THE FILMS OF CHARLES & RAY EAMES

Just one week after our previous screening, we were back to the BFI for our final movie screening of Autumn 2019. Thanks to Dr. Mark Breeze for the loan from his home library, we screened some of the 'Films of Charles & Ray Eames.'

Most of us know the duo for their architecture and design work, but not many know that they also made over 125 films from 1-30 minutes in length. The two are ranked among the finest American designers of the 20th Century, renowned for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design and the photographic arts. We started with the screening of Powers of Ten, and went on to screen a selection from the box-set, which ranged from the playful to the lyrical, exploring architecture and featuring their own designs.

These movies were a good ending piece to the 2019 Movie series, and generated a jovial debate. Many thanks to all those who joined us a week after the previous screening, and for all those who have attended throughout the year! We look forward to welcoming you all back to the BFI on Tuesday 11 February 2020, for the start of our 2020 Series.

Written by: Chris Musangi AIA

Call for Nominations for 2020 AIA UK Board of Directors

If you are interested in getting involved with the AIA UK Chapter, please consider nominating yourself for a position on the 2020 board of directors.

You are welcome to make nominations for the board of directors and the four officer positions. The officer positions are ideally held by US licensed architects, but we will accept foreign licensed architects for nominations as well.  

The only requirement for a board of director’s position is enthusiasm and a willingness to help with events and other chapter activities throughout the year.  Attendance at the monthly board meetings is required by teleconference or in person. For those living outside of London, funds are available to help with the cost of travel to board meetings.

If you would like to nominate yourself or find out more about the board, please contact Michael Lischer, FAIA at ml@sportconcepts.net

Nominations are due by 31st December.

Duties:

The "requirements" for AIA UK board membership are fairly relaxed. The AIA UK is run by volunteers and all of our events are organized by volunteers. Board members generally help with events and/or get involved in some aspect of chapter management. Positions include newsletter editor, continuing education coordinator, emerging professionals coordination, and events organization.  

We have a very active chapter and there are usually a couple of events each month that need to be organized. We have four "major" events each year that we organize. These are the Design Awards, Summer Gala, Student Design Charrette, and Keynote Speaker.

New board members would not be expected to run events on their own but to help out with various chapter activities and attend monthly board meetings.  

WORKFLOW: Parametric Design in Practice

On May 31st, 2019 the AIA UK hosted Workflow: Parametric Design in Practice at WilkinsonEyre Architects (WEA) The series of short lectures outlined WilkinsonEyre’s approach to using of parametric design in the pursuit and practical execution of their creative vision.

After short introductions by Matthew Heitel, Technical Lectures Coordinator for the AIA UK, and Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, Director at WEA, the lectures started off with Connor Worth, Associate at WEA, giving an overview of the company’s work relating to parametric design, specifically focusing on the “inhabited sculpture” of the One Barangaroo building in Sydney, Australia. His talk delved into the different typologies of panelization used to create the façade, and how building diagrams used to define and install the façade glass were generated for each design iteration using Grasshopper , visual programming plugin for Rhinoceros 3D. 

Next up was Kairo Baden-Powell, Architect at WEA, introducing the Lord’s Cricket Grounds redevelopment project. He outlined the different site restraints his team had to contend with, both historical and programmatic, explained part of the design process, and outlined the process the team used Grasshopper to calculate view and the design variations for the structure of the monocoque canopy vaulting the new Compton and Edrich stands.

Fabio Roberti, BIM Manager at WEA, gave an introduction to BIM and its implementation in the architectural design process, which segued into Alexandros Betzouanis, BIM Coordinator at WEA, discussing the interlinking of scripting and BIM. Bertzouanis started his talk by describing the Dynamo scripts he used to map view angles and obstacles at Lord’s Cricket Grounds by ray tracing. Afterward, he demonstrated how to visualize Revit view dependencies with the interactive interface Power BI . Bertzouanis finished his presentation with a panelization exercise where he took a free form shape produced in Rhino, then panelled the shape in Revit using Rhino Inside - the intermediary scripting to use Rhino natively within Revit that will come with Rhino 7.

Our final speaker was René Rammazzo, Associate at WEA, who exhibited how parametric tools were used in the design process, from sketch to final product, used in the fabrication of the of the branching marble tracery wrapping the podium of One Barangaroo.

Lively conversation, networking, drinks, and canapés closed out the night.

Please join us on November 21st from 6:30 to 9pm for our next technical lecture ‘Workflow: Automated Architecture’ hosted at AKT II, White Collar Factory, 1 Old Street Yard, London, EC1Y 8AF.

Written by: Matthew Heitel, Assoc. AIA 

UNFINISHED SPACES

As the darker Autumn evenings set in, our Autumn 2019 movie series kicked off with a documentary from sunny Havana. Titled ‘Unfinished Spaces,’ this is a documentary film about the revolutionary design of the National Art Schools (Cuba). The film tells the dramatic story of the art schools from their founding by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to their eventual abandonment and fall into ruin and recent efforts to restore them.

 The three visionary architects Ricardo Porro, Roberto Gottardi, and Vittorio Garatti are interviewed and talk about the intense atmosphere of revolutionary Cuba, and how they strove to create an entirely new language of architecture, one without precedent. They also speak about why their design fell into disfavour, and how the complex was mostly abandoned uncompleted.

As the film shows, parts of the schools are in ruins while other parts are used today by young dancers and artists. These schools are on the watch list of the World Monuments Fund, and efforts to restore the abandoned buildings are being explored.

The plight of the three architects resonated with those in attendance, with a lively discussion carrying on for a good half-hour after the screening. 

Many thanks to all those who attended this screening.

Written by: Chris Musangi AIA

The 25th Annual AIA UK Student Charrette - From Space to Place: Re-Imagining Station Court

Transforming the ROCA Gallery. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

On a blustery October morning, the ROCA London Gallery underwent its annual transformation from pristine sanitaryware showroom to buzzing design studio, littered with evidence of the creative chaos of the annual AIA UK Student charrette. Once again, the Zaha Hadid-designed space served as an inspirational backdrop for students, and its sinuous curves could be found subtly re-emerging in many of the teams' proposals.

Braving a London beset by protest marches, distracted by rugby matches and paralysed by public transport closures, this year's students were a persistent bunch. They were joined by last year's victorious Westminster team, whose victory encouraged many of their classmates to join the competition. They wasted little time in turning the Roca gallery into a vibrant creative hub on a chilly Saturday morning.  

Each team was assigned a mentor to assist and guide them throughout the day, and this year, we were pleased to welcome a number of RIBA chartered mentors, strengthening the bonds between the AIA and RIBA even as they prepared their teams for direct competition. The mentors helped their student teams navigate the competition brief and prepare imaginative proposals to transform Station Court, a little-used open space adjacent to the gallery, into a true place at the heart of the Imperial Wharf development. 

Teams approached the task creatively and with great flair, proposing new design districts, landscaped parks and inflatable pavilions that drew on Imperial Wharf's long industrial heritage, and sought to forge connections between the disconnected clusters of residential development surrounding the site.

Deliberating jurors; anxious competitors. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

This year's proposals were judged by a young and enthusiastic jury - Ali Abbas and Andrew Morris from Stanton Williams, Yasmin Khan Osborne from Rodic Davidson, and Amrita Raja, AIA UK President and Senior Associate at Woods Bagot. Despite the quick-fire format of the reviews, they were able to provide sensitive and helpful feedback to the students, with wide-ranging discussions touching on urban planning, community consultation and design, as well as presentation techniques and formats and the challenges and benefits of preparing hand-drawn presentations in a digital age. 

After a lively series of presentations, the jury retired to compare notes and determine which team would emerge victorious. To take the edge off the nerves, students and mentors passed the time in the showroom gallery, enjoying a drinks reception hosted by ROCA, and taking the time to peruse the fortuitously timed exhibition, 'Drawing Attention: The Digital Culture of Contemporary Architectural Drawing.' 

Faced with an array of creative proposals, the jury had a difficult time deciding on a winner. After much deliberation, Westminster once again emerged victorious, laying claim to another title for their school. The winning team's proposal, a series of pavilions distributed through an imaginatively planned landscape, impressed the judges for its consideration of existing use patterns, precise and thoughtful drawings, and varied design interventions. 

Runners up this year were also from Westminster, with a whimsical and convincingly presented proposal for a series of inflatable pavilions that drew inspiration from the site's history as a production centre for low-gravity gas for ballooning races. 

Although only one team could claim the title, the energy and creativity that fuelled the day was a testament to the enthusiasm of all the participants. Mentors from all teams were impressed by students' willingness to dive into the challenge and embrace the analogue format of the event. 

The AIA would like to extend our thanks to the jury for their engagement and insightful comments, and to the mentors Pierre Baillargeon, Stephen Lawler, Michelle Martin, Andrea Maugeri and Daniel Smith for donating their time and experience. Thank you also to David, Emma, Indra and the team at Roca Gallery London for their hard work throughout the day, and to ROCA and Laufen for their generous and continuing sponsorship. And of course, a huge thank you to all the students for their energy and enthusiasm, we hope you all had a great time and will encourage your classmates to join us again next year! 

The winning team, mentored by Andrea Maugeri RIBA BSc MArch ARB - Hafsa Syed / Nabiha Qadir /Maryam Daudi / Daniel Berende / Emanuele Volpe with jurors, event organiser and mentor. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

The runners up, mentored by Michelle Martin RIBA BA (Hons), MArch, ADPPA, AIA Int. ARB - Ella Reed / Alcina Lo / Aisha Nadim /Esther Calinawan / Maryam Islam with jurors, event organiser and mentor. Photo Credit: ©Agnese Sanvito

Written by: Nicholas Kehagias AIA

Report From the Courts

We bring you copies of this summer's Reports from the Courts, first published in Construction Law and written by Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth from AIA UK Corporate Partner, Beale & Co.

Construction Law, May 2019

This issue focuses on:

• a dispute involving failure to submit a payment or pay less notice; and

• a widely publicised domestic client case that highlights the importance of a written agreement, a clear brief and clear and accurate record-keeping.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, June 2019

This issue focuses on: 

• a decision that serves as a reminder that where new evidence becomes available or where some part of the claim has been left undecided in an earlier adjudication, it may be possible to adjudicate again in relation to the same issue; and

• another that provides some clarification on liquidated damages.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, July 2019

This issue focuses on:

• a rare example of a court refusing to enforce an adjudication due to fraud; and

• a decision that might result in an increase in collateral warranties being sought by house purchasers.

To read the full article, please click here.

Construction Law, August / September 2019

This issue focuses on:

• one decision that confirms that the courts will enforce time bars to adjudication under NEC contracts in circumstances where the Construction Act 1996 does not apply; and

• another that emphasises the importance of clarity as to what is being agreed in relation to selection of adjudicators.

To read the full article, please click here.

Written by: Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale & Co.