Pleased to announce a new, free and open-to-the-public, evening seminar series, “Space and Education”, from February until June at UCL Institute of Education (Russell Square).
Seminars are on Thursdays at 6-7.30pm beginning on 27 February (details below) and then 23 April (cancelled due to the ongoing situation with Coronavirus), 28 May and 25 June. All in Room 675 (6th Floor), UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL (Russell Square Tube).
Each seminar will have 2-3 speakers (in most cases a mix from practice, research, activism and other fields) exploring how a range of spatial issues – from planning, architecture, social infrastructure, play, classrooms – are entwined with education and schooling in particular. Talks will be short (15 mins each) and lead into small group discussions before a plenary Q&A.
Beyond the broad theme of “Space and Education”, the aim is to develop conversations and explore connections across the topics raised by the speakers and their different lines of work.
SEMINAR 1: Thursday 27 February Booking (via Eventbrite) here
Dinah Bornat (ZCD Architects)
Thinking small to think big. Why we need to start designing the child friendly city.
Dinah is an architect and urban designer working in East London. Architecture is a social act, we have a responsibility to design beautiful and appropriate buildings and places and we use our child friendly design expertise to do that. Our work influences policy and practice beyond what we do as we collaborate with others within and outside the profession.
Further reading: ZCD Architects (2019) Neighbourhood Design: Working with children towards a child friendly city [Open Access] and Publica and Erect Architecture (2020) Good Growth by Design: Making London Child-Friendly [Open Access].
Alan Latham (UCL Geography)
Social Infrastructure and Why it Matters
Alan is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, University College London. His research focuses on issues around sociality, mobility, and the public life of cities.
Further reading: Latham, Alan, and Jack Layton. ‘Social Infrastructure and the Public Life of Cities: Studying Urban Sociality and Public Spaces’. Geography Compass 13, no. 7 (2019). [Open Access]
Chanay Golding and Esther Atunrase (ICFree)
A talk about ICFree’s work
ICFree are a group of young black and brown south London kids fighting to end the criminalisation of Black and Brown youth in the Education and Criminal Justice system – their work is supported by the Advocacy Academy, see a short video here.
Booking for the February 27 Space and Education seminar is free and managed through Eventbrite, here.
SEMINAR 2: Thursday 23 April
Speakers and booking: 4 weeks beforehand.
SEMINAR 3: Thursday 28 May
Speakers and booking: 4 weeks beforehand.
SEMINAR 4: Thursday 25 June
Speakers and booking: 4 weeks beforehand.
Architecture and Education 