Sophia de Sousa, chief executive of The Glass House, gave an engaging talk about collaborative design techniques used in community engagement projects, as part of the RIBA core CPD seminar series. MArch and BArch students attended alongside local architects and will be using some of the ideas gathered during the session, run as a workshop, as well as from the diverse case studies presented during the talk.
Alumni visit
This week two of our alumni visited the school to give a talk to 3rd year BArch students and also to help with 5th year studio reviews.
Tom Butler-Weeks and Liam Swaby, two of our best MArch students, have been active supporters of the school since they graduated in 2017. Their talk was about their experience in Lincoln, outlining their own research and design journeys in years 4 and 5. They encouraged students to develop personal interests which may become a basis for further research and establish the foundations for studio projects – a creative freedom the MArch in Lincoln allows. They also pointed out that it is necessary to build extracurricular interests into student life, even during most pressured moments.
This is the second year of Tom and Liam’s involvement with the school. Students find their feedback in crits to be most helpful, because their practical advice is sensitive to each development stage of design.
We are fortunate and thankful to have such enthusiastic, knowledgeable and dedicated graduates, whose contribution is appreciated by all.
photographs: Fraser Swindell & Doina Carter
Research INDABA 3
Academics and an MArch student presented their current work at our school’s research INDABA (INDABA = gathering in Zulu) on Wednesday 13 March. Our INDABA was set up three years ago, initiated by Prof Glen Mills, head of school. As usual, the presentations this year were diverse: from [earthquakes, politics and reconstruction] in New Zealand to the effects of the built environment on pupil engagement and attainment.
Trevor Elvin talked about the GroundLab in Lincoln’s Sincil Bank which, since opening a few weeks ago, apart from being a satellite studio for 3rd and 5th year students, has become a catalyst for community engagement, attracting a lot of local interest and governmental financial support (image above).
Some topics covered aspects of work developed within the MArch, such as the ‘Question of life and architecture’ posed by the design and construction of the Orgone Accumulator presented by Marcin Kolakowski and Doina Carter.
One of the talks was given by Lewis Wake, 5th year MArch student, on his dissertation subject of STUDENT BURNOUT, which affects a lot of architecture students especially before important deadlines.
As in previous years, the event prompted interesting debates, some of which will continue long after the doors have closed on our third INDABA.
Swan in
Over the last week, beautifully made origami swans surreptitiously invaded the MArch exhibition space on the 3rd floor. At first there was one and then a few, colourful, multiplying every day, getting bigger and bigger, in the beginning sitting on the table, in various formations, radial or spiral cavalcades led usually by the smallest one.
Eventually three took the initiative to move onto our models.
The rest are just accumulating orgone…
swans fabrication and mise en scene: Samantha Neal, 1st year BArch (Hons)
photographs: Doina Carter