The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
In this episode, we hear from Hanif Kara who is working with leading architects on projects across the globe for ambitious clients with resources to deliver sustainable outcomes, including Google, Apple and British Land. Recent projects include Grafton’s Stirling-Prize winning Town House in Kingston, Grafton’s Marshall Building at the LSE, Foster + Partners' Bloomberg building and the new Google headquarters currently on site at King’s Cross with Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick.
In contrast with most of our guests so far, Hanif is not a Climate Champion from way back, but we’re delighted to have him on the pod because he is at the forefront of what is being delivered on the ground now and his design-led approach is pushing best practice. In this episode, he advocates reverse-engineering as a forensic method that utilises complex computational methods to retrofit and extending existing buildings.
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About Hanif Kara
Hanif Kara co-founded AKT II in 1996 and the London-based practice currently number 350+ with offices in Cambridge, Manchester and Copenhagen. The practice is known innovative form-making, until recently not necessarily climate-driven. Hanif was recognised with an OBE in this year’s Queen’s Honours list for his services to architecture, engineering and education.
He is a professor of architectural technology at Harvard Graduate School of Design and recently co-edited Blank: Speculations on CLT with Harvard colleague Jennnifer Bonner. His current teaching includes a design studio sited in the Regent Quarter of King’s Cross with a mix of heritage buildings and newbuild.
Hanif is a trustee of the Architecture Foundation, a member of the Glasgow School of Art ‘Mackintosh Building reconstruction’ steering committee and the Alvaro Siza Foundation’s research advisory panel.
Show notes: Projects and resources mentioned in this episode
Blank: Speculations on CLT ed. J Bonner and H Kara (Applied Research and Design Publishing/ORO Editions, 2022)
Edwin Heathcote Blank review
Sara Cultural Centre Skelleftea, Sweden (2021), White Arkitekter
Maggie’s Centre Leeds (2020), Heatherwick Studio
Olivine Seratec
Cement-free piles for British Land at Canada Water
DRI fossil fuel-free steel in Sweden
Shrewsbury Flaxmills Maltings with FCBStudios
Harvard GSD Unterbau City design studio
Credits
Climate Champions is produced in association with ACAN, the Architects’ Climate Action Network
Podcast produced and edited by Concept Culture
Music: Edmilson do Pífano, Forró de dois Amigos. Interpretation: Felipe Tanaka e banda Balaio de Baião