Post-Industrial
Transformations
Sharing knowledge and identifying opportunities
Tuesday November 22 & Wednesday 23, 2011, 9.30am-6pm
Crit and Exhibition rooms, The Welsh School of Architecture,
Bute Building King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF11 7LH
A two day architectural symposium held by the Welsh School of
Architecture and Illinois Institute of Technology, The University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and
Carnegie-Mellon University.
The event is free but please RSVP to Katrina Lewis at Lewisk2@cardiff.ac.uk.
The Heads of the Valleys in south Wales have been described as 'the most
intractable development region in the UK'. Developed for mining and steel,
these areas suffer from high unemployment, ill health, poor housing, polluted
landscapes, and economic and cultural degeneration, yet possess beautiful
landscapes and a rich and unique cultural history. Post-industrial urban areas<
near and within Chicago and Pittsburgh are, meanwhile, tackling depopulation,
dereliction and the physical erosion and abandonment of the urban environment,
pollution, low employment, poor housing quality, and outdated modes of energy
supply, transport, and building materials. How can these nineteenth century
industrial urban areas and landscapes be transformed to meet post-industrial
21st century expectations of sustainable and healthy living, in an innovative and
efficient way which retains the distinctive character of these regions?
This two day architectural symposium, funded by British Council, brings together
architects, historians, urban planners, researchers and students to discuss and
compare post-industrial conditions and innovative responses in post-industrial
rural and urban Wales and the USA.
Day 1
Post Industrial transformations
Tuesday 22nd November
9:30 Welcome and coffee / 9.45 Introduction
Session 1: Post Industrial Cities
10:00 Keynote 1 : Martin Kläschen, Illinois Institute of Technology:
Changing Parameters of the Tough City
11:00 Cristian Suau, WSA:
The 'Grand Paysage': Transformations between Memory and Invention
11.30 Break
Session 2: Post Industrial Low Carbon
12:00 Yangang Xing, WSA
Sustainable Living in Post-Carbon Societies from a Historical Perspective
12:20 Malcolm Eames, Low Carbon Research Institute Past and Prospective Energy Transitions - Exploring the case of Wales
12:40 Nick Hacking, Low Carbon Research Institute A Regional Transition to Hydrogen Energy? Finding a Pathway to Future Hydrogen Infrastructure in South Wales
13:00 Lunch (provided for speakers)
Session 3: Reclaiming Post Industrial Landscapes
14:00 Keynote 2: John Folan, Carnegie Mellon University Permanence: Determined by Residence(ts) (via Skype)
15:00 Marga Munar Bauza, WSA The Parks of the Forgotten Land
15:30 Break
Session 4 : Materials in a Post Industrial Context
16:00 Kathryn Wilkinson, WSA Iron in the Landscape and Iron in the Soul
16:30 Keynote 3 : Kevin Harrington, Illinois Institute of technology Chicago– Material Transformation
17:30 Drinks / Three short films by 'Anticipatory Field' 2011 BSc Vertical Studio
Day 2
Transforming the valleys
Wednesday 23rd November
Valleys Sessions:
Students from the Masters in Architecture have been conducting a comprehensive exercise in mapping, analysing and re-visioning the heads of the valleys region. They will present and discuss the results of their deliberations from the perspectives of:
Theme 1: Economy, Settlement and Territory
Theme 2: Social History, Culture, Heritage
Theme 3: Nature, Infrastructure, Health and Welfare
09:30 Welcome and coffee / 9.45 Project Introduction
10:00 Keynote 4: Frances Whitehead, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Slow Cleanup: (Post Normal) Cultural Heritage
11:00 MArch, WSA
Valleys Theme 1: Economy, Settlement and Territory
12:00 MArch, WSA
Valleys Theme 2: Social History, Culture, Heritage
13:00 Lunch (provided for staff and speakers)
14:00 Simon Lannon, WSA
Low Carbon Technologies at an Urban/Regional Scale
14:30 Keynote 5: William Worn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Post-Industrial Transformation and the Obesogenic City
15:30 Break
16:00 MArch, WSA
Valleys Theme 3: Nature, Infrastructure, Health and Welfare
17:00 Open session discussion with all keynotes
17:30 End
Click here to view pdf of abstracts and bios
In May 2011, Year 1 and 2 WSA students and US visiting students in the 'Anticipatory Field' Vertical Studio completed three short essay-films, 'Roots', 'Pilgrimage' and 'Path-Void', comparing, contrasting and commenting on the post-industrial sites of the Cwmystwyth lead mines and Ebbw Vale, following site visits funded by British Council. To view the films, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/AnticipatoryField
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