Welcome to Mae

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.

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.

Our Agar Grove project is featured in ‘Dual Cities – Social Housing in London + New York’ – a new RIBA book supported by AIA New York Chapter, authored by Paul Karakusevic and Mike Althorpe. The book also includes an essay by Director Alex Ely 'London Dwelling Standards- Enabling the Equitable City'.

The book explores social housing design and delivery through the parallel experiences of London and New York

Opening up a new global dialogue and offering a practical guide to the past, present and future of housing, Dual Cities features commentary pieces from experts on both sides of the Atlantic unlocking policy and delivery mechanisms and includes 40 illustrated historic and contemporary housing case studies from a range of practices in both cities.

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:

Mæ Associate Payal Ceurvels has been invited to join the judging panel for this year's 'Inside Housing Development Awards'.

The Inside Housing Development Awards celebrate the UK’s most outstanding residential developments over the past year, highlighting the innovation and resilience driving the sector forward. With governments across the UK focused on increasing delivery, the Inside Housing Development Awards flag the schemes and teams crucial to success: delivering quality, sustainable housing and transforming communities.

Founder Director Alex Ely has been interviewed for Studio International magazine.

Studio was first published in April 1893 under the title The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art. It rapidly established itself as one of the most successful fine art periodicals in the English-speaking world.

Among others, it featured the work of the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley and the architects Charles Rennie Mackintosh and CFA Voysey.

In the interview with Veronica Simpson, Alex explores the secret to making buildings that other architects admire and envy, but which are dedicated to the greater good.