Former KSAP PhD student, Itab Shuayb, publishes new book

A big congratulations to former KSAP PhD student, Dr Itab Shuayb, who has published her new book titled, ‘Inclusive University Built Environments: The Impact of Approved Document M, for Architects, Designers and Engineers‘.

Dr Shuayb’s book focuses on an area of her PhD research which was to investigate whether universities adopting the British Accessibility regulations have impacted the built environment to the level that it became inclusive or whether the built environment is accessible for only people with mobility impairment. Dr Shuayb’s PhD research was done in collaboration with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) their specialists for inclusive design. CABE’s inclusive design work has since been incorporated into the Design Council agenda. Professor Gordana Fontana-Giusti was Itab’s first supervisor, with her second supervisor being Ann Sawyer, an access consultant based in London.

Dr Shuayb writes, “This book focuses on examining accessibility in the educational sector in the UK to investigate whether adopting an inclusive design approach in a university setting is preferable to just meeting legal building requirements. Six building case studies at the University of Kent were selected in order to investigate whether the design solutions had addressed the needs of a wide range of users. Moreover, the book investigates the impact of the legislation and Building Regulations on  six different university buildings dating from six different decades, the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, at the Universities of Essex, Bath and Kent to determine whether they have achieved inclusive design .The book then sets out a proposal to deliver the benefits of adopting the inclusive design approach by recommending alternative design solutions to tackle accessibility barriers that affect a wide range of users, including individuals with disabilities at the University of Kent.”

 

KSAP to take part in ‘Virtual Reading Marathon’ organised by Antonello Alici

Kent School of Architecture and Planning are joining forces with Architect and Assistant Professor at Università Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona, Antonello Alici, who will be hosting and introducing the ‘Virtual reading Marathon’ of Giancarlo De Carlo’s literature. This is an opportunity for students to be part of an online network of students interested in De Carlo’s work. PhD student, Benedetta Castagna, is part of the editorial board of this exciting new project. The schedule for this series of events is below:

  • 04.2020: Introduction with Anotello Alici
  • 04.2020: Morris 1
  • 04.2020: Morris 2
  • 04.2020: Morris 3
  • 04.2020: Morris 4
  • 04.2020: Wright 1
  • 04.2020: Wright 2
  • 05.2020: Carré Bleu 1
  • 05.2020: Carré Bleu 2
  • 05.2020: L’arch 1
  • 05.2020: L’arch 2

Antonello Alici, architect and architectural historian and critic, based in Romae 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.

To keep up to date with the ‘Virtual Reading Marathon’, or to take part, please follow on Instagram or join the Facebook Group.

Professor Samer Bagaeen discusses, ‘Covid-19: Is this the new normal?’

Kent School of Architecture and Planning’s Professor of Planning, Samer Bagaeen, recently discussed current global challenges, including Covid-19, in relation to urban planning and resilience as part of our new mini-lecture series which can be found on YouTube.

Professor Bagaeen, programme director for MA Urban Planning and Resilience, has also written an article titled, ‘Covid-19: Is this the new normal for the urbanised world?‘ for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In this piece, Professor Bagaeen discusses the growth of the pandemic and the impact this is having on the built environment and the economy.

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 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.

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.

Conservation Principles and Theories

The MSc Architectural Conservation module ‘Conservation Principles and Theories’, recently concluded, had another very positive year. Module convenor, Dr Manolo Guerci, reflects below:

The group, made by professionals in different fields, from the planning to the conservation sector, as well as from the broader constituency of architectural work, was very cohese. As usual, the module engaged the theoretical as well as the practical analysis of areas based in Canterbury, but not exclusively, considering that students can chose their own sites for both tasks related to the module. This year we also benefitted again by international experts, who contribute to our module. Prof. Judi Loach, professor emerita at the University of Cardiff, and a leading scholar in the field of architectural conservation, delivered a stimulating lecture on ‘The 20th century, a case study: ways of conserving Le Corbusier’. Prof. Loach had led DocoMomo UK, and her expertise on the topic was extremely useful to our cohort.

MSc Architectural Conservation students also benefits from an extensive corpus of weekly lectures and seminars organised by the three reseach centres in the school, respectively dealing with history and theory, sustainable environment, and digital architecture. The school’s student association also runs a programme of lectures, while our PhD students give weekly seminars where their research is presented in an informal environment. Indeed, students from our masters programmes often continue with doctoral research in the school. And Marcon is no exception. Joining our programme is an excellent way to both gain expertise in the broader field of conservation, and to equip yourself for further academic research.

IMAGE: MSC ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION STUDENT, JOEL HOPKINSON