as a profession to make sure that the obtuseness of AI is bred to do good for the profession and ultimately humankind. But at the same time, it is incumbent upon us as professionals to make sure that when we do see the acute negative effects of AI, we minimise them, or at least control them.”

Jason asked how many people in the audience engage with AI, and the response was surprising, he said. “I would expect more, in all honesty.”

Taking it back to its basics then, Jason explained that AI is not capable of independent thought, “The key thing with AI is that it is effectively a pattern recognition system. It can tell you what a correct answer looks like; it doesn’t necessarily know what a correct answer is, depending on the dataset that you feed it."

Focusing specifically on the education sector, David asked Jason, “You’re teaching people in this world - they’re at the start of their careers. What are they thinking at the moment? Because the message seems to be: if you’re great, you can take advantage of this. If you’re at the lower levels of data-entry-ism and so forth, you might be in trouble?”

It’s an interesting one, Jason said. Not just for students, but also for people who have been in practice for a while and have not kept pace with how digital literacy has evolved. “With the rise of BIM, game engines, digital twins, algorithmic design and now AI, the challenge is often knowing where to begin.”

“Specifically, for BA1 and BA2 students who are brand new into the field: what should they be learning?” asked David.

With the accessibility of AI relatively new to the end user, Jason said strategies are in their relative infancy.

At the University, Jason shared, “We typically promote teaching students traditional architectural workflows. My team teach the whole digital strategy for our school, effectively, and that covers technical drawing, 3D modelling and BIM, visualisation, environmental simulation and computation.

“But at what point does AI stop sitting alongside these skills and start displacing traditional architectural processes? That is something we, as academics and architects, are having to test in real time with students, because the boundary is shifting fast and it is already beginning to redefine what architectural literacy and professional readiness look like.”

Who’s in trouble?

Referencing a documentary by the artist Grayson Perry 'Grayson Perry has seen the future', which had aired the evening previous to the session, Phil shared that one of the comments made was “mediocre intellectuals” - “I think he was targeting academics”, said Phil – “are in trouble, because AI is going to take that out.”

“However”, he added, “and there is a ‘however’ in that. I would guess most people in the room are familiar with the word evolution, because we’re involved in an evolutionary process here. I bet there aren’t many people in the room who’ve heard of or understand the word co-evolution.

“This basically says that if you look at something that’s evolving, what actually happens is at the same time, the environment that thing is evolving in is also evolving.

“So on the point about lower capability or mediocre capability: what is probably going to happen is that the profession will morph in such a way that it can accommodate that type of capability as well. Predicting how you get that counter-morph is the subtlety that is really, really hard to assess. But in the short term, yes, it’s worth being mildly nervous about the immediate effects of AI.”

This short-term view of the immediate effects is not really what we should be interested in, added Phil. “The long-term effects are far more profound and far more interesting, because we don’t know how it will develop. It’s like when penicillin arrived or the atomic bomb, the immediate effect was, in the case of the atomic bomb, catastrophic. But actually, since the dropping of the two bombs in World War II, we’ve had no further nuclear incidents as a direct result of that. We will see similar types of episode with AI”, he believes.

Similarly, he referenced the automobile. “When the automobile arrived, it killed the Pony Express. It killed a whole load of professions and industries. But at the same time, gas stations evolved, motorways were built, and service station sandwich operators started to sprout up. So for every negative, there will be a counter-positive.”

“Because of the depth, breadth, and scale of AI - especially the rate at which it’s evolving - the world within which our children and our children’s children will go to work will not be the same as the world we see today.” - Phil Tetlow

Concern for the future generations was shared by Jason. “I have a 3-year-old daughter at home and I’m genuinely concerned: what am I educating her for, for the future?

"My concern is that human interaction is a core part of human development, and something we risk losing if we automate too much of everyday life. If routine experiences such as speaking to people in shops begin to disappear, then we have to ask what that means for social development, empathy, and the future of humanity more broadly.”

Grappling with the machine

“What’s the key thing then, if a student comes to you and says, ‘What should I be focusing on?’” asked David.

“Digital literacy”, said Jason. “For my students, we still teach analogue drawing; we’re teaching traditional processes. And we treat AI as just another paradigm shift, another tool, effectively.”

The key is to “understand the limitations of that tool in its current form”, he added. AI is currently limited, Jason believes, though AGI - Artificial General Intelligence - described by Google as: a hypothetical type of AI that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across any intellectual task at a human or superhuman level. Unlike current "narrow" AI, which excels at specific tasks, AGI would possess generalisation, common sense, and autonomous problem-solving capabilities - will change the landscape yet again.

“AI in its current form isn’t as intelligent as the way human brains are today.” - Jason Taylor

On the point about digital literacy, David asked “what should people be focusing on – because it’s not just LLMs (Large Language Models such as ChatGPT) is it?”

Jason said there are “two schools of thought”. There’s the traditional side of skills – such as what the Manchester School of Architecture BA students are taught: technical drawing, building information modelling – “the kind of skills you want your graduates joining you in practice to have”, commented Jason.

But in terms of AI “sitting on top of that”, Jason said, “it’s understanding that AI is a multimodal system. It’s not just an LLM. It’s not just ChatGPT or Claude. It’s image-based visualisation… it’s video-based stuff. We’re now getting to the point where some of our students are using Grasshopper inside Rhino, which is fantastic, I’ve been teaching that for years, but they’re now using AI within Grasshopper. They’re feeding it things like building information, UK planning regs, building regs, RIBA stages of work, and they’re using that to make informed design decisions as part of their design process.”

With this in mind, “What are humans adding to the process?” David asked.

Being human

“AI shouldn’t replace human thought”, Jason replied. “AI is good at looking at data and crunching numbers, and it’s good at knowing if something’s efficient, reducing redundancy. But it can’t necessarily tell us how things feel, or what’s good for the culture of an environment. It can’t really understand the arts, for instance.”

Phil agreed, highlighting that architects, in particular, are well-placed in a technologically advancing world. “Architecture lives as a profession at the overlap of multiple disciplines. What that means is: every single person in this room, if you declare yourself as being an architect, by definition you are polymathic; good at many skills. That’s what AI is good at as well: it’s good at many skills.

“If you want to survive, you need to lean in on that ‘polymathicism’, if there is such a word. Being a specialist is probably a sure-fire way to extinction, because the AIs will replicate it before you, if they’re not doing it already.

“The other thing Jason has mentioned is the one thing we need to focus on more than ever: being human. Because AIs are not human, and there are qualities that we inherently have as biological beings that AI does not have, qualities like empathy, kinship, appreciation, brotherhood, sympathy. All of those things can be emulated by an AI, but they’re not for real. And you can certainly spot them.”

Providing the specific example of supplier-client relationships, Phil commented, “you’ll never get an AI to do that properly. Never, ever. Because people don’t buy off the back of a contract. Real work is won on a golf course. It’s about human contact. The sociological stuff. Waking up in the morning and making a phone call to somebody. That’s where the magic is.”

In this way both AI and humans have their place, Phil believes. And by bringing both elements together, that’s the “sweet spot”. “AI with the very essence of humanity, that’s your sweet spot. In two words, that’s what I call professional practice”, Phil added.

To add, Jason said, “critical thought” is where “we really differentiate between human thinking and AI thinking.”

At this point the danger of deep fakes was brought up in the conversation. AI can now produce video that looks so real, it’s being accepted as authentically legitimate by even the most discerning of social media users.

“A big part of what we will need to teach students in future is how to think much more critically and how to verify the authenticity of what they are seeing. A good example is the deepfake video showing Neil deGrasse Tyson saying the Earth is flat: someone most people would regard as a credible and authoritative source, but the video itself was fabricated. That is exactly why critical thinking and source verification will become such important skills in an AI-shaped world.”

“Think in the gaps. Find the crack, widen it. That’s what we should be doing with AI”, Phil said.

“There’s a lot of stuff that’s obvious about AI”, Phil continued. “If you want to be really, really clever with AI, you’ve got to look at the stuff that’s non-obvious. Don’t ever prompt an AI cold; you’re just wasting your time.

“What I do is: I never ask an AI a question. I always give it the answer and I say, ‘What have I missed?’ And that spirals you off into a whole universe of stuff which is filling in the spaces in my personal inadequacy.

“If you do it properly - predicate it properly - and with mathematics, you can get answers back which are enlightened, controlled, pinpointed, professional.”

Where’s the value?

“Where in the workplace lifecycle will AI create real value?” David asked.

For Jason, the real value of AI lies in helping architects deal with complexity and information at scale. “That could mean handling large datasets, interpreting client information, finding patterns in surveys, or supporting analysis across the workplace lifecycle. Its real contribution is not just reducing repetitive tasks, but strengthening the evidence base for better design decisions.”

“Then we should critically analyse what that AI tells us as a result”, added Phil. “And this is the big point: give it the stuff you don’t want to do, or that takes a lot of time, but then critically analyse it. Be a human. To give you that time to focus on what it is you want to do.”

Phil said this can be considered in two words: “menial and monotonous”.

“AI is good at everything. So it can augment and improve at every point in the traditional work cycle,” continued Phil. “You need to make AI good at the things that you’re not good at. You need to decide where in your work cycle you’ve got weak points, use AI to help you analyse where you’re weak, and then try to get it to augment in areas where you are inefficient.”

In short, Phil suggests, “getting AI to do what you cannot, and to bring out the best in you.”

To do this, Phil encouraged the audience to get AI to “assess what you’re not good at” by, quite literally asking it, “What am I not good at?”

Ascending ordinary

The conversation on AI in the workplace can sometimes feel one-note. AI can rewrite your emails. It can make the minutes at meetings. It can organise your diary. But for Phil, if we look at that bigger picture, it is capable of so much more than that. And as Jason alluded to earlier, magic can be made when humans and AI join forces for more than the mundane.

Speaking of Material Source Studio Manchester, where this session was held, Phil likened the wealth of inspiration on offer to “the type of thing that AI is blisteringly good at” – offering inspiration.

“There are some materials out there [in the Studio] I would never have imagined in a million years existed. But if you were to walk into that space out there and go, ‘I’ve got one of these things and I’ve got one of those things - what happens if I bring them together?’ AI is trained on such a breadth and depth of experience and knowledge now, that if it doesn’t come up with something you haven’t thought about, you haven’t asked the question properly.

“You could walk out there with an AI, and it will create miracles before you. That’s a super, super powerful environment, because catalysing inspiration will take you to places you’ve never been before.”

In this way, we must “push AI – not just accept what it spits out”, said Phil. “The mundane type of stuff won’t bother us. Ask it to write a tender. Then ask it what’s missing. Or what the client’s missed. Then ask it to write a second submission that tells the client where they could have been better, and you can reply with something different to every other architect or supplier that’s going to contribute as well.”

From the audience, Milan Cvetkovic, Sales Director, Agua Fabrics, asked a question to the panel, “My sense is that technology, AI, the internet, is actually enfeebling humanity, because it’s making things easy. So my opinion is that those that retain core human skills, high emotional IQ, the ability to take in lots of data and analyse it, will succeed. They will become highly sought after. Do you agree?

“Yes and no”, responded Phil. “We need to be careful with that. The best way I’ve ever heard it described is something called 'Metaman'.

“If you look at evolution on the planet: first, the first stage of evolution is we went from chemical soup into single-cell organisms. Then there was a mega jump forward where single-cell organisms evolved into multi-cellular organisms, of which we are probably the pinnacle example today.

“There are a lot of theorists saying we’re now at the next major jump in evolution: we’re moving to be a multi-cellular organism, in other words, planet-scale. The planet is thinking on its own.

“We’ve seen examples of that: the Arab Spring, overthrowing regimes. If you look at it at the 'Metaman' level, the cumulative effect of every single human mind with all technologies within reach and every capability, we are about to ascend into a hyper-intelligence like we have never seen before.

“So at the plural level for humanity, this is a big deal. What it means at the singular level is the obtuse/acute. Probably, at the individual level, I would worry about kids today who’ve got their head buried in social media, or who are screaming at ChatGPT to get their homework done. What’s that going to do to them and their lives? In some cases, it’ll be devastating.

“But at the opposite end of the scale: it’s an easy bet that we’re going to cure cancer within 20 years. It’s a matter of which one do you want, ladies and gentlemen?”

“Does AI block the imagination?” asked Vian Hussein, Interior Designer, Fidget.

“Really good question - I think it comes back to how you approach the use of AI”, replied Jason.

“For our students, we say: you can use it for initial elements of design thinking - design ideation. Because it’s not much different than looking at magazines. For those elements where you’re looking for inspiration, design is inspired by design, I think it’s ok. But then the problem is having that student or designer tearing that design apart and understanding it…”

...“This is where the subject of authorship comes in, isn’t it?” suggested David.

Jason raised the issue of dataset ethics and authorship, referencing 'Adobe Firefly' as part of a wider debate in architecture and design. He noted that early concerns focused on copyrighted material being used without permission and on outputs echoing individual designers’ visual languages, but stressed that Adobe has since done significant work to move Firefly towards ethically trained data.

John Blakeman, Founder, JB-ID, asked a question on this point: “With Adobe coming under scrutiny for having scraped information from people - that is happening on pretty much every single API that’s out there now, and there’s no legal action, or very little. Why?”

“There is legal action, but it is very slow to materialise,” responded Jason. “The difficulty is that AI systems and data centres are distributed globally and governed by different legal frameworks, which makes it extremely hard to enforce clear restrictions on AI generation.”

Phil likened the situation to Pandora’s box. “It’s all out of the bag now. We can’t put it back in.”

Malissa Geersing, Senior Project Designer, Mather & Co, has encountered this type of activity within the profession. “Can a creator still call themselves a creative if, technically, it’s AI that’s created the work?” she asked the panel.

Jason mentioned collages, “I’m sure all of you remember back to architecture school: you had to make an architectural collage. You’re chopping up other pieces of work to make something new. Now, if you chop something up enough to constitute a new body of work, the original person does not retain authorship for that - the new person does. That’s the way copyright law defines a new body of work. Same as if you take a photo of a building: is it the architect of the building that owns it or the photographer? Same concept.

“So when it comes to AI, it comes down to: where was that data coming from? What is that AI powered on? Is it an ethically trained dataset? Is it open-source imagery? What stage of the design process - thought process - did that person apply AI? Has it come up with initial ideas and then they worked into it further, or did they apply it at the end stage?”

For the Manchester School of Architecture students, it’s about critical thinking, Jason shared, “We don’t let them just type in a text prompt, generate an image, and submit it, because there’s no critical thinking there. If a student has done a sketch, brings that in, uses an AI to get the structure of what they’ve designed, and then applies stylisation, well, that’s not much different to rendering.”

“It’s not always cut and dry. Some designers can use AI and still be classed as designers, absolutely. It’s just using it ethically.” – Jason Taylor

Phil said, we must not “confuse effect with cause” – “Please don’t confuse the machinery with the need for the machinery in the first place.

“This thing about abstraction and standing back, being multiple boxes away to understand the problem properly, I would like to think that traits like inspiration and artistry are entirely human. They stand apart from the tools that can replicate the capability.

“The individual, the professional who came up with the thought to create the art in the first place is the artist, not the machinery that was used to follow through on that request.

“That’s a very subtle separation of concerns, and that type of abstract consideration is going to become fundamental to professions like architecture in the future.

“John asked about copyright and lawsuits. It upsets me, because the honest answer is: shit happens. Greed gets in the way. And what you’re looking at is a different case of ‘shit happens.’ But as professionals, if you can stand away from it and say, ‘The real problem is not the surface presentation; it’s the root of the surface presentation,’ then you are properly in the zone. It’s nasty when it’s happening, but it’s not the real problem.”

Another’s perspective

“When clients say, ‘I want an AI-enabled workplace,’ what should our audience think?”, David asked.

“Firstly, if that client were to feed that question into an AI, it would get a very efficient response. The AI would probably understand straight away what it thinks the person is asking for, and most likely will get it completely wrong”, said Jason.

“And this is why we train as architects and designers, because it’s our responsibility to translate what that client is asking”, he added.

“If I were that client asking all of you individually, ‘How could you design me an AI-enabled workplace?’, how would you interpret what I’m thinking?

“As I said earlier, AI is multimodal. Are we talking the Internet of Things? Are we talking thermal comfort? Are we talking the way it’s designed, the way it looks? Information. What is an AI-enabled workplace these days?”

…“That’s the key question - it deserves a question back”, continued Phil.

“It comes back to the point that Jason raised. You can interpret that question in multiple ways. But if you go in at the menial level - the monotonous and the mediocre - if what they’re really asking for is, ‘Can you take out all the stuff that we don’t really want to do?’ then yes: you can do that tomorrow.

“But as an architect, I would say: ‘Do you want us to elevate it to the next level? Are you after the capability to allow AI to elevate your excellence?’ That’s a different conversation.”

Alison Tordoff, Fidget, asked, “Do you think AI will ever be able to manage a project from start to finish?”

“The technical answer is that AI is lousy at planning at the moment”, responded Phil. “And most of the stuff that happens in projects isn’t mechanics. It’s human.”

“AI can’t manage things going wrong on site, can it?” prompted David.

“It can’t”, said Phil. “Now, having said that, the flip side of the coin is: the professional process of planning is mechanical. It’s Gantt charts, etc. If you prompt an AI properly now, you can get it to plan for you. But is it responding in the way that we, as professionals, would consider to be professional? That’s another question.”

Phil commented, “like all these things with AI, it’s a yes and a no answer. It’s about the context within which you ask the question, and the way you want the replies back. Multiple skins of the onion.”

“Everybody’s got to up their game - not just architecture, but you name it. Any white-collar job you can think of: the game’s just changed.” - Phil Tetlow

“AI isn’t a fad. This is a tsunami that’s hitting us all, and it will affect every aspect of our lives. This is the real deal,” said Phil.

“I completely agree. Like the rise of the calculator, AI is another tool and another paradigm shift that is here to stay, but what makes this one significant is that it begins to affect not just production, but the design thinking process itself.”

As the session drew to a close, for now, David asked two of our audience members for their top takeaways from the discussion.

For Craig Mitchell, Workplace Design Manager, Government Property Agency, it was “AI needs to be negotiated, and we are the polymathic custodians of our realm”, that he believed were key.

"Don't let it saturate your work; understand new ways to address the upcoming lack of human face-to-face experience; enhance critical thinking; and give AI your redundant tasks but analyse them”, were some of the other points he raised.

For Tom Prendergast, Director & Architect, Bosca Design, the focus going forward should be to understand “how AI will impact on the next generation.”

Though time had beaten us and the conversation was brought to a pause, AI will continue to be a focus for our upcoming roundtable session in Manchester – stay tuned for the key talking points from that next week. And at our seminar in London on 7 May. Get your ticket here.

In the meantime, a huge thanks to our guests for joining us and asking enlightening questions, to our brilliant panel for their insight shared, and to our supporters for this event: Agua Fabrics, Autex Acoustics, sixteen3 – all Partners at Material Source Studio Manchester.

Something to add? Let us know on LinkedIn.

Top takeaways at a glance

• Don't worry but be awake to the scale of change.
• AI is not novelty, but it is reshaping architectural practice. Those who intelligently engage will have a clear advantage.
• As routine production becomes more automated, human value shifts upwards towards judgement.
• The real question is one of control: design cognition, judgement, and authorship remain central. Whether intelligence is human, artificial, or hybrid, the future belongs to those who can 'direct' it rather than simply 'react' to it.

Through our workshop, the latest addition in the Material Moods set, we asked both design professionals and emerging next generation designers to interpret 'belonging', translating it through creative expression into a palette for an interior design scheme.

What became clear through each team's interpretation is that belonging has an individual meaning to us all. It might be an enablement of self-expression and individuality. Perhaps it's encouraging community and a sense of familiarity. Ultimately, belonging is a sensation that we believe can be nurtured in design. On the day of our workshop, a sense of it in practice could physically be felt in the room. And this empowered the people within to craft 10 very different narratives – no two the same.

Though for some teams, a link to nature through the selection of neutral tones was favoured, for others tactility, warmth, and texture took the fore.

Take a deep dive into our group's interpretations and resulting creative expressions...

Louise Grimes, Director, M1NT Studio & Delaney Arias, Student, University of Salford

A hospitality scheme designed around the use of Autex Acoustics’ panels, Louise and Delaney set out to create a space that felt simultaneously rich and restorative.

Their concept balances the need for both sociable and solitary spaces - designing environments that are warm and inviting for connection, while also offering quieter pockets for reflection. Softness is central to their design thinking: the selected textures feel approachable.

The result is a palette that wraps occupants in comfort, fostering the kind of ease in which genuine human connection can take place.

Sarah Syson, Director, Claremont & Jacob Bennett, Student, University of Salford

Belonging, in its most primal sense, is a survival instinct - a deeply ingrained human need to be part of a tribe and to feel secure within a group. Sarah and Jacob’s palette for the workplace responds to that impulse through material truth.

Earthy browns, sage greens, and grounding neutrals recall the natural world from which we all originate. Surfaces that feel instinctively familiar, unforced, and honest. The result is a workplace that doesn't perform belonging; it simply evokes it, cocooning occupants in the tones and textures of somewhere we have always, collectively, called home.

Quentin Petrykowski, Design Manager, Claremont & Tasnia Islam, Student, University of Salford

‘Unity’ and ‘functional comfort’ are how team members Quentin and Tasnia described ‘belonging’. For them, it’s a meeting point of inclusivity, comfort, and function. Their palette positions depth over delicacy, rich, dark natural tones are layered with matte Paperstone surfaces and stone-textured finishes. "We need to be mindful of the certain functionality of a space, while bringing in softer and more comfortable tones. Belonging is functional comfort."

Amy Ackerley, Senior Interior Designer, BDP & Amelia Tillott, Student, MMU

The natural world is the one environment we all have in common - and it is from here that Amy and Amelia’s palette takes its creative cues. Built from the ground up with flooring as its foundation, earthy muted tones are lifted by natural greens and purples, with tactile surfaces that mirror what might be found outside. Inclusive by instinct and familiar by nature - this is a palette that quietly aspires to work for everyone.

"Belonging is a sense of comfort. It's also inclusivity - catering for lots of different types of people from different backgrounds, and making sure that all users of the space feel comfortable using it, and feel like they can express themselves."

Andrew Murray, Senior Interior Designer, 74 & Ella Neary, Student, University of Salford

Conceived from Ella’s final year project of a destination for cultural music exchange amongst migrants, this palette is both conceptually and practically comforting. Considering different cultural perspectives of colour, deep and inviting blues and greens were chosen to craft the space, interlaced with a tactile mix of glazed and terrazzo tiles, real wood flooring, wallpaper, and soft upholstery. Each material is chosen to feel welcoming.

Even the tile profiles are deliberate: curves are selected over hard edges for softness. A palette designed to make everyone - from every background - feel at home.

Ellen Findley, Interior Designer, Sheila Bird & Emily Oakes, Student, MMU

‘Nostalgia’ and ‘like-mindedness’ shaped how Ellen and Emily responded to ‘belonging’. Looking outward before looking in, the team have taken inspiration from Manchester's architectural heritage to inform a retail concept rooted in its location.

Heritage coloured tiles from Parkside Architectural Tiles - some sourced locally from Preston - form the backbone of a palette that is sympathetic to existing facades and the city's material history.

Drawing the street into the space through colour, texture, and material honesty, ILIV's products become integral to this approach. Its heritage-inspired fabrics provide the connective tissue between the building's past and the interior's present.

Emily Adams, Interior Designer, KIN, Bethany Nixon, Interior Designer, KIN & Eleanor Candlish, Student, MMU

Design trio for the day, Emily, Bethany and Eleanor positioned their palette as a spatial metaphor for community itself. A neutral centre branches into three distinct zones, each with its own character, yet all bleeding seamlessly into one another - much like the individuals that make up a group.

Forbo's flooring solutions were pivotal to achieving this. Its multi-tonal specks carry colours across zones, merging spaces with quiet effortlessness.

The palette is simultaneously cohesive and individual, reflecting the team's core belief that belonging means having both a place in the collective and the freedom to stand apart. Texture and colour flow through the scheme like a shared language.

Sarah de Freitas, Creative Director, AXI & Sneha Nair, Student, MMU

Built on the premise that belonging doesn't require perfection, Sarah and Sneha’s palette embraces imperfect pairings of colour and material - each surface distinct, nonrepeating, yet collectively harmonious.

The palette is designed for an inviting hospitality bar and lounge scheme, interlaced with sustainable material choices. Warm amber-orange punctuates throughout, deepened by recurring purple accents, and grounded by creamy and earth-inspired neutrals.

Lucy Durkan, Associate Director, Chapman Taylor, Kirsty Barr, Interior Designer, Chapman Taylor & Niousha Mehran, Student, MMU

Grounded in Niousha’s university research into how people experience comfort, this palette was built with the restorative qualities of the natural world in mind. Warm timber flooring and charred timber cladding from Russwood were chosen specifically to counter the cold that metal and stark neutrals can impose.

Natural surfaces are a timeless backdrop that subconsciously signal safety and stability. A quietly generous palette that induces occupants to feel exactly where they are meant to be.

Saskia Taitt, Creative Director, Studio Taitt, Miles Taitt, Director, Studio Taitt, & Leila Ratcliffe, Student, University of Salford

Safety and warmth are Studio Taitt’s and next generation designer, Leila's conditions for evoking a sense of belonging - and this residential palette is built entirely with these in mind.

Beginning with a Muraspec mural wallcovering of a forest-scape with unfurling mountains, the scheme draws outward to wood tones, pale naturals, and the rusty warmth of autumn foliage. Flowing across three distinct spaces in the home, the palette is unified by the colours of seasonal changes.

Discover more on how the concept of belonging was interpreted by our group.

EDIB. Hidden behind the acronym, you will find Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. All very human. Though acronymically, it can feel intimidating. Absent of the human touch that the words suggest, perhaps.

While our seminar and roundtable events have sought to find the true meaning of EDIB and the words encased within, for this dedicated workshop, the latest addition in the Material Moods set, we focused on how the feeling of 'belonging' might be interpreted, and creatively expressed by designers.

We brought together a mix of design professionals, ranging from individual practitioners to global firms, including 74, AXI, BDP, Chapman Taylor, Claremont, KIN, M1NT Studio, Sheila Bird and Studio Taitt, along with emerging, next generation designers from Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Salford preparing to enter the sector through their first architectural and design roles, plus representatives from our Partner brands.

Together, we set out to explore how physical environments can influence human emotion, and what that sentiment might look like aesthetically. All had varied backgrounds and varied views. But all were given a common focus on which to collaborate on one level: to creatively interpret and express the concept of 'belonging'.

Here are some of the themes that emerged during our initial discussion on what belonging meant to the group...

Safety & comfort

Belonging begins with the body before it reaches the mind. When a space truly works, occupants feel an instinctive sense of security and ease the moment they cross the threshold - a quiet signal that this environment is not a threat. A successful space is simply somewhere you can "spend quite a lot of time in, without thinking about it too much", said Andrew Murray, senior interior designer, 74.

"Functional comfort" is how Quentin Petrykowski, design manager, Claremont, described 'belonging'. Comfort is the cumulative result of every material decision made in a room - and it is the non-negotiable foundation on which all other aspects of belonging are built.

Inclusivity & community

Inclusive design resists the idea of a default user, asking instead who might feel unseen or underserved - and designing outwards from that question. As put by Amy Ackerley, senior interior designer, BDP, 'belonging' means, "catering for lots of different types of people from different backgrounds, and ensuring all users of the space feel comfortable using it".

The most powerful spaces do not merely accommodate differences - they are shaped by them.

Authenticity & self-expression

'Belonging' is not about blending in. At its most meaningful, it is the freedom to be fully oneself within a shared environment. Belonging is "feeling that you can be yourself and stand out, as well as being involved in what everyone else is doing", commented Bethany Nixon, interior designer, KIN.

Spaces that foster authenticity offer variety and character that reflect the richness of the personalities occupying the space, rather than a single curated aesthetic.

Warmth & homeliness

There is a reason the word 'home' appeared frequently and perhaps instinctively when designers were asked to define 'belonging'. It is the environment against which all others are unconsciously measured.

Amelia Tillot, student, MMU, put forward her view that designing for a sense of homeliness comes through employing, "hand craftsmanship and surfaces that are inherently tactile". An atmosphere that feels inhabited rather than staged, the use of warm materials that call to human touch, are how our spaces can evoke a sense of homeliness. This kind of environment gives people permission to relax in a way that cooler, more clinical environments rarely do.

Nature

Humanity's relationship with the natural world runs deeper than aesthetics. Drawing on the shades and shapes that tap into a subconscious desire to be close to organic surroundings, Sarah Syson, director, Claremont, explained, "nature subconsciously gives a sense of belonging".

Familiarity & nostalgia

'Belonging' is often experienced as recognition - the feeling of encountering something that resonates with personal or collective memory. For Ellen Findley, interior designer, Sheila Bird, and Emily Oakes, student, MMU, belonging is sympathetic, nostalgic, and represents a feeling of likemindedness.

Designing with "heritage colours" and "being sympathetic to existing façades" were Ellen and Emily's methodology to honour the context a space inhabits. When a design acknowledges where it comes from, the people within it are more likely to feel that they belong there too.

Ease & effortlessness

Some of the most impressively designed spaces are the ones you stop noticing. When design is working at its highest level, occupants are simply present, unaware of the decisions that got them there.

'Belonging', according to Bethany Nixon, interior designer, KIN, Emily Adams, interior designer, KIN and Eleanor Candlish, student, MMU, "has a sense of ease about it" and allows "being able to be yourself and not put on a persona".

Stability

To belong somewhere is to feel that a space has permanence - that it existed before you arrived and will endure long after you leave.

As expressed by Kirsty Barr, interior designer, Chapman Taylor, "Something will come before you and something will come after you - the space is almost that steady ship beneath, and the people are what's transient within". Grounded design choices that resist trends and honest materials offer something increasingly rare: “the sense that you are exactly where you are meant to be”.

Click here to explore how these sentiments fuelled 10 creative expressions of 'belonging' using our Partner brands' products.

The new Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) - designed by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and William Rawn Associates (WRA) with HASTINGS Architecture - extends the vibrancy of downtown Nashville across the Cumberland River, emerging as a cultural anchor for the city's reenergised East Bank.

Designed to welcome the community from all sides, with the performance venues clustered at its core, the new TPAC supports a range of artistic programming while building upon Nashville’s rich legacy in the arts.

Situated on a waterfront site neighbouring Cumberland Park and the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium, the new TPAC includes four performance spaces - the multi-function Grand Broadway theatre; a dance and opera hall; a flexible black box theatre; and an intimate cabaret space - as well as rehearsal studios and classrooms. As TPAC transitions from its current location downtown, the 307,000-sq-ft centre will serve as the new home of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, and Nashville Repertory Theatre while creating venues for travelling Broadway shows, dance performances, and community events.

“This new centre represents the future of the performing arts in Nashville and across our state. For more than four decades, TPAC has brought world-class performances and transformative arts education programs to Tennesseans. Our new home will allow us to welcome more audiences, support more artists, and expand the impact of the performing arts in communities across Tennessee.” - Jennifer Turner, President & CEO, TPAC

“The new home for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center is designed like an urban and cultural connection – between the east and west bank of the Cumberland River, between the old and the new Nashville, and between all of the performing arts.

"Visually, it bookends Broadway as a beacon from across the river, drawing the cultural life of downtown across to the East Bank.

"Designed to be welcoming on all sides, the centre is accessible from above and below the bridge, making the lobby a cascading public space for the daily life of the neighbourhood."

"The façade is composed of aluminium tubes bundled like organ pipes or steel chimes, undulating from vertical to horizontal to provide openings and canopies for the audience and performers passing through. The result is like a flowing public pavilion in the park that, as the new home for TPAC, provides the inclusive and inviting character that its program and performances deserve.” - Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director, BIG

TPAC’s reflective metal facade, composed of an array of aluminium tubes, creates a dynamic, sculptural volume that looks different from every vantage point in the city. Taking cues from an undulating theatre curtain, the arches on the exterior lift to reveal the activity within.

Upon arrival, guests are welcomed by a light-filled atrium that draws the energy of the city inside. Two lobbies connect the performance spaces: the main lobby at street-level with views of the river and proposed waterfront park, and an elevated lobby fronting the landmark John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. A grand staircase, central lounge, and cascading concrete slabs invite patrons to congregate before, after, and in between performances – reinforcing TPAC’s role as a social gathering place within Nashville.

Within the Broadway Theatre, floating wood-clad ‘trays’ organise the seating into intimate clusters, each staggered in height for optimised sightlines. The opera and dance hall is designed to enhance the views of the dancers’ feet, while the balconies reinforce a visual continuity with the stage.

The Black Box Theatre places the audience directly in the performance, eliminating the proscenium ‘picture frame’ that traditionally outlines the stage and allowing for different seating configurations tailored to each production. The Cabaret features a stage that extends into the audience, creating an intimate atmosphere complemented by banquet-style seating.

“At the heart of TPAC’s new home, four venues will create uniquely memorable theatrical experiences, celebrating the ‘vibrancy of theatre in Music City.’ Each venue expresses its own personality while heightening audience experience and connection – an intimacy between performer and audience and a sense community among audiences of all ages.” - Cliff Gayley, Design Principal, WRA

A transparent rehearsal space offers visitors a glimpse behind the scenes, while a sensory room offers a calming environment during performances. Crowning the building, a roof terrace features sweeping views of Broadway, the Cumberland River, and the Nashville skyline.

Outdoor staircases connect TPAC to the river, integrating the centre into Nashville’s new East Bank district and enhancing connectivity with the city beyond. Landscape design by OLIN surrounds the building with diverse plant life and pockets for public outdoor performances, gathering spaces, and play groves.

"While typical performing arts centres have a clearly defined front and back, the site conditions of TPAC offer a unique opportunity to hide the back-of-house under the bridge, allowing the public space to surround the building on all sides. The dual entrances and wrap-around lobbies activate the entire perimeter - from ground level to bridge level - connecting audiences to the venue’s surroundings.

The halls are designed to accommodate a range of performances, with cascading mezzanines that connect the orchestra level to the balcony levels above. The central lobby will continuously pulse with energy, uniting patrons from different performances before and after each show." - Thomas Christoffersen, Partner, BIG

TPAC will join BIG’s growing portfolio of cultural projects, including the Hamburg State Opera, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art in China, and the VLTAVA Philharmonic in Prague. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with a projected opening in 2030.

Muse is a nationwide placemaker. Its whole ethos is built around long-term regeneration, with a simple aim: leave communities socially and economically better off than when it arrived. That long-term view, Stuart Rogers, national operations director, tells us, shapes everything.

Stuart was a panellist on our very first seminar at Material Source Studio Manchester 5-years’ ago. And his comments have never left us. An advocate for true sustainability, Stuart’s passion for innovative, future-facing materials, certifications and processes is palpable. When we first met, he highlighted graphene concrete.

And his recommendation for a material with untapped potential when we met this time, 5-years’ on? Timber. More on that to come.

As well as the sustainability of buildings, the sustainability of people is also extremely close to Stuart’s heart. He is a board member of the charity, LandAid, a fantastic organisation working to end youth homelessness in the UK.

With both ‘hats’ on as recently appointed operations director at Muse, and as LandAid board member, Stuart and I had a chat about how the constant thread of “leaving things better than when we found them” guides his (very busy) day-to-day.

“We’re not just delivering buildings. We’re trying to change places in a way that lasts”, began Stuart. “Sustainability sits right at the centre of that approach, but not in the narrow, headline-grabbing way the industry sometimes falls into.”

"The priority for us is creating sustainable communities, the buildings are only one part of the jigsaw"

Muse has, sometimes - potentially to its own detriment, Stuart says – been particularly humble about its achievements – “we obsess about delivering buildings, not just talking about delivering buildings”. Over the last few years, the developer (through its ECF joint venture partnership, with Legal and General, and Homes England) has delivered some truly exciting projects, including Eden, New Bailey, in Salford – “A place of firsts, it’s designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation, meaning a reduction on running costs of up to 60% compared to a Grade A office.” It’s a distinctive space in the city thanks to its living wall façade, the largest in Europe with 350,000 plants and 32 different species attracting birds, bees, and bugs to support biodiversity. There’s also Greenhaus nearby, comprising sustainable, accessible, and affordable eco-friendly homes.

Just two examples of how Muse’s dedication to sustainability works in practice, there are countless others, Stuart explains Muse’s approach is set out in an internal framework called Our Sustainable Future, developed in 2021 and applied across every project in the portfolio.

“It’s managed with proper oversight, and the key point is this - it isn’t just about carbon. The framework is built around five pillars; net zero carbon, social value, health and well-being, nature, and circular economy. Under each pillar there are mandatory KPIs, with a baseline threshold, a desired target, and a stretch target. Then beneath that is a deeper layer of best-practice metrics - usually 11 or 12 measures under each heading - so projects can be assessed with real data, not just good intentions. That data is captured across projects nationwide, which means lessons are shared and decisions can be made with evidence”, Stuart shares.

The standards are deliberately high. In fact, Stuart said that since 2021, Muse hasn’t hit its aspirations on everything on a single project - because the bar is set above common industry benchmarks.

The mindset is honest: “if you push hard and get close, you’ve done a really good job”. It’s a culture of admitting where you fall short, learning, and improving every time, rather than pretending everything is perfect.

That expectation is set from day one. “Consultants, partners, councils, and contractors inherit the sustainability approach through the brief, and contractors take on contractual responsibilities tied to whatever targets are appropriate for that scheme.”

Crucially, Muse likes sustainability that can be proven. That’s why third-party certification matters, things like Passivhaus, BREEAM, Home Quality Mark, NABERS, and high EPC targets. Not because badges are “trendy”, but “because certification forces you to prove performance instead of relying on marketing.”

“Greenwashing is one of my biggest frustrations”

“Greenwashing is one of my biggest frustrations”, commented Stuart “You see hoardings claiming, ‘net zero from day one’ or ‘the first ever zero carbon building,’ and often it’s just a slogan. Muse’s preference is simple: don’t say it unless you can evidence it against a recognised standard, checked independently. If you’re serious about being responsible, proof matters.”

Speaking of the Eden scheme, Stuart said, “We wanted to deliver higher sustainability standards than ever before for a new build office, but there was a fixed budget. Instead of simply adding cost, the challenge became: achieve the target and find the savings elsewhere. That created a practical feedback loop; questioning materials, stripping back what wasn’t needed, and improving what mattered. It also created real learning, especially around air tightness and how one design decision can affect other outcomes like ventilation and health.”

This consideration of people is central to Muse’s sustainability approach, Stuart adds. Providing genuine, tangible benefits that make a difference to the way someone lives.

“On Greenhaus, an average 68% reduction in energy bill costs wasn’t just a claim - it was real-world impact for residents. And when the homes are affordable, that impact matters even more. Lower bills put money back in people’s pockets, especially for people who need it most. It’s the difference between just getting by and having room to breathe. Sometimes it’s the difference between relying on a food bank and being able to afford the bus to a training course that leads to a job. Those ripple effects are huge, even if they’re hard to measure.”

Tracking energy is one thing, monitoring equipment can do that. Tracking the full economic impact is much harder, Stuart said. “There are models and reports that estimate long-term value, but it’s difficult to fully trust headline numbers because assumptions can be stretched.

“In the end, the most ‘real’ evidence often comes through people’s stories: the resident who’s moved into stable housing, the person who’s gained independence, the family who’s able to plan ahead. That kind of change doesn’t always fit into a KPI, but it’s the whole point of the work.”

What’s also striking, Stuart noted, is how innovation spreads when you treat it as shared learning.

“Greenhaus wasn’t originally an ECF-led brief, it came from a partner pushing for high-density Passivhaus, which was rare at the time. But once the team leaned in, it became a teaching project. People on site took ownership of quality in a very practical way, right down to making sure there were no gaps bigger than a few millimetres. Floors were air-tested as the building went up, not just at the end. The result wasn’t only better performance; it improved overall build quality and reduced the need for extra quality monitoring because the Passivhaus process demands that discipline anyway.”

That’s why “Passivhaus principles” without certification can be a problem, Stuart believes. Designing fabric-first is a good start, but if it isn’t verified through construction, “you can still end up with a performance gap”.

“Certification isn’t about being precious. It’s about making sure the people living there actually get what was promised.”

Zooming out, Stuart said that Muse’s view of sustainability is really “a view of what makes a place work over decades”. Mixed use helps, but not as a gimmick. The goal isn’t to force a building to be used 24 hours a day in a way that feels unnatural. The goal is a proper mixed-use community: a blend of homes, workspaces, hotels where needed, and crucially a mix of tenures: owner-occupied, build-to-rent, affordable, social, so the place doesn’t become segregated. “Ideally, you shouldn’t be able to tell who lives where. Everyone should feel like it’s for them.”

Because Muse projects often run for 15–20 years, the real test, Stuart shares, is what happens when Muse eventually steps back. “Does the community feel ownership? Do people feel stewardship? Have local people had opportunities because of the regeneration - jobs, skills, pathways into the industries being created on their doorstep? That’s the version of sustainability that lasts.”

“Need” is the anchor. Muse won’t build apartments just because it’s fashionable, or insert the same “market hall” idea into every town. Some places have a strong market heritage where a modern take can genuinely bring life back to the high street. Other places don’t. Same with hotels, offices, and different types of housing - it has to be based on what the area needs, not what makes the easiest business case in the short term.

That’s why early engagement matters. Muse does formal public consultation, but it also does what it calls “community conversations” from day zero, often even while bidding for work. The point is to listen before decisions become fixed. And that listening has real consequences: the first phase you assume will happen can change completely once you understand what the community actually needs.

Muse isn’t always arriving to “make” a place from scratch. It is a “place grower”, Stuart explained. “Most sites already have communities who are proud of where they live and understand what their area is missing. The job is to work with that, not over the top of it. It also means supporting local businesses where possible, especially independents who can easily be crushed by rents and rigid leasing terms.

"Sometimes the most useful thing a developer can do is listen, test ideas, and create conditions where local business can survive.”

Returning to a point made by Stuart at our first Material Source Studio seminar in 2022, on graphene concrete having massive untapped potential, I asked "what’s next?"

“Timber”, Stuart replied, “I love it.”

Having got a “fully designed up mass timber frame office”, which he worked on for St Helens 3-years’ ago, Stuart said the initial feedback he had internally was it would never get past the insurers. However, bringing insurers into the design process before planning, instead of hoping it worked out later, is a practical lesson that was learnt, and applies far beyond timber. Though the scheme is currently on ice, it’s a fully designed and deliverable scheme, Stuart said. And if it went ahead in the North West, it would be the first of its kind.

“The frustrating part is that viability can still stall good ideas: in some towns, office rents don’t currently support even a standard steel frame building, never mind an enhanced timber one. But building a proven, insurable model now means it can move to the right location when the opportunity comes.”

Alongside place-making, Stuart also has a strong commitment to helping people in immediate need, and that’s where LandAid comes in. For those who haven’t come across it, LandAid is a property industry charity tackling youth homelessness. Getting involved can start with something simple: sponsoring, donating, joining a team for a challenge, or turning up to events, but ‘the why’, Stuart says, is powerful once you hear the stories. A passionate sentiment shared by all those we’ve spoken to about LandAid over the last couple of years.

Stuart shares that the North West has already seen direct impact through projects supported by fundraising and gap funding, including new accommodation provision, Salford Foyer.

"It becomes impossible to shrug off as ‘someone else’s problem’"

“The bigger point is that youth homelessness is growing, and it can happen to anyone. One story shared by a young person, how quickly life can unravel through circumstances outside your control, can change how you see the issue forever. It becomes impossible to shrug off as ‘someone else’s problem’”, commented Stuart.

If you want to get involved, the simplest route is to connect directly with LandAid through its website (landaid.org.uk) or reach out to people already active in the cause such as Stuart.

Beyond LandAid, there’s a similar spirit in support for places like Salford Youth Zone, an incredible facility giving young people somewhere safe to go, learn, play sport, be creative, or simply breathe. “For some, it’s the difference between going home into pressure and walking into a space that supports them. Again, once you visit a place like that, it’s hard not to want to help.”

And while all of this is happening, the regeneration pipeline keeps moving. Across the North West and beyond, Muse is working on major long-term schemes: low-energy affordable housing projects through joint ventures, coastal regeneration opportunities like Marina Village in Barrow, big multi-phase regeneration at Salford Crescent, community-led projects like Prestwich Village, and large-scale town centre delivery like Oldham with thousands of new homes planned in a true mix of tenures.

Add in Stockport’s continued phases, industrial and logistics projects, and a national footprint that stretches into Yorkshire, the Midlands, London, and the South West, and you get a sense of the scale Muse works on.

“Not talking about delivery - actually delivering.”

What ties it all together, and perhaps summarises Stuart’s get-it-done attitude is a simple focus: delivery. “Not talking about delivery - actually delivering.”

That’s where reputation comes from in regeneration, Stuart adds, especially when you’re asking communities and public-sector partners to trust you over decades. “Do the work, prove the outcomes, share what you learn, and leave the place better than you found it.”

This was the question posed by AiM - the Architectural Index of Modelmaking, and MSA - Manchester Society of Architects, at the conclusive event of Making Matters: a month-long exhibition and programme of activities held at Material Source Studio Manchester, celebrating architectural modelmaking in all its exquisite artistry.

Having originally existed as an exhibition at the Venice Biennale, it was a real treat for UK architects and designers to have the chance to see an expanded version of the installation here in the North of England. Something AiM Founder Scott Miller and MSA President Simina Ionescu were mutually driven to make happen.

Ahead of the closing party, a dedicated roundtable brought together a group of wonderful minds from varying disciplines, including established and future modelmakers, academics and developers, to discuss the relevance of architectural models, and the skills used to craft them, in a contemporary, ever-more digitally reliant world.

The energy in the room was that which you only get when passionate people gather to discuss a topic that’s symbiotically meaningful to them. And though the conversation took many twists and turns, one common thread existed throughout.

Thinking through making

Modelmaking is tactile, a bit unpredictable, and full of small surprises, the group agreed. People cut, fold, build, experiment, get things wrong, adapt, and learn. And there’s something in that hands-on process that doesn’t translate fully on a screen. Not because digital tools aren’t powerful – it was suggested that they are - but because making with your hands forces you to face gravity, tolerances, material behaviour, and real-world messiness. It’s not just about producing a final object. It’s about "thinking through making", shared the group.

"Is modelmaking still a vital and inclusive driver of architecture culture, or are we at risk of losing it as AI and digital workflows accelerate?"

The discussion pushed beyond nostalgia. This wasn’t 'models are lovely, computers are bad.' The bigger question that was set out to explore was: is modelmaking still a vital and inclusive driver of architecture culture, or are we at risk of losing it as AI and digital workflows accelerate? And when 'modelmaking' was said, it wasn’t just in reference to the polished showcase piece. It meant process models, context models, quick tests, rough prototypes, the half-built thing on a desk that, Simina said, “often sparks the best conversations in the studio”.

A wealth of experience

The wealth of experience expressed by those around the table reflected how wide this topic really is, with many facets and aspects of appeal, both personal and professional.

Catalina Cheptene, Undergraduate, Manchester School of Architecture, openly admitted she used to hate modelmaking back in school, until university turned it into “something calming, almost like unwinding in studio.”

Anna Gidman, Architect, Educator & Climate Action Leader, who heads up the degree at Manchester School of Architecture and also works with the Architects Climate Action Network’s Natural Materials Group, believes modelmaking is a crucial aspect of the architecture syllabus.

Writer Phil Griffin, a long-time observer of architectural modelmaking, shared a deep interest in how different people relate to models - not just "architects talking to architects".

Simina Ionescu, Senior Architect at OMI and recently appointed MSA President, traced her own modelmaking journey back to the B.15 Modelmaking Workshop (which Scott heads up) and the push to normalise it in practice (including 3D printing) even when people have sometimes needed convincing.

Stephen McCusker, a Lecturer and Practitioner, described making early on, drifting away from it in practice, and then coming back to it because something "felt that it was missing".

Scott Miller, Founder, AiM, trained commercially as a modelmaker and now runs B.15 Modelmaking Workshop, describing this whole Making Matters project as a response to frustration: “too much of the profession is screen-based, and craft skills deserve more visibility, more respect, and more room to shape design culture.”

Awais Shahid, Founder & Director, Atzaro Real Estate, brought a developer’s, and for many in the room, client-side view. For him, models help to see massing, detail, and context quickly, and they can be a powerful tool when presenting to planners.

Cassidy Wingrove, Associate and In-House Modelmaker, FCB Studios, spoke from a place many in the sector would envy: he makes models all day. His background spans set design for theatre, and stop motion animation, as well as product design and, now, architecture.

Richard Youel, a specialist Modelmaker who runs Studio Youel, supports practices with models when they don’t have the facilities or the in-house expertise to make them, both process models and presentation models.

Senior Architect and University Tutor, Adam Plastow joined from WW+P Architects to share his experience from leading the practice’s Manchester studio model shop. Adam also shared a personal passion for carpentry.

Hanif Shah, a BA2 Architecture Undergraduate at Salford School of Architecture, possesses a deep-seated interest in human connection in architecture, with modelmaking "coalescing through the core of each project as an iterative and investigative process."

Laura Sanderson, Architect, Educator and Creative, has seen, throughout her career, the benefit of modelmaking, especially when working with the community. Laura referenced in particular, her work with children and young people, who seemed to take to modelmaking as a way to express their ideas more quickly than drawing. 

Instinct has led Eleanor Swire, Mistry Swire Architects, to ensure modelmaking has been built into her own practice as a constant for every project. Something that's quite unique, the group believed.

All joined Chair of the session, Shaun Jenkins, Head of Architecture, J2, in an open, candid discussion.

Inherently human

To begin, Shaun asked a warm-up question, which was intentionally human, "what’s one way model making still excites you?"

The answers pointed to something bigger than technique. People talked about the model as a magnet in the studio. “Put even a rough model on a plinth and suddenly everyone gathers around, talking in a way they don’t when they’re behind screens. It becomes a shared focus, a way of making conversation happen naturally. And in an industry where people often work in silence like 'medieval scriptoriums,' that matters more than we admit.”

"It becomes a shared focus, a way of making conversation happen naturally."

Phil challenged the guests to discuss something potentially uncomfortable: even when models bring people together, are we still mostly just architects talking to architects? He believes models should travel, to move into other spheres, to bring in engineers, M&E teams, wider communities, and anyone else affected by what gets built.

Scott responded, “Plan drawings can shut people out unless you’re trained to read them. A model is different. You can put it in front of anyone, and they can engage instantly. It doesn’t require translation in the same way.”

The “anyone can engage” theme was consistent. Eleanor described using models in domestic projects where clients will live in the spaces being designed. "When clients can pick up a model, hold it, turn it, and point at it, they gain control. They stop feeling like architecture is something being done to them."

Laura added another layer, "Children often model faster than they draw because they’re less self-conscious. Give them 'junk' materials and they’ll build something architectural, quickly." In that sense, model making can be both fast and slow at the same time - fast to visualise and test an idea, slow enough to make you enjoy thinking again.

The conversation then moved into culture: “When do practices decide to make models, and is it inclusive?”, asked Shaun.

A spectrum of modelmaking

Eleanor spoke about the spectrum that exists for modelmaking, starting with a context model, and then using scraps of card to test ideas, right through to presentation models. At OMI, Simina described a shift: models aren’t only for the final reveal anymore. Faster fabrication methods and iteration (often via 3D printing) are bringing models into earlier design stages, including meetings where several iterations sit side-by-side so everyone can compare angles and massing properly.

Awais offered a contextual reality check, "Models can help win work", he said. He described a pitch situation where one architectural practice arrived with a physical 3D model, and it became the thing that sold the scheme compared to other bids that stayed on PDFs and early CGIs.

But he also laid out the tension that hangs over all of this, "time costs money, fees are tight, and if modelmaking becomes a premium add-on, it can affect competitiveness". He values models, but he also has to watch the bottom line, and he said it plainly, "unless clients are willing to pay for it, the economics can push modelmaking out."

"Unless clients are willing to pay for it, the economics can push modelmaking out."

That led to an important point that not every practice, or architect, needs to work the same way. Some architects sketch, some paint, some model, some do all of it. Phil reminded us that even Norman Foster won competitions with a handful of watercolour drawings. Others build their thinking through physical making. The message wasn’t “one true method.” It was plural - different tools work for different people, and the best approach is often a mix.

Education came into the spotlight next. Catalina spoke about peer pressure, "students sometimes feel pushed to have the best Rhino model or the slickest digital output, even if that isn’t their natural way of thinking." She described starting her first MSA project by going to B.15 Modelmaking Workshop and feeling like physical model skills changed how people saw her work. More importantly, she pointed out the learning difference. "When something fails in a model, you understand why, be it gravity, structure, material behaviour. When something fails in software, sometimes you only learn that you don’t know the correct command yet."

Others concurred, the best design tutorials often happen with models on the table. Screens can make a tutor feel like they’re being dragged around someone else’s viewpoint (“left a bit, up a bit, back a bit”), shared Anna.

“A physical model is direct. You point, you discuss, you test options fast. It also helps with confidence. People can be scared of workshops, especially post-pandemic, but the work students produced at home during lockdown proved something: you don’t always need perfect facilities. Necessity can make people more inventive", she added.

Equitable tools

This is where access and fairness came in. Laura raised the risk of inequality, “not everyone can afford expensive materials or equipment which means we need to constantly push back against the idea that you can only make great models if you can afford it” … “and beautiful models can hide weak architecture if we’re not careful," continued Awais.

"Some of the best models come from cheap materials," suggested Hanif. Cereal boxes, scraps, found objects, anything salvaged. Adam described running “dumpster dive models” in studio: no new materials allowed, just whatever you can find. "Suddenly, those who were afraid to ruin nice card became fearless, and their ideas took shape quickly."

“You don't need money to make good models.”

For parity, this point around whether models can be deceptive was further probed. “A beautiful, handcrafted model can present a building as more refined than it will be on-site, was the response. Materials change, budgets shift, planning alters the scheme”, commented Awais. That’s not an argument against models, he added, it’s a reminder to be honest about what a model is for. Is it to test massing? Explain circulation? Explore structure? Sell a vision? If you’re clear on the “why,” the model becomes a strong tool instead of a shiny distraction.

From there, the conversation naturally landed in the digital future: AI, renders, rapid prototyping, and whether any of it threatens professional model makers? Richard made a strong case that some practices and clients still want warmth, weight, imperfections, and real material presence, qualities that are hard to replicate digitally. He also stressed that models and visuals are usually a package: "drawings, renders, and models working together, each speaking to different audiences."

In-house, he’d seen how model making can drive design itself, not just represent it. He described a project where an evolving physical model helped a client understand the design so deeply that it became an emotional turning point “once they saw it, they broke down in tears."

Some of the strange side effects of AI in design workflows were highlighted. AI can generate images fast, but those images often don’t resolve like real architecture. You zoom in and the logic breaks. That can push teams towards more conceptual physical models because the details aren’t trustworthy yet. At the same time, the group was clear - AI and digital tools aren’t going anywhere. They’re another set of tools, like the laser cutter, CNC router, or 3D printer. "The danger isn’t that they exist," said Scott, "it’s the mindset that says new tools mean old ones must be thrown away."

An honest practice

One of the points of the night that truly resonated with all was related to honesty. A physical model is constrained by reality - gravity, structure, thickness, connection. A CGI can become pure marketing if nobody is careful, especially in planning contexts where non-technical decision-makers may focus on a single flattering image. Models can help ground those conversations, especially when context matters - shadow, height, massing, and how a building sits in its surroundings. And when you’re dealing with tall buildings, interchangeable model components can make options feel real in a way that other mediums can't.

Still, modelmaking wasn't heralded as the answer to everything. Phil warned against ‘fetishising’ the process. Turning modelmaking into pure craft rather than a useful option. "Not everyone is comfortable making things with their hands, and not every good building comes from a model." The key takeaways were to keep the option alive, keep the craft visible, and don’t lose the learning that happens when ideas are tested in the physical world.

"Keep the option alive, keep the craft visible, and don’t lose the learning..."

The night ended where it began: with community. The roundtable was never meant to produce a final verdict on whether modelmaking 'wins' against digital tools. But rather it was meant to keep the conversation moving across many disciplines. That’s the real future-proofing. Not choosing one tool forever, but building a culture where making, testing, failing, adapting, and sharing are still normal.

From Manchester to Venice and back again, Making Matters is really about that; keeping architecture human, collaborative, and hands-on, even as our screens get increasingly smarter.

If you'd like to get involved in future exhibitions by the AiM, visit the-aim.co.uk. MSA is keeping the model conversation going through its introduction of a dedicated Modelmaking Award at this year’s MSA Awards, more details can be found here.

Katy Ghahremani's career trajectory reads like the wish list of an undergraduate architect. From a Part One role at Future Systems during the recession of the 1990s (at the time the practice was bidding for the Tate Modern), to a stint at Enric Miralles' office in Barcelona, followed by Foster + Partners, and then joining at the start of Make Architects in 2004 along with the brilliant Ken Shuttleworth, it's safe to say Katy has a wealth of experience.

When speaking to Katy it's impossible not to feel enlightened. EDIB means a lot to her personally and professionally. It's clear that she truly loves distilling this experience she's built up over her time with the aforementioned practices to share with the younger generations of architects and interior designers coming up.

It's also no coincidence that Make gives opportunities to Part One and Two architects rather than "parachuting in senior people." A nurturing, supportive thread runs right through the organisation. This energy is palpable when you walk through the door, descending the ramp lined with architectural models, into a vast, open plan space whose previous life was an old NCP carpark that Make's founder Ken and the team repurposed themselves. Once inside, the environment is a collaborative one. Everywhere you look task chairs are gathered around drawings, models and materials, with people of all seniorities busily chatting away. It's a joy to see. More a live workshop environment than what you might expect of a traditional architecture practice.

Katy's support of young people similarly extends to her work with universities such as UCL. This is in addition to advisory, trustee and board roles for the London Property Association; the Built Environment Trust; and the Westminster Design Review panel.

Having recently spent a very enjoyable hour with Katy at Make's HQ to chat about how EDIB relates to both practice and projects, we were keen to share our conversation with you. Here's how it went...

Can we talk through your career to-date?

“I did my degree in Edinburgh. And when I did my Part One, we were right in the middle of a massive recession here in the '90s. A lot of my friends were going to either Berlin or Hong Kong, and I actually managed to get a job at Future Systems, which was unbelievable at the time. I was so happy. There were only 4 of us, including Jan [Kaplický] and Amanda [Levete]. So that was a really amazing experience because that was at the time they were doing the competition for the Tate Modern. Just mind-blowing.

“During the recession, RIBA said that you could do Erasmus as part of your Part One work experience. So the University arranged for me to go to Barcelona for a year. This was transformative in terms of working in practice. It was post-Olympics, just as the city had completely reinvented itself. I had the opportunity at the end of my semester in Barcelona to work at Enric Miralles' office for a couple of months as well. An amazing year out.

“When I came back, I did my diploma at the Bartlett, which was fantastic. Then I got a job at Foster + Partners, where I worked for 7 years with Ken [Shuttleworth]. One of the key projects we worked on together was Electronic Arts' (EA) European headquarters in Chertsey, Surrey. I loved working with such a dynamic company doing architecture and interior design. And I think that’s where my love of interiors really began.

“When Ken decided to leave Foster + Partners and set up Make Architects, I thought it would be great to join him – it was a very exciting time. I’ve been with Make since the beginning in 2004.”

What an incredible wealth of experience! During your 22-years at Make, how has your role changed?

“When we started, we were a very young company. A lot of us were the same age in our 30s. We’ve grown up with the practice. I was made director 10-years ago, which was an honour and a privilege. I was really pleased to be asked. My role has changed, but everyone’s has in a way as we’ve gained more experience.

“I've leaned into my interests in interiors for hospitality and residential, which has been a lot of fun because those sectors are really changing as well.”

What does your day-to-day look like?

“Every day is different! It's really good fun. I may have external meetings - I'm usually working on multiple projects, so there'll be client meetings that I need to go to. It’s great to have physical, real-life meetings back, but of course there are a lot of Teams meetings, particularly with our global clients. This morning we were on a call with Beijing.

“The other side of my role is to support the teams here. That might be doing a design review or supporting in relation to a specific challenge in terms of working with consultants or clients. It might be a design challenge, but it's also sometimes thinking more broadly about how you move a project forwards. It’s not just the design. We need to think a little bit more strategically.”

With your passion for architecture and interiors in mind, how do you consider the two on projects?

“Historically, design was seamless. Think about Frank Lloyd Wright. You started with the architecture masterplan, then you did the interiors and you might even do some pieces of furniture to go in there as well. In more contemporary times, we split it all out. But I actually think design is design. It's all about scale. So, you do need to have an understanding of both scales. A scale that works at architecture does not work at interiors and vice versa. My favourite projects are the ones that we do all the way from the outset all the way through to the styling elements, because actually, those are really important to bring a space to life.

“Having said that, we don't always have the opportunity. It's quite rare to have the opportunity to go all the way from the outset through to those little moments. So we're really happy to work collaboratively. We’ve done both, where we've done the architecture and then collaborated with an interior designer to do the interiors, or we've been the interior designer and worked with the architect.

“We've also done a couple of projects where the scope has been split between two different interior designers. So, although we're designing different areas, it's within the same building, so there needs to be collaboration there to create a more holistic experience. In workplace, or wherever that may be.”

Are there ever any challenges with collaborating in this way?

“It all depends on how the team gels together. I think if the team is really respectful of one another, you can actually get so much more out of it, and that's whether it's an internal team or whether it's a team of lots of different companies. It's about the individuals at the end of the day, the people within that team.”

You’ve been involved with many award-winning projects, such as Temple House, Nobu, and recently Hornsey Town Hall – all very different. Does your approach change depending on the sector?

“I think that there is a commonality to the projects, which is not about style or design. It's much more about looking at a proposition, whether it's a building or a site or whatever it is, and asking, where are the opportunities? How do we create emotion? What are the spaces, and what are the uses? It’s always really great to work with the person who's going to be bringing that building to life, and by that, I mean, for example, on Hornsey Town Hall, we worked very closely with the operator who was going to be managing the space – that’s not the client.

“On Temple House, we worked directly with the hotelier because he was the one with the vision. It's about working with the end user, to really have a vision, and then it's about how we deliver that vision.

“Once you have the vision for what the building is going to be and how it's going to feel and be used, it's then about flexibility. And the design flows out of that. And it doesn't matter if it's new build, or if it's heritage. The same applies.”

How do you go about researching what the end users want?

“For Hornsey Town Hall, we did a lot of consultation work. It’s really important on a project to consult with the community. But they cannot tell you what they want if they haven’t seen it. They need to respond to something. We worked with a lot of specific groups within the community, such as the Crouch End Festival and the Creative Arts Trust – those that would be delivering events and experiences in the community region.”

EDIB is one of your passions – firstly, can I ask how you’d refer to it?

“We call it EDI, and I think the new B Corp term is JEDI – Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. For me, the term isn't important. It's the meaning behind it.”

What does the sentiment mean to you?

“I think it’s really important because the wider the team, the better the outcome. It kind of goes without saying in a way, because if you have different ways of looking at something, you’ll logically get a better outcome as you've explored more viewpoints.

“It’s obviously a massive subject, but it starts with how we position ourselves externally, so when people are applying to jobs here they can see that there are people like them. Role models are really, really important. For you to see yourself reflected in an organisation is important. All the way through to how we then put teams together, to then understanding that from a diversity, inclusion, and neurodiversity perspective, as everybody's got different strengths. We want to enable people to be the best version of themselves, rather than putting them into positions where they’re set up to fail. That’s not productive for anyone. As well as that, it’s providing support to create a sense of belonging. So people feel part of a team and don’t feel isolated.”

This feeling is palpable when you walk through the door, with people huddled around drawings, chatting, and discussing plans and models. You can’t fake that, can you?

“You can’t. And as an employer we’re really transparent. Everybody’s aware of everything. On a personal level I’ve become more and more interested in this as a topic, beyond just the seven protective characteristics, as I have neurodivergent children. Seeing it from that side, I can understand which situations they thrive in, and which they don’t. It’s crucial we create spaces – and I don’t just mean physical spaces – where people can thrive.

“For client projects, it's about making sure that we are designing with variety and flexibility in mind, because what's right for one person is not right for another. Hospitality, in a way, has been doing this forever. Because if you go to a really great restaurant, for example, there are always the tables which are in little nooks and crannies where you can be away and it's quieter, and there are always the tables which are right in the middle of things which some people love to go and sit at.

“With hospitality, this has been about guest experience, and I think we're now beginning to bring it into workplace design and all of the other sectors.”

Is EDIB something that a client would bring up?

“It depends on the client. Sometimes we don't even bring it up. We just do it. I think it's about gauging whether the client is interested or not. For example, we did a workplace where the client was very aware that a large portion of their employees were neurodivergent because of the type of work they did. So they definitely wanted to make sure that the design catered for everyone. That was great as the client was invested. Some clients aren’t interested. Maybe because they think it’ll cost more. So in that case we’d just do it anyway. From our perspective, it’s better to get those principles into a scheme to make sure it’s really inclusive. That’s better for everyone.

“This is no different to where sustainability was 20 years ago when clients were like, ‘Well, why would I do that? It's going to cost me extra money.’ And so even then, we would do sustainability by stealth. But now it’s totally embedded. In another 10-15-years’ time, inclusive design will be too.

“We've been very good in the last decade to make sure physical accessibility is addressed, but there is more to do on the emotional and mental impact of your space.”

How do you measure EDIB and whether it's been successful in a space?

“We have done a post-occupancy study on some of our buildings, and quite a few of them we’ve commissioned, or the client has commissioned a third party. We like that, because it’s independent. So it’s without bias. Which can exist without us even realising, just from the questions we ask.

“The important thing is, having done the post occupancy, to feed it back to the team and to the studio so that it doesn't just sit on a shelf gathering dust. In any building, there's things to learn. Even if it's been successful, I'm sure that it's never perfect. Nothing's ever perfect. So how can we improve for the next project?”

You don’t really know how a space will be interacted with until there are people in it, do you? How do you feel about Cat A?

“We're taking some thinking from other sectors across into workplace, such as in the residential sector, we would give clients a choice in finishes i.e. it’s the same material but in different finishes. By putting certain aspects together, you can create a very different look. We don't do that in workplace. Why don't we give the tenants a choice in how their toilets will look, for example?”

Is there a golden rule for making spaces more inclusive?

“I think it's about not just having one space, because one space will only cater to one type of individual. It's always about having multiple experiences within the space. And usually, we're designing a building rather than just one space, so we're able to cater for that.

“We've got an in-house spatial psychologist, so we've been exploring what does belonging mean from a scientific perspective? How do we engender that? So it's about creating spaces where people can come together to connect with other like-minded people.”

You’re involved with universities including UCL. Do you think for the younger generations that EDIB is already ingrained in their minds?

“I think in a way it works the other way around now. Sometimes I've overheard students say, 'Oh, well, I don't want to be in that unit because all the tutors are white and male,' – it’s almost the inverse.

“When I was part of the RIBA Architects for Change group, we did quite a lot of research into professional drop-offs, looking particularly at gender and ethnicity. And it was at key stages - applying to university, and then actually going to study architecture, then at Part One, then coming back from Part One, then at Part Two people make specific choices. And I think that goes back to my point where if people can't see people like themselves ahead of them, they might change direction. So it's really about making sure that if you are a diverse organisation, you are portraying yourself so people can see it. Because if they don't see it, they don't know, and therefore they won't apply.

“I listened to a really interesting presentation by Black Females in Architecture just coming out of Covid, and there was a really powerful part where people were talking about their own personal experiences. It was completely anonymised, but somebody was reading it. The comment was ‘If I can't see that there's a black woman architect in this practice, I won’t even apply for a role there.’

“Things have changed radically; we mustn’t forget that. When I started in practice to now…the way contractors behaved around the table. There were no female clients. But we just need to keep going – we’ve still got a long way to go.”

What’s next for you?

“I love seeing my teams thrive doing projects, and just being there to catch them when they need that extra bit of support. We recruit a lot of Part One and Twos so they can grow with the practice, we don't parachute in senior people. And it’s the best thing watching somebody grow from when they're in their early 20s to then leading a meeting with a client. I'd like to be able to do more of that. And I also love doing all of my roles outside of the day job.

“I co-chair the EDI committee for London Property Association. I'm a trustee of the Built Environment Trust. I sit on the Westminster Design Review panel. I sit on the Industry Advisory Panel for UCL's Engineering and Architectural Design MEng course. All of these things which are external but tangential to the project work.

“They’re all great because I learn so much from everybody else around the table that I can bring back to practice. That dialogue is really fascinating for me.”

New for 2026, Material Source Studio London is an exhibition venue at Clerkenwell Design Week (19-21 May).

Over the 3-day programme, we're hosting 30+ events, from workshops to seminars, tastings to making.

You can explore exhibits from 23+ world-class built environment brands - our Material Source Studio London Partners.

We're exhibiting 100+ regenerative material innovations from around the globe with some never-before-seen installations - more details on those to follow.

And this is all within 1 inspirational destination, located just a 1-minute walk from Farringdon Station in the heart of Clerkenwell.

To help you plan your visit to 120 Saffron Hill next month, here are some useful links:

• What's On during CDW 2026 - Discover all the events happening here at the Studio with links to book your tickets

• Discover our Partners - Explore the brands you can get to know better during CDW and beyond

• Check out our Future Materials Library™ - With an evolving roster of hundreds of material innovators

• Meet, Work, Browse - Here's a snapshot of what you can do here at the Studio as an architect, interior designer or property professional - during CDW, but also every week following - our usual opening hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

• Sign up for Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 - If you're not yet signed up, get your free festival ticket here.

ILIV's launch of the Tofino collection bolsters its portfolio of faux leather fabric options.

Combining refined aesthetics with high-performance functionality, Tofino comprises "a premium woven-look faux leather, expertly engineered through an intricate print and embossing process to create rich depth and texture, evoking the character of woven fabric while delivering exceptional durability."

Available in 14 colourways, Tofino achieves 300,000 Martindale rubs and meets leading FR standards, including BS5852, BS7176, IMO 8, and EN1021-1&2, shares ILIV.

Enhanced with ILIV's advanced Protect+ technology, Tofino is waterproof, stain-resistant and antimicrobial, with proven suitability for outdoor use, making it a dependable choice for high-traffic and multi-purpose environments.

Responsibly produced, halogen-free and vegan-friendly, Tofino is non-toxic and recyclable, reflecting ILIV's commitment to both performance and sustainability.

Explore the full collection with take away samples at all Material Source Studios in Manchester, Glasgow and London. Discover more here.