Archinect - News

More accusations of bullying at The Bartlett plague UCL ahead of leadership transition

2022-08-09T13:37:00-04:00

Weeks before its next Director steps into office, another faculty at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture has fallen into scandal after The Guardian recently leaked new accusations of bullying and harassment from within the School of Sustainable Construction.

A group of nine school faculty members was reportedly the signatories of the damning letter, which includes accusations of nepotism in addition to further complaints about the same kinds of harassment, age-based discrimination, racism, bullying of older staffers, and other tactics that have embroiled The Bartlett since last summer.

“We have seen our own academic careers and lives and those of our colleagues destroyed through bullying, harassment and other predatory practices and know that any effort to raise the issues of misconduct or fraudulent behaviour would lead to retaliation endangering our own careers and lives,” a portion of their statement reads.

Earlier on Archinect: UCL issues an apology and published report on the...

Staffing shortages lead to a suspension of summer school activities at the Bartlett

2022-06-30T12:10:00-04:00

Weeks after issuing a public apology related to an independent investigation into decades of misconduct by its faculty and staff, the Bartlett School of Architecture has announced the cancellation of its summer school program owing to last-minute staffing shortages.

The Architects’ Journal is reporting the decision to halt instruction for certain summer classes as it grapples with the fallout of the investigation, which this month led to the suspension of several individuals named in the investigation. UCL had promised more actions would quickly follow at the time.

A five-day course for students aged 16–18 was supposedly called off as full refunds have been issued to the students who enrolled prior to the July 4th start date. HomeGrown Plus, a nonprofit aimed at increasing diversity in the field of architecture, said it was disappointed by the news, which meant that its 10-student opportunity program would also have to be canceled.

Previously: Former students complain of racism and ...

The Bartlett names Amy Kulper as its next Director

2022-03-30T12:27:00-04:00

A new face will lead one of the UK’s most prestigious design institutions after the announcement that RISD professor Amy Kulper will be the next Director of University College London’s The Bartlett School of Architecture.

Kulper is presently the head of the Architecture department at RISD and has held numerous teaching positions throughout her career including recent stops at UCLA, SCI-Arc, and the University of Cambridge.

Kulper's extensive writing and research primarily focuses on the intersection of history, theory, and design. Her work as an academic has earned her the University of Michigan’s Donna M. Salzer Award for teaching excellence and recently included the oversight of the newly-created combined 4+2 program between Brown and RISD.

Earlier on Archinect: The Bartlett launches new diversity-focused scholarship program

As a critic and curator, she has been published several times in Log, The Architectural Review, Candide, and Architecture and Culture. Her exhibitions have be...

Former students complain of racism and sexism at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture

2021-06-02T11:47:00-04:00

21 former students of UCL (University College London) have voiced complaints over alleged sexism and racism at the Bartlett School of Architecture. The complaints, first reported by The Guardian, stretch back over a decade. The ex-students' complaints include inappropriate comments on race and appearance, which they describe as “systemic” within the school.

The stories of the 21 ex-students were compiled into a dossier by former student Eleni Kyriacou and shared with the Guardian, who subsequently spoke to several recent graduates. Stories told by the graduates include one who said staff were “damaging primarily female students.” The graduate, of south Asian descent, claims that a staff member told a fellow student he could not tell that the graduate was “brown” as “she acted and spoke like a white person.”

Previously on Archinect: NOMA leadership echoes the need to 'fight all systems of bias, oppression, and prejudice' following the guilty verdict in the Chauvin trial

Another st...

The Bartlett launches new diversity-focused scholarship program

2019-11-13T18:45:00-05:00

The University College of London Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment is launching a new scholarship program aimed at helping the institution diversify its student body. The scholarship fund will bring £1.2 million in funding per year to help bring students from under-represented communities to the school.

Describing the thinking behind the creation of the scholarship programs, Faculty dean Christoph Lindner told Building Design that there are "young people out there whose experience and perspective we desperately need, who never think of applying to the Bartlett because they’ve never met an architect or a planner, a computer scientist or an engineer."

According to Building Design, the funds will initially be open to students applying to the Bartlett's nine degree undergraduate tracks, four of which are housed within the school of architecture there. Those degree tracks include the Architecture MSci, Architecture BSc, Architectural & Interdisciplinary Studies BSc, and Engineer...

New Bartlett focus views “safety as a fundamental starting point, not as a late fix”

2019-10-29T12:01:00-04:00

A new specialization in fire safety design is being launched by the University College London (UCL) and The Bartlett in the wake of the disasterous Grenfell tower fire that took place in 2017.

Bartlett director Bob Sheil told The Architect’s Journal, “What we are really proposing here is a paradigm shift and [to] think about safety in the early stages of design propositions as a positive contributor to good design.”

The course, to be offered to both part- and full-time students, is set to explore the design of fire escape routes, fire separation packages, and fire suppression systems with a keen focus on tricky fire design-challenged typologies like tall residential structures and large assembly spaces.

Sheil added, “One of the things we have come to realise is there is a huge amount of research and development and education that can go into understanding building design through safety as a fundamental starting point, not as a late fix.”

Fire safety engineering and design special...

The Architecture Beyond Sight program at the Bartlett brings design opportunities to the visually impaired

2019-09-05T12:30:00-04:00

This summer, several architecture institutions provided workshops and summer intensives for prospective students and adults looking to immerse themselves in an architecture and design environment. The Bartlett School of Architecture's Architecture Beyond Sight program provides an excellent opportunity for designers to allow inclusivity to exist at the forefront during the design process.

Initiated by Bartlett's faculty of the Built Environment dean Alan Penn in collaboration with architect and researcher Carlos Mourão Pereira, the program challenges the conventional approach of designing with sight.

Artist Rachel Gadsden with Judit Pusztaszeri. Image courtesy of Proffessor Alan Penn via disordinaryarchtiecture.com

Architecture Beyond Sight is an engaging summer workshop that challenges "architecture's obsession with visual fixation" Dean Penn shares on the Bartlett school site. During week-long workshop participants are presented with an "alternative to architecture's visual bias, b...

Bartlett voted best UK architecture school for 15th year by Architects' Journal

2018-06-07T16:10:00-04:00

The Bartlett has been named as the architecture school of choice by AJ100 practices for the 15th successive year. University College London’s architecture faculty came out top when the UK’s largest practices were asked their favourite school as part of the AJ’s annual poll. This comes despite the Bartlett slipping to fourth in the Guardian’s league table, behind Sheffield, Cambridge and Bath.

Over a fifth of AJ100 practices chose UCL's Bartlett with Bath close behind and no other establishment receiving more than 5% of the votes. The Bartlett was also ranked as the 2nd best architecture school by the higher education network QS.

The AJ100 top five architecture schools:

1. The Bartlett, University College London
2. University of Bath
3. Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art
4. University of Nottingham
5. University of Sheffield

This week's picks for London architecture and design events

2017-02-06T14:18:00-05:00

This week, the focus is on the people we design for, in both a literal and figurative context; from a talk explicitly on the relationship between architect and the public, to the consideration of the concept of 'home'. Inhabitants and the public have certainly been a key focus for designers in recent years, and with the internet facilitating increasing feedback and conversation on projects, it is interesting to see this take centre stage through exhibitions and talks.

Check back regularly to keep up to date with London's latest happenings and our weekly recommendations!

Architecture and Citizenship: Who are we designing for? | 13 February

Image: Museum of Architecture

The Museum of Architecture continues it's theme of looking at not only what we design, but who we design for, in this talk about the relationships between architects and the public. Considering both the scale of the public users for any given project, the discussion will explore individual, family, community, city, region...

Get Lectured: The Bartlett, Fall '15

2015-10-21T12:58:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is ready for another school year. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

The next featured poster comes from The Bartlett School of Architecture at the University College London.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Listed below are upcoming events. Lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Chemistry Auditorium, Christopher Ingold Building at UCL: 20 Gordon St, London. Free and open to the public.

Oct 28
Asif Khan

Nov 4
Peg Rawes

Nov 11
Fabrizio Barozzi + Alberto Veiga / Barozzi Veiga

Nov 18
James Corner / James Corner Field Operations

Nov 25
Adam Greenfield

Dec 2
Sheila O'Donnell + John Tuomey / O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects

Dec 9
Endo Shuhei / Endo Shuhei Architect In...

Bartlett students collaborate with mobile urban garden project in London

2015-07-24T12:51:00-04:00

Kings Cross, a northern-London borough with an industrial history, has been undergoing massive redevelopment efforts since the turn of the millennium. Since then, the area has been referred to as an ongoing construction site, as a university, schools, affordable housing, and a public swimming facility have cropped up. And on July 22nd, undergraduate students at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture unveiled seven structures built into a new public garden in the area.

The structures were built in collaboration with an urban community garden project called Skip Gardens – referring to the “skips” or “dumpsters” (as they’re known in the US) where the flora was planted, making the Gardens mobile. Now, the students’ projects have been installed in the midst of Skip Gardens, and are open to the public, offering new facilities for educational vents, cooking, farming and dining.

The structures are varied, but often feature reclaimed materials. There’s a chicken coop made from bamboo, a hydro...

What's trending at architecture student shows this summer?

2015-07-06T19:00:00-04:00

At best, the work in the student shows is committed, hard-worked, brave, skilled, thoughtful and/or imaginative. At worst, the exhibitions offer bad sci-fi, lazy politics (“Let’s all hate America”) and cod poetry. There are cliches that have been going round the schools for decades, such as the idea that the student’s work is a quasi-science (a “surgical operation”, a “laboratory”). Certain buzzwords float around (there’s a lot of “liminal”).

Architecture critic Rowan Moore goes on to ask: "At root is the central question of architectural education: is it about preparing students for the realities of practice or is it about taking a freedom they will never have again, to dream and speculate?"

This has been discussed on Archinect before, but what's your personal take in light of the latest student shows architecture schools around the world presented to the public this summer? Any highlights everybody still HAS to go and see? What disappointed you?

Get Lectured: The Bartlett, Spring '15

2015-01-07T13:55:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter-Spring 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session! Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

The next featured poster comes from The Bartlett School of Architecture at the University College London with their International Lecture Series.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Lectures begin at 6:30 pm at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, Rm. G02: 140 Hampstead Road, NW1 2BX, London. Free and open to the public. Some lectures may be ticketed.

JANUARY

Jan 14
Arthur Ganson

Jan 21
Steven Pippin

Jan 28
Adam Lowe / Factum Arte

FEBRUARY

Feb 4
Vo Trong Nghia / Vo Trong Nghia Architects

Feb 11
Frédéric Migayrou / The Bartlett, Pompidou Centre

Feb 18
Adrian Lahoud / The Bartlett

Feb 24
Crist...

Get Lectured: The Bartlett, Fall '14

2014-10-21T13:32:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2014

Say hello to another edition of Archinect's Get Lectured! As a refresher, we'll be featuring a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Our featured poster for today comes from The Bartlett School of Architecture at the University College London with their International Lecture Series.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Below are upcoming lectures only. Lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Darwin Lecture Theatre, Darwin Building, UCL. Free and open to the public. Some lectures may be ticketed.

OCTOBER

Oct. 22
Raj Rewal / Raj Rewal Associates

Oct. 27
Neil Denari / NMDA

Oct. 29
Greyshed + Scanlab

NOVEMBER

Nov. 5
Emmanuel Petit / The Bartlett

Nov. 12
Benedetta Tagliabue / EMBT

Nov. 19
Tatiana Bilbao

Nov. 26
Lucy Mcrae

Dec. 3
John ...

Reimagining Planning in the Urban Global South

2014-08-05T18:37:00-04:00

I asked myself the question: so what struck me about the process of thinking across boundaries and reimagining planning in the issues that we have been discussing in our celebration of DPU [The Bartlett Development Planning Unit]’s 60th anniversary in this conference. At the risk of simplifying a complex and dynamic set of discussions, I want to make six points.

The Bartlett exhibiting award-winning “Innovation in Technology” projects now until Jan. 31

2014-01-23T21:13:00-05:00

To any of our readers in the London area, you can still get a chance to stop by The Bartlett's Innovation in Technology Prizewinners' Exhibition at The Lobby Gallery now until next Friday, Jan. 31. The event is free and open to the public! The exhibition highlights five award-winning projects all by students in The Bartlett's BSc and MArch Architecture programs.

Here's a glimpse of the projects if you can't check out the exhibition in person:

Pictured above: Superimposed Landscapes – Fragments of misperception by Andrew Walker, MArch Architecture Year 4, 2013, Unit 14.

MAMM Pavilion, Medellín, Colombia, 2013
By Unit 22, MArch Architecture, Years 4 & 5

3D Lenticular Façade, 2014
By Matthew Lyall, BSc Architecture, completed 2013, Unit 1

PEMY (Pre‐Ecopoiesis Mars Yard), 2013
By Sonila Kadillari, MArch Architecture, completed 2013, Unit 11

The Reward System, 2014
By Yoonjin Kim, BSc Architecture, completed 2013, Unit 0

You can learn more about the exhibition on Bustler.

Images courtesy of The Bartlett School of Architecture.

Get Lectured: The Bartlett, Spring '14

2014-01-15T12:34:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2014

Archinect's Get Lectured is up and running again for the Winter/Spring '14 term! As a refresher from our Fall 2013 guide, every week we'll feature a school's lecture series — and their snazzy posters — for the current season. Be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Today's featured poster is from The Bartlett School of Architecture / University College London.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Unless noted otherwise, lectures will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Christopher Ingold Auditorium - UCL Chemistry Building: 20 Gordon St, London WC1H 0AJ

Can't be there in person? Lectures will also be archived on the Bartlett Vimeo page.

JANUARY

Jan 15
Usman Haque / Umbrellium

Jan 22
Kees Christiaanse / KCAP

Jan 29
Felipe Mesa / plan:b

FEBRUARY

Feb 5
Manuel Herz / Manuel Herz Archite...

The Bartlett wins ALL three top honors at 2013 RIBA President’s Medals student awards

2013-12-04T20:58:00-05:00

London's The Bartlett School of Architecture scored big times at today's presentation of the 2013 RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards taking home all of the three top prizes. [...] Dating back to 1836, the prestigious President's Medals are awarded annually to students nominated by schools of architecture worldwide.

The project "Kizhi Island" by Ben Hayes received the RIBA Silver Medal for this year's best post-graduate design work. Ness Lafoy was awarded the Bronze Medal for the best undergraduate design project with the project "Helsinki Archipelago Town Hall". The Dissertation Medal went to Tamsin Hanke's research project "Magnitogorsk: Utopian Vision Of Spatial Socialism".

Get Lectured: Bartlett Fall '13

2013-11-18T17:30:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2013

Here on Archinect we recently launched "Get Lectured", where we'll feature a school's lecture series--along with their snazzy posters--for the current season. UPDATE: We've begun adding international schools!

Although the Fall '13 term will wrap up soon for many schools, we'll still post some select posters and lecture series worth checking out.

Today's featured poster is from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London with their International Lecture Series. You can also check out Bartlett's Vimeo page to watch any of the lectures from this season online.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Below are upcoming lectures only. Lectures begin at 6.30 p.m. at the Christopher Ingold Auditorium - UCL Chemistry Building: 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ

NOVEMBER

November 20
Ross Lovegrove

November 27
Marie-Ange Brayer

DECEMBER...

An Architectural Time Machine

2012-06-01T19:12:00-04:00

An architectural Time Machine by architect Heechan Park explores how to create an architectural time-based event. As the machines blow vapour rings that double as ephemeral scent zones, the public not only experiences a visual performance of smoke vortices travelling through space, but they also perceive scents that are temporally spatialised and visualised.