FROM THE DISTANT PAST / Two Design Charettes to Remember

AIA UK Newsletter Issue #01 - dated May 1994 – announced the formation of the 1st International AIA Chapter on 17 Jun 1993, ‘In the Beginning…’.  As there are several months left in this our 30th Anniversary year, we still have time to celebrate the past, to delve into the archives and see where and when the DESIGN CHARETTES started.   

From Newsletter Issue #04 dated Feb 1995 (extract below),  the first Design Charette with 75 students was held in Eero Saarinen’s previous US Embassy on Grosvenor Square in the days before security concerns prohibited general access to US government buildings.

LOOKING BACK AT THE 1994 DESIGN CHARETTE

The 1994 Participants / The Venue  One can only wonder where those first 75 students are now.  How many continued on a potentially glorious, potentially rocky career in architecture?  Given free student membership to the fledgling Chapter, how many ever became AIA members? How many of them thought about their own foray into embassy design when the replacement US Embassy was eventually opened years later?  Unlike one 1994 ‘fantasy solution’ mentioned in Newsletter #04, the new scheme does not include a baseball diamond… but it does have a fantasy façade…

The 1994 Team Leaders  Whereas the student participants are not named, some of the AIA UK team leaders were, and in later years they became increasingly important to London’s architectural community.  

Both Lee Polisano FAIA (who heads PLP Architects) and Pierre Baillargeon AIA (who is now MD of Mixity and has been an active Charette Team Leader on and off since 1994) remain in London as AIA UK Members. David Walker RIBA (who heads David Walker Architects) also remains in the UK, whereas Yann Weymouth FAIA returned to a very successful career in the US.  

The 1994 jurors   The 1994 Honorary Chairman was the US Ambassador to the UK, Admiral William Crowe; however, it is assumed that the actual jury work was conducted at least in part by the then Chief Architect of Foreign Building Operations, Patrick Collins AIA, who remained with the US State Department until at least 2015.

A distinguished group of new jurors are selected each year, with the Design Charette organisers keen for them to represent a diverse range of practitioners and educators.  However, one 1994 juror - Peter Finch OBE, then Editor of the Architect’s Journal - kept a keen interest in the Charette and continued in the Chief Juror role until 2012.  He remains Editorial Director of AR and AJ but is also now Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival and Deputy Chair of the Design Council.  

LOOKING BACK AT THE 2000 DESIGN CHARETTE

The Sponsors The 6th Design Charette - ‘High Dense + City Living’ - was held in 2000, based on the highly trafficked West Kensington Underground Station. The focused environs were near the Olympia warehouse of Call Print, the Charette’s (and the Chapter’s) long term sponsor and the Charette was held under the auspices of its enthusiastic and ever popular Manager, Steve Jolly.   

The AIA UK Board Member and event organiser, Yasin Visram (who now lives in Canada), prepared an excellent, comprehensive summary of the event, which was published as a bound brochure courtesy of Call Print (see HERE). Unfortunately, the format has been difficult to copy, but it remains a remarkable souvenir. 

The 2000 Jurors and Team Leaders For the 2000 Design Charette jury, Peter Finch and Steve Jolly, were joined by several distinguished practitioners, including the then up and coming architect Zaha Hadid.  The 2000 Team leaders were Christopher Stead, Michael Morgan, Paul Wellings-Longmore, Lester Korzilius FAIA, Martin Hall, Matthew Farrell, Peter Seidel AIA, Charlie Baker and Mike Hardiman AIA – several of whom are still familiar to AIA UK members after all these years.  One student participant – Amy Kaspar AIA – is now an AIA Board Member in Columbus Ohio and still in contact with AIA UK. 

Newsletter Issue #34 - dated Jan 2001 (see HERE) – devoted an entire page to the Event.  In the extract below, Peter Finch likened the arrival of the jurors to the excitement of the Stirling Prize.  It was not quite that important an event but was certainly still newsworthy as was the main topic of the day – ‘environmental sustainability’. 

The 2000 Star Attraction Zaha Hadid visited the warehouse  during the day and soundly chided the students - from Sheffield, Portsmouth, Greenwich, Westminster, Cardiff, Kingston, RCA, the Bartlett, Southbank, and North and East London (plus exchange students from Milan, Durban, Halifax and the US) – for not taking DESIGN seriously enough.   

Thanks to Yasin Visram and Steve Jolly an exclusive record of Zaha Hadid’s unique thought process remains.   Whereas other jurors kept simple notes on their jury cards, she took the time to draw futuristic thumbnail sketches with cryptic titles – ‘sugar cubes’ for the first one; ‘calm chaos’ for the last one; and ‘shining city’ along the way…  Did any of the student’s  designs inspire her future work? Or vice versa?

For many years – up to 2019 - the Design Charette was sponsored by the Roca Gallery and held in a building fittingly designed by Zaha Hadid as an unintended but well received legacy of the event.  Hadid remained an honorary member of the AIA UK Chapter and, on 27 Sep 2007, was given the President’s Award by then Chapter President Kevin Flanagan AIA in recognition of, ‘your office’s contribution in promoting excellence in design; as well as your past contributions of time to the AIA/UK Chapter and the AIA internationally’.  See her AIA UK Newsletter obituary HERE.

For the past several years, the Design Charette has been organised by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, who was himself a student participant back in 2009.  Perhaps participation as Charette student, team leader or juror is a right of passage all should consider…
More on past Design Charettes can be found in the AIA Newsletter Archives, found HERE.  Look for issues covering the last months of the year.

Written by Lorraine King, AIA

2023 AIA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Mexico City

Last month we embarked on a fascinating architectural journey through Mexico City for the AIA International Conference which took place from November 2 to November 6. Our destination was stunning, a city where historical and contemporary styles combine in a stunning visual spectacle. From the majestic remains of the ancient Aztec civilization in Teotihuacán to the iconic skyscrapers that adorn the city skyline, every corner of this metropolis tells a unique architectural story. Mexico City stands as an unparalleled destination for architecture enthusiasts, who will find delight and limitless inspiration at every turn.

The conference will opened Thursday 2 November at the Memory and Tolerance Museum and was followed by 3 days of morning tours and talks at Universidad Anáhuac from 3 - 5 November, and an optional extension day tour on Monday 6 November.

To find out more about what happened at the conference please click HERE.

2023 AIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

As President of the Chapter, I had the pleasure of representing AIA UK at ‘A23’, the AIA National Conference, held in San Francisco, California, earlier this year (June 7-10). This architectural and design event of the year brought together some 13,000 attendees and professionals who had the opportunity to engage in tours, learning sessions and networking programs over the four days.

The breath of the conference was impressive, including some 165 + seminars and workshop sessions that explored the current topics redefining the industry, over 110 architect-led tours and about 60 booths on the exposition floor showcasing the leading building product manufacturers. While the educational and learning tracks were varied and expansive, it was perhaps the Architecture Expo at A’23 – the networking hub for the industry representing over 500 brands and companies – that was one of the highlights of the event. The combination of content on offer to the attendees mixed with the ability to network with individuals across the industry representing a diverse range of expertise, project-altering ideas and revolutionary solutions was well worth the trip.

The conference was held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, America’s first and only convention venue to achieve LEED Platinum certification. This also permits it to achieve the world’s lowest carbon footprint per convention visitor, making it an appropriate environment for this year’s conference where sustainability led the agenda. The conference’s keynote host Mike Chapman, Executive Producer and Co-founder of the CBS television show, America ByDesign, added an entertaining overture as emcee for the keynote experience, introducing each day’s topics, big ideas, and speakers.

Keynote speakers were Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, who talked about a variety of key interest areas such as woman’s empowerment and climate action, and Architect Barbara Bouza, FAIA, who is Walt Disney’s Imagineering President, who about discussed “making the impossible possible.” Bouza provided the audience with a window into the world of Disney and how their imagineers bring Disney’s iconic characters and worlds to life. It was both surprising and gratifying to learn that prior to Disney, she was a Principal at Gensler.  

As the AIA UK president, I attended the Annual General Meeting. Topics at the AGM included streamlining proceedings at AIA meetings, updating the Code of Ethics, eliminating the requirement that AIA components submit bylaws and amendments to AIA for approval, and providing emeritus privileges to international members.

Emily Grandstaff-Rice, AIA President, highlighted her vision for the profession to the assembly. She delved into the many aspects from her seminal statement “Architects lead by using the power of design and the limitless potential of design thinking to make a positive, lasting and meaningful difference that changes the world we live in.” As some of you will recall, Grandstaff-Rice was in London earlier this year to witness the signing of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between NCARB and the ARB, and she and I were able to meet up again during the conference.

Coincidentally I also ran into Kimberley Dowdell the incoming AIA President after one of the keynote lectures and briefly touched base on her upcoming trip to the UK and potential of a meeting to discuss the AIA UK’s aspirations for the future. Her eventual visit to London on July was highlighted in our last AIA UK Newsletter (see HERE).

No conference, however, would be complete without a few field trips of which the educational, two- hour cocktail cruise of the San Francisco Bay aboard an all-electric Enhydra was the most memorable. The boat was equipped with three bars and plenty of space for viewing the scenic Bay’s architectural, historical, and cultural points of interest. We motored a loop around Treasure Island, up the Oakland Estuary, crossed the San Francisco Bay and then worked our way along city shoreline returning to Fisherman’s Wharf. The conference’s content, speakers, attendees, and special events all surpassed my expectations. I cannot wait to participate in AIA24 in Washington, DC!

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

Autumn Movie Nights 2023

For many of our regular Movie Night attendees, cinema is a passion, and one they love intimately. For those who joined us for the first time this autumn, welcome and thank you very much. I hope these movies have ignited a passion for cinema in you.

On a dark cold day on the eve of All Hallows’ Day, the first of our Autumn screenings brightened up this Tuesday. It was off to the heart of the Indian Ocean we sailed, to learn about the life & architecture of Sri Lanka’s most acclaimed.

‘Geoffrey Bawa: The Genius of the Place’ was about a man widely regarded as one of South Asia’s most important architects of the 20th century - the equivalent of Frank Lloyd Wright in America, Luis Barragan in Mexico, or Oscar Niemeyer in Brazil.

Despite many challenges throughout the years - the restrictions of building materials in post-war Sri Lanka, a thirty-year Civil War that fractured the country, opposition from environmental and religious groups to one of his projects, and a series of strokes that left him paralyzed - Bawa prevailed, creating a body of work that is legendary in scale, scope, and ambition.

While his work has been celebrated in books, his work has been undiscovered by global audiences utilizing the medium of film. This film showed the deep inter-relationship between Sri Lanka’s beautiful landscapes and these stunning buildings which blur the line between the inside and the outside - one of his signature contributions to the world of architecture and design.

The fireworks from Guy Fawkes Day had just settled, and back to the BFI cinema a week later we nestled. In our quickest back-to back screenings yet, it was to Thailand where our final screening of the year was set.

"Big Ears Listen with Feet” by acclaimed artist-filmmakers Bêka & Lemoine, takes us to Bangkok on a one-day hectic journey through the chaotic concrete jungle of the South-Asian megacity. Led by the moving personal story of Boonserm Premthada, one of today’s most important Thai architects, the film unfolds through a free wander, punctuated by stunning encounters, events and places, which have contributed to shape Premthada’s unique identity and sensibility.

Deaf from birth, the architect evokes how his disability led him to develop an alternative way of listening using his whole body as a resonance chamber of sound vibrations. Despite their large ears, elephants also perceive sound mostly through their feet. Learning from elephants, Boonserm has developed an architecture of the senses where sound vibrations become the voice of space.

Walking through the dark streets of the slum where he grew up, flying to remote rural communities living in symbiosis with elephants, and observing old ladies’ devotion towards the Buddhist monks of their village, the film reveals, through impressive sequences, the architect’s active commitment to work with people for whom architecture can have a strong social impact.

When a road movie merges with a film diary, here comes the one-of-a-kind style of Bêka & Lemoine’s performative cinema.

We enjoyed some refreshments for this last screening, a toast to all our audience members who have supported us this year. I hope you have enjoyed the varied movies screened, and I look forward to welcoming you back next year. Thank you!

Written by Christopher Musangi, AIA

2023 Noel Hill Award Winner

AIA UK is delighted to announce the winner of this year’s £3000 Noel Hill Award is Melis Ellen Gurdal, from the University of Cambridge.

Melis’ research focuses on water justice and hydro-social theory, with a focus on liminal territories within the Middle East. Melis’ work uses water distribution as a navigational tool to reveal pressure points and to rethink the notions of “identity”, “territory”, and “belonging.” The research aims to learn from locals and nomads of arid and desert lands who have lived with drought for a long time.

Melis presented fieldwork carried on the border of Turkey and Syria, which includes empirical research focusing on the water culture of border zones, as well as fieldwork in Central Anatolia which documented Seljuk Caravanserais and collected quantitative data. Melis will use the Noel Hill Award to complete research on the Aegean coast where uncontrolled migration and water scarcity are causing severe problems. The research will document hydro-social spaces and migration conditions, aiming to explore how a shared and just water future could be created in this territory by creating convivial spaces and water rituals.

The judges commended the work and had the following comments.

‘'The Water Caravanserais of Anatolia project showed a sensitive, human-led response to a pertinent global issue. We believe the research developed by the student can help to inform and suggest approaches and methods to tackle design for climate adaptivity - a spatial issue that architects can make a significant and impactful contribution to. The work was presented beautifully, and conveyed in a way that was both thoughtful and compelling’

The Noel Hill Award was judged by David Ogunmuyiwa (Architecture Doing Place), Bongani Muchemwa (McloyMuchemwa) and Sanaa Shaikh (Native Studio). AIA UK would like to thank the judges for their participation and careful evaluation of all of this year’s entries.

Written by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, RIBA

2023 AIA Student Charrette

Now in its 28 th edition, the AIAUK Student Charrette has become a firm fixture in the packed autumn calendar of the UK’s most competitive Part 1 students. This year, we were generously hosted by KPF at their Covent Garden gallery, giving students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the rich history of this unique part of London. It also positioned them in the centre of the KPF masterplan that has seen the area transformed into a buzzing mixed-use neighbourhood.

Of course, before any AIAUK charrette begins, our student-athletes need their sustenance, so the event began with carbohydrates - the usual assortment of pastries and caffeine-infused beverages to get the creative juices flowing. More than 70 students then crowded into the gallery for the presentation of the competition brief and an opportunity to meet their mentors. The presentation guided students through the area’s history, from its origins as a 13 th century walled convent garden, to the Italianate urban planning of the 16 th century, and on to the recent masterplan. The brief’s title, ‘Covent Gardens’ gave the students a clue of the challenge to come, and the day began in earnest with the reveal of the competition challenge: to design a temporary installation responding to the theme of ‘Urban Garden.’ The site was Floral Court, a compact urban courtyard recently completed by KPF. The students were asked to visit the site and think critically about the notion of an urban garden in the contemporary city.

As always, the students responded with enthusiasm and were ably assisted by a crack team of mentors who worked tirelessly alongside their teams to keep things moving, refine ideas, and get them ready to present. The gallery was a hive of activity throughout the day, pausing only at the lunch hour, when the promise of food briefly bought things to a standstill. Soon after lunch, we were joined by the jurors who dove straight in, tasked with reviewing the submissions for the chapter’s £3000 Part 2 research Award – the Noel Hill Award - before making their way into the gallery to judge the Student Charrette. The jurors were well placed to judge this year’s competition, with plenty of high profile installations and community-oriented spaces in their portfolios. The jurors’ feedback proved invaluable as they showed the students that even the fastest sketch is enough to stimulate conversation and a productive exchange of ideas.

As usual, the range of proposals and the creativity with which they were represented was inspiring to see. The judges were unanimous in their praise for one project in particular though, which duly emerged as the overall winner. Titled ‘Green Network,’ the team from the University of Westminster presented an inventive proposal for a ‘plant rotary’ – a conveyor belt of house-plants threaded through the site. The judges commented that:

‘the proposition responded to a real concern faced by those living in an urban context. It encourages cohesion and connection between existing residences and those passing by. The idea of a network of pulley systems and cables creates a spectacle and performance while integrating a real use. The proposal was novel, playful and inventive and has the potential to enhance the enjoyment of an intimate urban space.’

The Westminster team presenting their winning proposal, ‘The Green Network’

Westminster can add another Charrette trophy to their overflowing trophy cabinet, having won the grand prize on a number of previous occasions. Runners-up were also commended, with the first runner-up prize awarded to the team from the University of Manchester. The judges enjoyed their colourful, joyful proposal titled ‘Wonderland’ and commented that, ‘the collages and sketches were imaginative and had a strong focus on landscape and ecology that embedded the theme of the ‘urban garden’ purposefully.

The University of Manchester team, impressing the judges with their ‘joyful’ proposal for a new Wonderland.

Finally, the prize-giving concluded with the second runner-up prize, awarded to the University of Bath for their proposal ‘The Orchard.’ Using little more than crisp-packets, cardboard and a series of inventive diagrams, the team impressed the judges, who commented; ‘the proposition of combining the urban and nature with canopies that played upon the reflections of the intimate urban site were playful and driven by context. The use of materials and positioning to elevate user experience and offer a place of rest in the city was sensitive and highly responsive to both user and environment’.

The University of Bath, describing their concept for ‘The Orchard’ featuring reflective light columns, modelled with crisp packets and cardboard.

AIAUK would like to thank all the students that took part, as well as their mentors Pierre Baillargeon AIA, Francis Hur AIA, Stephen Lawler AIA, Tyler Bollier RIBA, Orkun Beydagi, Brian Oknyansky AIA, and Laura Petruso RIBA and the judges Bongani Muchemwa RIBA, David Ogunmuyiwa RIBA and Sanaa Shaikh RIBA for their energy and enthusiasm.

The winning team, from Westminster University. Mentor: Laura Petruso RIBA

Daile Cerneckyte, Elena Delli Colli, Claudia Gomez, Umi Sakai-Stoute, Della Wendha, Edwin Zhou

First Runners-Up: Manchester School of Architecture. Mentor: Stephen Lawler AIA

Chelsea Chan, Yiran Chen, Tianyi Gao, Nicole Ho, Cristina Pulido, Anna Robertson

Second Runners-Up: University of Bath. Mentor: Stephen Lawler AIA

Cathy Ge, Katie Innes, George Knight, Sarah Mclaren, Annabel Wood

Written by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, RIBA