2024 BIKE TRIP / Gravesend to Rochester (via Hoo)

The Road to Rochester.  Photo Credit: E Fitzpatrick, AIA

Of course , a Bike Trip from Gravesend to Rochester – 8 miles or so along a busy A227 and a frantic A2– would certainly not be worth writing home about.  But - throw in the Hoo Peninsula twix that town and that city - and we have a day trip to remember.

Not one of  the AIA bikers had any idea what to expect on the way to the Hoo peninsula or even – for that matter – how to pronounce its name.  Is it WHO, or is it HOE, or is it somewhere in between?  In any event, AIA bikers trust their favourite architect tour guide, Benedict O’Looney, to chart a day’s journey full of sights of unexpected interest interspersed with gentle English countryside.  Gravesend, in fact, proved an auspicious beginning for the 2024 Bike Trip.

Who (or hoe) could have anticipated the range of Gravesend’s abundant architectural heritage until its historic, strategic location on the Thames was explained.  Today, it now has high speed rail link to Central London to give it a renewed chance to shine. 

• A memorial to Pocahontas, the Native American ‘Princess’, who died passing Gravesend on her way back to America in 1617. 

• The Gravesend Town Pier, oldest surviving (1834) iron pier, and its mate from (1844).

• A Light Ship Gallery and St Anders Art Gallery on the Thames.

• One of the oldest surviving Borough Markets (Chartered in 1268), still a busy destination on a Saturday afternoon.

• A surprising Victorian High Street.  

• A City Hall with a robust Doric façade.

• A thriving, major Sikh Temple (15% of Gravesend population is Sikh).  

The Bikers left Gravesend later than expected alongside the now defunct Thames and Medway Canal.  The canal was built to speed up transport between the military sites on the two rivers, but it did not open until 1824 - too long after the Napoleonic wars ended to be a great commercial success.  However, biking on a long, flat, straight, obscure and unpopulated tow road on the way to the Hoo Peninsula was an excellent start to the bucolic second stage of the Bike Tour. 

Stops on the Hoo Peninsula included Cliffe, a village of Angle Saxon origin with a surprisingly significant 13th century church, St Helens, indicating that Cliffe was once an important post on the Thames riverfront.  The river has receded so Cliffe now overlooks rather dreary marshland.  However, glimpses seen through the trees across the Thames to the Tilbury Docks and Canvey Island were enticing. 

Cliffe Church was large and elaborate.  Photo Credits: E Fitzpatrick, AIA

After Cliffe and an excellent Saturday pub lunch, the roads led ever so slightly upwards again to Cooling and its 14th century castle, built to guard against French raiders from across the Channel.

As with St Helen Church, Cooling Castle looked slightly out of place away from any large population areas.  Photo Credit: Brianne Hamilton.

The climb became steeper on the way to Hoo’s summit at High Haslow, where the Bikers stopped to admire the church and agree on the best route of several options DOWN to Rochester.

Several bikers rest after reaching the highest point of the Hoo Peninsula.  Photo Credit: E Fitzpatrick AIA.

There were fewer participants on this year’s bike trip than the last one on 2022, due to scheduling conflicts for expected three ‘regulars’.  Along with Ben O’Looney,  past organiser, Lorraine King, and current organiser, Etain Fitzpatrick, attended and new Board Director Kristy Sels and her husband, Ludwig joined for the first time.   Brianne Hamilton joined with her 10 year old son, Patrick.   Patick  hung in with the adults – a show of remarkable resilience – both physical and social.  

Etain Fitzpatrick – in a show of remarkable navigation skills – eventually brought the group through a series of back streets and bike trails to the Medway with Rochester Castle beckoning in the distance.  It was the end of a long day of sunshine, exercise and architecture, and – incidentally – a sizeable number of Continuing Education credits.

Rochester Castle beckons, but there is still a ways to go. Photo Credit: E Fitzpatrick AIA.

Crossing the Medway into Rochester itself, our guide, Benedict O’Looney, left us one of his quick sketches of Rochester as a lasting memento of the Bike Trip. You can learn more about his sketching techniques HERE.

Written by Lorraine King AIA

Beale & Co Hosts Architects’ Roundtable Discussion

Photo by Michael Lischer

Chapter sponsor, Beale & Co Solicitors, held their annual architects’ roundtable on the 10 of July.  The AIA UK was invited to attend and was represented by Michael Lischer.  Over 20 representatives from many of the larger practices in London and the RIBA participated.  Beale lawyers led a lively discussion on three very topical subjects that impact the design profession.  These were:

• The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Architects

• Building Safety Act (BSA) – market approach, appointments and RIBA guidance

• UK construction market post-election – what might the future hold?

The use of AI – This topic stimulated a good discussion.  The key points included:

• 40% of UK architects are already using AI.  This will grow to 60% in two years.

• The UK government is advocating the use of AI for public sector work.

• In 10 years, the use of AI by architects will be the “new norm”.

• However, AI will be used to optimize what we are already doing, like creating room and door schedules.  It will not be a paradigm shift.

• There will be intellectual property issues.  Who owns the output of the world wide web?

• Big firms will have an advantage as they have many projects in their files to gain information from.

• Use of AI will speed up many design processes.  Will clients insist on paying smaller fees?

The Building Safety Act – The secondary legislation came into effect last November.  There is not much guidance available from the government for design professionals.  To provide this, the RIBA has just released new documents that provide guidance and tools to help minimize the risks.  Points discussed include:

• Generally, the profession appears to be “getting up to speed” with the new regulations.

• The RIBA guidance is trying to prevent a “race to the bottom” in terms of services to be provided by architects.

• The BSA does not lend itself to design-build procurement contracts.

• There is a massive regulatory backlog and planning departments are struggling to cope with the additional demands.

• Design contracts must insist on the client’s competence in fulfilling their requirements.

• Architects are taking on more scope.  This should be reflected in higher fees.

The UK construction market post-election – The main topic of discussion was the government’s promise to build more homes.  The labour manifesto states 1.5 million new homes will be built in 5 years.  Is it possible to build 300,000 dwellings per year?  The roundtable thought it doubtful!  Points discussed included:

• The amount of construction labour currently available is not adequate.

• It is doubtful planning departments will be able to cope with the added workload.

• This should be a boon to modular construction contractors.  Unfortunately, several large ones have already gone bust, and others are struggling.

• This needs a “new town” vision similar to the last century when new towns were built on the fringe of large cities.

• The government will have to fund much of the construction as the private sector will be unable to raise the money.  Think, council housing!

• The main issues distil down to; who’s the client, where is the funding, and where is the labour.

The roundtable concluded with a drinks reception and further discussion!

Written by Michael Lischer, FAIA

Photo by Michael Lischer

Building Tour - Tower Hamlets Town Hall with AHMM

Interior photograph of the Tower Hamlets Town Hall. Photo by AHMM.

The AIA UK building tour at Tower Hamlets Town Hall was an engaging event, attracting a total of 22 attendees. Walking through the Grade II listed former Royal London Hospital building was like a step back in time, while the £124.7m modern re-imagining of the space into a town hall remained rooted in a contemporary Central-East London atmosphere. The Georgian facades stood as stoic witnesses to centuries of change, while the modern extension offered a glimpse into Tower Hamlets' aspirations for the future of municipal governance.

Two tour groups were led by AHMM architects Eleonora Gallenzi and Ben Leach, exploring both the interior and exterior of the building. The guides highlighted the palimpsest of old, older, and brand-new features that occasionally created unique design challenges. A notable example was adapting the surrounding site to allow for multiple points of step-free access and integrating the previously quarantined hospital complex with the surrounding public walkways. In general, the AHMM renovation adopted a highly practical and cost-effective approach, but also exhibited architectonic creativity and innovation alongside a bold colour scheme of reds and blues.

The AIA UK tour groups crossing paths while walking through the intermediate ramped hallway, located between the extension and the old building. This open hallway articulates the existing façade (left) alongside a multi-story height, linear artificial accent lighting, and a roof skylight overhead. Photo by Adelina Koleva, AIA.

Questions were raised particularly about the history of the original building and extensions, as well as the choice of colour schemes. The vibrant red theme on the ground floor sparked intrigue among the guests – Gallenzi explained that the red emerged from the original brickwork while the blue wayfinding hues were sourced from the original terrazzo flooring on the second floor. These details tell intelligent stories of the past, not only adding to the historic theme of the tour but enhancing the value of the modern upgrade to an oftentimes conservative and discerning public.

A refurbished part of the old building on an upper floor, repurposed as an office break-out space. Note the original terrazzo flooring, one of the key historic features which provided the architects with colour inspiration for the renovation. Photo by Adelina Koleva, AIA.

At ground level, the council chamber serves as a pillar not only of democracy – but also of accessibility and flexibility. These principles were reflected in the wheelchair route to the chamber floor and the integrated storage units along the walls. The former hospital building might not have originally been intended for such purposes, but the architects aimed to provide these amenities to improve both public engagement and customer service on behalf of their client.

As the tour concluded, guests parted ways with a newfound knowledge and appreciation for AHMM’s Tower Hamlets Town Hall – as well as some well-earned continuing education credits! Thank you to everyone who participated in the exploration, and special thanks to Etain Fitzpatrick and Gregory Fonseca for organising this event, and our tour guides from AHMM for sharing the building with us. The AIA UK looks forward to welcoming more architectural enthusiasts on our future Building Tours.

Written by Adelina Koleva, AIA

The Ultimate Guide to AIA24 for Students & Emerging Professionals

Colt Brock, Assoc. AIA, has written a helpful and thorough guide for young designers attending the AIA annual conference. Click the button below to learn about student tickets, recommended sessions and tips for navigating the event itself.

Vote in the 2024 USA Elections

As you know, 2024 is an election year in the USA.  Living in the UK does not affect your right to vote but may take a bit of planning.  If you are already registered to vote in your home state, you need to contact your local election board and ask for an absentee ballot or go to www.fvap.gov to obtain the standard form.  This must be done for each year that you plan to vote.  If you aren’t registered to vote, or you’re not sure, go to www.votefromabroad.org to register and request your ballot for 2024.  As we saw from the last presidential election, every vote counts.  It is important to exercise your right to vote!

Movie Night - The Destruction of Memory

History keeps repeating itself. We first screened this documentary in 2017, at the height of the War in Syria. It was a sold-out screenings, and likewise seven years later, in an equally sold-out cinema, we still found ourselves plagued with evermore destruction of the built environment and cultural heritage all across the World. This documentary is a powerful reminder that there is so much more that still needs to be done to protect our cultural heritage for future generations. 

Over the past century, cultural destruction has wrought catastrophic results across the globe. This war against culture is not over - it's been steadily increasing. The push to protect, salvage and rebuild has moved in step with the destruction. Legislation and policy have played a role, but heroic individuals have fought back, risking and losing their lives to protect not just other human beings, but our cultural identity - to save the record of who we are. Based on the book of the same name by Robert Bevan, The Destruction of Memory tells the whole story - looking not just at the ongoing actions in Syria and other contemporary situations, but revealing the decisions of the past that allowed the issue to remain hidden in the shadows for so many years. Interviewees in the film include the Director-General of UNESCO, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as diverse and distinguished international experts, whose voices combine to address this urgent issue.

Many in the audience found this documentary both emotional and frustrating. We were fortunate to have two gentlemen —Patrick Hughes and Matt Amis, from Six Heritage in the audience. 

They kicked off the post movie debate by telling us about their organisation, as well as giving us first hand experience of their upcoming work in Ukraine. Similar to some of the Organisations featured in the documentary, they shall be heading to a war zone where they will document cultural heritage assets that are at risk of destruction. We are most grateful for the risks and sacrifices teams such as theirs take to safeguard our cultural identity. 

We shall return to the BFI Stephen street in March for our next screening, which will be in honour International Women’s Day, and we will be showcasing the work of a phenomenal woman Architect. 

Stay tuned and we look forward to seeing you at screenings again in the fall.

Written by Chris Musangi, AIA