Join us on Friday, April 12th, for an engaging exploration of traditional architecture and urbanism at the UK section of TAG-24. This event is an integral part of the Traditional Architecture Gathering, an international annual tradition orchestrated by The Classic Planning Institute.

The event, co-produced by CPI Stoa and RIBA-TAG, will feature keynotes and open table discussions broadcasted live to the US audience. The theme for the afternoon is Imitation, delving into the intricate spectrum from copying to invention within traditional design. It's an opportunity to unravel the nuances and complexities inherent in this timeless art form.

The live proceedings commence at 5pm and wind down at 7 pm, paving the way for a Drinks Party until 10 pm. Please note that exclusive access to the event is by invitation only, reserved for TAG Members, strategic partners, the press and close friends.

Join us as we delve into the heart of traditional architecture, fostering connections, and celebrating the rich tapestry of our shared heritage.

Craftsmanship in the Cotswolds – A 10-year conservation project to a Grade I Listed Manor House_ a TAG Talk by George Lawson in conversation with Philip Gaches and Ben Naylor.

Icomb Place is a medium sized Country House located within the Cotswolds, standing since 1424. In 2010 the current owners bought the estate and embarked on a journey to comprehensively refurbish and conserve the wider estate and the Main House which was in a poor state of repair.

The construction work to the Main House has been meticulous, using some of the best known and highly skilled craftsmen within the UK. The planning phase of the project took three years and the construction a further seven years. Throughout the entire process the focus and the continuous driver of the project, led by the client, has been to achieve the highest quality of work possible.

The scope of the works for the project has involved conservation but also new build, fully comprehensive tasks including: re-roofing, insulation, stone & render works, refurbishing the utility/kitchen block; bespoke new plasterwork, architectural fireplaces, joinery and specialist decorative paintworks.

George Lawson – ECL Chartered Surveyors
George Lawson is a Chartered Project Management Surveyor with the RICS. George specialises in working for private clients undertaking major construction projects to country houses. Much of George’s work has been focused on work to historic country houses and their estates. George is passionate about the preservation of historic buildings and using the right materials and techniques required to conserve them. This passion was ignited when he had the good fortune to work alongside Rory Young on many of his historic conservation projects.
 
Philip Gaches – Gaches – Plasterwork of Historic Buildings
Philip Gaches, accompanied by a small team including his two sons Will and Jude, is one of the leading specialists of historic plasterwork throughout the UK and beyond. Philip has worked on some of the most significant buildings throughout his career, include Apethorpe Palace and Buckingham Palace.
 
Ben Naylor – Jack Badger Traditional Joinery
Ben is the managing director and co-founder of Jack Badger a traditional joinery company based in Glossop, Derbyshire. Working all over the UK Ben and his highly skilled team specialise in using traditional craftmanship and techniques with a modern twist.
 
The recording of this talk can be viewed here.

Most architectural schools in Europe do not consider Traditional Architecture as an acceptable subject. Avant garde and Modernist ideas that arose in the wake of World War I became consolidated by World War II, so much so that they replaced previous teaching and culture. Traditional principles of design were discarded, leading to a loss of knowledge of the ways in which traditional buildings and cities were created, and why they successfully embodied human values and patterns of life. The new ideas in conjunction with industrial processes also led to a decay of craftsmanship and a tendency to abandon natural materials, with untold costs for the built environment due to a lack of sustainability.

The almost impossibility of studying tradition with a view to application within accredited forms of architectural education has led many to seek to remedy the situation. Several Summer Schools in Traditional Architecture and Urban Design have sprung up all around Europe, aiming to create a viable alternative to the mainstream contemporary educational offer.

Through discussions and insights shared, attendees and participants of this Open Table Discussion gained a glimpse into the unique offerings of Summer Schools around the world and potential opportunities for alternative pathways in architectural education.

Panellists from the following Summer Schools and the discussion were moderated by Mark Wilson Jones, the TAG Chair & INTBAU:

- CSCA Summer School - Engelsberg,Sweden/ Cambridge UK

- ‘The Design Principles Behind Oxford’s Classical Facades', Oxford , UK

- La Table Ronde de l'Architecture (TRA)_The Bruges Summer School of Architecture & Crafts, Belgium and The Alsace Summer School of Architecture & Crafts, France

- ‘Let’s Build a Beautiful City’, Utrecht, Netherlands

- Rafael Manzano Summer School, Spain ; Arcos de Valdevez Summer School, Portugal

- Create Streets Foundation, Urban Design and Architecture Summer School in Sherborne

- The Summer School of Traditional Architecture and Urbanism of Izamal, Yucatán, INTBAU Mexico

- Enduring Design Masterclass at the University of Queensland, INTBAU Australia & The Prince’s Trust Australia

Access the recording here to delve deeper into this educational exploration.

Bernardo Vittone Architect of the Transcendent

Bernardo Vittone (1704-1770) was one of the most inventive and prolific architects of the late Italian Baroque. Living and working in Turin, he created a unique group of churches, chapels, monasteries, nunneries, palazzi and town halls. Julian Bicknell has assembled an extensive archive of drawings and photographs of these unique buildings. He will illustrate, describe and analyse some of the most remarkable of Vittone’s religious buildings ~ exploring his philosophical, aesthetic and architectural agenda, his design methodology, spatial composition and his use of sophisticated geometry.

Julian Bicknell

MA Dip Arch RIBA FRSA AWG

Julian Bicknell (b 1945) studied at King's College, Cambridge. He worked with Edward Cullinan, the Royal College of Art Project Office and at Arup Associates before setting up his own architectural practice in 1983.

His work is focused on the design and construction of new buildings, in which the lessons of history are combined with contemporary architectural thinking and technology. It includes a number of significant private houses: Henbury Rotonda and Carden Hall in Cheshire, Upton Parva in Warwickshire, Arragon Mooar on the Isle of Man as well as new interiors at Castle Howard, a Shakespearian Village and Theatre in Japan, and an estate of 50 luxury houses near Runnymede.

He was a founding trustee and teacher at the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture, and Master of the Art Workers Guild for 2013.

George Saumarez Smith is one of the leading classical architects of his generation. George’s work has ranged in scale from new country houses and garden buildings to large housing schemes. Much of his inspiration comes from the appreciation and study of historic buildings, combined with a keen interest in the continued use of the techniques of classical design handed down through history. George has written several books on architecture and regularly teaches classicism at schools across Europe and North America.

The recording of this talk can be viewed here.

The annual awards evening on November 30, 2023, celebrated outstanding architectural and artistic achievements. The event began with a unanimous agreement on a refined constitution during a Special General Meeting, now accessible on our website.

TAG's Chairman, in front of a full house, highlighted the evening as a celebration not only of TAG's awards but also of Ben Pentreath, a TAG member, who earlier won the 2023 Richard H. Driehaus Prize. Ben, in his address, reflected on the progress of the architectural movement since the publication of the Prince of Wales's book in 1989. He drew a parallel to the Cultural Revolution in China, emphasizing the importance of preserving traditional architectural wisdom. Despite some lag in the architectural establishment and academia, Ben expressed optimism that the majority worldwide supports the values associated with traditional architecture.

The subsequent awards ceremony featured the recognition of exceptional talent across various categories: Best Measured Drawing, Student Projects, Best Member’s Built Project, Special Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Visit our ‘awards’ page to find out who won.

The awards ceremony was followed by a popular drinks party, for which tickets had sold out quickly. Due to high attendance, the TAG committee regrets not being able to meet everyone. Considering this, TAG is contemplating an extra social event in Spring 2024.

TAG organised a visit to Locker & Riley's Decorative Plaster Workshop on November 8th, 2023. This well-received workshop took place at Locker & Riley's facilities in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex.

The day commenced with a series of comprehensive presentations, covering:

• The history of Locker and Riley

• The inception and design evolution of decorative plasterwork, encompassing CPD on Decorative Plasterwork, repair, restoration, materials, methods, along with a pertinent case study.

• A presentation titled “Realising the Designer’s Dream”

Participants were graciously invited into the studio to engage in hands-on modelling of a clay detail. A curated experience was ensured with provision for tea, coffee, and a luncheon. Post-lunch, participants were afforded the opportunity to craft a plaster cast from a designated mould within the workshop.

A guided tour of the plaster workshop offered a first-hand observation of skilled tradesmen and apprentices at work, complemented by an exploration of Locker & Riley's extensive mould inventory.

In acknowledgment of their involvement in this accredited CPD workshop, participants were presented with a formal certificate. The event was distinguished by its professional ambiance and enriching content, offering participants a valuable and memorable experience.

We are very pleased to announce that the next TAG Talk will be by Timothy Smith and Jonathan Taylor.

On Thursday, 2nd November 2023 Timothy and Jonathan presented their talk called:

Losing Streak: the Competition and Architectural Exploration

Smith and Taylor are interested in the potential of classicism as a living language of architecture. The talk will describe their pursuit of new ideas with a particular focus on their submissions to architectural competitions, the translation of precedent, and their teaching research.

Timothy Smith and Jonathan Taylor are practitioners, educators and researchers operating in the field of classical and traditional architecture. They established their London-based practice in 2010 and in 2011 at Kingston School of Art, set up the first classical design course in a RIBA accredited school for over 80 years and the only one, as far as they know, in a European school of architecture.

Current projects include a new build artist’s studio and art gallery in Camden, the refurbishment and extension of two London houses and new build housing in London, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

In Spring 2021 they were William H. Harrison guest critics in classical architecture at the University of Miami, they and have been Visiting Scholars at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC since Spring 2022.

Last year they were awarded the ICAA Arthur Ross Award for Education in New York City and in 2021 they received a Traditional Architecture Group Achievement Award in recognition of their ten years of classical design education. After plaudits for their teaching they were thrilled to receive a TAG Award for one of their buildings in 2022.

The recording of this talk can be viewed here.

New Vernacular Architecture 

Creating Identity of Place - Research and Practice - by Jonathan Weatherill

Vernacular architecture and urban design can be used as a tool to help heal damage done to urban, suburban and rural space in the past 100 years. In badly planned places with little or no clear past identity, New Vernacular architecture can be created to become intrinsically representative of the identity of that place. The case in point is Rozzano, a suburban dormitory town built in Milan’s green belt in the ‘60s and ’70s, to house immigrant workers from Southern Italy. The basic principles behind the creation of Vernacular architecture are illustrated in a previous study that is the seed of ongoing research. These principles are then applied to the case of Rozzano. The results of this research and the resulting project could represent a new direction for architecture and urban design; a small step to resist the proliferation of anonymous and uniform building that continues to erase the identities of places worldwide

Jonathan Weatherill is an Associate professor of the Rome Program of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. He is a practising architect who has lived in Italy since graduating from the Architectural Association in London over 25 years ago. He runs his own practice and has also collaborated with 2014 Driehaus laureate Pier Carlo Bontempi since they met in Milan thirty years ago. His professional experience has spanned the genres of Modernism and Classicism, in a wide range of fields from industrial design to restoration and urban planning.

He is inspired by the timelessness of the rural vernacular and the elegant equilibrium of architectural language of the past. His work is the result of an eclectic education informed by his varied experience and the comprehension of local reality through investigation and on-site and archival documentation.

A recording of this talk can be found here.

TAG had an exclusive tour of the workshops of Vitrolithic, near Rochester, Kent, where we were shown how modern methods of manufacture including digital modelling and 3D printing, combined with traditional techniques, are being used to create new and replacement decorative ornamentation for stucco and terracotta buildings.

The Vitrolithic team demonstrated how recycled materials and low carbon alternative binders can be used in the process to reduce our impact on the environment.

The tour was followed by a trip to Rochester Cathedral guided by the resident archaeologist and then members and guests enjoyed a jovial lunch on the historic Rochester High Street.

TAG would like to thank Chris Gladwell of Vitrolithic for hosting this very enjoyable and informative outing.

In this talk by Martina Pacifici, she explores the building physics processes governing the environmental performance of a traditional building and comparing them with a modern house. Our UK building stock include a vast variety of building typologies dating back to different ages. The energy performance of this man-made stock stands out for being one of the worst in Europe; therefore, there is great attention across UK industry for its renewal and adaptation to the climate emergency the Planet is living. To support these changes, designers, architects and engineers must work together to creatively upgrade their technical skills and enable affordable and effective retrofit interventions. Diverse buildings require different retrofit approaches. “When planning energy efficiency improvements, it is important to understand the way the house performs as an integrated environmental system”. Based on these premises, the lecture will explore the differences between a “traditional” and “modern” building system, focusing on the contraposition of the following building physics pairs: Leakage & Airtightness, Breathability & Vapour barrier, Capillarity & Damp-proof membrane, Thermal Mass & Insulation, Natural Ventilation & Mechanical ventilation, Fireplace & Heating systems.

 Martina Pacifici, PhD. Senior Associate, Sustainability Lead

 Martina is Sustainability Lead at ADAM Architecture, architectural practice leader in traditional architecture and urban design. Her aim is to lead the practice to deliver the most sustainable design, by improving the designed buildings’ energy performance and mitigate their carbon footprint. Martina is experienced in building and urban dynamic energy modelling, thermal comfort, data-driven environmental design and sustainability consultancy.

 Martina studied Architectural Engineering at “Sapienza” University of Rome and earned her Doctorate degree at “USP” University of São Paulo, Brazil, in Civil and Urban Construction Engineering. Her doctoral thesis was focussed on the study of the energy and environmental performance of the built environment, from the building to the urban scale. Her research addressed the study of the interdependencies between urban morphology, building energy performance and urban climate.

 Martina is BREEAM Advisory Professional and Passivhaus Design/Consultant certified. She is reviewer for science journals including Sustainable Cities and Society. 

To view the recoding of this talk, click here.

In this Zoom talk Lucien Steil discusses his ‘Architectural Capriccios’, as a meditative technique of ‘Design Thinking’, allowing the hand, the heart and the mind to come together in a process of Feeling-Drawing-Building, as an act of connection with our humanness.

His drawings encompass visions of places which can be inhabited poetically and sensuously, from Elsewhere & Nowhere, where architecture emerges as the ‘natural’ habitat of mankind within nature. The Capriccios develop in the same realm of memory, intuition, emotion and desire as the built projects, and their lack of materialisation is not affecting the intensity of their reality.

Fascinated by sketchbooks where the autobiographical, fantastical, and mythical merge into graphical fictions, Lucien sees his sketches as a methodological tool to frame architectural invention, rather than only showing his own work as a part of a professional portfolio.

 The ‘Architectural Capriccio’ is not an antidote to the death of architecture as an essential cultural, artistical and technical endeavour, but it can be considered as a meditative and ‘mnemonic’ act of resistance and reconstruction dedicated to recover and restore the fundamental creative and poetical principles of architectural imagination, theory, and praxis.

Lucien Steil is an author, educator and architect dedicated to the design and building of healthy, durable and beautiful places and buildings in a world of many and diverse inspiring traditions and cultures. He believes traditional cities and architecture have always been the ideals of harmony and beauty in a destabilized, disrupted world. For him traditional cities and architecture have remained desirable models of cultural identity, home, urbanity, and civilization.

To watch the recording of this talk, click here.

This year's Annual General Meeting will take place at the Art Workers Guild from 6pm to 7:30pm and will we followed by a party from 7:30pm to 9:30. Please book a free ticket to give us a better idea of numbers.

The AGM is for members only. The party is open to members and non-members/guests.

Free tickets can be booked following this link.

Over the past 30 years Craig Hamilton has produced many buildings which were designed to house statues of Deities of one kind or another. This follows the Classical tradition in Antiquity of temples designed to house statues of Gods and Goddesses. In this talk Hamilton will illustrate his continuing collaboration over many years with the sculptor Alexander Stoddart, Sculptor in Ordinary to His Majesty The King in Scotland, and draw parallels with the way in which architects in the past worked in close collaboration with sculptors. Examples include Ictinus and Phidias, Schinkel and Christian Daniel Rauch, and M.G Bindesbøll and Bertel Thorvaldsen. In Bindesbøll Hamilton finds the closest of parallels where his life's work seems in many ways to be in service of the genius of the sculptor and in worship of the redeeming power of Art.

Hamilton is dedicated to a modern Classical architecture which is informed by a broad and deep understanding of the Classical tradition. In the words of the late Professor Gavin Stamp: “In the superficial, polarised debate about architecture today, Hamilton would have to be labelled as a ‘traditionalist’ as he is one of those who believes that something useful and beautiful can still be said in the language of the Greeks and Romans. But, unlike many in his camp, he is not in thrall to the cult of Palladio … Hamilton is so much wider and more intelligent in his outlook, for he is acutely aware of so many more architects in the past who have demonstrated how it is possible to be expressive, original and yes, truly modern in Classical terms”. He has a special interest in sacred and monumental architecture and has completed three new chapels and is working on a fourth. He has also completed two mausoleums and is working on a third.

In 2018, Hamilton was honoured by the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture in America as the 37th recipient of the Arthur Ross Award for a lifetime achievement in Classical Architecture.

To view the recording of this talk, click here.

As we heard in the preceding TAG Talk by Gordon Higgott, the Pantheon is the most fascinating and most revered building of Roman antiquity. Written accounts, visual representations, and architectural progeny all tell us that it has been deeply admired from late antiquity to the present day, yet significant aspects of its design have been much criticized by architects, including those of the stature of Francesco di Giorgio, Michelangelo, Vasari, Inigo Jones and Carlo Fontana. Many of the Pantheon's basic historical and technical premises continue to be debated, including the origins of its plan, the phasing and date of the fabric, and even its very name and purpose.

This talk, which revisits the themes of date, design and construction in the light of the accumulated research of recent years, will resolve many of the problems - though by no means all…

Mark Wilson Jones, Chair of TAG, is an architect and architectural historian with an unusual interest in antiquity (a period often viewed as the domain of archaeology).  He trained at the University of Cambridge and then Polytechnic of Central London  before winning the Rome Prize in Architecture at the British School at Rome. After a period combining research with practice in London and Rome, he joined the department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at The Univeristy of Bath in 2000, teaching primarily history, theory and some studio.

Mark's research interests revolve around issues of design. His fascination with the Pantheon and its design began at the British School, when officially studying Renaissance material, and the building was the focus of his first publication (with Paul Davies and David Hemsoll).  The final two chapters of Mark's Principles of Roman Architecture (Yale UP 2000, the only book to have been awarded both the Banister Fletcher Prize by the RIBA and the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion by the Society of Architectural Historians), were dedicated to the Pantheon, as was later, in 2015, the whole volume The Pantheon in Rome from Antiquity to the Present, co-edited with Tod Marder (Cambridge University 2015, winner of the American PROSE for best book of that year in Classics). Some of Mark’s controversial early ideas on this evergreen icon have been validated by the work of other scholars, while the argumentation has - hopefully - improved with age.

To view the recording on our You Tube channel, please click here.

Dr. Gordon Higgott, talks about Inigo Jones and his analysis of the Pantheon in Rome.

During his seventeenth-month tour of Italy with Lord Arundel, Inigo Jones (1573–1652) travelled to Rome in late December 1613 and stayed there two months before visiting Naples and returning to Rome for a few weeks in May 1614. He visited the Pantheon at least twice and studied this building more closely than any other ancient Roman monument. His comments, written alongside the woodcut illustrations in his copy of Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura (Venice, 1601), are remarkably acute in their observations on the history of the fabric and its interior decoration. Jones was then 40, and mostly skilled in stage design rather than architecture. He had been studying architecture for over five years, mainly through reading and annotation, and in 1613 had been promised the post of Surveyor of the King’s Works. Trained as a painter, draughtsman and joiner, he had an eye for surface detail, materials and moulding profiles. His notes at the Pantheon are a vital historic record of many lost original features and reveal aspects of Jones’s ‘mind-set’ as an architect which help us understand his achievement in two of his most celebrated works: the Banqueting House, Whitehall (1619–22), and his classical restoration of St Paul’s Cathedral, with its great west portico (1633–42).

Dr Gordon Higgott is an independent architectural historian specialising in architectural drawings and design practice in early modern Britain. He has published widely on the work of Inigo Jones and on the drawings of Sir Christopher Wren and his office for St Paul’s Cathedral, Greenwich Royal Hospital, Hampton Court Palace and Westminster Abbey. For many years he was a historic buildings inspector and historian at Historic England. He is currently preparing a new critical edition of Inigo Jones’s annotated copy of Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura (Venice, 1601) at Worcester College, Oxford.

To view the recording of this talk, click here.

Here are images of the winning entries. See our Awards page and News page for more details of the event.

Three experienced craftsmen and craftswoman discuss their work and approach to Building Crafts.

 The first talk, 'London Stone Carving: Sculpture in Stone' is by Sam Lee.

Sam Lee is a stone carver, sculptor, and Director at London Stone Carving Ltd. Sam discusses stone carving in the 21st Century, the working practice at LSC, and share some of their most notable projects.

London Stone Carving Ltd are a multi award winning team of craftsmen, creating classical and contemporary sculpture as well as fine architectural stonework.

The second talk, 'Contemporary Woodcarving' is by Clunie Fretton.

Clunie Fretton is a classically trained sculptor, gilder, and master carver working on private and public commissions in the heritage sector. She has a varied practice ranging from restoration of antiques to production of new work in the classical tradition. Since 2016 she's developed her current practice, Fretton Handley, in partnership with stone carver Felix Handley.

 In this talk, Clunie shares with us a selection of completed commissions, noting some of the challenges facing carvers today, and what role sculpture and ornament can have in contemporary architecture today.

The third talk, 'Forged Bronze in Architecture' is by Robert Kranenborg.

Following a short explanation of the differences between the various bronzes used in an architectural context, the talk touches on the ways that we have used it in architecture before. Exploring the unique solutions that hot forging of bronze using traditional blacksmithing techniques can offer. This is illustrated with examples from current work on a private residence in Antigua, a church tower restoration near Liverpool and bronze balustrades in London and Jersey.

Robert Kranenborg trained with a number of contemporary artist blacksmiths in the nineties, started managing projects from concept through to completion from about 2000 and set up Forging Matters in 2009. Work has evolved from contemporary and traditional forge work through public art to high end stair balustrades. It is currently coming full circle with projects incorporating more forge work and becoming highly bespoke, while incorporating more alternative metals to steel.

To watch the recording please click here.

Thai architect, Ong-Ard Satrabhandhu, discusses his work and approach to traditional design.

Ong-Ard is a Thai architect who practices architecture in Chiang Mai as a principal of the firm Ong-ard Architects. He received a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cornell University in 1965 and a master’s degree in Urban Studies from Yale University in 1967. Although Ong-ard's early work was influenced by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier, his interests broadened via intense periods of unusual investigation. The search specifically for historical source material eventually led to an unexpected, but rich area of exploration that continues today, some twenty-five years later. Ong-ard's quest for classically imbued vernacular architecture found in such diverse places as Italy, China, Nepal, and India has increasingly become his focus and he has become known for finding links between different architectural traditions. Additionally, he is deeply aware of the local heritage architecture and its picturesque tradition so well known to visitors of Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai and the northern provinces. Such research and advocacy has helped bring recognition to the plight of traditional Lanna buildings and temples whose forms are so characteristic of Chiang Mai, but which have fallen into disuse and disrepair. Ong-ard is dedicated to the preservation and recreating the atmosphere of traditional city in his design work. His latest mixed-use project an urban infill planned around pedestrian streets and squares incorporates authentic vernacular elements to establish character, pride, and sense of place where historic architectural identity is nearly lost.

You can view the recording of this talk here.

Contextual Classicism: Architecture of Many Traditions
By architect, and former TAG chairman, Alireza Sagharchi.
 

The introduction of the so-called 'Modern' era in the 20th century was accompanied by tumultuous events and crises of culture in the latter part of the century for many societies. One such phenomenon was the search for identity through the local/contextual; yet decidedly Modern expressions in the architecture of public buildings and monuments.

The talk makes commentary on the impact of international style on indigenous cultures and architecture, and touch on the representation of Classical Architecture in different cultures, each reflecting their ideals outside the narrow Western European definition of Classicism. The theme is explored through the presentation of recent projects of Alireza’s practice, Stanhope Gate Architecture.

Alireza Sagharchi is the Principal of Stanhope Gate Architecture. He is an internationally renowned Architect, a leading practitioner, and an exponent of contemporary classical architecture and traditional urban design.

Alireza is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects. He is a trustee of the International Network for Traditional Building Architecture and Urbanism and a member of the Prince's Foundation. He was the Chairman of the Traditional Architecture Group at the Royal Institute of British Architects for over seven years and a Built Environment Expert at The Design Council CABE.

To view the recording of this talk, click here.

How Energy Availability Influenced Building Form (and what this tells us for the climate emergency) by Dr Robyn Pender.

"For many thousands of years, buildings all over the world were constructed using just a small corpus of materials. But as a timeline of building materials shows, as we began to exploit high-energy materials, everything changes: slowly at first, then faster and faster as we began to exploit 'fossil fuel slaves'. New materials introduced new opportunities, but with them new problems. Over just a few centuries our whole relationship with the ways we constructed and used our buildings changed radically, and we are still finding out the unintended consequences of a giant experiment." - Dr Robyn Pender.

Dr. Pender is a Senior Building Conservation Advisor at Historic England, working in the Building Climate Change Adaptation Team. A physicist specialising in building environments, with a degree in Wall Painting Conservation from the Courtauld Institute of Art, she helped to write and edit English Heritage's 10-part Practical Building Conservation Series, which introduced her to the history of building materials and systems. Robyn remains fascinated by the links between that history and the availability of energy, and how this can give new insights into the causes of the climate emergency.

To view the recording of this talk click here.

This year’s AGM (for members only) will be held at the Art Workers Guild at 6pm on Thursday 16th June. This will be followed by a drinks party from 7pm to celebrate TAG's 20th Anniversary. Robert Adam will give a short speech and we will be showing a slide show of members' work during the evening.

To book your free ticket (members only) click here.

In conversation with Renée Killian-Dawson



Renée's love affair with buildings led her into interiors via architecture, landscape architecture and the world of fashion. Her experiences living in New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Athens, Barcelona, London, Herefordshire on the Welsh Marches, Charleston and finally the Hampshire countryside, have become the lens through which she views and interprets the world. She is co-founder and Creative Director of Studio Killian-Dawson, a full-service interior design studio working on assignments globally, specialising in residential projects in cities and country houses, and commercial ventures including private members clubs, boutique hotels and restaurants.

To view the recording of this talk, click here.

A Life in Sketch Books by Francis Terry

Sketchbooks have always been a critical part of an architect’s work. Francis Terry has a collection of sketchbooks going back forty years to his childhood holidays in Italy sketching architecture with his father, Quinlan Terry. Over the decades he has used sketchbooks as a source of inspiration for his architecture and other artistic ventures ranging from paintings to book illustrations and stage set designs. In this talk, Francis discusses his work from his various sketchbooks and focus on how these drawings inspired his work.

Watch the recording here.

Former TAG Chairman, Jan Maciag, talks about his work on the redevelopment of a disused farmyard in the small village of Great Gidding, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.

The farmyard was redeveloped as a joint project by the owners and Jan (and his heroically patient wife Margaret). The owners would retain part of the site and get a house for rental and the architect would design and build a house for himself.

Both buildings are experimental houses that focuses on several key issues in rural development.

• The reacquisition of a renewed vernacular architectural style and a veracity of construction.

• The reconciliation of a more casual ‘Arts & Crafts’ approach with the diminishing availability of either ‘Art’ or ‘Craft’ in the everyday construction industry.

• The nature of vernacular ornament within a return to constructional robustness.

• The fundamental challenge of constructing a modern, airtight, highly insulated and serviced new house that nevertheless looks, feels and behaves like a timeless traditional building. All within a mid-range budget.

The talk will focus on the material construction of the building and the difficulties encountered, compromises made and lessons learnt over several years of work and hardship.

Jan studied architecture at the University of Westminster and the University of Toronto, Canada.

Following graduation he worked as an assistant to Leon Krier and John Simpson before spending 3 years as an assistant architect to Quinlan Terry. He has been in his own practice, now known as Folium Architects, since 1994 and is based near Huntingdon. Project work is scattered throughout England and much is concerned with heritage repairs, alterations and additions.

As a traditionalist designer, Jan first exhibited his work at the 1987 exhibition ‘Real Architecture’ In 1989 he received an honourable mention for his entry in the Rue de Laeken, Brussels, design competition. He won 2nd Prize in the 1996 Marsham Street Urban Design Competition and is a contributing architect for the proposed reconstruction of the Neumarkt in Dresden.

As well as working in his own practice, he has been a tutor at the Prince’s Foundation in London and is a past-Chairman of the Traditional Architecture Group.

To watch the recording of this talk, please click here.

Maxim Atayants talks about several of his urban planning projects in Russia and two churches - a cathedral in St. Petersburg and a small temple in the South Caucasus, as well as drawings that he makes while traveling through the territories that once belonged to the Roman Empire.

Maxim was born in 1966 in the town of Ryazan, Russia, to an Armenian family with roots in the village of Qaraglukh in Nagorno-Karabakh. He studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, graduating in 1995 and furthering his studies by attending the Prince of Wales's Foundation Summer School. After becoming licensed in Russia, he taught at La Sapienza University in Rome and the University of Notre Dame's Rome Studies Program (1998-2000), and has been involved in the design and realization of many large urban developments. Maxim is also engaged in the study of Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, travelling through the Middle East and North Africa to document the remains of Roman cities. He has produced many acclaimed archi­tectural landscapes with ancient and historic buildings.

The talk can be viewed on our YouTube channel by clicking here.

This year’s TAG Awards evening was a great success and was very well attended with a full hall at the Art Workers’ Guild where many of this year’s winners and runners up were there in person to receive their awards. Please see our awards page for information about all the award recipients.

It was a great chance for members and friends to catch up in person over drinks and nibbles. We were also able to hand out some of the plaster plaques to the winners of last year’s TAG awards for education to Mark Wilson Jones, Timothy Smith and Jonathan Taylor.

TAG members enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of Syon House with interior designer Caroline Percy (sister of the Duke of Northumberland who grew up at Syon) and architectural historian Oliver Gerrish.

Members got to see rarely seen parts of the building, exploring hidden rooms behind secret doors and learn more about this fascinating house with some of the finest 18th Century interiors by Robert Adam.

On October 30th we had a very enjoyable and informative tour of the Charles Brooking Teaching Gallery which holds an extensive collection of architectural details including historic fanlights, sash windows, casements, stair handrails, ornamental pieces, ironmongery, and fireplace surrounds.

Charles Brooking gave us a guided tour and then allowed Individuals to walk through the collections to see the pieces up close and to take any photos or sketches whilst remaining on hand to answer questions.

Many of us, including Charles, then attended a very enjoyable pub lunch locally with further chance to discuss the treasures we had seen that morning.

In this talk jointly organised by INTBAU and TAG, Charles Hind and George Saumarez Smith discusses how architects have recorded buildings through measured drawings over the centuries, and how their sketchbooks have played an influential role in the history of design. Charles focuses particularly on architects whose work is represented in the RIBA drawings collection, and George discusses his own experience of keeping sketchbooks of measured drawings which have recently been published in a new book.

Charles Hind is Chief Curator and H J Heinz Curator of Drawings at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Before joining the RIBA in 1996, he had previously worked at the British Library, Sotheby’s and the Macmillan Dictionary of Art. He is also an architectural historian with a particular interest in Andrea Palladio, 18th-19th century British architecture and the history of collecting architectural drawings since the Renaissance. With two colleagues, he is presently working on a book about architectural drawings from the 15th century to the present day, drawing on the collection of the RIBA.

George Saumarez Smith, a director of ADAM Architecture, is celebrated for the elegance of his work as one of Britain’s foremost classical architects. As a student at Edinburgh University, he belonged to the last year group to be taught the skill of measured drawing as part of the core syllabus and it would become a passion for him. Sketchbooks: Collected Measured Drawings and Architectural Sketches presents a selection of the drawings that he has made in the last twenty-five years in a series of sketchbooks.

This event has now ended and the link to the recording is available here.

TAG Chairman, Mark Wilson Jones, speaks about his research on the Origins of the Classical Orders and challenges commonly held views on the history and application of the Orders. He also discusses how he has in turn used this research within his own practice on a project he is currently working on in the Caribbean.

Mark is an architect and architectural historian whose research can cross over into the domain of archaeology. Having begun his architectural training at the University of Cambridge and completed it at the then Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster) he was awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture at the British School at Rome. After several years combining research with architectural practice in London and Rome, he joined the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering here in 2000, where he teaches primarily architectural history and theory.

To listen to the recording of this talk, please click here.