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Please Support Galaxia the Temple for Burning Man 2018 Campaign

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

In December 2017 it was announced that Arthur Mamou-Mani’s project Galaxia won the Burning Man 2018 Temple Design Competition.

Galaxia is the temple for Burning Man 2018. It celebrates hope in the unknown, stars, planets, black holes, the movement uniting us in swirling galaxies of dreams. A superior form of Gaia in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, Galaxia is the ultimate network, the fabric of the universe connecting living beings into one entity. Galaxia is shaped of 20 timber trusses converging as a spiral towards one point in the sky.

The triangular trusses form different paths towards a central space holding a giant 3D printed mandala, the heart of Galaxia. The timber modules start large enough to hold small alcoves in which people can write in peace. As participants walk through the path, the timber modules lift up and become thinner and thinner towards the sky as people reach the central mandala.

Currently, Arthur and the team are trying to raise funds to complete this amazing project. You can help by donating, and, of course, by sharing and promoting their campaign.

To donate, please go to: https://connect.clickandpledge.com/Organization/burningmanproject/campaign/temple2018

Arthur Mamou-Mani is a MArch DS10 studio leader and tutor (alongside Toby Burgess) and the director of architecture practice Mamou-Mani Ltd. He is also a lecturer at the UCL-Bartlett and owns a digital fabrication laboratory called Fab.Pub.

In November he was selected as one of RIBA J’s Rising Stars for 2017.

Call for Participation: Symposium ENABLE, KU Leuven, April 2018 – Deadline 16th February

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Call symposium ‘ENABLE’

A tribute to Prof. Johan Verbeke

The Faculty of Architecture KU Leuven proudly announces the symposium ENABLE on April 20-22 2018 in association with EAAE, ARENA, EURICUR, eCAADe and ELIA

The European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE), the Architectural Research European Network Association (ARENA), the European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR), the association for Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) and the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) continue to dedicate themselves to the development of research in all fields of architecture, technology, design and arts. This also includes subjects such as environmental design, sustainable development, interior design, landscape architecture, urban design/urbanism, music, performing arts, visual arts, product design, social design, interaction design, etc.

Together they are organising a symposium as a tribute to Professor Johan Verbeke. The symposium is building further on Johan’s critical approach, his advocacy for designerly thinking in research, his plea for research through design, based on the insights as they emerge during design practice. It is also building further on Johan’s vision to bring together arts and architecture, design and performance, from product design to landscape.

This symposium is called ‘ENABLE’, because we want to discuss the deployability and impact of design thinking, research and practice. This discussion and the cross-over with stakeholders outside the design world, governments, private companies, management thinking, … can be combined in notions such as ‘activating’ and ‘enabling’. Enable means to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to; to authorise to give (someone) the authority or means to do something; to make it possible for to empower, to facilitate, to implement.

How does the research field of practices reaches out towards building developers, city policy, city planning? And how is the design world reacting to questions and challenges generated from these ‘external’ stakeholders?

Design researchers and PhD students will be able to participate in an environment dealing with research outside the architectural or artistic discipline and research within design studios.

The symposium is structured around three half days with three themes derived from the ‘Enable’-concept:

  • ‘Slow modelling’
  • ‘Impurity’
  • ‘Form influence’

Each theme will include discussants from within and outside academia. Students, end-users and policy makers will be welcomed in each panel.

Rapporteurs will have the responsibility to report back at the end of the symposium. Several rapporteurs are needed for each theme, the results of this report will be used for a journal publication or other publication afterwards.

On both locations of the symposium the exhibition ‘a tribute to Johan’ will be visible. For this exhibition, we invite participants to provide 1 object or poster to be exhibited during the symposium.

Important dates:

  • Submission of abstracts for peer review (discussants, rapporteurs and exhibition) at enable.architecture@kuleuven.be by 16th February 2018
  • Notification of acceptance: 26th February 2018
  • Registration: from 26th February 2018 onwards
  • Conference dates: 20th – 22nd April 2018

For further information, please visit the conference website.

Call for Participation: The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, 2018 Architectural History Workshop – Deadline 16th February

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Call for Participation

The Society invites proposals for the 2018 Architectural History Workshop, hosted on Saturday 17 March at The Gallery, 70, Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL.

This is the SAHGB’s annual event for Postgraduate Students and Early Career Scholars to share and develop their ideas through ‘lightning’ rounds, where contributors are invited to speak for ten minutes either as a short developed paper, discursive ramble, thematic exploration, or any format that explores and presents their PhD research.

The Workshop will also include a session on “Careers in Architectural History”—presented by a panel of invited speakers from museums, heritage bodies, architectural practices, and more.

The event is limited to PhD students (full-time or part-time) and Early Career Scholars (those who have recently completed their PhDs). We also welcome proposals from anyone currently planning PhD applications.

If you are interested in making a contribution, please see the submission form on the website.

The closing date for applications is Friday 16 February 2018.

History and Theory Open Lecture Series: Peg Rawes “Housing, Biopolitics, and Care” – Tuesday 6th February, 18:00, Robin Evans Room (M416)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

The History and Theory Open Lecture Series for the academic year 2017/2018 begins today, with Peg Rawes‘ lecture “Housing, Biopolitics, and Care”.

When: Tuesday, 6th February, 18:00

Where: Robin Evans Room (M416), Marylebone Campus

Peg Rawes is a Professor in Architecture and Philosophy, Programme Director of the MA Architectural History, and a PhD Supervisor for Architectural Design and Architectural History and Theory PhD Programmes at the Bartlett, UCL. Trained in art history and philosophy, her research and teaching focus on material, political, technological and ecological histories and theories of contemporary architecture and art. She regularly gives talks in the UK, EU and overseas, and has recently been invited to give lectures at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, University of Regensburg, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, The British School in Rome, KTH Stockholm, London School of Economics, KADK Copenhagen and TU Delft.

Other speakers in the series will include:

  • 20th February, 17:15, M416: Emma Cheatle (Newcastle University) “As/saying Architecture: A Ficto-Spatial Essay of Lying-in”
  • 27th February, 18:00, M416: Tilo Amhoff (University of Brighton) “Architectural History and Theory Between Labour and Capital, 1967-1977”
  • 6th March, 18:00, M416: Lindsay Bremner, Andrew Peckham, Douglas Spencer (University of Westminster) “On Archipelago: Three Perspectives”
  • 13th March, 18:00, M416: Mark Dorrian (University of Edinburgh) “Auto-Affection: On Michael Webb’s Sin Centre and the Drawing of Mobility”

Alumni Event Series: Ian Ritchie “What it Takes to Design with the Mind in Mind” – Tuesday 20th February, 18:30, Robin Evans Room (M416)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

The next guest in the Alumni Event Series will be Ian Ritchie with his talk “What it Takes to Design with the Mind in Mind”.

When: Tuesday, 20th February, 18:30

Where: Robin Evans Room (M416), Marylebone Campus

Free drinks and refreshments provided.

ALL WELCOME!

Ute Schneider “Designing Flexibility” – Wednesday 14th February, 18:00, Robin Evans Room (M416)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Lecture organised by Alessandra Cianchetta and Juan Pinyol, MArch DS24 studio leaders and tutors

When: Wednesday, 14th February, 18:00

Where: Robin Evans Room, M416, Marylebone Campus

Ute Schneider studied architecture and urban planning at the technical universities of Constance, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Delft. During her studies she worked in various German and Dutch internationally operating architectural offices, among others with Neutelings Riedijk Architekten in Rotterdam where she continued her professional career after graduation. In 1998 she founded the multidisciplinary office zipherspaceworks in Stuttgart working within the disciplines architecture urbanism & design.

In 2003, Ute Schneider began working with KCAP. Since 2006 she established KCAP’s Swiss office in Zurich and got appointed director in 2009. Since 2016 she became partner of KCAP. In this position she is responsible for the management of the office and in charge of the coordination of KCAP Zurich’s projects spanning from architecture and urban planning to the design and development of masterplans and transformation strategies in various scales and context’s. She has a focus on transport oriented developments like the masterplans for Europaallee, the Airport Region Zürich, the Airport City of Dublin, Gare TGV Montpellier, divers station precincts in Switzerland, MUC Airsites, CAG and Jurong Lake District Singapore.

In addition to her work as an architect and urban planner, she was involved in various exhibitions and publications about KCAP. She is regularly invited for lectures, as guest critic and teacher at various international universities and regularly participates in juries. Since 2012, she is responsible for the integration of urban design at the University of Liechtenstein.

KCAP Architects&Planners is a Dutch office for architecture, urban design and urban planning, founded by Kees Christiaanse in 1989. During the last 25 years KCAP has established itself as one of the leading international practices in the fields of architecture and urbanism. With a multi-disciplinary approach to complex design issues, KCAP has gained extensive experience in large-scale urban design and master planning, waterfront redevelopments, campus design and public transportation hubs. Architectural designs range from housing, education and care to public and utility buildings and mixed-use programs. KCAP develops concepts and visions that address sustainability, urbanization and infrastructure. KCAP is connected to various urban research programs. KCAP is based in Rotterdam and has two branch offices in Zurich (CH) and Shanghai (CN). KCAP Zurich was established in 2006 a er winning two international design competitions in Zurich. KCAP Shanghai, established in early 2011, and supports KCAP’s growing portfolio in China.

PLAYweek, Thursday 15 – Friday 16 February: Call for Workshops & Events

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

CALL for WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

It should be noted that children at play are not playing about: their games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity. ( Montaigne 1580 )

Introduction

PLAYweek is organised by the Department of Architecture and the Westminster Architecture Society, WAS.

It is a creative and disruptive 2-day event that cuts across the ‘dip-drip’ of the Department’s week-by-week teaching to suggest new and playful ways of working.

This year, things are a little different:

  • Thursday 15 February, there will be an all school crit, with mixed student, staff and guest panels looking at work drawn from across the school.
  • Friday 16 February, we will run one-day intensive workshops – which students and staff are free to propose, run, and take part in.

Aims

  • To hold an all school event
  • To enable students and staff to see a cross-section of the ongoing work of the Department
  • To test out innovative ideas through short, intensive workshops
  • To give students and staff the opportunity to explore an area of interest which they would normally not have the time, or freedom, to investigate

Friday workshop proposals

All students and staff can make a proposal for a workshop or event – and teams may include people drawn from outside the Department

Workshops can include traditional workshop activities, as well as performances and lectures, walks, seminars and film-showings – or any other form of activity. They can take place on or off-campus, and include people from outside the Department.

For more details on how to submit a proposal please go here.

Featured image from last year’s Tensegrity workshop, lead by Geoff Morrow, Gavin Weber, Will McLean, Pete Silver and Scott Batty.

London Festival of Architecture and Wandsworth Council Announce Competition for Public Realm Revival – Deadline (first stage submissions): 23rd February

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Wandsworth Council have launched a competition to improve the appearance and feel of Thessaly Road Railway Bridge, and important gateway to the Nine Elms regeneration area near New Covent Garden Market. The competition, which is open to architects, designers, artists and students, is an opportunity to transform an ugly and unwelcoming underpass into an attractive and user-friendly route for pedestrians and cyclists, and a gateway to the redevelopment taking place around Nine Elms Vauxhall.

The design competition has been conceived by the LFA and Wandsworth Council to improve the user experience for pedestrians and cyclists on a key route between Battersea Park Road and Wandsworth Road, and to revitalise the public realm close to major new development taking place in Nine Elms Vauxhall. In keeping with the London Festival of Architecture’s mission to harness the talent of London’s architectural and creative community, the competition will bring fresh ideas to improve the built environment in this key location, and act as a valuable demonstration project for similar sites across London and elsewhere.

Following a shortlist of six practices to be announced in March, the winning team will be revealed in May and awarded £20,000 to develop a design that will be eligible to be constructed and installed as part of the London Festival of Architecture in 2019. The overall budget for the project is £200,000.

The deadline for first stage submissions is 23 February 2018.

The competition is being judged by an expert panel including:

  • Pam Alexander (chair, Covent Garden Market Authority)
  • Amy Frearson (editorial director, Dezeen)
  • Anne Mullins (head of culture, Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership)
  • Morag Myerscough (founder, Studio Myerscough)
  • Clare Richards (founder, Footwork)
  • Tamsie Thomson (director, London Festival of Architecture)

Tamsie Thomson, director of the London Festival of Architecture said:

London’s built environment is full of overlooked and unprepossessing spaces like Thessaly Road railway bridge, and this competition is a brilliant opportunity to show how thoughtful and imaginative design can transform the mundane into something quite special. At the London Festival of Architecture we are grateful to Wandsworth Council for providing this opportunity to showcase architectural and design excellence in London, and demonstrate the power of design in transforming London’s public realm.

The Leader of Wandsworth Council, Cllr Ravi Govindia, said:

We are delighted to be working with the London Festival of Architecture in finding an innovative solution to improving the bridge space in Thessaly Road and I am really looking forward to seeing the winning design. We have a long-standing association with the LFA and it’s good to be in partnership with them again on this project.

The Thessaly Road underpass is much used by people in the local area but I think it’s fair to say that it’s definitely in need of a facelift. This competition is a great opportunity to do just that and knowing the creative talent that is out there, I am sure we will find a design that will revitalise this key route through Nine Elms.

More information for on the Thessaly Road competition is included in a briefing document – available for participants here.

www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
@LFArchitecture
#LFA2017
#modernmaypole

Featured image source: http://londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/full-steam-ahead-for-thessaly-road-london-festival-of-architecture-andwandsworth-council-announce-competition-for-public-realm-revival/

Overseas Opportunities for Students: Amman and Hong Kong – Deadline for applications: 4th February 11:59pm

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

There’s some exciting overseas mobility opportunities coming up for students in April. The AlSadi Changing Lives programme in Jordan will run for the 4th time and the Westminster Working Cultures programme is rolling out another trip to Hong Kong.

The structured activity costs of both programmes are fully funded (please note: should a student be accepted onto the Hong Kong programme they will be required to pay a £100 contribution towards the trip). The AlSadi Changing Lives programme will involve 10 days working on community projects in Amman and the Westminster Working Cultures programme includes 9 days of exploring the world of working in Hong Kong (including the opportunity to meet and network with Westminster alumni).

Applications for both trips are now open and close on Sunday 4 February at 11:59pm.

Details of each trip and information on how to apply can be found online:

Jordan: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/employability/westminster-abroad/types-of-opportunities-and-destinations/westminster-working-cultures/alsadi-changing-lives-programme

Hong Kong: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/employability/westminster-abroad/types-of-opportunities-and-destinations/westminster-working-cultures/hong-kong

For any further enquiries please contact goabroad@westminster.ac.uk

Featured image source: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/employability/westminster-abroad/types-of-opportunities-and-destinations/westminster-working-cultures/alsadi-changing-lives-programme

Call for Papers: RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, Cardiff University, 28-31 August 2018 – Deadline for Abstracts: 9th February

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Elusive landscapes of ‘design’ in the city

Session convenors: Gabriele Schliwa (University of Manchester) and Robert Cowley (King’s College London)

Although design was historically associated with the form of industrial and commercial products (and with the professional field of ‘urban design’), processes of ‘design thinking’ and the conceptual language of design have become commonplace in many spheres of practice and governance. In line with Richard Buchanan’s early understanding of design thinking as a ‘new liberal art of technological culture’ (Buchanan 1992), varied design processes are now advocated and applied across fields as diverse as public service delivery, democratic institutional decision-making, corporate management, international disaster relief, and even military operations research. This long-term trend has significant implications for urban space, not only in relation to governance approaches and new types of citizen engagement, but also in, for example, the development of infrastructural innovations, experimental and grassroots initiatives, the implementation of sustainability agendas, and the spread of digital/’smart’ urbanism.

This panel aims to critically and constructively engage with emerging modes of governing and reshaping urban space and social relations through the lens of design.

The scattered and elusive landscapes of design in the city we seek to explore include:

  • Design processes that follow ‘the concept of co-‘ (Bason 2014) such as co-design, co-creation, co-production or collaboration and are often concerned with ‘citizen engagement around urban issues’ (Balestrini et al 2017)
  • Design concepts previously used in the digital design sector and/or in the context of business innovation (e.g. service design, experience design, interaction design, interface design, human-centred design)
  • Ways of thinking including design thinking and resilience thinking (Cowley 2017) or creative thinking
  • Shifting identities, often from private towards public subjectivities, e.g. consumer to citizen, user to participant or claims about ‘citizen-centric’ goals (Cardullo and Kitchin 2017)
  • Workshops, events or projects such as e.g. innovation labs, living laboratories (Evans and Karvonen 2014), civic hackathons or jams in support of smart or sustainable city agendas
  • Cybernetic urbanism and aspects of environmental control (Gabrys 2014, Halpern 2015, Krivý 2016, Luque-Ayala and Marvin 2017)

Considering this variety of logics and activities, we would like to invite position papers or short provocations based on related empirical work, personal experience or theoretical considerations. These will be followed by a wider discussion. Contributions could address (but are not limited to) the following themes:

  • Rationalities – What does design as a mode of governing promise and what does it deliver in practice?
  • Contexts – In which contexts is ‘design’ as a mode of governing being mobilised today?
  • Levels of facilitation – Who is hosting, facilitating and participating in ’design thinking’ or ’designerly’ initiatives
  • Governing spaces – What are its spatial dimensions and spaces of inclusion and exclusion?
  • Power – What are the mechanisms of empowerment and disempowerment?
  • Historical perspectives – What are the origins of ‘governing through design’ approaches and current drivers behind this trend?
  • What theorisations and conceptualisations do we need to better understand the power relations and implications of design or designing in cities?
  • How can we maintain a critical, reflective, and constructive practice when designing with people becomes part, or even the focus of our academic work (particularly under funding schemes aimed at impact and innovation)?
  • What are its opportunities, limitations or dangers when attempting to steer society into more desirable directions?

Please submit your proposed title and abstract (200 words) to gabriele.schliwa@manchester.ac.uk and robert.cowley@kcl.ac.uk by Friday 9th February 2018.

Featured image source: http://www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/ConferencesAndSeminars/Annual+International+Conference/Timeline.htm