lectures:

Round table held within the context of Architecture in the Extreme By conceiving a territory in anthesis and naming it Antarctica, the Greeks at once prophetically foresaw the essential role that the ultimate continent laboratory would play in our world’s ecosystem and synthesised in the short prefix (ANT-) the endless paradoxes that the southernmost territory conceals.Driven by the conviction that it is essential, in the midst of the Anthropocene, to shift the attention South and reflect on existing and future modes of inhabitation in the extreme, Giulia Foscari curates a series of Antarctic Conversations run by Antarctica 200 within the context of the London Design Festival.Antarctic Conversations between polar experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, science, medicine and psychology will unfold at the AA as a tryptic of Round Tables, each addressing a set of Antarctic antinomies. Known to the general public mainly as the barometer of climate change (with media broadcasting alarming predictions on the unprecedented rate at which Antarctic ice is melting) very little is known of the effects of the human footprint on the continent itself. Whilst necessary to conduct reliable models on the planetary evolution, to date (most) scientific stations could be regarded as contaminating elements on the pristine landscape. The underlying difficulty of conceiving fully sustainable buildings in a continent that lies in the dark six months per year and in which winds reach a maximum recorded speed of 327 Km/h generates a profound contradiction: stations that were erected to inform a more responsible use of the world’s resources end up consuming unprecedented and disproportional quantities of fuel to be safely operational. The second Antarctic Conversation will invite the panellists to reflect on such paradox and discuss design solutions that might allow for greater self-sufficiency, and thus autonomy, to future Antarctic architectures. The presentations will include reflections on building site management, on Antarctic building services design, on the criticality of the architectural envelope at extreme temperatures, on the unique challenges of managing a scientific station on shifting ice, and finally on the achievements of sustainable design in the continent. Speakers, in order of presentation include:Tony McGlory, Ramboll EngineeringHugh Broughton, Hugh Broughton ArchitectsOliver Darke, British Antarctic SurveyPhilippe Samyn, Samyn and Partners moderators (Polar Lab directors):Giulia Foscari, Antarctica 200 Co-Director, UNA/unlessFrancesco Bandarin, Antarctica 200 Co-DirectorArturo Lyon, PUCJuan Du, HKU   ~ Giulia Foscari – Curator + Antarctica 200 Co-Director, Polar Lab Co-Director (UK) Giulia Foscari is an architect, curator and author who has been practising in Asia, South America and Europe. She is the founder of UNA, a Hamburg-based international architecture practice focussed on cultural projects; founder of UNLESS, a non-for-profit platform dedicated to research on the effects of the Anthropocene; and partner of Foscari Widmann Rezzonico Associati, an architecture practice based in Venice. Her working experience includes an extensive collaboration with OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) which started in Hong Kong in 2009 and led her to run OMA’s South American platform. In 2014 Giulia authored “Elements of Venice”, a book published by Lars Müller Publishers which was awarded the DAM Architectural Book Award. In parallel to practicing architecture, Giulia worked on multiple curatorial projects (including exhibitions in four editions of the Venice Biennale) and is engaged in academia. Giulia taught at Hong Kong University for five academic years, and ran a Diploma Unit at the Architectural Association (between 2015 and 2018) where she now co-directs the Polar Lab.  Francesco Bandarin – Antarctica 200 Co-Director, Polar Lab Co-Director (UK) Francesco Bandarin is an Architect and Urban Planner, specialized in Urban Conservation. From 2000 to 2010 he was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Secretary of the World Heritage Convention. From 2010 to 2018 he served as Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture. He is currently Special Advisor for heritage of the UNESCO Director-General. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and a member of ICOMOS Italy. He has been Professor of Urban Planning and Urban Conservation at the University of Venice (IUAV) from 1980 to 2016. His recent publications include: “The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century”, 2012 and “Reconnecting the City. The Historic Urban Landscape Approach and the Future of Urban Heritage”, 2015, both co-authored with Ron van Oers and published by Wiley-Blackwell. A comprehensive book on the Historic Urban Landscape experience, “Re-shaping Urban Conservation”, co-edited with Ana Pereira Roders, is forthcoming by Springer.  Arturo Lyon – Polar Lab Director (CL) Arturo Lyon is an architect dedicated to the experimental and professional development of architecture, landscape and urban design projects. He is founder of Lyon Bosch + Martic Arquitectos, firm that has carried out several public and private projects, including the XVIII Biennial of Architecture of Chile, the Las Majadas de Pirque Hotel, the Cerros de Chena Park — associated with Teodoro Fernández —and the Metropolitan Civic Promenade for the redesign of Alameda - Providencia, Santiago's main boulevard — associated with Groundlab.  Arturo is Professor of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) in the areas of design studio, technology and landscape architecture. He leads the design studio courses for the undergraduate School of Architecture and is member of the Public Space Group of the Nacional Committee of Urban Development of Chile.  Juan Du – Polar Lab Director (HK) Juan Du is Associate Professor, Associate Dean (International), and Director of the Urban Ecologies Design Lab at the University of Hong Kong. She also leads IDU_architecture, with projects ranging from the extent of built form to the social and ecological processes of the city, and her works have been published and exhibited in Asia, Europe and the United States. Juan's research and design focus is on the relationships between the urban and architectural, formal and informal, and specifically on informal settlements of extreme high-density within rapid urbanization. An upcoming book “The Shenzhen Experiment”, will be published by Harvard University Press in winter 2019. Juan has previously taught at MIT and Peking University, and her past curatorial projects includes Hong Kong’s participation in the 2010 Venice Biennale and the Housing an Affordable City Exhibition at the 2011 Shenzhen Hong Kong Biennale.  Philippe Samyn – Samyn and PartnersSir Philippe Samyn, doctor in Applied Sciences, architect, civil engineer and urbanist, is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Science, Art and Literature since 1992, a member of the financial and advisory committees of SECO Belgium scrl, and a Commander of the Order of Léopold who was ennobled to Knighthood by HRH King Albert II on July 13th 2012. His work is based on permanent questioning, widely fed by numerous missions abroad, lateral thinking and his scientific work. More particularly, his discovery in 1997 of the volume and displacement indicators has since experienced continuous scientific development, leading to a general and open theory about the conception and predimensioning of structures. Hugh Broughton – Hugh Broughton ArchitectsHugh Broughton is the founder of Hugh Broughton Architects, one of the world's leading designers of buildings in Antarctica. Completed projects include the relocatable British Halley VI and Juan Carlos 1 Spanish Antarctic Base. Current projects include the redevelopment of Scott Base for Antarctica New Zealand and the modernisation of Rothera Research Station for the British Antarctic Survey. Oliver Darke – British Antarctic SurveyOliver Darke is Head of Estates for the British Antarctic Survey. Oliver has 5 years of Antarctic construction experience delivering projects across Antarctica. His project experience ranged from remote deep field science installations to major station construction. Oliver is responsible for the maintenance and repair for all BAS buildings in the Antarctic & Sub-Antarctic. Tony McGlory – Ramboll EngineeringTony is a Director in the Ramboll Building Services Engineering team, he has over 25 years’ experience in the management and design of complex engineering projects. During his career Tony has been a thermal modeller, Low Carbon Consultant, Authorised Person Petroleum and an Accredited Energy Assessor. Tony is responsible for the Building Services Engineering element for; Ramboll’s Technical Advisor framework with British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the design of a new Wintering Complex at Vostok Research Station, Ramboll’s Technical Advisor framework for the Falkland Islands. Tony has visited Antarctica, a number of sub Antarctic islands and the Falkland Islands.

Book your place now The BRAKC research centre hosts an afternoon of talks and discussion, with Michaël Ferrier, the acclaimed French writer, who will be visiting us from Tokyo where he lives. Based loosely on the author’s life, Mémoires d’outre-mer recounts the life of Ferrier’s Mauritius-born grandfather, Maxime, who in 1922 abruptly boarded a boat bound for Madagascar and never returned. Maxime’s adventurous and romantic life in Madagascar, which included a stint as a diver, an artist, and an acrobat in a travelling circus, is bound up with the island’s history, including its period as a Vichy-governed territory at the centre of what was called ‘Project Madagascar’, the Nazi plan to relocate Europe’s Jewish population to the island. This story in turn is interwoven with the larger story of colonialism and its lasting and complicated impact on French national and cultural identity today. Join us at Birkbeck on 18th September 2019 for a discussion of this novel and its translation, as well as of Ferrier’s other works. The event is free but please book as places are limited.Michaël Ferrier is professor of French at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan; he is also an essayist and the award-winning author of several novels. Mémoires d’outre-mer, his most recent work, has been translated into English as Over Seas of Memory by Martin Munro , Winthrop-King professor of French and Francophone Studies at Florida State University.This event is organised by Dr Akane Kawakami, who is Head of the Department of Cultures and Languages at Birkbeck, and by the BRAKC research centre (Birkbeck Research in Aesthetics of Kinship and Community). Contact name: Nathalie Wourm Further details: More information about this event …

Speaker: Anna Nyburg (London) The 'Insiders/Outsiders' Festival in 2019 celebrates the indelible contribution of the artists, photographers, writers, architects, designers, actors, film-makers, dancers and musicians, art historians, dealers, collectors, and publishers who, in fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s so greatly enriched this country's culture. The Festival, marking the outbreak of World War II, comprises an array of exhibitions, concerts, performances, film screenings, walks, lectures and other events. At a time when the issue of immigration is much debated, the Festival will serve as a reminder of the importance of cross-fertilization and of the deep, long-lasting and wide-ranging contribution that refugees can - and do - make to British life.  Attendance at these lectures is free; online booking recommended.  Lecture Programme [pdf] More about the Insiders/Outsiders Festival Statement on Insourcing and the Boycott of Senate House

The AA Diploma with Honours is the highest award you can achieve upon completion of the 5-year undergraduate programme. Up to one 5th year student per diploma unit is nominated to present for honours at the end of each academic year - a ten-minute presentation that needs to convince the diploma tutors of the value, relevance and premise of the project.  Four projects were awarded Diploma with Honours in 2018-19, manifesting the breadth of interests contained within the school; Lola's fieldwork, re-enactment and analysis of the media produced by the courts operates as a report submitted to the parliament inquiry demanding the reinstatement of consent.  Caroline's project of maintenance, care and access to knowledge provides a set of tools to re-think our relationship with the city and its resources.  Sam proposes re-use rather than recycling in his strategy to build a dispersed UK industry for the re-use of structural steel. And Eva harnesses Britain's vernacular to propose an integrated protocol to establish a carbon capture scheme in Scotland, demonstrating the socioeconomic potential of peatland landscapes to operate as carbon sequestration machines. The recipients of the AA Diploma with Honours 2019 will present their 5th year projects and discuss their experience of studying at the AA.  To read more about the projects, please visit the following links: Lola Elise Conte, Diploma 3 - field notes from the space of lawEva Ibañez Fuertes, Diploma 4 - DESIGN OR DEFAULTCaroline Anne Johanna Esclapez, Diploma 14 - Occupy - A User's Manual for the Occupation of Public SpaceSamuel John Little, Diploma 18 - Universal Frames Headquarters Image: Lola Conte presenting for AA Honours in the Lecture Hall. Credit: Byron Blakeley

Thursday 19th September: 9.30am - 6pm (full programme to follow) Friday 20th September: 9.30am - 6pm (full programme to follow) This event is free to attend, book via Eventbrite here You can download the programme here Astrobiology and Big History are two relatively new intellectual disciplines, the former focussed on searching for life elsewhere in the universe and the latter on integrating human history into the wider history of the cosmos. Despite some differences in emphasis these two disciplines share much in common, not least their interdisciplinarity and the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives that they both engender. This meeting is held under the auspices of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, the UCL/Birkbeck Centre for Planetary Sciences and the Birkbeck Centre for Legal Futures (formerly the Centre for Critical Study of European Law). It will provide a forum for discussing the relationships between Astrobiology and Big History, with an emphasis on their wider intellectual and societal benefits. It will build on an earlier meeting, Expanding Worldviews I, that was held at the Australian National University in July 2018 (a summary of which can be found here). Contact name: Ian Crawford Further details: More information about this event …

Round table held within the context of Architecture in the Extreme By conceiving a territory in anthesis and naming it Antarctica, the Greeks at once prophetically foresaw the essential role that the ultimate continent laboratory would play in our world’s ecosystem and synthesised in the short prefix (ANT-) the endless paradoxes that the southernmost territory conceals.Driven by the conviction that it is essential, in the midst of the Anthropocene, to shift the attention South and reflect on existing and future modes of inhabitation in the extreme, Giulia Foscari curates a series of Antarctic Conversations run by Antarctica 200 within the context of the London Design Festival.Antarctic Conversations between polar experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, science, medicine and psychology will unfold at the AA as a tryptic of Round Tables, each addressing a set of Antarctic antinomies. As best described in the diaries of the heroic era explorers, living in Antarctica (and especially over-wintering in the continent) represents at once the uncertainly of physical survival and a serious threat to mental health. The latter is exacerbated by the paradoxical condition of experiencing instantaneously absolute isolation and high-density cohabitation. Whilst in historic bases this led to a unique form of impromptu “interior urbanism”, contemporary stations are designed by cross-disciplinary teams that combine the skills of architects and engineers to those of doctors and psychologist. The third Antarctic Conversation will invite experts from all fields above mentioned to reflect on the necessity of embracing a particular “Antarctic mindset” for long-term permanence in the continent, on the technological features of hyper-remote stations on the plateau, on the physical and medical side-effects of living in a so called “space-flight simulator”, on the impact of color in mitigating “polar depression”, and on the innovations embedded in the latest design for the future station at the “pole of inaccessibility”. Speakers, in order of presentation include:Chiara Montanari, Expedition LeaderFrancesco Pellegrino, ENEABeth HealeyBert Bücking, BOF Architekten moderators (Polar Lab directors):Giulia Foscari, Antarctica 200 Co-Director, UNA/unlessFrancesco Bandarin, Antarctica 200 Co-DirectorArturo Lyon, PUCJuan Du, HKU ~ Giulia Foscari – Curator + Antarctica 200 Co-Director, Polar Lab Co-Director (UK) Giulia Foscari is an architect, curator and author who has been practising in Asia, South America and Europe. She is the founder of UNA, a Hamburg-based international architecture practice focussed on cultural projects; founder of UNLESS, a non-for-profit platform dedicated to research on the effects of the Anthropocene; and partner of Foscari Widmann Rezzonico Associati, an architecture practice based in Venice. Her working experience includes an extensive collaboration with OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) which started in Hong Kong in 2009 and led her to run OMA’s South American platform. In 2014 Giulia authored “Elements of Venice”, a book published by Lars Müller Publishers which was awarded the DAM Architectural Book Award. In parallel to practicing architecture, Giulia worked on multiple curatorial projects (including exhibitions in four editions of the Venice Biennale) and is engaged in academia. Giulia taught at Hong Kong University for five academic years, and ran a Diploma Unit at the Architectural Association (between 2015 and 2018) where she now co-directs the Polar Lab.  Francesco Bandarin – Antarctica 200 Co-Director, Polar Lab Co-Director (UK) Francesco Bandarin is an Architect and Urban Planner, specialized in Urban Conservation. From 2000 to 2010 he was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Secretary of the World Heritage Convention. From 2010 to 2018 he served as Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture. He is currently Special Advisor for heritage of the UNESCO Director-General. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and a member of ICOMOS Italy. He has been Professor of Urban Planning and Urban Conservation at the University of Venice (IUAV) from 1980 to 2016. His recent publications include: “The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century”, 2012 and “Reconnecting the City. The Historic Urban Landscape Approach and the Future of Urban Heritage”, 2015, both co-authored with Ron van Oers and published by Wiley-Blackwell. A comprehensive book on the Historic Urban Landscape experience, “Re-shaping Urban Conservation”, co-edited with Ana Pereira Roders, is forthcoming by Springer.  Arturo Lyon – Polar Lab Director (CL) Arturo Lyon is an architect dedicated to the experimental and professional development of architecture, landscape and urban design projects. He is founder of Lyon Bosch + Martic Arquitectos, firm that has carried out several public and private projects, including the XVIII Biennial of Architecture of Chile, the Las Majadas de Pirque Hotel, the Cerros de Chena Park — associated with Teodoro Fernández —and the Metropolitan Civic Promenade for the redesign of Alameda - Providencia, Santiago's main boulevard — associated with Groundlab.  Arturo is Professor of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) in the areas of design studio, technology and landscape architecture. He leads the design studio courses for the undergraduate School of Architecture and is member of the Public Space Group of the Nacional Committee of Urban Development of Chile.  Juan Du – Polar Lab Director (HK) Juan Du is Associate Professor, Associate Dean (International), and Director of the Urban Ecologies Design Lab at the University of Hong Kong. She also leads IDU_architecture, with projects ranging from the extent of built form to the social and ecological processes of the city, and her works have been published and exhibited in Asia, Europe and the United States. Juan's research and design focus is on the relationships between the urban and architectural, formal and informal, and specifically on informal settlements of extreme high-density within rapid urbanization. An upcoming book “The Shenzhen Experiment”, will be published by Harvard University Press in winter 2019. Juan has previously taught at MIT and Peking University, and her past curatorial projects includes Hong Kong’s participation in the 2010 Venice Biennale and the Housing an Affordable City Exhibition at the 2011 Shenzhen Hong Kong Biennale.  Bert Bücking – BOF ArchitektenBert is the founder of bof architekten in collaboration with Patrick Ostrop and Ole Flemming. Bert has work experience in all areas of architecture as well as teaching and research. His particular interest is the interface between civil engineering and architecture. While studying architecture at the university Bert developed already a strong interest in modular and sustainable building techniques and designs. This knowledge was deepened and expanded through practical work and research throughout his whole career. Together with Ramboll he developed modular concepts for buildings in remote areas and extreme environments. Beth HealeyBeth’s interest in extreme and remote environments has led her to work as part of medical and logistical support teams for ski mountaineering expeditions and endurance races from Greenland to the North Pole. She has also overwintered in Antarctica as research MD for the European Space Agency at spaceflight analogue Concordia ‘White Mars'. Now based in the Alps she works as an emergency medicine doctor at Martigny Hospital, where she is also enjoying taking time to brush up her skiing. Chiara Montanari – Expedition LeaderChiara was the first Italian Woman to Lead an Expedition to Antarctica. So far, she has led 5 scientific expeditions to the southernmost continent, representing Italy, France and Belgium. Chiara has 16 years working experience in polar environments and as Head of the Mission, she led numerous international teams to the most extreme research stations of our Planet (e.g. Concordia, at 4000 m altitude and temperatures between -50°C in summer and -80°C in winter). Chiara narrates these experiences in her book “Chronicles from the ice, 90 days in  Antarctica” (2015, Mondadori), in which she proposes the extreme ecosystem of Antarctica as a metaphor for the current business world. Francesco Pellegrino – ENEAFrancesco, a mechanical engineer, is a member of the engineering working group of Enea Antarctic Unit. In the last Antarctic seasons, he has visited six times. His roles include Technical Manager of Mario Zucchelli Station (MZS), Construction Manager of renewable energy plants (solar and wind) and Site Supervisor of structural maintenance works and plant revamping of MZS Dock. Additionally, Francesco is an expert of renewable energies and energy saving plants for applications in extreme sites.

The annual Open House London event takes place on 21 and 22 September this year, and the Birkbeck School of Arts building is proud to be included once more. Open House London is a huge architectural festival, giving visitors access to buildings and rooms across the capital that they would not normally have access to. We’re included in the programme because of our award-winning cinema, but of course we have the added appeal of being the former home of members of the famous Bloomsbury Group, including Virgina Woolf and John Maynard Keynes. Tours operate every half hour from 10am to 5pm both days. There is no booking required, and those who need to wait for the next tour can find coffee venues nearby and a lovely park just outside. Our enthusiastic volunteers are students in the Birkbeck History of Art department, and have a wealth of knowledge to impart. This will be the last year the School of Arts will be in Open House before the building undergoes renovations, so grab your chance to come along! More details in the Open House programme and watch a film about the buidling. Contact name: Leslie Topp