British Council - Cityscapers

The British Council and Porosity Studio (College of Fine Arts, UNSW) in collaboration with the University of Cardiff and the University of Glamorgan.

From March 27 - April 9 2009 more than sixty outstanding designers, planners, artists, architects and engineers from Australia, Japan, China, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Korea and Wales will work on a live design brief in an intensive two week studio in Cardiff. This is a partnership between the British Council and Professor Richard Goodwin’s Porosity Studio (College of Fine Arts UNSW) in collaboration with the University of Cardiff,and the University of Glamorgan, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Project description

The British Council and the Porosity Studio, College of Fine Arts, UNSW directed by Professor Richard Goodwin, will hold an international studio for students and practitioners from the visual arts, architecture, urban planning, design, and engineering in Cardiff, in collaboration with the University of Cardiff, School of City and Regional Planning/School of Architecture and the University of Glamorgan, Centre for Creative and Cultural Industries. This is the second Cityscapers studio in a series of three held in the UK and the first to include engineers. The previous Cityscapers studio was held at the University of Edinburgh in March 2008. Porosity studios have been held in Beijing at The Central Academy of Fine Art, Rotterdam at The Willem De Kooning Institute, Den Haag at Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, and Milan at the Milan Politecnico. This studio aims to build on their success in collaboration with the University of Cardiff, School of City and Regional Planning / School of Architecture, the University of Glamorgan, Centre for Creative and Cultural Industries and the British Council. This studio is generously supported by the International Relations Programme of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Project concept

The concept behind this multi-disciplinary design studio is to juxtapose a suite of strategies and visions for Cardiff as a city thinking as far ahead as the year 2020. In particular, the studio seeks new answers to fragments of Cardiff’s future, both in terms of physical and social construction. The central focus for this studio is small cities/big neighbourhoods. Talk about cities usually focuses on our larger metroplises as their problems remain so vast. However as cities around the world merge and spread with explosions of the suburban, solutions need to be sought which address the old island-like centres with their rich cultures and the rural landscapes they are progressively consuming. Smaller cities generally are growing faster than larger ones across Europe and are having to think carefully about appropriate urban forms, housing types, neighbourhood facilities, transport systems, green space and, of course, jobs.

Cardiff is the perfect model for this type of city. This studio will bring a diverse range of experience in relation to the urban and suburban condition. ’Neighbourhood’ itself is a loaded term that means many different things to different societies, cultures and people and we will explore these different meanings and physical forms. But most societies accept that a mix of people, uses, facilities, opportunities, a sense of identity and a degree of self-sufficiency are necessary characteristics of a good place to live.

The subtext of these discussions is the spectre of 2020. The studio is attempting to create solutions, at the scale of the small city, to many problems including those of climate, sea level fluctuations, displacement, energy and conflict. These solutions will address survival physically, socially and psychologically. Initially we will focus on Cardiff Bay, the southern part of the City of Cardiff, balancing this will be a discussion about the territory to the north of the city which reconciles Cardiff with the rural environment.

Ultimately it will be the choice of individual students and collaborative groups to choose both the scale and location of their enquiry.

Student Scholarship Opportunities

The British Council is offering scholarships for this studio, giving 2 engineering students from Australia the opportunity to have travel, daily expenses and accommodation supported.

Students can be undergraduate or postgraduate students.

Applications

Application details for the 2009 studio have now opened. In Australia, we are holding an open competitive process.

Download application form [PDF][Word]

Completed applications should be sent to enquiries@britishcouncil.org.au.

Whilst the closing date for Australian applications is January 30 2009, the closing date for engineering students has been extended to February 13th 2009. Interviews will be held in mid-February. The studio will take place March 27 - April 9 2009.

Further information

For general enquiries contact the East Asia Cityscapers project co-ordinator Grainne Brunsdon in Sydney on enquiries@britishcouncil.org.au.

For enquiries regarding engineering entries, including the creative submission, contact  Eamonn Madden at Partridge Partners Structural Engineers on eamonn@partridge.com.au.