Justin McGuirk
@justinmcguirk.bsky.social
Writer and curator. Director of Future Observatory, the national design research programme for the green transition, at the Design Museum. Author of Radical Cities and other books. Views my own.
https://futureobservatory.org
https://fojournal.org
https://futureobservatory.org
https://fojournal.org
“it is abundantly clear that corporate social responsibility was and is a myth”. This is an excellent piece on the problem of waste by @brettchristophers.bsky.social
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Brett Christophers · Assume the worst: Where our waste goes
Just as Big Oil has repeatedly failed to deliver on pledges to begin decarbonising, so too the promises of plastics...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 12:53 PM
“it is abundantly clear that corporate social responsibility was and is a myth”. This is an excellent piece on the problem of waste by @brettchristophers.bsky.social
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
As someone whose partner lived through the siege of Sarajevo, I found this one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Milan prosecutors investigate alleged ‘sniper tourism’ during Bosnian war
Groups from Italy and elsewhere alleged to have paid Serb soldiers to shoot Sarajevo residents during siege
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:47 PM
As someone whose partner lived through the siege of Sarajevo, I found this one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
A great deep dive into the madness of Neom by the FT (I would say ‘exposé’ but everyone has known for years, even the architects behind it)
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:23 PM
A great deep dive into the madness of Neom by the FT (I would say ‘exposé’ but everyone has known for years, even the architects behind it)
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The value of public R&D
www.gov.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Maduro is hardly Mosaddegh but regime change for oil is very Iran 1953
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US ‘Night Stalkers’ seen in Caribbean as fears of regime change rise in Venezuela
Elite helicopter unit’s part in military deployment comes as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Nicolás Maduro
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Maduro is hardly Mosaddegh but regime change for oil is very Iran 1953
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
We’re not transitioning away from fossil fuels (yet), we’re adding renewables to fossil fuels www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Global use of coal hit record high in 2024
Bleak report finds greenhouse gas emissions are still rising despite ‘exponential’ growth of renewables
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:25 AM
We’re not transitioning away from fossil fuels (yet), we’re adding renewables to fossil fuels www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The new national rail clock was launched at London Bridge today. I was on the jury that chose it from hundreds of entries, and we had a grand old time
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Timely arrival: Great British Railways clock launches at London Bridge
Digital timepiece is UK rail’s first national clock in more than 50 years and will be seen at stations across the country
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The new national rail clock was launched at London Bridge today. I was on the jury that chose it from hundreds of entries, and we had a grand old time
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Actually the drive for clean energy is one of the things Labour has done well, but they’re not shouting about it enough precisely because of headlines like this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Miliband defends clean power goal after energy bill rise - BBC News
The energy secretary says the UK's reliance on fossils fuels is a major "weakness" in a conference speech.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Actually the drive for clean energy is one of the things Labour has done well, but they’re not shouting about it enough precisely because of headlines like this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The thing is, even if we had the carbon budget for those “1.5 million homes” (which we don’t), “build, baby, build” is not the solution because housing is not a simple supply and demand problem
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A leaked memo, a Maga-style hat and a trail of broken pledges – it’s Labour’s great housing betrayal | Aditya Chakrabortty
Ignore the bombast: Steve ‘build, baby, build’ Reed’s boast looks likely to end in targets more pathetic than they are now, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The thing is, even if we had the carbon budget for those “1.5 million homes” (which we don’t), “build, baby, build” is not the solution because housing is not a simple supply and demand problem
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
98%! Only 2 in every 100 installations don’t need corrective action. Read it and weep
98% of homes with external wall insulation installed under the government’s ECO scheme require work to correct major issues that will cause problems such as damp and mould - our new @nao.org.uk report www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (full report www.nao.org.uk/reports/ener...)
Thousands of homes with botched eco insulation 'must be fixed'
Insulation programmes costing billions of pounds have led to widespread problems with damp and mould.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 6:41 AM
98%! Only 2 in every 100 installations don’t need corrective action. Read it and weep
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
If you've never been to Gaza, you won't appreciate what the yellow line means. Basically Israel now holds most of Gaza's small but important agricultural land. Continued Israeli occupation, which I judge the likely outcome, makes Gaza even more unliveable and more dependent on outside goods.
Gaza Strip: Israeli army has withdrawn to the 'yellow line'
AFP Infographic with map of the Gaza Strip showing the 'yellow line' where the Israeli army has withdrawn its forces as of October 10, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff
AFP Infographic with map of the Gaza Strip showing the 'yellow line' where the Israeli army has withdrawn its forces as of October 10, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff
October 13, 2025 at 8:04 AM
If you've never been to Gaza, you won't appreciate what the yellow line means. Basically Israel now holds most of Gaza's small but important agricultural land. Continued Israeli occupation, which I judge the likely outcome, makes Gaza even more unliveable and more dependent on outside goods.
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
We are running another repair cafe on 7th Nov. FREE to all. Learn how to mend your favourite objects for free, get involved in the repair and reuse process, and gain advice on the steps needed to bring your beloved belongings back to full working order. share.google/76mO7KzxbyiE...
October 12, 2025 at 7:43 PM
We are running another repair cafe on 7th Nov. FREE to all. Learn how to mend your favourite objects for free, get involved in the repair and reuse process, and gain advice on the steps needed to bring your beloved belongings back to full working order. share.google/76mO7KzxbyiE...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
🚨New report: how the fossil fuel industry duped successive UK governments into pumping money into costly CCS schemes to ensure continued reliance on oil and gas.
📢 🚨New Report - How the UK oil and gas industry spent 15 years pushing for subsidies & incentives for Carbon Capture and Storage rather than regulatory accountability or science-based emissions reductions; maintaining a funding pipeline for a technology yet to deliver on its promises 👇
The UK Oil and Gas Industry's Advocacy on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
New analysis from InfluenceMap suggests that for more than 15 years, the oil and gas industry has systematically pushed the UK government to adopt a costly, emissions-intensive energy policy agenda de...
influencemap.org
October 8, 2025 at 10:05 AM
🚨New report: how the fossil fuel industry duped successive UK governments into pumping money into costly CCS schemes to ensure continued reliance on oil and gas.
Last chance to see More than Human, which closes on Sunday. It's been such a privilege seeing people fit this show into their mental landscape and responding in ways that are emotional, philosophical and practical. Don't miss it
designmuseum.org/exhibitions/...
designmuseum.org/exhibitions/...
September 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Last chance to see More than Human, which closes on Sunday. It's been such a privilege seeing people fit this show into their mental landscape and responding in ways that are emotional, philosophical and practical. Don't miss it
designmuseum.org/exhibitions/...
designmuseum.org/exhibitions/...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
Yeah, Heartland started pushing fear of lithium mining explicitly in 2023.
This was a key response to their propaganda, and includes a link to the Heartland piece.
www.distilled.earth/p/a-fossil-f...
This was a key response to their propaganda, and includes a link to the Heartland piece.
www.distilled.earth/p/a-fossil-f...
A Fossil Fuel Economy Requires 535x More Mining Than a Clean Energy Economy
Transitioning to clean energy would reduce the volume and harm of mining dramatically
www.distilled.earth
September 28, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Yeah, Heartland started pushing fear of lithium mining explicitly in 2023.
This was a key response to their propaganda, and includes a link to the Heartland piece.
www.distilled.earth/p/a-fossil-f...
This was a key response to their propaganda, and includes a link to the Heartland piece.
www.distilled.earth/p/a-fossil-f...
Crazy. I met Yu Kongjian last year at a symposium on landscape design. His ‘sponge cities’ concept is an important one. Sad news
📢 Brazilian authorities say a small aircraft has crashed in Brazil, killing four people including distinguished Chinese architect and urbanist Yu Kongjian.
Chinese architect Yu Kongjian killed in plane crash in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands
apnews.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Crazy. I met Yu Kongjian last year at a symposium on landscape design. His ‘sponge cities’ concept is an important one. Sad news
Nice to see my talk at World Design Congress quoted in this roundup.
“The challenge is that we have to work at two speeds simultaneously: with immediate urgency, and with the vision to begin the slow project of reimagining our relationship with the living world”
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
“The challenge is that we have to work at two speeds simultaneously: with immediate urgency, and with the vision to begin the slow project of reimagining our relationship with the living world”
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
Six key messages from the World Design Congress
The World Design Congress saw the world's leading designers gather to discuss the planet's future. Here we pick the most prominent themes from the event.
www.dezeen.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Nice to see my talk at World Design Congress quoted in this roundup.
“The challenge is that we have to work at two speeds simultaneously: with immediate urgency, and with the vision to begin the slow project of reimagining our relationship with the living world”
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
“The challenge is that we have to work at two speeds simultaneously: with immediate urgency, and with the vision to begin the slow project of reimagining our relationship with the living world”
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
"There is no point growing the economy if it is not done sustainably and with regeneration at its heart"
#design
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
#design
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
Six key messages from the World Design Congress
The World Design Congress saw the world's leading designers gather to discuss the planet's future. Here we pick the most prominent themes from the event.
www.dezeen.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"There is no point growing the economy if it is not done sustainably and with regeneration at its heart"
#design
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
#design
www.dezeen.com/2025/09/16/w...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
Very much looking forward to the More than Human symposium tomorrow, with speakers including Emanuele Coccia, David Abram, Marcus Coates, Andres Jaque, Paulo Tavares, Daisy Ginsberg and Lucia Pietroiusti
futureobservatory.org/programme/ev...
futureobservatory.org/programme/ev...
More than Human Symposium
Join designers, architects, artists and researchers in a symposium that explores our creative relationship with design for animals, environments and landscapes
futureobservatory.org
September 12, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Very much looking forward to the More than Human symposium tomorrow, with speakers including Emanuele Coccia, David Abram, Marcus Coates, Andres Jaque, Paulo Tavares, Daisy Ginsberg and Lucia Pietroiusti
futureobservatory.org/programme/ev...
futureobservatory.org/programme/ev...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
Unless Israel is stopped, by the end of October Gaza city would be reduced to rubble.
A moment ago, an occupation building in Al-Suweiri Tower in western Gaza was completely destroyed.
September 6, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Unless Israel is stopped, by the end of October Gaza city would be reduced to rubble.
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
In the LRB, I write about the complicity, denial and evasiveness that have characterized Germany’s response to the destruction of Gaza. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Adam Shatz · Berlin Diary
Throughout my stay in Berlin, I kept hearing from Germans quietly critical of Israel that ‘cracks’ had begun to...
www.lrb.co.uk
August 16, 2025 at 9:20 PM
In the LRB, I write about the complicity, denial and evasiveness that have characterized Germany’s response to the destruction of Gaza. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
"The global history of energy is not a story of substitution, but of accumulation. There has never been a true "transition" away from coal, oil, or even wood. In 2024, wood still generated twice as much energy as nuclear power" (I'm enjoying this book; here's a primer) www.dezeen.com/2025/04/22/e...
"There has never been a true 'transition' away from coal, oil – or even wood"
Earth Day this year is focused on shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy but the concept of the energy transition is deeply flawed, writes Jean-Baptiste Fressoz.
www.dezeen.com
August 16, 2025 at 5:49 AM
"The global history of energy is not a story of substitution, but of accumulation. There has never been a true "transition" away from coal, oil, or even wood. In 2024, wood still generated twice as much energy as nuclear power" (I'm enjoying this book; here's a primer) www.dezeen.com/2025/04/22/e...
Reposted by Justin McGuirk
