Howard Griffin speaks at Lyon Light Festival Forum

Howard Griffin, Director of the MA Architectural Visualisation programme, was invited to speak about his research into projection mapping at the Lyon Light Festival Forum in December.  The forum, which takes place as part of the annual Fête des Lumières, widely regarded as the inaugural and most famous light festival in the world, was attended by academics, lighting designers, projection artists and festival organisers.  Building on a recent article co-written with Dr Jane Lovell of Canterbury Christ Church University, Howard argued about the importance of understanding the nature of different projected installations and the effect this can have on their evaluation.  The article can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2018.1556674

The presentation coincided with the University of Kent becoming an associate member of LUCI (Lighting Urban Communities International), a network of cities and companies focused on urban lighting and festivals.  Howard is working with stakeholder and partners to develop plans for a Light Festival in Canterbury in the near future.

MA Architectural Visualisation students exhibit in Greece

The MA Architectural Visualisation course’s ‘Architectural Photography’ module taught us the fundamental principles of photographic creation and processing. Through this module, we were able to attain a comprehensive knowledge of light, exposure and color, and their application in architectural photography. The result is that we are now able to choose a photographic composition that maintains a balance of all the key parameters.

As part of the MA Architectural Visualisation programme, we had the opportunity to participate in the WEDO exhibition in the Athens School of Fine Arts with a selection of our digital and analogue photographs. WEDO team presents the collective art project GIVING, based on an idea of Panagiotis Siagreece and Athanasios Bathas, organized and curated by Maira Stefou and with the participation of 218 artists. The project was presented as a parallel event of the Platforms Project, at the Former Libary of the Athens School of Fine Arts, Piraeus 256, 17-20 May 2018.

CONCEPT: The universe is a unified unit consisting of the same material, governed by common rules and communicating energetically and dynamically. The lack of awareness of this treaty by man has led him to social individualism and psychic isolation. The philosophy of “I” instead of “we” invalidates the possibility of individual happiness that can only be achieved through the happiness of the whole of which the individual is an integral part. In an effort to comment on the above, we artists-individuals are united in a group, creating a collective unified work that we offer to the public, as a deposit of time (10 days) and as a product of this deposit, wanting to symbolically contribute in the union of the whole, reacting to the social and cultural collapse, catalyzing the classical elitist relationship between the artist and spectator and abolishing the restrictive economic transaction. Coexistence and co creation implies an action with artistic diversity and with the integration of identity as a difference (personal, style, name-anonymity, age) in a context of a shared aim, elements that are not common practice in group art events.

PROJECT: Each artist participates with 10 artworks 25cm x 25cm that have been attached to 25cm x 25cm styrofoam cubes, forming a single installation. Each cube includes works of different artists. During the project’s exhibition, a sum of money will be collected from those who receive works and from the public, which will be offered to the Center for the Training and Rehabilitation of the Blind.

By Rafaella Siagkri, MA Architectural Visualisation student

Dr Nikolaos Karydis: Lectures in Oxford, Athens and Paris

On Friday 11 May, Dr Karydis gave a lecture at Trinity College, University of Oxford. Entitled ‘Visualising Justinian’s Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople’, the lecture presented Karydis’ work on the church of the Holy Apostles, which will be published in a forthcoming Dumbarton Oaks volume. Other lectures Karydis delivered during this academic year included a paper on Early Byzantine Architecture at the Institut National de l’Histoire de l’Art in Paris (30/10/2017), and a lecture on 19th-Century, Greek Revival Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (12/1/2018). A video recording of this lecture can be found through the following link: http://www.blod.gr/lectures/Pages/viewspeaker.aspx?SpeakerID=4982

 

KSA partners with the British Council on Venice Fellowships Programme

Kent School of Architecture is delighted to announce a partnership with the British Council on the 2018 Venice Fellowships Programme which forms part of the British Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. KSA will support three students to spend a month in Venice, conducting independent research and invigilating the exhibition, Island, curated by Caruso St John Architects working in collaboration with artist Marcus Taylor.

Students from the School of Architecture are given an exclusive opportunity to spend a month in Venice during one of the world’s most significant art and architecture exhibitions organised by La Biennale di Venezia, which will run from 26 May to 25 November 2018. They will be invigilating the British Pavilion and undertaking independent research projects while in Venice.

The Venice Fellowships Programme offers our students, graduates and researchers the opportunity to become actively involved in La Biennale di Venezia and gain first-hand experience of the British Pavilion, this year’s curators and their vision. We have selected some of our brightest students or most motivated researchers to Venice to embark on a unique personal and creative experience.

Professor Don Gray of Kent School of Architecture said, “Our students have benefitted from taking part in previous Biennales, and Kent School of Architecture is delighted to once again support the scheme and our talented students.  The experience of stewarding the pavilion and undertaking independent research projects is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Laura Broderick, Venice Fellowships Programme Manager, British Council said, “The Venice Fellowships programme is a fantastic international experience for students and graduates – with bespoke training in London, skills development opportunities at the British Pavilion, and a chance to expand networks across the UK. The Fellows are involved in research and the production of creative responses to the Biennale and Venice itself. This is key for our UK partners engaged in improving outward mobility and employability. For the British Council, it is very important to support emerging artists, architects, curators and researchers – and to place informed stewards at the heart of the British Pavilion .”

The British Pavilion at Biennale Architettura 2018, commissioned by the British Council, will be represented by the work Island from Caruso St John Architects working in collaboration with artist Marcus Taylor, with the construction of a new public space on the roof of the pavilion building.

Throughout Biennale Architettura 2018 the Pavilion of Great Britain will programme a unique series of events including poetry, performance, film and architectural talks and debates in response to Freespace and ideas raised by Island. The British Council has been responsible for the British Pavilion in Venice since 1937, showcasing the best of the UK’s artists, architects, designers and curators to an international audience.

The Fellowships programme was initiated in 2014 by the British Council to strengthen the British Pavilion contribution as a platform for ideas and research. This programme aims to educate and enrich the exhibition, making it a reference point for universities and arts institutions. The Fellowships offers a way of viewing and experiencing art and architecture that provides a new outlook on issues of public and private space, artistic process and display.

Dr. Luciano Cardellicchio awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship

Dr. Luciano Cardellicchio has been awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship. This prestigious grant will allow Luciano to develop his research project, ‘Our Future Heritage: conservation issues of contemporary architecture in Rome’.

A substantial number of iconic buildings distinguished by complex geometries have been constructed in the last two decades in Europe. For their cultural and urban contribution, these contemporary icons are likely to be part of our future heritage. Due to the use of bespoke untested building systems, many of these buildings are experiencing failures and premature decay.

This research wants to measure the transience of contemporary architecture from a technical perspective, engaging with the following question: will our future heritage be sustainable to preserve? The ultimate aim is to turn the ageing pattern of these iconic buildings into a learning platform to create new technical knowledge.

MAUD Paris field trip

MA Architecture and Urban Design students take on Paris

During this term, MA Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) students will be studying the role that the natural landscape plays as the primary infrastructure of our cities, and of Paris in particular. The field trip to Paris was intended as an initial step in discovering the underlying landscape of central Paris by walking the places and spaces where aspects of the ‘lost’ landscape are still apparent. Over the three day trip, students visited the office of a well-respected Paris architect and went on walking tours, which contextualise what the students learn in their theory and history of urbanism lectures.

The study tour started with a visit to the site of the spring term Design Module AR84. The site is set within the valley of the Bièvre river (a ‘lost’ tributary of the Seine within the 5th and 13th arrondissements in south-east of Paris), where the students are expected to design new urban interventions within this historic city and respond appropriately to both the historic riverine landscape as well as to the present-day urban context.

The second day included a visit to the office of a prominent architectural practice called ‘Arte-Charpentier’, followed by an extensive walking tour of the ‘Les Passages Couverts’ from Rue Monmartre to the Palais Royale – a link series of traffic-free arcades and a remarkable medieval legacy that escaped the massive urban renewal program by Haussmann in the 19th century. The tour included visits to the Place Des Victoires and the Palais Royale, both innovative examples of 17th century city planning, followed by a visit to the courtyard of the 18th century Louvre to see the Grande Axe (the 19th century 5km axis of architectural monuments which runs from the Louvre to La Defense in the east) and the glass pyramid by I.M. Pei which opened in 1989. The day concluded with a walking tour of Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis, two natural islands in the River Seine and the spiritual and historical centre of Paris, followed by a visit to the Centre Pompidou.

On the final day of the field trip, the group split into separate visits to the Eiffel Tower, La Defense and Ruisseau du Bac / St Deni, assembling once again to visit the exhibition at the Pavilion D’Arsenal, the Paris Centre for Architecture and Urban Planning located in the 4th arrondissement.

Student comments;

“The walking tour of the path of the old Bièvre river in Paris, was both informative for our project this semester and also a good way for us to be connected with the project.”

“We walked through the streets of Paris to see how the former rivers and tributaries shaped not only the streets of Paris but also the surrounding neighbourhoods. The information we were able to learn over the past few days will only add an invaluable layer of richness to our project.”

Professor Gerald Adler to take part in Creative Industries Roadshow

In March 2018, the University of Kent will take part in the British Council’s Creative Industries Roadshow in East Asia, showcasing study and career options in architecture, design and the arts. The Roadshow includes events in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul.

These events are great opportunities for anyone considering working in the creative industries. Professor Gerry Adler, Deputy Head of Kent School of Architecture, will be traveling to all three cities as part of the Roadshow.

In Tokyo and Seoul he will deliver a seminar, “Understanding the Past, Building the Future”. This will aim to answer questions like “How do we live? How do our houses and apartments look, and how do they combine to make our villages, towns and cities?” The event will also feature academics from other UK universities across design, fashion and the arts, talking about how these disciplines respond to 21st century challenges and how you can prepare yourself for careers in these fields.

In Hong Kong, Professor Adler will take part in a panel session with locally-based architecture professionals, talking about the built environment and taking audience questions. Also present, will be academic staff from Film (Dr Maurizio Cinquegrani) and Digital Arts (Dr Rocio von Jungenfeld).

Professor Gerald Adler recently gave a Think Kent lecture entitled, ‘Sauf aux Riverains: the riverine memorial of Georges-Henri Pingusson’ which you can watch below:

Dr Luciano Cardellicchio speaks at La Sapienza, University of Rome.

Dr Cardellicchio is invited to give a talk at the symposium ‘From Iconic Factory to Urban Factory’ organised by Prof. Marzia Marandola at La Sapienza University of Rome the 14th of February. After the keynote lecture of Prof. Nina Rappaport, from Yale School of Architecture, Dr Cardellicchio will present the results of his research on the construction of the Solimene’s Ceramic Factory by Paolo Soleri (1956).

The talk will focus on the role of the labour and importance of the local territory as key elements of the building process of this masterpiece of organic architecture designed by one of the apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

Keynote at launch of major international conference “Landscape Architecture & Microclimate”

Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou gave a keynote speech at the launch of the First International Conference on Landscape Architecture and Microclimate ever held, at Tongji University, in Shanghai, China, on 26-28th January 2018.

The conference marked the completion of the key research project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China “Research on design theory and method of landscape architecture response to microclimate suitability in urban livable environment”, unique in bridging the discipline of landscape architecture with microclimate studies. The conference was a big success with 210 participants from 76 universities and various professional associations.

fete des lumieres

MAAV Students head to the Fete des Lumieres in Lyon

MA Architectural Visualisation (MAAV) students returned to Lyon following the successful inaugural trip in 2016. The study tour to Lyon specifically complements two modules; AR822 Virtual Cities and AR846 Architectural Photography. The schedule was designed to take advantage of the rich architecture during the daytime, whilst allowing students to explore the illuminations during the night.

The Lumières festival was varied this year, and differed in style and range from the previous year. Highlights of the festival included an animation focused on the history of film and cinema in the Place des Terreaux, many of the references to which, the students could understand from their work in AR821 Film & Architecture.

This year, the trip to Lyon was incredibly important, providing an opportunity for the students to see first-hand the ways in which buildings can be animated through projection mapping. The research was directly fed into their own projection work for AR822 Virtual Cities at the recent Cheriton Light Festival in February. This module allows the students to bridge the boundaries between architectures; the actual and the virtual. The quality of their work was, without doubt, aided by the visit to France.

MAAV student feedback;
“The Lyon trip was a great experience! It developed my technique of finding interesting photographic subjects. As we toured the sites, we came across a lot of buildings that would perhaps be deemed unattractive, but their geometry made for some of the best photographs. It definitely helped me redefine my photographic eye. The Light show was incredibly inspiring and I have not experienced anything like it; I was so inspired by our trip, I am making efforts to recreate something for my local community, whom many may not be able to get the opportunity to experience what I had”
“…A very positive and useful trip toward my technical knowledge in projection mapping, where we had the chance to see real projects which were produced by known professional artists and companies. That experience helped me a lot to know what the real impact of projection mapping on people is, what works well and what is not”
“…This trip helped me a lot to strengthen my relationship with my colleagues, it’s made me feel like I have real friends on my course, which I need as an international student…”