Category: Events

SA+C Tutors’ and Students’ Work Featured in Dezeen Magazine: “Architects for Gaza creates fragments of demountable clinic for Gaza”

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

As a part of the London Festival of Architecture, on June 25, 2024, Architects for Gaza, led by the Senior Tutors Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzari (MArch DS22 and MA Architecture), displayed sections of an experimental clinic in Marylebone Campus that it plans to build in Gaza as soon as soon as the conditions allow for access. The prototype was designed and built in collaboration with the Senior Tutors Paolo Cascone (BSc Architecture and Environmental Design) and François Girardin (Fabrication Lab and MArch DS23) and a number of students from the above courses.

The prototype was on display until the end of June and the exhibition was covered by the Dezeen Magazine:

“On show at the University of Westminster School of Architecture and Cities, the full-scale segments were designed to demonstrate how structures could be built to provide primary care in Gaza where 70 per cent of all health infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed since the most recent escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in October.

Named Experimental Lab/Clinic, the project by Architects for Gaza was designed by curators Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari, Francois Girardin and Paolo Cascone to be built using the scarce materials available in Gaza. The clinics would also act as a kind of “atlas of possibilities” to demonstrate construction techniques that people can use to rebuild their homes and neighbourhoods.”

Dezeen, 17.07.2024

You can access the full article here.

SA+C at London Festival of Architecture: “Gaza Experimental Lab” | Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 18:00 (BST) in Robin Evans Room, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Tuesday, 25th of June 2024, 6pm (BST)

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

Please join us on Tuesday, 25th of June at 6pm (BST) for the opening of the Gaza Experimental Lab. 

This 1:1 installation is a fragment of an off the grid experimental lab typology for the context of Gaza. It brings to the surface alternative materials and techniques built out of urgency and scarcity, challenging the consumer-driven construction industry, both in UK and the Global south by re-appropriating its discards. The room in its complete form can be used as a healthcare clinic, class room or Home.

The Lab, being ongoing process of testing and making, suggests alternative use of materials including crushed concrete, R-bars, corrugated sheets, sandbags, fired/unfired clay panels and other components. The outcome may suggest a new and unfamiliar aesthetic inspired by the local context and needs.

The exhibition is hosted by University of Westminster, School of Architecture, 25-30 June. Access need assistance available at the reception.

Key partners: University of Westminster (MA Architecture + BSc Architecture and Environmental Design, Fabrication Lab), Architects For Gaza and Mobile International Surgical Team.

This event is part of the London Festival of Architecture 2024 and it was supported by Quentin Hogg Trust (QHT).

ProBE Lunchtime Talk: “Energy retrofitting strategies for tackling energy poverty” by Prof Jacopo Gaspari, University of Bologna | Tuesday, July 17, 2024 at 13:00 (BST) in M612, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Tuesday, 17th of July 2024, 1pm-2pm (BST)

Where: AED Studio M612, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

You are invited to the lunchtime talk by Prof Jacopo Gaspari, visiting from the University of Bologna under the Erasmus plus agreement. The lecture will be on one of Jacopo’s research topics, which very much resonates with the work done in ProBE and in the UK.

The transition towards zero carbon is calling for more effective retrofitting solutions to maximize energy savings while reducing construction time and disruption for tenants. In the background, the rise of energy costs, the disparities in spending capacity, and the cost of living are exacerbating differences, fostering energy poverty as a more diffuse issue. A cross-scale and cross-disciplinary approach is needed to address more responsive solutions. The lecture will review examples and case studies from the Italian context and identify opportunities for future strategic solutions.

Jacopo Gaspari is an Architect and Professor of Architectural Technology at the University of Bologna where he teaches Building design for climate change and Technologies for energy efficiency, and he also runs his research activity in the field of building and district renovation; high performing building envelopes; adaptation and climate responsive strategies; LCA and service life of buildings and components. He also leads the NEXTBUILT observatory aimed to report promising facts, events, and trends that give a contribution to a future-proof built environment. 

Meet University of Westminster Architecture Graduates at “Hello Practice” on Friday, June 14, 2024 from 16:00 to 20:00 (BST), Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Friday, 14th of June 2024 from 4pm to 8pm (BST)

Where: Architecture studios, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Book you place here.

An invitation from University of Westminster Architecture graduates to an end of year show viewing with events, presentations and drinks, and the opportunity to meet our fresh graduates.

ALL WELCOME!

ProBE Lunchtime Talk: “Assessing Thermal Comfort in Public Buildings” by Juan Carlos Ragel Bonilla | Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 13:00 (BST) in M612, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Tuesday, 18th of June 2024, 1pm-2pm (BST)

Where: AED Studio M612, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

You are invited to the lunchtime talk by Juan Carlos Ragel Bonilla, Visiting Researcher at ProBE this summer. Juan Carlos is a doctoral student and researcher in the Department of Engineering at the University of Seville and his PhD topic is on the application of machine learning to thermal comfort models in public buildings. 

ProBE Research Symposium: “Sustainability, Social Impact and Equity in the Production of the Built Environment” | Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 10am (BST) in Room C1.15-16, New Cavendish Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Tuesday, 9th of July 2024 from 10am to 5pm (BST)

Where: Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment (ProBE), Room C1.15-16, University of Westminster, New Cavendish Campus, 115 New Cavendish St, London W1W 6UW

To book you place, please visit here.

The Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment (ProBE) – a multi-faculty research centre spanning Westminster Business School (WBS) and the School of Architecture and Cities (SA+C) at the University of Westminster – is inviting you to a research symposium on reassessing research priorities for the study of the production of the built environment.

The symposium will be an opportunity to hear about ProBE’s current and recently completed research and to discuss priorities for future research on the production of the built environment, in particular the issues that most urgently need addressing, such as combatting climate change, improving vocational education and training (VET), and addressing sectoral equality, diversity and inclusion challenges in UK, Europe and across the globe. It will bring together ProBE members, past, existing and prospective collaborators, project partners from within the University of Westminster and beyond, including academic organisations, unions, industry practitioners, environmental organisations, policymakers and the wider society, for an interactive day of discussion.

The symposium will include keynote presentations from ProBE members and external speakers and panel discussions on the following key research areas:

  • embedding climate literacy into construction VET in different countries,
  • women in construction in Europe and beyond,
  • fuel poverty and energy retrofit in housing in the UK,
  • transforming VET and working conditions in the scaffolding sector across Europe.

School of Architecture + Cities Professorial Inaugural Lecture: “Delivering Net Zero Places: Realities, Constraints and Opportunities” by Jim Coleman | Monday, June 3, 2024 at 18:00 (BST) in M416, Marylebone Campus + Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 3rd of June 2024 at 6pm (BST)

Where: M416, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS + Online

Eventbrite booking link is here.

Jim Coleman’s inaugural lecture will take place on Monday 3 June at 18.00 in M416, with an online option available. Jim Coleman is one of our highly skilled Professors of Practice. The lecture is titled: ‘Delivering Net Zero Places: Realities, Constraints and Opportunities.’

LFA 2024 – Tourism and Events Reimagined: Real-life solutions for responsible consumption and production of spaces | Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 16:00 (BST) in LG08, 12 Little Titchfield St, W1W 7BY

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Wednesday, 19th of June 2024

Where: LG08, University of Westminster, 12 Little Titchfield St, W1W 7BY London

Please register your attendance here.

This free event, hosted by the Place and Experience research group at the University of Westminster, will bring together tourism and event professionals and academics to discuss practical solutions for the responsible consumption and production of space.

Tourism and event experiences have the power to create significant change in people, places and organisations. While many of these changes are positive, others can be very detrimental to the environment, spaces, and lives of the residents where these activities take place.

This event will consist of a panel from the tourism and events community, including: Priya Narain (KERB); Claudio Giambrone (Wembley Park London); Stroma Cole (Equality in Tourism); Belvin Tawuya (Africa Day Every Day); Claire O’Neill (A Greener Future) Chiara Orefice (University of Westminster); Louise Storch (British Standards Institute). Ilaria Pappalepore from the University of Westminster will chair the panel.

Our panellists will share their views and experiences on the responsible consumption and production of space. We will then invite our audience and speakers to engage in the 3-minute active solution challenge: can you suggest and illustrate in 3 minutes a sustainable, real-life solution to a problem affecting the consumption and production of space? Participants will get the opportunity to collaborate and share best practices, which they will be able to apply to their own professional context as a result.

This event is part of the London Festival of Architecture 2024.