FUNDING FOR PH.D. in “Architectural Robotics”

Colleagues of mine from the Archibots workshop are currently looking for a new PhD student in architectural robotics to start in Clemson University (USA) in August 2010. So spread the word among your architects'friends:

Individuals trained in Architecture and/or the allied Design disciplines and interested in pursuing a Ph.D. focusing on design research may apply now for one or more funded openings, with August 2010 entry, to Clemson University. Full funding and living stipend will be awarded to a qualified applicant interested in engaging in research being undertaken within the research group IMSA (Intelligent Materials and Systems for Architecture) under the direction of Keith Evan Green. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to focus on the design, prototyping and evaluation of “architectural robotics” or, more broadly, computation embedded in the built environment at any scale. All IMSA research projects are collaborative, developed in partnership with faculty and students in Electrical and Computing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering and Human Factors Psychology. The degree of Ph.D. will be granted by Clemson’s Ph.D. Program in PDB&E (Planning, Design & the Built Environment). Clemson is a top-25 U.S. public research university located between Atlanta and Charlotte. For consideration, applicants must complete the on-line application forms and forward official GRE and (for non-US citizens) TOFEL scores to the Graduate School; and email a design portfolio (a pdf file of less than 5MB, please) and copies of GRE and TOFEL scores to Professor Green. For best consideration, please submit these materials by February 15, 2010.

Contacts and Links:

Professor Keith Evan Green, kegreen@clemson.edu

IMSA: www.IMSA-research.org

PH.D. PDBE Program Director Mickey Lauria, mlauria@clemson.edu

Ph.D. PDBE: http://virtual.clemson.edu/caah/pdbe/

Apply on-line: http://www.grad.clemson.edu/ProspectiveStudents.php

Fast Fashion & Co-Design: Working Together

I designed and facilitated a workshop last Friday for MA Textile students at Chelsea College of Art & Design. The workshop was part of a piece I am working on for TED'S Ever & Again publication on upcycling textiles. It is an outcome of an AHRC funded research project directed by Rebecca Earley .

The workshop was titled Fast Fashion & Co-Design: working together

I used co-design to "orchestrate creative conversations" a term coined by Leadbeater (2009) to inspire collaborative concepts. We borrowed IDEO 's 3 core concept of design thinking to structure the workshop... It was divided into 3 sections... empathy, prototyping and storytelling.

I really enjoyed working with the students to explore these concepts and they presented some really interesting ideas and exciting solutions.

Digital Architecture Event at Bartlett

As part of the Bartlett School of Architecture International Lecture Series there will be a FREE Digital Architecture Event this coming Wednesday.

Date:Wednesday 9th December, 2009 from 6.30 PM (GMT)
Open to public, arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Organiser of Digital Architecture London Conference, Ruairi Glynn has brought together some of London's most prolific recent graduates in a group presentation of innovative and inspiring projects examining the scope of 'digitally enabled' architecture. Presenters include this years' President's Silver Medal Winner, Nicholas Szczepaniak, the Bartlett's Christian Kerrigan and Ric Lipson, AA's Adam Nathaniel Furman, AA DRL's 'Shampoo' Group and RCA's Jordan Hodgson.

To place this in context: from the first generative algorithms of John Frazer, to Cedric Price and Gordon Pask's proposed interactive buildings, to the technologically inspired hinterlands of Archigram's walking, reconfigurable, and instant cities, London has long been a provocateur of digitally enabled architecture.

This spirit of speculation and provocation continues in a young generation of designers who slip with ease between computational algorithms and hand drawings, paper models and robotic manufacturing. In November 2009 Ruairi Glynn and Sara Shafiei co-authored and published 'Digital Architecture: Passages Through Hinterlands' which went further than the exhibition, revealing the processes behind leading graduate work alongside interviews with young practices including Amanda Levete Architects, Plasma Studio, JDS Architects, sixteen* (makers), and marcosandmarjan - discussing how the these innovative explorations have begun to make their mark on the built environment. Following the lecture, there will be a book launch of 'Digital Architecture: Passages Through Hinterlands' at the Bartlett. It can also be previewed online at

www.passagesthroughhinterlands.com

What is Textile Design Research? - Call for contribution

Research for textiles is broad and far reaching. Historical, theoretical, technical, scientific, commercial and aesthetic strands interweave to create a complex and interdisciplinary field of investigation and invention. The intention of the first call for submissions to DUCK is to explore the nature and significance of current Textile Design research and establish a platform for future discourse. Submissions are invited which address or cover one or more of the following themes:

The contexts for textile design research The role of interdisciplinarity in textile design research The distinction between research related to processes and that related to outcomes The tensions between the demands of commercial enterprise and the academic domain The methodologies that might be appropriate for textile design research The impact of new materials and/or technologies on directions and approaches in textile design research The influence of craft methods/approaches in textile design research The interaction between craft and scientific method in textile design research Historical and theoretical perspectives within textile design research Relationships between theory and practice in textile design research The benefit of textile design research to the designer Forms of application and dissemination of textile design research

Deadline for submissions: 22nd January 2010 Authors will be informed of the outcome of their submission by the end of April 2010.

Submission Instructions:Contributions may take the form of written texts (maximum 5,000 words), visual essays, a series of images relating to methods (sketchbook style), visual diaries or other methods deemed appropriate.

Duck does not advise a particular format for written submissions although we ask that contributors present their ideas in an accessible format for Duck's diverse readership of researchers, educators, artists and designers. For written texts the Harvard System of referencing is preferred.

Images should be 300dpi where possible, RGB format and submitted as TIFF or JPEG files. Text should be provided in MS Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf) or pdf format.

Please provide your name, affiliation, email address, a title for your submission and a short summary of your contribution.

Please send submissions by email to: L.R.Moriarty@lboro.ac.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(Maximum file size: 5mb). Alternatively, please send on disk (CD or DVD) to:

DUCK Journal - Textiles Research Group

Loughborough University School of Art and Design

Loughborough

Leicestershire

LE11 3TU

Climate & Architecture - towards an atmospheric architecture

In correlation with the Climate & Architecture exhibition, the Royal Academy of Fines Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen is hosting a promising seminar embracing the idea of an atmospheric architecture.

Date:	10.12.09 - 10.12.09
Location:	The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture The Exhibtion Hall Danneskiold-Samsøes Allé 51 Holmen
Time:	13.00
Event holder:	The Nantes School of Art & The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture

Today the climate has become the main aim of architects and architectural practice changes in order to integrate the goal of safeguarding the climate. But as the balance with climate and its protection becomes the goal of architecture, it is also possible that climate becomes the ressources and tools of architecture.

Thus weather vocabulary used to describe atmospheric phenomena (convection, pressure, depressions, temperature, heat, relative humidity, reveberation, for example) becomes an architectural language.

The Nantes symposium of Copenhagen 2009 "Climate & Architecture - towards an atmospheric architecture" seeks to integrate the climate mission of architecture not only as the purpose of the contemporary architecture, but also as the process.

The full programme can be downloaded here.