The chair of Landscape Architecture invites you to a new series of lectures in How-Do-You-Landscape tradition entitled “SCAPES”. This series continues the direction of the HDYL lectures, this time focusing on specific emerging themes for spatial design, such as disasters and emergencies, co-creation, social justice and new technology. We invite leading academics and practitioners with contrasting or complementary views to speak about their work in an informal setting. The presentations are followed by a discussion chaired by an academic from the faculty. A screening of a film or documentary on the same topic follows up the lectures in the weeks following.
#1 DISASTER-SCAPES
The first theme in the new series revolves around Disaster-Scapes, exploring the role of spatial design in the wake of environmental catastrophes, conflicts, poverty and socio-political upheaval. We have invited Gabriella Trovata from the American University of Beirut, and SueAnne Ware from the University of Newcastle in Australia, to speak on their work in this area.
Gabriella Trovato – Landscapes of Emergency Religious and political conflicts, natural disasters and poverty are creating a new wave of displaced people across the globe that may well be the beginnings of a permanent flux of people escaping unsustainable conditions. While spatial design disciplines chiefly focus on temporary housing and emergency logistics, bigger questions of cultural, social and spatial cohesion in the adopted countries – and the territories left behind – receive less attention. Trovato’s research proposes new models and approaches to re-establish lost connections, identify new structures and and catalyze processes of integrated design at different spatial and temporal scales. Trovato’s work in real-life territories of emergency in Lebanon explores the role of design in the mapping and representation of narratives, testimonies and values, and through observations and interventions in the field. She aims to develop flexible, and creative strategies capable of managing continuous transformations. She also explores the notion of “landscape as infrastructure” through the sustainable re-organization of contemporary migratory territories.
SueAnne Ware – Landscapes of Emergency Ware’s projects reflect her strong commitment to marginalized groups and issues such as drug addiction, ‘illegal’ refugee policy and homelessness. She aims to create spaces that generate friction, where protests are permitted and possible, where the attention of passers-by is drawn to some of society’s most pervasive issues, and where those passers-by who choose to engage with the space may discover insight into what Ware hopes is a more humanitarian approach. Ware will speak on the SIEVX project (Humanitarian crisis- reconstruction) and will also talk on a recently completed project for a series of memorials to the Victorian Bushfires in 2009 (Ecological Crisis – reconstruction). Ware is now Head of the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Before this she held the position of Deputy Dean, Research and Innovation, in the School of Architecture and Design at RMIT University, Melbourne.
