Tuesday 12 June 2012 6-7.30pm
Main Lecture Theatre 

Charles Holland is an architect, writer and teacher and is a director of London-based architectural practice FAT (Fashion, Architecture, Taste) which he runs with Sean Griffiths and Sam Jacob. The Office made its name with satirical installations, artistic objects and pop-collage interiors and has more recently been involved in regeneration projects such as New Islington, Liverpool One and Middlehaven. Operating from the premise that architecture is a form of communication and that it should speak the language of its users, FAT (http://fashionarchitecturetaste.com/) has developed a reputation for making buildings that are memorable, engaging, and responsive to contemporary culture. FAT works across the boundaries of architecture, urban design, interior/exhibition and design/art engaging in cultural practices outside of architecture to inform spatial experience.

‘…we’re interested in talking about architecture as a cultural activity. Our work, quite unusually for a British architectural practice, is ideas based; its starting point is conceptual and theoretical rather than essentially pragmatic.’ Charles Holland.

 This presentation and discussion of FAT’s work by Charles Holland is part of a series of events organised by the Spatial & Surface Programme Group as a platform for the discussion of future developments in the field. Key thinkers and practitioners working across boundaries and at the cutting edge of their disciplines have been invited to present their work at LCC.

Thursday 24 May 2012 6-7.30pm
Main Lecture Theatre 

The term ‘design activism’ has emerged in recent years to denote a range of creative practices that have political, environmental or social objectives. Many of the techniques and approaches that are used draw from mainstream thinking in design. However, design activism also opens these out in novel ways. This lecture reviews a number of design activist projects to demonstrate how this works. Additionally, it considers the public interface with design activism and some challenges in communicating its processes and aims.
 
Guy Julier is the University of Brighton Principal Research Fellow in Contemporary Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Previously he was Professor of Design at Leeds Metropolitan University where he led its design research and consultancy unit, specialising in social and sustainable design. He is author of several books including The Culture of Design and,with Liz Moor, co-editor of Design and Creativity: Policy, Management and Practice. In design activism he has directed a number of events including the Leeds Festival of Design Activism and the Barcelona ‘Design Activism and Social Change’ conference.

This talk is part of a series of events organised by the Spatial & Surface Programme Group as a platform for the discussion of future developments in the field. Key thinkers and practitioners working across boundaries and at the cutting edge of their disciplines have been invited to present their work at LCC.