DS23’s Crista Popescu Reflects on Angela Brady’s Lecture at the Alumni Lecture Series, WAS

Posted on November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

On Tuesday 24th October, Angela Brady, the Co-Founder of Brady Mallalieu Architects, past president of RIBA (2011-2013) currently a Design Council CABE ‘Built Environment Expert’ as well as President of the Architects Benevolent Society, launched the Alumni Lecture Series organised by Westminster Architecture Society, and gave a talk titled “What it Takes to Design Great Social Spaces.”

Crista Popescu, MArch DS23 student and the president of the Westminster Architecture Society, reflected on Angela Brady’s visit in her recent blog post.

Read an excerpt from her blog below or the full text here.

Her talk focused on how to build “sociable” buildings, as in making sure that today’s high density housing and office buildings offer suitable opportunity for users to meet and socialise. BradyMallalieu designed buildings seem to do just that, with social spaces usually being decided on by consultations with community groups. Their buildings have an elegant appearance, despite using robust materials and detailing.

Some of the things that dwelt in my mind were related to their approach to practice. In Mastmaker Rd project, the practice offered the client an alternative brief that included tenure homes, having an obvious impact on the community that can now afford to buy and live in the new development. At Ivy Hall the architects brought the community together to consider the feasibility of a community centre integrated in the already planned rented social housing development. For the St. Catherine’s Foyer, they put forward the idea to Dublin City Council although it hasn’t been done yet in Ireland (see foyer.net to read more about the concept). In all these projects, the architects took initiative to improve on the brief as much as they could. It’s a skill to know how to approach the client and the community and understand the specific politics/circumstances of the situation and – most importantly – navigate around it so as to negotiate in your favor.

You can also watch the talk in full here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1crxO1V9c&feature=youtu.be

Call for Papers: Monsoon Waters _ Deadline 8th January 2018

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

Monsoon Waters

Call for Papers

Deadline: 08 January 2018

Symposium Dates: 12-13 April 2018

Venue: University of Westminster, London, UK

Proposals for papers are invited for Monsoon Waters, the second in a series of symposia convened by Monsoon Assemblages, a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

We live in a world where political geography and spatial planning have assumed permanent and easily observable divides between land, sea and air. Land is understood as solid, stable, divisible and the basis of human habitation; the sea is understood as liquid, mobile, indivisible, and hostile to human settlement; air is understood as gaseous, mobile, invisible and indispensable to human life. The monsoon cuts across these divisions. It inundates lived environments every year, connecting land with sea and sky. It is a spatial practice that reorganises air, water, land, settlements, cities, buildings and bodies through heat, wind, rain, inundation, saturation and flow. It unites science with politics and policy with affect. Today climate change is disrupting its cycles and explosive social and economic growth and rapid urbanisation are increasing the uncertainty of its effects. How can spatial design and the environmental humanities respond to these conditions by drawing on the monsoon as a template for spatial theory, analysis and design practice?

In order to deepen its responses to these questions Monsoon Assemblages is convening three symposia between 2017 and 2019 framed by the states of matter connected by the monsoon – air, water and ground. Monsoon [+ other] Airs took place in April 2017. The second symposium, Monsoon Waters will take place on 12-13 April 2018. It will comprise inter-disciplinary panels, key-note addresses and an exhibition and aims to bring together established and young scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines, literatures, knowledge systems and practices (theoretical, empirical, political, aesthetic, everyday) to engage in conversations about the ontologies, epistemologies, histories, politics and practices of monsoon waters. We are particularly interested in contributions that investigate

1. Wet monsoon ontologies

Following Mathur and da Cunha we are interested in contributions that explore wetness (in the air, on the earth, under the earth) as a way of being, cultures of wetness, and the urban, environmental and political consequences of attitudes towards being wet.

2. Late-modern monsoon waters

We are interested in contributions that explore attitudes towards water in south Asia since the mid 1980’s, their history, their urban, environmental and political consequences and the ways-of-being-monsoon-water that these attitudes have produced, such as flood-water, deficient-water, toxic-water, beautified-water, bottled-water etc.

3. Monsoon waters in a changing climate

We are interested in contributions that explore monsoonal cycles of wetness and dryness from the perspective of climate change, any changes in political, social or economic behaviour these might be catalysing and in new or invigorated social movements these changes might be inspiring.

4. Visualising monsoon waters

We are interested in contributions that explore ways of visualising monsoon cycles of wetness and dryness, (in the air, on the earth, under the earth) and their consequences for spatial design practice.

Confirmed key note speakers at the symposium are:

Anuradha Mathur Dilip da Cunha: architects, planners and landscape architects based in Philadelphia, USA and Bangalore, India, whose work is focused on how water is conceptualised and visualised in ways that lead to conditions of its excess and scarcity, and the opportunities that its ubiquity offers for new visualizations of terrain, and resilience through design.

Kirsten Blinkenberg Hastrup: environmental anthropologist based in Copenhagen, Denmark, whose work deals with social responses to climate change across the globe, currently centered in the Thule Area, NW Greenland.

Contributions are invited in response to these provocations. They should take the form of 150 – 250 word abstracts for either papers or creative, practice based contributions such as drawings, photographs, videos, performances, musical compositions etc. Enquiries or abstracts should be sent to Lindsay Bremner at l.bremner@westminster.ac.uk by 08 January 2018. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Monsoon Assemblages team and authors will be notified by 29 January 2018 whether their contributions have been accepted or not. There is no registration fee for the symposium, but participants will be required to secure their own funding to attend it. Participants will be requested to submit their contributions for publication in the symposium proceedings, or, potentially, a special journal issue.

Monsoon Assemblages, a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 679873).

facebook: monsoon assemblages project

twitter: monass_2016

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Harry Charrington and Julia Dwyer to speak at the AA XX 100: AA Women and Architecture in Context 1917-2017_ November 2nd-4th, Architectural Association

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

AA XX 100: AA WOMEN AND ARCHITECTURE IN CONTEXT 1917-2017

The Head of the Department Prof Harry Charrington and Senior Lecturer Julia Dwyer are to participate in AA XX 100: AA Women in Architecture in Context 1917-2017, an international conference convened by the Architectural Association and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art with a rich programme of presentations, panel discussions, distinguished keynotes, and an open jury to celebrate the centenary of women at the AA.

Where: Architectural Association and Paul Mellon Centre, Bedford Sq, London WC1

When: 2nd – 4th November 2017

Tickets (for 3 day event): Full Price £60, Student £30

Book tickets: https://xx.aaschool.ac.uk/conference/

View the conference schedule: https://xx.aaschool.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/aaxx_conference_program_3.pdf

As for University of Westminster‘s own history of women in architecture, our first female graduate, Beatrice Pritchard, graduated from, what was then known as, The Regent Street Polytechnic in 1903!

Today our Computer Lab is officially named Beatrice Pritchard Laboratory.

Call for Papers: “From Building to Continent: How Architecture Makes Territories” – Deadline: 15th January 2018

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

University of Kent, KSA Create Biennial Conference 2018

Cultural landscape refers to landscapes shaped by humans through habitation, cultivation, exploitation and stewardship, and has influenced thinking in other fields, such as architecture. Generally, architecture has been subsumed within cultural landscape itself as a comprehensive spatial continuum. Yet standard architectural histories often analyse buildings as isolated objects, sometimes within the immediate context, but typically with minimal acknowledgement of wider spatial ramifications. However, buildings may become spatial generators, not only in the immediate vicinity, but also at larger geographic scales. ‘Buildings’ in this case include architectural works in the traditional sense, as well as roads, bridges, dams, industrial works, military installations, etc. Such structures have been grouped collectively to represent territories at varying scales.

In the context of this conference, the term ‘territories’ is appealed to rather than ‘landscape’, for the latter is associated with a given area of the earth’s surface, often aestheticized as a type of giant artefact. Territories by contrast are more abstract, and may even overlap. Discussions in this conference may consider varying territorial scale relationships, beginning with the building, moving to the regional, and even to the global. For example, at the level of architectural detailing, buildings may represent large-scale territories, or obscure others, themselves acting as media conveying messages. How tectonic-geographic relationships are represented may also be considered. Various media, primarily maps but also film and digital technologies have created mental images of territories established by buildings, and are all relevant to these discussions. Geopolitical analysis may provide another means towards understanding how architecture makes territories. Governments are often the primary agents, but not always, for religious and special interest groups have played central roles. Mass tourism and heritage management at national and international levels have reinforced, or contradicted, official government messages. Organisations dedicated to international building heritage, such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) also are implicated in such processes.

Paper proposals may cover anytime period, continuing into the present. Relevant proposals from all disciplines are welcomed.

Where: Canterbury, Kent, UK

When: 28th and 29th June 2018

Paper abstract submission due date: 15th of January, 2018.

Paper selection announcement date: 31st of March, 2018.

Find out more: https://research.kent.ac.uk/frombuildingtocontinent/

Architecture Research Forum: “Still Dreaming? Space After Spectacle and the Indifference of Architecture” Douglas Spencer – 2nd November, Erskine Room, 5th Floor, 13:00-14:00

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

Douglas Spencer: Still Dreaming? Space After Spectacle and the Indifference of Architecture

Susan Buck-Morss, in her Dreamworld and Catastrophe, observed that the end of the Cold War was marked by the passing of the dream-forms of modernity — capitalist, socialist and fascist — as sustained through the experience of the built environment. If, following Walter Benjamin, we understand awakening from the dreamworld to be premised on the conscious realisation of its utopian fantasies, then what hope remained now, she asked, in the absence of any dreamworld? This paper takes up this question through an analysis of the seemingly indifferent and post-spectacular spaces of contemporary architecture, offering, in response, an analysis that explores both its historical and its phenomenological implications.

Douglas Spencer teaches at the University of Westminster and the Architectural Association, and is the author of The Architecture of Neoliberalism (Bloomsbury, 2016).

Where: Erskine Room (M/523), Marylebone Campus

When: Thursday 2nd November, 13:00-14:00

Student Competition “The Merck Crystal Pavilion” – Deadline: Friday, 27th October

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

Merck, in association with World Architecture Festival and the Architectural Review, is launching a competition for architecture students registered with any architectural school in the world.

The aim of the competition is to encourage thinking about developments in dynamic glass manufacture which relates to efficiency in energy performance, and in the possibilities of using liquid crystal technology as part of display/artistic/communications initiatives. See the full entry criteria here.

All finalists will be invited to present their projects to our esteemed judges at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Berlin on 15-17 November.

Find out more: https://themerckcrystalpavilion.worldarchitecturefestival.com/

JCT Student Competition “What Inspires You About Construction? “- Deadline: Wednesday 14th March 2018

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

Enter the JCT Student Competition 2018 and tell us what inspires you about construction. You could win £1000!

You can base your answer on any of the following elements:

Describe a public building, which could be local to you or a famous international landmark, and explain what aspects of the building or its construction you find inspiring.

Choose and talk about an element of the building or construction process – be it aesthetics or design, a building’s function, any innovative or creative features, sustainability and a building’s positive environmental impact, social impact, or another feature of the construction industry that is of interest to you.

You can use any format:

article or essay

video

photographic presentation or slideshow

poster or graphic design

any other format!

Find out more: https://corporate.jctltd.co.uk/initiatives/education-students/jct-student-competition-2018/

DS10 Tutor and Practitioner Arthur Mamou-Mani on RIBA J’s Rising Stars Shortlist!

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

Congratulations to Arthur Mamou-Mani, the director of Mamou-Mani Architects and a DS10 tutor, who has been shortlisted by the RIBA Journal in the first round for its Rising Star award in association with Origin Doors and Windows.

The shortlist consists of 16 practitioners, all within 10 years of qualifying as Part II architect.

The winning cohort will be profiled on ribaj.com from 25th to 30th October.

DS22 Student Anna Malicka Wins RIBA Wren Insurance Association Scholarship

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

DS22 student Anna Malicka was one of five outstanding MArch students to receive this year’s RIBA and the Wren Insurance Association award.

Congratulations!

The partnership between the RIBA and the Wren Insurance Association was established in 2013 to reward excellence in architectural education and support outstanding students as they embark on a career in architecture.

Five scholarships are awarded each year to outstanding Part 2 students who show excellent promise and drive to expand their horizons within architecture.

The £5,000 awarded to each recipient may be used in a variety of ways, from elaborating on an existing research interest to looking at how they might develop new ideas, or enabling time to scope different mechanisms and philosophies.

Angela Brady “What It Takes To Design Great Social Spaces” – WAS Alumni Lecture Series, Tuesday 24th October, 18:00, M416

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Mirna Pedalo

The pressures of proposing new models that not only fulfil an aesthetic brief, but also are environmentally friendly, keep up with technology, economy, and other restraints falls mainly on the architects. Buildings can strongly influence our welfare and general happiness, be it where we live, work, or play. Join us to hear from Angela Brady about the social life of buildings and how architects can design to encourage interaction in communities in the changing contemporary urban context.

Where: Robin Evans Room (M416), Marylebone Campus

When: Tuesday 24th October, 6pm

Speaker: Angela Brady, Co-Founder of Brady Mallalieu Architects OBE PPRIBA FRIAI

Angela is co-founder and director of the award winning private practice Brady Mallalieu Architects Ltd, with Robin Mallalieu. Their design studio specialises in contemporary sustainable architecture and their buildings prioritise occupiers’ wellbeing whilst still maintaining remarkable elegance and style.

Past President of RIBA (2011-2013), and currently a Design Council CABE ‘Built Environment Expert’ as well as President of the Architects Benevolent Society, Angela reaches a wide public audience as a professional TV broadcaster, promoting architecture on TV and radio. Angela also publishes articles in books, magazines, and Twitter as well and runs design workshops in schools and galleries as a STEMnet ambassador.

RSVP: https://your.westminster.ac.uk/form/design-great-social-spaces