Improving Energy Efficiency of Social Housing Areas- A Case Study of a Retrofit Achieving an A Energy Performance Rating in the UK- Minna Sunikka-Blank, Jun Chen, Judith Britnell and Dimitra Dantsiou
In focus: the research of PhD student Karin Templin
"Housing as City Making: the invention, development and significance of the mansion block as a building type in mid-late 19th and early 20th century London"
On Monday 7th December, Architecture collective ‘Assemble’ were announced as winners of the 2015 Turner Prize for their collaborative regeneration project in Granby Four Streets, Liverpool. They are the first Architectural ensemble to do so, and the youngest winners in the Prize’s history. 12...
In focus: The research of PhD student Adriana Massidda
The collective spatial practices of shantytown residents in Buenos Aires, their intertwining with State interventions, and the way in which these affect the continuous (re)configuration of the urban territory.
Plagiarism in work submitted for formal assessment is regarded by the University as the use of ‘unfair means’ (i.e. cheating) and is treated with the utmost seriousness. Where examiners suspect plagiarism, the case will be referred to the Senior Proctor and may then be brought before the University...
The concept of flexibility in post-disaster accommodation - In Focus: the research of PhD student Elizabeth Wagemann
My PhD thesis explores the concept of flexibility in post-disaster accommodation. Temporary houses in Peru and Chile were studied with the aim of understanding how families live during the medium-term in accommodation designed only for the short-term. The cases studied show that households modify...
A new technology for transformable architecture: Origami-Scissor hinged deployable structures - In Focus: the research of PhD student Esther Rivas-Adrover
Transforming architecture can be generated by the manipulation and design of deployable structures, which allow a maximum motion, expansion and contraction with the minimum energy input. These structures are light, adaptable and reusable. All these qualities therefore enable deployable structures...
Cecilia Denhard: Planning in Paris, a Conspiracy Against the Working Class? The Example of ZAC Paris Rive Gauche
Eastern Paris has experienced significant architectural and demographic transformation since World War II, catalysed by post-War slum clearance initiatives in the 13e arrondissement that were among the city's largest in history. This work will investigate the relationship between politically...
Expanding Understandings of Urban Decline: Considering Socio-Spatial Perspectives in Detroit, Michigan - In Focus: the research of PhD student Eve Avdoulos
Urban decline is most commonly used as ‘catch-all’ term for what can be interpreted as an undesirable urban change. It is frequently comprehended in quantifiable terms, often being used to describe a city that has experienced a decrease in population, a loss of capital and a deterioration of its...
In 2015 we worked with the Cambridge Cyrenians on their allotment project which they run with homeless people. First year architecture students from the University of Cambridge were asked to design and build 6 structures on the Cyrenians allotment site. A tool shed, an orchard bothy, a bike store...
First year Project: The Percussion Wall at The Junction 2014/15
The Percussion Wall was built with 1st year architecture students in Cambridge for the Cambridge Junction arts venue. The group recycled 1000 water cooler bottles and learnt to tie a wealth of rigging knots in order to make the 5 metre by 60 metre performance wall. The students arranged an opening...
Kirsten Armstrong: The Uncertain Garden: the role of landscape in Istanbul's contested urban identity
While there have been contentions in Istanbul throughout the years, the current climate of urban development leans towards profit over local needs. Lacking spaces of outright armed conflict, Istanbul may represent a more subtle conflict. By asking how and to what extent landscape formulates...
Michael Cohen: Housing as Housing: The SAAL Process and Sao Victor Brigade
Following the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended almost 50 years of Fascism, the Portuguese working class people demonstrated an unprecedented display of popular power, demanding new rights and services. SAAL (The Local Ambulatory Support Service) was established to address the demand for...
Mohammad Wesam Al Asali: Tools, Knowledge and Technology in Thin Tile Vaulting
Traditional construction engenders a strong bond to its local context as it usually makes use of local materials and knowledge. Methods of traditional construction are products of craft and material properties, and thus provoke a specific question of how technology can be addressed in such a...
Naomi Alcaide Manthey: Land Privatization and Urban Segregation in Bogotá, Colombia
In the 20th century, violent conflicts in the countryside have caused accelerated growth of Colombian cities. Under the influence of neoliberal policies, socioeconomic segregation in Bogotá increased and caused social conflicts. Public measures have tried to address most urgent issues such as the...
Nicole Abernethy: The Reintroduction of Rivers and Coastal Marshes in Toronto to Mitigate Flooding Effects: An example of urban adaptation to climate change through ecological restoration
The flash flooding events seen in Toronto following the July 2013 storm revealed the extent of the city's vulnerability in the face of climate change related disasters. Reliance on overly engineered and aging water management systems in combination with years of ecological destruction has...
Peninah Mutonga: Lamu Architecture and Urban Development; alternative forms of incorporation
Recent scholarship has focused attention on the challenges of heritage conservation in the twentyfirst century; urging the field to come to terms with globalisation and rapid urbanisation. A global dispute to include social values, cultural practices, economic pressures and intangible elements has...
Socio-material constructs of domestic energy demand: A study of middle-class housing and household practices in Pakistan- In Focus: the research of PhD student Rihab Khalid
Energy use in buildings accounts for approximately one-third of global energy consumption and just over half of overall electricity demand. In the Global South, this consumption is predicted to grow nearly three times the rate for developed nations by 2040, under rapid urbanisation, economic...
Tahmineh Mokhtari: Study of Climate-responsive Architecture for Urban Residence in Gorgan, Iran: Investigating the Practicality of Traditional Architectural Practices
Climate responsive building design can play an important role in reducing the energy demand for buildings without compromising modern living standards. A poor building design, which is irrespective to climatic conditions may either create uncomfortable indoor environment or increase the need for...
Toby Parsloe: ‘These German Hangars House History, Heartache and Hope’: The Refugee Camp in the former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport
The current refugee camp based in Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport embodies a new manifestation of this already eclectic site. The production and evolution of refugee spaces has become an increasingly debated topic in reaction to their growing prevalence as well as Giorgio Agamben’s provocative...
Tools and Technology in Traditional Architecure: a Study of Thin Tile Vaulting - In Focus: the work of MPhil student M.W. Al-Asali
I was a student on MPhil of Architecture and Urban Planning 2015/2016. The MPhil research project focused on the role of technology in traditional construction. My approach to technology was to find solutions that empower the traditional know-how in building practice in the sense that such practice...
Urban Form and Microclimate: Impacts on outdoor thermal comfort and building energy performance in a high-density, tropical context- In Focus: the research of PhD student Tania Sharmin
The unbridled urbanisation in many tropical cities has eradicated the green cover and intensified the vulnerability to climate change. Furthermore, declining air quality caused by the exhausts from traffic and industry and the generation of urban heat islands (UHIs) resulting from the unplanned...
Weijia Wei: "The impacts of large regeneration projects on surrounding neighbourhoods: a study of the surrounds of King's Cross Central using online planning application data
Large-scale regeneration projects tend to attract a great deal of attention from the point of view of public policy. Most of the projects are expected to have significant neighbourhood effects in terms of physical and social changes in the surrounding areas. Naturally, planning documents tend to...
