Think big and embrace the small

It has been quite some task to whittle the myriad entries down to a longlist of just 20 – and all credit to our architecture editors Fran Williams and Rob Wilson, who led on this with aplomb.

As Fran explains in her introduction, these schemes demonstrate what can really make a small project sing: it’s about material choices, attention to detail and a good understanding of the social and environmental issues within each site-specific context. 

From community hubs, to city benches, to carefully crafted domestic extensions: ‘these schemes may have been designed on a budget,’ Fran writes, ‘but they give back, to the communities and sites that they have been created for.’

Tight budgets might be particularly evident within the smallest of projects – but they crystallise a wider issue facing the profession. Budgetary pressures bear down like never before, and architects are having to be increasingly nimble and creative in their approaches. 

These pressures also face those who have ‘jumped the fence’ to go client-side. In our inspiring news feature (by Richard Waite and Anna Highfield) we hear in-depth about four career-changing journeys – and how many of our interviewees have found new opportunities from constraints.

‘It’s such a shift in mindset,’ says Charlie Caswell of design-led development company Caswell&Dainow. ‘You have got to be patient, and there’s luck and skill and networking involved.’ However, he adds: ‘As long as you can put a planning application together … there are some tiny pockets of land in London that, if you’re really clever, do work.’

So … embrace the small! AJ Small Projects has been going for an incredible 29 years. Our thanks go out to our longstanding sponsor Marley, to our wonderful judges – and to all those who have entered. We look forward to celebrating the winners with you.