• Open Lecture Series 2013/2014
• Norbert Singer Lecture Theatre / M055
• Mansion Site, Avery Hill Campus
• Wednesday 19th March; 6PM

Encountering Land ? the movement and forms that create fluid minimal spaces that engage the eye and feet in discovery. Light and Water ? effects that amplify the spatial perception and material qualities of a landscape via the senses. Places of Translation ? contemporary landscapes that emphasis or interpret the cultures and environmental contexts that surround them.

A founding partner of Gustafson Porter, Neil Porter takes an active involvement in the practice’s diverse range of projects as well as running the London practice. Neil’s interests include architecture, design, landscape and urban planning. Neil is passionate about visiting sites to understand the unique historical, cultural, socio-economic, geographical and botanical influences, as well as specific requirements of clients and users. It is this depth of engagement that inspires Gustafson Porter’s work. Together with Mary Bowman, Kathryn Gustafson and the team, Neil has led the practice’s defining projects, including: Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial; Swiss Cottage Open Space; the Garden of Forgiveness and Shoreline Walk, Beirut; Bay East, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore and the CityLife Park, Milan. Neil’s designs for the Treasury West Courtyard, London, and Old Market Square, Nottingham, received many prestigious awards. Neil currently sits on the Design Council CABE, Crossrail and Nottingham design review panels. Neil publishes and lectures internationally. In 1983 he received a diploma with honours at the Architecture Association in London where he subsequently tutored from 1984 to 1989. He worked concurrently with a number of leading architectural practices and designers, including Alsop and Lyall, John Gould, Ian Ritchie and Bernard Tschumi; where he met Kathryn whilst working on Paris’ Parc de la Villette in 1984.

• Open Lecture Series 2013/2014
• Norbert Singer Lecture Theatre / M055
• Mansion Site, Avery Hill Campus
• Wednesday 12th March; 6PM

Talking about architecture means talking about the world we inhabit. Broad, deep and completely pervasive, ‘architecture’ is the synthetic environment that surrounds us. This designed world is the way in which abstract ideas about how we live, work and how society operates become real. This talk will discuss how we might understand this world – buildings, cities, objects, experiences and systems – as physical manifestations of culture and how we as designers embed meanings in the material world. In other words, how we can ‘read’ and ‘write’ architecture.

Sam Jacob designs buildings and objects, and writes about architecture, design and the city. He was co-founder of FAT where he was responsible for a range of internationally acclaimed projects. He now directs his own architecture and design studio. Sam is Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Director of Night School at the Architectural Association in London. He is columnist for Dezeen and Art Review and contributing editor to Icon. He is currently co-curating the British Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Biennale.

www.samjacob.com
www.strangeharvest.com
@_SamJacob

• Open Lecture Series 2013/2014
• Norbert Singer Lecture Theatre / M055
• Mansion Site, Avery Hill Campus
• Wednesday 26th February; 6PM

The last century has seen the rise of Interstellar Studies, an inspirational new subject where people from all walks of life, including aerospace engineers, physicists, artists and science fiction writers, look with excitement towards the bold leap of reaching for the stars. This talk discusses the fundamental physics and extreme aerospace engineering requirements for embarking on the journey to other stars, addressing the feasibility of interstellar flight and the consequences for success or failure. Several case studies are examined for the future which are likely to need the input of not just engineers, but architects too, as we strive to become a multiple planet species, living off-world, on structures so enormous they dwarf any of the concepts currently conceived for Earth based projects.

Kelvin F. Long is a physicist, aerospace engineer, author and entrepreneur. He was the co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Project Icarus study and the subsequent US non-profit organization Icarus Interstellar for which he served as Vice President during its seminal year. He is also the founder and Managing Director of the UK Aerospace Company Stellar Engines Ltd. His latest effort is as the co-founder of the UK not-for-profit company The Initiative for Interstellar Studies, for which he serves as the Executive Director. He is a Fellow of The British Interplanetary Society and Chief Editor of its flagship Journal, JBIS, which is the oldest astronautical academic journal in the world. He is also a Candidate for Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Laser Plasma Interactions and Inertial Confinement Fusion. He has published numerous articles and papers on various aspects of space travel and is the author of a book on interstellar flight published by Springer titled Deep Space Propulsion: A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight.

• Open Lecture Series 2013/2014
• Norbert Singer Lecture Theatre / M055
• Mansion Site, Avery Hill Campus
• Wednesday 19th February; 6PM

This lecture presents up-to-date ideas and theories of holistic environmental strategies, building physics, human thermal comfort and energy flows in buildings, alongside examples of climatic responsive design of form, choice of materials and use of technologies. Featuring examples from Brockholes Visitors Centre, MAXXI Rome, The Hive Worcester and Gourcy School, Burkina Faso.

Hareth Pochee is a physicist with a passion for design. He has spent 15 years working in the field of architectural environmental design, predominantly with Max Fordham LLP. Hareth’s experience and areas of interest include low and zero energy buildings, building physics, environmental computer modelling, low-tech design, renewable energy systems, projects for developing countries, de-bunking greenwash, off grid buildings and kinetic sculpture. Hareth’s projects include Brockholes Visitors Centre with Adam Khan Architects, MAXXI with Zaha Hadid, Tate Britain with Caruso St John and Bethel School, Gourcy, Burkina Faso with Article 25 Architects and Giving Africa. At Max Fordham’s, Hareth set up the Developing Countries Group and is currently team leader for Fordham’s Research and Innovation group.