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Docomomo: One-day Seminar on Tower Blocks, Saturday 7th July, 10:00-16:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Tower blocks have had a chequered history and their survival in the UK remains uncertain. In this one-day event, we look at their history, their changing technical characteristics, the reception of them by residents and the public, the maintenance and upkeep of them by their owners, their safety and their prospects for the future.

Among our speakers will be:

  • Professor Stefan Muthesius, co-author with Miles Glendinning of Towers for the Welfare State (published by the Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies);
  • Emma Dent Coad, MP for Kensington, former member of the tenant management association that oversaw Grenfell Tower, and member of the Docomomo Working Party;
  • Ian Abley, a specialist in construction detailing, compliance, snagging, and the requirements of façade, structural and services engineers;
  • Asterios Agkathidis of Liverpool University, a specialist in sustainable retrofit;and others.

For more info please go to: https://www.docomomo.uk/copy-of-11-nov-ticket-page

Featured image: Grenfell Tower via https://goo.gl/images/Tz12ZS

Call for abstracts: RIBA Research Matters 2018, Sheffield, October 18th-19th_Deadline 31st July

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Plans are currently underway for the 2018 RIBA Research Matters conference, with this year’s event to run over two days in Sheffield, co-hosted by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

As you may already be aware, the Research Matters conference has been developed to provide early career stage researchers an opportunity to present their work in a format similar to that of a peer-refereed conference, but without the usual preparatory processes of submission, selection, and rewriting. Research Matters aims to support PhD students and early career researchers in the development of their work. The event adopts the rigour of an academic conference but with papers to be presented in a constructive, supportive and non-confrontational atmosphere.

This year, we have decided to include shorter, PechaKucha-style sessions in the programme to encourage those with less developed research work to present. We intend to open these sessions up to local practices and more established researchers to present their work. We see this as a good opportunity to facilitate potential collaborations between practice and academia, and to support the development of relationships with the practice research community.

We kindly ask you to promote this event to your post-graduate students and staff, as well as to any practices who you think may be interested. Please encourage submissions for both the paper and the pecha kucha presentation slots.

At this stage, applicants for the paper presentation will need to submit:

  1. their contact details
  2. a paper title
  3. an abstract of no more than 500 words, covering:
  • what the research is seeking to find
  • why the research is being conducted
  • what the current stage of work is
  • what the research methods being employed are
  • any findings to date

For the PechaKucha slots, simply a name and a theme will suffice for now. Booking and venue information will follow shortly and attendance at the event is free.

Please email your submissions or any queries to research@riba.org by 31st July, 2018.

 

Featured image Sheffield Hallam Students Union, credit Ken Kay / RIBA Collections via RIBA

LFA, Borough Talks: “Food City: How has food changed London’s built environment?” Thursday 28th June, 18:30-20:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Borough Market hosts debate as part of the London Festival of Architecture

When: 6.30pm – 8.30pm, Thursday 28 June

Where: Jubilee Place, Borough Market, Winchester Walk, London, SE1 9AG

 

How has food production, distribution, storage, preparation, consumption, waste and culture changed London’s built environment? How has London changed food? What does the future hold?

These questions will be debated during a thought provoking evening of discussion hosted by London’s oldest food market, Borough Market, in partnership with architects DLA Design and the Cambridge University Land Society.

As part of the London Festival of Architecture – the world’s largest annual architecture festival – Borough Market is organising a special public debate bringing together experts from the worlds of architecture and food, to explore the impact that food has on our capital city. The talk will take place in Borough Market‘s recently completed communal hub, Jubilee Place. The audience will also be invited to sample a delicious spread of food and drink provided by Borough Market‘s traders.

Donald Hyslop, Chair of Borough Market‘s Board of Trustees, said:

Borough Market has been serving the people of London for 1,000 years, and that extraordinary heritage is an important part of the market’s appeal. With architecture ranging from the Victorian, to Art Deco, to the modern day, Borough Market is an iconic space, which combines the historic with 21st Century innovation. Jubilee Place provides a stimulating setting for what we believe will be a lively and engaging discussion about the relationship between food, communities and London’s built environment.

Speakers who will bring their unique views to the debate include:

  • Carolyn Steel – architect, lecturer and writer who has combined architectural practice with teaching and research into the relationship between food and cities.
  • Kate Hofman – CEO and co-founder of GrowUp Urban Farms, which produces sustainable fresh fish, salads and herbs in cities using a combination of aquaponic and vertical growing techniques.
  • Joanna Lewis – Trustee of the Food Ethics Council and Strategy and Policy Director for Soil Association Food for Life, an award-winning national programme which is about making good food the easy choice for everyone, whoever and wherever they are.
  • Donald Hyslop – Chair of Borough Market and Head of Regeneration and Community Partnerships at TATE. Donald is also Chair of Better Bankside, the business-led regeneration body for SE1.
  • Tim Lang will act as moderator – Professor of food policy at City University London’s Centre for Food Policy, former trustee of Borough Market, and writer of numerous articles, reports and books on the politics of food production.

Tickets are £17.50 and include opportunities to ask questions at the end of the talks as well as a superb spread of food and drink provided by Borough Market traders.

Tickets are available from Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/borough-talks-food-city-how-has-food-changed-londons-built-environment-tickets-45374376983

For more information:
Borough Market,
8 Southwark St,
London SE1 1TL
Tel: 020 7407 1002
www.boroughmarket.org.uk

Nearest tubes: London Bridge or Borough

For more information contact the Borough Market team at Barley Communications:
Maria Kortbech maria.kortbech@barleycommunications.co.uk, 07952 507270

About Borough Market

Borough Market is a source of quality British and international produce, but it is more than just a place to buy or sell food. It’s a place where people come to connect, to share food and awaken their senses. Borough has long been synonymous with food markets and as far back as 1014, and probably much earlier, London Bridge attracted traders selling grain, fish, vegetables and livestock. In the 13th century traders were relocated to what is now Borough High Street and a market has existed there ever since. Borough Market’s mission is to continue to provide a world class food market at Borough for the community of London and beyond. Borough Market is the only fully independent market in London. It is owned by a charitable trust and run by a board of volunteer trustees. The trust is committed to supporting the local community around Borough Market. We regularly run community events, free cookery demonstrations and we support local community projects and schemes.
#LoveBorough
@Boroughmarket
http://boroughmarket.org.uk/

About London Festival of Architecture

The London Festival of Architecture is the world’s largest annual architecture festival. From 1st to 30th June the London Festival of Architecture is hosting over 400 events across the city exploring this year’s theme ‘identity’. From exhibitions to family events, walking tours, debates and stunning architectural installations; there’s something for everyone.
https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/

Expanded Territories Reading Group: “Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation” by Eyal Weizman, Wednesday 3rd October, 17:30, M330

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

The most astonishing book on architecture that I have read in years. (Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times)

The next Expanded Territories Reading Group will take place on Wednesday 3rd October at 17.30 in M330. We will be discussing Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation by Eyal Weizman, introduced by David Chandler.

Allies and Morrison: Paid undergraduate work placements available

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Award winning architectural practice, Allies and Morrison are recruiting a number of paid undergraduate work placements, which will be for a minimum of 6 weeks.

These opportunities are linked to the development of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, so they are particularly keen to here from applicants who live and study in the Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest.

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust are working with the London Legacy Development Corporation to promote these opportunities far and wide.

Overview:

Students should enjoy architecture, be inquisitive and communicate well. You will have lots of energy and enthusiasm and a ‘can-do’ attitude. A team player with a passion and pride in what you do. You must be proficient in IT, interested in CAD and able to learn quickly.

Opportunities are available for:

  • Students going to University this year
  • 1st, 2nd or 3rd Year student of architecture
  • Or a recent Graduate

When applying:

Featured image by Allies and Morrison.

Traditional Architecture Group Student Award £1,000_Deadline 30th September 2018

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

The RIBA’s Traditional Architecture Group (TAG) will be awarding a prize at the end of the year to encourage classical and traditional architecture in students projects.

A prize of £1,000 will be awarded for the best classical or traditional scheme designed by a student studying architecture at a university in the UK.

The rules are as follows:

1. The applicant must be a student (or recent student) studying architecture at a university in the UK.
2. The applicants can only submit one scheme.
3. The work must have been designed and drawn after 1st January 2017.

Work is to be emailed to info@ftanda.co.uk titled TAG BEST SCHEME COMPETITION by 30th September 2018.

Entries must include:

1. Full name of applicant,
2. Name of University / school,
3. Address of applicant (email and/or postal),
4. Phone number of applicant

From these, a winner will be selected by members of the TAG committee. Discretionary commended schemes will also be chosen by the committee. The prize will be given out in November at a TAG awards evening or as part of the Georgian Group Award, to be confirmed.

For further queries, contact Francis Terry on info@ftanda.co.uk

Newton Fund Researcher Links Travel Grants_Deadline 11th June 12pm GMT

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Researcher Links Travel Grants provide financial support for early-career researchers to undertake an international research placement to strengthen links for future collaboration, build research capacity in developing economies, and enhance the researcher’s career opportunities.

Researchers that reside in the UK can apply for funding to visit a university or research institution in one of the partner countries, and those residing in one of the partner countries can apply for funding to come to the UK.

These grants are funded under the Newton Fund, a UK Government initiative funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), together with partner funders from around the world. The Fund aims to promote the economic development and welfare of either the partner countries or, through working with the partner country, to address the problems of low-income and vulnerable populations.

For more information on duration of the visit, partner countries, eligibility criteria and how to apply, please go to:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/science/current-opportunities/travel-grants-newton-april-2018

Featured image © Mat Wright

Symposium: “Heritage and Identity”, 29th June 12:00-19:00, M416, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Friday 29th June 2018, 12:00-19:00

Where: Room M416, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

A half-day symposium bringing together diverse research currently being undertaken at the University of Westminster School of Architecture and Cities exploring the intersections between heritage, identity, politics and the built environment.

Keynote by Liza Fior, MUF architects, on the Venice Biennale and Robin Hood Gardens as a heritage artefact.

 

Everyone has history, but do some have more heritage than others?

If heritage is the process by which social histories are elevated into the narratives that form collective identities, communal, cultural, national, then heritage is about power, authorised and validated by certain social, institutional and state actors. At its most powerful, it is, as Stuart Hall says, the mirror of the nation, and those who are not reflected in it, can never belong to that nation.

With the revisiting of Britain’s colonial and slave-trading history, for example, there is growing awareness that heritage is contested and that we may just be entering foothills of cultural decolonisation. Heritage, thus, could be central to negotiating difference and diversity; it is a hot topic, the subject of government agendas, cultural projects, and identity politics. It remains, nonetheless, a fluid and contested term; what is heritage, who makes it, how is it made, who is it for?

Free admission. More info and bookings: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heritage-and-identity-tickets-46386694853

Book Launch: “The Intrinsic and Extrinsic City” DS11 2008-2017, Wednesday 13th June, 18:30, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: 13th June 2018, 18:30

Where: 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS (Sign in at reception and follow directions)

This studio-as-book is not predicated on a fixed research agenda identified with a design studio’s performative practice or a theory of architecture. MArch 2 Studio DS11 has rather been conceived as a self-critical framework, so this book presents the work of the studio from a critical perspective towards ‘design research’. At its core is a development of a series of urban projects over an eight-year period. The emphasis is focused on the ‘after-life’ of the ‘design-studio’, a subject explored by ex-students’ reflections on the relationship between studio-based education and their subsequent experience. Resisting the view of architectural design produced as a model practice, it is the longer-term effect of a studio education and its embodied research that informs this book. (Editors: Andrew Peckham and Dusan Decermic)