Westminster hosts international student symposium for the Architectural Humanities Research Association

During the two-day AHRA Research Student Symposium 2022 organised by Dr Jordan and Dr Jovic, issues of subjectivity and objectivity of researchers were tackled through fine-tuning the research journey to consider not only the ‘singular space’ but rather engage with different voices. Voices in the urban fabric are the collection of concrete experience and encounters and act as a product of collective opinion outlined by researchers around the most controversial topics in the city.  

The Voices in Architecture symposium aimed to focus on what resides at the margins of our sight and at the deep end of the fringes of noises in the urban environment. Addressing controversial issues around democracy and political positioning of the researcher, the presentations transported attendees on a journey between projects covering different global contexts and tackling sensitive issues around vernacular traditions, informal settlements, transient and temporary architectures, among others.  

Each presentation gave a unique insight into how to address questions such as ‘who speaks and for whom?’; ‘How do we give voice without assuming authority?’; ‘How do we listen without judgment?’ and ‘How do we adjust the volume of our own voices?’.  

The event comprised of 20 research presentations throughout the two-day symposium, where each presenter discussed the instrumental role of the researcher to unpack critically different urban conditions in a variety of fields. “Listen rather than hear, address rather than acknowledge, propose rather than observe” was the underlying common denominator between the research presentations throughout the symposium.

During the symposium, Dr Jordan and Dr Jovic explained that shedding a light on the importance of actually listening not only to the ‘singular space’, but to also include the different voices in the city and the various views around controversial and sensitive topics. They added how in turbulent space, researchers have the core mission to open up to new possibilities and to place themselves at the centre of debating the dichotomy.  

Talking about the event, Iman Keaik, PhD Candidate at the School of Architecture + Cities and attendee of the Voices in Architecture symposium, said: “In my opinion, this symposium by its turn gave voice to researchers by opening up the room for open-minded and enlightening discussions to highlight the most challenging, vulnerable, and invisible voices in the urban environment. To all the speakers, and audience, continue to push onwards and upwards by giving the voice to those who need it the most.” 

Find out more about Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design courses at the University of Westminster. 

This article is based on Iman Keaik's review.