World Architecture Day 2025
To celebrate World Architecture Day 2025, we hear from our people as they share their thoughts on this year’s theme ‘Design for Strength’.
Louise Mencnarowski, Architect
What does Design for Strength mean to you?
“To me, it goes beyond physical durability – it means creating spaces that strengthen the bonds within a community. Architecture has the power to shape how people connect, feel, and belong. A strong design is one that responds to the cultural, social, and environmental context of its place, offering not just shelter but opportunities for gathering, collaboration, and shared identity.”
How do you incorporate resilience into your projects?
“By designing public spaces within schools that are welcoming and inclusive, we give communities a space in which to express themselves and build trust among neighbours. Thoughtful design can encourage interaction across different groups, reduce isolation, and provide environments where people feel safe and supported. Ensuring spaces can adapt to changing needs will ensure both physical and social resilience over time.”
What’s one innovation in architecture that excites you?
“Constant innovation in materials eg recycled and bio based materials being developed to reduce emissions while improving air quality and thermal comfort. Beyond sustainability, these materials are designed to enhance wellbeing. Non toxic finishes, paints, and adhesives limit harmful off gassing, creating healthier indoor environments. By integrating such innovations in our projects it not only minimizes the ecological impact but actively contributes to resilience, health, and equity.”
Bea Chivers, Urban Design Trainee
“Placemaking builds on what already works in communities, while addressing challenges and opening opportunities for people to shape their environments. Key approaches including community led design, active travel, and lived experiences, embed resilience through empowering communities who will be using the spaces we design; fostering social connection, a sense of belonging and ownership.”
Can you share an example of placemaking for resilience?
“Our projects focus on community engagement. From regeneration masterplans to creative workshops, residents and community stakeholders participate in the early design stages. Combing this knowledge with data mapping, we can build a holistic, sustainable response. Most importantly, everyone’s voice is heard.
“Stockton’s urban park is a great example. It reimagines underutilised space into a vibrant, meaningful and accessible destination with play areas, event spaces, and an amphitheatre with heritage elements throughout.”
How do you ensure placemaking is equitable for all users?
“Firstly, it’s vital all members of the team are aligned to what this means. For me, it means exploring who a place is really for and who might be getting left out. Engagement can be carried out with identified groups to help shape a vision. I’m also an advocate for sharing knowledge and encouraging discussion. We recently led an open house at Ryder about designing inclusively for women and girls. We explored daily barriers from a city wide and intersectional approach, and shared examples of best practice, gender champions, and toolkits like Make Space for Girls. Ultimately, designing inclusively means designing for all.”
Oliver Allen, Interior Designer
How can interior design help us design for resilience?
“Interior design goes beyond aesthetics. If used correctly, it can be a tool that shapes user experience. Thoughtful design can be used to promote wellbeing and encourage adaptability, giving users flexibility as their needs, lifestyle and technologies change. It also helps cultivate a sense of place at an individual, community or an environmental level.”
Can you share a project example, and what makes it special?
“Developing the interior concept for Preston Park Museum was a particularly meaningful project focussing on the user journey. We paid careful attention to how visitors would engage with the new building extension and how staff would operate in the shop, and implemented moveable joinery elements throughout. It was great to work with the museum’s curation team to design interactive displays that highlight their collections.”
How do you design interiors that can adapt to changing needs?
“Designing adaptable interiors starts with inclusive, accessible spaces that go beyond compliance to feel intuitive for all users. Flexible layouts and multi purpose areas ensure spaces can evolve with changing needs, making them resilient and meaningful.”
Marta Murteira, Landscape Architect
How does landscape architecture contribute to resilient environments?
“Resilient landscapes are expansive, interconnected networks of spaces that offer unique opportunities and lasting benefits for both people and wildlife. They support healthy, diverse habitats interlinked by corridors that allow flora and fauna to move freely.”
“Our role as landscape architects, simply put, is to combine horticultural and scientific expertise, the art of design, creativity and a touch of engineering to create sustainable and resilient spaces for all to enjoy.”
What’s your favourite project that embodies Design for Strength?
“Design for Strength couldn’t be more relevant in today’s built environment. The Cottingwood Masterplan perfectly embodies this theme. As we study the site, it becomes clear that qualities such as resilience, endurance, and adaptability are key to a successful proposal. While it is essential to preserve the site’s valuable natural elements, there is also significant potential to enhance and enrich its existing landscape
What advice would you give to future landscape architects?
“My advice is for landscape architecture students. Landscape architecture is much more than designing ‘areas’, it’s about creating spaces for people and their needs.”
“Discover what genuinely inspires you about designing outdoor spaces. For me, it was witnessing the joy that plants can bring to a place and recognising the countless ways people can connect with and use a space. When you discover that spark, the design begins to take shape – and suddenly, every element falls into place like a well drawn plan.”
Adam James, Principal
How do sustainable strategies allow you to Design for Strength?
“Our sustainable design approach allows us to design for strength by creating buildings that not only stand, but stand for something. Sustainable architecture will endure storms, whether environmental, social, or economic, by adapting with grace and holding space for culture, memory, and community. Sustainable design brings more than efficiency; it brings empathy. It means choosing regenerative materials, honouring local identity, and preparing for futures we cannot yet see. Strength is not just measured in concrete or steel, but in the lasting impact our designs have on people and the planet. When we design sustainably, we create strength through enduring value and lasting legacy.”
Melvin Lau, Architect
What is a myth you want to dispel related to sustainable design and durability?
“A common myth I want to dispel is that spending more money and making a few last minute specification changes to a standard design will qualify it as sustainable and durable. The reality is that the most significant impacts come from early design decisions such as siting, massing, layout, orientation, and window to wall ratio, rather than simply adding costlier materials, mechanical systems, or equipment later in the process.”
Zina Berrada, Intern Architect
How can sustainable design play a role in strengthening communities?
“Our industry often measures sustainable design through set environmental metrics such as energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, frequently overlooking the dimension of human comfort (beyond thermal) and community strengthening. A well conceived sustainable design that responds not only to climate but also to the social and cultural context in which it exists inherently empowers communities and strengthens cultural identity while reducing its environmental footprint. It resists homogenized, globalized design trends in favour of architectural autonomy…”
