ARCHITECTURE AND CITIZENSHIP
Date: 13 February 2017
Time: 6.30-8.30pm Venue: Urban Innovation Centre, 1 Sekforde Street, London, EC1R 0BE Speakers: Alastair Parvin, co-founder, WikiHouse Foundation Finn Williams, public planner, GLA Euan Mills, Urban Design and Planning Lead, Future Cities Catapult Nathan Ardaiz, Research Associate, Azuko Lucia Caistor, Associate, Architecture Sans Frontières, UK Martin Barry, Director, reSITE Other speakers to be confirmed. MoA’s thematic programming on Architecture and Citizenship explores the relationship between politics and the built environment with the aim of helping architects become active agents of social change. In their daily practice, architects and designers work with different types of publics, ranging from private individuals, groups and communities, to corporations or public institutions. Defined and guided by these relationships, the architects’ work both reflects those very publics and actively constructs them by giving shape to their their needs, desires, social status, and aspirations. What does it mean to design for each of these different types of publics? How do different scales and types of citizenship in turn shape the architect’s work? What is the politics behind designing for individuals and families, rather than entire countries or regions? This talk will bring together seven speakers whose work is closely related to different types of publics, be it as clients or final users. The categories - individual, family, community, city, region, country and international - will point to the wide-ranging impact that designing for each group has within the broader context of a civic society. |
Date: 27 February 2017
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm Location: Future Cities Catapult Speakers: Robert Sakula, Partner, Ash Sakula Other speakers to be confirmed. Does participatory design lead to better buildings? How and why do architects benefit from a close collaboration with users during the design process? The third event in our Architecture and Citizenship season takes the format of a debate to understand whether getting the users involved results in better designs. On one hand, co-design allows a wide range of people affected by a particular design challenge to make a creative contribution in shaping the solution of a problem. On the other hand, a large number of participants involved might make the design process much more complicated and difficult to manage, often with limited benefits. This talk aims to understand what tools are available to architects to facilitate co-design processes, and what might be the potential obstacles as well as rewards. We will hear from four speakers who will each present their case for a more critical engagement with the users in the design process to understand how participation impacts the current practice in the built environment industry. |
PAST THEMATIC PROGRAMMING
Date: 30 January 2017
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm Venue: The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, WC1E 7BT Tickets: £15 + VAT Speakers: Adam Kaasa, Director, Theatrum Mundi, LSE Cities Maria S. Giudici, Lecturer, Royal College of Art and thr Architectural Assocation Other speakers to be confirmed. This talk is organised in partnership with The Built Environment Trust. Does citizenship have physicality and to what extent do physical spaces enable active citizenship? How does urban design relate to democracy? How do designed spaces inform negotiations between the public and centres of political power? What role does the design profession play in fostering civic participation? The first talk in MoA’s The Architecture of Citizenship events season aims to understand what role the built environment plays in mediating the relationship between citizens and the state, setting the stage for further discussions on the physicality of citizenship, that will take place over the coming year. “Design, Dialogue and Democracy” starts from the premise that urban design is necessarily political, as are the planning decisions that shape the built environment on different scales, from the home to the city. As such, different types of spaces are particularly apt at empowering citizens to make their sentiments public and actively participate in society. From movements like Occupy Wall Street, protests in Tahrir Square or the migrant crisis in Calais, the design of space still remains - implicitly or explicitly - a central protagonist in political processes and creation of a new social order. Moving from theory to practice, the aim of this talk is to offer the necessary theoretical framework and terminology for discussing the relationship between citizenship and the built environment. Starting from the evolving connections between public space and public sphere, this talk will tackle the politics of architecture, the symbolic and strategic value of public space, as well as the idea of citizenship as process rather than status, to question whether specific design decisions can help shape a more active citizenship and a more inclusive society. Building Healthy Communities: Mental Healthcare
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Date: 12 September 2016
Time: 6.30-8.30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Joe Forster (chair), President, Design in Mental Health Network Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, Marie Curie Fellow, Space Syntax Lab, the Bartlett, UCL Ruairi Reeves, Associate Director, Medical Architecture Wendy de Silva, Mental Health Lead, IBI Group Price: £15 + VAT, concessions £12 + VAT This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Over the past few decades, an increasing amount of research has highlighted the links between the built environment and mental health. On one hand, the built environment is often seen as a significant source of mental distress, while on the other, thoughtfully designed spaces and places destined for mental health care are central for positive patient outcomes. With the annual cost to society In England of £100 billion, it is important that architects approach the design of spaces for mental health care with necessary theoretical and empirical research on hand. Beyond privacy, natural light, noise reduction, space and better communication, what other key characteristics should architects incorporate in their designs? Taking the needs of both staff and patients as a starting point, this panel discussion will look at how architects can design therapeutic environments that minimise restraint, uphold patient dignity and aid recovery. Building Healthy Communities: Hospitals and Healthcare
Building Healthy Communities: Hospitals and Healthcare
Date: 6 June 2016 Time: 6:30PM Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Christopher Shaw, Senior Director, Medical Architecture Oliver Marlow, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Studio Tilt John Cooper, Founding Director, JCA Ann-Luoise Ward, Chief Operating Officer, Maggie’s Lily Jencks, Founding Director, Lily Jencks Studio This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Increasingly, we are realising that poorly designed healthcare services and tools can directly affect patients’ health. In fact, recent research has revealed that better design of spaces for health can lead not only to improved patient and staff experience, but also to better clinical outcomes. As we face major global health challenges, we need to start considering design as an integral element and driver of change in healthcare. This panel discussion will explore the ways in which architects and designers are addressing the need for the built environment to provide safe, effective and high-quality places that can adapt to changing care patterns. Designing for Public Health
Date: 4 April 2016
Time: 6:30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Paul Lincoln (Chair), Deputy Chief Executive, Landscape Institute Lucy Saunders FFPH, Public Health Specialist – Transport & Public Realm, Transport for London and Greater London Authority Tom Armour, Global Landscape Architecture Leader, Arup Rachel Toms, Programme Lead, Design Council Cabe Henk Bouwman, Director, Academy of Urbanism This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Air quality is deteriorating in many of the world’s cities. Nearly two-thirds of people with diabetes live in urban areas. Wealthier lifestyles, prioritising convenience and fast food, has led to obesity issues and urban dwellers have far-higher stress levels than their rural counterparts. With over half of the world’s population living in urban areas, cities have a duty to do a better job of protecting public health. Architects and designers play a critical role in shaping the quality of our environment; they work in collaboration with end users and their needs and ambitions, and they have the power to restore and promote mental and physical health. This panel discussion will reveal ways in which the built environment industry is tackling these issues and where we can improve. Rethinking the way we live: Custom-build Housing
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Building Healthy Communities:
Schools and Education Date: 20 June 2016 Time: 6:30PM Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Nick Mirchandani (chair), Director, Architecture PLB Edmund Fowles, Partner, Feilden Fowles David Hills, Founding Director, DSDHA Dr Sharon Wright, Senior Associate, The Learning Crowd Jonathan Lazar, Aut--Aut architecture This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Building Healthy Communities is a series of talks that focus on how creative thinking innovative design in particular building typologies are contributing to collective health and wellbeing in communities. With pupil numbers set to exceed eight million by 2023, we will need the equivalent of almost 2,000 new schools. This provides us with an opportunity to uphold the view that schools can and should be more than just practical, functional buildings – they need to elevate the aspirations of children, teachers and the wider community. To this end we can redefine what we expect from educational institutions and look at strategies to bring nature into the classroom, or rather take the classroom into nature. Further dissolving the gap between education and the environment, promoting an awareness of health and wellbeing at an early age. Attitudes towards the environment start developing at an early age and — once formed — do not change easily. Children are potential effective agents for promoting environmentally responsible behaviour in others and carrying forward a positive view of sustainability. Designing for the Refugee Crisis
Designing for the Refugee Crisis
Date: 9 May 2016 Time: 6:30PM Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, WC1E 7BT London Tickets: £15, concessions £12 Speakers: Karen McVeigh (chair), senior news reporter, the Guardian Uli Schmid, Senior Expert, Humanitarian Action Program, Innovation & Planning Agency Association Dr. Harriet Harriss, Senior Tutor in Interior Design & Architecture, Royal College of Art Tom Scott-Smith, Associate Professor at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford Johan Karlsson, Interim Managing Director, Better Shelter This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Over the past year the refugee situation across Europe has escalated into a full-blown crisis. Very recently the "Jungle" refugee and migrant camp in Calais - a symbol of Europe's immigration crisis - has started being demolished leaving many displaced. Architects are equipped with the knowledge that can provide a solution to one of the most basic human rights refugees need: shelter. The question is not should the architectural community respond, but how? This panel discussion will shed light on some of the work architects and designers are doing in response to the crisis. Rethinking the way we live: Sustainable volume housing
Date: 21 March 2016
Time: 6:30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: David Orr (chair), Chief Executive, National Housing Federation Sue Riddlestone OBE, CEO & co-founder, Bioregional Pete Halsall, Chief Executive, Good Homes Alliance Richard Lavington, Founding Director, Maccreanor Lavington James Taylor-Foster, European Editor-at-Large, ArchDaily and Hikaru Nissanke, Founding Director, OMMX This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. The country is in the grip of a housing shortage - we currently build half the number of homes we need each year. This panel will discuss the necessity to build in volume but also to build sustainably for future generations. How can we speed up housebuilding whilst ensuring good design, minimise resource use and reduce the environmental impact of development? The panel will discuss sustainable housing from an economic, social and ecological perspective. Designing for Flood Risk
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Date: 22 February 2016
Time: 6:30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Chair: Michael Holmes, Chair of the National Custom & Self Build Association. Alex Ely, Director, Mae Chris Brown, Chief Executive, Igloo Alice Grahame, The Guardian and resident of Walter Segal house Gus Zogolovitch, CEO and founder, Inhabit Homes Geoff Shearcroft, Director, AOC Architecture This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre. Custom-build has been a mainstay of housing markets for decades in countries such as Japan, Australia, Belgium and Germany, where around 60 per cent of new homes constructed annually are now built by the people who will live in them. The UK appetite for custom-build is huge with a ready market of over six million people looking to get involved in a custom-build project, and over two-thirds of people reluctant to buy an off-the-peg volume-built house. However, just 10,000 self and custom built homes were expected to go up in 2015, this panel discussion will debate the reasons why and what the built environment industry can do to encourage growth in custom-build. Rethinking the way we live: Co-housing
Date: 14 December 2015
Time: 6.30PM - 8.30PM Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Prof. Irena Bauman (chair), Professor of Sustainable Urbanism, University of Sheffield Meredith Bowles, Mole Architects Maria Brenton, Older Women's CoHousing Stephen Hill, C20 Future Planners David Saxby, Architecture 00 As London grapples with the housing crisis and rental and property prices continue to soar, there is an increasing demand for different housing options and greater control over the way we live. This event presents some pioneering co-housing examples both built and in development. Hear architect, resident and campaigner's perspectives which provide alternatives to the status quo. This event is organised in partnership with The Building Centre Health and Wellbeing Programme
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Designing for Flood Risk
Date: 8 February 2016 Time: 6:30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Paul Lincoln (Chair), Deputy Chief Executive, Landscape Institute Mary Dhonau OBE, Community Flood Consultant, Know Your Flood Risk Campaign Robert Barker, Director, Baca Architects Peter Wilder, Director of Wilder Associates and a BRE Associate Oli Cunningham, Associate, dRMM The recent devastating flooding in the UK was a stark reminder of the need for architects to urgently design for flood risk, especially as wetter winters are predicted in our changing climate and the certainty of more extreme weather events. This panel discussion will explore design responses to flood risk and innovative designs architects are proposing to also consider living with water rather than just defend against it. Rethinking the way we live: Housing an ageing population
Date: 25 January 2016
Time: 6:30pm Location: The Building Centre, 26 Store St, London WC1E 7BT Speakers: Ben Page (Chair), Chief Executive of Ipsos Mori Deane Simpson, Royal Danish Academy of Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen and author of Young-Old: Urban Utopias of an Ageing Society Susanne Clase, White Arkitekter Tim Riley, RCKa Fran Balaam, The CASS and Regeneration Team, GLA For decades, there have not been enough homes to meet the needs of our growing and ageing population. The number of households in England is projected to increase 10 per cent from 2011 to 2021, but the highest increase is projected to be for households headed by someone between 55 and 64 years old. As life expectancy increases, an urgent national effort is needed to build homes that will meet our changing needs and aspirations as we all grow older. This panel will showcase examples of innovative designs for communities of older people and how housing design can alleviate some of the issues affecting older people. MoA Health and Wellbeing Programme
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