Comment from leading voices in British architecture on news, practice and discourse
In the context of environmental and social crisis, it is essential that architects view the built environment as pivotal to achieving political and economic change, argue Charlie Edmonds and Immy Kaur
New policies in the pipeline will make it clear that retrofit is the best solution for the vast majority of buildings in the borough, says Westminster councillor Geoff Barraclough
The Labour leader’s macho posturing on housebuilding ignores the 60 megatonnes of upfront carbon that building 1.5 million new homes would produce, writes Alice Moncaster
Street trees are a wonder drug, aiding public health and the battle against climate change. Yet urban greenery is in decline. How can we turn this around? asks Eleanor Broad of Create Streets
We can make retrofit the norm by making it more profitable, adding storeys to existing buildings made of renewable low-carbon timber, argues engineer Kelly Harrison
Though painted as a damaging act based on resistance to change, Michael Gove’s seismic decision to stop Marks & Spencer demolishing its Oxford Street store is actually a positive move, argues Rab Bennetts
We should move away from the idea of architecture as a finite product and instead embrace ongoing maintenance for our creations, argues Toko Andrews
The government’s headline-grabbing rejection of Pilbrow & Partners’ M&S Oxford Street plan highlights how far off the UK is from producing circular economy projects like those of Danish architect Anders Lendager, argues Peter Murray
The government urgently needs to join the dots between its landmark verdict on Marks & Spencer’s demolition proposal and the policy vacuum on limiting embodied carbon in construction, writes Will Hurst
As Michael Gove prepares to announce his verdict on the proposed demolition of M&S Marble Arch, let’s hope he has considered our memories and understanding of the place we know as Oxford Street, writes Simon Henley
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