Programme Description
An ongoing informal event where philosophy becomes woven into architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, geography and the many spatial practices sitting between these disciplines. Philosophical questions will be asked of the spatial practices, and spatial questions will be asked of philosophy. Philosophy becomes spatial; spatial practices reveal their philosophical dimension. These sessions will take place monthly at different venues across Vancouver.
In terms of education value, this is an opportunity for practitioners, established and emerging academics as well as students to present, in an informal setting, their explorations and thoughts-in-process on the varied spatial, socio-cultural, economic, human and non-human relations that constitute city-building. Each session will start with a brief presentation on range of topics (critiques of capitalism, staging post-colonial interventions, debating religious- and science-biases, finding the ethical in the moral, etc) to spark lively dialogues on dynamic, intelligent and progressive city-building and city-thinking.
Curation Outline
Each session will feature presenters who can be research students, academics, artists, policy makers, spatial design practitioners. With regards to time limit and dialogue, we will have two to three presentations per session, approximately 10 to 20 minutes each. The presentations can take the form of:
- Short papers tying a philosophical theme to the built environment
- Slideshows outlining design and/or policy works in relation to a philosophical theme
- Workshops where the participants break into groups to debate how a philosophical theme might explicate the built environment
- Combination of the above
Venue
To keep the dialogue-nature of these sessions, the sessions can be held on the weekends/ evenings at:
- Pubs (quieter ones though)
- Cafes
- Academic Institutions’ small meeting rooms (UBC-Robson, SFU-Downtown, ECUAD)
- Someone’s residence (if someone is willing)
- Some firm’s small meeting room (if some firm is willing)
Precedents
Architecture + Philosophy (Melbourne) – http://architecture.testpattern.com.au
Contact
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