Our study trip to London brought together architecture, culture, and civic life, grounding our experience in both the built environment and the wider creative conversations that shape it. Early in the trip, this overlap was particularly evident during a visit to the Irish Embassy. On 1 February 2018 Jane was invited to participate alongside seven other Irish architects in the inaugural St Brigid’s Day celebration of women in creativity, curated by Angela Brady.

St Brigid’s Day, traditionally associated with renewal and the beginning of spring, provided an apt setting for reflection on creativity and collaboration. In his address, Michael D. Higgins spoke of cruthaitheacht—creativity as a shared and collective endeavour—while Ireland’s Ambassador to the UK, Adrian O’Neill, reflected on the importance of recognising women whose work continues to shape cultural life. Architecture was positioned in dialogue with music, theatre, and literature, reinforcing the idea that design is part of a broader creative landscape rather than a discipline in isolation.

This perspective carried through the remainder of the trip as we moved across the city, engaging directly with buildings and spaces. Visits included Newport Street Gallery, where architecture and art operate in close conversation, followed by lunch at Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy. We also spent time at the Design Museum before walking through Shoreditch and observing the layered character of its streets and buildings. Together, these visits highlighted the range of architectural responses to context, programme, and cultural use.

Overall, the trip served as a reminder that architectural understanding is deepened not only through the study of buildings themselves, but through engagement with the cultural moments, conversations, and environments in which they exist.