The face of London is changing. Today’s architects have an exciting range of materials to choose from and the technology exists to allow these to be applied with confidence. A new sense of place is being created by a new generation of buildings by architects who are not afraid to break away from the traditional.
 
This insight present projects by 24 exciting young London-based architects providing an insight into a world that usually seen only from the outside – scratching the surface to reveal what makes a modern façade.

Scratching the Surface explores the current state of the building envelope as proposed by London-based architects in their search for a contemporary interpretation of the London vernacular. Their work demonstrates a diverse range of contemporary positions on design, the dialogues between the background and foreground, complex form and rectilinear geometry, sustainability, technological advancement, tradition and change, with each demanding an approach which is more than merely cosmetic.
 
The facade occupies a uniquely complex position as the public face of these new architectural approaches while integrating intelligent systems and environmental, material and structural functions. Scratching the Surface provides an insight into a world that is usually seen only from the outside.

Scratching the Surface
By Andrew Watt
 
Case Studies
With a selection of 24 schemes by young London-based architects.

Published June 2007
32 Pages