Welcome to this first edition of NLA Annual.

The idea behind this publication is not just to satiate our desire to keep print alive to some degree but also to chart NLA’s pivotal place in the built environment in London and further afield over the last 12 months, with an eye also on the year ahead.

We take a look at some key buildings from the period, including Highgate New Town Community Centre, which won the overall prize at the NLA Awards, as well as 50 Electric Boulevard, as Battersea Power Station continues its regeneration of that corner of the south bank.

NLA CEO Nick McKeogh sets out the vision for the organisation and London’s built environment powerhouses generally, while Chief Impact Officer Catherine Staniland reit- erates the case that the built environment is one of the UK’s largest economic engines and a key national growth sector — yet in policy terms, it is still too often treated as an after- thought. In ‘My Year’, we ask some illustrious figures from across the industry’s multifarious sectors and disciplines to look back over the past twelve months for their highlights whilst offering glimpses of their hopes for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

Partnerships is a key theme — we focus on Havering’s work with Wates Residential to bring forth the effective regeneration in the borough, which was again honoured with a prize in the NLA Awards, while Leigh Johnson shows in an interview what can be done with this kind of approach in Barking Riverside in the quest to build some 20,000 homes in the area. Arup CEO Jerome Frost, Londoner of the Year, talks in another interview about his journey, influences and vision for the city and others, while Chair of the Building Safety Regulator Andy Roe reveals more of the personality behind the role in his ‘My London’ paean to the capital.

There is much more besides — updates on the work of NLA’s Sounding Board and key research points in multiple sectors, the voice of the Next Gen in Betty Owoo answering our ‘Coffee Break’ questions, a viewpoint on tech, quizzing industry insiders on AI and more, JLL’s Adam Challis giving his expert agent eye on market conditions, all peppered with Hello-style photographic records of the multitude of people from this powerful industry who have passed through NLA’s doors and contributed to making a better city.

See you around!

David Taylor
Editor