This year Unit 12, led by Peter St John, investigated the theme of Second Life, in the context of the design of buildings. Based on the belief that almost everything can have a second life, the project intends to address London's pressing need for more housing and the complex solutions for the shortage of land. The proposals for the reuse and densification of existing post-war housing stock in South London show how this can be a better solution than redevelopment.
The action of reuse in which discarded materials and objects are rearranged for alternative purposes, offers more possibilities for personal and communal involvement in the quality of the dwelling within its specific location. As designers, we were looking at how this very human and personal accumulation of material, and the managing of resources generally, can be given architectural meaning.
Our interest was wider than the theme of Reuse and also addressed the broader question of a Renewal of our approach to construction, how construction can be less energy-demanding, moving towards a future where buildings are indivisible components of a regenerating ecological system. The basic nature of the materials used, and the limited energy required in their transformation, was also critical for the student projects to be an effective alternative to the social and economic forces that have led to our problematic present.
Unit 12 is led by Peter St John together with James Hand, Fabienne Sommer, and Ben Speltz—Associates from Caruso St John's London office.
Images below © Jacob Ashton and Eleanor Caitlin
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Lecture
What’s next for our existing buildings?
RIBA and VitrA talks
Great Hall at Barts North Wing, St Bartholomew’s Hospital
12th May, 2026
Our director Ben Speltz will give a talk as part of this year's RIBA x Vitra Talks series. He will discuss the practice's approach to working with existing buildings, drawing on a range of projects such as: Hospitalfield Arts, a complex amalgam of medieval buildings in Scotland; Düngerbau, an old chemical factory converted into workspace; and Royal Belge, a sixties office building transformed into a mixed-use program of restaurant, hotel and gym.
Conference
ARCH-E x ACE: Architectural Design Competitions
Keynote by Adam Caruso
The Mix Brussels
23rd April, 2026
The ARCH-E Consortium and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) are organizing a conference on Architectural Design Competitions (ADCs). The program includes a keynote lecture by Adam Caruso at the start of the day, followed by panel discussions with European practitioners and policymakers as well as workshops and presentations on key topics in the field.
Teaching
ETH Zürich Final Review
The Pleasure in Small Things
ETH Zürich, ONA E30, Switzerland
16.12.2025
The Pleasure in Small Things: Final discussions and exhibition
On Tuesday 16th of December, the students from Studio Adam Caruso at ETH Zurich present their final projects to a panel of guest critics including Monster Chetwynd, Pierre Chèvremont, Tuukka Laurila and Nora Walter.
Adam Caruso will present a lecture on Art Spaces at Malmö Konsthall as part of the institution’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Lecture
Reflections on Architecture:
Architecture in the UK
Faculty of Architecture and Design STU, Bratislava, Slovakia
3rd November 2025
Adam Caruso will give a lecture on the work of the practice at the FAD STU in Bratislava, as part of the Reflections on Architecture series, which this year focuses on the contemporary English architectural scene.
Peter St John will be the keynote speaker at the annual Solemn Opening Ceremony of the Order of Architects in Belgium. He will discuss Caruso St John’s work on transforming existing buildings in Europe.
Peter St John will be the keynote speaker at THFxDenkmalwerkstatt conference on the conservation management of Tempelhof Airport and will present examples of good practice in working with heritage and existing buildings.
In this lecture, Adam Caruso will ask whether architecture has the capacity to attend to wider forms of value, less obvious than financial ones, but with longer and more complex histories. Can an architectural project recall the social histories of a site, can it transform existing material and energy into something surprising and relevant. Can architecture once again provide a bridge between the physical and cultural qualities of contemporary society.
How is the practice and education of architecture changing to meet the challenges of the moment? Peter St John and his teaching partner Amy Grounsell (Flimsy Works, Tonkin Liu) will be speaking about how new and established practices are changing their approaches in response to the climate crisis.
Lecture
All Buildings Are Beautiful
Museum of Contemporary Art in Warsaw
Warsaw, Poland
5th January 2025
Adam Caruso will give a lecture on the practice's recent work with existing buildings, and how the contemporary necessity for architecture to embrace circularity requires that we find new kinds of beauty in the world around us.
Rod Heyes will be leading the Architectural Association's new Conservation and Reuse Diploma Studio alongside Amendine Kastler of Oslo-based Kastler Skjeseth Architects.
As part of the IEA Practice What we Teach? Lecture Series at ETH Zurich, Adam Caruso will discuss Caruso St John's long history of working with existing buildings, from its modestly scaled early work to large-scale recent projects.