Repurposing Places for social and environmental resilience

Dr Anastasia Karandinou

Whilst the 20th century was mostly about starchitects, the 21st century is about synergies and the relevant complex dynamics that these allow to grow. This shift happens in parallel to others; reusing, retrofitting, and giving a new life to the existing places, buildings and neighbourhoods, in an environmentally and socially resilient manner, developing ways for the existing communities to grow in a symbiotic relationship with new ones, designing processes of circular economy and upcycling that allow people to collaborate and find viable solutions. Participation in architecture is a notion that continuously evolves, even more so in recent years. Knowledge and innovation that contributes to social justice and responsible design emerges from complex networks and agile crossdisciplinary collaborations.

In this context, the conference we are organising for 2023, aims to discuss the link between social and environmental resilience, by looking into designed projects, cross-disciplinary research, participatory and collaborative design methods. It welcomes architects, designers, artists, planners, academics, educators, who have addressed the above themes through their work. Projects on adaptation and retrofitting of places in an environmentally and socially responsible way will be discussed, as well as ongoing collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects with open-ended questions, and which drive the relevant conversations forward.

Topic 1: Retrofitting places with focus on the cultural and social context. Design proposals, built precedents and critical analyses of case-studies.

Topic 2: Cross-disciplinary collaborations on innovative approaches to retrofitting places.

Topic 3: Innovative approaches to mapping, analysing, understanding a place and its inhabitants; new approaches to participation. Projects and critical analyses of this theme, in the context of architecture, art and urbanism.

Topic 4: Repurposing places and relevant investigations through educational briefs and student projects. Driving the conversation forward through linking teaching and research.

Conference organisers: Dr Anastasia Karandinou (UEL), Florence Lam (Arup)

Advisory Committee: Prof Hassan Abdalla, Carl Callaghan, Alan Chandler, Prof Gail Findlay, Prof David Tann, Dr Julie Wall.

Scientific committee is being developing and will be communicated through the UEL website.

The conference is supported by Arup.

Venue: Arup, London

Dates: 23-24 March 2023

In parallel to this conference, an international research network is being formed, which is addressing this subject through developing links between teaching and research.

For further information on this conference, please visit: www.counterarchitecture.com/repurposing-placesconference