“It is evident that Cranfield Mill is qualitatively as well as quantitatively, head and shoulders above any other development along the harbourside”
Jan-Carlos Kucherak, RIBA Journal, November 2009
“On the face of it, what Lyall has achieved here is quite incredible. This is genuine mixed-use waterfront regeneration, and I know of no other scheme that has matched a significant arts organisation with speculative housing”
“This raises two points: the first is that British Architects, or at least Lyall Bills & Young Architects, have excellent technical capabilities regardless of what material they work with; the second is that they are re-writing the rules regarding the meaning of materiality”
“And so to the tower, which I find quite beautiful – it has the allure of graphic design. Views form the countryside east of Ipswich conjure another powerful image: a 21st century cathedral rising high above the hillocks and trees”
Rory Olcayto, Architects Journal, October 2009
“John Lyall’s skilful matchmaking between site, funding and occupier enriches a waterfront development in Ipswich – and offers lessons in practice in hard times”
Sarah Wigglesworth, Architecture Today February 2010
“Whether the job in hand is the installation of a new lift (as at London’s Science Museum) or the renewal of an entire district, Lyall’s approach begins with a practical assessment of what is needed and how it can be delivered. To this extent, he is, indeed, a pragmatist who delights in getting things done. But beyond the pragmatic surface, there is the mind of an artist, a maker of form whose architecture is essentially inclusive, rich and generous in spirit. It is an architecture which is informed by the great urban traditions of the past and offers a new vision of the city of the future.”
—Ken Powell, Introduction to: John Lyall Contexts and Catalysts
“…we chose the redevelopment of the former Cranfield’s Mill onIpswich Waterfront, as Project of the Year, because the project required considerable courage on the part of the developers and great persistence by LBY Architects. The result is a landmark building for Ipswich.”
Award Judges summing-up - Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors 2010