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Latest.

We’ve opened our Toronto studio!
AKT II's new home in North America.

17/10/2024 News

Hello North America! After nearly two decades of creativity and award-winning engineering design in North America, we’ve landed.

AKT II celebrates AlMusalla Prize 2024 victory.
AlMusalla Prize.

10/10/2024 News

On Wednesday morning, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and The Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia announced the winners of the AlMusalla Prize 2024.

The Forum Building which houses the conference centre.

TTP Campus and Norton Folgate win big.
BCIA and BCO National Awards.

10/10/2024 News

TTP Campus and Norton Folgate have both secured major wins at two industry awards this week, highlighting their contributions as innovative and sustainable building projects in the UK.

Advances in Metal 3D Printing.
New research into additive manufacturing.

03/09/2024 News

At AKT II we pioneered studies into topology optimisation both through digital design tools and practical examples. 

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Arding & Hobbs – Story Within.
An iconic department store reborn.

The Story Within

Awesome & Hot! A disused iconic department store in South London is reborn as a stunning office and retail space.
Watch AKT II directors Valentina Galmozzi and Gary McKee explain how W.RE and the project team, led by Stiff + Trevillion, saved this stunning venue from obsolescence and made it relevant again.

Adaptation, here we come.
The importance of thoughtful design.

The Story Within

The built environment, encompassing infrastructure, buildings, and public spaces, is pivotal in fostering resilient communities. It not only provides shelter and facilitates connectivity but also strengthens community bonds. Thoughtful design can mitigate climate change impacts, promote sustainability, and enhance the quality of life, making resilience an attainable goal for all.

UCB’s new headquarters campus topping out.
A milestone in innovation and design.

29/04/2024 News

The construction of UCB’s new headquarters campus has reached a significant milestone with the topping out of the main building, marking the completion of the structural framework.

Unlocking key planning approvals with bioclimatic design.
The importance of interdisciplinarity.

The Story Within

AKT II’s bioclimatic design team has contributed to the multiple success of recent planning outcomes on key projects across the UK. We achieved this through our diverse service offerings, including wind microclimate analysis, daylight, sunlight and overshadowing studies, and outdoor thermal comfort and air quality assessments.

AKT II hosts students from Open City Accelerate programme.
Open City.

27/02/2024 News

Last week, AKT II welcomed students from around London and the South East as part of the Open City Accelerate programme.

Botanic Place development has been approved by Cambridge City Council.
Botanic Place.

11/12/2023 News

Botanic Place is a landmark commercial development that introduces a host of industry-leading green and smart features in addition to a BREEAM Outstanding specification, as part of Cambridge’s vision to become net-zero by 2030.

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings – Story Within film.
Rescue, restore, rejuvenate.

The Story Within

The “grandparent of skyscrapers”: We supported Historic England and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to regenerate this more than 320-year-old mill complex, considered to be the world’s first iron-framed building. Find out from the project team how our approach goes beyond simple conservation, and allowed the mill to gain another life.

Shrewsbury stacks up top at the Brick Awards.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings.

09/11/2023 News

AKT II’s restoration of the world’s first cast-iron-framed building, in partnership with architect FCB Studios and client Historic England, has now topped the 2023 Brick Awards: receiving the overall Supreme Award, Craftsmanship Award and Sustainability Award.

One Park Drive – Story Within.
A landmark for Wood Wharf.

The Story Within

One Park Drive is the 205 metres tall signature residential tower of Wood Wharf – Canary Wharf Group’s new district – and AKT II’s first collaboration with architects Herzog & de Meuron. In this film the project team shows how we navigated reclaimed land, a multitude of floor plate layouts, tight facade tolerances and more to deliver an exceptional addition to London’s skyline.

Aga Khan Academy Dhaka – Story Within.
An 'iceberg' in Bangladesh.

The Story Within

Earthquakes, floods and hidden measures – we worked alongside Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and local practice SHATOTTO on the masterplan for the new Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka. AKT II directors Ricardo Baptista and Alessandro Margnelli explain why the engineering can be best described as an ‘iceberg’: seemingly straightforward above ground, but buckets full of challenges underneath.

Flagship new tower approved for London’s Tech City.
99 City Road.

25/09/2023 News

The transformative regeneration on the Old Street Roundabout – designed by KPF for developer Endurance Land – absorbs an existing mid-rise 1980s structure within the delivery of a multifunctional new high-rise programme that introduces community facilities, pedestrian permeability and streetscape activation.

UCL’s flagship Marshgate building is now open.
UCL East Marshgate.

21/09/2023 News

This landmark 35,000-square-metre scheme – which is designed by architect Stanton Williams, as UCL’s largest single building to date – forms part of the masterplanned East Bank cultural, innovation and learning cluster at London’s world-famous Olympic legacy development zone.

AKT II co-founder Hanif Kara receives the London Design Medal.
London Design Festival 2023.

13/09/2023 News

The award is recognised as the London Design Festival’s “highest accolade bestowed upon an individual who has distinguished themselves within the industry and demonstrated consistent design excellence”.

A Brick for Venice – Story Within.
Venice festival 2023.

The Story Within

This temporary pavilion – exhibited during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale – showcases a novel waste-based construction product that’s made with the excess mud from Venice’s canals. It’s altogether led by architect Urban Radicals together with AKT II and material designer Local Works Studio, and with funding from the consultancy group Tyréns. Find out from the project team how it all came together.

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Tackling construction’s carbon problem.
Building Magazine.

15/08/2023 News

This month, our technical director David Watson and our design director Gerry O’Brien have together appeared in the UK’s Building Magazine to share some of AKT II’s latest carbon thinking.

Reflecting Belgium’s communities.
Asiat-Darse Bridge.

18/07/2023 News

This new, sculptural footbridge – which is designed by architect Counterspace Studio, with support from the City of Vilvoorde and the local cultural organisation Horst Arts & Music – draws conceptually from the complex relationships of the region’s migrant communities.

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Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings – Story Within.
ASCE article.

The Story Within

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is the world’s first cast-iron-framed structure. Built in 1797, the cast iron’s ‘cutting edge’ technology gave rise to modern-day steel construction, and hence this building has been named the ‘grandparent’ of modern high-rise construction.

In their article for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), AKT II design director Christopher Blust, technical director David Watson and associate Charlotte Robinson lay out the long and challenging path to saving this icon of the Industrial Revolution and extending its life into a third century.

Leveraging AI to improve physical wind-tunnel testing.
Research collaboration.

04/07/2023 News

This Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) centres on improving the accuracy of physical wind-tunnel testing through the application of novel neural network (AI) technology.

Albert Williamson-Taylor stewarding AEC’s next generation.
Open City.

13/06/2023 News

AKT II’s co-founder and design director Albert Williamson-Taylor has been made the inaugural president of Open City: a global educational and built-heritage charity that’s dedicated to making the built environment more open, accessible and equitable.

AKT II joins the global Ecocity discussion.
Ecocity World Summit 2023.

09/06/2023 News

The 2023 summit – the first to be held in-person in London in four years – encompasses a diverse conference and exhibition programme that responds to this year’s theme of ‘connecting communities’. AKT II has supported it in multiple ways …

Oxford North expansion has been approved.
Red Hall.

31/03/2023 News

Plans for Red Hall have been given the green light with building work set to start in the summer.

V&A Museum reveals inaugural Ramadan Pavilion.
V&A South Kensington.

09/03/2023 News

Congratulations to architect Shahed Saleem, the V&A museum and the Diriyah Biennale Foundation for installing the inaugural Ramadan Pavilion – in partnership with Ramadan Tent Project – over the weekend.

IStructE Gold Medal for AKT II co-founder Albert Williamson-Taylor.

22/02/2023 News

Albert has been awarded the Institution of Structural Engineers’ 2023 Gold Medal for his unique and outstanding contribution to the advancement of structural engineering.

Green refurbishment approved.
Fleet House.

02/02/2023 News

A 1950s office block and pub in the heart of the city has been unanimously approved by the City of London.

18-storey Blackfriars office approved.
Bankside Yards.

31/01/2023 News

‘Building 1’, an 18-storey sustainable office building that will be located on the south side of Blackfriars bridge has been unanimously approved by Southwark council earlier this month.

Camden Highline plans approved.
A first for London.

25/01/2023 News

Proposals for the new Camden High Line have been given the green light for planning this week.

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