Tag: cities

Technical Studies Lecture Series: “Cities of the future and the circular economy: Het Platform” by Ton Venhoeven, VenhoevenCS architecture + urbanism | Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 18:00 (GMT), Room M416, Marylebone Campus + Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 18th of November at 6pm (GMT)

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

Ton will be giving the talk in person and the talk will also be live-streamed via this link. 

As the construction industry works towards a more sustainable post-pandemic future, Ton presents a timely, expert viewpoint having worked with government on a 2050 City of the Future design study. This study explored how cities should react to major challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, natural resource depletion and pollution. As the leading architectural firm on the team, VenhoevenCS have conducted substantial research around this topic.   

The practice’s key projects centre around building healthier and more liveable cities with nature-inclusive design. The MicroCity is an innovative concept for buildings and neighbourhoods which reduces travel needs and is a major contribution to cities becoming truly self-sufficient and sustainable. An example of this is Het Platform, VenhoevenCS’ recently completed a mixed-use community building for living, working and playing right next to Utrecht Central station.  

Ton is a former Chief Government Advisor on Infrastructure to the Dutch government from 2008-2012. During his time in government he advised on sustainability of infrastructural, urban and regional planning. Prior to this he was a Professor of Architectural History and Theory at Eindhoven University of Technology (2005-2009), where his design research focused on the pedestrian city of tomorrow. Alongside his work as an architect and urban designer, Ton is an international consultant for Smart MicroCity and Healthy City, integrated planning, multimodal mobility networks and transit-oriented development. Among his clients are national and international governmental organisations, NGO’s and foundations. Sustainability is in Ton’s DNA: ever since the publication of Limits to Growth in 1972, he has made it a point in both his professional and private life to contribute to a sustainable, equitable world in which all life can thrive. His latest focus is on biodiversity and nature inclusive design. 

https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com/

For details contact: Will McLean – w.f.mclean@wmin.ac.uk 

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/ 

Royal Academy: “Cities and Colonialism” – Yara Sharif (DS22 tutor) in conversation with Ana Naomi de Sousa, Aya Nassar and Léopold Lambert, Monday, December 3, 18:30-19:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 3rd of December 2018, 6.30 — 7.30pm

Where: The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly

How have the urban spaces of Lisbon, Cairo and Jerusalem been shaped by colonialism? Join our panel as we discuss the impact of colonialism on contemporary urban landscapes.

Architecture has been used politically, to shape identities, form behaviours and as a tool to channel power. However, architecture also has the potential to subvert politics and to reappropriate space.

In the second event in The Space of Colonialism series, we look at the political potential of architecture through the lens of colonialism and the city. With a focus on Lisbon, Cairo and Jerusalem, we will explore how post-colonial politics continue to transform the built environment and shape public space in these different geographical contexts.

Our panel will examine how a colonial state can demolish and construct parts of a city to assert control, organising cities into spaces in which citizens are permitted or excluded. Join us for a discussion on the city as a stage for anti-colonial struggles.

The Space of Colonialism series is guest curated by Léopold Lambert and The Funambulist, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to the politics of space and bodies.

Speakers:

Ana Naomi de Sousa is a filmmaker and writer, whose work addresses history, spatial politics and identity. She has directed documentaries, including The Architecture of Violence; and Angola – Birth of a Movement, and was co-producer of the Rebel Architecture series for Al Jazeera English. She has collaborated with Forensic Architecture, most recently on the interactive documentary Saydnaya.

Aya Nassar is a PhD student at the University of Warwick, UK. She works on ordering urban space and the politics of space in Cairo. Her research looks particularly at ‘Fire’, ‘Mud’, ‘Cement’ and ‘Dust’ as key material/metaphoric elements of space that have acted on the city, to see how they can enrich our understanding of the politics of post-independence Middle East and the production of urban spaces through postcolonial statecraft.

Yara Sharif is an architect and holds a PhD from the University of Westminster. Her book Architecture of Resistance: Cultivating Moments of Possibility within the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict investigates the relationship between architecture, politics and power, and how these factors interplay in light of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Léopold Lambert (chair) is a Paris-based architect and the editor-in-chief of The Funambulist.

For more information: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/event/the-space-of-colonialism-cities-and-colonialism