Joe Morris: The Craft of Urgency
Schedule
Mon Apr 13 2026 at 06:30 pm to 08:15 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Temple Bar | London, EN
About this Event
A reflection by Joe Morris, CEO, Morris + Company, on the evolution of contemporary architectural practice shaped by two turbulent decades - and the renewed need for urgency.
Spanning a 23-year career of championing good practice, Morris will explore the evolving practice of architecture in the 21st century, an era defined by the Anthropocene, climate catastrophes, broken politics and social injustices.
Through the agency of contemporary architectural practice, he will discuss the value of collaboration and co-design; celebrating both the ordinary and the extraordinary; championing collective urgency, pride and generosity in design; 'embodied effort' and 'embodied culture'.
Morris will set out the case for every practice to fully invest in research and innovation and to prioritise the power of narrative in crafting places people want to live and thrive in - emphasising 'making' as the most acute problem-solving tool. He recognises the real need for optimism in architectural practice, nurtured through intelligence and collective responsibility.
Joe Morris is an architect spearheading Morris+Company across two studios, one in Hackney, the other in Copenhagen. In a career spanning more than 30 years of professional practice which has achieved international recognition, Morris has increasingly advocated a sense of urgency for fair and transparent practice, inclusivity and equality, through open dialogue and critical debate, whilst encouraging the broader company to take ownership of projects and develop their own careers and interests.
He has represented the practice on a global platform, lecturing on the studio's work in leading UK universities, in Barcelona, Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Liege and Romania.
Morris has taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture, the Universidad de Navvara in Pamplona and La Salle School of Architecture in Barcelona and has been a visiting examiner at Plymouth and Oxford Brookes universities. He is a founding participant in Londonon, a global self-initiated ted research programme exploring a world view on cities across Europe and has also contributed to a number of local authority design review panels including Lewisham, Brent, Hackney, Southwark and Islington.
Morris+Company was recently included on the AJ100 definitive record of the UK’s largest architecture practices, and its direction and governance is a shared endeavour across the director team and beyond. Accordingly, each member plays a vital part in driving the practice to achieve exemplary service and output. Morris believes in the potential for a more compassionate, sustainable global economy and seeks to raise awareness of interdependent global issues whilst following a strict vegan philosophical attitude to life.
Resource links:
Morris+Co: https://www.morrisand.company/
Joe Morris on LinkedIn and Morris+Company on Instagram:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-morris-b969591b?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/morrisand.company?igsh=MXEzNTZsb2xkeXNvZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qtr
The talk is chaired by Lucy Bullivant Hon FRIBA, Trustee, Temple Bar Trust.
Please note: Temple Bar will be open for ticket holders from 18:05, please arrive in good time to be checked in and seated by 18:20. Our public talks start at promptly at 18:30.
Where is it happening?
Temple Bar, First Floor, Paternoster Lodge, London, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 16.96
