英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所

英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所

John McAslan + Partners

簡介

英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所是一家總部設(shè)在倫敦并在愛丁堡和多哈設(shè)有辦事處的國際建筑公司，公司在全球占有領(lǐng)先地位且多次獲獎。該公司曾在英國及其他國家完成了許多獲獎項目，包括文化、遺產(chǎn)、基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施、酒店、商業(yè)、住宅、教育、城市建設(shè)和景觀等設(shè)計項目。事務(wù)所在倫敦的第二家辦事處，位于托特納姆中心的N17設(shè)計工作室，專門從事當?shù)氐某鞘懈马椖康拈_發(fā)，為當?shù)啬贻p人提供實習(xí)和工作崗位。

該事務(wù)所在其他國家完成的項目包括莫斯科歷史悠久的斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基工廠的重建，莫斯科歷史悠久的布爾什維克工廠舊址的重建工程中的俄羅斯印象派博物館項目，英國駐阿爾及爾大使館和海地太子港鐵市的修復(fù)項目，以及在卡塔爾多哈的16個項目，其中包括文化廣場、中東第一座文華東方酒店（施工中）、最近完成的朱馬清真寺、一所學(xué)校、四座遺產(chǎn)博物館和一個規(guī)模宏大的住宅區(qū)。其他著名的建筑項目包括目前正在設(shè)計的加拿大維多利亞的英屬哥倫比亞皇家博物館的總體規(guī)劃和里約熱內(nèi)盧一家英國學(xué)校的重建工程。

約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所在新建工程和歷史性建筑的創(chuàng)造性重建方面享有盛譽。其中著名的創(chuàng)造性重建項目包括廣受好評的國王十字車站的改造項目（該項目已經(jīng)獲得約30項全國和國際獎項）。到目前為止，事務(wù)所已經(jīng)獲得120多個國際獎項，其中包括大約25個英國皇家建筑師學(xué)會獎項，而且還多次被評為年度建筑實踐獎和年度世界建筑師獎。事務(wù)所還三次獲得歐羅巴諾特拉獎，一次榮膺歐盟文化遺產(chǎn)獎，最近還獲得了著名的女王國際企業(yè)獎（國際獎項）。

事務(wù)所致力于改善民生建筑工程，通過多年實踐形成了既有理性又富有詩意的設(shè)計流程。其基本理念是建筑應(yīng)該有強有力的理念支撐；這種理念應(yīng)該以智慧合理的態(tài)度實現(xiàn)建筑功能并充分表現(xiàn)地方特色；這種理念的力量應(yīng)體現(xiàn)在外在的建筑形式上。這樣，業(yè)主得到了所需要的建筑實體，整個社會得到了應(yīng)得的建筑美學(xué)形象。

約翰·麥卡蘭認為城市是人類最能給人深刻印象、最珍貴的文化成就之一；城市不僅僅是建筑的集合，城市還在人類聯(lián)系、運輸、通信、公共空間等方面發(fā)揮著作用，給人們以生活的喜悅。事務(wù)所致力于將建筑工程與其背景緊密結(jié)合起來，設(shè)計時考慮項目的所處地點、物質(zhì)性、舒適性、規(guī)模和文化背景。

公司沒有一成不變的“建筑風(fēng)格”，但所有的建筑都有一種共同的強烈的“DNA”，這種基因源于過程而不是形式。約翰·麥卡蘭和他的團隊奉行功能主義。他們重視研究，認為好的建筑是清晰理性的圖案的外在展示。

約翰·麥克蘭說：“我們謹慎行事，以堅定的信念進行建筑活動；我們直面問題，重視橫向思考；我們分解建筑藍圖，認真對待每一個細節(jié)，從而充分展現(xiàn)設(shè)計理念；我們不輕易說“不”；我們認為建筑的功能遠不止建筑物的物理規(guī)模；我們認為建筑應(yīng)該讓生活更美好?！?/p>

約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所在創(chuàng)造性地解決富有挑戰(zhàn)性的設(shè)計方面享有盛譽并因此而獲得多方面的獎項。

商業(yè)項目

建筑事務(wù)所進入商業(yè)建筑設(shè)計領(lǐng)域即一鳴驚人：公司最早的兩個項目都是大型商業(yè)建筑——馬克斯馬拉時尚集團位于意大利的總部大樓和土耳其的Yapi Kredi銀行。

這兩個項目規(guī)模宏大：馬克斯馬拉時裝集團總部占地45,000平方米，因為該建筑的“一致性以及明晰地揭示建筑、功能和人之間的關(guān)系”而受到該集團主席的稱道。公司為的Yapi Kredi運營中心所做的總體規(guī)劃和設(shè)計在位于俯瞰馬爾馬拉海的一個陡峭斜坡上成功地完成了富有安全感的商業(yè)建筑群，在10個相連建筑內(nèi)建造了運營、培訓(xùn)和會議設(shè)施，可供2,500多名員工使用。

通過這些項目，事務(wù)所了解了商業(yè)建筑的要義，而且在如何平衡獨具匠心的設(shè)計、商業(yè)形象和運營效率之間的關(guān)系方面積累了經(jīng)驗。

事務(wù)所的商業(yè)建筑設(shè)計工作室自成立以來還完成了其他高品質(zhì)的項目，包括獲獎的倫敦斯隆廣場二級保護建筑彼得·瓊斯百貨公司的翻新和改造項目，這一項目以精妙的方式證明了時尚的大空間改造工程同樣可以為二十一世紀增添一個富有傳奇色彩又兼顧多種功能的零售業(yè)建筑。

其他值得稱道的項目包括倫敦西區(qū)新邦街的一棟著名的19世紀建筑的重建工程和倫敦橋碎片大廈內(nèi)半島電視臺的倫敦媒體總部的創(chuàng)新設(shè)計。

目前正在進行的項目包括在國會大廈和泰特美術(shù)館附近的一個保護區(qū)內(nèi)Millbank大廈的重建工程。該項工程將把這座二級保護建筑改造成高檔酒店和公寓樓；而事務(wù)所為在倫敦最負盛名的購物點之一、位于圣詹姆斯保護區(qū)的杰米恩街提出的設(shè)計方案既內(nèi)斂又精妙，恰到好處。

在俄羅斯，約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所的商業(yè)項目包括新建項目，也包括有歷史或文化意義的大型遺跡重建項目。位于莫斯科的斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基工廠大樓30,000平方米的混合用途改造項目，為這座城市引進了腹地景觀空間的理念，并因此獲得了諸多國際獎項。事務(wù)所目前正在莫斯科歷史悠久的布爾什維克工廠舊址上改建新的50,000平方米的商業(yè)開發(fā)項目。事務(wù)所在莫斯科的其他項目包括占地6公頃的奧林匹亞公園商業(yè)和運動大樓，該項目吸引了包括寶馬在內(nèi)的許多高端企業(yè)租戶，事務(wù)所還在為MEBE總部設(shè)計一座符合LEED黃金節(jié)能評級高層大樓。

文化項目

英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所多年來一直專注于通過建筑形式重建和增加文化表現(xiàn)手段。建筑師無法精確定義文化的許多物理表現(xiàn)形式，因為文化千變?nèi)f化——像歷史一樣，文化總是在發(fā)展，其發(fā)展有客觀的一面，也有主觀的一面。建筑師對文化的貢獻在于在不破壞有紀念意義的建筑和地方的原始特征的前提下，為人們體驗這些建筑和地方的方式增加更多的現(xiàn)代感。可以說文化項目所包含的文化意義是非常敏感的。

建筑師什么時候應(yīng)該簡單地突出已經(jīng)存在的東西？什么時候又應(yīng)該采用非常新穎的創(chuàng)新手段進行干預(yù)？如何在保留文化建筑的現(xiàn)有建筑特征與將其改造成明顯不同的其他東西之間權(quán)衡取舍呢？如何能幫助這些富有想象力但耗資不菲的項目順利實施？

約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所成功地解決了困擾在文化項目中的這些難題，其完成的項目包括考陶爾德學(xué)院、泰特美術(shù)館的Millbank莊園和皇家藝術(shù)學(xué)會。事務(wù)所在即將進行的一級保護建筑格拉斯哥的伯勒爾收藏館的現(xiàn)代化與意義性重建的工程中所面對的可以說是最有趣的現(xiàn)代主義和后現(xiàn)代建筑的英國式融合。

約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所承擔(dān)的文化項目還包括宗教建筑和博物館的新建或改造工程。這些包括貴格會設(shè)在倫敦的總部友誼之家（Friends House）、衛(wèi)理公會博物館、肯尼亞Kericho大教堂和多哈的JumaaDaily清真寺。

在多哈和俄羅斯的其他主要項目為事務(wù)所提供了以全新的方式改造這些快速變化的國家的重要文化建筑和遺址地點的機會。事務(wù)所在多哈的項目包括文化廣場和遺跡群項目。在俄羅斯歷史悠久的斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基工廠舊址上改建的莫斯科藝術(shù)劇院和在富有象征意義的布爾什維克工廠舊址上設(shè)計建造的俄羅斯印象派博物館是事務(wù)所為二十一世紀的俄羅斯文化的發(fā)展做出的貢獻。而加拿大皇家英屬哥倫比亞博物館的總體開發(fā)規(guī)劃將大大提升這座城市的存在感、公共吸引力、學(xué)術(shù)吸引力及國際形象。

在英國，事務(wù)所獨特的、富有歷史紀念意義的改造工程包括位于貝克斯希爾的一級保護建筑德拉沃瓦爾館的修復(fù)和擴建工程，這座建筑被許多評論家稱為二十世紀30年代英國現(xiàn)代主義建筑的杰出代表。在北安普敦，對Derngate78-82號的精確修復(fù)和博物館擴建工程保證了這座查爾斯·馬金托什在1916年設(shè)計建造的最后一座建筑的繼續(xù)存在。

文化建筑工程非常具有挑戰(zhàn)性。所涉及的建筑或舊址通常都有重要的歷史意義；改造工程很少有明確的改造方案，而且要求不斷與業(yè)主及其他民用建筑和遺產(chǎn)保護等方面的相關(guān)機構(gòu)進行多次復(fù)查。比如，在倫敦，事務(wù)所對屬于二級保護建筑、俗稱圓屋（Roundhouse）的鐵路轉(zhuǎn)運站建筑的改造工程不僅為倫敦打造了最成功的的綜合性表演場所，而且為當?shù)啬贻p人提供了設(shè)立自己的工作室的空間。有評論家把這項工程的結(jié)果稱為“我們在文化互動中看到的最激進的實驗之一，是一次大膽為多元文化社會創(chuàng)造模板的嘗試?！?/p>

住宅項目

英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所完成的住宅項目從建筑類型、人口統(tǒng)計以及國內(nèi)和國際市場等方面來看非常豐富，而且都是引人矚目的工程，包括伊斯坦布爾的雙塔、屬于公司在倫敦Dalston Junction交匯處的重建工程總體規(guī)劃組成部分的公寓樓和白金漢門附近以印度砂巖外墻為特征、刻有喬治亞·羅素藝術(shù)作品的惠靈頓之家（Wellington House）。在莫斯科，公司目前正在開發(fā)一個高端項目——博雅卡酒店工程。

高品質(zhì)的住宅設(shè)計提升了重要城市中心位置的價值，也標志了城市中心區(qū)域的新志向。約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所對位于保護區(qū)內(nèi)議會大廈和泰特藝術(shù)館附近的Millbank大廈的改造工程將建成一座高端酒店和公寓大樓。這項改造工程中還有一些項目位于城市東郊，包括位于雷丁鎮(zhèn)的有184個住宅單元的Chatham Place開發(fā)項目和位于景寧鎮(zhèn)的有320個住宅單元的Hallsville小區(qū)。事務(wù)所大部分的住宅項目按照高標準設(shè)計（事務(wù)所目前正在姆登山開發(fā)倫敦最獨特的住宅小區(qū)，按英國建筑研究所綠色建筑評估體系評級，這里的環(huán)境屬于“優(yōu)秀”級），但也有工人骨干、屬于國家資助對象的家庭和首次購房者建造的住宅與生活設(shè)施。這些住宅項目的物理和社會環(huán)境決定了不能按照標準化的“標簽”式設(shè)計方案建造：項目必須根據(jù)具體的位置、客戶的商業(yè)目的和特定的民用設(shè)施需求或文物保護要求等進行設(shè)計。

事務(wù)所在具有歷史意義的人文環(huán)境中開發(fā)的項目包括位于伍爾維奇鎮(zhèn)的19世紀皇家軍事學(xué)院舊址上開發(fā)的以住宅為主的開發(fā)項目和在位于莫斯科市中心的具有歷史意義的斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基工廠舊址上開發(fā)的豪華公寓樓。事務(wù)所在多哈的住宅項目包括文華東方酒店集團和在Msheireb新區(qū)開發(fā)的公寓樓群以及柏悅酒店集團的一家新酒店。這些項目因為其成功融合現(xiàn)代設(shè)計風(fēng)格與卡塔爾原有的建筑而為人稱道。

事務(wù)所的住宅項目一個不變的特色是針對不同的地點、環(huán)境和商業(yè)用途具體設(shè)計建筑方案。

教育項目

學(xué)校建筑設(shè)計可以說已經(jīng)成為建筑業(yè)界最具挑戰(zhàn)性的領(lǐng)域。在英國，由于學(xué)習(xí)策略的快速演變、不斷提高的考試成績以及學(xué)校與社區(qū)的關(guān)系等原因，建筑師必須在常規(guī)意義上的建筑“框架”之外下功夫。

有些項目因為業(yè)主在精英教育業(yè)內(nèi)的學(xué)術(shù)地位給人印象深刻，如事務(wù)所為德威學(xué)校和倫敦圣保羅女子學(xué)校完成的發(fā)展總體規(guī)劃；但事務(wù)所同樣以其為公立學(xué)校完成的出色設(shè)計而驕傲。事務(wù)所的設(shè)計風(fēng)格不斷豐富，其引以為傲的不僅有里約熱內(nèi)盧的新英國學(xué)校非常具有建筑特色的方案，還有為烏干達農(nóng)村地區(qū)的鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校設(shè)計的非常簡約的設(shè)計樣式。

事務(wù)所的學(xué)校項目設(shè)計方案必須符合相應(yīng)的教育方式。從蒂普頓的皇家藝術(shù)學(xué)院、托馬斯·塔利斯學(xué)校、博爾頓的達爾文谷地高級中學(xué)、恩菲爾德的綠洲學(xué)院到格林威治的約翰羅恩學(xué)校，設(shè)計方案中看不到一絲“標簽式”設(shè)計的痕跡。事務(wù)所的所有設(shè)計都對各個學(xué)校特定的教育理念和物理環(huán)境精準把握。

就純粹的建筑風(fēng)格而言，這些針對各種不同的學(xué)校項目的設(shè)計反映的不僅僅是十足的現(xiàn)代主義設(shè)計秩序。最近《衛(wèi)報》有一篇評論這樣評價事務(wù)所的設(shè)計技術(shù)：“這正是成本低廉、樸素環(huán)保，但確實是風(fēng)格優(yōu)雅、設(shè)計縝密的建筑——從學(xué)校到住宅——應(yīng)該采用的設(shè)計樣式。”

同樣，在二十一世紀，高等院校的設(shè)計對建筑師而言也是最令人興奮和重要的挑戰(zhàn)：大學(xué)有更好的建筑，更高的學(xué)術(shù)和研究水準不僅事關(guān)大學(xué)的聲譽，而且也是蔓延全球的社會、城市和技術(shù)變革中至關(guān)重要的因素。

迅速發(fā)展的教學(xué)和學(xué)習(xí)系統(tǒng)需要事務(wù)所的教育建筑設(shè)計工作室為英國和世界其他國家設(shè)計高品質(zhì)的建筑。設(shè)計內(nèi)容包括南安普頓大學(xué)創(chuàng)造性的EEE大樓這樣的中心校區(qū)和門戶建筑，同時也包括對現(xiàn)有建筑的改造工程和校園布局項目。

事務(wù)所一項正在進行的重要項目是牛津大學(xué)全球著名的賽德商學(xué)院新的住宅、行政和管理大樓，該項目的設(shè)計工作涉及對原先的維多利亞工業(yè)時代建筑的意義性改造。同時事務(wù)所為牛津大學(xué)新的音樂練習(xí)室的設(shè)計計劃也已獲得規(guī)劃批準。在愛丁堡大學(xué)，事務(wù)所設(shè)計的20,000平方米的地球科學(xué)大樓將從視覺上為學(xué)生、研究人員和實驗室創(chuàng)造一種富有吸引力的聯(lián)系。

基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施

在二十一世紀，我們已經(jīng)無法肯定地確定市區(qū)、郊區(qū)和農(nóng)村地區(qū)的界限。世界上超過一半的人口住在城鎮(zhèn)，而且城鎮(zhèn)人口還將持續(xù)大量增加。在中國、印度、巴西和非洲部分地區(qū)城市化速度往往令人瞠目。公共空間、私人空間和商業(yè)或工業(yè)空間之間的距離將越來越小，對交通和商業(yè)設(shè)施提出了更高的要求。

電力輸配也與公路、鐵路和其他基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施同步發(fā)展：事務(wù)所為倫敦2012年奧運場館能源中心的獲獎設(shè)計就是一個典型例子，該項目為功能性建筑增加了別具一格的特色。的確，基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施工程的設(shè)計必須盡量富有創(chuàng)新性和前瞻性。事務(wù)所設(shè)計高端基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的能力在景寧鎮(zhèn)Jubilee Line地鐵站的多種交通模式換乘站項目的設(shè)計中首次得以展示。事務(wù)所目前正在設(shè)計的最重要的項目之一是倫敦邦德街CROSS RAIL車站及其公共空間設(shè)施的設(shè)計，從2018年開始該車站的日運輸量將達到230,000人次。此外，事務(wù)所的CROSS RAIL市區(qū)整合研究明確了位于倫敦最重要的商業(yè)熱點的新車站和原有車站之間的關(guān)系以及車輛交通與步行方式之間的關(guān)系。

事務(wù)所最受贊譽的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施項目是倫敦一級保護建筑國王十字火車站和多式聯(lián)運樞紐，該項目耗資5.47億英鎊，在2012年倫敦奧運會開始之前及時交付，其設(shè)計曾屢獲殊榮。這座新的樞紐大廳被稱為自二十世紀90年代初斯坦斯特德機場和滑鐵盧國際航站樓建成以來最具創(chuàng)新性的交通建筑實例，并被公認為通往倫敦的門戶通道。在貝爾法斯特，約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所設(shè)計的交通樞紐將在市中心邊緣一個占地10公頃的區(qū)域內(nèi)建造完全整合的公共汽車和火車站——這將是進一步實現(xiàn)城市內(nèi)部再生的主要激勵因素。

創(chuàng)造性設(shè)計

所有的建筑師都在努力創(chuàng)新，發(fā)現(xiàn)在具體建筑環(huán)境中的象征意義，努力實現(xiàn)設(shè)計功能。他們推敲設(shè)計方案，考察建筑地點和相關(guān)歷史，咨詢民用工程和技術(shù)專家。但如果沒有這樣的設(shè)計方案，該怎么辦？如果采用正常的設(shè)計程序無法做到創(chuàng)新，無法發(fā)現(xiàn)在具體建筑環(huán)境中的象征意義，也無法實現(xiàn)設(shè)計功能，該怎么辦？如果經(jīng)驗豐富的設(shè)計公司、經(jīng)驗豐富的建筑師發(fā)現(xiàn)其能力和知識受到嚴峻的考驗，又該怎么辦？

這些是確定、開發(fā)和支持能夠改善民生的研究與社區(qū)工程項目的約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所的創(chuàng)造性設(shè)計團隊無法避免的問題。許多此類對策針對的規(guī)模較小，屬于實驗性質(zhì)；其中個別項目會進入國內(nèi)或國際公眾的視野，但可以說公司的大多數(shù)努力不為人知。

相關(guān)的建筑師和學(xué)生通常都要面對這樣的質(zhì)問。他們在往往完全陌生的環(huán)境中面對設(shè)計方面的挑戰(zhàn)時，只能回到基本設(shè)計的框架。更為重要的是，他們必須了解完全陌生的社區(qū)、建筑地點和需求。

通常大部分的創(chuàng)造性設(shè)計工程都在海外，但有一個值得一提的例外，就是事務(wù)所在托特納姆的新設(shè)計工作室。這項工程展示了公司的基本理念，就是建筑能夠改變民生。為了應(yīng)對2011年暴亂后夏靈基地方政府所面臨的城市再生問題的挑戰(zhàn)，該工作室于2014年啟動，為當?shù)啬贻p人提供學(xué)徒和工作崗位，為他們提供了解設(shè)計工作室的運作方式的機會，并希望能夠鼓勵他們努力從事這一行業(yè)。

支撐所有的設(shè)計項目的理念是好的設(shè)計的確能夠起到不同凡響的作用。事務(wù)所為這一非常缺乏建筑材料的、社區(qū)學(xué)校數(shù)量眾多但差異甚大的馬拉維設(shè)計了一套設(shè)計模板。同樣，事務(wù)所還為杰出的印度記者Raghu Rai拍攝一系列有關(guān)在德里又臟又亂的加茲布爾垃圾填埋場工作和生活的Kabari拾荒者的照片提供了贊助。他們后來拍賣了這些照片，拍賣所得用來為丹敦環(huán)境研究和行動小組籌集資金，支持他們在該垃圾填埋場進行的教育活動。

在大型項目方面，事務(wù)所的創(chuàng)新設(shè)計團隊重建了位于海地首都最重要的公眾聚集地太子港、最早全球唯一形成于十九世紀的鐵市。這項工程時間緊迫要求整個團隊迅速行動，全力投入設(shè)計與項目管理——英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所是2010年發(fā)生災(zāi)難性地震后第一家活躍在海地的英國公司。

這座1891年由法國人建造的鐵市兩翼中的其中一翼已經(jīng)倒塌，而另一翼和中央大樓也已經(jīng)嚴重損壞。在事務(wù)所領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，項目團隊與包括克林頓全球行動組織在內(nèi)的跨行業(yè)國際團隊一道在地震發(fā)生后剛滿一年的時間就完全修復(fù)了這一鐵市并恢復(fù)了其全部功能。主持開幕式的克林頓總統(tǒng)強調(diào)了該項目對民用建筑行業(yè)的重要性：“鐵市的恢復(fù)意義非凡，標志著海地踏上復(fù)蘇之路上而且已經(jīng)取得了卓有成效的進展?！?/p>

英國約翰·麥卡蘭建筑事務(wù)所這些創(chuàng)新項目的多樣性的基礎(chǔ)是他們?yōu)榻ㄖ峁┝酥匦滤伎既恕⒔ㄖ攸c、周邊社區(qū)以及以直接簡單的方式尋找到為努力充分利用現(xiàn)有條件的人們改善生活的機會。

lntroduction

John McAslan + Partners is a leading, award-winning international architectural practice based in London, with further ofces in Edinburgh and Doha. An extensive portfolio of award-winning projects in the UK and overseas includes cultural, heritage, infrastructure, hospitality, commercial, residential, education, urban design and landscape sectors. The practice’s second London ofce, the N17 Design Studio, in the heart of Tottenham, explores local urban regeneration projects and ofers local young people apprenticeships and work placements.

The international portfolio includes the redevelopment of the historic Stanislavsky Factory in Moscow, the Museum of Russian Impressionism within the wider redevelopment of the historic Bolshevik Factory site in Moscow, the British Embassy in Algiers and the restoration of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as well as 16 projects in Doha, Qatar, such as a Cultural Forum, the frst Mandarin Oriental Hotel to be constructed in the Middle East, the newly completed Jumaa Mosque, a school, four Heritage Museums and a signifcant residential complex. Other notable international projects include a current masterplan for the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, Canada, and the redevelopment of the British School in Rio de Janeiro.

The practice has an established reputation both for new build projects and for the imaginative regeneration of historic buildings. Notable examples of the latter include the acclaimed transformation of King’s Cross Station (which has won some 30 national and international awards). John McAslan + Partners has won in excess of 120 international awards, including some 25 RIBA Awards, and has been named Architectural Practice of the Year and World Architect of the Year on a number of occasions. The practice has won three Europa Nostra Awards, the EU’s Prize for Cultural Heritage, and is also a recent recipient of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise (International Trade).

The practice creates architecture which improves people’s lives, and over the years has developed a design approach which is both rational and poetic. The underlying ethos is that buildings should be underpinned by a powerful idea; that the idea should be an intelligent and logical response to functionality and a sense of place; and the power of that idea should be embedded in the built form. That way, clients get the buildings they need and society gets the architecture it deserves.

John McAslan believes that the city is one of humanity’s most impressive and precious cultural achievements, that cities are more than a collection of buildings - cities are about connections, transport, communications, public spaces and joy. The practice is committed to locating its projects frmly within their contexts as a considered response to site, materiality, amenity, scale and culture.

The practice has no ‘house style’ as such - but there is a strong collective ‘DNA’which is rooted in process, not form. John McAslan and his team are functionalists. They believe in the value of research and that a good building is an expression of a clear and rational diagram.

As John McAslan observes: “we tread carefully and build with conviction; we tackle problems head on and think laterally; we deconstruct the brief and let a design emerge from a close examination of the pieces; we don’t necessarily take ‘no’ for an answer; we believe the power of architecture extends much further than the dimensions of individual buildings; we believe architecture is about making life better.”

John McAslan + Partners has an established reputation for identifying fresh solutions to challenging briefs - the result is a diverse and award-winning portfolio.

Commercial projects

The practice’s original entry into the commercial design sector was auspicious: two of the practice’s early projects were signifcant commercial buildings - headquarters for the Max Mara fashion conglomerate in Italy, and the Yapi Kredi Bank in Turkey.

These projects are on a massive scale: the Max Mara campus is 45,000 sqm, and has been praised by its chairman for “its coherence, and the clear vision of the relationship between buildings, functions, and people.” The practice’s masterplan and design of the Yapi Kredi operations centre, on a steep site overlooking the Sea of Marmara, produced a highly secure business campus with operational, training and conference facilities in 10 linked buildings which accommodates more than 2,500 staf.

These projects gave the practice early insights into commercial imperatives, and the balanced relationships between ambitious design, commercial image, and operational efciency.

The practice’s Commercial Studio has since delivered other high-profile projects such as the award-winning renovation and remodelling of the Grade II* Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square, London, an excellent example of how stylish programmatic and spatial adaptations can carry a legendary, but functionally clogged, retail icon into the 21st century.

Other notable projects include the redevelopment of a prestigious 19th-century building on New Bond Street in London’s West End, and the innovative design for Al Jazeera’s London media headquarters within The Shard at London Bridge.

Ongoing projects include the redevelopment of the Millbank Tower, in a Conservation Area near the Houses of Parliament and Tate Britain. This scheme will turn the Grade II listed building, into a high-end hotel and apartments complex; and in London’s Jermyn Street, one of the city’s most prestigious shopping addresses, JMP’s design proposal for the mixed-use redevelopment of a corner site in the St James’s Conservation Area is suitably restrained and elegant.

In Russia, the practice’s commercial projects feature a mixture of new build and the sensitive redevelopment of large sites of historic or cultural signifcance. The 30,000 sqm mixed-use transformation of the redundant Stanislavsky Factory complex in Moscow introduced the idea of landscaped backland space to the city and won numerous international awards. The practice is currently reconfguring the historic Bolshevik Factory in Moscow as a new 50,000 sqm commercial development. Other Moscow projects include the 6ha Olympia Park business and sports complex, which has attracted high-profle corporate tenants, including BMW, and the high-rise MEBE headquarters scheme, which has a LEED Gold energy conservation rating.

Cultural projects

Over the years John McAslan + Partners has demonstrated great interest in reconstructing, and adding to, the expression of culture through architectural form.

Architects cannot defne culture’s many physical manifestations precisely, because it is protean - like history, it is perpetually evolving, objectively and subjectively. Architects serve culture by adding greater contemporary relevance to the way signifcant buildings and places are experienced, but without damaging the spirit of their original character. The culture of cultural projects, so to speak, is uniquely sensitive.

When should architects simply accentuate what already exists? And when should they intervene with a strikingly innovative intervention? How does one weigh the existing architectural character of a cultural building against the possibility of its transformation into something signifcantly diferent? And how can the architect contribute to the delivery of these visionary, but often fnancially fraught projects?

John McAslan + Partners has addressed these challenges in cultural projects of every type and scale, from the Courtauld Institute and Tate Britain’s Millbank estate to the Royal Society of Arts. The practice’s central role in the forthcoming modernisation and sensitive reconfguration of the Grade A listed Burrell Collection in Glasgow involves a building which is arguably the most intriguing British fusion of Modernist and Postmodern architecture.

JMP’s cultural portfolio also includes new or transformed religious buildings and museums. These have included Friends House, the Quaker headquarters in London; the Museum of Methodism; Kericho Cathedral in Kenya; and the JumaaDaily Mosque in Doha.

Other major projects in Doha and Russia have provided opportunities to bring new approaches to the forms and programmes of key cultural buildings and sites in these fast-changing countries. In Doha, the practice’s projects include the CulturalForum and Heritage Quarter. In Russia, the renovation of the Moscow Arts Theatre on the historic Stanislavsky Factory site, and the design of a Museum of Russian Impressionism at the symbolic Bolshevik Factory site, have allowed the practice to contribute directly to 21st-century Russian cultural development. And in Canada, the development masterplan for the Royal BC Museum will greatly strengthen its urban presence, its public and academic appeal and its international image.

In Britain, the practice’s historically sensitive transformations of unique architectural masterpieces include the renovation and extension of the Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, considered by many critics to be the key example of 1930s modernist architecture in Britain. In Northampton, the forensically precise restoration and museum extension of 78-82 Derngate has ensured the survival of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s fnal architectural work from 1916.

Cultural projects are uniquely challenging. The buildings or sites involved are usually of historic importance; the briefs that drive their proposed transformations are rarely clear-cut, and they require a great deal of re-examination with clients, and civic and heritage stakeholders. In London, for example, the practice’s transformation of the Grade II* listed ex-railway turntable building known as the Roundhouse not only created the capital’s most successful mixed performance venue, but also provided studio spaces specifcally for local youngsters. One critic described the outcome as“one of the most radical experiments we have yet seen in cultural interaction, a venture that aims to set a model for a multicultural society.”

Residential Projects

John McAslan + Partners’ residential portfolio is unusually diverse and outward looking in terms of building types, demographics, and national and international markets. The schemes range from the twin towers in Istanbul; apartment blocks as part of the practice’s masterplan for the regeneration of the Dalston Junction Interchange area in London; and Wellington House, near Buckingham Gate, featuring an Indian sandstone fa?ade etched with artwork by Georgia Russell. In Moscow, the practice’s high-end Polyanka development is currently on site.

High quality residential design adds value to important city centre sites, and signals new aspirations in inner-city areas. JMP’s transformation of the Millbank Tower, near the Houses of Parliament and Tate Britain, and within a Conservation Area, will create a high-end hotel and apartment complex. The practice also has projects further east, such as the 184-unit Chatham Place development in Reading, and the 320-unit scheme in Canning Town’s Hallsville Quarter. Most of the practice’s residential schemes are designed to high specifications (in Campden Hill, for example, the practice is delivering some of London’s most exclusive living accommodation, enhanced by a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental rating), but they also include housing and accommodation for key workers, state-supported families, and first-time buyers. The physical and social contexts of these residential projects precludes any possibility of standardised “trademark” design: the architectural responses is specifc to each site, the commercial aims of the clients, and specifc civic or heritage issues.

Projects in historic settings have included the creation of a residential-led development at the former 19th century Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, and a tableau of luxury apartment blocks on the iconic Stanislavsky Factory site in central Moscow. In Doha the practice’s residential schemes range from the Mandarin Oriental hotel and apartment complex in the new Msheireb quarter, and a new hotel for the Park Hyatt Group. These projects are remarkable for the way in which they have succeeded in fusing contemporary design with Qatari architectural precedents.

A specific design response to place, site, and commercial intention is a unifying characteristic of the practice’s residential architecture.

Education

School design has become, arguably, the most testing feld of architecture. In Britain, rapid changes in strategies for learning, improved exam outcomes, and the relationship of schools with their communities have forced architects to think well outside the usual architectural ‘box’.

Some projects are impressive in terms of their elite academic status, such as the practice’s development masterplans for Dulwich College and St Paul’s Girls’ School in London, but the practice is equally proud of outstanding designs for schools in the state sector. The practice has relished this design range, and is as proud of the ultra-simple design template for village schools in rural Uganda as of its more architecturally striking proposals for the new British School in Rio de Janeiro.

The practice’s school projects respond, inevitably to competing educational methodologies. There is no sense of “trademark” design linking the Royal Society of Arts Academy in Tipton, the Thomas Tallis School, the Darwen Vale High School, Bolton, the Oasis Academy in Enfeld or the John Roan School in Greenwich. In each case, the practice’s architectural response derives from forensic examination of each school’s particular educational ethos and physical context.

In purely architectural terms, these design responses to a range of schools projects reveal something more than a thoroughgoing modernist order in design. A recent review in ‘The Guardian’ commended the practice’s skill: “This is what low-cost, unpretentious, environmentally sound, yet elegant and thoughtful new buildings - from schools to housing - should be like.”

Equally, designing in the Higher Education sector presents one of the most stimulating and important challenge for architects in the 21st century: better standards of learning and research, in better buildings at colleges and universities, are not only key to the reputations of these institutions, but are also vital ingredients in the social, urban and technical changes that are sweeping the world.

Rapidly evolving systems of teaching and learning have allowed the practice’s Education Studio to design a wide range of high quality buildings, in Britain and overseas. These range from campus hubs, to gateway buildings, such as the innovative EEE Building at the University of Southampton, transformations of existing buildings and campus layouts.

A key ongoing project is the design of the internationally prestigious Sa?d Busi-ness School’s new Residential Executive and Leadership Facility in Oxford, which involves the sensitive transformation and extension of large Victorian industrial buildings. In the meantime, JMP’s scheme for new Music Practice Rooms for the University of Oxford has gained planning approval. At the University of Edinburgh, the practice’s 20,000sqm Geosciences Building will create stimulating visual links between students, researchers, and laboratories.

lnfrastructure

In the twenty-frst century we can no longer think with certainty about orderly divisions between categories such as urban, suburban, and rural. More than half the world’s people live in towns and cities, and that will increase signifcantly, year by year. The rate of urban growth in countries such as China, India, Brazil, and parts of Africa, is often astonishing. The “pinch” between public, private, and commercial or industrial space will become more constrained and challenging in terms of movement and economic development.

The distribution of power also goes hand in hand with road, rail, and other kinds of infrastructure developments: the practice’s Energy Centres on London’s 2012 Olympic site are an award-winning example of good design that add distinctive character to functional buildings. Indeed, the design of infrastructure projects must be as innovative and future-proof as possible. The practice’s ability to design major highprofle infrastructure projects began with the multi-modal interchange at Canning Town Jubilee Line Underground station. One of the practice’s most important current projects is the new Crossrail Bond Street station in London, and its public realm thresholds, which will handle 230,000 passengers a day from 2018. In addition, the practice’s Crossrail Urban Integration Study clarifes the relationship between the new station and heritage, trafc and pedestrian connectivity in London’s most important retail hotspot.

The practice’s most acclaimed infrastructure project is the award-winning ￡547m modernisation, renovation, and extension of London’s Grade I listed King’s Cross rail terminal and multi-modal transport hub - delivered in time for the start of the 2012 London Olympics. The new concourse has rightly been described as the most innovative example of transport architecture since Stansted Airport and the Waterloo International Terminal in the early 1990s and is acknowledged as a gateway to London. While in Belfast, JMP’s Transport Hub will create a fully integrated bus and railway station on a 10ha site on the edge of the city centre - a key stimulus to further inner city regeneration.

lnitiatives

Every architect searches for innovation, contextual meaning, functional success. They question briefs, examine locales and history and consult civil and technical specialists. But what if there isn’t a brief, as such? What if innovation, contextual meaning, and functional success cannot be developed using normal design processes? What if the experienced practice, and its experienced architects, fnd their skills and knowledge tested in the bluntest ways?

These questions are a given for John McAslan + Partners’ Initiatives team, which identifes, develops and supports research and community-based projects that can improve lives. Many of these initiatives are at small, experimental scales; one or two have attracted considerable public attention, nationally and internationally; but most have proceeded below the radar, so to speak.

The architects and students involved are, typically, ushered into situations of raw enquiry. Facing design challenges in often wholly unfamiliar contexts, they have to go back to basics. Even more signifcantly, they have to learn about communities, places, and needs that are not always familiar.

Typically, the majority of the Initiative projects are overseas, but a notable exception is the practice’s new studio in Tottenham. This project is a clear demonstration of the practice’s fundamental belief that architecture can help change people’s lives. Responding to the urban regeneration challenges facing Haringey Council following the 2011 riots, the studio, which opened in Spring 2014, ofers local young people apprenticeships and work placements, providing an insight into the way a design studio operates and, hopefully, encouraging them to explore career opportunities in the sector.

The conviction that good design can make a real diference underpins all projects. The practice has developed a design template for robust but versatile community schools in rural Malawi, where building materials are very limited. Similarly, the practice sponsored the illustrious Indian photo-journalist, Raghu Rai, to capture a series of images of the Kabari waste-pickers who work and live on the squalid Ghazipur landfll site in Delhi. The photographs were auctioned to raise funds for the Chintan environmental research and action group to support their educational programs on the site.

At the largest scale, in terms of physical size and international significance, the Initiatives team resurrected the unique 19th-century Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, the most important public gathering place in Haiti’s capital. This was a compelling exercise in rapid reaction and total commitment to design and project management - John McAslan + Partners was the frst British practice active in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

One of the two wings of the 1891 French-built Iron Market had collapsed, and there was signifcant damage to the other wing and central tower. Led by the practice, the project team worked with a multi-disciplinary international team, including the Clinton Global Initiative, to deliver the fully repaired and functional Iron Market exactly one year after the earthquake. President Bill Clinton, who ofciated at the opening ceremony, highlighted the project’s civic importance: “The restored Iron Market is a valuable mark of Haiti’s progress on the road to recovery.”

Fundamental to the diversity of these JMP Initiatives projects is the opportunity they have given to think afresh about people, places, communities, and fnd ways - directly and simply - for architecture to improve the lives of people struggling to make the best of what they have.

朱馬清真寺 Jumaa Mosque, Doha Qatar

彼得·瓊斯 Peter Jones