AHRA Events 2006:
The Politics of Making: Theory, Practice,
Product
3rd Annual AHRA International
Conference:
St. Catherine’s College, Oxford
17-18 November 2006
Link
to conference website
CALL FOR PAPERS:
This is the third annual international conference to be held in
the United Kingdom by AHRA. The theme of the conference, The
Politics of Making: Theory, practice, product builds upon
the themes of the two earlier conferences, Critical
Architecture and Models & Drawings:
The invisible nature of architecture.
The Politics of Making focuses on the making of
our cities, buildings, landscapes and written, drawn and filmic
representations of such, taking a broad view of the word ‘politics’.
What is the relationship between politics and the making of space?
What role has theory played in reinforcing or resisting political
power? What are the political difficulties associated with working
relationships? Do the products of our making construct our identity
or liberate us? These kinds of questions will be addressed in
three conference session themes that are linked to the cycle of
making: theory; practice; and product.
Theory
Is making political? The history of design theory records the
story of a highly volatile and contested discourse, in which ideological
positions battle for supremacy. If this is the case, how is it
that any discussion of the link between design and politics/ideology
has become unfashionable in contemporary discourse? This session
aims firstly; to explore historical examples of ideologically
driven theories of making and secondly; to ask if the terms ‘politics’
and ‘ideology’ still have resonance in the contemporary
discourse of making? In a climate of disbelief in the very presence
of ideological frameworks, what is the place of politics in the
making of philosophies of design? Are there prevailing values
in different design disciplines? If so, what are they and who
is implicit in maintaining their perpetuity? Is the public denial
of ideology only concealing the presence of hegemonic or private
theoretical beliefs? Do we still have political antagonisms in
design disciplines?
Practice
The practice of making is considered by many as fraught with political
difficulty. If we reflect on the working relationships between
clients or patrons and designers, the issues of enabling and compromise
come to the surface. This session invites speakers to discuss
what are the political conditions that favour successful design
collaboration? Who dares to speak of unsuccessful collaborations
or commissions represented now only as fictional models and drawings?
What are the hidden politics of working relationships? Do different
disciplines have more authority in working relationships than
others? Does the study of the politics of the practice of making
surface questions relating to authorship?
Product
This session invites debate on two products of making: physical
and narrative. In regard to the former, it asks to what extent
political power is embodied in the physical products of design.
In what ways if any, are our architectural and urban landscapes
representations of particular political agendas? What is the relationship
between built space and identity? Does space construct identity?
How is space defended politically? And what of urban resistance
such as the attacks on space by graffiti artists? In regard to
the latter, questions such as the following might be debated.
What is the political role of the writer in the production of
space? What is the political role of narrative and storytelling
in documenting the politics of making? Is the documentation of
the politics of making restricted?
Please send a 500 word abstract plus 200 word biography
- both included in the body of the email (not as attachments)
- to itroiani@brookes.ac.uk
by 26 June 2006. Include your name, institutional affiliation.
List two recent publications. Please indicate in which strand
you wish your paper to be considered. Abstracts and papers will
be refereed by two academics. You will be notified as to whether
your abstract has been accepted by 24 July 2006. If the abstract
is accepted a full paper is then required and this is also subject
to external review by two peers.
Abstracts due: 26 June
Response to abstracts by: 24 July
Full papers due: 11 September
Response to full papers by: 16 October
Conference dates: 17 and 18 November
Conference tours: 19 November
A selection of the refereed papers from the
conference will be published in ARQ
(Architectural Research Quarterly) in 2007. A conference proceedings
book entitled The Politics of Making
and edited by Professor Mark Swenarton, Dr Igea Troiani and Helena
Webster will be published by Taylor & Francis.
Conference Committee: Adam Cowley, Matt Gaskin,
Professor Mark Swenarton, Dr Igea Troiani, Helena Webster (Oxford
Brookes University)
Link
to conference website
3rd
Annual AHRA Research Student Symposium:
University of Edinburgh
6–7 April, 2006
Programme
- pdf
Call
for Papers
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OTHER EVENTS:
Call for Papers
EAAE-ENHSA Workshop on Architectural Theory
Content and Methods of Teaching
Architectural Theory in European Schools of Architecture
School of Architecture: Department of Architecture
Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg - Campus Diepenbeek
Association of the University of Hasselt, Belgium
21-23 September 2006
This is the first sub-network workshop in the field of architectural
theory. It therefore attempts to investigate and chart the various
ways in which schools position courses dealing with this discipline
in the curriculum. It wants to address history, contents, aims
and objectives as well as the means, methods and pedagogic practices
required to ensure expected learning outcomes and competences.
As many European schools of architecture are faced with the challenge
of establishing a more 'research based' curriculum and implementing
plain research activity, the workshop will also want to deal with
this aspect.
Teaching staff dealing with courses in architectural
theory are invited to submit abstracts (no more than 500 words)
by 15 March 2006. Authors of the selected abstracts will be asked
to complete a full paper of c. 3000 words before 31 August. A
poster session will also be organised. The abstract can address
one, or several, of the following issues, which are organised
in three groups:
1. Contents:
How does architectural theory profile itself as a discipline in
the BA-MA curriculum?
Section 1 - The History of Architectural Theory
and its Present Mission
This section contains contributions on the
historical background of current courses in architectural theory.
Do they stem from 'architectural composition' or from 'architectural
history' or rather from 'design methods'? Are they taught separately
from history or from design methods, and why or why not? The session
furthermore explores the basics and limits of the discipline with
regards to the nature and importance of architectural theory in
the formation of young architects.
Section 2 - (Innovative) Approaches
In this section, schools can present their
(innovative) approach towards architectural theory. Possible issues
can be the desired relationship between architectural theory and
architectural critique in the design studio. Another element is
the function of architectural theory within the studio: is it
taught independently or integrated within the studio? The session
also focuses on the interdisciplinary nature of architectural
theory and how this is dealt with in the curriculum.
2. Educational Model:
Section 3 - Pedagogical Aspects and Media
These contributions examine the pedagogical
aspects of architectural theory. Central in this discussion is
defining typical competences of the discipline. Parameters describing
pedagogical aspects can relate to the methods of teaching, the
instruments or means and the evaluation. The session also deals
with the different media (such as texts, treatises, statistics,
movies, visits to sites or museums, .) that can be relevant for
teaching architectural theory. Contributions can examine the nature
and quality of each medium and demonstrate this with a case-study.
3. Research:
Section 4 - Research and Design
This section can present specific and running
doctoral research projects in which issues of architectural theory
play an important role. This section also contains contributions
that illustrate how architectural theory can become valuable for
establishing research on studio level.
The Workshop will start in the late afternoon of
Thursday September 21 with a key-note lecture and dinner. Friday
and Saturday will be devoted to the four thematic sessions, with
a concluding session late afternoon on Saturday.
Please submit your abstract to:
KVanCleempoel@mail.phlimburg.be
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Pattern
Interdisciplinary Seminar
The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
3 October 2006
Pattern is the first of a new series of Architecture
& Interdisciplinarity Seminars. These events will provide
an opportunity for Bartlett doctoral students and staff to take
research themes derived from personal research projects and develop
them into conversations across institutions and disciplines.
Event Organiser: Ana Araujo
Contributors:
Judith Clark (V&A, London College of Fashion)
Caroline Evans (Central St Martins College of Art and Design)
Mark Garcia (Royal College of Art)
Jonathan Hill (Bartlett School of Architecture)
Jane Rendell (Bartlett School of Architecture)
4-8 pm, Tue 3 Oct 2006
Rm G02, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
Wates House, 22 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0QB
For further information please visit: http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture/events/seminars/
Call for Papers
Architecture and Indeterminacy
Theory Forum 2006
School of Architecture, University of Sheffield
20-21 November 2006
http://www.shef.ac.uk/architecture/main/activities/ev_01.shtml
We are interested in ‘indeterminacy’
as a suspension of the precise meaning of an (architectural) object,
action or idea, which results from a reconsideration of its limits,
contextualisation, framing. The indeterminacy (in architecture)
could be physical, formal, material but also social and political;
it could be both theoretical and pragmatic, cognitive and experiential.
Indeterminacy is close to concepts like uncertainty,
unpredictability, lack of control, chance, openendedness, etc.
The Forum proposes to investigate those moments when there is
a questioning of disciplinary limits, of ways of theorising and
practising architecture. We encourage not only architects but
also people from related disciplines to question their uncertain
encounter with architecture from their theoretical perspective
or their practical experience.
The Forum will take place on 20-21 November at
the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield. It is an
open public event but also part of the teaching program for the
MArch in architecture. The Theory Forum series has included in
the past: 'Architecture and Participation', 'Architecture and
Space', 'Architecture and the Body', 'Architecture and Representation';
some of which have already been published (ie. Architecture
and Participation, Spon 2005)
Forum organizers: Dr. Doina Petrescu, Dr. Renata
Tyszczuk and Prof. Peter Blundell Jones
SUBMISSION:
Thirty minute papers or work presentations related to the topic
are invited. The speakers are expected to present papers to an
academic audience. They will also be invited to participate in
debates and seminars involving students. Academic researchers,
PhD students and practitioners from any related fields are invited.
There is no participation fee. Accomodation and
travel expenses will be negotiated if required. As in previous
years, we plan to publish a selection of papers from this year’s
series.
Abstract submission deadline:
10th October 2006
300 word abstracts (including a few lines about the author) should
be sent or emailed to Hilary Beckett:
h.beckett@sheffield.ac.uk
School of Architecture
University of Sheffield
ArtsTower
Sheffield
S10 2TN
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