UNSW Built Environment: 7 days to go!

Get ready! There are only 7 days until the new BE website is launched. Join us as we countdown to Thursday November 24.

UNSW Built Environment: Q & A(rchitecture)

The next DARCH Q & A(rchitect) session will be held tomorrow night  11 August with the winner of the 2011 NSW Emerging Architect Prize Matt Chan and will be hosted by Janne Ryan, ideas curator and executive producer of TEDxSydney.

The NSW Emerging Architect Prize recognises overall excellence in practice, research or education, and involvement in the profession through leadership.  In 2011 it was recognised that with the opportunities Matt has created to develop thinking through teaching, research, discourse and speculative work, as well as collaborative practice, he has great potential to continue this contribution to the profession, well into his career.

Matt, who is a UNSW Built Environment Alumnus, will give a talk which will be followed by a question-and-answer session, where fellow emerging architects, students and graduates are free to ask the difficult questions, focusing on mentoring, teaching and career progression. In order to keep the session moving along, he only has one minute to answer each question.

The session will begin at 6.30pm Thursday 11 August at Surry Hills Library, 405 Crown Street. The event is free for members of the Australian Institute of Architects and City of Sydney Library and $10 for others, which can be paid at the door. Drinks and finger food will be available afterwards.

Please RSVP to darch@raia.com.au.

There will also be an exhibition of the entrants for the prize in the foyer of Surry Hills Library throughout August as part of Sydney Design 2011.

UNSW Built Environment: Carolyn Steel – Hungry City Lecture

The British Council in association with UNSW Built Environment will be hosting architect Carolyn Steel who will speak to a Sydney audience in an exclusive lecture titled ‘Hungry City – How Food Shapes Our Lives’.

Carolyn Steel is an architect, lecturer and author exploring how cities are shaped by food. Her work has focused on developing a lateral approach to urban design that looks at the everyday routines that shape cities and the way we inhabit them. Her book, Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives follows food’s journey from land to city, through market and supermarket, kitchen and table, waste-dump and back again, to show how food affects all our lives, and impacts on the planet.

We hope that you can join us for this interesting presentation.

Date: Tuesday 19 July, 2011

Time: 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Venue: Robert Webster Building, Webster Theatre A,

Anzac Parade, UNSW Kensington Campus

Cost: Free

Download a UNSW campus map here.

RSVP: Email – amrit.gill@britishcouncil.org.au or call – 02 9362 6725

UNSW Built Environment: Saturday In Design

Saturday in Design is an annual trade event for the design community, which began in Sydney in 2003, and now alternates each year between Sydney and Melbourne. This year will see Sydney showcased on 19 – 20 August 2011.

This event is an opportunity to see what Sydney has to offer in the field of furniture and design. It involves Australia’s premier designer furniture, finishes, fixtures and lighting showrooms opening their doors on a Saturday to allow architects, designers, students and design-savvy members of the public to enjoy these companies’ products in an ‘open house’ environment.

Saturday in Design has traditionally been an opportunity for local and international products from hundreds of reputable brands to be launched to thousands of members of the design community in one day.

To enable hassle-free travel in between showroom venues around the city, a number of complimentary shuttle buses run on pre-arranged routes for the entire day.

Click here to find out more about Saturday in Design.

UNSW Built Environment: Utzon Lecture “Sustainable use of Public Space: Cities for Walking, Cycling and Transit” now on UNSWTV

The third instalment of the 2011 Utzon Lecture Series “Sustainable use of Public Space: Cities for Walking, Cycling and Transit” by Lars Gemzøe, Associate Partner, Architect MAA, Gehl Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark is now available for viewing on UNSWTV.

The lecture can be viewed by clicking the icon below.

UNSW Built Environment: The Good Design Q & A Session

The 2011 Australian International Design Awards are currently underway. For a rare opportunity to meet this year’s judges and view more than 200 innovative products vying for an Australian International Design Award, register to attend The Good Design Q & A session.

The session will be held at the UNSW Roundhouse on Thursday 19 May from 6 to 9pm. Tickets are $50 for corporate and $25 for students.

The evening will be hosted by Michele Elliot, Co Founder of What If! and Director of Inspirate. It will feature a thought provoking and stimulating Q & A session with select members of this year’s Judging Panel including design experts from Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Designworks USA and more.

Click here to register for this event.

UNSW Built Environment: Students thoughts on Utzon Lecture Presented by Vladimir Belogolovsky

 

Utzon Lecture “The Empire’s Last Style Soviet Modernism: 1955-1985” by Vladimir Belogolovsky.

Jakub Beseda, Built Environment Master of Architecture student, attended the recent Utzon lecture titled “The Empire’s Last Style Soviet Modernism: 1955-1985” presented by Vladimir Belogolovsky.

Below are his views and impressions on the event.

Vladimir is the founder of the International Curatorial Project that is focused on organizing, curating and designing architectural exhibitions. He was also a co-writer of a publication on Soviet Modernist Architecture.

In his brief one hour talk, we were guided though the historical and parallel architectural evolution in the former Soviet Union. Three main periods of the Soviet 20^th century architecture were identified – as Avant-Garde, the Stalinist (Social Realism) and finally the Modernism.

Vladimir began his factually and visually rich presentation focused on the Stalinist social realism, what happened to and after the Avant-Garde architects and architecture. The inspiration of the early neo–gothic American Skyscrapers behind the “Seven Sisters in Moscow” were discussed amongst others. Parallels could be drawn between this style – that was favoured by Stalin and the earlier plans and ideology of Hitler for the new Germany.

As explained, with Stalin’s death in 1953, his successor Nikita Khrushchev denounced both the social realism in 1954 and Stalin in 1956. This has marked the beginning of Soviet modernism. Buildings inspired by international architects and the advancements in the west were being constructed – various examples presented in the lecture included cultural, office, residential and sport complexes – both within Russia and the former republics. Some examples I believe were and are on path with the most iconic buildings of the 20^th century in the world – yet lacked the publicity and architects did not gain the deserved recognition beyond the Soviet borders.

At the conclusion of the lecture, some present trends in Russian architecture were displayed – comically showing signs of return to (neo) social realism.

It is very hard in such short time limit to get into depth of the ideas presented, but the lecture I personally believe successfully served as a platform for further investigation. Vladimir’s knowledge, passion and critical thinking on the subject and its relation to the present architectural trends worldwide was phenomenal and I hope he can return to UNSW in future to continue and conclude his fascinating talk.

UNSW Built Environment: HotHouse Workshop on Ecological Thinking

The National Institute for Experimental Arts is presenting a HotHouse Workshop on Ecological Thinking on the 19 and 20 May, 2011.

The event will include talks from international keynote speakers Tim Morton and David Gissen.

The workshop will consider ecological thinking and how it transforms the way we understand materials, objects and environments, whilst asking how we might radically rework ecological thought and curate (care for) Tim Morton’s concept of hyperobjects.

Participants are invited to brainstorm about a future exhibition project on hyperobjects for the new gallery complex at the College of Fine Arts.

For further information on this event including times and ticket prices please visit the Materials: Objects: Environment page.

UNSW Built Environment: Utzon Lecture “Sydney 2030 Vision” now on UNSWTV

The second installment of the 2011 Utzon Lecture Series “Sydney 2030 Vision” by Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor City of Sydney is now available for viewing on UNSWTV.

The lecture can be viewed by clicking the icon below.

UNSW Built Environment: 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit

The 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit is now open for registration.

This two day event will be held on 18 and 19  May. Speakers will discuss and review the future direction of metropolitan planning in Melbourne in the wake of the recent state election.

This summit will provide analysis of future urban planning policy, the examination of how to achieve sustainable planning solutions for Melbourne’s growing population and the presentation of case studies of innovative and successful planning solutions.

For more information on this event please visit the 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit page.