Tag: Architecture

Inaugural Lecture: Professor Sean Griffiths | Monday, November 2 at 18:00 (GMT) in M416 (Robin Evans Room)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 2nd of November 2025 at 6pm (GMT)

Where: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS 

Register via Eventbrite

About the Speaker

Professor Sean Griffiths is the principle of Modern Architect and a practicing architect, artist and writer. Alongside teaching he designs architecture, makes gallery-based installations and writes extensively.

Sean was the founding director of the art-architecture collaborative FAT whose design work and art projects have been widely published and discussed. Sean’s work as an individual and as a director of FAT has been exhibited at major national and international institutions including the RIBA, the V&A, the ICA, the Royal Academy, and Tate Modern in London, and the Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Stroom in Den Haag, Arc en Réve in Bourdeaux, the Seccession Haus in Vienna, amongst many others. FAT represented the UK at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Besides his prolific architecture and design projects, art work, media work and his regular curation of group exhibitions and installations, Sean Griffiths has taught extensively both in this country and as visiting critic and professor and as invited lecturer in institutions around the world. He has been Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University on four occasions between 2007-2016.

Architecture + Cities Research Seminar: Paolo Zaide and Andrea Wu “A Piece from / for Everyone” | Monday, October 13 at 13:00 (BST) | M416 (Robin Evans Room) + Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 13th of October 2025, 1pm-2pm (BST)

Where: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS + Online

The next Architecture and Cities Research Seminar will be given by Paolo Zaide and Andrea Wu, on 13 October, 13.00 – 14.00, online or in M416. The title of the seminar is A Piece from / for Everyone.

All are welcome.

Technical Studies Lecture Series: Paul Purgas [Emptyset] “The Architecture of Sound” | Thursday, October 9 at 18:00 (BST), M416 Robin Evans Room + Livestream

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 9th of October 2025 at 6pm (BST)

Where: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS + Online

“I was always interested in the Marshall McLuhan idea of looking at the future through a rearview mirror. This premise that we build the future out of the past has definitely instilled in me a value and appreciation for cultural and technological histories, excavation and repurposing, and processes of re-animating and extrapolating from the past into the present.”

Paul Purgas

Originally trained as an architect at the University of Westminster, Paul has presented exhibitions and performances with Tramway, Camden Art Centre, Southbank Centre and Kunstverein Gartenhaus. His written output includes essays for the Unsound:Undead collection published by Urbanomic/MIT Press and the documentaries Electronic India and Krishnamurti in England for BBC Radio 3. He is one half of the electronic music project Emptyset working with electroacoustic and computer music, broadcasting and spatialised sound. Emptyset has presented work at the Architecture Foundation, the Roberts Institute and Tate Britain’s Performing Architecture programme, and performed at Unsound, Sonic Acts and Berghain for Transmediale 2020. In 2024 Paul edited and co-authored the book Subcontinental Synthesis: Electronic Music at the National Institute of Design India 1969-1972. The book followed the BBC 3 Radio programme, Electronic India.

Technical Studies Website

For details contact Will McLean

w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

Congratulations to Nedal Harris Ghosheh from MArch DS22 on being shortlisted for “Drawing of the Year Awards 2025” by Archisource and having his work exhibited at the “London Creates” exhibition

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Congratulations to Nedal Harris Ghosheh from MArch DS22 on being shortlisted for “Drawing of the Year Awards 2025” organised by Archisource.

Author: Nedal Harris Ghosheh

A selection of drawings from the competition is currently being exhibited at the “London Creates” major creative exhibition at The Truman Brewery.

For more details about the exhibition and the accompanying events, see below:

About London Creates 2025

11 – 19 July 11am-6pm  |  Free to visit  |  The Truman Brewery, 83 Brick Lane, E1 6QR

London Creates is a major celebration of creativity and a collection of the best creative minds and future thinkers. Be immersed in the creative world of architecture and design, discover hundreds of the top visual representations from the sixth Drawing of the Year Awards 2025 alongside unique insights into the processes of Foster + Partners and RSHP, from the first sketches through to final models and everything in between.

It’s a truly inspirational showcase and masterclass in drawing.

Evening Talk Series

15th, 16th, 17th July 6-10pm  |  Free to attend  |  Open bar

Join us for a series of inspiring talks from leading industry voices discussing creative topics including John McElgunn, Senior Director at RSHP, Narinder Sagoo MBE, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners and David Bullock and Nathan Davies, Creative Directors from Hayes Davidson

Book your tickets: Evening Talks

MArch History and Theory Guest Lecture Series: “’doors that could take you elsewhere’: The Architectural Practice of Reading Science Fiction” by Amy Butt | Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 18:00 in M416 (Robin Evans Room)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

WHEN: Thursday, 3rd of April 2025 at 6pm

WHERE: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

“Until it is built, all architecture is speculative fiction. As we contemplate the built worlds we will bring into being through our design work, this talk invites us to use methods of collective writing and making to learn from the speculative fiction authors who imagine alongside us.”

MArch History and Theory Guest Lecture Series: “No Compromise: the work of Florence Knoll” by Ana Araujo | Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 18:00 in M416 (Robin Evans Room)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

WHEN: Thursday, 27th of March 2025 at 6pm

WHERE: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Based on research conducted for her book, No Compromise: the work of Florence Knoll (Princeton Architectural Press, 2021), this presentation will look at the work of this iconic American designer. Florence Knoll was one of the minds behind the iconic Knoll enterprise: a company which became well-known for the licensing and distribution of some of the most seminal furniture pieces of the twentieth century – including the Barcelona collection, by Mies van der Rohe; the Tulip Collection, by Eero Saarinen; and the Diamond Collection, by Harry Bertoia.

“My research looks at the role Knoll had in commissioning and overviewing the production of these pieces (alongside many other classics issued by the company during her tenure), while also looking at her other activities in the company: her contribution to the development of the company’s unique marketing profile, the creation of a highly innovative textile department, and, most importantly, the establishment of the Knoll Planning Unit, the interior design division that she ran, and through which she invented the infamous ‘Knoll look’.”    

Dr Ana Araujo was trained as an architect and currently works in the fields of art curating, research and education. Her interests range across the fields of design, the visual arts, psychology, anthropology and gender studies. Ana also runs an online art gallery which is focused on the investigation of the feminine in art and culture. She is currently course director of the MA Interior Architecture and Design course at Birmingham City University.

Architecture + Cities Research Seminar: Rosa Schiano-Phan “Daylighting in the Marylebone Building 1920 – 2020” | Thursday, March 20 at 13:00 (GMT) | Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 20th of March 2025, 1pm-2pm (GMT)

Where: Online

Rosa Schiano-Phan will be giving the Architecture and Cities Research Seminar on Thursday, March 20 at 13.00 online, on her research on ‘Daylighting in the Marylebone Building 1920 – 2020.’ 

The link to the seminar is here. 

Inaugural Lecture: “Helsinki to Kumasi – Stories from the Centre” by Prof Harry Charrington | Monday, March 17, 2025 at 18:00 in M416 (Robin Evans Room)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 17th of March 2025 at 6pm

Where: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Eventbrite

In this lecture Professor Harry Charrington advocates for a more engaged history of architecture and place-making. He discusses some remarkable work in Helsinki and Kumasi, and introduces individuals with their own distinctive agency, showing that how they did things became what they achieved. He argues we need to share more stories like these if we are to develop a praxis capable of addressing the complexity of the living world. This is largely a task of recovery; these stories already exist as tacit knowledge in our day-to-day practices. Reflecting on over thirty years of practice, teaching, and research, and utilising archival material and oral histories, Charrington suggests how we might restore them to history – i.e. to humanity.

The event will be followed by a drinks reception – to close at 20:30.

PIXEL PRESERVATION | DS2.6 BA Architecture studio tutor Sho Ito to run a Summer School in Hanoi, Vietnam from July 7 to July 20, 2025 | Deadline for applications: June 1, 2025

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: From 7th of July to 20th of July 2025

Where: Hanoi, Vietnam

Pixel Preservation

AAVS Hanoi is a two-week research programme that explores the concept of experimental preservation within the unique and rapidly evolving built environment of Hanoi, Vietnam. In response to the relentless pace of urban regeneration and localised informal (de)construction practices that continually reshape the city’s fabric, the programme seeks to address these dynamic changes by focusing on the digital documentation of overlooked 20th-century architectural artifacts, particularly those at risk of being forgotten or erased. By tapping into Hanoi’s distinctive context, the programme also delves into the material culture and urban narratives surrounding these architectural relics.

Using digital tools and advanced research methods, participants will capture, analyse and preserve these architectural elements, highlighting their historical, cultural and sociopolitical significance. The programme critically examines how these artifacts have contributed to Hanoi’s organic development, revealing the underlying forces shaping the city’s informal forms of living, working and playing. By connecting the past and present through experimental preservation, the programme aims to foster a deeper understanding of how urban spaces evolve in response to both external pressures and community-driven forces. From these findings, we aim to establish a discourse on what constitutes Hanoi’s heritage and how it can be sustainably preserved for the future.

The research will be conducted in collaboration with several universities, institutions, curators and practicing architectural offices, providing a robust academic framework that includes lectures on the history and design of 20th-century Vietnamese architecture. This theoretical foundation will be complemented by office visits and hands-on workshops focused on 3D scanning, photogrammetry, filmmaking, and in-depth discussions on topics such as multiple modernities and experimental preservation. Students will work collaboratively, supported by personalised tutorials and review sessions. The project will culminate in the production of short narrated films, which will be publicly screened and exhibited.

For more information, please visit here.

AAVS_Hanoi_PamphletDownload

Congratulations to Senior Lecturer Scott Batty on being shortlisted for RIBA East Awards 2025 for his project ‘1970s House Retrofit’!

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Scott Batty, Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture + Cities, has been shortlisted for the RIBA East regional awards for his project 1970s House Retrofit. Batty worked with visiting consultant Structural Engineers Dave Rayment and Henry Burling (Consultants for Year 3 BArch + MArch 2).

Rosa Schiano-Phan and her student Negin Esmailzadehhanjani (MSc in Architecture and Environmental Design) carried out a study of the project’s environmental performance.

Expertise in sustainable water strategies and low-carbon technology was provided by Cath Hassell, ech2o consultants, who is also a regular visiting consultant for Year3BArch + MArch2. 

The project was the principle case study for Batty’s Research Folio as part of REF2021.

Featured Image: Siobhan Doran Photography