RIBA London Practice of the Month November 2022: Gbolade Design Studio Architects.
Every month, RIBA London showcases a London practice. For November 2022, we spoke to London based Gbolade Design Studio: Architects, Tara Gbolade about the future of architecture, the climate emergency and their exciting upcoming projects.
What do you think is the most important issue for architects to focus on right now, and what are you doing as a practice to tackle it?
It will be no surprise that like many, we believe architects must focus on addressing our climate emergency, which has also exacerbated our health inequality in the country. While we are now adept in understanding the performance requirements needed for high quality new builds, alongside this, there needs to be a strong focus on retrofit, and the required upskilling that will be required to get this right.
On a building level: this is particularly pertinent in the UK because of our historical stock; understanding the construction periods of existing buildings and therefore the mechanics of how they may have been designed to ‘breathe’; getting to grips with the varying construction methodologies from solid stone to uninsulated cavities to poorly insulated cavities that may now be in play after decades of being extended and upgraded; then understanding the slow work required to preserve fabric (particularly where Listed), and in many cases breathability of existing, while incorporating modern technology where appropriate.
On a strategic level: the quality of our built environment will need us to think in a more regenerative way: thinking deeply about the people, places, and organisations that will impact or be impacted by new or the regeneration of places. There is a strong call to know the people who exist in a community: their wants and needs, so we can preserve or enhance some of these with any placeshaping work.
As a practice, we have declared a climate emergency and have developed an internal framework to address wide-ranging themes from addressing air pollution to promoting active travel, addressing fuel-poverty to ensuring high quality occupant comfort. As a team we are upskilling through regular sustainability-led CPD’s and Passivhaus certification, and utilising internal BIM environmental analysis software for early stage decision-making.
Full article here:
https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/riba-london-practice-of-the-month-november-2022-gbolade-design-studio
