Tag: Technical Studies Lecture Series

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Dakar Earth Bricks” Nzinga B. Mboup – Worofila | Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 18:00, Room M416, Marylebone Campus + Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 21st of October at 6pm

Where: Room M416 + Livestream, School of Architecture and Cities , University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS 

Livestream Link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/fc7cfc71b9534b29830ec5e4ae564d16

Before air conditioning, people paid attention to materials and orientation for the natural regulation of heat.  

Nzinga Mboup 

Senegal’s traditional dwellings were made of earth, but that construction method has slowly been abandoned. Dakar’s sidewalks today are littered with piles of sand and stones that are mixed with cement to make cheap building blocks. 

Worofila and Mboup were inspired to use modern earth bricks made from soil and very small amounts of cement and water to create a mixture that is cut into blocks, compressed with a hand-operated machine and left to dry in the sun for 21 days. Unlike concrete, earth bricks require very little embodied energy to produce. Worofila have worked with Elementerre on the construction of private homes, offices and part of a train station. Elementerre, is an earth brick manufacturer founded by Doudou Deme in 2010.  

This reimagining and reengineering of earth construction remains niche and it currently costs more than concrete with many clients still unaware of this as a building material. Worofila has recently been longlisted for an Ashden Award, a British prize for climate solutions, which it hopes will raise visibility of this ‘age old’ but actually very new age natural material – locally sourced and with excellent thermal performance, which acts to moderate the internal temperature and humidity of the architecture.

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For details contact: Will McLean  

w.f.mclean@wmin.ac.uk 

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Research as Practice: Material Formations” HANNAH | Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 18:00, Room M416, Marylebone Campus + Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 14th of October at 6pm

Where: Room M416 + Livestream, School of Architecture and Cities , University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS 

Link to join livestream https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/954cdae480dd42c7b74ca7c02d5e59df 

HANNAH is an experimental design and research studio working across scales from furniture to urbanism. HANNAH’s projects mine the tension between machine means and architectural ends. They reclaim authorship over processes of construction that influence the way we can build – or perhaps ought to build in the future. Leslie and Sasa will discuss the ‘Ashen Cabin’ (upstate New York), which uses 3D printed concrete and locally sourced ‘waste’ ash timber. 

Leslie Lok is a co-principal at HANNAH, an award-winning experimental design practice for built and speculative projects. Lok is also an assistant professor and the B.Arch Coordinator at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Lok’s research and teaching explore the intersection of housing, urbanization, and mass-customized construction methods at multiple scales. At Cornell, Lok directs the Urban Construction Laboratory (UCL). 

Sasa Zivkovic is a co-principal at HANNAH, an experimental design practice based in Ithaca, New York. Zivkovic is also an assistant professor at Cornell University AAP where he directs the Robotic Construction Laboratory (RCL), an interdisciplinary research group that develops and implements novel robotic construction technology. Interdisciplinary in nature, the work integrates cutting-edge materials, advanced fabrication, mechanical design, architectural computation, structural optimization, and sustainable construction. 

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For details contact: Will McLean 

w.f.mclean@wmin.ac.uk

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Experimenting with Architecture” McCloy + Muchemwa | Thursday, October 7 2021 at 18:00, Room M416, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 7th of October at 6pm

Where: Room M416, School of Architecture + Cities, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS

The design and architecture studio of Steve McCloy and Bongani Muchemwa has its roots in Africa and is based in London. The studio’s work is an inventive exploration into design thinking and designs have included a bamboo bicycle, a reinvention of the Police ‘Tardis’, street furniture, modular housing and wearable architecture. In 2020 McCloy + Muchemwa were named in the Architects’ Journal 40 Under 40, and featured in Wallpaper* magazine’s survey of the next generation of 10 London practices.

Steve is a registered architect with experience across a variety of sectors from public installations and private homes to civic buildings, polar research stations, and sustainable urban developments. He is also published as a researcher / author and has contributed to numerous books and articles including ‘Once Upon A China’ by CJ Lim + Steve McCloy (2021). Steve has exhibited work at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, and was nominated for both the RIBA President’s Bronze and Silver Medals.

Bongani is a registered architect with significant experience at some of the UK’s most high profile architectural practices and he has won numerous awards for design excellence. His work with film and animation has been widely celebrated including at Magma Film Festival in Sicily. Bongani has exhibited work at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, and was nominated for the RIBA President’s Bronze Medal. Bongani is also a lecturer and studio tutor at the University of Westminster, a Practice Mentor at the Royal College of Art, and is a trustee of the Wakefield-based arts charity Beam.

For details contact: Will McLean

w.f.mclean@wmin.ac.uk

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Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Mycelium and other Bio-based Construction Materials ” Ehab Sayed , Biohm, Thursday, December 3 at 18:00 [online via BB]

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 3rd of December at 6pm

Event Link (no need to register):  https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/3ea897faf8b14916a16d1b200581b1e9 

Ehab Sayed has over six years of experience as a sustainable designer, engineer, circular economy strategist and built environment innovator with a passion for creating a biomimetic (nature- inspired) circular future. Through extensive research on the global construction industry, he founded Biohm to champion a transformation towards the integration of biological processes in manufacturing.

Biohm have produced a mycelium thermal insulation panel that will be the world’s first accredited mycelium insulation product. We are also developing new products and alternative applications for mycelium, which is the vegetative part of a fungus. Biohm is a multi-award-winning research and development led, bio-manufacturing company. We allow nature to lead innovation, to revolutionise construction and create a healthier, more sustainable, built-environment. Biohm work in symbiosis with industry, local and national government, communities and academia to lead a step-change towards a circular future that is inspired by nature and driven by human, environmental and economic needs. 

For more details contact Will McLean – w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

Technical Studies website – https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Creating Civilised Cities,” Chris Williamson, Weston Williamson and Partners, Thursday, November 12 at 18:00 [online via BB]

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 12th of November at 6pm

Event Link (there is no need to register): https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/8cfdaba2b81a485d803c0a3181bc6da7 

Weston Williamson and Partners have gained a reputation for the elegant design and craft of complex design challenges. Their work includes significant infrastructure projects such as the new station at Barking Riverside, the centrepiece of a massive regeneration scheme. Other recent rail projects include two new stations on the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) at Woolwich and Paddington Station. The Paddington project has been described by the client as “…the jewel in the Crossrail crown.” 

When Chris was asked to work with Andrew Weston for group projects at Leicester School of Architecture (for no other reason than they were next to each other alphabetically) he discovered that their skills didn’t overlap but dovetailed perfectly. Their shared ambition made for a perfect business partnership. Forty years later Chris manages and directs the studio and has recently published WW+P’s vision for the next 20 years, which talks about a diverse, collaborative design studio with strong delivery skills. In addition to being a chartered architect, Chris has an MSc in Project Management and believes strongly that the art of architecture requires excellent business skills in order to be realised. Chris has recently been the International Vice President of the RIBA responsible for setting a strategy to grow into a global membership institution and to encourage more UK architects to seek work globally.  

Chris and Weston Williamson also generously provide academic partnership and support to March studio DS22 run by Nasser Golzari and Yara Sharif. 

For more details contact Will McLean – w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk 

Technical Studies website – https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/ 

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Recent Projects,” Sophie Hicks, Wednesday, November 4 at 17:00 [online via BB]

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Wednesday, 4th of November at 5pm

Event Link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/f9e3ae5001874d12b6a507f5d1160bd6

Sophie Hicks established Sophie Hicks Architects in 1990 whilst still a student at the Architectural Association and she became a chartered architect in 1994. Prior to her career as an architect she worked in fashion: as a stylist for Vogue Magazine; and for the designer, Azzedine Alaia. She leads a practice with a focus on both fashion retail and private residential design. Her retail projects include Westbourne House with Paul Smith, his “shop in a house”; and the development of a store concept for Chloé, with signature plywood walls, which has been used in over one hundred stores worldwide. Sophie has also worked closely with Yohji Yamamoto to design his flagship store in Paris; and she created a new-build flagship store for Acne Studios in Seoul.

In parallel with her retail designs, Sophie Hicks acquired three sites in London, all in conservation areas, with the intention of building a contemporary house on each. The first, a small house in Regent Square, was completed in 2014. The second, a street-facing house in Earl’s Court Square, was completed in 2018. The third, a larger house in Holland Park, has obtained planning permission. New-build, contemporary houses are relatively rare in central London, because of the strong culture in the UK of preservation of the historic environment. Sophie has designed these new houses to “…respect the past, and respond to it, while at the same time expressing the spirit of our own times.” Sophie Hicks is a member of the Panel for Creative and Design at the Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA). The aim of the IFA is to improve the work opportunities and job satisfaction of young people, avoid student debt, and address the skills shortage in the UK.

For more details contact Will McLean – w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

Technical Studies website – https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Building with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT),” Andrew Waugh from Waugh Thistleton Architects, Thursday, October 8 at 18:00 [online via BB]

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 8th of October at 6pm

Event link:  https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/8d7c6b34eb16433cb169a07f519d9712

A mass timber building will weigh about 30% of a regular building, and so much reduced foundations … these buildings can be re-purposed, they are easy to adapt.

Andrew Waugh

Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects is a great advocate for the use of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in construction and he first used it in a small project in 2003. His practice, subsequently built a nine-storey residential CLT tower in Murray Grove, Hackney, London and has demonstrated its success for the construction of dense urban housing and office projects. Waugh has also used other engineered timber products such as Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), which is a large section of bonded timber veneers providing the equivalent cross-sectional strength of steel.

Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton, met as students at Kingston University and established Waugh Thistleton in 1997. Waugh Thistleton Architects is a Shoreditch based architectural practice producing thoughtful and sustainable projects in its own neighbourhood and beyond. The practice is a world leader in engineered timber and pioneer in the field of tall timber buildings. In addition to being immersed in both design and construction, they run research projects, teach and experiment in timber, with their full-time timber engineer and the many PhD and Masters students that come to work with them.

For more details contact Will McLean – w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

Technical Studies website – https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “The Shape of Green” Mick Pearce, Thursday, October 1, 18:00 [online via BB]

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Thursday, 1st of October at 6.00pm

Event link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/2415664a77cb470bb266d845cf4bcb76 

Michael Pearce is a graduate of the AA and was a student of the socio-technology gurus Reyner Banham and Cedric Price. Pearce was responsible for the design and supervision of the award-winning Eastgate Centre in Harare and the CH2 (Council House 2) Municipal offices in Melbourne Australia. The metaphor for Eastgate was the termitary, the metaphor for CH2 is the tree. Pearce believes that the architecture and its visual expression should respond to the natural, socio-cultural and economic environment of its location in the same way that an ecosystem in nature is embedded in its site. 

Pearce has been working in Zimbabwe and Zambia for 33 years. His experience covers a wide range from building in remote parts of Central Africa to converting buildings in north east England and large-scale city developments in Harare, Zimbabwe. Committed to appropriate and responsive architecture, Michael Pearce has specialised in the development of buildings which have low maintenance, low capital and running costs and renewable energy systems of environmental control. His most recent work involves developing passive control systems in small-scale single storey buildings as well as large-scale commercial multi-storey buildings using building methods which rely even less on imported materials, technologies or human resources. He has been closely involved in the development of rammed earth construction for low cost housing in remote locations in Zimbabwe where transport and energy are the largest costs in producing buildings.  

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “An Introduction to the History of Fortifications” Prof Jeremy Black, University of Exeter, Thursday, November 28, M416, Marylebone Campus, 18:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 28th of November, 18:30

Where: M416, Robin Evans Room, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS

Prof Jeremy Black MBE is a British historian and a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. He is the author of over 100 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described as “the most prolific historical scholar of our age”.

Black graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge, with a starred first and then did postgraduate work at St John’s and Merton Colleges, Oxford. He taught at Durham University from 1980 as a lecturer, then professor, before moving to Exeter University in 1996. He has lectured in Australasia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the U.S.. He was editor of Archives, journal of the British Records Association, from 1989 to 2005. He has served on the Council of the British Records Association (1989–2005); the Council of the Royal Historical Society (1993–1996 and 1997–2000); and the Council of the List and Index Society (from 1997). He has sat on the editorial boards of History Today, International History Review, Journal of Military History, Media History and the Journal of the Royal United Services Institute (now the RUSI Journal). He is an advisory fellow of the Barsanti Military History Center at the University of North Texas.

Wikipedia 2019

For lecture details contact Will McLean

w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Tackling Climate Change with Affordable Green Housing” Ripin Kalra, University of Westminster, Thursday, November 14, M416, Marylebone Campus, 18:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 14th of November, 18:30

Where: M416, Robin Evans Room, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS

Ripin Kalra has been working in Disaster Risk Reduction, Low Carbon Development and Climate Resilience since 1992. He has first-hand experience in over 30 countries across Caribbean and Latin America, South and South-East Asia, Middle-East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

He has been a technical manager, project director and adviser on several climate resilience and resource efficiency projects and co-authored the EU-ACP/GFDRR-supported “National Climate Resilience Investment Plan – CRIP” for Belize with the World Bank. Between 2012 and 2013 he carried out an independent review of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF). He was Low Carbon Infrastructure/ Risk reduction adviser on the “Physical Development Plan” for Montserrat, with DfID between 2011 and 2012. In 2010 he provided pro-bono housing and planning support in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the earthquake. He led the World Bank/ IFC supported ‘Affordable Green Housing’ work in Kenya and India. In 2014 he worked with DfID on the “Nigeria Urban Infrastructure Facility”, and in 2012 was Team Leader for the World Bank’s “Assessment of Insurance Instruments for Climate Risk in sub-Saharan Africa”. He has also worked on safe, green and efficient education and health infrastructure in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. He was Project Director for the Remediation Co-ordination Cell work supported by ILO in 2017-18 on garment factory safety in Bangladesh and UK FCO supported ‘Climate proofing Indian smart Cities’ in 2017-18.    

Ripin has been working at University of Westminster since 2000 and currently leads post-graduate modules entitled “Urban Risk and Resilience” and ‘Environmental assessment, policy and climate change’.

Ripin is a pro-bono Trustee of Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, the Commonwealth Housing Trust (CHT).

For lecture details contact Will McLean

w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk

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