Art, Design & Architecture

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If you have ever wondered what staff and students get up to over the weekend then wonder no more – while not all weekends can be like this, 1 Kingston staff member, 1 Kingston alumni and 1 current student formed a team to take part in Boomerang 2012.

What is Boomerang we hear you ask? Well, it was a fundraising event organised by Arup to raise money for the ‘Zero to Hero’ campaign run by Fairbridge (part of the Prince’s Trust). The event took place on Saturday 11^th February with the single aim being to raise money through sponsorship and get as far from London and back again in 11 hours…without paying for any transport!

That’s right – all teams had to ‘blag, borrow and beg’ organisations, the general public, friends etc to get transport away from the capital – the further we reached the more money that could be raised! In total there were 30 teams taking part with over 100 people registered from teams made up of people within the Built Environment sector.

Kingston’s team, Universally Challenged (Hayley Boyes, Fiona Quinn and Henry Skinner), started the event at 8am and set off through London towards Kings Cross to see if Eurostar would be kind enough to allow us tickets to the continent. They didn’t unsurprisingly!

After racing around London we managed to persuade London Midland to ‘sponsor’ us tickets from London Euston to Northampton and back again and off we set! By 10am we were sitting on the train heading north and watching the tweets roll in. The other teams were headed to Copenhagen, Glasgow, Birmingham, showing photos of how they were getting on. This included a team made up of 4 superheroes manage to get on a ferry heading to France and a group of Where’s Wally pose with Builders, policemen and the general public!

Throughout the day the Boomerang team sent us challenges to do and all of the teams kept them up to date with their progress! By the team we had reached Northampton and had built a snowman it was exciting to see how well everyone was doing! The first challenge was to dress an animal in our Boomerang T-Shirt, we couldn’t find one but did locate a man dressed as chicken and he was good natured enough to pose with us.

Having decided that we couldn’t reach any further north we headed back to London to try and explore south of the River using trains, bus and golf buggy in our travel. The day ended with a last minute trip in a friendly Londoner’s boat to drop us at Thames Ditton and we then reached the end point of the race at the October Gallery in Holborn by 6.55pm.

Fairbridge and the Boomerang team were delighted – no teams were lost, arrested or stranded in other countries. We’d all acquitted ourselves well as in total the event had raised over £13,000 for the charity and the most successful team had managed to get to Warsaw – 901 miles from London! The team that used the most enterprising form of transport added tractor and fishing trawler to the standard list of trains, buses and cars that other teams had managed and were suitably lauded at the after party!

While we were the only university to enter a team we were proud to have taken part in such a successful event and despite lacking some of the contacts in the transport industry to help us get further afield (yes, BAA Capital Grads we are talking about you!) we achieved a respectable distance of 61 miles and had a productive day out.

To read more about Boomerang and Fairbridge have a look on the events website; http://www.boomerang2012.co.uk/index.html and view any tweets from the day through #boomerang2012 on twitter.

A Kingston University lecturer has been honoured for his investigation into Britain’s plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations.

Dr Bahram Ghiassee’s paper looking at the siting of the new stations, correctly predicted that three of the locations originally chosen by Britain’s energy companies would not meet the strict legal requirements imposed by international, European and British law. The paper was written more than a year before the Government finally drew up a revised list in June this year.

The Nuclear Institute has now awarded its Pinkerton Prize to Dr Ghiassee, who is a senior lecturer in Kingston’s School of Surveying. The prize is awarded for an article of “outstanding merit” published in Nuclear Future, the Institute’s journal. Dr Ghiassee received the award at a special dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane.

Britain’s existing coal-fired power stations will begin to be retired after 2015. The Coalition government plans to give the go-ahead for eight new nuclear plants over the next decade. Dr Ghiassee is well-qualified to assess the validity of these plans as he holds both a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and a Masters of Laws (LLM). He is a member of the UK Environmental Law Association, the International Nuclear Law Association (Brussels) and the Nuclear Institute (UK).

Despite his foresight in identifying that the three sites – at Braystones and Kirkstanton in Cumbria and at Dungeness in Kent – were not suitable for new nuclear plants, Dr Ghiassee believes most of the other proposed stations will be built. “The Fukushima nuclear accident has had a negative impact on the public’s perception of nuclear power, with Italy suspending its plans, Germany phasing out its fleet, and China slowing down the pace of construction,” he admits. “But I’m convinced that the UK government will not reverse, nor review, its policy on nuclear power, and that we shall witness the construction of at least four new nuclear power plants in England and Wales in this decade.

The prize-winning article was one of four, looking at the UK’s legal obligations in commissioning new nuclear power stations. The award is named after the Nuclear Institute’s founder John Brownie Pinkerton and was presented by its president Norman Harrison.

Dr Ghiassee, who lectures in European, environmental and planning law and sustainable development at Kingston University, is currently working on a fifth paper. Meanwhile, the debate about nuclear power shows no sign of going away with a recent House of Lords report accusing the government of an “Argos catalogue” approach to commissioning new stations.

Kingston graduate Ben Hodge (BSc Hons Property Planning and Development) has been named the winner of this year’s Kingston’s Got Talent, an awards event run by FADA’s School of Surveying and Planning and sponsored by the RICS’s Local Association.

 The annual event brings together one graduate from each of the School’s undergraduate courses to compete for a cash award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). To win, graduates must impress a panel of judges made up of industry professionals, RICS board personnel and Kingston academic staff with a short presentation.

 Nominees talk about what makes a good surveyor and why they have what it takes to make it in the industry, before fielding questions from judges, current students, local employers and academic staff. This year’s presentations ranged from the importance of an entrepreneurial spirit to the need for determination and enthusiasm to succeed in the surveying industry.

In his winning presentation, Ben talked about the importance of duty of care and advised current students not to give up: “The market for jobs is tough, but with perseverance and self belief the best results can be achieved by anyone; hard work does not go unnoticed by employers. Make the most of social events, it’s important not to understate their importance – that’s where you will meet partners and potential colleagues in their most relaxed environment.”

 Head of School, Professor Sarah Sayce said “ as we have come to expect all the finalists gave an excellent account of themselves and showed that they had talent not just technically but they understood the need for integrity and  a strong work ethic- as well as highly developed inter-personal skills.  I know they will continue as now to be great ambassadors for both the School and the University.”

Kingston’s Got Talent will return in 2012. If you’re interested in finding out more about this initiative, please contact h.boyes@kingston.ac.uk.

For more details on events in the School of Surveying and Planning please visit their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kingston-Universitys-Surveying-and-Planning-Events/229578767068455?sk=wall

Kingston Quantity Surveying student Elsie North has won a national prize for best female student in a competition run by the Association of Women in Property (WIP).

 Elsie, who works for quantity surveyors Faithful & Gould while studying in her third year, was picked out as “the best of the best” from eight regional finalists in a dinner held at Claridge’s last week. In June, Elsie won the top regional prize in the competition, becoming the south-east finalist, before beating the other 59 students from 38 universities in the final, held at Claridge’s in London.  

 Winning £700 and a package of support that includes a place on the WIP mentoring scheme, Elsie was recognised for her “refreshing approach”. Kingston’s winner was applauded by the judges when she said: “We know [young people] are high risk, but employers must trust us to do the job.”

 Head of Surverying and Planning Sarah Sayce said: “We are all immensely proud of Elsie for what she has achieved; she succeeded against very strong competition. I note that the judges were particularly impressed by her confidence and her positive approach – both characteristics that are so vital for success in today’s competitive environment. I am sure she will be an excellent role model for others entering the profession.”

 The awards were launched to inspire young women studying a built environment degree course and are open to female students in the second year of their studies.

Kingston student Elsie North has taken the top regional prize in a national property competition run by the Association of Women in Property.

Elsie, who works for quantity surveyors Faithful+Gould, is in her second year studying Quantity Surveying. She saw off competition from 13 other students to win one of two top South East awards at a special event sponsored by law firm Norton Rose LLP at their London Riverside offices.

Elsie will now represent the South East branch of Women in Property when she goes through to the national ‘Best of the Best’ final on 27 September, at Claridge’s.

Elsie wins £300, a work experience placement, free membership of the Association of Women in Property upon graduating, and the opportunity to participate in the Women in Property mentoring programme, whereby a mentor will support her in her early career.

The National Student Awards are now in their fifth year. Open to second-year female students studying a Built Environment degree course, students are nominated by their universities.

Research Degrees Open Event 

Tuesday 31 May 2011

The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Kingston London, would like to invite prospective research degree applicants to an open event to find out more about Research Degrees in the Faculty and meet staff and students involved with the research degrees programme.

The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture has a growing and vibrant research culture. The  research degrees programme consists of research and training and allows  students to develop their practice based skills, broaden their academic knowledge, expand their methodological skills and integrate those elements as independent  researchers. Our programmes are designed to meet the needs of continuing academics and candidates with established practices in art, design and the built environment interested in developing these in an academic environment.

There are research centres in:

Contemporary Art

Design

Real Estate

Modern Interiors

Visual and Material Culture

Details of AHRC and Kingston University funding will be presented at the Open Day. We are currently seeking applications within the following areas..

Art and Design:

• Contemporary Art;
• Digital Media and Communication Design;
• Product, Interior and Spatial Design; Fashion; Textiles;
• Environmental Design. 

Built Environment

• Architecture;
• Surveying and Planning;
• Sustainable Built Environment

History of Art, Architecture and Design

• Modern Interiors –  identity and the design of the modern interior; modernity, modernism and the interior; the tensions between interior decoration and interior design; representations of the modern interior; the reconstructed modern interior
• Visual and Material Culture – Historical and Critical Studies; Place, Space, and Global Futures; Gender, Technology, and the Human Image; Cultural Activism

3 pm – 5 pm, Main Lecture Theatre, Knights Park Campus, Grange Road, Kingston

Rsvp: fadaresearch-enterprise@kingston.ac.uk

Map: http://www.kingston.ac.uk/aboutkingstonuniversity/location/maps/documents/Kingston-Town-Centre.pdf

Adam Brown was recently awarded the RICS 2011 London Student Award from Kingston University for his outstanding work on the BSc Hons Building Surveying course.  Adam was cordially invited to attend the awards ceremony and reception on the 2nd March 2011 at the RICS Head Office in Parliament Square, London. The event was attended by winners, industry representatives and university ambassadors from the seven London partner universities of which Kingston is one. The evening was hosted by Linda Winstanley (Cushman & Wakefield) the Chair of RICS London and the awards were presented by Robert Peto (DTZ) the RICS President.  Adam was honoured to be representing Kingston University with the added reward of getting to meet the RICS President and other leading industry professionals, in particular Jeremy Helsby CEO of Savills.  Furthermore, Adam was accompanied to the Awards by Stephanie Marsh and the Head of School, Professor Sarah Sayce.  There were a number of inspirational speeches with the chance to mingle and ask questions with everyone afterwards in a more relaxed atmosphere. The event really portrayed Kingston and the other universities in a good light, with students getting real recognition from a leading institution in the built environment, a great day was had by all.

The School of Surveying & Planning is organising a conference on Tuesday 10 May 2011 with workshops to complement and launch their forthcoming CPD programme.  The conference will be held at One Fleet Place, London EC4M 7WS.

Localism and its emphasis on community-led planning at the neighbourhood level requires planners to adapt to new ways of working with the community to foster their relationship with local people. Not only will planners have to come to terms with changes in legislation and the consequent makeover in organisational practice and delivery, they will need to adapt their skills and working practices so that they can be proactive in working with local communities planning their neighbourhoods.

This event is designed for planners from both the public and private sector, with or without experience in community planning, who recognise the opportunity to be at the forefront of Localism by ensuring they have the right kind of skills to work with and facilitate local communities to embrace their new rights and responsibilities in the planning of their neighbourhoods. With this intention, the School of Surveying & Planning at Kingston University is extending its philosophy and approach to planning education in which emphasis is placed on putting people first in the delivery of sustainable development.

Talks in the morning will be followed by interactive workshops in the afternoon. The talks are intended to highlight the opportunities that current changes can bring to the planning profession. They will address the contextual changes anticipated in planning and the contribution of planners to community involvement drawing on experiences to date. Furthermore there will be an insight into the special capabilities and competences demonstrated by planners which make them ideally suited to take on the challenge. Using this backdrop, the workshops will debate different examples of practice to avoid the pitfalls and discuss the potential for delivering successful community involvement.

This event too, is being used to launch our emerging programme of CPD sessions for those people involved in the planning process to up skill for the pending changes to planning and to strengthen technical skills on aspects of development related to zero or low carbon design and the “green economy”.

Book your place:  www.kingston.ac.uk/designbookonline

Conference Programme:

9.30 Registration and Refreshments

10.00 Welcome and Introduction,

Charlotte Harris, Principal Lecturer and Field Leader in Planning, Kingston University

10.15 OPENING KEYNOTE TALK

A brief introduction on the implications and effects of Localism on the planning system

and the incentives / opportunities for planners to be at the forefront of community-led planning.

Steve Quartermain, Chief Planning Officer, DCLG

10.45 EXPLORING CULTURE CHANGE: A LOCAL AUTHORITY CONTEXT

A personal experience, exploration and reflection on the contribution of planners

to community involvement in the local authority context.

Professor Janice Morphet, Visiting Professor, UCL

11.15 MORNING BREAK

11.30 EXPLORING CULTURE CHANGE: A COMMUNITY PLANNING CONTEXT

A personal experience, exploration and reflection on the contribution of planners to community

involvement in the community planning context,

Georgia Wrighton, Lecturer in Planning, Kingston University

12.00 THE PLANNING PROFESSION’S CREDIBILITY IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Based on the findings of Kingston University in their 2008 ESRC Research Project on built environment

professional skills for sustainable communities,

Professor Sarah Sayce, Head of the School of Surveying and Planning, Kingston University

12.30 PLENARY: Questions and Answers

13.00 LUNCH: NETWORKING AND SIGN UP FOR CASE STUDIES AND WORKSHOPS

14.00 CASE STUDIES AND WORKSHOPS:

LEARNING FROM GOOD PRACTICE AND EMERGING MODELS OF ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

Applying skills and techniques to engage diverse communities in neighbourhood planning

by drawing on case studies and role play,

Patrick Anderson (Planning Aid for London)

A MODEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Learning from the experience of the Women’s Design Group Project, working with women from

diverse backgrounds to address gender specific issues for more inclusive neighbourhood planning,

Barbara Wallace and Amy Kennedy (Women’s Design Service)

VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENTS (SPDS)/PARISH PLANS

Applying and adapting practice in facilitating village design statements/parish plans, recognising

the strengths and weaknesses of the community-led planning process and recommendations for

successful future practice,

Dagmar Hutt and Lesley Downing, (Formerly of Planning Aid South)

PLANNING GAMES

Using selected tools e.g. Building Futures and Inquiry by Design as a role play to further develop

interactive techniques and skills for working with communities,

Nisha Kaduskar, (Community-led Urban Designer)

15.00 AFTERNOON BREAK

15.30 PLENARY: Feedback and summaries from the Workshops, Workshop Facilitators

16.15 CLOSE: Charlotte Harris

A Kingston University School of Surveying and Planning team were runners up in a field of 10 teams in the CIOB National Student Challenge.

The Kingston University team, comprising Alec Donald, Adam Brown, Ben Maxell-Aylwin and Elliot Sparsis, were winners of the London Branch heat. The London heat was significant in that Kingston School of Surveying and Planning fielded three teams and were placed 1st 3rd and 4th, no small feat as the London heat emphasis was on construction management and, although we had undergraduates from the Building Surveying, Quantity Surveying and Residential Property Degrees, there was no specific Construction Management expertise.

The CIOB National Student Challenge was sponsored by Marks and Spencer property division and the CIOB with the emphasis on the M & S ‘Plan A’ – “because there is no Plan B” with the stated aim of becoming the World’s most sustainable retailer by 2015.

The ten teams, each a regional heat winner, had to assess ‘closed loop material solutions’ to recycling which could include tagging of materials for demolition and recycling at the end of the useful life of a “learning store”. Things to take into account included; Zero embodied energy, sustainable materials, biodiversity and total recyclability.

The outcomes were twofold; firstly a detailed written breakdown of proposals and recommendations to M & S and, secondly to make a 10 minute presentation to the assembled teams and their tutors/supporters on the proposals (guillotined if the 10 minutes was reached.)

Kingston’s presentation was acknowledged by many of the accompanying tutors as ‘polished and informative’ and was thought of by many as the best of the day. Their professionalism was to a high standard and caused a minor stir amongst the judges with their team colour ties and smart suits.

At the prize giving the lead judge, Beulah Keane of M & S, acknowledged their performance but said they were just pipped in their first submission by the company targeting of the winners, despite the guillotine in the presentation of Glasgow Caledonian University

The team won a trophy, a commemorative medallion and £50 cheque each.

Kingston’s Planning students have managed to top the success of the London Regional heat with three teams in the top four by winning the final of the Planning Student Quiz 2011. Not only did one of the Kingston teams win the competition, but third place was also claimed by their classmates!

“I think this is a fantastic result which confirms Kingston’s position as a premier providing of planning education. The students are fantastic Ambassadors for us and thoroughly deserve their win!” Professor Sarah Sayce, Head of School.

The Last Bastion of Communism won first place with students Majeed Neky, Margaret Shum, Kieran Taylor and Florence Temple collecting a prize of £1500 as well as the prestige and respect of their peers. Andy Irish, Leon Murray, Steve Saville and Jamie Sharples, all members of Kingston’s second team PPS I Love You, came 3rd in the national final!

“It would be easy to make the crass assumption that because teams from Kingston came first and third in the planning quiz, graduates from Kingston are somehow better than those from other institutions. Although it was just a bit of fun it is an assumption I encourage all potential employers to make”  winning member Kieran Taylor said.

The winning team plan to spend their prize money on the annual field trip to Warsaw.

If you are interested in learning about planning why not have a look at our MA in Planning and Sustainability located here http://www.kingston.ac.uk/postgraduate-course/planning-sustainability-ma/ .