Last night at the JTP offices we celebrated twenty years of The Academy of Urbanism. It was a pleasure to reconnect with familiar faces from earlier days, including Kevin Murray, Jas Atwal and John Dales, and to spend time with Stephen Haines, Alessandra Covino, Robert Blake and Joe Bonomo from David Lock Associates Ltd. Outgoing chair Andreas Markides delivered a terrific speech, followed by poetry from Ian McMillian, the “Bard of Barnsley.” Connie Dales offered a witty rhymed thank-you with impeccable timing.
Congratulations to Christine Smallwood and the AoU executive for organising such a memorable evening. I enjoyed catching up with Lewis Hubbard and joining a lively discussion with Lewis, Mehron Kirk and Shamika Ghate about the quirks of practice naming protocols. The beautifully designed display boards, highlighting two decades of achievements, were fascinating, especially seeing my Pet Shop Boys walk featured. Here’s to the next twenty years!
