{"id":731509,"date":"2024-02-22T09:24:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T09:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=731509"},"modified":"2024-02-22T15:03:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T15:03:34","slug":"lets-celebrate-one-of-the-professions-best-qualities-visionary-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/lets-celebrate-one-of-the-professions-best-qualities-visionary-thinking","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s celebrate one of the profession\u2019s best qualities \u2013 visionary thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the AJ we know that architects can bring a clarity of thinking to complex issues, coupled with an ability to see the big picture. You are connectors, enablers and instigators of positive change.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re delighted to be launching a new platform, \u2018Blueprints for Change\u2019, to discover and publish what architects and others in the built environment sector are proposing to tackle the most pressing social and environmental challenges. As Will Hurst explains in his introduction, we want to highlight \u2018your ability to solve problems, to think laterally and to question the status quo\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

First up is 5th Studio director Tom Holbrook\u2019s bold proposition for The Arc \u2013 a 100-mile public landscape with water at its heart. Taking in a water-challenged and nature-depleted crescent of land lying between Oxford and Cambridge, the ambitious proposal envisions \u2018a multipurpose landscape: a place for leisure that also collects water; an impenetrable landscape and a landscape for human occupation; a landscape to broaden natural diversity and one to provision the settlements within it\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

The approach rethinks our relationship with nature, through an architectural lens. It recognises the real need for human development, but proposes the very opposite of what usually happens, when an \u2018infrastructure project is built to solve a particular problem and landscape is thought of as an even overlay to ameliorate and disguise the solution\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Big\u2019 doesn\u2019t need to mean imposed from the top down. \u2018Visionary\u2019 doesn\u2019t need to be overlaid and enforced. And, of course, big, visionary thinking can have good, as well as negative, outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with generous, open-minded civic interventions, so much can be improved. Cristina Monteiro\u2019s inspiring column explores the social value in architecture, and how that value, by any measure, is multiplied because of its longevity, localness and commitment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever your political persuasion, it\u2019s obvious that the parlous state of England\u2019s school buildings needs a drastic, visionary (and financial) intervention \u2013 and fast. While bold budgetary changes are made with a sweep of a pen at the macro level, each crumbling classroom is a local, micro tragedy. Check out Anna Highfield\u2019s deep dive into how we got here, and where we\u2019re going.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good, careful school design can change children\u2019s lives. Schools (like water) are critical elements of our infrastructure, not a mere overlay to disguise a problem. Starting with the individual child in mind, and each child\u2019s need for nurture and growth, can help solve seemingly insurmountable problems. That could mean creating a vibrant civic building in a cramped urban site (see Rivington Street Studio\u2019s Oasis Academy in Silvertown); or supporting those whose lives have been impacted by trauma through access to nature (Loader Monteith\u2019s new woodland hub for Harmeny Education Trust near Edinburgh).<\/span><\/p>\n

The best ideas, like children, will grow and \u2013 hopefully \u2013 thrive. We look forward to your Blueprints for Change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribers can read the January issue\u00a0here<\/a>, or it can be purchased from the\u00a0AJ Shop<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The AJ is launching \u2018Blueprints for Change\u2019, a new platform exploring how architects plan to tackle the most pressing social and environmental challenges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2185,"featured_media":731515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[100812,99903,1351],"yoast_head":"\nLet\u2019s celebrate one of the profession\u2019s best qualities \u2013 visionary thinking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The AJ\u2019s February issue \u2013 which is published today \u2013 showcases architects\u2019 ability to instigate positive social and environmental change\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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