Mae News

251007 Messums

Messum's Architecture symposium 'Housing and Homes' Practice News

Mæ Director Alex Ely is a guest speaker at the annual Messums architectural symposium on Saturday 4th October.

Taking place in the thirteenth-century tithe barn at Messums West, Tisbury the event looks at the positive impact of innovation in construction and design in confronting some of the many challenges we face in contemporary society. It will consider how thinking differently can present new solutions to old problems and look at how imaginative architectural solutions can help shape our everyday lives.

October 2025 Read more
1826 N115 Maeweb

Noele Gordon House shortlisted for three major awards Project Update

We are delighted that Noele Gordon House, our later living scheme in Newham designed for Populo, has been shortlisted for three major awards. Noele Gordon House combines a 1,650 sqm community health centre with two buildings containing 75 affordable one and two bedroom homes for later living. It regenerates a brownfield site and gives a new sense of purpose to this part of a busy high street. The awards are:

RICS Awards 2025 shortlist for Best residential development, winners will be announced on 16th October

Inside Housing Development Awards 2025 shortlist for Best supported housing development, to be announced on 25th November.

Housebuilder Awards 2025 shortlist for Best retirement scheme, to be announced on 6th November

October 2025
1901 N7 Maeweb

Agar Grove Phase 1c shortlisted for British Homes Award Project Update

Our latest phase of Agar Grove regeneration for the London Borough of Camden has been shortlisted in the British Homes Awards 2025 for Sustainable development of the year.

Designed as part of a larger masterplan in collaboration with Hawkins\Brown Phase 1c comprises two buildings. One is designed by Mæ and the other by Hawkins\Brown, which together deliver 125 one, two and three bedroom flats and two-storey, two bed maisonettes (plus one three-bed wheelchair accessible maisonette) for social and intermediate rent, and private sale.

The new buildings are designed, built and certified to Passivhaus standards, reducing carbon emissions in use by reducing energy for heating and cooling to maintain comfortable temperatures in the building throughout the year.

October 2025 Read more
251002 Bsa 3

Boston Society for Architecture Talk Practice News

Director Alex Ely will be joining the Boston Society of Architects on the 2nd October to explore the impact of the London Housing Design Guide on regulation and policy in the UK; and how those lessons can translate to Boston.

Alex will speak alongside Kate Rushe and Sam Naylor of Boston housing architects Utile and Karl Heckmaev from the Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing who will talk about its own design guide for affordable projects, and give context to incoming Boston guides as well.

September 2025 Read more
250923 Yale

Yale School of Architecture Environmental Design lecture Practice News

Alex Ely will be delivering a lecture at the Yale School of Architecture on the 23rd September on the subject 'Towards a Resilient Architecture'.

The lecture is for MArch Students on the Environmental Design course. The course examines how the design of buildings in the 21st century are linked to ecological health, indoor environmental health and carbon life cycles. Across all three areas, students examine key ecological theory and principles, bioclimatic design across various climate contexts and thermal comfort standards; followed by an introduction to fundamental scientific principles governing the design and control of thermal, luminous, and acoustic environments of buildings.

September 2025 Read more
250929 Built By Nature

Sands End Arts & Community Centre shortlisted for Built by Nature 2025 Award Project Update

The 2025 Built by Nature Prize celebrates excellence in timber building projects which demonstrate alignment with the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction in completed and in-use projects – including new builds, renovations, and significant extensions.

We are delighted that our Sands End Arts & Community Centre has been included in this years shortlist. Winners will be announced on 16th October

September 2025 Read more
250716 Building Southwark Duotone

Building Southwark Architecture and Regeneration in a London Borough Practice News

This comprehensive and fully illustrated book describes more than 50 projects that have been built in Southwark in the new millennium, and features Mæ's Harriet Hardy House. Mæ's extra-care housing scheme is including alongside such well-known landmarks as the extension to Tate Modern, the Shard and the redeveloped London Bridge station, as well as diverse social, cultural, healthcare and education projects.

The renowned architecture writer and critic Kenneth Powell continues the story of one of Britain's most dynamic and successful areas of regeneration. While this architectural and urban renaissance – which began in the 1980s – is evident most publicly along the south bank of the Thames, it extends through the borough, from Walworth to Peckham and from Bermondsey to Dulwich. Its impact can be seen in the creation of cultural venues, the revival of industrial spaces for residential and commercial use and shared working, and the generation of a wealth of stunning new – and already iconic – projects.

July 2025 Read More
250429 Mo H Duotone

Alex Ely appointed Chair of the Museum of the Home Practice News

Mæ Founder Director Alex Ely has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as Chair of the Museum of the Home.

The Museum of the Home reveals stories of home life, past, present and future. Its vision is to inspire everyone to explore the meaning of home through our exhibitions, displays, programming and online content. No other museum in the country specialises in this particular aspect of our national heritage.

Since re-opening in 2021, following an £18.8m refurbishment, Museum of the Home is realising its vision to encourage and challenge different ways of thinking about domestic life today with stories that reveal and rethink the ways we live, to help us live better together.

The Museum's main funder is the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The Museum of the Home is a specialist museum, located in Hoxton, London. It has outstanding collections, and engaging displays covering 400 years of the history of the UK home, and is set in beautiful buildings and gardens. It enjoys a reputation for high-quality learning and engagement programmes and is known as one of London’s most friendly and welcoming museums.

April 2025 Read more
250402 Barbican Section

The dialectic between modernism and tradition in the work of Mæ Practice News

Director Alex Ely will be giving a talk about the links between modernism and tradition in the work of Mæ for Docomomo UK on 8th April 2025 19.00-21.00 at the Alan Baxter Associates Gallery, 75 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL.

At the fascinating intersection of modernist innovation and historical continuity, Mæ's architectural practice weaves a compelling narrative of urban evolution. Drawing inspiration from Frederick Gibberd's revolutionary new town paradigms, the ground breaking spatial compositions in postwar social housing, the humanist approaches of Alvar Aalto and the social consciousness of Bruno Taut, this discourse explores the delicate balance between progress and heritage. At its heart, this exploration reveals how Mæ is forging a new path in sustainable and socially responsible design. Their work demonstrates how architecture can simultaneously honour its modernist inheritance while addressing our most pressing contemporary concerns: environmental sustainability, social equity, and cultural enrichment.

For tickets follow the link below:

April 2025 Read more