Architecture and Environmental Design BSc students from the School of Architecture + Cities held a free exhibition exploring the future of the neighbourhood to coincide with OPEN 2022 at the Silver Building in the Royal Docks from 24 June to 14 July 2022.
The exhibition, titled ‘Reimagining the Royal Docks’, sought to re-imagine a network of public buildings that try to protect communities and natural habitats against environmental challenges in light of the Climate Crisis.
Through design education, it aimed to engage with the community the students had researched, analysed and designed for, and it is hoped that the show could also become a regular feature in the academic calendar as a vehicle for the University engaging the public.
The Architecture and Environmental Design BSc course itself engages climate change and design practice with an emphasis on physical ecologies of buildings, numeracy and computation, as well as the wider principles of social sustainability. It is also the only RIBA Part I validated undergraduate course of its kind in the UK.
Speaking about the exhibition, Dr John Zhang, Module Leader for the 3rd Year Architectural Environmental Design BSc course, said: “The exhibition has allowed students from the University to really bring their fantastic work to the community they’ve spent the year engaging with and designing for, in a genuine process of public engagement and knowledge exchange.”
Stefania Boccaletti, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the Architecture and Environmental Design BSc course, added: “The exhibition was an outstanding opportunity to disseminate the great work produced by the BSc AED students this year. The show succeeded in provoking a discussion on the impact of the human induced climate emergency in east London, both on social and physical structures.”
Find out more about Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design courses at the University of Westminster.
