Angela Brady - on Architecture and Sustainability

Angela Brady (More interviews from this person)
Architect
country:United Kingdom
website: www.angelabradydesigns.com

Bio

Angela Brady is a director of Brady Mallalieu Architects an award winning design led private practice with over 20 years experience, who specialise in contemporary sustainable design. Their recent 200 homes at Mastmaker Rd Isle of Dogs won ‘Best housing development’ in Evening Standard awards and won an RIAI design award 2010.

Angela will be the next President of the RIBA in Sept 2011. She is a champion of Women in Architecture internationally; Past chair of Women in Architecture and founding member of RIBA ‘Architects for Change’ - promoting women and BAME architects. She curated the ‘DiverseCity’ travelling exhibition 2003-2010 exhibited in dozens of Cities around the world which concluded with an international conference at the RIBA in Oct 2010.
See www.women-in-architecture.com and www.diversecity-architects.com

Angela has created and led many in-school design initiatives to promote architecture and our sustainable built environment to the public, particularly working with The Building Exploratory Hackney, RIAI, RIBA, CABE, Artsinform, Open House, Open City, Architecture Foundations, and Art Galleries in UK and Ireland.

Angela is currently a Government Equality Ambassador, RIBA and RIAI Council member, STEMnet Ambassador, and a CABE Enabler.
Past member of CABE/ English Heritage Urban panel; Design Champion of London Development Agency Board; Vice chair of Civic Trust Awards, Trustee Director Building Exploratory Hackney and leader of ‘Women @ Work’ project in the Near East with the British Council.

Angela is well known for her work on TV, with series such as ‘The Home Show’ on Ch 4 and ‘Building the Dream’ on ITV, bringing an appreciation of architecture and design to the public.

:: Photo information and credits:

1 > Phoenix Heights / 4 Mastmaker Road
photo courtecy © VIEW/Dennis Gilbert

2 > Laycock Street Residential Development
photo courtecy © Sara Thomas/Brady Mallalieu Architects

3 > Islington Central Medical Centre / Andrew Carr/Brady Mallalieu
photo courtecy © VIEW/Dennis Gilbert

4 > Phoenix Heights / 4 Mastmaker Road
photo courtecy © VIEW/Dennis Gilbert

5-6 > Private House, Richmond
photo courtecy © VIEW/Dennis Gilbert

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Kim Herforth Nielsen - on Architecture and Sustainability

My point of view:
on Architecture and Sustainability

Interview Date: 13-04-2011

VIEW the entire interview on VIDEO!

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In recent years attention turns to green urban regeneration. Do you think that it is imperative for the city or it’s just a new fashion with economic outcomes and covertly interests?

The green issue and the urbanization of cities are key and something that we are trying to address at the moment in London. We’ve got a campaign which is the “TDAG-Tree Design Action Group” and the idea is that we want to plant two million trees in the next ten years. Because trees not only look beautiful but they are needed for the backdrop of our cities, they are needed for the life of our cities, they add life. We need them for our air, they take pollution out of our air and they give oxygen that we need, they absorb carbon dioxide. Trees are an essential part of man and nature living together and the urban tree greening movement is a very popular one. Everybody loves trees and we’ve got to look after them because they are not enough trees being planted.

One of the big problems in cities worldwide, particularly the closer you get to the equator is that cities are getting hotter and hotter. They get four degrees hotter than in rural areas. That’s because of what is called “the urban heat effect”. That’s where the concrete absorbs heat, the buildings absorb heat or buildings are giving off heat and that is adding four degrees more. This means that people have to cool buildings. There is more cost on air-conditioning or there is more uncomforting in the city and trees are needed for urban shade and also, when we have too much water in the rainy seasons, the trees will absorb the rain and they will intern. They will help the whole city to run more economically and have much better atmosphere in everything.

How do you imagine a future in which sustainability pervades all forms of architecture and design, where it is unquestioned, and the norm?

The future and sustainability go hand in hand. It is very important that we have a mind set change in the way we look after our environment. At the moment, we have an expression: “Our heads are in the sand”. People are ignoring the real problem. The real problem is the amount of carbon dioxide from foster fuels in our atmosphere. Our buildings have got to be zero energy. Now, while the government has different ideas on zero carbon buildings, we as architects really should be taking the lead and say “We can not afford not to. We have to become green, go towards zero energy, and zero carbon, because that’s the only sustainable future.”

Does architecture as a profession need empowerment? In which ways should this be done?

We do need empowerment in architecture and our built environment and those values we hold very dear. The problem is that architecture is developed or not developed by the power of politics. Politics is what designs architecture to be good, bad or indifferent. We, as architects, need to engage with our politicians and say the value of what architecture and architects can bring to society for the built environment and for the future of our children and our children to children is all count on how we look out our environment, the buildings we build because that affects how we live. It’s not happening properly at the moment. Our politicians really need to embrace long term thinking and at the moment they only think for five years which are their powerful five years. We can help them long term. If they make decisions now that are for long term strategic thinking and not short term. Short term does nobody any good and wastes money.

Is the world financial crisis an opportunity for everyone to reconsider the ways that we design and construct the buildings and the urban environment?

The slow down with the economic crisis is worldwide and it affects everybody worldwide. Architects and professionals building are the first hit, the first people that are affected in any down term. But we are all ought to the first people back. The only way that we are going to get back there is coming up with innovative, economical solutions on how to make better buildings and a better environment. We’ve got to work with less and produce more. We can do that by being innovative, coming up with the good ideas and engaging with the public.

In the UK, we’ve got something called localism and localism is meant to be taking the power from the top of government and giving it to the local people. The idea of localism is that architects and engineers we should be engaged and try to create new projects with very little money but that will have a big impact and make a huge difference. One way that we can actually engage with the public is through children in schools, by going into schools and saying “We’ll show you what architecture can do; we’ll show you what good design can do”. Good design inspires people, makes them think and feel different; it makes them proud of their environment. Unless we can still that pride of architecture being at the heart of our environment, then we will not have a good society.

If we can engage with our politicians to back us up, to deliver good quality environment, good architecture and appreciate what architecture and the value we can bring to society, then it is a good thing and it will be a better civilized world living.

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