College Amadou Hampâté Bâ by Article 25 Photo Credit: Toby Pear
AIA UK’s summer program was packed with inspiring events that celebrated design excellence, sustainability, and cultural heritage. From a climate-responsive campus in Niger to contemporary London landmarks and a cycling sketch tour along the Thames, members explored how architecture can connect communities, respect context, and spark creativity.
College Amadou Hampâté Bâ: A Model of Climate-Responsive Design
On 29 May AIA UK took a virtual tour of College Amadou Hampâté Bâ in Niamey, Niger — designed by the UK humanitarian NGO Article 25 and winner of both Design and Sustainability awards at the AIA UK 2025 Excellence in Design Awards. The campus responds to the hot Sahelian conditions utilizing local laterite stone walls for thermal mass, vaulted compressed-earth brick roofs, and lightweight metal “flying” canopies that shade and ventilate. The result is a poetic, low-carbon composition of vernacular materials, passive cooling strategies and cultural respect — a powerful precedent for sustainable architecture in extreme climates. AIA UK
Urbanest City Tour: Reimagining Mixed-Use in the Heart of London
On 12 June the group visited Urbanest City at 35 Vine Street EC3N, an 11-storey mixed-use building by Hopkins Architects and Apt, another 2025 AIA UK Excellence in Design Award winner . The project integrates 656 high-quality student residences with flexible office space, start-up incubator areas, and a public exhibition venue anchored by a restored section of the Roman City Wall. Thoughtfully designed communal spaces, a lively ground-floor café/museum entry and pedestrian-friendly street improvements help bridge the historic and financial heart of the City. AIA UK
Photo by Will Scott
2025 Bike & Sketch Tour: Walton-on-Thames to Richmond
On 28 June a group of AIA UK members biked a (mostly) flat route from Walton-on-Thames to Richmond, stopping to sketch, visit heritage sites, and hear stories from local architectural historian and guide Benedict O’Looney. Highlights included St Mary’s Parish Church (with its dramatic 18th-century Boyle Monument by Roubiliac), the industrial heritage of Platt’s Eyot shipbuilding, riverside life along the Thames path, Hampton Court, and the newly renovated Richmond Station — the latter a fitting finale given O’Looney’s own involvement in its restoration. AIA UK
Sketch Credits: Gregory Fonseca
Design District, Greenwich Peninsula: A Curated Chorus of Creativity
The July 3 AIA UK tour of the Design District on Greenwich Peninsula showcased an ambitious masterplan developed by Knight Dragon and Ardmore, curated by HNNA’s Hannah Corlett and Alex Howard of the Design District Management team. Eight architectural practices, each designing two “sibling” buildings without seeing each other’s work, results in striking contrasts yet surprising coherence. The layout — four courtyards bisected by a central boulevard aligned with the Millennium Dome — emphasises permeability, public space, and the creative interplay of form, materiality and community. AIA UK
Attendees gather for the tour of the Design District Masterplan. Photo by Hannah Corlett
For more news from AIA UK, visit https://www.aiauk.org/blog
