4
NEWS
Managing Editor James Parker
Publisher Anthony Parker
Account Director Midge Myatt
Senior Account Manager Steve Smith
Digital Marketing & PR Account Manager Suzanne Easter
Operations Director Shelley Collyer
Editorial Contributor Stephen Cousins
Events Coordinator Amy Madigan
Studio Manager Mikey Pooley
Production Assistant Georgia Musson
Digital Production Coordinator Kimberley Musson
Feature Coordinator & Publisher’s Assistant Kim Neville
Finance Director Simon Reed
Advertising & Administration 01435 863500
info@netmagmedia.co.uk Press Releases
editorial@netmagmedia.co.uk Registration &
Circulation Enquiries
info@netmagmedia.co.uk
FROM THE EDITOR
I
recently attended a fascinating (and occasionally deliberately ‘jarring’) event looking at the potentially destablising effects of unwanted noise in our environments. Sownd Affects, a leading consultancy in ‘audio inclusivity’ was ostensibly launching an important new acoustics-specifi c certifi cation for projects, together
with Oscar Acoustics. But Sownd Affects founder Marion Marinat, who lost most of his hearing at age 26, also used the opportunity to highlight the damage being done to individuals – and their productivity – by not creating audio-sensitive environments. The stats quoted by Sownd Affects said that “bad” sound was costing businesses £40bn a year, from resulting lost productivity, staff turnover, absenteeism, and “customer attrition.” And this was a “conservative estimate,” said the fi rm in its launch report; potentially not taking into account the huge barriers that noisy, poorly treated or acoustically neglected environments pose to neurodiverse people. While we have long been aware of may older people’s inability to tolerate excessive noise, likely due to losing some of their hearing, we are catching up when it comes to inclusive design which enables everyone to function to their best in workspaces. From offi ces, to retail, education and healthcare, the effects of treating acoustics as a ‘nice to have’ interior design element to be added at the end (if at all), can be not only hard to take from employees’ perspective, but costly to their employers in terms of resulting health impacts. It is a depressing yet somewhat predictable stat that most people (60% of UK adults according to Sownd Affects) are negatively affected by their sound environment. But the benefi ts long-term can be so effective, and affecting, that it’s a shame more employers don’t put more effort in. Sownd Afffects: “Audio-inclusive spaces are ones where conversation fl ows, focus comes easily, and no-one feels excluded or overwhelmed.” Just because it’s invisible, doesn’t mean sound isn’t incredibly pervasive, and more often than not negative, partly as its invisibility leads to it being deprioritised. Yet noise is apparently workers’ number one complaint of their interiors. The speakers at the Sownd Certifi ed launch included long-term anti-noise vigilante and TEDtalk veteran Julian
An Employee Owned Company
Cointronic House Station Road, Heathfi eld East Sussex, TN21 8DF
Annual subscription costs just £48 for 12 issues, including post and packing. Phone 01435 863500 for details. Individual copies of the publication are available at £5 each inc p & p. All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or stored in any information retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in Architects Datafi le, the publisher can accept no responsibility for the claims or opinions made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Editorial contributors to this journal may have made a payment towards the reproduction costs of material used to illustrate their products. The manufacturer of the paper used within our publication is a Chain-of-Custody certifi ed supplier operating within environmental systems certifi ed to both ISO 14001 and EMAS in order to ensure sustainable production. Printed in England
This magazine may be recycled
Treasure. They used the almost visceral power of audio to agitate as well as calm the audience, including alarms heard at unexpected junctures to bring a reality to the proceedings that was highly effective. Such things in rooms with too-high reverberation and too-little zoning are even more damaging, bird sounds generally aren’t. Sownd Affects worked closely with Oscar Acoustics on the bronze-silver-gold based sound certifi cation system, which fi lls a gap in audio inclusivity standards, and which looks to have the credentials to push specifi ers and clients in the right direction. Hilson Moran and architects dmfk are other consultancies closely engaged with Sownd Effects on the mission to drive a much closer focus on acoustics in new builds and retrofi ts, and bring some quiet to commercial interiors. As Julian Treasure said, “when indoor environmental quality is done well, it makes people happy, but at the same time, we are open planning the entire world, for no apparent reason.” But the most challenging thing is that “everyone is unique, so designing a space for everyone is always a terrible compromise.” There are, however, sound, thoughtful approaches to consider which can help everyone.
James Parker, Editor
Looking to update or cancel your ADF registration? Scan the QR code to visit our registration page. From here you can also register for our Digital
Issues and Newsletters. Alternatively, please visit architectsdatafi
le.co.uk/subscribe
ADF_0405_2026
Covers.indd 1 04.26
MASON & FIFTH, LONDON West London mixed use by AHMM uses Grand Union Canal to connect heritage with modern co-living
Update your registration here:
ON THE COVER... Mason & Fifth Westbourne Park, a 332-unit fl exible living development built on the site of the former headquarters of London’s Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association. Cover image © Rob Parrish For the full report on this project, go to page 32
08/05/2026 10:56
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF APRIL/MAY 2026
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116
