Tag: London Festival of Architecture

OPEN 2023 | Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 18:00 (BST), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 15th of June 2023 at 6pm (BST)

Where: Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Rd, NW1 5LS

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER’S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND CITIES INVITES YOU TO OPEN 2023

REGISTER VIA EVENTBRITE

Head of School Harry Charrington cordially invites you to attend the opening of the graduating students’ degree show, OPEN 2023, featuring work from:

  • – Architecture BA
  • – Architecture and Environmental Design BSc
  • – Architectural Technology BSc
  • – Designing Cities BA
  • – Interior Architecture BA
  • – MArch

Preview

Thursday 15 June, 6 – 9pm

Show opened by Philomine Wales

Exhibition continues

Friday 16 June – Sunday 2 July

You can also RSVP to DCDI-Events@westminster.ac.uk

Featured image: Diana Fox, MArch

UoW + London Festival of Architecture: Hamza Shaikh “Drawing Attention: Architecture in the Age of Social Media” | June 8, 2023 at 6.45pm (BST) in MG14, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, June 8, 6.45pm-7.45pm

Where: MG14, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Rd, NW1 5LS

The School of Architecture + Cities is excited to host its alumnus Hamza Shaikh, who will be speaking about his recently published and timely book on architecture and social media.

Drawing Attention – Architecture in the Age of Social Media by Hamza Shaikh is a new book published by RIBA which provides practical drawing guidance from leading figures around the world.

In the context of huge changes occurring in the profession of architecture as well as the education system, Shaikh’s book sets the tone for a new era of architectural dissemination. “New tools, media, interfaces and ideas are emerging through social media; our new digital common for inspiration and communication. Students now go to Instagram for drawing guidance as universities tend not to explicitly teach artistic expression – arguably the most useful skill for visionaries and creative professionals. However this book provides step-by-step insights into a huge variety of drawing styles and methods to help people gain confidence in their creative potential”.

Join Hamza Shaikh at the University of Westminster for an in-depth dive into the journey of writing his book and understanding the exciting but unknown future of architects in the age of social media.

LFA Website

For more information and to book your free ticket please go here.

VR Design Summer School: “Re-Imagining Coral Reefs” run by John Zhang | June 19-28, 2023

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Re-Imagining Coral Reefs is a VR Design Summer School that invites student co-creators to contribute to an immersive VR installation that communicates the vital climate science of coral reef restoration to a wider audience. Working with marine biologists from ZSL London, students will explore the vital scientific research on coral reefs, an ecosystem that provides habitats to 25% of the world’s marine species. 

Using 3D scans and audio data of coral reefs collected from the field in Indonesia, students will create their own 3D VR interpretations of coral reef models that engage the public in a more empathic understanding of the climate science. They will also be re-designing new forms of reef restoration structures in collaboration with the scientists. Through these activities, students will be learning to use the Meta Quest VR headset as a design tool, as well as a range of digital tools typically deployed in spatial and game design, such as Grasshopper, Unity, Gravity Sketch, as well as fabricating their creation via 3D printing. The output from the summer school will be part of an London Festival of Architecture Exhibition/Event.

The Summer School is open to all students within the school, including final year students. Places are limited, so an interview process will be implemented. Once we have received your application, we will be in touch with further instructions. 

Briefing Session 1: 31st  March 1pm M327

Briefing Session 2: 27th of April 1pm M306

Apply at: https://tinyurl.com/yc5dtufy

Contact: John Zhang at zhangj@westminster.ac.uk

LFA 2022 | Make Design Matter Talk: Article 25 & Hayes Davidson “Kao La Amani Children’s Village” | Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 18:30 (BST) at Hayes Davidson Studio

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Thursday, 30th of June 2022 at 6.30pm (BST)

Where: Hayes Davidson Studio, Studio A, 21 Conduit Place, London W2 1HS

In Tanzania, roughly 8% of children under the age of 18 are orphaned with an estimated 90,000 orphans in the northern region of Kilimanjaro alone.

Over fifteen years of humanitarian architectural experience have shown them how architecture can create a positive lasting impact. The Kao La Amani Children’s Village in Tanzania (https://www.article-25.org/project-kao-la-amani) is the focus of this month’s talk addressing how they build communities in places like Boma Ng’ombe which upon completion will replace an existing orphanage. From intimate living and study spaces to expansive areas for sport and play, the village is designed as a safe place where children of different ages can grow and develop together. Operable off-grid, the sustainability features allow the school to run at minimal costs while protecting its natural resources and ensuring the Children’s Village can continue to provide to children in this area for decades to come. 

Hayes Davidson is co-presenting and hosting this Make Design Matter Talk. Hayes Davidson supported on-the-ground charity Tír na nÓg Childrens Foundation CLG, by providing a visual narrative which would both engage the community of Boma in the design process, and also help secure funding for the construction of the project. They designed an immersive VR experience, using a playful ‘picture book’ aesthetic to appeal particularly to children. Their visuals reference the materials and colours of the local environment, and even the children’s existing school uniform, to create a process of engagement which is accessible, familiar and encourages participation. 

Hayes Davidson is a studio bringing architecture to life through powerful, emotive, and immersive artworks in various media and delighted to have partnered with humanitarian architecture charity Article 25 for the Kao La Amani project.

MAKE DESIGN MATTER is a series of monthly inspirational talks for humanitarians. Article 25 brings together outstanding design professionals who work with and support local communities through international development. These inspiring monthly panel discussions consider the pursuit of progressive, sustainable architecture, which focuses on the communities they serve. 

Register for this live talk here.

London Festival of Architecture

Article 25 is a small charity that relies on the support of built environment professionals and others to help fund our work. Please make a donation in support of their work.

LFA 2022 + SA+C: The Finnish Sauna | June 24-30, 2022 | Victoria Embankment Gardens

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

In 2017 and 2019 the School of Architecture + Cities built two pavilions in Finland in collaboration with the Finnish Institute, the architect Sami Rintala.

This year, our students are building a pavilion here in London: a working Finnish sauna in Victoria Embankment Gardens – just next to Embankment tube station. Student helpers from the Fabrication Laboratory, are currently prefabricating the sauna in the Fabrication Lab, and from 24–30 June, as part of the London Festival Architecture, you are all welcome to watch the students construct it on site. 

It is bookable to be used until 8 July.

For more details and to book, please go here.

Later in the summer the sauna will move to Lake Windermere.

LFA 2022 + ArCCAT | Architecture Acts: A Climate Performance in Three Parts | University of Westminster, Marylebone Campus, June 24, 2022, 14:00-17:00

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Friday, 24th of June 2022 from 2pm to 5pm

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

Architecture Acts asks participants to think beyond carbon calculations as architecture’s response to climate change. It is predicated on the understanding that architecture acts on and with the environment and that acts of protest can be affirmative and inclusive.

Act 1: The Conversation, initiated by Sarah Ichioka, co-author of Flourish: Design Paradigms for our Planetary Emergency (2021) and Elisa Iturbe, guest editor of Log 47, ‘Overcoming Carbon Form’ (2019), with Peg Rawes and Jeremy Till as respondents, discusses architecture’s implication in climate change and its potential for alternative action.

Act 2: Postcards to our Planet. In 1909 architecture student and suffragette Elspeth McClelland was posted to the Prime Minister, an action designed to allow women’s voices to be heard. We will make postcards as acts of solidarity, conversations with our planet.

Act 3: A Tea Party to honour McClelland’s action. Participants will be asked to perform readings of their postcards.

This event is free, but to attend please register here.

Featured Image [segment of the original]: Daisy Solomon and Elspeth McClelland with a post boy, police and an official outside 10 Downing Street, attempting to get themselves delivered as letters LSE Library – https://www.flickr.com/photos/lselibrary/22934656091/ On reverse of photo is printed ‘Copyright: World’s Graphic Press Limited, 36-38 Whitefriars Street, Fleet Street, London’.

SA+C & LFA: Thinking, Practising, Listening; Exploring Inclusion in Architecture | Monday, June 21, 2021 from 9:30 to 13:00 (BST)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

This online symposium will focus on the importance to architectural practice and research of listening. To listen effectively is not just to hear: it means actively seeking perspectives from those people in society whose voices are often the least audible. In exploring a wide range of voices in architectural practice, theory and history, the symposium intersects with the themes of decolonisation and inclusion, which are embedded in the teaching and research culture of the University of Westminster.

The symposium will also focus on the role of universities in developing and promoting the practice of listening and will feature workshops and lightning presentations from students that explore reciprocal dialogue between teachers and learners within architectural education.

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Dr Huda Tayob, Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on migrant, minor and subaltern architectures, the politics of invisibility in space, and the potential of literature to respond to archival silences. She is co-curator of the open access curriculum Racespacearchitecture.org and the digital podcast series and exhibition Archive of Forgetfulness (archiveofforgetfulness.com).

Huda will be speaking on Transnational Architectures of Care, through her research on Somali malls in South Africa and the US.

09:30 Introduction and opening

Kate Jordan & Shahed Saleem

9.45 Session 1

Jane Tankard & Design Studio 3.1

A collaborative visual and verbal presentation emerging out of conversations with students over 7 years. The meetings were structured around speaking and listening to thoughts on pedagogy, studio, reciprocity and notions of home.

Christine Wall

How are architectural histories silenced? This question is explored with reference to two ongoing studies, one a 1970s architectural collaborative in London, and the other the Little Aden Cantonment, the 1960s extension of British colonial military accommodation which became the largest fully modular project in the world.

Tumpa Husna Fellows

Through her practice based research, Tumpa asks how can architecture amplify the voices of underrepresented communities to enable spatial justice and create social value in places, buildings and neighbourhoods? How can designing inclusive spaces help us respond to the climate injustice?

5 min break

11.15 Session 2

Maria Kramer

Leyton Community Hub; a description of the ongoing process of negotiating the complex mix of stakeholders in this project, from student engagement, public consultations & council requirements. How are these various needs and aspirations understood and managed through processes of listening and engaging?

Davide Deriu

‘Beautiful idea; beautiful building; beautiful materials…but I have problems with vertigo.’

Do practising architects listen to prospective users? How can different perceptions and experiences of space be accounted for? Drawing on his ongoing research on architecture and vertigo, this presentation shall discuss how embodied subjectivities are often neglected in the design process.

Through selected examples, this presentation will situate the issue of vertigo in relation to a broad understanding of spatial experience, and argue that a more inclusive approach might be developed through listening and care.

Elantha Evans & Design Studio 11

An introduction to an experimental research session to re-frame design studios with the empathic imagination in mind.

5 min break

12.15 Session 3

Introduction by Samir Pandya, Assistant Head, School of Architecture + Cities

Keynote

Huda Tayob, University of Cape Town

Transnational Architectures of Care

Conversation

Click here to register for the event via Eventbrite

London Festival of Architecture | Hackney Wick: Free Spaces in Desirable Places | Tuesday, June 15, 19:00-20:30 (BST)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

Hackney Wick is changing fast. Is it ‘the new Shoreditch’? What does that mean and why should we care? Who controls the story as the post-Olympic new-builds radically change the face of what was once the biggest artist colony in Europe? Where does its industrial past fit in? Is the culture and heritage of this unique location valued, or instrumentalised to drive property development? Why might we all have an interest in how this pans out?

As we emerge from a period of intense isolation, what is the role of cultural and informal spaces in our re-socialisation process and what’s its place in the new Hackney Wick? Why do these liminal areas matter and why are they disappearing?

Writer/guide Simon Cole (Hackney Tours) has been documenting the changes for a decade and been involved with local community activism. Echoing Anna Minton, he asks us to consider who the new ‘quarter’ is for? The past is uncertain, so what’s its future here?

Maja Jović is a lecturer in Architecture & Cities at Westminster University who looks at places of conflict and explores how we construct placemaking and memorial narratives. She juxtaposes the built environment with notions of national identity to explore their connection with elements like branding and power dynamics.

Together yet apart, they will lead a socially distanced group walk/conversation, drawing on pre-recorded content that will be sent to attendees ahead of the event. Bring your curiosity, an open mind – and your own thoughts.

After this one-hour walking conversation (all wheelchair accessible) we will then sit down for a 30 minute discussion (location TBC, Covid-dependent) where you will be invited to reflect on what we’ve seen and heard, or just to listen to the debate. To care, we have to be able to appreciate just why these spaces matter so much.

To book tickets and for more details please go here.

Invitation to OPEN2021 [online] | Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 18:30 to 21:00 (BST)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER’S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + CITIES INVITES YOU TO OPEN 2021


Thursday 17th June           To be opened by Sunand Prasad

Head of School Harry Charrington cordially invites you to attend the opening of our graduating students’ virtual degree show, OPEN 2021, featuring work from Architecture BA, Interior Architecture BA, Architecture and Environmental Design BSc, Architectural Technology BSc, Designing Cities BA and Master of Architecture (MArch) (RIBA pt II).

The degree show is part of the School of Architecture and Cities and the second online edition of its annual Exhibition of work.

PLEASE SEE THE INVITATION FOR DETAILS AND TO REGISTER FOR THE LAUNCH (VIA EVENTBRITE).

OPEN 2021 CONTINUES ONLINE 18 JUNE – 30 SEPTEMBER at OPENWestminster.London

London Festival of Architecture Events

In addition to OPEN 2021, the University of Westminster has a number of events taking place as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture:

10 June, 5.30 – 8pm

Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-gaza-architectures-of-hope-in-memory-of-michael-sorkin-tickets-154395817045

11 June, 5 – 7pm

Practices of Care – A Cross-Disciplinary Discussion on Designing for Mental Health and Wellbeing

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/practices-of-care-tickets-154377857327

21 June, 10am – 1pm

Thinking Practicing Listening

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thinking-practicing-listening-tickets-154373271611

25 June, 4 – 6pm

Let’s Build @StJohn’s School Camberwell

https://climatedemonstrator.org.uk/

27 June, 2 – 4pm

Co-Production Community Hub Workshop

https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/event/co-production-community-hub-workshop/

Climate Demonstrator: Live build summer school at Westminster | Open to all University of Westminster students | June 14 – 25, 2021

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

We are pleased to announce the launch of Climate Demonstrator: a live build summer for Westminster students in collaboration with St John the Divine School Kennington.

Be part of a two-week live build summer from 14th to 25th June. Work as part of team to design and fabricate an exciting, interactive playground installation that demonstrates the science of buildings and their interaction with climate and biodiversity. The summer school is open to all Westminster students.

Sign in to your University of Westminster google account and click here to go to the registration form. Click here for the summer school website.

What’s the challenge?

To design and fabricate an exciting interactive playground installation that demonstrates the science of buildings and their interaction with climate and biodiversity.

Who can take part?

The project is open to all students at University of Westminster.

How will I be involved and what will I be doing?

You will be assigned to a team to work with students of other courses and levels. The first stage will be an intensive one-day design charrette or workshop to develop a final design and make a concept model. The models will be taken to the school for discussion and debate. The next stage will be to produce fabrication drawings leading to construction of the final work. The installations will be taken to the school for a day of interaction and exhibition with schoolchildren and for display as part of the London Festival of Architecture.

When will it take place?

The summer school will be held for two weeks from 14th to 25th June, culminating in an exhibition on the last day in the ground of St. John’s School. Everything will be happening on campus and on site so you’ll need to be in London and available to contribute during two weeks.

What will I get out of it?

Constructive fun! After over a year of isolated working this is chance to celebrate a return to face-to-face life and interactive hands-on making. Work with students from other disciplines and levels. Develop organisational and project management skills. Make contact with architects, stakeholders and the schools community. The event is part of the London Festival of Architecture so your work will be on public exhibition.

I’m interested. What do I need to do next?

To register, click here to complete the form

Featured image: Domestic Appliances for Science Oxford, Oxford (UK) 2012