Will Hurst
Architects' Journal
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Will:
‘Architects need a Hippocratic oath to stop them trashing the planet’
The profession needs to sign up to an Hippocratic oath to pledge to do no harm to the environment, architect Simon Sturgis has said at the SAVE Britain’s Heritage annual lecture → Read More
‘Bad buildings’ caused Turkish earthquake deaths, experts say
Observers have blamed poor construction methods and government failures for the deaths of thousands of people in the Turkish earthquake → Read More
London’s social housing depleted by demolition, study claims
According to the analysis, carried out by the London Tenants Federation (LTF), just 12,050 additional social-rented homes were built in London over the → Read More
Architects Declare savages government's 'woefully inadequate' climate action
Architects Declare founder Michael Pawlyn has slammed ‘woefully inadequate’ plans to decarbonise construction after the government shot down a bill to regulate embodied carbon → Read More
Related Argent boss to speak at AJ Retrofit Live
Partridge, who joined King’s Cross developer Argent in 1990 after studying architecture at Cambridge, became the firm’s joint chief executive in 2006 and → Read More
M&S accused of ‘epic greenwashing’ by Oxford St inquiry opponent
The bitter row over Marks & Spencer Oxford Street has escalated after SAVE Britain’s Heritage accused the chair of the retail giant of ‘false and defamatory’ statements and of ‘greenwashing on an epic scale’ → Read More
From Kristin Scott Thomas to Julia Barfield: Who is saying what about M&S Oxford Street
As the landmark planning inquiry into Pilbrow & Partners' contentious proposal draws to a close, Will Hurst presents a selection of statements made to inspector David Nicholson by high-profile individuals and organisations → Read More
Built environment leaders call on Sunak to end the chaos
RIBA president Simon Allford and others have reacted to the announcement of Rishi Sunak as the next Prime Minister by urging him to end the UK’s political instability and look to long-term solutions such as retrofitting → Read More
Demolition in the dock: Why the M&S Oxford St public inquiry really matters
Plans by Marks & Spencer to demolish and rebuild its flagship Oxford Street store have sparked a public row over the role of embodied carbon in construction and the case for a retrofit-first approach. Now a planning inquiry is set to hear both sides of the argument. Will Hurst reports → Read More
Usher in a retrofit revolution, leading think-tank tells Truss
Investing billions of pounds in retrofitting homes across England is a win-win-win for the new Conservative administration, a new report from think-tank IPPR claims → Read More
Government calls in Make’s South Bank tower for inquiry
Exclusive: Greg Clark has heeded opposition from local groups and heritage campaigners and called in Make’s redevelopment of the former ITV Studios on London’s South Bank → Read More
Bill Bryson joins top names in opposing M&S Oxford Street demolition plan
Author Bill Bryson has added his name to those opposing Pilbrow + Partners’ scheme for Marks & Spencer which would flatten its flagship Oxford Street store → Read More
LSE chief: ‘Chipperfield was so passionate in his advocacy for retention’
Will Hurst talks to Julian Robinson, head of estates at the London School of Economics (LSE), about the school’s final set piece architecture project and how a ‘paradigm shift’ in its response to the climate emergency will see it retain most of the existing building on the site → Read More
Germany unveils £47bn plan to make its buildings more energy efficient
Last week, the German cabinet adopted a draft finance plan for its Climate and Transformation Fund, a wider £148 billion scheme to modernise the economy → Read More
SAVE Britain's Heritage launches crowdfunder ahead of M&S public inquiry
Heritage charity SAVE Britain's Heritage has launched an appeal to raise £20,000 after announcing it will formally oppose Pilbrow + Partners' plan for Marble Arch store at a public inquiry this autumn → Read More
Architecture is drowning in greenwash
Greenwashing in architecture is everywhere you look. Yet failing to fairly represent the profession and its role in the climate emergency comes with a substantial risk attached, argues Bobby Jewell → Read More
Leading designers donate artwork for Ukraine fundraiser
An event to raise money for the British-Ukrainian Aid charity will auction artworks from architects and designers including Thomas Heatherwick, Sam Jacob, Chris Dyson and Robert Adam → Read More
EAC chair Philip Dunne: ‘Government must act to get to net zero Britain’
As the cross-party Commons committee publishes its landmark report on how to build in a climate crisis, Will Hurst catches up with chairman and Conservative MP for Ludlow, Shropshire, Philip Dunne → Read More
MPs back RetroFirst approach and demand planning and tax reforms
A report from the House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has sharply criticised government inaction on embodied carbon and has echoed all three strands of the AJ’s RetroFirst campaign → Read More
Behind the story: Why are politicians flip-flopping over the M&S Oxford St demolition?
Pilbrow and Partners’ plan to demolish and rebuild the 1930s Marks and Spencer store at Marble Arch – paused this week by communities secretary Michael Gove – has become a cause célèbre for those challenging similar projects on climate grounds. Yet, until now, it has passed every planning hurdle in its path. Will Hurst unpicks a twisting tale which could set a precedent for a RetroFirst approach → Read More