Timothy Brittain-Catlin publishes The Edwardians and their Houses

The Edwardians and their Houses: the New Life of Old England, is the title of the latest book by Dr Timothy Brittain-Catlin. It is published by Lund Humphries this Wednesday, 1st April, and is already attracting enthusiastic praise from critics. The book is beautifully illustrated by 100 new images, commissioned especially from the photographer Robin Forster to showcase the canon of houses which tell the story, as well as by 120 historical and other illustrations. Design tutor Patrick O’Keeffe contributed the spectacular photograph of Kingsgate Bay from the sea which concludes the book.

The book is the first comprehensive re-evaluation of Edwardian domestic architecture since the 1970s. It focuses on the role played by Liberal Party politicians over the first decade of the twentieth century in adapting and remodelling old houses as grand mansions or holiday homes for themselves, but also in establishing the legislation that made a higher standard of architecture possible for everyone. The section on the design of the area around Smith Square in London was the subject of a report on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour towards the end of last year. This book will also become an authoritative source of information about the early years of the conservation movement, and it explains how Tudor architecture in particular was reinvented for modern living.

 

PhD students to present at SAHGB Architectural History Workshop

Two Kent School of Architecture and Planning’s PhD students, Ben Tosland and Rafaella Siagkri are due to present at The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain’s Architectural History Workshop 2020. This year’s workshop is due to take place at a postponed date, and will take place at The Galley in London. The theme of this year’s workshop is, ‘Beyond the Academy: Architectural History in Heritage, Conservation and Curating’.

Ben Tosland will be presenting with his talk titled, ‘Methodological reflection: problems researching 20th century architecture in the Persian Gulf’. Ben’s doctoral thesis thesis faced numerous methodological challenges which this presentation will discuss, sharing the problems – in some cases unsolved – with researching a region in constant political and economic flux, characterised by cultural, political and economic contrasts. He will discuss the issues surrounding what study material to choose, or which buildings might be necessary, explaining the case studies and architects I chose for my thesis (focusing on Max Lock, Candilis-Josic-Woods, Alfred Roth, Doxiadis Associates and Jørn Utzon), describing their position in the Gulf’s contribution to a picture of a global modernism.

Rafaella Siagkri will be presenting, ‘Virtual Reality as an investigative tool to better understand architecture in historical films’. Her presentation will assess the significance of Virtual Reality (VR) as a reconstruction method. Using 3Ds Max Software to model film sets from the film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and using Unreal Software to transfer to Oculus Rift technology will allow the generation of VR simulations to be used in this study. This provides the capability to recreate old, iconic expressionist film sets and to better understand its space.

MSc Architectural Conservation students tour restricted areas of Canterbury Cathedral

Kent School of Architecture and Planning MSc Architectural Conservation students recently visited restricted areas of Canterbury Cathedral.

Student, Chandler Hamilton, writes, ‘We had the chance to tour the sections of the Cathedral that are under repair. All these areas are normally unavailable to the public. I focused on Gothic Architecture in my undergraduate degree, and for me, this was a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes tour of a structure that I have studied intensely in the past. The tour started off with meeting the Head of Conservation and Site Manager, Heather Newton, who basically has my dream job! She gave us an introduction to the conservation project and an itinerary for the day. The project that started in 2016 and is set to finish around October 2021 is a 25-million-pound development that is focusing on the roof of the cathedral.’

Read the full blog post about the experience over on the MSc Architectural Conservation blog.

Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou gives lecture at Universidad de Sevilla

Deputy Head of School and Professor of Sustainable Architecture, Marialena Nikolopoulou, gives lecture titled, ‘Performance of buildings: thermal comfort, occupant perception and use of space’ at Universidad de Sevilla on Friday 6 March 2020.

Professor Nikolopoulou will discusse her research looking at the environmental comfort conditions of open spaces in cities. Professor Nikolopoulou writes, ‘Investigating thermal comfort conditions in outdoor urban spaces, has thrown some light on the complexity of the issues involved, demonstrating that a quantitative approach is insufficient in describing comfort conditions outdoors.’

Professor Fontana-Giusti interviewed by TRT World television

Professor of Architecture and Urban Regeneration, Gordana Fontana-Giusti, was recently interviewed by Turkish television channel, TRT World as part of their flagship arts and culture programme, ‘Showcase’ on 26 February to discuss Zaha Hadid’s architectural design philosophy. The interview discussed title of ‘female architect’ and how Zaha Hadid continually broke glass ceilings in her cause for promoting new architecture. Watch the full interview online now.

Architect Antonello Alici to give lecture to MArch Unit 1

Architect and Assistant Professor at Università Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona, Antonello Alici, will be giving a lecture to MArch Unit 1 titled, ‘The spirit of the place. Learning from Giancarlo De Carlo’ on Tuesday 10th March 2020.

Giancarlo De Carlo (1919-2005) is a major figure in the architectural theory and practice of 20th Century for his capacity at dealing with the value of the historic city and townscape and for a dialogue with its inhabitants. Born in Genova in 1919, the son of a naval engineer, he sapent his childhood in different Italian port cities before moving to Tunis. His university education in Milan Polytechnic and in IUAV Venice provided the connection with the modernist avant-garde, namely with Giuseppe Pagano and Ernesto N. Rogers and at the same time with William Morris and the British culture. His main contribution – for which he was awarded the prestigious Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1993 – lies in his belief in architecture as a militant profession, free from ideologies and stereotypes, sustained by exemplary design experience in historical cities all over the world. The lesson of Giancarlo De Carlo will be presented through sketches and narratives of some key projects in historical cities as Urbino, Dublin, Siena and Ancon.

Antonello Alici, architect and architectural historian and critic, based in Rome and teaching in Ancona at Università Politecnica delle Marche, is currently working on the relations between Italian and British architects in the Post-war, and on the travels of Nordic architects to Italy. Since 2014 he is the Program director of the summer school ‘The Culture of the City. Understanding the Urban Landscape’ dealing with the regions affected by earthquakes.

Two further scholarships available for Architecture PhD applicants

Kent School of Architecture and Planning are pleased to announce two further scholarships for our Architecture PhD applicants:

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Scholarship

  • Fee waiver at Home/EU rate
  • Maintenance stipend of £15,009 per year (2019/20 rate)
  • Open to Home/EU applicants but there might be an opportunity for an excellent overseas applicant
  • Deadline: 27 March 2020

The deadline for PhD Architecture applicants has been extended to 27 March.

The second scholarship is the Kent-Lille Joint (Cotutelle) PhD Scholarships

  • Fees and Stipend at the standard Research Council rate (Home/EU rate only, £15,009 in 2019/20)
  • Funding 4 PhD scholarships (2 in the field of Humanities, 1 in Social Sciences and 1 in Sciences)
  • Jointly supervised PhDs
  • Criteria: 1) Scholarships are available on a cotutelle (dual award) basis only 2) Students have to spend at least 12 months at Kent and Lille 3) Before applying students are required to identify an academic supervisor from Kent and Lille.
  • How to apply: contact the relevant academic school as early as possible and identify a supervisor at Kent and discuss your cotutelle plans with them. Applicants will need to complete a ‘Cotutelle Statement’ which explains why a cotutelle arrangement is necessary for their project (150 words).
  • Deadline: PhD offer in place by Friday 17 April 2020

If you have any queries about applying for Architecture PhD, feel free to email ksapadmissions@kent.ac.uk.

MSc Architectural Conservation students work on live restoration project

This academic year, SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) has given our MSc Architectural Conservation students the opportunity to work on a live restoration project of St. Andrew’s Chapel, near Boxley Abbey, Maidstone.

Programme Director, Dr Nikolaos Karydis writes, “Built in the 15th and the 16th century and modified in the 19th century, the ‘chapel’ is currently in an advanced state of decay. SPAB are currently surveying the building with the view to restore it and our students visited the site several times and were guided by SPAB specialists. SPAB Director Matthew Slocombe introduced the Society’s work and project officer Jonny Garlick surveyed the building with the students and gave us an unforgettable tour of Boxley Abbey, focusing on previous SPAB repair work.

During the Spring Term, the students will prepare a conservation plan, engaging in tasks that reflect their individual backgrounds. Those with an architectural background have the option to design the adaptation of the building into a new use. Students with backgrounds in other fields have several options which include researching the building’s history, analysing its significance and drafting conservation strategies. The resulting work will be submitted to the SPAB with the aim to contribute to the future conservation of this magnificent building.”

To keep up with the latest news on the MSc Architectural Conservation programme, you can follow their blog.

MA Architectural Visualisation students take part in Cheriton Light Festival

MA Architectural Visualisation students have taken part in the Cheriton Light Festival 2020 over the weekend, exhibiting their architectural projection mapping work.  The festival which takes place every two years attracts over 10,000 visitors and hosts a number of international artists.  Festival organiser, Brigitte Orasinski, noted that the contribution of the MA Architectural Visualisation students, “…was so spectacular. [It] was wonderful to see this building brought to life by the work.”

Programme Director, Howard Griffin, explained the value of this public exhibition to the students’ studies, “Our students are continually replicating and recreating the built environment around us in digital form.  With this work, we reverse the process, bringing the digital world into the real.  Much of the work we do in architectural visualisation is about simulation and the ‘virtual’.  By working on live events, such as Cheriton Light Festival, students gain real experience of staging events, that is nearly impossible to simulate.”

Dr Silvio Caputo on international panel for Urban Farm 2020

Dr Silvio Caputo, Director of Research and Innovation at Kent School of Architecture and Planning is part of the international panel for the Urban Farm 2020 competition. The competition, organised by the University of Bologna and Florence, ‘challenged students to redesign three locations, in three months, having a look at the three spheres of sustainability.’ The final event took place on Thursday 20th February in Pordenone, during NovelFarm, a trade fair for agricultural technology and new approaches to farming. As part of the series of events organised by the fair, Dr Caputo chaired a roundtable on ‘farming the city’ and the role of local authorities in planning for urban agriculture.