EXHIBITION + SYMPOSIUM: Public Space and the Role of the Architect.
The following events are part of the project Public Space and the Role of the Architect by the University of Westminster and the University of São Paulo.
Exhibition: BRAVE OLD WORLD: MODERNIST PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN IN LONDON AND SÃO PAULO
6th June 2017, 10.00am to 2nd July 2017, 5.00pm
The Practice Space, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD
Brave Old World: Modernist public space design in London and São Paulo looks at public space design between c.1955 and c.1975, during a crucial period for the development of two world cities, London and São Paulo. Though located in very different cultures, the designers of the eight public spaces on show shared a common frame of reference, whatever their view of it: architectural Modernism.
As a result, the four examples in London and the four in São Paulo are works of equal ambition and equal invention, and representative of a consensus on the value of the public realm and the importance of the state in providing and protecting it.
The exhibition focuses on the ideas – political, urban, aesthetic – that drove these public space designs, and the importance of design in delivering successful – and unsuccessful – public spaces.
Symposium: PUBLIC SPACES AND THE ROLE OF THE DESIGNER: A SYMPOSIUM FOR PRACTITIONERS
20th June 2017
Wren Room, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD
This symposium is part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research project, and is convened by Professor Susannah Hagan and Dr Neal Shasore of the Department of Architecture, University of Westminster, and hosted by the RIBA Research Department.
It will address the often ignored importance of design and designers in the production of (civic) public spaces, and examine the role of the architect in London during the mid-20th century, and the much more complex present, with a view to understanding possible futures for architects, urban and landscape designers, planners and councillors in this very important area of design.
Speakers include: Bob Allies (Allies and Morrison), Professor Matthew Carmona (University College London), Vincent Lacovara (Croydon Council), Deborah Saunt (DSDHA).
You can access further information and book your place here.