RIBA exhibition spotlights some of Britain’s trickiest buildings

The RIBA gallery in London is preparing an exhibition of building projects that made unique use of design, layout, materials and processes as a direct response to site constraints and limitations.

The free exhibition, called Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds, promises to explore “remarkable feats of architectural achievement in the face of tricky and uncompromising sites and locations across Britain”. It will be divided into three sections: Difficult Landscapes, Difficult Urban Spaces and Difficult Reworkings.

More than 20 buildings will be featured, by architects including Nicholas Grimshaw, Neave Brown and Norman Foster, alongside leading contemporary practices such as Tonkin Liu, KnoxBhavan and Carmody Groarke. 

Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds is at RIBA Architecture Gallery, 66 Portland Place, London from 11^th October 2024 to 29^th March 2025.

Exhibits include:

Difficult Landscapes

• Creek Vean House – an example of British modernism built into the steep banks of a Cornish river
• Stoneywell – a two-storey, 1- room Arts & Craft cottage wrapped around a rock on an uneven slope
• The Eden Project – an eco-attraction built in a disused clay quarry.

Difficult Urban Spaces

• 28½ Lansdowne Crescent – a family home built on a narrow gap of 13 ft and 3 inches
• Alexandra Estate – a low-rise high-density scheme stepped back like a ziggurat and backing directly onto the main Euston railway line
• The British Library – negotiating a complex site over two tube lines running underneath along with extensive restrictions from the local council.

Difficult Reworkings

• The Weston Tower – the first structural addition to Westminster Abbey since 1745, with a rotated square motif inspired by the adjacent Henry VII Chapel
• Astley Castle – a contemporary house inserted behind the crumbling walls of a ruined medieval fortified manor
• The Magna Science Adventure Centre – an early example of a redundant industrial site being transformed into a cultural destination.

RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said: “Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds celebrates the pioneering spirit that lies at the heart of great architecture. These projects and their architects push the boundaries of what architecture can achieve. As environments become more changeable and the needs of societies grow and evolve, navigating challenging sites will become ever more important for architects and clients. This exhibition offers fascinating and important case studies of exceptional creative vision and technical innovation, continuing RIBA’s legacy of championing architecture and its place in shaping the future.”