Join us on a visit to Department 21 for a roundtable discussion about cross-disciplinary practice led by public works with guests Celine Condorelli (London-based architect and author of 'support structures'), Richard Wentworth (Head of Sculpture, RCA) and Sarah Teasley (design historian and RCA History of Design)

Department 21 is a temporary, physical space established by students of the RCA as an experiment in interdisciplinary practice.

Temporarily taking over a vacated space in the Royal College of Art, Department 21 seeks to explore whether this territory, freed by the departure of one department and the anticipation of another, can become a new kind of conceptual, physical and social space which test the possibilities of a cross-disciplinary initiative.

For one month only, students from all departments of the College are invited to use this platform to develop independent work and cultivate collaborative projects in a multi-purpose environment.

The Round table discussion will look at the nature of initiatives originating from within institutional settings and the potential of cross-disciplinarity within educational institutions such as the RCA.

The event will run from 1pm this Friday the 4th of December 2009 in Lecture Theater 2 at the RCA. Visitors to the RCA can enter from the main entrance, which looks onto the Royal Albert Hall and follow the signs guiding visitors to Lecture Theater 2.
Click here to find the location on google maps

Posted December 2, 2009 22:01 by Andreas Lang

Please join us for a FRIDAY SESSION on
Friday 18th Sep from 19.00 to 20.30 at the
South London Gallery (SLG), 65 Peckham Road, London SE5.

As part of our current project "today's extension" for SLG's "Beyond These Walls" exhibition, public works is running a Friday Session on the subject of gallery extensions.

While the past decade has seen a marked increase in off-site, community-based and outreach projects - the non-gallery based work of art galleries - numerous building projects have enlarged the architectural space of the galleries themselves. This Friday Session looks at the current and possible relationship between those two forms of extension.

The panel includes Margot Heller and Frances Williams, SLG, Andrea Philips, Goldsmiths College, Natasha Vicars, Whitechapel Gallery, Kathrin Böhm and Andreas Lang from public works.

public works will continue their mapping of SLG's various extensions in 2010, alongside public events and debates to frame the concept of such extended extensions.

Posted September 10, 2009 20:54 by Kathrin Böhm

Art and Regeneration.
A half day symposium from 14.00 10 18.00
followed by a public round table discussion at 18.30
Friday 12th September 2008

Georges House,
8 the Old High Street,
Folkestone,
Kent CT20 1RL, UK
T: 44 (0) 1303 244533

The event is an initiative by public works as part of the Folkestone Triennial and in association with Folkestone based Strange Cargo, Club Shepway, The Creative Foundation and the Research Network Forum.

The half day symposium brings together a number of practitioners and organisations from Folkestone and the South East Coast, who are involved in cultural programmes that are linked to regeneration issues.

Art and Regeneration are two terms frequently used to describe current changes in Folkestone. The event wants to provide a platform to look at actual cultural programmes and initiatives, and to discuss overlaps and differences in existing and projected ideas and strategies for Folkestone.

Programme

13.30 Registration
14.00 Welcome by Strange Cargo and public works
14.10 Introduction by public works
14.40 Presentation by Brigitte Orasinski from Strange Cargo followed
15.10 Presentation by Nick Ewbank Creative Foundation followed by questions
15.40 Coffeebreak
16.00 Presentation by Andrea Schlieker from Folkestone Triennial followed by questions
16.30 Presentation by Laura Mansfield and Matt Rowe from Club Shepway followed by questions
17.00 Break out Session
17.45 Plenum and feedback from the 2 Sessions
18.00 Break and Refreshments

18.30 - 20.00
Public panel discussion with

Andrea Schlieker (Folkestone Triennial)
Nick Ewbank (Creative Foundation)
Paul Rennie (Folkestone Research Network Forum)
Laura Mansfield (Club Shepway)
Brigitte Orasinski (Strange Cargo)

Chaired by Kathrin Böhm (public works)

The event is free, but seats are limited.
For more information and bookings please contact Kathrin@publicworksgroup.net

About the partners organising the event
(all texts are taken from the organisation's websites)

public works is a London based artist and architects collective involved in this year's Folkestone Triennial. public works develops physical and non physical models to allow for a participatory and cross-hierarchical reflection and shaping of public spaces. Their contribution to the triennial is a mobile mapping station called "Folkestonomy" (www.folkestonomy.net) which traces everyday cultural spaces within the town and compiles individual mappings in a growing on line map.
www.publicworksgroup.net

Strange Cargo
Over its eleven year lifespan, Strange Cargo has established a reputation for high profile quality public art, and has delivered award-winning projects, including Like the Back of my Hand, an extensive installation at Folkestone Central station which recently won the Rouse Kent Public Art Award. In its public art involvement, Strange Cargo seeks to create works of context, leaving communities with lasting meaningful landmarks and a sense of participation in their surrounding environment.
www.strangecargo.org.uk/

Club Shepway
Club Shepway is a group of emerging artists and writers based in Folkestone. Playing with local histories, hidden memories and current affairs Club Shepway is concerned with the social and commercial development occurring in the area. Through events, exhibitions and interventions Club Shepway aims to develop an active arena of cultural debate within the current process of regeneration.
www.clubshepway.com

Creative Foundation
How do you regenerate a once-fashionable but now faded seaside town?
The regeneration question matters across Britain, and for the Folkestone-based Creative Foundation it demands an innovative answer: we want to revitalise the town by attracting and harnessing the energies of creative people and businesses.
www.creativefoundation.org.uk

Folkestone Triennial
One of the of the most ambitious public art projects to be presented in the UK, the Triennial is a three-yearly exhibition of works which will be specially commissioned for public spaces throughout Folkestone. The selected artists have responded to the invitation with proposals for artworks that engage with the Kent coastal town's history, population, culture and built environment to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition.
The Triennial is conceived and curated by curator Andrea Schlieker, co-curator of the British Art Show 2005/06, and aims to examine changing notions of art in the public realm. The inaugural Folkestone Triennial will include both temporary works, which will remain in situ for the three months of the show, and a number of permanent works. This pattern will be repeated in subsequent Triennials so that, over time, Folkestone will become a centre for contemporary art of the highest calibre.
www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk

Regeneration Network Forum
The Research Network Forum (RNF) is organised by Dr Paul Rennie of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. It is hosted by University Centre Folkestone and is supported by the Creative Foundation.
The RNF will take place over three separate days over the summer of 2008. The RNF coincides with the Folkestone Triennial - an international festival of contemporary public sculpture.
The town of Folkestone is a historic seaside resort on the south coast of Britain (located at the English end of the Channel Tunnel). Like many seaside towns, it has suffered from a variety of economic and social problems that devolve from the perception of economic marginalisation and collapse of the traditional English seaside holiday.
Those problems are now being actively addressed through cultural regeneration. The Creative Foundation is engaged in promoting this regeneration through a variety of initiatives, not least the 2008, 2011 and 2014 Folkestone Triennials. In addition, the arrival of HS1 rail services to-and-from London will place Folkestone at one end of a development corridor stretching from King's Cross to East Kent, via the Olympic sites of East London.
Accordingly, Folkestone is a uniquely qualified environment in which to investigate the effectiveness of these regeneration strategies and to elaborate the interdisciplinary and collaborative methodologies that will support the proper analysis of regeneration economics.
www.rennart.co.uk/rnf.html

Posted August 22, 2008 12:20 by Kathrin Böhm

Rural public space - Cross Country

The next Friday Session will take place as part of
Torange Khonsari's (public works)
Cross Country project for Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire.

The project concludes research and walks that were undertaken in the last year
in and around the village of Bourn and Wysing Arts Centre, and proposes new questions and structures towards public and communal spaces in a rural environment.
Torange has negotiated the temporary extension of a public path into privately owned land, and the Friday Session will be part of a series of events to take place on a specifically designed platform structure on site.
The speakers would be
Torange Khonsari - talking about the definition/condition of a rural public space and its immediate community
Wapke Feenstra - conducting a soil drilling on site and opening a discussion around who owns which layer of the land.

Programme:
Thurs 13 - Sat 15 March
Bourn Village
local walks
Thurs 10am - 2pm, led by Polly Brannan, William Bevan
Friday 10am - 2pm, led by Polly Brannan, William Bevan, Torange Khonsari
Saturday 10am - 2pm, led by Sarah Butler

Thurs 13 - Sat 15 March
Personal map-making workshops
Thurs 2 - 4pm, led by Polly Brannan, Torange Khonsari
Friday 2 - 4pm led by Polly Brannan, Torange Khonsari
Saturday 12 - 2pm led by Sarah Butler

Saturday 2 - 4pm
Friday Session_26
Discussion on the role of rural space and culture
Torange Khonsari, architect in public works
Wapke Feenstra, artist in myvillages.org

Posted February 23, 2008 13:46 by Torange Khonsari

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URBAN ACT

The presentation of a European wide network of practices who act within the urban field as a place for political change and architectural practice, introducing their different projects, tools and methods.

The compilation of practices results from numerous pan European workshops, and has recently been published in book form by atelier d'architecture atogérée.
The URBAN ACT book not only locates and maps the activities of numerous
practices, but is structured as a manual to allow insight into the methods of
interventionist urban practice, like a user guide to "do-it-yourself urbanism".

For more information on the background and contributions visiisit the related research project website www.peprav.net

Practice contributors include:
aaa, Paris
AG Gleisdreieck, Berlin
Park Fiction, Hamburg
Constant, Brussels
Atsa, Quebec
public works, London
Blok, Zagreb
Laboratorio Urbano, Madrid
Metrozones, Berlin
etc.etc.etc

Posted January 25, 2008 13:02 by Kathrin Böhm

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'Ways of Learning' is an evening of talks and discussion which will uncover three diverse ways in which architects are engaging with international development and defining their roles within it. The evening will explore experiences gained through being; facilitators of the Architecture sans Frontieres-UK international education programme; a volunteer with Shelter Center; and a tutor at the recent Global Studio in Johannesburg.

WAYS OF LEARNING
Architecture sans Frontières-UK (ASF-UK) was established to bridge the gap between the building profession and how they work in long-term development and post-disaster reconstruction.

Melissa Kinnear finished her architecture studies in South Africa 1999. She has worked in a variety of architectural offices mostly focusing on housing projects with a strong commitment to sustainable design. Melissa currently tutors at Oxford Brookes University in the Development and Emergency Practice design studio for undergraduates and is a Programme Director for ASF-UK.

Jeni Burnell completed her architecture studies in Australia 2000. Throughout her career she has been driven by the social component of the profession which has lead her to be involved with community building projects in Australia and Nepal as well as consulting for the British Red Cross for their Tsunami Recovery programme. Jeni has been involved with ASF-UK since October 2006 where she works as a Programme Director.

APPLYING ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION TO DISASTER RELIEF
Shelter Centre was founded by Tom Corsellis, who co-founded the informal University of Cambridge shelterproject group, and Antonella Vitale, who worked with shelterproject ot develop the 'Transitional Settlement - Displaced Populations' guidelines published by Oxfam Publishing in May 2005.

The main aims of Shelter Centre are focused around the research, development, dissemination and operational implementation of humanitarian settlement and shelter policy, best practice, equipment and field programmes, namely working independently of, in collaboration with, or consultant to other humanitarian organisations and research institutions in research, emergency and developmental contexts.

Kiri Langmead is a fifth year architecture student at Sheffield University. During her 2 years out, she worked at Comprehensive Design Architects, in Tanzania on a design and building accommodation project for a vocational training centre. She has also been involved in landscape design and land regeneration projects at Groundwork recently completed her internship with Shelter Centre.

DRAWING IT TOGETHER
Global Studio is a project initiated by the UN Millennium Project Task Force on improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers in 2004. It was developed by the University of Sydney, Columbia University, and the University of Rome. Global Studio brings together city building professionals, educators and students from around the world.

They aim to work with and learn from communities and individuals experiencing disadvantage and/or social exclusion; develop appropriate participatory design and planning skills; encourage participants to take home lessons learned; Create global networks of professionals, educators and students; Encourage universities and professional organizations to address the MDGs, through educational programs and practice; Stimulate on-going research and action; contribute to the effective implementation of the MDGs.

Elena Pascolo tutored at the Johannesburg Global Studio in 2007.

Posted October 17, 2007 19:08 by Andreas Lang

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public works together with Book Works and supportstructure invite you to a Friday Session to launch

The so-called utopia of the centre beauborg - an interpretation by Luca Frei,
co-published by Book Works and Casco
and
A FanFiction by public works and supportstructure:

Where does the speculation start and finish?
We are asking a number of artists/architects/urbanists who are/have been involved in participatory and/or self managed public programmes, to revisit that particular project's initial ambitions and concepts in relation to the reality of its lived appropriation.
What could have happened next?
The invitation is to fictionalise the future of the project, after it has already gone through multiple speculations by the different authors and users involved; this is meant as a light hearted opportunity to assess what has taken place so far, and to push it into a (probably) unrealistic direction.

Luca Frei will be joined by Alun Rowlands, Emily Pethick, Kathrin Böhm, Andreas Lang and Celine Condorelli, for an informal presentation and discussion.

Friday 14 September 2007
19.00 to 21.00
public works
Northgate House
2-4 Scrutton Street
UK London
EC2A 4RT

Posted July 24, 2007 09:18 by Kathrin Böhm

Cerro Toro: Public Space Improvements for the Community

The Santiago de Chile based photographer/urbanist Justine Graham, and architect Antonio Lipthany from LMB Architects are going to present one of their current projects Cerro Toro in Valparaiso, Chile.

The Chilean government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed an agreement in 2004 to create and fund the Valpo Mio programme, whose main objective is to implement urban renewal for specific areas of the port city of Valparaiso. After 2 years, Valpo Mio has not yet been able to deliver any concrete projects, mainly due to the enormous bureaucracy impeding them to spend the allocated money. However, in September 2006 they launched the first 4 tenders
1. Mercado Puerto (port market)
2. Plaza Civica (civic plaza)
3. Cerro Santo Domingo (public spaces Santo Domingo Hill)
4. Cerro Toro (public spaces Cerro Toro Hill)

LMB Arquitectos applied to the hills’ public space renovation projects in collaboration with architect Cecilia Puga, photographer/urbanist Justine Graham, and the Department of Geography form Universidad Católica de Chile, winning both bids.

The team’s philosophy offers a much more comprehensive approach to the initial urban design brief and includes a multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers, social scientists, and a photographer. In March 2007 we began the design and community participation work on Cerro Toro and in August 2007 we will begin work for Cerro Santo Domingo.

The Cerro Toro project consists of the design and building of over 9,000 sq.m of public space of one of Valparaiso’s poorest and most socially excluded hills with a population of 2,500 people. Project Director, Antonio Lipthay and Community Participation coordinator, Justine Graham, will present the work to date of the Cerro Toro Project.

LMB Architects (Lipthay / Morande / Browne) was founded in September 2005 in Santiago, Chile after winning a competition for the extension of the German School in Valdivia, south of Chile. From that date LMB has developed three main areas: urban Design / Urban Studies, Residential, and Hospitals. Currently the practice has grown from the 3 founders partners, Antonio Lipthay, Sebastian Morande and Patricio Browne, to 9 architects. One of the aspects that the practice wants to emphasize is its capacity to collaborate with other disciplines and practices. “We believe that being flexible, collaborative and multi-disciplinary produces richer process and better output”.

Justine Graham is a photographic artist and urbanist, and founder of YAPO
Project, a new creative laboratory based in Santiago, Chile initiating cross-disciplinary initiatives and producing editorial content for cultural projects. Justine was previously project director and researcher for General Public Agency, London and project coordinator at The Architecture Foundation, London.

Contact: a.lipthay@earthlink.net / justinegraham@earthlink.net

Posted July 3, 2007 11:19 by Kathrin Böhm

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FRIDAY SESSION 13 ON TUESDAY 6 MARCH AT 19.00 AT PUBLIC WORKS

Artist/architect Can Altay has invited spatial practitioners Celine Condorelli, Marcus Miessen and Gil Doron to continue a discussion that started during the "Architecture as Initative" Symposium at the Architectural Association earlier this month, where the active role of architecture within dynamic and political urban setting, and issues of participation were high on the agenda.

"The topic is 'setting a setting'. I'm currently thinking about the question of a more open-ended practice; whether its possible to position oneself as a generator of some sort of setting, but not exercising complete control over and acknowledging/promoting unforeseen possibilities. Certain practices in the field of contemporary art have been explicitly dwelling on issues of the social realm, inter-human relations, and the socio-political for some decades now. The "relational" aspects of artistic practices have come to be ever more evident in becoming moments or acts that not only question but "make happen", taking sociality and spatiality to their core and acting as catalysts of relations; between the work and people, between people and people, and between people and space. What I have in mind for my research in terms of settings is somewhat restricted, but it can as well be any setting, any space, any spatial practice."

Posted March 4, 2007 10:28 by Kathrin Böhm

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Recent projects in the international development and emergency relief sector

IF-[ untitled ] architects [Martha Giannakopoulou, Annika Grafweg, Seki Hirano] will present and discuss the role of the architect within an international development and emergency relief sector, relating to their most recent commissions from Architects for Aid and Oxfam GB.

The presentation will include the design and construction of a new school building in India; and the facilitation of a participatory framework for planning a sustainable young people's village.
They will also show their work as a shelter coordinator for the reconstruction of Tsunami emergency response program in Indonesia.

IF-[ untitled ] architects is a London and Athens based studio established in 2003 who are active in various architectural and participation lead projects within the international development and the private sector.

For more information visit www.if-untitled.com

Posted February 9, 2007 19:00 by Andreas Lang