06.12.2024 Building Skills report launch with CIVIC SQUARE

Our report Building Skills is now live! Find out about the exciting work mapping the West Midlands region with CIVIC SQUARE in our report here

06.12.2024 Thornton Education Trust Awards

We are delighted to share that Material Cultures are a finalist in the Best of Built Environment Practices category of the Inspire Future Generations award - more information about the shortlist can be found here

22.11.2024 Woodland Goods exhibition opening

The Woodland Goods exhibition is now open at the V&A Museum in South Kensington London. The exhibit is free to the public and available to see until the 31st October 2025

01.11.2024 AR Emerging Awards 

We are delighted to share that Material Cultures have been awarded the Peter Davey Prize at the AR Emerging awards 2024 - read all about it here

09.10.2024 Spirit of Paimio 

George Massoud will be presenting at the second edition of the Spirit Paimio conference will be held on the 9th and 10th October 2024 at Paimio Sanatorium (Finland) with the theme Reimagining Community - further information about the programme can be found here

05.10.2024 Before and After Sand

Our exhibition, developed in collaboration with Stiftung Sitterwerk, exploring the value of sand, from its formation over time to the impact of its extraction in the present and its role in a regenerative future is now open in St Gallen!

03.10.2024 Working with Earth Symposium

Paloma Gormley and George Massoud will be speaking at the two day Working with Earth symposium hosted by Tom Stuart-Smith Studio at Serge Hill. The team from Material Cultures will be joined by Feilden Fowles (Edmund Fowles), Muirne Kate Dineen, Jamie Ingle & Simon Lovatt, Local Works (Loretta Bosence and Ben Bosence), Sarah Price, Cleve West, Tom Massey, Tom Stuart-Smith, Ben Stuart-Smith and Millie Souter - tickets can be found here

26.09.2024 Material Matter[s] Mini Series

Join us for a series of four practical workshops (26th and 27th September, 31st October and 1st November)  focused on reimagining our relationship to natural materials and how we can use them to shape the world around us, hosted by CIVIC SQUARE and Material Cultures across various sites around Birmingham, UK - register for a free ticket on the eventbrite page here

22.09.2024 London Open House 2024

Join the Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre for an exploration of urban food production and sustainable living, including the new cutting-edge sustainable buildings designed by Studio Gil and Material Cultures, as part of this years Open City festival - more about the programme can be found here

19.09.2024 Bale Building Days

RWTH Aachen University are hosting a two day event on straw bale construction. Summer Islam will be joining speakers sharing knowledge about craftsmanship and technology, architecture and practice as well as research and development related to building with sustainable materials with a focus on straw in load-bearing construction - register for a ticket here

16.09.2024 Plantbased Constructions

All eight 1:1 scale mockups that illustrate plantbased constructions developed by students of Studio Material Cultures, Fall semester 2023, are being exhibited at ETH Materials Hub at the Materialsammlung ZHAW in Winterthur until 20.12.2024

12.09.2024 International Conference on Bioregional Architecture and Design Practice

The Technical University of Munich is hosting a conference discussing Bioregionalism through the presentation of artefacts in the built environment, material futures, and design systems. Summer Islam is one of the selected speakers over the two day event open to the public - you can register your attendance here

10.09.2024 The Great Repair Moves North

Summer Islam will be speaking at the opening of the The Great Repair Moves North exhibition at the Form Design Centre in Malmo, Sweden. Material Cultures' films Extraction, Straw and Timber will be screened at the exhibition until the 3rd of November

31.07.2024 Wallpaper Magazine

Paloma Gormley has been featured in Wallpaper with her top picks for London Open House 2024 - read all the recommendations here

31.07.2024 Material Store Launch

George Massoud will be in conversation with Resolve Collective and friends, to celebrate the launch of Material Store in South London - book your tickets here

22.06.2024 London Festival of Architecture

Join us for an event celebrating the commission Rising from the Water as part of the London Festival of Architecture, featuring talks from Yasmin Lari and George Massoud - book your tickets here

05.06.2024 London Festival of Architecture

The Wolves Lane Consortium will be hosting tours of their new buildings designed by Material Cultures and Studio Gil as part of the London Festival of Architecture, more information about the programme can be found here.

30.04.2024 International Biennale Rotterdam

We will be exhibiting a new project exploring labour practices in UK construction sites at this year's International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam from
June 29–October 13 2024, find out more about the programme for the Nature of Hope Biennale here

22.04.2024 Architectural Digest

Material Cultures spoke with Charlotte Collins about their experience working with biobased materials, read more about their discussion here

17.04.2024 Werk, Bauen + Wohnen Magazine

The research by students of Studio Material Cultures, Fall semester 2023, is featured in the 2024 issue 4 of werk, bauen+wohnen. The cover image is by artist Malgorzata Maria Olchowska.

16.04.2024 Plantbased Constructions

All eight 1:1 scale mockups that illustrate plantbased constructions developed by students of Studio Material Cultures, Fall semester 2023, are being exhibited at ETH Materials Hub in Zurich until 17.07.2024

07.03.2024 The Great Repair

Three films on Extraction, Timber and Straw, produced for the Homegrown Exhibition at the Building Centre in 2021 are showcased at The Great Repair at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, opening on the 7th of March, find out more here

12.02.2024 Yale Climate Connections

08.02.2024 Architecture on Stage: Material Cultures

Paloma Gormley, Summer Islam and George Massoud will be presenting recent work including the creation of an arts centre in Lewes and the the reinvention of the former council plant nurseries at Wolves Lane, Haringey - for more information click here

08.02.2024 Rebuilding the Bog

Summer Islam's article Rebuilding the Bog is featured in Issue 05 of Faktur magazine

23.01.2024 Architecture meets Ecology

Paloma Gormley joins the Building Sustainability podcast to discuss the importance of regenerative materials in building design - to listen click here

20.01.2024 Tolerance and Transformation

Summer Islam will be taking part in this symposium organised by the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. For more information click here.

09.01.2024 Material Cultures: Material Transformations

George Massoud took part in the conference delivered by École D'architecture De La Ville & Des Territoires Paris-Est - for more information click here

23.11.2023 Feminist Practice at the AA

George Massoud took part in a roundtable discussion on feminist working practices - read about it here

17.11.2023 Material Cultures presentation at the Architectures of Planetary Well-being Symposium 2.0

Alongside Resolve Collective, Worofila, Anupama Kundoo and Shumi Bose, George Massoud presented the work of Material Cultures and its relation to land - read about it here

28.10.2023 Space Caviar, Non-Extractive Architecture(s) Summit in Venice, Italy

Paloma Gormley and George Massoud were invited to contribute to a series of conversations with Franco Raggi, Hive Earth, Maria Chiara Pastore, We are Here Venice, Atelier Aino, DEEP, Lukas Wegworth, ROTOR and Elisa Iturbe - explore the directory here

16.10.2023 Dezeen Awards 2023

We are pleased to announce Material Cultures has been shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2023 Emerging Architect of the Year - read about it here

14.10.2023 The Great Repair Exhibition with Arch+

Material Cultures contributed 1:1 fragments developed from the research carried out in wetlands with Bauhaus Earth. The exhibition, in Berlin, will be open until 14.01.24, explore the program here

27.09.2023 Designer's Voice Podcast: Sustainable Exhibition Design 

Listen into Designer Gitta Gschwendtner’s conversation with our very own Summer Islam via the link here

18.09.2023 ETH Autumn Semester Starts

Material Cultures begins its guest studio for the Autumn Semester at ETH Zurich

09.2023 MC MAKE Workshops 3 and 4

Material Cultures Make returns with a second round of accessible building skills workshops. Learn to Lime Render with Esme Walker and Learn to Clay Plaster with Ffion Blench.  More information on the workshop series here

08.07.2023  The Design Museum 

This 1:1 fragment made by UAL students as part of Unit 3: Regenerative Construction led by Material Cultures is being shown at the How to Build a Low-Carbon Home exhibition until 10.03.2024 (Image by Felix Speller)

29.06.2023 Growing a Home, Future Observatory Podcast with Summer Islam

Listen on the podcast player above, or on the Future Observatory website here

20.06.2023 MC Lab Workshops

Material Cultures Lab has launched a series of accessible building skills workshops exploring natural and low-embodied carbon materials: clay and lime. More information on our Autumn ‘23 workshops here

09.05.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Vanley Burke at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

20.03.2023 Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre

Read the feature about the Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre in the Architect's Journal here

09.03.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Huda Tayob at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

02.03.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Asmelash Teka Hadgu at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

02.03.2023 Reviews for Homegrown - Building a Post-Carbon Future 

The reviews are in! The Homegrown exhibition at the Building Centre has been reviewed by the Architect's Journal, Drawing Matter and the RIBA Journal

28.02.2023 Monocle on Design Podcast

Listen to Paloma Gormley and George Massoud in conversation with Lilian Fawcett on the Monocle on Design podcast here

23.02.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Imani Jaqueline Brown at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

16.02.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Ingrid Pollard at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

14.02.2023 Material Matters Podcast

Summer Islam was featured on Material Matters with Grant Gibson - listen here

02.02.2023 Imagining Otherwise with Joris Lechene at the AA

George Massoud took part in the Architecture Association's lecture series. Read about it here

09.01.2023 MC Lab Workshops

Material Cultures Lab has launched a series of accessible building skills workshops exploring natural and low-embodied carbon materials including lime, hemp, straw and earth. More information on our Spring/Summer ‘23 workshops here

04.01.2023 Oxford Real Farming Conference 2023

Material Cultures are presenting at the Oxford Real Farming Conference on January 6th 2023.

23.12.2022 Grand Design Magazine

Material Reform has been featured as one of the top 10 architecture & design books of 2022  - read the full piece here

01.12.2022 Design Week

Material Cultures have been featured in an article about sustainable approaches to exhibition design - read the full piece here

17.11.2022 Production Studies: Production Pedagogies

Summer Islam will be joining a panel discussion at Central Saint Martins with guest speakers Sérgio Ferro and Charlotte Malterre Barthes, hosted by the TF/TK Project and the Spatial Practices department

16.11.2022  The Fifth Estate newspaper

Our Phoenix Housing project has been featured in The Fifth Estate - read all about it here 

16.11.2022  The London School of Architecture

Paloma Gormley and George Massoud will be leading a postgraduate think tank at The London School of Architecture this academic year 

15.11.2022  The AJ Small Projects Sustainability webinar

Summer Islam will be presenting the AJ Small Projects nominated project Block House at a webinar chaired by the AJ’s Sustainability Editor Hattie Hartman looking at the importance of environmental and social sustainability in the success of projects realised on a smaller budget - watch it here

10.11.2022   Book Launch

Thank you to all those that joined us for the launch of our book Material Reform: Building for a Post-Carbon Future, co-authored with Amica Dall - order your copy here

03.11.2022   KoozArch

Teaching partners Merve Anil and George Massoud, director of Material Cultures, have been interviewed by KoozArch about their pedagogical practice in the context of their diploma unit at the Architectural Association - read more about it here

27.10.2022  Lethaby Gallery, Kings Cross
Forest School: Constructive Land (Material Cultures × MArch Unit 3, CSM)

Constructive Land is being exhibited at the Lethaby Gallery on Granary Square from October 27th until November 11th

03.10.2022   Material Reform

Our book Material Reform: Building for a Post-Carbon Future, co-authored with Amica Dall, is out now - order your copy here

13.07.2022   Metropolis Magazine

Flat House and Block House have been featured in Metropolis magazine's article, The Future is Hempcrete - read all about it here

09.07.2022   Constructive Disobedience Conference, Germany

Summer Islam will be presenting Constructive Land, our research project as recipients of the SOM Foundation's 2021 European Research Prize fellowship, at the Constructive Disobedience conference (15th-16th September) at TU Braunschweig, Germany

25.06.2022   Material Reform

Our book Material Reform, featuring a visual essay by Jess Gough (pictured above), is due to be released in October 2022, is now available for pre-order!

17.05.2022   Wheelwright Prize

Summer Islam, founding director of Material Cultures, is a finalist for the 2022 Wheelwright Prize alongside Marina Otero, Curry J. Hackett and Feifei Zhou.

12.04.2022   The 27th Biennial of Design, Ljubljana

Projects by Material Cultures will be featured in the BIO27 Super Vernaculars - Design for a Regenerative Future at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The exhibition opens on the 26th May 2022 and will be running until 29th September 2022. Save the date!

11.04.2022   The RIBA Journal

One of our directors, Paloma Gormley, has been featured as one of the journal's Future Winners - the full article can be found in The RIBA Journal's April 2022 print edition or online here

29.03.2022   Negroni Talks #33

One of our directors, Summer Islam, featured as a panellist on the Talking Shop! Insulation event - listen to the event on the Negroni Talks podcast here

24.03.2022   AJ Small Projects 2022 

We are pleased to announce our project with Studio Abroad, Block House, has been shortlisted for the 2022 AJ Small Projects Awards and is now featured in the AJ projects library

25.02.2022  British Pavilion 2023 

Our proposal with Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Material Reform, was one of five projects shortlisted for the British Pavilion exhibition at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia

18.02.2022  RIBA South West Awards 2022

We are pleased to announce our project with Studio Abroad, Block House, has been shortlisted for the 2022 RIBA South West Awards

15.10.2021  House of Annetta, Spitalfields
Carbon Copies exhibition (Material Cultures × MArch Unit 3)

Carbon Copies is being exhibited at the House of Annetta on Princelet Street from the 15th to the 30th of October - the publication is available to buy here

10.09.2021  Phoenix Project Design Festival

From the 10th-12th of September 2021 Material Cultures will be presenting their housing scheme to the public during the Phoenix Project Design Festival in East Sussex - we look forward to seeing you there!

18.08.2021  Central Saint Martins, Kings Cross
Carbon copies Exhibition (Material Cultures × MArch Unit 3)

Carbon copies interrogates this narrative by re-imagining iconic residential typologies using a low embodied energy palette. It explores bio-based construction materials that remain part of the decay life cycle, such as hemp, cork, and earth, as well as modes of construction where building parts return to the ground at the end of their life cycle.

05.08.2020  Building a New Rural

In partnership with Grizedale Arts we will be running a summer school amongst the lakeland hills led by Paloma Gormley and Summer Islam of Material Cultures and Takeshi Hayatsu