Happy Christmas

Wishing you all a good break and look forwards to seeing you in the New year, the Christmas opening hours can be found here

Cook's Camden

Image credit courtesy of mattwi10n's

There is an exhibition at the Building Centre on 26 Store Street running till the 27th November of Sydney Cook's work.

Cook's Camden looks at the housing projects and urban landscape that were built whilst Sydney Cook was the borough's architect. Great examples of social housing developments and designs can be viewed including photographs of completed plans and models, and continue to be an inspiration today.

Interestingly the exhibition has been curated based on research being carried out at Oxford Brookes University on discourses between space and society.

SABE Library Search drop-in sessions

There will be some specific dates for SABE students in using Libray Search on the following dates:

Monday 18th & Tuesday 19th Oct
Monday 25th & Tuesday 26th Oct
Monday 1st & Tuesday 2nd Nov
Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th Nov

They will stary at 3pm in the Library Training room (North Area) and will offer assistance in using Library Search.

No need to book, drop by to find out more or to ask specific queries.

Welcome....!

Photograph courtesy of Renjith Krishnan

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the new and returning students studying Architecture and the Built Environment at the University.

If you are a new student you probably have lots of questions right now and may be in danger of sinking under information overload during your first week. Hopefully I have seen you during the library induction sessions where the aim is to familiarise you with the facilities and services available, if you have missed the induction session then you can find all the key IT & Library information here online , and you can also pick up a copy of the print guide at Marylebone Library.

To get you started in looking for books and journals in electronic and print format use the new Library Search (note to returning students, this has replaced infoLinX & the Library Catalogue). We will be running some general drop-in sessions on how to get started with this from the 4th October for 2 weeks, this will be followed by 4 weeks of subject specific sessions so please feel free to come along and find out more. They will be held in the Library training room and there are flyers available if you ask at the Library Counter.

The main thing I would like to emphasise is please do not hesitate to contact me direct with any queries that I can assist you with, you can email here mirese@wmin.ac.uk

Open House London

The architectural showcase that is Open House London will open doors to hundreds of building across London on the 18th and 19th of September.

It is FREE and provides the opportunity to explore not only the buildings but also the issues relating to buildings such as climate change, role of architects and design of homes to name a few.

You can order the listings guide from their website and also browse a summary list of bookable buildngs.

Plymouth: 20th century city

Plymouth 2oth century city is a project site created to celebrate Plymouth's architecture and urban planing.

Plymouth city centre is a great example of post-War British planning and architecture after much of it's original infrastructure was severly bombed.

Patrick Abercrombie was hired as town planner and alongside James Paton Watson they replaced the old streets with a functional design. Plymouth was awarded city status in 1928 and has the most post-war buildings listed by English Heritage in the country, outside of London.

This site has an interactive map of the city plus other audiovisual trails, timelines and publication references.

Blueprint Big Breakfasts

Photograph courtesy of Suat Eman


As part of the London Festival of Architecture, Blueprint the journal are hosting a week of big breakfast events commencing tomorrow with Ken Livingstone as the key speaker. The breakfast's themselves promise to be "hearty" and hosted at Smith's of Smithfields or the Luxe.

More details can be found here

Architectural Association Independent Radio

Why not listen in to one of the broadcasts on the Architectural Association's Independent Radio station run by AA staff & students past & present.

You can listen online or subscribe to the podcasts to keep updated and entertained on the go, documentaries, interviews, music and inspirations are just some of the content available.

Jeremy Till at the V&A

As part of the V&A's 'Listen to Leading Thinkers and Designers' the Dean of Architecture here at UoW Jeremy Till will be talking on Tuesday 22nd June 7pm-8pm, so a date to put in your diary!

The theme is architecture and locality, cost is £8 & £6 concession you can book over the phone on o2o 7942 2211

There are also some other talks that are 'Closer look at Architecture' that may also be of interest, follow the link above to view all related.

Fantasy Atelier talks

The ICA is hosting a weekend (Live Weekends: 6 May 2010 - 23 May 2010), of talks some of which are aimed at Architecture students. Many of the events are interactive so why not get involved as the organisers would welcome participation.

Some of the themes include effects of national debt and the role that social architecture can play in economic and cultural futures, London Olympic developments 2012 aswell as more intriguing topics such as "Amenity Space - How many people can you fit in a phone box?".

More information available here

Archigram archive

Archigram's archives are now available to view free online as a web resource, for public and academic use.

"The project was run by EXP, an architectural research group at the University of Westminster. It was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and made possible by the members of Archigram and their heirs, who retain copyright of all images."

Sections include, Archigram magazines, projects, shows & people.

Enjoy!

RIBA Trust annual lecture

This year's RIBA annual lecture will take place on the 18th of May at its London base on 66 Portland Place, 6.30-9.00pm. The guest speaker this year is Kevin McCloud who will be discussing matters on sustainability and how architects and residents need to collaborate to enhance existing structures.

Tickets can be booked online via the RIBA, you will need to register first.

Why not also take a look at some of the other talks that are scheduled for the next few months or watch some of the video archives of past talks available here

Journal title highlight of the month

I thought it may be useful to draw to your attention some of the journal titles that you may find of interest and valuable in your research and study.

The journal title I have chosen this month is The Journal of Architecture it is jointly published by the RIBA & Routledge. There are a range of issues which have a range of themes and subjects including individual architects, design theory, architectural culture, sustainability, everyday building and many more. There are also book and exhibition reviews included regularly.

You can access the title via infoLinx, select the tab 'Find e-Journal' and type the title into the search box at the top and use 'Go' to retrieve the list of matching results. Remember that if you are accessing the title off campus select the i button to check whether you will need a username & password to access.

Personally I find this title a great resource especially when researching subjects which have a historical context such as architectural movements which continue to influence contemporary developments.

Whitechapel built environment talks

There will be a series of talks/events planned later on this summer at the Whitechapel Gallery, which are related to aspects of the built environment:

Sunday 30th May, 3pm - Screening: Goudvis Robbrecht en Daem (free)

Thursday June 3rd, 7pm - William Mann on Robbrecht and Daem: pacing through architecture (free)

Thursday 10th June, 7pm - Panel discussion: restless cities (£7/£5 con)

Saturday 19th June, 3pm - Chris Dyson & Ed McKeon on architecture & music (free)

Monday 21st June, 7pm - Urban projects: Paul Robbrecht

The perfect home

Channel 4 documentary to accompany Alain de Bottom's book 'The architecture of happiness' which you can find on the library catalogue

Internet tutorial for architecture

Would you like to improve your internet search and evaluation skills?

Why not access the following free interative tutorial specifically designed with architecture research in mind, it will assist you to discover and retrieve architecture related information and guide you in judging its content.

It is part of a national series of tutorials written by qualified tutors, lecturers and librarians across the UK.

Architecture tutorial

In addition to this tutorial you can always contact me direct for more assistance with using infoLinX and searching strategies.

London Festival of Architecture

The London Festival of Architecture will take place from the 19th June-4th July and its 2010 theme is to celebrate the city and its architecture.

Events include installations and exhibitions showcasing international architecture student's work, alongside exhibits exploring the architectural landscape looking forwards to 2012 and Olympic developments.

Via infoLinX why not use the Avery Index to Architectural periodicals to research developments in the architectural landscape for example enhancing public spaces in London, particularly with the regeneration of Battersea/Nine Elms in preparation for the Olympics 2012.

Greg Lynn on calculus in architecture

Ecobuild

Register for a free ivitation to the ecobuild exhibition from the 2nd-4th March, a significant event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment.

A sneek preview of 'The Nottingham house' featured as an attraction at ecobuild, an energy efficient, carbon solar powered house.

Four Flemish Architects

An exhibition and lecture series running from 4-27 February 2010, the venue is at the Department for Architecture and Spatial Design at London Metropolitan Univeristy.

Further details here

"For a British audience, the work under discussion should prove particularly relevant. As has been the case here, recent development in Belgium has been profoundly affected by legislation aimed at increasing urban densities while the fragmentary, private sector-shaped nature of the fabric in which these architects have been required to work bears close comparison with that of the UK."

V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership

The V&A and RIBA Architecture Partnership is the name given to the initiative of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Institute of British Architects to promote the understanding and enjoyment of architecture.

Together the V&A and the RIBA have opened the UK's first permanent architecture gallery and new study rooms at the V&A.

The Partnership brings together the RIBA's drawings and archives collections and the V&A's collections of architectural drawings and photographs at one location - the V&A in London. It also brings together the expertise of each institution in an exciting new programme of temporary exhibitions at the V&A, at the RIBA, and on tour.

There is a whole host of architectural resources available including some online workshops which look at exploring collections and themes in architecture - all are freely and publicly accessible.

RICS Directory

There is now an entry for RICS Directory (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) available via the databases list for Architecture in infoLinX.

The database which is also publicly accessible online maintains a global search facility for locating surveyors geographically and by type.

There is also a 'News & updates' section with links to related articles such building and green challenges amongst others.

RIBA events, talks and exhibitions in February

Keep up to date with a series of events, talks and exhibitions this month at the RIBA.

Highlights include the 'Emerging Architecture' exhibition and accompanying talk with Jose Maria Sanchez Garcia, Estudio de Architecture & Matharoo Associates - bookings are accepted by members and non members of RIBA.

Register for architect students portal

Archi-students is the first European portal site for students in architecture, registration is free and will give you access to architectural related agendas such as trade fairs, expositions, competitions and more. The site also allows you to create a personal profile and participate in an annual student creativity award.

From the home page select register as student or staff as appropriate.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the University of Westminster's architecture resources blog.

I hope to keep you all updated in relation to resources relating to architecture at the University of Westminster's libraries and further a field. It will include information regarding new books, electronic resources, training sessions, useful websites & other relevant items of interest.

I would like this blog to bring relevant information to staff and students interested in architecture information - so please feel free to leave comments and queries.

You can subscribe to this blog to recieve updates via email or an RSS feeder.