Professor of Planning, Samer Bagaeen, contributes to Localis’ C19 Housing Recovery Essay Collection

Professor of Planning, and MA Urban Planning and Resilience programme director, Samer Bagaeen, has written an essay titled, ‘Our participatory future’ in response to the theme, ‘The role of housing in supporting the most vulnerable in society’ for the Localis essay collection titled, ‘Building for renewal: Kickstarting the C19 housing recovery‘.

The collection, “encompasses how housing policy and the planning system could be directed to promoting opportunity and prosperity, building sustainable communities as well as supporting lives and engaging with society during the recovery.” It also seeks to answer the question, “What measures can be put in place to create an environment conducive to growth, enabling the housebuilding industry to get back to work safely and deliver the Government’s target of one million new homes by 2025?”

Professor Samer Bagaeen writes, “These are interesting times: people keeping at least two metres form each other; a substantial number of schools closed; all public gatherings cancelled; the UK Government and those around the world putting together ever-increasing stimulus packages; landlords not collecting rent; the homeless being told to stay put in hotels free of charge; and workers furloughed on full pay in some cases.

In more than one city, in England, local authorities went on the hunt for innovative solutions to seek ideas from their residents about the path for a green future. This was before the increasingly louder and louder calls for a green future in the post COVID19 world began to take hold. With pollution in some cities halving on account of the lockdown – lower vehicle emissions as people ditch their car, attention has also shifted to the carbon emissions caused by our built environment and what can be done to reduce these.

As a forum for sharing ideas, citizens’ climate assemblies have gained traction in cities like Oxford and Brighton and Hove. These assemblies bring together a small number of residents (50 in the case of Brighton and Hove), randomly selected to reflect local demographics, alongside a panel of advisors to help shape how a city could address the climate crisis and prioritise actions to take forward.”

Read more, and download the full essay collection here.

‘Think Kent Discovers’ launches with ‘Restoring the Palace of Westminster’ by Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt

University of Kent’s Research Services and KMTV commissioned a series of research documentaries titled, ‘Think Kent Discovers’ whereby researchers and field experts will host interactive talks featuring topical discussions.

Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt‘s documentary, ‘Restoring the Palace of Westminster’ which originally premiered at the RIBA in London at the end of 2019, will be live streamed on Tuesday 19th May 2020 at 19.00 on YouTube and the University of Kent’s Facebook page.

The film analyses Dr Schoenefeldt’s extensive research project on the Houses of Parliament’s historic ventilation system and how it shaped the overall design of the building. Following the film screening, there will be presentations from PhD students who have been involved in the project, and a live panel debate featuring:

  • Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture at the University of Kent
  • Professor Dean Hawkes, Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University and an Emeritus Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge
  • Richard Ware, Former Director of the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme

This is a free event; book your place via EventBrite.

Future events as part of the ‘Think Kent Discovers’ series are:

Thursday 28 May at 19.00: “Mary Rose – A Chemical Conundrum”
The documentary explores how a team from the School of Physical Sciences helped to preserve, and put on display, the pride of the Tudor fleet.

Week commencing 1 June: “Peru – A Living Memory” (details to be confirmed)
Researcher Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, from School of European Culture and Languages, wants to teach citizens about all aspects of  Peru’s history in order to create a fully realised national identity for future generations of Peruvians.

If you have any queries, please feel free to email ref2021@kent.ac.uk

Dr Caputo and Professor Bagaeen discuss co-designing green infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro

Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Silvio Caputo, and Professor of Planning, Samer Bagaeen have co-written an article for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RISC) World Built Environment Forum titled, ‘Co-designing green infrastructure in the slums of Rio de Janeiro‘.

Dr Silvio and Professor Samer Bagaeen are currently working on a research project, which focuses on green infrastructure as a catalyst of improved health outcomes and food production. The research project is looking into alternatives to current industrial food systems which rely on carbon-intensive production and distribution methods. In May 2019, the duo ran a week-long workshop in Rio de Janeiro building on shared expertise in urban agriculture and urban resilience.

Read the full article on the RICS website to find out more.

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.’

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.

Professor Nikolopoulou interviewed by TRT World

Deputy Head of School, and Professor of Sustainable Architecture, Marialena Nikolopoulou, was recently interviewed by Turkish television channel, TRT World as part of their flagship arts and culture programme ‘Showcase‘, on Monday 17th February to discuss vertical forests. The news angle followed the world’s first ever Forest City, by Italian architect Stefano Boeri.  Watch the full interview online now.

CASE Open Lecture: Clare Brass, Department 22

The next CASE Open Lecture will be given by Clare Brass, founder and co-director of Department 22, with her talk titled, ‘Designing for sustainability and circular economy’ on Tuesday 3 March 2020 at 6pm in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1.

Why architecture?

Clare’s talk will talk about circular economy and how the skills of architects and designers are essential for putting it into practice. She will show case studies and examples that explore the challenges and limitations of circular thinking, and explain its relationship with people, food, cities and nature. Looking at architecture from the perspective of positive action, this is an opportunity to explore how understanding your own values and needs can  lead you to a more fulfilling life as a creative professional.

Clare Brass is founder and co-director of Department 22, a design and innovation consultancy for the circular economy with a focus on food, exploring better solutions for a better 22nd century (www.department22.uk).  She was head of sustainability at the Design Council before setting up SEED Foundation, developing user-centred entrepreneurial solutions to social and environmental challenges such as food, water and waste (www.foodloop.org.uk, www.cargocollective.com/foodloop). In 2010 she set up and ran SustainRCA at the Royal College of Art, where she was also leader of sustainability and enterprise for Innovation Design Engineering in partnership with Imperial College Business School. During her time at RCA she was a mentor for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

All welcome!

 

CASE Open Lecture: Kristen Guida, London Climate Change Partnership

The upcoming CASE (Centre for Architecture and the Sustainable Environment) Open Lecture will be given by Kristen Guida, manager at London Climate Change Partnership with her talk titled, ‘From Science to Policy – adapting London to climate change’ on Tuesday 28 January at 6pm in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1.

Adapting to climate change requires good evidence-based policy and interventions. That means making strong links between science policymakers, and practitioners across different sectors. The London Climate Change Partnership exists to facilitate those links and ensure that those responsible for making the city climate resilient have the best evidence at their disposal and the capacity to use it.

Kristen has been working for nearly fifteen years on climate change adaptation, currently as manager of the London Climate Change Partnership, and previously as director of Climate South East and Chair of Climate UK. Her major interest is in convening partners from across sectors and helping them work together to respond to the social and environmental challenges presented by climate change. In particular, she is interested in the social justice issues raised by climate change and the need to incorporate equity in adaptive planning. In her previous life, she worked on human rights, as a Senior Researcher on political rights, civil liberties and press freedom at Freedom House in New York.

All welcome!

Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou to speak at The Edge Debate

Deputy Head of School, Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou to speak at the upcoming Edge debate titled, ‘Climate Responsive Urbanism: How can professionals meet the challenge of urban densification in a time of climate change?‘ on 9th January 2020.

The event will be jointly hosted with The Urban Design Group, and is the first in a series of debates entitled ‘Cities, Climate and Critical Urban Infrastructure’. The series looks to explore the ‘consequences of current practices in building, urban design, planning, regulation and policy on critical urban infrastructure’. The event will be convened by Richard Lorch, Editor, Buildings & Cities, hosted by Robert Huxford, the Director of The Urban Design Group and chaired by Professor Rohinton Emmanuel, Glasgow Caledonian University. Professor Nikolopoulou will be joined by Gerald Mills, University College Dublin, Asaf Din, Perkins&Will, Rachel Toms, Public Health England, and Nicola Bacon, Founding Director of Social-Life.

The debate will be held at The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, Farringdon, London, EC1M 6EJ from 14.00 – 17.10 followed by networking. If you are interested in attending the event, please register here.

Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt premieres ‘Restoring the Palace of Westminster’ documentary at RIBA

Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt and the Kent School of Architecture and Planning (KSAP) hosted an event at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Thursday 5 December to launch the new film by Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt, University of Kent and KMTV titled, ‘Restoring the Palace of Westminster’. The film, based on Dr Schoenefeldt’s research project, Between Heritage and Sustainability for the Restoration and Renewal Programme was followed by a panel debate led by KSAP Head of School, Professor Gerald Adler, ‘Can Victorian architecture be sustainable?’ Panel guests included:

  • Hannah Parham, member of the Historic Building Consultancy team at Donald Insall Associates
  • Edonis Jesus, BIM4Heritage
  • Sebastian MacMillan, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
  • Richard Lorch, Editor in chief, Building and Cities
  • Fionn Stephenson, Chair in Sustainable Design (University of Sheffield)
  • Henrik Schoenefeldt, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture (University of Kent)
  • Adam Watrobski, Principal Architect at Houses of Parliament

The event was live streamed on YouTube and is available to watch online.