SCOTT BURNHAM » architecture

Upcoming Talk: Interactive Architecture

scottburnham — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:02:55 +0000

Mader Stublic Wiermann lighting display, Uniqa tower, Vienna. Image from cityofsound.com

On Thursday 24 June 2010 I will be giving a talk at the Interactive Architecture 2010 conference, as part of the London Festival of Architecture.

Featuring an impressive lineup of speakers ranging from Duncan Wilson of Arup Foresight to Usman Haque of Haque Design and Research, and chaired by Fiddian Warman of Soda Creative, the conference will be: “A forum for the building design community to gather and share ideas and experiences around exploiting new technologies to enable the built environment to dynamically respond to people in or around it.” Here is an overview of the conference themes and speakers:

Sensory: Sound and light
- Michael Spencer of Sound Strategies
- Usman Haque of Haque Design and Research
- UVA
Metaphysical: Materials and structures
- Armand Terrulli of Vector Foiltec
- Duncan Wilson of Arup Foresight and
- Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino of TinkerLondon
Art and Play: Community and interaction
- Ghislaine Boddington of B>D>S
- Matt Adams of Blast Theory
- Eva Rucki of Troika
- Scott Burnham of Urban Play
Experiential architecture
- Alex Haw of Atmos
- Andrew Whiting of Hut

For more information and to get tickets for the event, please go here.

For an excellent overview and image resource of Interactive Architecture in general, interactivearchitecture.org is a great starting point. Another excellent angle on expressive, performative and responsive facades and architecture, this article by the prolific and inspiring Dan Hill of cityofsound.com is well worth a visit.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In Discussion with Jaime Lerner

scottburnham — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:34:23 +0000

For most people with even a passing interest in innovative urban problem-solving, the words Jaime Lerner and Curitiba, Brazil will hold special reverence. Lerner is the urban planner and three-times mayor of Curitiba who transformed the once traffic-congested, economically and environmentally challenged city into one of the world’s most livable urban spaces. This Wednesday at the British Film Institute, London, a documentary exploring his innovative approaches for “transforming problems into solutions” in the city will be shown, and following the screening I will be joining Jaime Lerner on stage to discuss his approach and visionary techniques.

The talk will be hosted by Peter Jenkinson OBE, an exceptional individual himself for his work with creative solutions in the face of limited resources. For those of you in London Wednesday 4 November, please come join us at the BFI for this exceptional opportunity. More information on the evening can be found here. For those unable to attend, please watch the trailer above and go see the film as soon as you can. It is a game-changer for urban strategies.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Chicago’s window into open design

scottburnham — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:48:19 +0000

I’m in Chicago as a guest lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and loving it. As many of you know, Chicago is an architectural feast, and being able to combine business and architectural sight seeing in such a city is a treat. I am of course biased, as a great number of Chicago’s landmark buildings and urban plans were designed by Daniel Burnham, but namesakes aside, it has been an honour to be part of this city even for a brief period of time.

One of the buildings that has really stood out for me is the iconic Marina City, designed by Bertrand Goldberg. Film buffs may remember the building as the site of the classic scene in the Steven McQueen film The Hunter, in which a car chase comes to an unexpected end as the car careens off the 10th floor of the underlying parking garage. This feet was repeated for an Allstate insurance add several years ago, so if anyone has a desire to launch a car out of a building in the downtown of a major city, this is your place.

The reason it stands out for me however, is the framework it provides for the residents to have a hand in the external design of the building. An unintentional aspect of the architecture perhaps, but as the top image shows, it is wonderful to be able to view the building from a distance and be able to read the colours, the collaborative spirit as lines of lights stretch across several units, and the chosen colours of those living inside. And it’s not even Christmas. As always, I find these moments to be examples of the potential which exists for people to have a more direct role in the external visuals of their buildings.

I’ll miss this city, and my lofty view of the Tribune building and plaza, but my talk in Riga awaits, and I am in hopes of more architectural treats there.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.