Author: Mirna Pedalo

Marylebone Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN) Pocket Parks and Planters Design Scheme – Student Competition Launch!

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Marylebone Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN) Pocket Parks and Planters Design Scheme

What is the Marylebone LEN?

The Marylebone LEN is a partnership project developed by Westminster City Council and local stakeholders, to improve air quality throughout the Marylebone area.

The LEN includes developing a Marylebone ‘Green Spine’, introducing physical changes to the landscape to make it a more pleasant pedestrian environment. The ‘Green Spine’ connects Marylebone High Street, George Street and Paddington Street.

Find out more here: www.marylebonelen.org

What is the Pocket Parks and Planters Design Scheme All About?

The Marylebone LEN is working with the School of Architecture and Build Environment to run a student competition, where we want the students to design the pocket parks and planters for the ‘Green Spine’.

The winning design entry will have their designs built throughout the ‘Green Spine’. Design entries can come in any form – from an image, to a sketch, to a small model.

The winning entry will receive a £2,000 cash prize.

Why Should You Get Involved?

Westminster University is located within the Marylebone LEN, and is a key stakeholder. By getting involved in the competition, you are helping to improve the air we breathe, benefitting our local communities and neighbourhoods.

Entering into the competition provides an excellent opportunity to get to know potential and future employers, as well as build on your portfolio of work. Should your design be successful, you will be given full credit for the design.

What are the Key Dates?

Timeframes are as follows:

June 2nd 2017: Competition launches

June 23rd 2017: Competition commences / registration closes

July 17th 2017:  Interim design submission / presentation to judging panel

August 14th 2017: Final design submission

W/E August 14th 2017: Successful design entry awarded / presentation to judging panel

Who Should You Contact If You are Interested?

To register for the competition: Rita Darch (r.a.darch@westminster.ac.uk)

Competition information / questions: Professor David Dernie (D.Dernie@westminster.ac.uk)

and Professor Harry Charrington (H.Charrington@westminster.ac.uk)

Marylebone LEN information / questions: Maria Curro (mcurro@westminster.gov.uk)

 

Download brief: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ykwz8ya72fxruxo/AAAPZL7oJ6IFg_psAYh3rS0Ra?dl=0 

Summer Skills Academy 2017

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Skills Academy 2017 is a series of 40 seminars and workshops arranged by the Career Development Centre, aimed at helping the students find work opportunities and establish a career path.

The sessions are delivered by industry professionals and employers. They will share their knowledge and provide the students with practical advice, to help them prepare for entering competitive jobs market.

This year’s featured employers include Goldman Sachs, CIMA, IBM, Teach First, Brightsparks, The Civil Service, Greggs Plc, The Thinking Revolution, Production Base, Hey Tempo, Shaylor Group, Evolve Integral Ltd, Careercake, The Stephen Lawrence Trust and Aptitude Digital Solutions plus more.

The sessions have started on Monday 22nd May and will run until Monday 5th June across Marylebone, Regents and Cavendish campuses.

Open to all students at all levels and faculties across the University and also graduates and alumni of the past three years.

For more info: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/news/2017/22-may-5-june-skills-academy-2017

Full list of speakers: http://blog.westminster.ac.uk/careers/2017/05/08/skills-academy-2017/

 

 

A Site Diary Project

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Site Diary is a twelve-week module run by the Technical Studies team and it’s a part of the 2nd year BA’s curriculum. The aim behind this project is to introduce the students to the construction site and the site team. The idea is to give students a chance to “witness, record and speculate on the Architect’s role in the construction process”,  as well as to help them gain first-hand experience of working on a building site.

Students work in pairs, and are expected to choose their own local building site, communicate with the job architect(s) and / or contractors, and visit the site several times over the duration of the module.

In order to provide the context, give some structure and background to the task, as well as to help students gain understanding of how operations on the site relate to the architect, client, contractor, design team and contracts, a Technical Studies team also runs a series of lectures as a part of this module.

At the end of the module students are required to hand in a document / diary containing the following:

  • An overview of the construction project addressing key questions delivered in the lecture series through graphics, text and sketches.
  • A structured photo-journal documenting the progress of works during the period of observation addressing a list of set questions.
  • Appraisal of the project in terms of Inclusive Design and the use of Digital Technology.
  • A time lapse study of part of the building construction sequence, either through a series of drawings, model or animation-scale.

Other creative ways of exploring and describing one’s experience on site are also welcome, such as this short film by Hugo Shackleton, which was part of his submission in May this year.

 

Cristina Popescu’s project on AJ pin up

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An MArch, DS11 student Cristina Popescu‘s proposed water research centre project on Obudai Island in Budapest was featured on AJ pin up.

AJ pin up is the AJ Student Tumblr – gallery of students work aimed at showing “what tomorrow’s architects are working on.”

Browse their gallery: http://architectsjournal.tumblr.com/

OPEN 2017 Catalogue – Showing the Future of Architecture

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

We are exactly one month away from the OPEN 2017 – the end of year exhibition, which will showcase the work of our BA, MArch, IABA and Architectural Technology students.

Every year, alongside the exhibition, a catalogue of students’ work is published. We spoke to Clare Hamman, the catalogue designer, to tell us what we can expect from this year’s edition.

Same as in previous years, the catalogue is to feature the best of students’ projects and give general insight into the type of work produced at the Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment. Yet, as every architecture student and practicing architect knows, architecture is much more than just a final polished product. To highlight the importance of the design process and offer an understanding of the design trajectory, trials and errors involved, this year each studio section will be supplemented with an additional page, to show the evolution of the work throughout different design stages, from its conception to its realisation.

As a way of expanding the information on studios, a very short biography of tutors, their practices and research interests will also be included in this year’s edition.

For the first time the catalogue will feature work of students from the Designing Cities: Planning and Architecture (BA Hons) course, as well as the projects from the Architectural Technology (BSc Hons) course.

So, please join us for the opening of the exhibition on the 15th June and pick up your own copy of OPEN 2017 catalogue, as, in Clare’s own words, “it’s about showing you the future of architecture.”

OPEN 2017 is part of the London Festival of Architecture.

Opening night

Thursday 15 June 2016, 6–9pm

Exhibition continues daily for public entry: Friday 16 June – Friday 30 June, 9am–9pm (Sundays 9am–2pm)

Location

University of Westminster
35 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5LS

To view OPEN 2016 catalogue online please go to:

https://issuu.com/clarehamman/docs/open2016-digital

London Works Competition

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London Works is a student ideas competition asking you to engage with a real place, a real client, and a pressing topic: how to retain and future-proof London’s work spaces and put on sustainable footing the heterogeneous qualities that make this city what it is. It will launch at the end of June and run for six weeks, there is prize money, a great jury, and a couple of seminars with excellent speakers that will bring you up to speed on the topic in no time.

Site: Nathan Way

Timetable:

26.06.2017 – 3pm: Full brief released

26.06.2017 – 3pm: Site visit followed by Introductory Talks – Learn about the history of Thamesmead, Peabody’s plans for its future, about The Ridgeway and Nathan Way.

27.06.2017 – 3pm: Seminar 1 “The Lay of the Land” – Talks on industrial land from policy, academic research and business perspectives, followed by discussion.

28.06.2017 – 3pm: Seminar 2 “The Future Of The Land” – Presentations of innovative ideas for mixed use work space developments, followed by discussion.

07.08.2017: Digital submission by 5pm

09.08.2017: Physical models can be submitted to Peabody central London office by 5pm 

11.08.2017 – 3pm: Public Jury

To book free tickets for Introductory Talks and Seminars, and for more info please visit: http://www.londonworks2017.info/

Simon Conder: Book Launch + Exhibition Private View

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As part of the London Festival of Architecture the WORK Gallery in Kings Cross will be holding an exhibition of Simon Conder‘s work over the last 20 years.

The exhibition will run from 1 – 30 June, and the launch of their book Small Works will take place on Wednesday 14th June, 6-9.30pm in the same space.

Call for Papers- Industrial Heritage in the UK: Mutations, Conversions and Representations – Deadline 15th June

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Industrial Heritage in the UK: Mutations, Conversions & Representations is a one-day conference organised by the University of Rennes 2 in France and will take place on Tuesday 10th October 2017.

The ambition of this one-day conference is to explore changes in the field of industrial heritage, its instrumental role in the provision of spaces for tourism, culture, and urban regeneration in general, and potential conflicts arising from the relationship between those various processes. Yet it will also be crucial to examine representations of industrial society and the tangible traces of industry in order to foreground mutations in terms of how industrial heritage has been depicted and perceived ever since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Thus it will offer a more comprehensive picture of the contrasting visions of a once neglected heritage.

Keynote speakers:

Tim Edensor is a Reader in Cultural Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University, and his research revolves around spaces of tourism, national identities, industrial ruins and wasteland, urban materiality, geographies of rhythm and rhythm analysis, and landscapes of illumination.

Ian Beesley is an award winning and internationally acclaimed artist and photographer. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at Milan Photo festival, Italy, the International Industrial Photography festival, Shengyang China, The National Media Museum, Bradford and the Peoples History Museum Manchester.

Proposals to be sent to Aurore Caignet (aurore.caignet@univ-rennes2.fr or aurorecaignet@gmail.com) by June 15th 2017.

For more info on please see:  https://indusheritage17.sciencesconf.org/

 

Eye Line 2017 Competition: Deadline 12th June

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Organised by RIBAJ in partnership with the architectural visualisation expert AVR, the Eye Line competition is celebrating its fifth year anniversary. This prize is all about architectural drawing, not the project – originating in any medium or combination of media, from anywhere in the world! The entries are welcome from both students and practitioners, so make sure you get your best work out and apply now!

Deadlines:

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES – Monday 12th June

Judging and shortlisting – Thursday 29th June

Winners and commendations announced in special issue of the RIBAJ – August

Exhibition and Celebration party at the Anise Gallery – September

To find out more about the rules and information required, and to download the entry from, please go to: https://www.ribaj.com/culture/eye-line-2017-get-drawing

Featured image: Corina Tuna from The Cass school ‘Living on Forest Fringes, Nepal’ – Eye Line 2016 third winner, taken from RIBAJ website.

 

Design Competition: One Day Design Challenge

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The One Day Challenge competition is aimed at the young designers and architects under the age of 30, and on the 17th June the Roca London Gallery by Zaha Hadid Architects will host the first UK edition of the challenge.

Participants are invited to create a new design related to the bathroom space in less than 10 hours. The designs will be seen and judged by a prestigious jury of leading architects and designer, and the participants can win three prizes worth up to £2,000.

To register and find out more please go to: http://www.onedaydesignchallenge.net/united-kingdom-2017_22833  @RocaChallenge #rocadesignchallenge