Conferences & Events

The past year has seen a dramatic change in the usual schedule of Bartlett events as the school moved to an online environment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A full programme of conferences was held virtually, exploring innovative ideas and current issues, with inspiring speakers from across the globe.

Fabricate, 9–12 September 2020 was co-organised by The Bartlett School of Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology and Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. The triennial conference brought together pioneers in design and making to explore how digital fabrication impacts the future of architecture, engineering and construction.

The poignant Homework: Lived Experience Through Architectural Histories – Architectural History Symposium, 5–6 November 2020 examined what was afforded and lost to us online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Parliament Buildings International Conference spanned four days across 12–13 November 2020 and 18–19 February 2021 exploring architecture of power, accountability and democracy in Europe, supported by UCL’s Grand Challenges of Cultural Understanding.

A range of performances were given over three days for Situated Practice: Perform, Screen, Exchange, 18 November–2 December 2020 exploring issues of injustice, displacement, exhaustion and care. The 15th annual PhD Research Projects Conference 23 and 25 February 2021 included two days of intense debate and discussion between students, staff, invited guests, critics and the public on doctoral work in development and drawing to conclusion.

Over 900 people attended Gender and Infrastructure: Intersections between Postsocialist and Postcolonial Geographies, 4–5 March 2021 to investigate the relationship between gender, subjectivity and space, specifically the ways in which this is experienced and theorised in post-socialist and postcolonial contexts.

This online international symposium Intersectional Climate: Conversations Towards COP26, 16 and 18 March 2021 celebrated climate practices that prioritise ecological, political and poetic engagement with communities, places and disciplines.

Young architects and activists joined academics in the roundtable discussion How Can I Build Change? Architectural Activism Against the Status Quo, 22 March 2021 to question how designers can interrupt architectural dogma and challenge the status quo.

Finally, Automated Architecture (AUAR) Lab, a research laboratory at The Bartlett, presented a series of takeovers in Spring 2021 to showcase a new housing prototype, House Block.