Whilst enjoying time away in Seville, Richard reflects on his field sketches and the small lessons they have taught him.
"Following my visit to the Álvaro Siza archive exhibition in Madrid, I was inspired to undertake a few field sketches of my own on recent travels.
During my recent visit to Seville, I visited the Museo de Bella Artes. Known as the most important fine art museum in Seville and Andalusia, with one website saying it is the 2nd most important museum in Spain.
Surrounded by Spanish masterpieces from the Golden Age of Sevillian painting, I picked up the sketchbook and started to capture the top floor of the museum (architects never truly rest!).
Sketching is a way of slowing down and really seeing the space: how light interacts with it, the shifting in scales from room to room, and seeing how visitors interact and use the space. A quick sketch can capture a sense of place that photographs can miss.
Sometimes inspiration doesn’t always come to us at the drawing table; it can be found in the quiet corner or the intricate detailing found on the walls and ceilings of a museum. Each moment feeds into our own creative process in subtle but lasting ways."
Following my visit to the Álvaro Siza archive exhibition in Madrid, I was inspired to undertake a few field sketches of my own on recent travels.
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Whilst on a short break to Madrid to catch up with university friends, Richard visited the School of Architecture to check out the Álvaro Siza archive that was on show. The exhibition occupies the ground and lower ground floors of the school, acting also as a shop window to the hipster area of Chueca. It’s a spectacular location for students and captures the footfall of passing tourists and local artisans.
The exhibition focuses on an essential part of Alvaro Siza’s archive, the exploration of his many sketchbooks, providing the opportunity to view them in alternating perspectives. Despite many projects never seeing the light of day or being altered over time, their original forms are recovered within this space.
Spanning ninety works, the patterns that are repeated, transformed, and interact with each other over the years are identified: light, water, spaces of convergence and anticipation, and curvature, revealing the way Siza sustains his way of thinking and practising architecture.
He witnessed several students, and local architects, replicating Siza's sketches. In an era where AI can generate multiple images in seconds, Richard recounted it felt incredibly refreshing to see slow architecture and what he likes to call HI (Human Intelligence) in practice: people taking their time to convey complex ideas and features through the medium of sketching.
Richard could’ve spent hours in the exhibition, but his friends and family reminded him that dinner was waiting.
Whilst on a short break to Madrid to catch up with university friends, Richard visited the School of Architecture to see the Álvaro Siza archive that was on show.
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Richard will be speaking at the Liverpool Waterfront Development Conference.
The title of his talk will be Waterfronts as Urban Accelerators: Crafting Clear, Achievable Visions for Post-Industrial Docks.
BACA architects shows opportunities for new floating corporate entertainment and a floating fanzone at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium with the attached picture.
We will also showcase the new floating Lido proposed for Queens Dock that has recently received pre-application planning support, subject to details from Liverpool City Council & Canal and Rivers Trust.
Abstract:
This paper examines the potential of post-industrial waterfronts in driving urban regeneration, stressing the need for clear, actionable planning visions beyond iconic architecture and heritage reuse. As cities around the world grapple with challenges of urbanisation, climate change, and housing shortages, disused docks, harbours, and waterfronts present unique opportunities to reimagine urban living in dynamic, water-integrated environments.
The research analyses various waterfront typologies: riverfronts, harbours, docks, canals, each with distinct spatial and historic identities. Through international case studies, including HafenCity in Hamburg, Chelsea Piers in New York, and the Royal Docks and Merwehaven in London and Rotterdam, it explores how successful regeneration is linked to multifunctional design, physical and sensory engagement with water, and resilient infrastructure.
Special focus is given to Rotterdam’s goal of delivering 70,000 new homes by 2040, illustrating pioneering floating development, climate adaptation, and innovative public-private ecosystems. These projects challenge conventional planning by prioritising water activation over land infill. Key findings suggest that effective waterfront regeneration depends on five interlinked components: active public realm, adaptable water uses, resilient flood strategies, functional mixed-use development, and strong engagement with water. Floating infrastructure, cultural anchors, and integrated ecological design (like bio-solar roofs) emerge as essential for combining urban density with environmental sustainability. Ultimately, this thesis argues that water should be treated not as a boundary but as a catalyst for inclusive, resilient, and vibrant urban futures – both on land and on water.
The title of his talk will be 'Waterfronts as Urban Accelerators: Crafting Clear, Achievable Visions for Post-Industrial Docks.'
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Richard Coutts recently participated in Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme in India to examine how flood-resilient design can support the future of Chennai and Coimbatore. The visit highlighted the opportunities that climate-vulnerable cities hold for advancing climate-resilient architecture.
During the programme, the delegation met with leading organisations, including the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai and the Chennai Resilience Centre. These discussions focused on how governance, innovation, and sustainable urban development in India are shaping the country’s rapidly evolving metropolitan regions. Visits to the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Integrated Command and Control Centre and the IIT Madras Research Park further demonstrated how technology is transforming city systems.
A notable highlight of the trip was meeting ‘rain studio of design’ and experiencing their breakthrough 3D-printed guest house at IIT Madras. The project showcases how sustainable construction technology can merge with visionary architectural approaches, offering new pathways for resilient building in flood-risk environments.
The delegation concluded in Coimbatore at the StartupTN Global Startup Summit, an event that brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, and policymakers committed to advancing smart city innovation in India. The summit underscored the country’s ambition to accelerate clean-tech adoption and future-ready urban design.
India’s rapidly urbanising landscape faces mounting climate pressures, particularly from flooding, a key threat to achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Through these engagements, we found strong alignment between their long-standing expertise in flood-resilient design and the pressing needs of India’s cities.
On LinkedIn, Richard emphasised that the experience reinforced BACA’s mission to design places that are not only beautiful, but resilient, regenerative, and prepared for a changing climate.
Richard Coutts recently participated in Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme in India to examine how flood-resilient design can support the future of Chennai and Coimbatore.
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As part of the InnovateUK Urban Centre Contingency, we recently visited Chennai’s Command and Control Centre (CCC) in southern India. Located beside the iconic neoclassical Ripon Building, the seat of the Greater Chennai Corporation, the CCC offers a fascinating glimpse into how technology is reshaping city management.
Chennai, formerly known as Madras until 1996, is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, India’s southernmost state. Though it covers a similar area to Leeds, Chennai’s population exceeds 12 million. Managing such a dense and fast-growing metropolis demands data-driven precision, and the CCC is central to that effort.
The CCC provides a nationwide view of ICT infrastructure and monitors critical government services. Its customised Network Management System (NMS) dashboard delivers live data on road traffic, waste collection, births and deaths, electricity distribution, and, of relevance to our visit, rainfall and flooding. Application Performance Management (APM) tools further ensure the reliability and performance of vital systems.
During our visit, officials demonstrated how real-time weather and flood data inform rapid municipal responses. A network of weather stations and cameras feeds live information into dashboards that cross-reference historic trends with new data. This enables dynamic management, such as accelerating waste collection in flood-prone areas, to mitigate risk during heavy rainfall.
Flooding remains one of Chennai’s greatest challenges. Experts at the Tamil Nadu Land Use 2025 conference have noted that recurring floods are not acts of nature alone, but consequences of rapid urbanisation and fragmented planning. V. Thiruppugazh, Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Mitigation of Floods, recalled that in 2019 Chennai was close to “Day Zero,” yet suffered major floods in 2015, 2021, and 2023, an indication of the city’s fragile water balance. Encouragingly, citizen groups such as Chitlapakkam Rising are helping restore water bodies and local resilience.
We also visited IIT Madras, home to India’s top engineering students, where teams are developing technologies from anaerobic digesters that treat waste more efficiently to India’s first functioning hyperloop prototype. These innovations reflect the city’s growing technical capacity and creativity.It was a privilege to experience the CCC in operation. The centre exemplifies how data, infrastructure, and human insight can combine to manage complex urban systems. Chennai’s investment in digital governance and its collaboration with institutions like IIT Madras demonstrate a city rushing toward smarter, cleaner, and more resilient urban living.
As part of the InnovateUK Urban Centre Contingency, we recently visited Chennai’s Command and Control Centre (CCC) in southern India.
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Richard has been invited to speak at the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit during my upcoming visit to India with the Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP).
The Summit offers a valuable platform for connecting with a diverse range of governmental bodies, developers, consultants, and fellow architects, fostering new partnerships and collaborations. As India’s cities rapidly evolve, we am excited to share my expertise in flood resilience, climate adaptation, and sustainable design.
We look forward to meeting new partners, strengthening global connections, and exploring opportunities that emerge through this visit.
If you will be attending TNGSS2025 or are based in Chennai or Coimbatore, please do get in touch – we would be delighted to meet you.
Richard has been invited to speak at the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit during my upcoming visit to India with the Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP).
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