Mobile Studio Architects

Written by Chee-Kit Lai, director of Mobile Studio Architects (28 Oct)

Mobile Studio has been invited by Blueprint Magazine to ‘Look Again’ at redesigning old-fashioned British road signs. The results have been published in the Oct issue and will also be exhibited at 100% Design together with other contributions by The Partners, Pentagram, Tomato, Postler Ferguson, Noma Bar and Pete Fowler (22 – 25 Sep)

Mobile Studio Architects shortlisted for 2017 Blueprint Award (Best Small Project category). Winner to be announced in Oct. See: Universal Play Machine for BEAM Camp (8 Sep)

4-day Architecture Workshop at RIBA entitled ‘Skill Up: Skyline Style War’ designed by Mobile Studio for ages 15 – 18 years old who are thinking about studying architecture or design. The workshop is held in conjunction with ‘Mies Stirling Circling the Square‘ exhibition (15 – 18 Apr)

Bartlett students past and present reflect on our 2020 Summer Show and the challenges and successes of an extraordinary year for the school. See the video online. See The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 (24 Nov)

Chee-Kit Lai, director of Mobile Studio Architects, appointed Acting Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (Oct 2018 – Jun 2019)

Shortlisted. Mobile Studio’s design for North Lodge Gallery (for UCL Museums and Collections) has been shortlisted from nearly 200 entries. Prizes will be announced in Feb (27 Jan)

Mobile Studio’s design for North Lodge Gallery (UCL Museums and Collections) in an exhibition to showcase AJ’s recognition of the ‘best architecture built for a contract value of less than £250,000’ at NLA Building Centre (10 Feb – 9 Mar)

RIBA Regent St Windows TALK at the Apple Store Regent St, 7pm Tue (16 Sep)

Exhibition design by Mobile Studio Architects, curated by Edward Denison and Chee-Kit Lai with Patrick Weber, and filming by Xin Zhan and VR by Edward Taft shortlisted for Archiboo Web Awards 2019 “Best Use of Technology” category. Winners to be announced mid-Sep. See Bartlett, UCL – Spring 2019 Guest Exhibition (23 Jul)

Join Mobile Studio Architects at RIBA for a series of quick-fire live drawing workshops. Each session lasts 30 minutes. Working in pairs, one of you will dress up in architectural clothing and pose for your partner to draw. After 15 minutes, you will swap over and draw your posing partner instead (28 Oct)

Mobile Studio + M.Butcher/P.Richards presents new show ‘Ways of World Making’ at Swiss Gallery (8 Jun – 21 Jul)

Mobile Studio Architects collaborated with attRAct to run an architectural workshop for A-level students from various London schools (Jan)

Mobile Studio Architects delivers a 3-day architecture workshop for students between 15-18 years old. See 3-day Architecture Workshop ‘Skill Up’ (17 – 19 Feb)

Mobile Studio Architects collaborated with attRAct to run a series of architectural workshops in conjunction with Sensing Spaces exhibition in the main galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts (Jan – Mar)

Mobile Studio Architects is pleased to announce our model ‘Planning Permission Granted (2010-15)‘ currently on display at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition has been awarded The ARUP Prize for Emerging Talent in Architecture. We have been invited to talk about the work in the Main Galleries (15 Jul)

Mobile Studio designs and runs architecture workshop for A-level students as part of the attRAct at Royal Academy of Arts architecture programme. See video (3rd down) link here (25 Jan)

The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 virtual exhibition by Hello Monday has been shortlisted for Archiboo Web Awards (Best Visual Design), won FWA (Site of the Month) and Awwwards (Site of the Day). See The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 (2 Oct)

Mobile Studio designs the Surreal Garden to Barbican Art Gallery’s current show + curates a late night art + architecture event with invited special guests (22 Jul)

Mobile Studio presents 3 slides in 3 minutes with 300 words (21 Mar)

A panel discussion about the experience of home, identity and the everyday in relation to the annual theme of ‘Resource’. This year, Many landmark exhibitions — ‘Dancing Before The Moon’ in the British Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2023,  the UK’s first permanent South Asia Gallery in Manchester Museum, ‘A Home is not a Place’ at the Photographers Gallery, and ‘Feeding Black: Community, Power & Place’ at the Museum of London — have turned to material culture and practices of the everyday to explore diasporic senses of home, roots, and identity in the UK. This panel addresses the annual theme of ‘Resource’ as the construction of one’s home or as a return to the resilient source of the everyday. This event is part of the inaugural CRUNCH Series at The Bartlett School of Architecture, replacing the International Lecture Series (5 Dec)

The virtual Bartlett Summer Show 2020 designed by Hello Monday in collaboration with The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL has been nominated for The Webby Awards. See The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 (18 May)

The virtual Bartlett Summer Show 2020 designed by Hello Monday in collaboration with The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL has been nominated in the Digital Design category at the prestigious D&AD Awards. See The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 (18 May)

Exhibition design by Mobile Studio Architects of Lin’an History Museum (by Wang Shu + Lu Wenyu) published on Dezeen. See Bartlett UCL Spring 2019 Guest Exhibition (11 Mar)

Mobile Studio interview by Katie Puckett, Building Design (Sep)

Design competition for a collaborative large scale installation to be built by a unique youth summer camp in New Hampshire, USA. See: Universal Play Machine (9 Feb)

Mobile Studio Architects for Lightbulb. Photography by Jim Stephenson (13 Jul)

Student work from Mobile Studio’s teaching unit (BSc Unit 9) at theBartlett School of Architecture, UCL will be featured in a group exhibition at Sugarhouse Studios, London E15 as part of London Festival of Architecture 2012. The event is organised by Colin Priest and is supported by Blueprint Magazine (21 Jun – 8 July)

Mobile Studio Architects collaborates with NLA + Hidden Cities to design Store Street Shindig for Bloomsbury Festival 2012 (21 Oct)

Mobile Studio on the front page of Blueprint magazine (Apr)

Mobile Studio’s Paper City proposal in Blueprint Magazine (Feb)

Mobile Studio’s BSc student Nada Tayeb (from Unit 9 at The Bartlett, UCL) is featured in Blueprint’s review article (20 Jul)

Art + architecture group show curated by Sarah Williams (Jun)

Mobile Studio’s teaching BSc Unit 9 show space at The Bartlett, UCL featured (9 Jul)

Mobile Studio Architects will transform part of the museum allowing visitors to explore objects including an x-ray of Sigmund Freud’s head, a cat skeleton to ward off evil spirits, a skull shaped candle made for Marilyn Manson’s wedding, a contemporary apothecary jar showing the effects of syphilis on bone, cutting edge medical bone imaging and Florence Nightingale’s pet tortoise ‘Jimmy’ (19 Jul – 31 Aug)

Journalist Charlie Gates reviews ‘The New Jerwood Museum’ exhibition (5 Aug)

Chee-Kit Lai (director of Mobile Studio) teaches with Juliet Quintero on the at CSM (1 – 19 July)

Mobile Studio’s lecture in Moscow (21 Jan)

Mobile Studio + Tate Modern Raw Canvas presents new film work at Centre Pompidou (Nov)

Chee-Kit Lai from Mobile Studio Architects appointed as Co-Director of Architecture BSc (Part 1) programme at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (28 Mar)

Chee-Kit Lai (acting Director of Exhibitions at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL) delivers the Bartlett FIFTEEN show, celebrating 15 months of innovation, process and interactivity by 3 Masters programmes: Design for Manufacture, Design for Interactive and Performance and Situated Practice #BartlettFifteen (4 – 13 Dec)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver the Bartlett Fifteen 2023. See The Bartlett Fifteen Show 2023 (8 – 22 Dec)

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio has been appointed as an Associate Professor (teaching) at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (1 Oct)

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio Architects, as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, delivers The Bartlett B-Pro Show 2019 at 22 Gordon Street, London (25 Sep – 4 Oct)

Showcasing the architectural work of nearly 900 students, The Bartlett Summer Show 2024 will be exhibited across all seven levels throughout the Bloomsbury campus at 22 Gordon Street, London. Featuring student projects from five architecture programmes – Architecture BSc, Architecture MSci, Architecture MArch, Architectural & Interdisciplinary Studies BSc and Engineering & Architectural Design MEng. The work can also be viewed online. The show will be officially opened by Narinder Sagoo MBE, senior partner at Foster & Partners (21 Jun – 6 Jul)

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio Architects, as first time Director of Exhibitions, delivers the biggest show of its kind – The Bartlett Summer Show 2019 at 22 Gordon Street, London (22 Jun – 6 Jul)

The first full return of the The Bartlett B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2023 will be exhibited across five levels throughout the Bloomsbury campus at 22 Gordon Street, London. Featuring student projects from six different programmes – Architectural Computation MSc & MRes, Architectural Design MArch, Bio-Integrated Design MArch & MSc, Urban Design MArch, Architecture & Historic Urban Environments MA, Landscape Architecture MA & MLA. Work can also be viewed on Bartlett’s award-winning virtual exhibition platform (26 Sep – 6 Oct)

Showcasing the architectural work of nearly 900 students, The Bartlett Summer Show 2023 will be exhibited across all seven levels throughout the Bloomsbury campus at 22 Gordon Street, London. Featuring student projects from five architecture programmes – Architecture BSc, Architecture MSci, Architecture MArch, Architectural & Interdisciplinary Studies BSc and Engineering & Architectural Design MEng. A parallel digital show will run concurrently on the Bartlett’s award-winning virtual exhibition platform (23 Jun – 8 Jul)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver hybrid The Bartlett PhD Research Projects 2023. The seventeenth annual exhibition by doctoral students at The Bartlett School of Architecture. The groundbreaking digital platform is developed by Hello Monday, with a physical show on the ground floor galleries at 22 Gordon Street, London (21 Feb – 7 Mar)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver hybrid The Bartlett PhD Research Projects 2024. The eighteenth annual exhibition by doctoral students at The Bartlett School of Architecture. The groundbreaking digital platform is developed by Hello Monday, with a physical show on the ground floor galleries at 22 Gordon Street, London, plus a special tribute to Prof Jonathan Hill (1958-2023) (20 Feb – 5 Mar)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver the second digital B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2021. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday in collaboration with staff and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. B-Pro Show features architecture projects from four programmes, Architectural Design MArch, Urban Design MArch, Architectural Computation MArch and Bio-Integrated Design MArch/MSc. Autumn Show features work from two programmes, Landscape Architecture MA/MLA and Architecture + Historic Urban Environments MA. See The Bartlett B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2021 (29 Oct – 13 Nov)

+ You are invited to join us for the launch events on Fri 27 Nov, 12noon and 1pm GMT on BSA YouTube. No registration required.

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver the second hybrid Bartlett show, hosted online and in person simultaneously. See The Bartlett B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2022 (27 Sep – 7 Oct)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver the third hybrid Bartlett show hosted online and in person simultaneously. See The Bartlett Fifteen Show 2022 (9 -23 Dec)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver not one but two virtual shows, The Bartlett B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2020. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday in collaboration with staff and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. B-Pro Show features architecture projects from four programmes, Architectural Design MArch, Urban Design MArch, Architectural Computation MArch and Bio-Integrated Design MArch/MSc. Autumn Show features work from two programmes, Landscape Architecture MA/MLA and Architecture + Historic Urban Environments MA. See The Bartlett B-Pro + Autumn Shows 2020 (27 Nov – 11 Dec)

+ You are invited to join us for the launch events on Fri 27 Nov, 12noon and 1pm GMT on BSA YouTube. No registration required.

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver The Bartlett PhD Research Projects 2021. The fifteenth annual conference and exhibition presented by doctoral students at The Bartlett School of Architecture. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday (23 Feb – 9 Mar)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver The Bartlett PhD Research Projects 2022. The sixteenth annual conference and exhibition presented by doctoral students at The Bartlett School of Architecture. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday (22 Feb – 8 Mar)

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver in response to the global pandemic the first ever virtual end of year Summer Show. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday in collaboration with staff and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. The virtual show features architecture projects from over 700 students across four different programmes. The online format focuses on students’ voice and recreates the immersive qualities of visiting the galleries at 22 Gordon Street, London. See The Bartlett Summer Show 2020 (10 Sep – 2 Oct)

+ You are invited to join us for the launch event on Thu 10 Sep, 6pm BST live on BSA YouTube with a very special Show Opener. No registration required.

Chee-Kit Lai (of Mobile Studio Architects) has been working as Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL to deliver the second virtual end of year Summer Show. The groundbreaking platform is developed by Hello Monday in collaboration with staff and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. The virtual show features architecture projects from over 800 students across five different programmes. Show trailer by Matt Lucraft and sound by Kevin Pollard. Also launching at the same time The Bartlett Show Index on shows.bartlettarchucl.com where visitors can browse past shows (23 Jul – 7 Aug)

+ You are invited to join us for the launch event on Fri 23 Jul, 6pm BST live on BSA YouTube. No registration required.

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio judges Archiboo Awards 2021 – Best Online Experience category with Vanessa Norwood and Adam Scott (1 Oct)

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio Architects delivers The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL showcase at Blueprint for the Future exhibition held at USM London showroom. Eight of the best graduating MArch projects from the Bartlett Summer Show have been selected by Blueprint Magazine. Featuring work by Naomi Rubbra, Niki-Marie Jansson, Nicole Yu Xuan Teh, Naomi De Barr, Emily Martin, Finbar Charleson, Alessandro Conning-Rowland and Alistair Frederick Johnson  (9 – 11 Jul)

Mobile Studio Architects designs Mirare Maze Folly for Clerkenwell Design Week 2013 (21 – 23 May)

Mobile Studio Architect’s winning proposal, Universal Play Machine, for BEAM Camp 2016 has been installed on site in New Hampshire USA. Watch the film here (3 Oct)

Mobile Studio’s Architecture Workshop for A-Level Students’ for attRAct/Royal Academy of Arts + Sensing Spaces has been featured online DesignCurial / Blueprint Magazine (3 Apr)

Mobile Studio Architects collaborates with DeMagazine at DesignJunction event for London Design Festival 2012 (19 – 23 Sep)

Mobile Studio Architects hosted two digital architecture design workshops for young people working in collaboration with Create! at Victoria & Albert Museum. See: Digital Architecture Workshops (27 Feb)

New exhibition ‘Incomplete House’ opens (8 Apr)

Chee-Kit Lai (acting Director of Exhibitions at The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL) delivers the inaugural Bartlett Winter Show entitled FIFTEEN, celebrating 15 months of innovation, process and interactivity by 3 new Masters programmes: Design for Manufacture, Design for Interactive and Performance and Situated Practice #BartlettFifteen (11 Dec – 11 Jan)

Loft House designed by Mobile Studio Architects has been longlisted for Don’t Move Improve! 2018 awards (25 Jan)

‘House for a House‘ project by director Chee-Kit Lai has been published in Drawing Futures (ed Laura Allen and Luke Pearson) an international peer-reviewed conference on speculative drawing for art and architecture, founded by the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (11 Nov)

The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources (15 Feb)

Exhibition design by Mobile Studio Architects for ‘Building Images‘, an exhibition at Sto Werkstatt gallery of the best architectural photography worldwide that was judged at the World Architectural Festival 2017. See: Building Images (9 Feb – 27 Apr)

Exhibition design and graphics by Mobile Studio Architects for The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL Spring 2019 Guest Exhibition entitled, ‘Lin’an History Museum: Wang Shu + Lu Wenyu‘. The exhibition was co-curated by Dr Edward Denison and Chee-Kit Lai with Patrick Weber. See Bartlett UCL Spring 2019 Guest Exhibition (28 Jan – 8 Feb)

Flights of Fancy, kinetic model by Mobile Studio Architects and Ian Ng for ‘Paper Castles’ at V&A Architecture Gallery on Dezeen. Exhibition extended until 28 July. See Flights of Fancy (5 Jun)

Chee-Kit Lai of Mobile Studio Architects has designed the world’s largest flipbook for Kanazawa Citizen’s Art Center, Japan. The installation is designed to encourage public participation in drawing and making and is an international exchange art project supported by The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, British Council “UK in Japan” and The Japan Foundation. The project reached a much wider audience than originally intended. This was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Drawings for the flipbook were received not only from local workshops in Kanazawa but also from remote workshops in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagano and London, UK. See Giant Flip Machine (20 Mar)

Mobile Studio’s installation of five giant flipbooks for BEAM Camp has been published on WIRED, Dezeen, DesignBoom, BoredPanda, It’s Nice That, DesignWeek, The Architects’ Journal, Bustle, Lost At E Minor, Lonely Planet and The Creators Project VICE (18 Nov)

Longlisted. Mobile Studio’s scheme entitled ‘PAYD Houses’ has been longlisted for the RIBA + Wates Group ideas competition (25 Nov)

Mobile Studio + M.Butcher/Dr V.Watson presents new group show ‘Brief City 2051’ (22 – 26 Nov)

Mobile Studio Architects designs Modular Flat-Pack Plinth for Icon Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Chair Competition at Clerkenwell Design Week 2013 (21 – 23 May)

Mobile Studio live performance at Limehouse Town Hall curated by artists Emily Wardill, El Vonne Brown + Laura Lord (31 Mar)

Mobile Studio + M.Butcher/R.Silver presents ‘The New Jerwood Museum‘ (29 Jul – 6 Sep)

People in Architecture evening talk by director of Mobile Studio Architects at Nottingham Trent University (16 Feb)

Mobile Studio will be speaking at The Gopher Hole alongside Hella Henberg, Olli Siren + Asif Khan. This is the first in a series of four events taking place in London + Helsinki, organised by The Finnish Institute in London in collaboration with Blueprint magazine + is an international satellite event for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. Full video online (24 May)

Mobile Studio + Dr V.Watson + Somi Umolu + Chiara Marchini pavilion opens (Jul)

Mobile Studio exhibits new range of colour chess sets at ‘A Few Friends’ an exhibition curated by Will Alsop as part of LDF 2011. 33 other exhibitors include Will Alsop, Vivienne Westwood, Richard Wentworth, Bruce McLean, Nigel Coates, Squint Opera, etc (19 – 25 Sep)

Shortlisted. Regeneration competition by Meanwhile Space to overhaul two railway arches in south London (Oct)

Mobile Studio’s final year student Gary Edwards (from BSc Unit 9, The Bartlett UCL) has won the annual architecture technology prize. Visit Unit 9 space to see the working prototype at the Bartfest Summer Show 2012 at The Slade Galleries (22 – 30 Jun)

The 2025 winner of the European Museum of the Year Award, Manchester Museum whose renewal has enhanced accessibility and created new spaces to foster deeper community connections and promote intercultural dialogue. The museum has reimagined its mission, acknowledging and addressing its complex history by redefining the role of its collections and public programmes. As a university museum, it plays a vital role not only in academic research but also in advancing social responsibility and justice. This is reflected in its co-curation approach – an ongoing process involving collaboration with local and diasporic communities to incorporate multiple perspectives into the interpretation and presentation of its collections. Through thoughtful, informed, and impactful community engagement, the museum continues to invest in creating a truly inclusive space—where all individuals, regardless of identity or background, can see themselves reflected and represented. See South Asia Gallery (24 May)

A weekly series of short films by Jim Stephenson / Edward Bishop, talking to designers + artists about their processes, inspirations + workplaces (14 Jul)

Come say hello.. (28 Aug)

Rentable Modular Display Frames for The Accelerate pop-up exhibition (by Open House) at the new Bartlett gallery #22GS (31 Mar)

Rentable Modular Display System for pop-up exhibition Capturing Clerkenwell Photography Exhibition hosted by Humanscale and Bene, supported by OnOffice (19 Nov)

Rentable Modular Display Frames for pop-up exhibitions at King’s College London – Arts and Humanities Festival (15 Oct)

Rentable Modular Display Frames for The Grand Trunk Project event at the Livery Hall, Guildhall (5 Jul)

Rentable Modular Display Frames for The York International Shakespeare Festival at University of York (16 – 19 May)

Pop-up exhibition design by Mobile Studio Architects for HereEast using Modular Display Frames (26 Feb)

Exhibition design by Mobile Studio Architects entitled ‘From Edgy Youth to All Grown Up‘ for The Building Exploratory and King’s Cross Story Palace at Pancras Square Library, Camden using Modular Display Frames (14 -27 Nov)

Rentable Modular Display Frames for a Photography Exhibition by Marion Trestler entitled Vienna-London: Passage to Safety as part of Austria in Transit conference at King’s College London (31 Aug)