School of Architecture hosts international research symposium in Venice
VUW School of Architecture staff Jules Moloney, Simon Twose, Jan Smitheram and Natasha Perkins conceived and delivered an international symposium on architectural design research, as part of the 2014 Venice Architectural Biennale held on the 20th-21st of November.
VUW School of Architecture staff Jules Moloney, Simon Twose, Jan Smitheram and Natasha Perkins conceived and delivered an international symposium on architectural design research, as part of the 2014 Venice Architectural Biennale held on the 20th-21st of November.
The symposium was produced in association with the New Zealand entry to the Biennale and attracted leading researchers from around the world. The focus was on research undertaken through the medium of design, which as Professor Moloney articulates is a mode of activity in which VUW is well placed to contribute.
“Design as the primary vehicle for research innovation in architecture has entered a confident and mature stage around the globe. For the last three years the VUW School of Architecture has developed a significant contribution to this agenda, based on the interdisciplinary context of the large Master’s thesis programmes. The hosting of a research symposium at the Venice Biennale benchmarks the school alongside leading international institutions, reflecting extremely well on VUW academics and post graduate students who are producing world class architectural design research.”
The symposium was delivered in an intense format of six keynote addresses, interweaved with ‘PechaKucha’ format presentations from twenty four researchers. These set the scene for round table sessions, curated to extend understanding of what underpins current architectural design research - why it is of value and what are the ways, means and tactics that progress it.
Three round table sessions - What matters? Who cares? How? – operated throughout the day, with the session chairs reconvening in a final session to conclude the symposium. The round table sessions will be transcribed and edited, extending the symposium proceedings into a research book to be produced in 2014 by a leading international publisher.
For more information on the symposium view architectural research through design.
Contact Professor Jules Moloney jules.moloney@vuw.ac.nz