“We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town...”

While fashion changes with the seasons, architecture can take a decade to get planning permission. A building designed today can easily end up being passé by the time it gets built years later, so what does this say about the relevance of contemporary architecture as a product and expression of the zeitgeist?

Despite a desire for it to be tailored to its surroundings and to ‘fit in’, architecture still oscillates between the standout and the uniform, between the bland and the bling, the pattern book and the custom made. If ‘Style’ is about having a distinctive character, a mode of expression and a point of difference, then why do so many buildings look the same and seem dead on arrival?

The built environment is a historical record of what has been considered fashionable. So what do our new buildings reveal about us and who is setting these architectural trends? Architects chasing recognition? Developers seeking high returns? PR and marketing promotion? Or is it down to society, scrolling and swiping our way through a culture that discards ideas faster than it can build them?

It seems increasingly fashionable to promote and award projects because they are eye catching and in turn most likely to trend on social media. Regularly published architectural practices end up as brands, known for their recognisable style and aesthetic, with their latest designs reinforcing an in vogue popularity, confidence and competence. But what really constitutes a significant architect or building?

Meanwhile, disposable buildings like fast fashion remain a sign of the times, but should we be demolishing the awkward, unloved architecture of the recent past before it's had the chance to come back into fashion?

If Architecture is all about appearance, this is only façade deep. Have architects become mere building stylists and decorators, when they could be a pioneering and progressive force for change, experimentation and self-expression?

Speakers:

Huw Williams & Steve Sinclair, fourth_space (Chair)
Paul Gorman, Writer, Curator and Commentator On Visual Culture
Eimear Hanratty, Associate Director, O'Donnell + Tuomey
Priya Khanchandani, Curator, Writer and Broadcaster
Melodie Leung, Director, ZHA

and all others who want to contribute…..

Tickets:

https://shoreditchdesignweek.com/2026-registration?TrackingCode=MATERIALMATTERS

https://materialmatters.design/The-Fair