Mr Austin Williams

Contact

Email: austin.williams@kingston.ac.uk
Location: Kingston School of Art, Knights Park
Faculty: Kingston School of Art
School: School of Arts
Department: Department of Architecture and Landscape

About

Teaching and learning

Research

Image gallery

Videos of my work

About

Austin Rhys Williams is course leader/senior lecturer, PG Dip Professional Practice in Architecture at Kingston School of Art; and honorary research fellow at XJTLU University in China.

I am the director of the Future Cities Project, and have written for a range of publications; from the Times Literary Supplement to Top Gear; from the London Property Review to The Economist. I have recently published "Five Critical Essays on Architectural Education".

My latest books are "China's Urban Revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-cities" (Bloomsbury, 2017) and "New Chinese Architecture: Twenty Women Building the Future" (Thames & Hudson, 2019). My previous books include: "Enemies of Progress", "The Future of Community" and "The Lure of the City". I co-founded the mantownhuman manifesto (featured in Penguin Classics "100 Artists' Manifestos") and I run the Bookshop Barnies (interviews with contemporary non-fiction authors) as well as hosting the Professional Practice Podcasts.

Academic responsibilities

Course Leader

Qualifications

BSc (Hons)
Dip Arch
RIBA Part III
Member, Association of Professional Studies Advisers
Honorary Research Fellow, XJTLU university, Suzhou, China
Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy

Teaching and learning

Postgraduate courses taught

Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2) MArch
Professional Practice Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 3 exemption) PgDip

Research

Williams, Austin. Chapter: "China's Eco Dreams and Green Reality" in Zhang, Fagshu and Wu, Fulong (eds) China's urban environmental governance, Edward Elgar, 2023 forthcoming
Williams, A. (2022) Urban Fringe. In Quazi, Z. (ed) Urbanism(s) at Borders, SpringerLink. August 2022.
Williams, A. Series Editor, Five Critical Essays
- Architectural Education, 2021
- The Crit, February 2023
Williams, Austin. (2022) "Growth and the Appropriation of Nature. Left-wing Misanthropy, the Rise of Authoritarianism, and the Pro-Capitalist character of Environmental Discourse" in Lange, Elena Louisa and Joshua Depaolis-Pickett (eds.) (2022) The Conformist Rebellion: Marxist Responses to the Contemporary Left. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Maryland, US).
Williams, A. "Environment & Freedom", Letter on Liberty, Academy of Ideas, February 2021
Williams, A. (2022) "The Emerging City: Malawi and China". In Powell, M. (ed) The Climate City, Wiley.
Williams, A. (2020) Urban transformation and mobility in Chinese society. In Chen, Chia-Lin et al. Handbook on Transport and Urban Transformation in China. Handbooks of Research on Contemporary China Series. Edward Elgar, March 2020.
Williams, A. (2019) What is Chinese Architecture?. In Lee, R. (ed), Robin Lee Architecture.
Williams, A. (2019) Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, HKIUD Journal of Urban Design,
Williams, A. (2019) Around The World in 80 Minutes. Contributions to tomorrow's mobility, In 80 Minuten um die Welt: Beiträge zur Zukunft der Mobilität, Novo (Germany)
Williams, A. (2018) Fresh Soil: architectural modernism in China, LEAP magazine [pp18-23
Williams, A. (2018), Cities of the Future. In The Big Conversation 2019, BDP. pp6-13 (https://issuu.com/bdp_com/docs/bdp_2018_the_big_conversation/ Accessed 20 August 2019)
Williams, A. (2019), New Chinese architects: Twenty women building the future, New York/London. Thames & Hudson
Williams, A. (2018), Eco-cities: Understanding Chinese environmentalism. In Hudson, A, Chinese Urban Transformation: A Tale of Six Cities, London. RIBA Publishing
Williams, A. (2017), China's urban revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-cities", London. Bloomsbury Academic
Williams, A. (2017), (ed). Style (in defence of…), Machine Books
Williams, A. (2017), Beyond pragmatism: The pedagogy of the impressed. In Hayes D, Beyond MacDonaldization, London. Pearson. pp115-129

Williams, A. (2014), Baiziwan Middle School by Wang Yun, Machine Books, 2014
Williams, A. and Dounas, T. (2012), eds Masterplanning the Future: Modernism – East, West & Across the World, TRG Publications, ISBN 978-1-903094-01-3
Williams, A. (2012), Don't de-carbonise, defenestrate. In One hundred great ideas for higher education, Academic Questions, 100th Issue, Volume 25, Issue 4, Winter 2012, ISSN: 0895-4852;
Williams, A. (2012), ed., The Architectural Review, London. Emap, September 2012
Williams, A. (2012), What is a City? In Littlefield, D. ed, Special Issue: London (Re)generation, AD, Volume 82, Issue 1, January/February 2012, pp66-68
Williams, A. (2012), Fashionable Dilemmas. In Tseelon, E. ed., Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, Vol 2, Issue 1, Leeds, Intellect Books
Williams, A. (2011) citation, "Who's Who in Research: Visual Arts", Bristol/Chicago, Intellect Ltd,
Williams, A. (2011), ed., The lure of the city: from slums to suburbs, London, Pluto Press.
Williams, A. et al (2011), mantownhuman: manifesto towards a new humanism. In Danchev, A. ed. 100 Artists' Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists, Penguin Classic
Williams, A. (2010), Corroding the Curriculum: Sustainability v Education. In Sustainability: Special Issue, Academic Questions, NAS, Vol 23, No 1, pp. 70-83
Williams, A. (2009) Shortcuts: Book 1 – Structure and Fabric, London, NBS Publishing
Williams, A. (2009) Shortcuts: Book 2 – Sustainability and Practice, London, NBS Publishing
Williams, A. (2008) Enemies of Progress: The dangers of sustainability, London, Societas:Impact
Williams, A. et al (2008) eds. The Future of Community: Reports of a Death Greatly Exaggerated, London, Pluto Press.
Williams, A. et al (2008) Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism
Williams, A. (1999), ed., Transport in the New Millennium London, TRG Publications

Research student supervision

Ziwei Cheng

Publications

Jump to: Article | Book | Book Section | Moving Image/Broadcast

Number of items: 49.

Article

Istrate, Aura-Luciana, Chen, Fei, Kadetz, Paul, Chang, Ying and Williams, Austin Rhys (2021) Developing an analytical framework for liveable streets in Shanghai. URBAN DESIGN International, 26, pp. 3-20. ISSN (print) 1357-5317

Williams, Austin (2019) Extinction Rebellion : the new millenarian cult. Spiked,

Williams, Austin [Reviewer] (2019) Book Review of: 'Pen Zen Diaries' by Peter Magyar. Future Cities Project,

Williams, Austin (2019) Reading between the lines : Changsha library, Hunan Province, China, by Neri&Hu. Architectural Review, 244(1457), pp. 148-157. ISSN (online) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2019) Gensler creates a showcase of sustainable design near Shanghai. Metropolis,

Williams, Austin (2018) Authoritarianism, powered by the Cloud. Spiked,

Williams, Austin (2018) From slaughter to laughter : the renovation of a slaughterhouse in Shanghai by IPPR. Architectural Review, 244(1455), pp. 58-65. ISSN (online) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2018) Yiwu : the Neo-Liberal city. Urban Design(148), pp. 14-15. ISSN (print) 1750 712X

Williams, Austin (2018) Revolutionizing construction... post-Brexit. Future Cities Project,

Williams, Austin (2018) Genoa : notes on a disaster. Spiked,

Williams, Austin (2018) Lu Wenyu : the emphasis on craft and precision. The Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2018) Labour Live : bread and circuses. Spiked,

Williams, Austin (2018) Yiwu : China's trinket town. Architectural Review, 244(1451), pp. 50-51. ISSN (online) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2018) China's shift from urban development to rural reconstruction. The Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) No, China isn't going back to Maoism. Spiked,

Williams, Austin (2017) How China transformed its cities from environmental disasters - an what the west can learn. Building Design,

Williams, Austin (2017) REFLEXIVE VERVE. Architectural Review, 241(1444), 46 - 52. ISSN (online) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) Tsinghua Architecture School extension in Beijing, China by Li Xiaodong Atelier. The Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) Back to earth : anti-seismic prototype in Guangming by Edward Ng, Li Wan, Ximan Chi. The Architectural Review, 241(1443), pp. 48-53. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) Cultivating the garden : Museum of Intangible Cultural Heritage by Vector Architects. The Architectural Review, 241(1442), pp. 76-83. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) West can sneer all it wants, China is in the ecological driver's seat. South China Morning Post,

Williams, Austin (2017) Chapel in Suzhou by Neri & Hu. The Architectural Review, 241(1440), pp. 36-44. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2017) Material rebirth. The emotionally charged work of Liu Jiakun celebrates the vitality of 'everydayness'. The Architectural Review, 241(438), pp. 50-56. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2016) Outrage: 'if memorialisation is everywhere, it becomes mere virtue-signalling'. The Architectural Review, 240(1436), pp. 40-42. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2016) Humanizing the urban fabric. Nature, 537, pp. 614-615. ISSN (print) 0028-0836

Williams, Austin (2016) Frozen music: Erik Satie house in Beijing by Atelier Fronti. The Architectural Review, 240(1433), pp. 82-86. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2016) Seashore Chapel by Vector Architects : 'Each elevation has been designed for aesthetic drama'. Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2016) Shenzhen's Biennale regurgitates Central Party concerns in a festival of restraint. Architectrural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Up the 632m Shanghai Tower by Gensler, second tallest in the world. Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) China. The Architectural Review, 238(1425), pp. 46-53. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Reputations: Wang Shu. The Architectural Review, 238(1425), pp. 104-105. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) 'This is no Chinese copycat'. The Architectural Review, 238(1425), pp. 56-65. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Steps ahead. The Architectural Review, 238(1424), pp. 70-75. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Reputations : Shigeru Ban (1957- ). Architectural Review, 237(1418), pp. 118-119. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Learning Hub in Singapore by Thomas Heatherwick. Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Micro Organism : Hutong infill in Beijing, China, by Standard Architecture. Architectural Review, 237(1417), pp. 36-45. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2015) Chemical Plant Offices in Huai'an City, China by Alvaro Siza. Architectural Review, ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Williams, Austin (2014) Concrete umbrella. The Architectural Review, 236(1414), pp. 60-63. ISSN (print) 0003-861X

Book

Williams, Austin and Xin, Zhang (2019) New Chinese architecture : twenty women building the future. London, U.K. : Thames & Hudson. 256p. ISBN 9780500343388

Williams, Austin (2017) China's urban revolution : understanding Chinese Eco-cities. London, U.K. : Bloomsbury. 220p. ISBN 9781350003255

Williams, Austin (2015) Modernism. [Place of publication not identified] : Machine Books. 12p. (Style: in defence of...)

Williams, Austin and Dounas, Theodoros, eds. (2012) Masterplanning the future: modernism: East, West & across the world. Transport Research Publications. 268p. ISBN 9781903094013

Book Section

Williams, Austin (2023) Edge town / Che Fang. In: Zaman, Quazi Mahtab and Hall, Greg G., (eds.) Border urbanism : transdisciplinary perspectives. Cham, Switzerland : SpringerLink. pp. 477-485. (The Urban Book Series) ISBN 9783031066030

Williams, Austin (2022) The emerging city. In: Powell, Martin, (ed.) The climate city. Chichester, U.K. : John Wiley & Sons. pp. 57-71. ISBN 9781119746270

Williams, Austin (2020) Mobility and the Chinese dream. In: Chen, Chia-Lin , Pan, Haixiao , Sheng, Qing and Wang, James Jixian, (eds.) Handbook on transport and urban transformation in China. Edward Elgar. ISBN 9781786439239 (In Press)

Williams, Austin (2018) Cities of the future. In: Booth, John , Davies, Martin , Harding, Chris , Jenkins, Marc , McAtarsney, Julianne and Moorhouse, Helen, (eds.) BDP : The big conversation. BDP. pp. 6-13.

Williams, Austin (2017) Beyond pragmatism: the pedagogy of the impressed. In: Hayes, Dennis, (ed.) Beyond McDonaldization: visions of higher education. Abingdon, U.K. : Routledge. pp. 115-129. ISBN 9781138282582

Williams, Austin (2017) Understanding "sustainability" and attitudes of students to the concept of "sustainable development" in China and the UK. In: Issa, Tomayess , Isaias, Pedro and Issa, Theodora, (eds.) Sustainability, green IT and education strategies in the twenty-first century. Cham, Switzerland : Springer. pp. 77-102. (Green energy and technology) ISBN 9783319570686

Moving Image/Broadcast

Williams, Austin [Producer] and Jiang, Hao [Film editor] (2017) Edge Town/Che Feng. (documentary film *Chinese & Englsih subtitles)).

This list was generated on Tue Mar 11 02:56:55 2025 GMT.

Gallery of work

Five Critical Essays on Architectural Education

This pamphlet is a critical intervention into architectural education. Specifically referencing the uk, its critique is applicable more broadly. It is the first salvo in what we hope will be an open and challenging conversation.

Professional Practice Podcasts

Professional Practice Podcasts are a series of interviews with leading expert commentators on Architecture and the practice of Architecture, hosted by Austin Williams

New Chinese Architecture: Twenty Women Building the Future (Thames and Hudson, 2019)

celebration of 20 of China s latest generation features detailed profiles of each architect, exploring their routes to success, their inspirations and the challenges posed for those working and designing in this richly diverse and rapidly evolving region. Each profile is followed by a selection of recent works, including everything from small-scale conceptual plans to country houses, schools, offices and large-scale city development projects.

China's Urban Revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-cities (Bloomsbury, 2017)

"Journalist, scholar, and travel writer, Williams tells a fascinating story about China's pursuit of economic growth and environmental protection, urbanization schemes and new socialist countryside initiatives, urban modernization programs and rural heritage policies, which can only be described as contradictory, incongruous, and conflicting yet daunting in their nature, driven by high-minded seriousness, a pragmatic spirit, and unalloyed ambition", Sustainability: the Journal of Record

Style: In defence of...

Georg Lukacs described the style of a piece of work as the attempt to reproduce one's view of the world within it. Looked at in this way style ceases to be a formalistic category but rather, "it is the specific form of a specific content." This series is about the content and context of style.

The Lure of the City: From Slums to Suburbs, (Pluto, 2014)

"This book opens a debate as it allows the readers to reconsider their own prejudices and preferences". Will Alsop, OBE, architect. "Timely, lucid and provocative". Tim Marlow. "Williams, an outspoken and unorthodox academic. (This book) makes for a provocative and very readable book on a subject more usually written about in the grim language of sociologists, technocrats and non-governmental organisations". Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times

The Future of Community: Reports of a Death Greatly Exaggerated (Pluto, 2008)

"The Future of Community is a much-needed challenge to the complacent and flabby orthodoxies currently dominating the debate. It asks all the right questions: What are communities? What's so great about them? How do they really thrive? What are the unintended consequences of well-intentioned but misguided attempts to bind society more closely? By asking these questions and often suggesting compelling answers, this book will lift the communities debate to another level", Julian Baggini

The Enemies of Progress: The Dangers of Sustainability (Societas, 2008)

"A much needed diagnosis of the bleak anti-human pathology sometimes described as environmentalism", Dominic Lawson, The Independent. "Austin Williams has a gift for lobbing well-directed grenades", Philippe Legrain, author 'Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them',

mantownhuman: manifesto towards a new humanism

Launched on the 70th anniversary of Andre Breton and Leon Trotsky's ‘Manifesto: Towards a Free Revolutionary Art' this manifesto takes inspiration from the radical, avant-gardism of the past, but has a clear eye focussed firmly on the future. It is will no doubt irritate, challenge and polarise opinion and is intended to draw out anyone with a sense of anger at the state of contemporary architecture. In an era of uncritical non-debate, we urge you to form your own opinion on the state of architecture today and its remedy. "This manifesto is the big reminder not to be scared of being scared or being scary… I loved reading it." Thomas Heatherwick

Letters on Liberty: Greens, the new neo-colonialists

The contemporary environmentalist obsession with reducing or halting development is a bigger threat to society than climate change. As humanists, he says, we need to reformulate the idea that all meaningful production requires the appropriation of nature. A Green desire to clamp down on production, population and any human impact on the planet is a middle-class political fantasy that keeps the poorest in developing nations poor. Holding down people's aspirations for economic, social and national autonomy is the hallmark of modern day, sustainable, neo-colonialism.

Style: In defence of...

Five Critical Essays on Architectural Education

Professional Practice Podcasts

Professional Practice Podcasts are a series of interviews with leading expert commentators on Architecture and the practice of Architecture, hosted by Austin Williams

Videos of my work

Bookshop Barnie with Laura Dodsworth

Laura Dodsworth best-selling exploration of the pandemic is primarily a book about fear. Fear of a virus. Fear of death. Fear of losing our jobs, our democracy, our human connections, our health and our minds.

Bookshop Barnie with Laura Dodsworth

BOOKSHOP BARNIE with Paul Embery

Paul Embery discusses his book

Bookshop Barnie with Michael Shellenberger

The National Review says that

Bookshop Barnie with Joel Kotkin

Joel Kotkin, interviewed from California, argues that a new, more hierarchical society is emerging: one that resembles that of Medieval times.

Bookshop Barnie with Tom Heap

Tom Heap is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's 'Costing the Earth, which claims to be a roadmap to global action on climate chang

Bookshop Barnie with Xing Ruan

This book takes a sideways look at the politics, culture and history of China and explore the similarities and differences between the

Bookshop Barnie with Robert Tombs

In this short book, Tombs shows that the decision to leave the EU is historically explicable - though not made historically inevitable - by Britain's very different historical experience, especially in the twentieth century, and because of our more extensive and deeper ties outside Europe.

Mr Austin Williams

Contact

About

Academic responsibilities

Qualifications

Teaching and learning

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

Research student supervision

Publications

Article

Book

Book Section

Moving Image/Broadcast

Gallery of work

Videos of my work

Bookshop Barnie with Laura Dodsworth

Bookshop Barnie with Laura Dodsworth

BOOKSHOP BARNIE with Paul Embery

Bookshop Barnie with Michael Shellenberger

Bookshop Barnie with Joel Kotkin

Bookshop Barnie with Tom Heap

Bookshop Barnie with Xing Ruan

Bookshop Barnie with Robert Tombs

The City After Lockdown

Edge Town/Che Feng

Kingston School of Art Part 3 Professional Practice

Mr Austin Williams

Contact

About

Academic responsibilities

Qualifications

Teaching and learning

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

Research student supervision

Publications

Article

Book

Book Section

Moving Image/Broadcast

Gallery of work

Videos of my work

Bookshop Barnie with Laura Dodsworth

Social media