RIBA + VitrA Talk: Shaping Integrity – new forms of architecture

This event is the first in the RIBA+VitrA series, a programme of talks exploring new forms of practice within architecture. This event brings together architects that are building structures rooted in place, shaped by their context and values of integrity.

The discussion will explore how architecture can reflect social values and has the potential to enhance people’s quality of life. It will address the question: How important it is to create spaces that are diverse, inclusive, supportive and enriching to those that use these places?

The talk will focus on accessibility, the consideration of materials, as well as collaborative methods to create public spaces. You’ll hear from architects with shared approaches to creating well-crafted buildings that last and are meaningful for those that occupy them.

Each of the speakers will present different ways of working that are inclusive and resourceful. They aim/their practice aims to have a positive impact from both a social and environmental perspective within the built environment.

Following short presentation from each of the speakers there will be a panel discussion and an audience Q&A.

Panel:

• Pooja Agrawal, CEO Public Practice
• Jas Bhalla, Jas Bhalla Architects
• Clementine Blakemore, Clementine Blakemore Architects

Each of the speakers will present different ways of working that are inclusive and resourceful. They aim/their practice aims to have a positive impact from both a social and environmental perspective within the built environment.

Following short talks from each of the speakers there will be a panel discussion and an audience Q&A.

This talk is part of our Forms of Exchange: Exploring the spaces in between series, sponsored by VitrA Bathrooms.

Speakers

Pooja Agrawal

Pooja Agrawal is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Public Practice. She is an architect and planner who worked as a public servant at Homes England and the Greater London Authority and at private practices including Publica and We Made That. She co-founded social equality platform Sound Advice and co-published Now You Know, a compendium of fifty essays exploring spatial and racial inequality. She is a Fellow at the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose and a Fellow at the RSA. She was nominated for the Planner’s Woman of Influence in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Jas Bhalla

Prior to establishing the practice in 2018, Jas held positions at a number of renowned architecture and design firms, including Kohn Pederson Fox, Adjaye Associates, and Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners. Uniquely, Jas studied at the Bartlett School of Planning before completing his architectural education at Yale University as the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Jas is a regular writer and speaker, and has authored articles published in the Independent and New Statesman. 

He is a member of review panels in Essex, Redbridge, Hounslow and North Hertford, one of the Mayor’s Design Advocates and regularly acts as a visiting critic at the Bartlett, Cardiff University and Architectural Association.

Clementine Blakemore

© Max Creasy

Clementine founded her practice, Clementine Blakemore Architects, in 2016 with a commitment to producing buildings that are inventive, inclusive and have a positive impact on both the wider community and the environment. The practice continues to enjoy making architecture rooted in place and shaped by context, in terms of local materials, climate and craftsmanship.

She recently delivered Wraxall Yard, the conversion of a series of derelict stone and timber farm buildings in West Dorset into accessible holiday accommodation, an educational farm and community space, which has been Highly Commended in the 2023 RIBA MacEwen Awards, and and shortlisted for an AJ Retrofit award. In 2019 she completed a new timber-framed music pavilion for a state primary school in Buckinghamshire, which was shortlisted for the Wood Awards, AJ Small Projects Awards and the RIBA MacEwan Awards. In 2020 she was included in the Architects' Journal 40 under 40 list, and in 2021 the practice was featured in the Architecture Foundation book New Architects 4.

Clem initially studied sculpture and then worked in film before training as an architect; after a year at the Rural Studio in Alabama, she gained her qualifications at the Architectural Association and the Royal College of Art. Having self-built a number of early projects, and run a series of design/build workshops, she takes great pleasure in the collaborative process of transforming design ideas into built form.  She has lectured widely, including at the Barbican as part of the Architecture Foundation's 'Architecture on Stage' series, the AA and the British Council. Prior to starting her own practice, she worked for Duggan Morris Architects, David Chipperfield Architects and was a Designer in Residence at the Design Museum in London. 

This event is part of a series of events for the RIBA + VitrA Partnership.

This partnership reflects a shared commitment to add social, economic and cultural value to society, and VitrA Bathrooms are proud to be supporting such an inspiring programme.

With innovation at its core, a global reach and a tradition of collaborating with celebrated architects and designers, the VitrA bathroom brand has become a world leader, synonymous with contemporary sophistication since the mid-1900s.

Lead image: St. John's Music Pavilion, Lacey Green, Buckinghamshire, Clementine Blakemore Architects. © Will Scott

Important Visitor Information

Terms and Conditions