Over the summer of 2024, two members of our Inclusive Cities research cluster were invited to give lectures about their research at international architecture festivals. The Inclusive Cities research cluster is part of ARO (Advanced Applied Architecture Research Office) – a new research group based at Manchester School of Architecture seeking to address global social and environmental challenges through interdisciplinary research.
In September 2024, Kasia Nawratek was invited to the International Architecture Biennial Rotterdam (IABR) 2024: Nature of Hope. which aims to learn from experimental and hopeful pedagogical projects in architecture, urbanism and affiliated spatial design practices. She delivered a talk and took part in a public symposium with Prof. Sofie Pelsmakers (Tampere University) and Prof. Lara Schrijver (University of Antwerp), chaired by Prof. Sergio M. Figueiredo (Eindhoven University of Technology). In her talk, Kasia discussed novel and urgent approaches in the way architecture and affiliated spatial design practices are taught, learned and crucially, unlearned.
In August 2024, Dr Mark Hammond gave a lecture at Norwegian ArchFest, in Haugesund, Norway. The festival’s focus in 2024 was the New European Bauhaus (NEB) movement, which seeks to explore the relationship between sustainability, inclusivity and creativity within society. Mark’s lecture discussed how designing with older people can contribute to the New European Bauhaus, and what lessons could be learned from the ‘Age-Friendly Cities’ movement. In his lecture, he reflected on various research collaborations he has developed over the last decade, including his policy secondment to Greater Manchester Combined Authority between 2018-21, and his current research as part of the Co-Creating Age-Friendly Social Housing programme.