APEC Forum

The Architecture Planning Engineering and Construction Forum was set up in 2013 and aims to support both the Department of Land Economy and the Faculty of Architecture.

The APEC Forum has become one of the most active Forums and has established a series of annual events. The main one is the Planning Update afternoon conference, the fourth of which, hosted by Dentons, was held on 8th March and opened with a keynote by the government chief planning o cer Joanna Averley. For the full programme see the flyer.

James Lai and I worked with Professor James Campbell to bring nearly a dozen leading practices together with about 60 graduating students in June. These were Owers Warwick, Donald Insall Associates, MCW architects, HTA Design LLP, Plan A Consultants, Woods Hardwick, Penoyre & Prasad, Pick Everard, Allies & Morrison, Westonwilliamson+Partners and Grimshaw. Previously recruited Cambridge students presented for some of the firms. Applications and jobs followed the event.

As in previous years CULS sponsored the annual show of work and brilliant catalogue [see photo] which is entirely organised by the students (apart from the fact that the only member of faculty with an HGV licence is the Professor who had to drive the truck to the OXO building on London’s South Bank where the exhibition was held!)

Professor Campbell gave CULS an informative tour of the school of architecture before the AGM/dinner in July. As well as the impressive library and studios in the Scroope Terrace buildings we saw the ground floor of the splendid new Dyson Building with its model shop and computer room complete with 3-D printers donated by CULS [see photo]. As the engineers move out of town the architects will colonise the upper floors with splendid day-lit studios.

We learned that the faculty will have tripled in size and will include a new apprenticeship course and that it has led the way in the total abolition of written exams, helped along by Covid!

So what next? The small APEC committee has met on Zoom and needs to rebuild and maybe meet round a table or over a drink, even. New members please come forward. James Lai remains vice-chairman despite being now based in Riyadh and Martin Thompson keeps the records as Scribe.

Members of the APEC committee also include: Mike Adams, Martha Grekos, James Engwall, Melville Haggard, Rod Mcallister, Richard Morton, Dr Kevin Stone, Flora MacLeod, Sue Chadwick and Liliana Shanbhag.

In the pipeline we hope to arrange a site visit with Hopkins Architects to the new Peninsula hotel opening on Hyde Park Corner next Spring, see photos, and a tour with architect Niall Mclaughlin of the new Magdalene library, also pictured, this year’s winner of shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, before next summer’s AGM and dinner in Magdalene College.