REGISTER - DKCM - DAVID KNIGHT AND CRISTINA MONTEIRO
In this episode Andrew Clancy speaks with David Knight and Cristina Monteiro of DK-CM architects. Their practice is one concerned with the public in many forms. Often their clients are public bodies, their work is very much for the public, and they often seek to incorporate these public voices into their design processes. In many ways they carry a tradition here with a long lineage in architecture - of architectures role in ameliorating, improving and adjusting - as a part of politics and of society more generally. They do not have a naive view of the positivist political possibilities of architecture, but rather see its political and social relations as a fundamental constituent. In their own words "We are interested in an architecture that is an active participant in the actions, movements and conversations that form society.” So their work has a beautiful capacity to be read in high and low terms. It is engaging playful and rigorously resolved. It is participatory in its gestation and draws its ideas from a deep understanding of history. It is frugal in its specification and robust and joyful in its making. They write, design buildings and public spaces and research. So their research will range from the value of the pub as a social infrastructure to cheat guides to permitted development to allow people modify their own places in confidence. Their website is a great respository of all of this, and is well worth some time - to engage with their essays and see their projects. All are welcome, so bring up a beer from the bar and see you in the atrium. http://dk-cm.com/
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Credits:
Register is the Research Group in the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London www.kingstonarchitecture.london
Head of Department: Heba ElSharkawy
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Andrew Clancy
Editor: Andrew Clancy
Music: Poddington Bear - Rainbow Architecture
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1:04:26
REGISTER - JONATHAN SERGISON (SERGISON BATES)
In this episode Andrew Clancy speaks with Professor Jonathan Sergison about his work as a writer, an educator, and architect.
Jonathan established Sergison Bates Architects together with Stephen Bates in the mid-1990's, and the practice quickly gained a reputation for the manner with which it could find meaning in the actualities of contemporary construction, and in the care with which they read and articulated contextual readings of place. These sensibilities were already evident in a series of essays written by Jonathan and Stephen before the establishment of the practice, and this culture of writing continues with the collected essays released periodically in volumes entitled 'Papers'. The practice has garnered significant national and international acclaim - including the Schelling medal and the Tessenow Medal.
In 2008 Jonathan was appointed as a Professor in the Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio, a post he continues to hold. He moved to Switzerland in 2012, and no directs the Zurich office of Sergison Bates. Teaching is essential to Jonathans practice, and the work of his studio in Mendrisio concentrates on continuities in urban culture, each semester focussing on a different city.
Link to Teaching Studio: https://www.sergison.arc.usi.ch
Link to Practice: https://sergisonbates.com/en
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Credits:
Register is the Research Group in the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London www.kingstonarchitecture.london
Head of Department: Heba ElSharkawy
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Andrew Clancy
Editor: Andrew Clancy
Music: Poddington Bear - Rainbow Architecture
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1:00:58
REGISTER - STEPHANIE MACDONALD - (6A Architects)
In this episode Andrew Clancy speaks with Stephanie MacDonald
Staphanie is a founding partner, with Tom Emerson, of the London based practice 6a. Their practice works from a deep reading of the sites they work on - a process that incorporates ecology, people and place as ways to build a narrative that guides the projects formation. The work has been published extensively including monographs from A+U and ElCroquis, and numerous awards including the Schelling Medal.
In this rare conversation with Steph we talk about her route to architecture, the people who shaped her journey and how she practices now. What comes across recurrently is that there is no one route to the subject, and education is a not a system, but a form of becomming fueled by curiosity and care.
https://www.6a.co.uk
At the outset we mention the Drawing Matter Summer School - which is a free week long course for students 15-16 to experience a taste of an architecture education prior to making a decision to study it.
More here https://drawingmatter.org/events/drawing-matter/summer-school-2024/
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Credits:
Register is the Research Group in the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London www.kingstonarchitecture.london
Head of Department: Heba ElSharkawy
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Andrew Clancy
Editor: Andrew Clancy
Music: Poddington Bear - Rainbow Architecture
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1:25:26
REGISTER - KERSTEN GEERS (OFFICE KGDVS)
In this conversation Andrew Clancy speaks with the Belgian architect Kersten Geers.
Kersten was educated at the University of Ghent and in ETSA Madrid, before setting up his practice (Office KGDVS) with his friend David Van Severen in 2002. This practice has from the start had a very clear position, with each project presenting itself as a typological study in a way - refined to an essential reading. Building its innovations from a close reading of history particular attention is paid to plan and form to allow each project possess a singular character. This work is intertwined with teaching and research as an essential part of the practice - which includes making publications on numerous architects from the point of view of the practice - including James Stirling, Aldo and Hanna Van Eyck, and Giancarlo di Carlo.
Kersten is full Professor at the Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio, and both he and David are visiting Professors at Harvard GSD.
https://officekgdvs.com
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Credits:
Register is the Research Group in the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London www.kingstonarchitecture.london
Head of Department: Heba ElSharkawy
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Andrew Clancy
Editor: Andrew Clancy
Music: Poddington Bear - Rainbow Architecture
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53:07
REGISTER - ANNA MINTON
In this episode Andrew Clancy speaks with Dr Anna Minton.
Anna investigates and writes about the politics shaping our cities. In particular she tracks how certain forms of global capital are increasingly informing more and more of what makes their fabric. Streets, squares and housing are now frequently being shaped by pressures that have little consideration of the needs of the vast majority of their citizens. Her two books 'Ground Control' and 'Big Capital' are essential reading (click on the link to her website below to buy copies). She lucidly makes visible the impact of policies, regulation and disinterest on the populations of cities, and calls for an engagement with politics to seek a reaffirmation of the states role in building social housing, among other measures, as a vital part of the social contract.
Her new book, forthcoming in 2026 will take an even more ambitious frame - encompassing cities across the world.
https://www.annaminton.com
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Credits:
Register is the Research Group in the Department of Architecture & Landscape at the Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London www.kingstonarchitecture.london
Head of Department: Heba ElSharkawy
Producer: Laura Evans / Andrew Clancy
Interviewer: Andrew Clancy
Editor: Andrew Clancy
Music: Poddington Bear - Rainbow Architecture
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