Events

Urban Design Autumn School

At the Turner Contemporary in Margate, 21-22 September 2017

DSE + UCA Urban Design Autumn School
At the Turner Contemporary
Margate, Kent CT9 1HG

Organised by Design South East and the MA Urban Design course at UCA Canterbury, this year’s Urban Design Autumn School will be based at the Turner Contemporary in Margate. Confronting development pressures across Kent, and leading on from last year’s theme ‘Growing the City: Designing the Urban Edge’ this Autumn School will explore how intensification could help activate underused town centres and reduce development pressure on the greenbelt. We will use Margate as a test bed for ideas, considering how new development can be positively integrated into the existing urban fabric, and how this can help provide successful public spaces.

Through the 2-day programme this KENT DESIGN event will introduce you to creating well designed, well connected and sustainable places. Participants will work in small groups, with each taking an individual site spanning from the seafront towards the town centre periphery. Each group will be mentored by leading urban design practitioners, there to help you in developing your own design proposals. This will take into account specific issues faced by Margate based on the recent increase in demand for development associated with the upturn in the creative industries, the technology sector and tourism. Although the distinctive historic fabric of the town is relatively intact, decades of neglect and insensitive development have created a series of holes in the town centre. This workshop will focus on strategies to stitch these areas back into the fabric of the town centre, considering issues such as the potential to improve connectivity between currently severed locations, and the activation of underused public spaces.

By the end of the event participants will be able to:
• Undertake site research through a series of methods, including mapping, photography and social studies to produce a well-rounded portrait of an urban area
• Analyse site research to understand the challenges and outline key opportunities related to town centre densification and connectivity issues
• Develop a strategic vision for the area, with a focus on ‘landscape led masterplanning’ in which spaces between buildings help drive the development programme
• Create a clear and assertive brief for the development of the wider area, which can provide a framework for individual developers to work within
• Gain the visual 2D and 3D design skills to communicate your ideas
• Present your ideas to peers and public audiences

Multiple tutors, critics and speakers will provide input throughout the 2-day workshop, including members of the DSE panel and other leading practitioners from across the region. Already confirmed are:

Angela Koch, Imagine Places
Charles Holland, Charles Holland Architects
Corinna Dean, University of Westminster, Publica
Dieter Kleiner, RCKa
Gabor Stark, UCA Canterbury School of Architecture
Hilary Satchwell, Tibbalds
Jane Briginshaw, Jane Briginshaw Associates
Keith Williams, Keith Williams Architects
Mark Davy, Future City
Richard Simmons, The Bartlett School of Planning, URBED
Richard Warwick, Orms
Scott Adams, HTA Design

More contributors will be confirmed as we finalise the details for the two days.

The Urban Design Autumn School package is inclusive of all workshops/seminars and lunch on both days but does not include overnight accommodation. There will be an early evening lecture on Thursday 21st September at the Turner Contemporary (included in the package price). All delegates will then have the opportunity to stay for an evening meal at a local restaurant (payable locally, not included in the ticket price).

Ticket prices
• UCA students: There are a limited number of free places for MA Urban Design and Master of Architecture students. Contact: Gabor Stark, Course Leader MA Urban Design: gstark@uca.ac.uk
• Kent Design members: A maximum of two free places per membership. Three or more places will be offered at a subsidised rate of just £95+Vat pp/per place
• Non-members: £195+VAT pp/per place

Booking
http://www.kentdesign.org/event/urban-design-autumn-school-with-uca/

Links
http://www.kentdesign.org
http://www.designsoutheast.org
https://www.turnercontemporary.org
http://www.uca.ac.uk/study/courses/ma-urban-design/
http://cantarch.com/events/growing-the-city-designing-the-urban-edge-aqmq