Welsh School of Architecture (WSA). Masters in Architecture Design (MA AD) 2018-2019 Handbook

MA AD Masters Architectural Design Masters in Architecture Design (MA AD)

Handbook

2018-19 MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

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MA AD AD prospectus Handbook 2017-18 2018-2019 MA

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Contents Preface 4 Section 1: Research by Design at the MA AD 1.1 MA AD Structure 1.2 MA AD Practice-Based research and multidisciplinary approach 1.3 MA AD Learning and Assessment

1.4 MA AD Core Modules

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Section 2: MA AD units 2.1 The Design Units

Unit A. Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology

EMUVE Palermo 2019: Refugees + Migrants

Unit B. Situated Art-Critical Architecture

Unit C. Communities on the Edge 2.2 MA AD Reading List

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30 31 34 36 40

Section 3: MA AD support 3.1 Other Optional Components

3.2 Studio Culture and Conduct 3.3 Supporting facilities 3.4 Unit leaders and module leaders 3.5 Research in the school

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Preface This one year full-time MA in Architectural Design is aimed at students who are looking for a rich, engaging and design-focused post-graduate programme, but do not wish to qualify as a UK registered architect. It shares many of the design elements of our established MArch (Master of Architecture/ Part 2) programme, but provides greater flexibility in terms of study choices, allowing you to engage with the interests of our research staff.

In the programme, we will focus on using designled research to inform your learning process and research explorations.

You will develop your existing design skills by focusing on how design thinking might address current global challenges. This approach offers an intense and lively forum for the exploration and the discussion of design issues. This is why we place particular emphasis on using design as a means to

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

conduct research. Researching through design is a creative activity that closely integrates the process of designing with the act of researching, so that they can mutually inform each other. You will explore problems by making and testing design propositions, introducing and developing established knowledge as and when required. Through project work, you will draw on knowledge from many disciplines.

This prospectus is issued to MA AD post graduate international students, staff and external contributors.

The MA AD is benefitting from a well developed multidisciplinary educational and carefully programmed framework, which is also responsive and dynamic.

The MA AD course is as well in synergy with other WSA PGT courses in Design, such as MA UD and UG ones, such as MArch. As such, we are promoting the collaboration between these three courses, by exploring the development of a rich and stimulating interaction between MA AD, MA UD and MArch2.

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Section 1: Research by Design in the MA AD

1.1 MA AD Structure This programme is available on a one year full-time basis. You will be based at the Welsh School of Architecture for the duration of the programme. The taught element of this programme is structured around Architectural Design and Research (ADR) design module worth of 60 credits, where you will use techniques of research through design to explore an issue of interest related to one of the School’s design units.

This will normally run between October and March, and will conclude with a final presentation in front of a panel of reviewers. Your work in the design studio is complimented by the 30 credit module Analysis of Precedents, and a broad range of choice of optional study modules.

The MA AD structure encompasses three Core modules, summarised as follows: ART701 Architectural Design and Research (60 cr.)

ART703 Analysis of Precedent (30 cr.)

ART704 Design Thesis (Dissertation) (60 cr.)

In addition, The MA AD, encompasses six further Optional modules, as follows: AR3003 Issues in Contemporary Architecture(10 cr.)

ART801 Introduction to 3D Modelling and Parametric Design (10 cr.)

ART802 Computational Form Finding (20 cr.)

ART035 Low Carbon Buildings (10 cr.)

ART041 Climate Comfort & Energy (20 cr.)

ART702 Architectural Technology 3a (10 cr.)

You will usually start the dissertation element of the programme in May and complete this over the summer. The dissertation is the culmination of your design research throughout the programme. The dissertation usually comprises of a documented design project, accompanied by a 7000 word critical commentary. Support for developing the necessary skills of research through design will be provided during the taught elements of the programme.

Detail of the requirements of each of the above modules is provided in briefs, guides and handbooks specific to each, as well as in the relevant module descriptors.

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1.2 MA AD practice-based research and multidisciplinary approach The MA AD, with its unique and distinctive structure will bridge the gap between practice and research by strengthening learning outcomes from Practice Based Research, Design and Reflective Practice.

A varied range of optional modules will inform the students’ research and design outcomes from different multidisciplinary approaches. Students will have the options to develop their design thinking in the School’s principal research areas which currently include: - Urban regeneration - Architectural practice - Low carbon/energy design and construction - Building performance, prediction and evaluation - Making/prototyping - Materials - Sustainable cities - History and theory of architecture and urbanism - Building conservation

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

Project work in MA AD balances the disciplines of design, practice and research that will be applied critically through Practice-Based Research.

During your year on the programme, you will focus on developing a design-research agenda, defining and establishing your own position in architectural design. The topics covered are usually structured around thematic studios, or ‘design units’ under the guidance of an experienced design tutor who have expertise and interest in specific areas of research and practice. The themes are often related to areas of research expertise within the School.

You will also work independently to develop a research-focussed approach to your studies. This will require you to question and evaluate evidence and think creatively and iteratively. Emphasis will be both on individual discovery and personal reflection as well as on peer discussions and debates on your group and individual works to foster the collective

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intelligence within each of the Units and your own individual critical thinking and therefore your learning experience.

MA AD practice-based research Practice-Based Research is an original investigation undertaken in order to gain new knowledge partly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice. In MA AD context, such practice will be your exploratory analytic and desing work. The emphasis is on creative process and the works that are generated from that process: the ‘artefact’ (in our case, the design project) plays a vital part in the new understandings about the practice that arise as the main research outcome.

The originality and contribution to knowledge that is key to any consistent research should be demonstrated through the creative outcomes your design work, together with other physical outcomes

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

such as art installations, built artefacts and/or curated exhibitions.

Under this intellectual framework, you will undertake the analysis of architectural precedents within the studio environment and choose 30 credits worth of optional modules, chosen from a list of subjects based on the research interests of the staff in the school. This list is reviewed on an annual basis. You can choose any combination of 10 and 20 credit modules for your option.

For your dissertation you will work independently using the skills that have been developed during the taught programme, for developping a critical research argument through design. This will involve completing a design thesis project. You will be expected to supplement this with a 7000 word critical written commentary.

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1.3 MA AD Learning and Assessment Most of your time in the School will be spent in our design studio. Our key teaching method in the studio will be a combination of weekly presentations, participative seminars in order to foster the development of the Units collective intelligence and across the MA AD Studio. In addition, we will deliver one-to-one tutorials supported by lectures and group assignments, into which all aspects of the subjecta will be integrated. We offer a varied range of working spaces, workshops and computer-aided design facilities to support this different kinds of teaching activities. The MA AD Studio is the location for the design teaching, model-making tutorials, workshops and intellectual debates. It is also used for exhibitions and “crits� – at which students display their work for critical discussion and assessment by staff, fellow students and visiting critics. Working both formally and informally with your fellow students in the studio provides you opportunities for valuable peer-review and discussion around your work.

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

You will be taught both by permanent academic staff and tutors from leading UK practices, that will provide you with an exciting mix of design approaches and experiences.

As one of the top-ranked schools of architecture in the UK and leading in Wales, we have strong and lastling links with the Welsh Government, other public Institutions at International, European and national levels, as well as with construction industry bodies and professional practices. Furthermore, our strong international links at European and International levels, with EU public Institutions (EU), other schools of architecture and internationally renowned practices, makes the WSA a cosmopolitan hub for the development of innovation in Architectural design thinking and practice.

The School encourages effective student-led and independent learning, whether through site analysis,

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library research or “reflective practice�.

Your studies will also include lectures and seminars as part of optional modules, and as support for the design module. Teaching also includes the provision of online learning materials, such as briefs, bibliographies, readings and precedents, as appropriate to the module. We aim to make appropriate use of audio-visual support to aid learning and development of subject-specific skills. You will be given access to relevant teaching materials through the University’s virtual learning environment, Learning Central.

The dissertation element of the programme is conducted through the process of design, continuing on from your taught design project completed in the first part of the course. We advise that you continue to meet with your design unit tutor on a weekly basis until the end of June. This is usually followed by a

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period of reflection and writing where you will work independently under the guidance of your tutor and under the supervision of the programme leader or another member of the academic staff.

How will I be supported?

Contact time with staff is high and you will receive regular feedback on your progress throughout the course through the weekly tutorials. The Programme Convener is responsible for overseeing student progress. You will also have a personal tutor with whom you can (in confidence) discuss any concerns that may affect your progress. Regular progress reviews are held throughout the year with the year team, and an open-door policy exists throughout the School.

The School provides opportunities for you to reflect on and define your individual learning needs. This generally takes the form of a reflective diary or a sketch book. Increasingly, these take the form of online journals.

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The Architecture Library is located in the same building as the WSA, and provides easy access to resources and support. Electronic course materials are also generally held on the University network.

You will usually receive your feedback from the module leader. If you have questions regarding your feedback, module leaders are usually happy to give advice and guidance on your progress

Modules within the programme make extensive use of the University’s virtual learning environment, Learning Central, where you can access discussion forums and find course materials including recordings of lectures, and links to related materials.

How will I be assessed?

Design projects and related exercises are assessed continuously, often through pin-up reviews and symposia where feedback is given. At the end of the year, a portfolio of all design-related work is presented for formal examination by panels of reviewers.

The University also offers a range of services for students to access, including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, and excellent libraries and resource centres.

Feedback Feedback on coursework is usually given using a standard feedback pro-forma or can be given orally, in a similar way to design project work.

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

Optional modules are usually assessed through written examination and coursework submitted during the semester. Please read the module descriptions for your chosen optional modules to find out more about the ways they are assessed.

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The criteria by which assessments are made are contained in the School’s Teaching Handbook, in project and coursework documentation, and explained at introduction to the various modules and design projects.

MA AD learning outcomes The Learning outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will help you to understand what is expected of you. Academic staff will focus on what they want you to achieve within each Module.

Knowledge & Understanding: - Critically understand how knowledge is advanced through design-led research to produce clear, logically argued and originally written + design work relating to architectural culture, theory and design; Intellectual Skills: - Pursue a personal research agenda within the context of the School’s research portfolio;

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

Professional Practical Skills: - Generate complex design proposals showing understanding of current architectural issues, originality in the application of subject knowledge and, where appropriate, ability to test new hypotheses and speculations; - Evaluate materials, processes and techniques that apply to complex architectural designs and building construction, and to integrate these into practicable design proposals; Transferable/Key Skills: On completing the programme you should be able to: - Demonstrate problem-solving skills, professional judgment, and ability to take the initiative and make appropriate decisions in complex and unpredictable circumstances; - Identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for work within the architectural profession; - Evaluate and apply a comprehensive range of visual, oral and written media to test, analyse, critically appraise and explain design proposals;

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1.4 MA AD core modules Architectural Design and Research (ADR) ART701 This module represents the core of the taught part of the MA in Architectural Design. It aims to extend the students’ knowledge and skills of architectural design through the conception, development, communication and presentation of a complex design proposal. The development of this design proposal unfolds over the course of the year in response to challenges set by a series of design thesis unit leaders, tutors and consultants (as elaborated below in Section 2). Alongside to the design project, this module enables students to develop skills in design as research – forming an essential pre-cursor to the design-based dissertation module that will follow.

As part of developing a design thesis, students are expected to and should show understanding of current architectural issues and be informed by appropriate history, theory and precedent in

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

addressing specific contexts. Students will learn how research questions might arise in response to formulated design problems and how issues can be addressed in informed, responsive, creative and propositional ways.

ADR is organised around the ‘Design Thesis’, which has a long history in architectural education, having figured in institutions as diverse as the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Bauhaus. It remains a strong tradition in architectural education, not least at the Welsh School. It has been historically, and remains, an opportunity for students in school to demonstrate their abilities and take a stand in the discipline before beginning life as an architect in practice.

Notwithstanding, the synthetic and propositional skills which it develops are valuable resources for a wide range of settings beyond practice.

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The design thesis provides an opportunity for graduates to formulate an intellectual position regarding architectural design, with the support of Practice-Based research methodologies.

Its architecture can ‘say’ whatever you want it to – but it must be responsive to the work that has gone before, accepting or rejecting it knowledgeably from a consistent and well-informed intellectual position. Architecture is a research activity and the design proposition should demonstrate the research which underpins it in all respects: cultural, social, formal, political, technological, contextual, tectonic, environmental, historical, philosophical, economic.

In synthesising an approach to these facets of the discipline, projects will proclaim architectural positions.

The main project of the ‘Design Thesis’ may be informed by a research process with the support of preparatory, analytical work, a built artefact or a

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‘primer’ project which may substantiate and help in defining the design hypothesis or question.

A thesis describes a reasoned argument as a response to a research question which stems from a knowledge gap previously identified in a first analytic or exploratory work. A practice-based researchled architectural proposition should set out a clear and cogent argument. It should demonstrate the reasoning and evidence which support it. It should show coherence of purpose – and is therefore systematic and methodical. Any representation should be well structured and be robust enough to withstand testing through criticism and review but it is fair to say that there is an equivalence of valency of design development to ‘final’ solution.

Unlike the undergraduate education, it is the graduate in collaboration with staff who set the parameters and extends the possibilities of the design project. And unlike in the undergraduate

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years – where Technology, History, Theory, Urban Design and Economics are presented in separate courses alongside design studio – there is no such separation. The design thesis should demonstrate the fundamental integration of the many facets of architecture. The emphasis in the final design is on the graduate’s own initiative and responsibility.

The educational framework set by the MA AD team will help graduates develop the thesis and provide opportunities to work with like-minded colleagues in and as a Unit.

The school is not prone to projects that rest on self-indulgence. Architecture has moral and ethical responsibilities. The design thesis must be rooted in a serious question or questions. The choice of question and details of resolution will be determined through the particular processes adopted by each unit. Investigations may focus on a social need or economic situation; or the distinctive character of

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a particular site; or the architecture which might derive from a particular material or materials; or phenomenal qualities of light or sound or touch; or much else besides. The MA AD also demands that design proposition should be grounded in the needs of the real world: not only “can you have an idea?” but “can you make the idea work?” in the contexts of inhabitation, site, climate, culture and feasible technologies. The school believes that such pragmatism is not inhibiting; architects must be able to deliver their speculations. And from necessity comes richness. In this respect, your project should be conspicuously made.

Professional architecture is an expert practice, and the elegant resolution of the thesis demonstrates expertise. The school of architecture, and staff and collaborators have international reputations in their respective fields of specialism. It is to the advantage of the graduate to engage with these fields and

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specialists. It is also important to collaborate with colleagues in a studio environment, especially for the MA AD students with the MA UD cohort. For these reasons, the design module is aiming for teaching collaborations between MA AD, MA UD and MArch.

Each Unit will normally have a maximum of 9-10 students working together. Graduates may choose from a number of themes. We try our hardest to ensure that each student has at least her or his first or second choice of Unit.

MA AD cohort will come together to frequently sharing lectures, seminars and crits as appropriate, and work broadly to the same timetable until Easter.

Graduates are encouraged to pay attention to Units other than their own, to spend time together, and to learn from what each other is doing, including the other design courses.

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

Note should be made, however, that individual Units set criteria and will work, develop and progress in different ways throughout the year. Therefore, attempting to gauge personal progress through direct comparison between the different Units wouldn’t be always helpful.

In the UK, the Arts and Humanities Research Board (now Council) (AHRB, 2000) defines Research primarily in terms of research processes rather than outputs. This definition is built around three key features: 1. It must define a series of research questions or problems that will be addressed in the course of the research. It must also define its objectives in terms of seeking to enhance knowledge and understanding relating to the questions or problems to be addressed.

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2. It must specify a research context for the questions or problems to be addressed. It must specify why it is important that these particular questions or problems should be addressed, what other research is being or has been conducted in this area and what particular contribution this project will make to the advancement of creativity, insights, knowledge and understanding in this area.

3. It must specify the research methodology for addressing and answering the research questions or problems. In the course of the research project, how to seek to answer the questions, or advance available knowledge and understanding of the problems must be shown. It should also explain the rationale for the chosen research methods and why they provide the most appropriate means by which to answer the research questions.

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Creative Design output can be produced, or practice undertaken, as an integral part of the research process. However, the outcomes of such design practice must be accompanied by documentation of the research process, as well as some form of analysis or explanation to support its position and to demonstrate critical reflection.

The MA AD Design Thesis, the Reflective diary and the accompanying research project [known as the dissertation] may be linked to one another. The dissertation may then act as crtitical commentary covering aspects of design and contextualising design within the broader issues of the subject area.

More information on the precise specification of this piece of work is provided in the relevant module descriptor.

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The project work will be aimed at the higher level of creative ambition. Therefore the level and complexity of the problem set for and tackled by each student will be of a sufficiently high order to enable the following levels of achievement:

The themes offered are expected to be founded on areas of research and expertise that are established and can be supported from within the School.

Specialist advice from outside the School will supplement the work of each thematic studio.

• Systematic knowledge • Critical awareness • High level of visual thinking and representation • Processes and solutions informed by the

forefront of the discipline of architectural design.

As specific outcomes will necessarily vary between units, unit tutors will map their aims and envisaged outcomes against the general attributes and criteria in their extended Unit briefs. The distinctive nature of each Unit has been evident in the various exhibitions we have held in recent years and we look forward to seeing this continue this coming year.

Projects will be developed that fall into one of several Units. These Units are led by tutors who are equipped to assist students translate ideas that are often abstract and conceptual into briefs and realisable architectural proposals.

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Analysis of Precedent (AP) ART703

This module focusses on how architecture can learn from that which precedes it and focusses on how we analyse precedent in order to learn something that can be applied to future design thinking. The emphasis will be on the development of a set of tools that help you to identify issues that are not always immediately obvious. You will work in groups to identify a relevant set of precedent buildings and projects and then conduct an in-depth analysis of those projects in order to address a defined research question relevant to your design project work. The methods of analysis that you use will vary depending on the nature of your unit and the issue being investigated, but may include graphical analysis of form and space, physical measurements and observations, and written reflection and analysis. The final output will be a portfolio of work.

References Clark, R.H, Pause M 2012.

Precedents in architecture: analytic diagrams, formative ideas, and partis, Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons Hawkes, D. 1996. The environmental tradition: studies in the architecture of environment.

London: Spon.

Hertzberger, H. 2016, Lessons for students in architecture, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers Lynch, K. 1960 The Image of the City, London: M.I.T. Press Silver, P. McLean, W. Evans, P 2013 Structural Engineering for Architects: A Handbook, London: Lawrence King Unwin, S. 2014. Analysing architecture. Fourth edition, London, New York: Routledge.

Unwin, S. 2015. Twenty Five Buildings every Architect Should Understand, London ; New York : Routledge

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Design Thesis. Dissertation (DT) ART704

This module represents the culmination of the MA in Architectural Design. It builds on the skills and intellectual position developed as part of the Architectural Design and Research and aims to extend the students’ knowledge and skills developed through the realisation of their design proposal.

The final design thesis should show understanding of current architectural issues and be informed by appropriate history, theory and precedent in addressing specific contexts. As a ‘thesis’, it should evidence how research questions arising in response to formulated design problems and issues can be addressed in informed, responsive, creative and propositional ways.

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References Reading lists specific to each thematic design thesis unit are included as part of the Units briefs.

Directed reading lists related to the thesis topic will be led by the Thesis tutor.

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Section 2: MA AD units

2.1 The Design Units The three MA AD Units cover complementary aspects of contemporary architecture design. We strongly encourage the cross-feeding between the three Units and with the other Design Masters (MA UD and MArch) in order to promote the common intellectual reflection and foster collaborative practice culture. The themes of the Units are part of the diverse and rich research agenda that exists at the Welsh School of Architecture. These themes also respond to the world in which architecture will be practised, and as the UK construction industry reels from the effect of the global banking crisis and the ensuing ‘credit crunch’, changing governments and ensuing spending restrictions, architects must equip ourselves to confront all this and respond to the need for low carbon futures. Architectural education at this level at the Welsh School Architecture must be responsive to these conditions.

MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

The Design Thesis Units for 2018-2019 Academic Year are as follows:

Unit A: Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology EMUVE Palermo 2019 Unit B: Situated Art-Critical Architecture Unit C: Communities on the Edge

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Unit A. EMUVE UNIT PALERMO 2019: REFUGEES + MIGRANTS

Dr. Federico Wulff Barreiro

Our European cities are undergoing profound changes as a reaction to the subsequent crises that our continent has faced in the last decade.

From recent 2008 economic downturn and its urban and social impacts of deprivation, degradation and abandonment, current European socio-political crisis of identity, values and fear, to the ongoing refugee crisis, by far the most important displacement of people fleeing from warfare that our Continent has experienced since WWII. Current European planning models and design methodologies have proven to be excessively rigid, obsolete and too slow to address these complex and rapidly evolving crises, showing an inability to give resilient, efficient, economically feasible and socially inclusive responses to these challenges.

There is an urgent necessity for a profound reformulation of the existing design approaches for the reactivation of these crisis landscapes which will prioritise the common values of social inclusion, cultural diversity and the well-being of the citizenship over any other particular economic interest.

The European research project EMUVE (Euro Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology), hosted at the WSA, funded by the European Commission and directed by EMUVE Unit leader Dr. Federico Wulff Barreiro, focuses on the search for innovative urban and architectural design reactivation strategies to address these European urban and social degradation processes. EMUVE has developed research in several case studies in Spain, France and Italy with the Mediterranean at the centre as the most conflictual area of the Continent, and references to precedents in the UK, London and Cardiff Bay. MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

EMUVE Unit Palermo 2019: Refugees + Migrants In the last years, Sicily has been the principal arrival point for a growing number of refugees and migrants mainly from African countries that have travelled through Libya and across the Mediterranean in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels and have been frequently jailed and abused in prisoners’ camps in Libya, with high numbers of unaccompanied minors.

The Port of Palermo, the Capital City of Sicily, became a landing ground for dozens of rescue disembarkations coordinated by the Italian Navy.

Survivors were often greeted on the quayside as new Palermo citizens by Leoluca Orlando, the Mayor of Palermo and Corrado Lorefice, the Catholic Archbishop of Palermo.

“Sicily” is, by contrast, says Mayor Leoluca Orlando in 2016, “a positive example for the rest of the world.

In the last 20 months, 300,000 immigrants arrived in Sicily without any single act of racism from the locals. The Charter of Palermo, which bears the subtitle: ‘From migration as suffering to mobility as an inalienable human right’, affirms the right to work, health care, social assistance, and housing to all refugees that are arriving to Palermo”.

EMUVE Unit will work in collaboration with Palermo City Council, SOS Ballaro Community Assembly, the University of Palermo (UNIPA), activists, social workers and educators, local artists and the migrants and refugees in Palermo.

EMUVE Unit will articulate a close partnership with Central Saint Martins-London (CSM) Stage 3 Design Unit (BA (Honours) Architecture), directed by Oscar Brito, in a logic of a joint super vertical Unit between WSA and CSM. EMUVE Unit and CSM Stage 3 22

will work jointly in Palermo, sharing the same Unit theme, the design-based research methodologies and strategies and the active work with the local stakeholders. Both groups will share crits and other teaching activities, such as study trips to Palermo, design workshops and the work with local stakeholders. We will explore innovative approaches for the development of design strategies for the social inclusion of migrants and refugees as a key opportunity for the reactivation of derelict Palermo historical city centre.

We will work in the logic of a design think tank, developing useful design proposals for the local stakeholders, with the support of Palermo City Council and SOS Ballaro Citizenship assembly.

The focus will be on redesigning the public spaces and abandoned heritage buildings in the Albergheria district of Palermo Historic city Centre, to provide spatial support to the multicultural exchange and social integration of the new incomers with the local inhabitants, creating spaces for productive activities and human relationships that will contribute to their well-being and social development.

Phase 1: Design-based research in groups about the existing urban and social context of Palermo Historical city centre, including an understanding of the social issues of refugees and migrants, their integration processes and the institutions and NGO’s that are working with them. This multi-scalar analysis will reveal the social and morphological complexity of the site, aiming for the selection of ‘opportunity spaces’ for the individual design interventions at the architectural scale in stage 2.

Reading List: A full reading list is available from the Unit Brief.

EMUVE European Research Summary published in the EU European Commission Website: EMUVE EU Research Project EMUVE project Blog: https://emuvebcn.wordpress.com/ EMUVE Barcelona book (EMUVE Unit 2015-2016) The Charter of Palermo (English Version): https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ICP/IDM/2015_ CMC/Session-IIIb/Orlando/PDF-CARTA-DI-PALERMO-Statement.pdf UN HABITAT meets with the new refugee community in a design workshop: http://unhabitat.org/un-habitat-meets-with-the-new-refugeecommunity-in-a-design-workshop/ UNHCR the UN Refugee Agency-Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response- Mediterranean Italy: http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=105 Migrant Sicily: http://migrantsicily.blogspot.com.es/ From Mafia city to a haven for refugees: Palermo moves on from its criminal past https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/27/palermo-rejectsmafia-safe-haven-refugees-sicily-mayor-leoluca-orlando Part of the neighbourhood: Syrian refugees in Amsterdam http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/partneighbourhood-syrian-refugees-amsterdam-160606075150971. html African refugees find new home in Palermo, Italy http://www.dw.com/en/african-refugees-find-new-home-inpalermo-italy/a-18066439

Phase 2: Development of individual intervention proposals in the selected buildings and public spaces on the grounds of the previous analysis, from its conceptual framework as a Design Thesis to its architectural and urban design development, including tectonic approaches, technology integration and construction detailing.

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Unit B.

Situated Art-Critical Architecture Exercising socio-political critique via cultural critique Studio SYN (Dr Ursula Dimitriou and Dejan Mrdja)

The unit is facilitating a relation between conceptual spatial theories in art, architecture, urbanism, performativity, participatory design and activism.

Such a spatial approach ties in with the field of expertise of the unit leaders, Dr Ursula Dimitriou and Dejan Mrdja, and it is relevant to their interest in interrelating theoretical and practical knowledge gained through teaching, researching, running live projects, workshops and through a dynamic engagement with artist and activist groups.

The Unit Situated Art – Critical Architecture will envisage innovative spatial tactics, arrangements and typologies that support cultural production related to situated creative practices. We will question the spatial and social boundaries between the productions, circulation and consumption of art and interrogate the future of cultural institutions; we will enquire about the role of art as a catalyst for social and political betterment and we will experiment with new situations, scenarios, programmes, forms and spatial typologies that are produced by and for radical art and cultural practices.

The Unit will situate itself in the dense and exciting cultural grounds of Athens, Greece - a city with a rich background and history, currently suffering an economic crisis that has impacted the socio-political and urban fabric. This crisis-ridden metropolis constitutes an extremely dynamic cultural field: it is the cradle of numerous alternative bottom-up cultural practices, but is also is chosen by large international institutions such as Documenta and the Dutch Art Institute and Onassio Foundation as their venue.

While these large institutions claim to have chosen Athens because it embodies the economic, political, MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

social, and cultural dilemmas that Europe faces more broadly, the critics point out the issues revolving around ‘cultural exploitation of crisis’, ‘exoticism’ and ‘colonisation’.

There is an urgent necessity for a profound reformulation of the existing design approaches for the reactivation of this cityscape which will prioritise the common values of social inclusion, cultural diversity and the well-being of the citizens over any other particular economic interest.

In the first part of the Unit we will analyse art practices of social character in Athens and further afield. We will learn from communities of artists that offer alternative forms of operation and question the typical art market solutions - look for multisensory, collaborative, participatory and transitory practices.

From here we will develop methodologies for spatial design based on the art processed we analysed.

We will apply those methodologies in practice to imagine self-managed, non-hierarchical common spaces of cultural production that promote bottom-up regeneration.

The Unit will look for solutions that will go beyond a building in the narrow sense of the term as it will be open up to a range of spatial arrangements varying from ephemeral to monumental and including visual, performative or aural expressions of architecture.

During the design process we will pose the question and look for an answer – what is the contemporary and radical way to design or describe spaces for production of art and culture and social empowerment?

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Moreover, you will work on ‘situated practice’ projects that are site-related – from physical installations, performances and events. You will be encouraged to use a variety of media both for both research and spatial representation such as sculpture, performance, installation and video.

The Unit Situated Art – Critical Architecture will create a pioneering learning environment that will relate spatial innovation with discursive and methodological innovation; via production of site-related, physical and digital contextual installations the Unit will encourage students’ engagement with specific publics and contemporary social, cultural and political conditions; The expected learning outome of the Unit will include developing a strong understanding of appropriate research methodologies in art and design practice-led research, specifically relating to approaches towards criticality, performativity and positionality. As Donna Haraway put it “positioning is … the key practice grounding knowledge” (quoted in Rose 1997: 308).

Reading list De Certeau, M. (1988). The Practice of Everyday Life . Berkeley: University of California Press.

Deutsche, R. (1996). Evictions: Art and Spatial Politics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Felshin, N. (1995). But is this Art? The spirit of Art as Activism.

Seatle: Bay Press.

Jameson, F. (1995). Is Space Political? In C. C. Davidson, Any Place (pp. 192-205). Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

Kwon, M. (2002). One Place After Another:Site Specific Art and Locational Identity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Leach, N. (1997). Architecture or Revolution? In N. Leach, Architecture and Revolution (pp. 112-23). London: Routledge.

Miles, M. (1997). Art, Space and the City. London: Routledge.

Miles, M. (2004). Urban Avant-Gardes: Art, Architecture and Change. London: Routledge.

Ockman, J. (. (1995). Architecture, Critisism, Ideology. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press.

Rendell, J. (2006). Art and Architecture: A Place Between. NY: I.B.Tauris. http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/23703-radical-art-is-an-actof-uncompromising-passionate-resistance http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/exhibitions/ current-exhibits/carrie-mae-weems,-ritual-and-revolution.html

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Unit C.

Communities on the Edge: Democratising architecture on the urban periphery Tabitha Pope and Rowan Mackay

To adapt to a growing population, cities the world over are presented with a choice: densification of the urban interior or expansion into their once rural (or non-urban) exterior. The sprawl of cities into their former hinterland (or the creation of entirely new urban settlements) is more often the preferred option, both politically and financially. Yet the way in which strategic, large scale and rapidly developed ‘greenfield’ sites manifest, often ignores the complex socio-economic and socio-spatial contexts of these areas, to the cost not only to these locales, but the city as a whole.

Far from the vacant or ‘undeveloped’ land presented within the house builder’s red line, these spaces of transition, where rural meets urban, provide the spatial foundations to support many varied and diverse communities, economies and cultures. From formal and informal gypsy, traveller and new migrant settlements, to recreation spaces providing valuable social infrastructure for low-income suburban communities, and agricultural and light industrial economies providing products and services to the city proper. The communities, cultures and livelihoods at risk from large-scale rapid urbanisation are numerous and varied.

Expanding our cities in a way that protects and strengthens vulnerable and at risk group’s right to the city requires an architecture that understands and responds to the complexities of these contested sites. An architecture that opens up possibilities, tests scenarios and subverts preconceptions of how our cities should grow.

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The urban periphery is the frontline of many social, political, economic and environmental conflicts, and requires an appropriate architectural response.

Democratising architecture on the urban periphery This unit will explore the role of participatory designresearch in facilitating more appropriate, equitable and inclusive built environments for contested sites on the urban periphery. Through design led research in the Cardiff area and comparative analysis of case studies in the global south, students will explore alternative strategic approaches to large-scale global development practice, before developing architectural forms and processes that respond to the needs and aspirations of identified vulnerable and at-risk groups in Cardiff.

In Cardiff, the Plasdwr Garden City is a planned settlement of over 6,000 homes, the first phase of which is now under construction on the northwestern edge of the city. Cardiff is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, with the local authority committing to build more than 40,000 homes by 2026, 13,000 of which will be be built on greenfield land on the city’s periphery. With clear reference to the original garden city movement in the early 20th Century, the contemporary revival of the concept has, however, drawn criticism for failing to deliver on many of the original garden city principles, such as community ownership, or respond to the pressures and needs facing cities today.

Students will also undertake a detailed examination of the newly planned city of Amaravati, in India’s south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh. Implemented as an effective expansion of the 27 existing towns 26

and villages within the masterplan area, the 217km2 new state capital is being planned for a population of 4 million residents by 2050. Part of India’s rapid urbanisation under the Smart Cities programme, Amaravati has been hailed as the People’s Capital on account of the authority’s use of land pooling to enable the development of the new city. In a situation common to development throughout the country however, vulnerable rural landowners and landless groups are being exploited out of their assets and livelihoods, putting the legacy of the People’s Capital in jeopardy.

Students will be encouraged to spend as much time as possible examining the Plasdwr site in Cardiff and build up a detailed understanding of the socio-spatial and socio-economic particulars of the site. Workshops and comparative analyses on the Amaravati case study throughout the unit will be used to understand the complexities of and develop appropriate participatory strategies for peri-urban sites globally.

Phase 1: In groups, students will be introduced to design-based research methodologies as a way to develop a multi-scalar understanding of the physical, social, political, economic, environmental, historical and cultural contexts of peri-urban sites, refining a (global) methodological approach in response to their identified user group. Based on this analysis, each group will develop an architectural design brief that enables more inclusive and socially just forms of peri-urban development for a series of potential intervention sites in the Cardiff area.

Phase 2: Refining their research question over the Christmas period, students will work individually to explore how temporal design tactics can respond to the brief created in phase 1. Tactics such as temporary interventions, graphic communication, events and actions will be tested as a way to create new spaces of coproduction for their identified user group as part of a long-term architectural vision.

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Reading List Wales Online (2017), This is what Cardiff’s new 7,000 home £2bn ‘Garden City’ suburb will look like, https://www.walesonline.co.uk/ news/local-news/what-cardiffs-new-7000-home-11740793 Rohini Mohan (2017), Price of a Dream City: Andhra Farmers are caught in the uncertain promise of Amaravati , https://www. thenewsminute.com/article/price-dream-city-andhra-farmers-arecaught-uncertain-promise-amaravati-72390 Patrick Barkham (2016), Britain’s first garden town: housing crisis solution or ‘dog’s breakfast’?, The Guardian, https://www. theguardian.com/cities/2016/jan/19/bicester-britains-only-gardentown UN Habitat (2017), New Urban Agenda, p5, http://habitat3.org/wpcontent/uploads/NUA-English.pdf Peter Lang (2006), Stalker on Location, in Loose Space, http:// www.petertlang.net/urban-culture/stalker-on-location/ (2015) Reimagining regeneration through participatory design in Cape Town, Archirecture Sans Frontières UK, http://www.asf-uk. org/programmes/change-by-design/reports/ Doina Petrescu & Kim Trogal (eds) (2018), The Social (Re) Production of Architecture: Politics, Values and Actions in Contemporary Practice, Routledge, London Graham Ward (2011), The Anarchist House, in Autonomy, Solidarity, Possibility:The Colin Ward Reader, AK Press, Edinburgh Hamdi, Nabeel, The Placemaker’s Guide to Building Community (Earthscan Tools for Community Planning) (London: Routledge, 2010) Hamdi, Nabeel, Small Change: About the Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities (London: Routledge, 2004) Sennett, Richard, The Fall of Public Man (London: Penguin, 2003) St Hill, Cate, This is Temporary: how transi

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2.2 MA AD reading List

Ways of seeing, thinking and doing architecture Budak, Adam and Marta Anna Urbanska, eds., WHAT IS ARCHITECTURE?: texts on theory and practice of contemporary architecture (Krakow: Manggha Centre for Japanese Art and Technology, 2008) Burry, Mark; Burry, Jane, Prototyping for Architects, (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2016) Chard, Nat and Perry Kulper, eds., Contingent Practices (London: Ashgate, 2013) Deplazes, Andrea, (Ed) Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures (Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 3rd Edition 2013)

Hernandez, Felipe, Bhabha for Architects (Thinkers for Architects) (London: Routledge, 2010) Hertzberger, H. 2016, Lessons for students in architecture, Rotterdam : nai010 publishers Hill, Jonathan, Weather Architecture (London and New York: Routledge, 2012) Lynch, K. 1960 The Image of the City, London: M.I.T. Press Jacobs, Jane, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: The Noidern Library, 1993 [1961])

Dovey, Kim, Becoming Places: Urbanism / Architecture / Identity / Power

Koolhaas, Rem, Delirious New York (New York: The Monacelli Press, 1994)

Fainstein, Susan, The Just City (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2010)

Leach, Neil, Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory (London and New York: Routledge, 1997)

Frampton, Kenneth, Studies in tectonic culture: The poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture, (MIT Press, 1995) Fraser, Murray M. Fraser, ed., Design Research in Architecture (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013) Haydn, Florian and Robert Temel, Eds., Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for the Use of City Spaces (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2006) Hawkes, D. 1996. The environmental tradition: studies in the architecture of environment. London: Spon.

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Reed, Chris and Nina-Marie Lister, eds., Projective Ecologies (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Graduate School of Design and ACTAR, 2015) Rykwert, Joseph, The Seduction of Place: The City in the Twenty-first Century (New York: Pantheon Books, 2000) Sennett, Richard, The Craftsman (London and New York: Penguin, 2009) Sharr, Adam, ed., Reading Architecture and Culture: Researching Buildings, Spaces and Documents (London and New York: Routledge, 2012) 28

Steiner, Henrietta and Max Sternberg, eds.

Phenomenologies of the City: Studies in the History and Philosophy of Architecture (Farnham: Ashgate, 2014) Till, Jeremy, Architecture Depends (Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 2007) Till, Jeremy, Nishat Awan and Tatjana Schneider, Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture (London: Routledge, 2011)

Unwin, S. 2014. Analysing architecture. Fourth edition,. London ; New York : Routledge.

Unwin, S. 2015. Twenty Five Buildings every Architect Should Understand, London ; New York : Routledge Vidler, Anthony, The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely (Cambridge, Mass, The MIT press, 1992)

Tonkiss, Francine, Cities by Design: The Social Life of Urban Form (Malden, MA: Polity) Tuomey, John, Architecture, Craft and Culture (Co Cork: Gandon Editions, 2004).

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Section 3: MA AD support

3.1 Other Optional Components You will choose 30 credits worth of optional modules, chosen from the list of subjects based on the research interests of the staff in the school described above. You can choose any combination of 10 and 20 credit modules for your option.

Optional modules available for 2018-2019 are the following:

ART035 Low Carbon Buildings (10Cr.) The aims of the module are to introduce the ways buildings use energy, methods of matching building energy demands through renewables and low energy systems and to introduce techniques for assessing the energy footprint and sustainable performance of the building using benchmarking.

AR3003 Issues in Contemporary Architecture (10Cr.) This course is an introduction to critical thinking in architectural theory. The scope covers ‘contemporary’ issues – issues which are currently under debate in architectural theory, research and practice.

ART041 Climate, Comfort and Energy (20Cr.) This module aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the physical mechanisms through which the built environment uses energy in order to attain human comfort.

ART801 Introduction to 3D Modelling and Parametric Design The aim of this module is to introduce you to the principles of 3D modelling and parametric design, while emphasising their connection to the creative design process. You will gain an understanding of the various workflows for digital modelling, texturing, animation, lighting and rendering, and generative techniques for the creation of complex assemblies.

ART702 Architectural Technology 3a (10Cr.) The module is intended to familiarise students with principles and information on various aspects of technology relevant to buildings of moderate complexity: Construction & Materiality, Structural Strategies, Building Physics and Science and Building Services.

ART802 Computational Form Finding The aim of this module is to introduce you to the use of physical and digital prototyping methods of form-finding for creative design enquiry. It extends the concepts and techniques of design investigations to include principles of computational design. This module will allow you to investigate several design concepts and workflows and create form-finding solutions and workflows that address them.

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3.2 Studio Culture and Conduct The school promotes a convivial and collaborative studio culture. The majority of MA AD students choose to work in studio, benefiting from shared learning amongst peers. Design studios are a location where students within a thematic studio can meet, where experiences can be shared across studios and where informal tutorials take place.

At MA AD level, students are expected to develop an autonomous and responsible attitude to their learning and also to the planning of their time. Weekly tutorials, seminars and consultancies should be considered to be a valuable resource, and students should aim to maximise the benefits that they get from these. This is best achieved when students adopt a professional attitude towards their conduct in the school.

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This might include: • Attending all tutorials and consultancies at

the allotted time. If a tutorial slot is

missed, it may be difficult to reschedule a

student to another time.

• Bringing with them, all necessary drawings

and models: discussion around a students

work can be difficult if key items are missing.

• Ensuring that any work completed on

computer is printed out: tutorials cannot

be conducted in front of a laptop computer.

• Ensuring that drawings are presented in

a professional manner, using, where

necessary, appropriate drawing conventions.

• In group tutorials, listening and

contributing towards the discussions on

the work of other students.

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The school’s design studios should be an inviting, pleasant, clean, and organised space which is open to all architecture students in the school. MA AD students have 24 hour access to the studios, but this should be considered as a privilege that will be lost if due care and consideration is not given towards the school’s property and relevant health and safety obligations. Studios should be kept in a clean and tidy state, and students should ensure that appropriate facilities for cutting, spraying and model making are always used.

Studio culture is very important to MA AD course.

Not just the thematic unit, but also the physical space of studio. Everyone is encouraged to work in the school, to benefit from contact with each other and with staff, and for ready access to other facilities. We promote a lively studio environment.

Friary house studios The School is highly regarded and top-ranked both nationally and internationally.

However, no organisation can remain static. It has to change, if only to respond to changes that happen in the outside world. Rather than be reactive, it is usually better to be part of the change process, to lead the change. That is what we are trying to do within the School. Our goals are: 1 To create “critical mass” in key areas.

Expand the number of academic staff to develop research profiles and deliver education programmes in key areas.

2 To broaden and diversify the educational and research offering the School makes to society MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

so that we are not wholly reliant on a handful of specialisms. The context for both the built environment and architectural education is increasingly diverse, dynamic and uncertain.

We aim to flourish, not just cope.

3 To produce graduates with design skills who can operate across the wide spectrum of activity related to the sustainability of the built environment and who can solve the ‘wicked’ problems that involve working with contemporary issues of ambiguity, unpredictability and uncertainty.

In short, we want to spread the WSA experience more widely by building on our success so that others can benefit from what we have to offer. It differs from conventional built environment schools by placing design at the centre. At the heart of this is the knowledge that design can make a positive difference to people’s lives and that our graduates, who already make the world better place by designing buildings, might be joined by others from the WSA who can bring design thinking and skills to a whole range of problems that face the world. Typically, these problems require interdisciplinary approaches, which architecture thrives on. To deliver this, the school plans an expanded suite of master’s programmes and delivery methods.

As part of the school expansion, a space has been allocated to WSA in Friary House to provide an extra 30% of space. It will bring together four separate strands of our current educational provision — our MA in Architectural Design (MAAD), the MA in Urban Design (MAUD) and the Architectural 32

Science master’s programmes (ASM) — and create opportunities for interaction across these programmes as an added value for the student’s experience.

Frairy House facilities includes: • Dedicated studios for MA AD, MAUD and ASM Courses • 40 seat lecture theatre/ exhibition space • Seminar/ tutorial rooms • Modelling room for basic model making (Shared between the MA AD / MAUD courses).

• The studio will accommodate 150 students

and 11 staff.

We hope and encourage the development of a Masters community where courses share space, knowledge, skills and resources.

Further details regarding health and safety, fire strategies, facilities and studio culture and expectations can be found in the student handbook.

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3.3 Supporting facilities Supporting the Friary house studios are a range of the following facilities within the Bute building: Library The Architecture Library is located within the Welsh School of Architecture in Bute Building and is one of eighteen University site libraries.

Its location is exceptional amongst British schools of architecture, in that its collection of books, journals, reference and technical literature and audio-visual material is directly accessible to students and staff of the School. In addition to these resources it holds a rare books collection and provides access to a wide range of, online and CD-Rom databases, internet resources and electronic journals.

Workshop The workshop is equipped with several bench mounted electrical tools including 2 belt sanders, 2 disc sanders, 2 bandsaws, a scroll saw and a pillar drill. A number of portable electric tools include 3 drills, a belt sander, orbital sander, planer and router. All these items of equipment may be used by students after induction by the workshop Craftsman and a short period of training, which includes specific training in health and safety. There is also a professional combination woodworking machine for use by the workshop Craftspersons only, for some of the more heavy duty project work required by students. Across the corridor is a ventilated spraybooth. Access is normally available but graduates are expected to liaise with our craftspersons.

A sample collection of journals and desk top resource books will be made available in the studio in Friary house.

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Environmental Laboratory The environmental laboratory underpins many of the activities of the Architecture Science Group as well as supporting those of the Design Research Unit. The facility offers support in physical scale modelling, numerical, or computational, modelling, laboratory based measurement, field monitoring. The major components of the laboratory are the: Sky Dome, Computer Modelling Facilities and the Meterological Station.

Media Lab Currently, numerous PCs are located around the design studios, together with A4 scanners and lightboxes. The School supports the use of laptops and wireless networking is provided. Students have access to a media lab which contains 10 high specification computers together with A1 Plotters, A3 Colour printing, an A4 Black and White Printer and A3 and A4 Scanners.

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The School has digital cameras, a video camera, laptops and digital projectors for anyone to use for presentations. In addition to the facilities provided by the School, ‘open-access’ computing facilities are available in the Bute Library and also at other locations around the University. Some of these can be block-booked for teaching purposes. The School aims to provide students with a wide array of software for computer aided design, and digital presentation including: 3D/CAD (AutoCAD, Sketchup, 3DStudio, Rhino); Digital Media (Adobe Creative Suite); Environmental Design (Ecotect). These are available on the network and are therefore anywhere on campus.

FabLab Includes laser cutting facilities, 3D printers, CNC router and a robotic arm.

Access to all facilities should be arranged through the School’s Facilities Manager, who co-ordinates and manages the demand for resources.

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3.4 Unit Leaders and Module Leaders Dr. Federico Wulff Barreiro (Chair of MA AD) Federico is a Lecturer of Architecture Design and Urban Design at the WSA, a European researcher and an award-winning practioner. He was graduated at the ETSAM (Madrid, Spain) in 1998. In 2007/2008, he was awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture of the Royal Spanish Academy of Rome. He owns a European PhD, completed during his year in Rome, at the ETSAM School of Architecture of Madrid (Spain) and at Roma Tre University (Italy).

His work in the UK began in 2012, when he was Visiting Teacher at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Then, in March 2013, he joined WSA as a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (IEF) Postdoctoral Senior Researcher. His European research project, EMUVE (Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology) was funded by the European Commission. EMUVE focuses on the search of innovative design methodologies for the re-activation of urban landscapes in crisis, from 2008 economic downturn to current refugee crisis.

His practice W+G Architects has been awarded with 10 first prizes in International Architecture competions. His projects have covered a wide range of issues, from public spaces (Eras, Forum), Heritage (Restoration of a 14th.C mosque in the arabic Palace of The Alhambra, Spain), to cooperation projects in developing countries (Ethiopia, Morocco).

Dr. Andrew Roberts (Dean of Education & Students) Andrew trained at Cardiff and undertook postgraduate studies at Strathclyde. As College Dean for Education and Students, Andrew is responsible for the strategic development of teaching across the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering. His research largely focuses on the practice of teaching MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

architecture and what other subjects can learn from architectural education. The research focuses on how teachers of architecture can help students to develop the necessary abilities to become creative practitioners in their own right. Pedagogic research of this type provides an opportunity to reflect critically upon the practice of teaching and learning architecture. Andrew leads the subject of Economics in the school and is interested in how architects can use the discipline as a creative spur in their work.

Dr Ursula Dimitriou Ursula Dimitriou graduated from the National Technical University of Greece in Athens in 2000.

She has an MA in Art and Architecture from UPC in Barcelona and a PhD focused on design and politics from the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths University of London.

She has seven years of teaching experience in BA and MA level in Architecture, Urban Design and Visual Culture, leading design studios and contextual studies modules at Central Saint Martins, Westminster University in London, Welsh School of Architecture, University of the Creative Arts in Farnham, Goldsmiths University in London etc.

Ursula’s research interests include public space, common space, participatory design, design and social sustainability, grassroots urban practices, theatrical and ephemeral practices in the urban space, public art, visual media as a research method.

She works as a free-lance architect is a founding director of Studio Syn, an interdisciplinary design practice. Her practical experience spans over fifteen years as a qualified architect involved in all stages 36

of project development, from conceptual design to planning applications and construction management.

She has an extensive design and detailing experience across a range of sectors with an emphasis on residential, hospitality, retail, arts and culture.

Dejan Mrdja Dejan is an architect, artist and a lecturer. He holds an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, London (2017) and a Degree in Architecture Engineering from the University of Belgrade, Serbia (2006). Alongside Ursula Dimitriou, he is a founding director of Studio SYN. Dejan teaches architecture at Central Saint Martins BA and Welsh School of Architecture.

Before setting up Studio Syn Dejan has worked in London on master planning, urban regeneration, refurbishments, mixed-use, housing and arts & culture projects for a number of award-winning design-led practices. Dejan has also worked directly with private clients, start-up design businesses and art organisations.

Dejan works at the intersection of art and architecture, and address his interests through drawing, repetitive body actions, testing body limits, mark-making, rhythmical gestures. He builds his art work on a strong theoretical base and while doing so, he seeks out to create robust, immersive experiences for both the participants and the audience.

He uses a range of media, such as performative drawing, video collage, spatial installation and sound. He regularly collaborates with fellow artists and professionals active in the fields of literature, music, visual media and architecture, bringing in their knowledge, methodologies and worldviews.

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Tabitha Pope Tabitha Pope is an architect who aspires to create beautiful spaces for people to live in balance with each other and their surrounding ecosystems.

She is interested in how space can affect the way people behave and feel, how good design can benefit society, and how non designers can have a meaningful input into the design of their environments.

She has worked with a variety of types of clients at different scales, from a public dining table with a community group in East London, to a government funded large-scale urban infrastructure project in New Delhi. Tabitha gained first hand knowledge of ecological construction and design from working at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales and later honed her sustainable design skills whilst working for ZEDfactory architects in London in large scale ‘zero energy development’ proposals in the UK, China and Korea.

After 5 years in architectural practices, Tabitha set up her own practice in 2013 to pursue work on immersive environments that invite exploration and interaction. Her largest commission was with Greenpeace designing and managing the build of their area at Glastonbury Festival from 2013 to 2018.

A spirit of generosity to the user experience runs through her work, from an intimate audio installation to a festival-sized interactive set.

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Rowan Mackay Rowan Mackay is an urban designer and independent researcher specialising in participatory spatial practice. From an interdisciplinary background in placemaking and community engagement, his work now focuses on inclusive design and decisionmaking processes for large-scale urban development and regeneration projects. In public practice in the UK his work involves master planning and town centre regeneration for strategic sites on London’s urban periphery. While as an Associate at Architecture Sans Frontières UK he advocates for socially produced, equitable city making in the UK and globally.

In 2018 he partnered with The URBED Trust to develop the Indian Urban Futures project. Currently in its second year, the project aims to scale-up smallscale solutions to common urban issues in support of equitable, sustainable and healthy models of rapid urbanisation. we experience and unconsciously ‘map’ the city to reveal a more personal understanding of the urban condition. Through design practice, he continues to explore similar themes relating to the unique character of place and the relationship people have with their built environment.

Coordinating collaborative and participatory design projects in the UK, France, Spain and Russia, Rowan’s practice explores ideas of, co-production, social capital and the Right To The City across different global contexts. In 2015 he joined the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority as a consultant on the development of India’s newest and largest planned city, Amaravati.

Through this project he gained first had experience of the forces and pressures driving urban development in the global south, and continues to collaborate on research into community-led development within the new city.

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3.5 Research in the school Graduates studying on the MA AD programme are encouraged to make use of the research expertise available in the school, as developed through its three research groups.

Architectural Practice Group (APG) The Practice Research Group has been conceived to encourage and promote research that is carried out through the act of design. This places the activities of the design studio and workshop on an equal footing with those of the library and laboratory.

Members of this group undertake Practice-Based Research whereby an original investigation is undertaken in order to gain new knowledge partly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice.

This is demonstrated through creative outcomes in the form of buildings, designs, artefacts, drawings etc.

Architectural Science Group (ASG) For over 25 years, the Architectural Science Group have undertaken research on the development and application of principles for sustainable, and sustainable management of the built environment on scales from the individual component, through whole buildings, to communities.

The Group has pioneered research on low energy, low carbon design and sustainability in the built environment, developing an infrastructure of research methods and tools, including computer models, an environmental laboratory and building measurement and social survey procedures.

The ASG undertakes interdisciplinary research projects at national and international level and already has an international reputation demonstrated by its MA AD Handbook 2018-2019

overseas collaborative links and research projects.

ASG aims to achieve international excellence and outstanding quality of outputs from its research activities and to continues to develop research led teaching.

ASG seeks to encourage individual and interdisciplinary team based research, with clear agenda setting and high impact in relation to current issues in architecture and in response to government, industry and society needs. Research is closely linked with international and national targets for carbon reduction, waste minimisation, reducing pollution in an attempt to improve quality of life for all.

Architectural History and Theory Group (AHTG) The work of the Architectural History and Theory Group (AHTG), reflected in its research projects and publications, embraces a wide range of interests, linked by a common concern for the practice of architecture. These interests are grouped under four general themes: Theory and Practice, Critical Practice, Mechanisms of Practice and Cultural Practice. Membership of the group comprises staff and postgraduate students. AHTG members edit leading refereed journals, participate in exhibitions, and organise interdisciplinary international conferences. The group holds fortnightly seminars which provide a lively and intimate forum for the discussion of ideas among staff and students.

Research by the group was hailed as being of ‘international quality’ in the last Research Assessment Exercise.

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