Air, Earth, Fire, Water

Dates: 2, 9, 16, 23 March 2006
Venue: Brunswick Lecture Theatre,
Leeds Metropolitan University

Rachael Unsworth - Dr. Michael Crilly - Andrew Yeats - Peter Walker - Sir Terry Farrell
Lyn Fenton - Hans Mönninghoff - Bob Lowe - Peter Head
Irena Bauman - Stephen Martin - Sarah Wigglesworth - Mark Hodson - Carlos Garaicoa
Maud Marshall - Peter Ullman - Richard Bickers - Shaun Russell - Martin Biewenga

Thursday 2nd March: Air

Sponsor: Concourse

Chair: Rachael Unsworth - Leeds University
Dr Rachael Unsworth is a part time lecturer at Leeds University School of Geography. Her research interests focus on urban environments and landscapes, with particular interest in the areas of: the role of urban planning, urban management and property markets and their relationship to social, economic, technological and political change, changing approaches to the management of urban environments, and ethnic minorities in British cities.

Dr. Michael Crilly - CABE
Michael Crilly is a chartered planner and urban designer with a background in the public, private and voluntary sector. He studied architecture and environmental planning at Queens University, Belfast and has postgraduate qualifications in urban design from the Polytechnic of Central London and was funded by and collaborated with Foster and Partners in his doctorate on sustainable urbanism at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire.
He started work in strategic and new settlement planning in the southeast before working for the Belfast Civic Trust and several private practices in Northern Ireland. One of the doctoral case studies took him to look at community involvement and engagement in regeneration projects and he worked for Newcastle City as the head of their urban design team on city centre renaissance projects.
Peter now works for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment as its regional programme manager in the Tees Valley working on housing market renewal, strategic masterplanning, and design coding.

Dr. Andrew Yeats - EcoArc
Andrew Yeats is principal partner of award-winning chartered architect’s practice EcoArc. Established over two decades ago, the company is committed to sustainable environmental design of the highest quality, in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact. The aim of EcoArc’s work is to co-create exemplarily ecologically sustainable buildings, which are simple, cost effective and fit sensitively into their surroundings.
Andrew particularly enjoys working collaboratively with clients as a ‘green’ architect and is interested in specifying natural building materials, which minimise carbon dioxide emissions, involve low level of environmental degradation and have low-level energy consumption in their manufacture.

Peter Walker - EcoCentroGen Ltd.
Peter Walker has been involved in Environmental Services for the past 20 years and has been involved in design, project management and sales & marketing and set up EcoCentroGen in 2001.
Peter had the original concept of linking a financial and technical model approach that is still to this day the cornerstone of EcoCentroGen’s business philosophy.
EcoCentroGen provides project funding towards design and construction, and takes responsibility for the on-going operation and maintenance of on-site energy centres producing power, heat, cooling and state of the art data services, including digital television, telephony and high speed broadband.

Sir Terry Farrell - Farrells
Terry Farrell is Principal of Farrells. He is an internationally recognised architect and urban designer with offices in London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong.
In practice for over 40 years, Terry has completed high-profile building schemes and masterplans in cities as diverse as Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Seoul, Newcastle, Leeds and London. Recent work in the UK includes the masterplan and design of the new London Home Office Headquarters and two millennium projects: the award-winning Centre for Life in Newcastle, celebrating the story of genetics, and The Deep in Hull, which houses a marine science centre. Other projects include Edinburgh’s Dean Centre Art Gallery, the Transportation Centre at Inchon International Airport, Seoul, Kowloon Station & Masterplan in Hong Kong.
Terry has won many awards and was presented with an OBE in 1978, a CBE for services to architecture in 1996 and was knighted in 2001.

Thursday 9th March: Earth

Sponsor: Reland

Chair: Lyn Fenton - Ancoats Urban Village Company
Lyn Fenton has been involved in several major regeneration projects, including the White Cross area of Lancaster, Hulme City Challenge, Manchester's second bid to host the 2000 Olympics and most recently the regeneration of Ancoats Urban Village and the New Islington Millennium Community, both within the New East Manchester URC.
Throughout her career, Lyn has concentrated on bringing failed / failing areas back into beneficial use with an emphasis on mixed use development. Her approach to sustainability has been driven by the desire to secure lasting regeneration through the creation of places where people are happy to live, work and play - mixed use - quality design and public realm for people.
In a voluntary capacity she has been a founder member of two local housing associations (HA’s) and she now sits on the main board of the Regenda Housing Group, comprising five HA’s from the North West.

Hans Mönninghoff - Deputy Chief Executive, City of Hanover
Hans Mönninghoff is Head of the City of Hannover and combined Directorate of Economic and Environmental Affairs.
Hans has overseen an ambitious project in the South East of the city: the new urban district of Hannover Kronsberg, setting visionary standards in urban construction, social and ecological planning, landscape design and transport concepts.
The City of Hannover is demonstrating large-scale practical sustainability in a living district that is both ecologically sound and economically viable.
Supported by a quality assurance and skilling & qualification programme, an energy-efficient district has been constructed with low energy methods in all buildings, district heating from decentral cogeneration plants and an electricity-saving programme. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 60% compared to conventional new developments.

Robert Lowe - University College London
Bob Lowe is a physicist with a broad interest in the field of buildings, energy and sustainability. Until last month he was Head of the Buildings and Sustainability Group at Leeds Metropolitan University where he directed numerous laboratory, field and desk studies relating to climate change and the energy and environmental performance of housing. These included the Stamford Brook project (funded by DTI, National Trust and the construction industry), which is trialling an enhanced energy performance standard for new housing.
He is a member of the FMNectar Consortium which is supporting the ODPM in the development of UK building performance standards. At the beginning of this month he joined The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at University College London, as Professor of Energy and Building Science.

Peter Head - Arup
Peter Head – Director of engineers Arup – is a champion for sustainable development. A civil and structural engineer, Peter has become a recognised world leader in major bridges, advanced composite technology, consulting engineering management and now in sustainable development in cities.
Peter heads the planning and integrated urbanism team at Arup and in 2002 was appointed by the Mayor of London as an independent Commissioner on the London Sustainable Development Commission. Peter is also project director for the planning and development of the Dongtan Eco-city on Chonming Island in Shanghai for the client Shanghai Industrial Investment Co.

Thursday 16th March: Fire

Sponsor: Arts Council

Chair: Irena Bauman - Bauman Lyons Architects
Irena Bauman is Director of award-winning Bauman Lyon, which believes that most important principle of long term, sustainable architecture lies in harnessing best practice from international and national experience and combining it with the understanding of the local.
The practice is committed to working with and contributing to the local community, and social and environmental sustainability.

Stephen Martin - Renewable Fuels
Stephen Martin joined Renewable Fuels Ltd in May 2004 as Commercial Manager challenged with the task of developing the Biomass markets in the UK.
The company’s goal is to become the leading supplier of quality biomass fuels throughout the UK for both power stations and smaller users alike.
Graduating with an honours degree in Geography and Economics, Stephen pursued a career in a variety of commercial and logistical roles. He transferred from distribution activities to managing a company manufacturing bespoke pipe-work solutions to the water utilities. These acquired skills were then transferred to the gas industry – being responsible for all commercial and logistical activities of a pipes and fittings manufacturing company.

Sarah Wigglesworth - Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
Sarah Wigglesworth heads award-winning architecture practice, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects. Dedicated to pursuing excellence and integrity in design and service, Sarah has been instrumental in designing many buildings ranging in size from £20,000 to £8 million. The practice’s portfolio includes masterplanning, cultural buildings, offices, private & social housing and structures for education, arts and sport.
Sarah is passionate about low energy and sustainable communities and making buildings that inventively use readily-available materials.
The practice has developed a reputation for buildings combining spatial innovation with sensuous material expression. The best known demonstration of this approach is the award-winning Straw Bale House and Quilted Office in north London which has won several awards including the Civic Trust Award (2002), an RIBA Award and the RIBA’s prestigious Sustainability Award, both in 2004.

Mark Hodson - Hodson Architects
Mark Hodson heads Hodson Architects, which aims to provide sustainable solutions considering space, material and light. The approach adopted by the practice provides poetic solutions through detailed pragmatic study. Emphasis is placed on successfully reconciling the demands of brief, site, context and sustainability issues. The practice is noted for its economic methods of construction and diverse but appropriate use of materials. This is evidenced in the RIBA and Civic Trust Award winning schemes at Grimsby College Common Room, Image 2000 Media Studios and The Ecology Building Society Headquarters. Projects range from private residences, a retail and residential development on an important waterfront site in Grimsby, several social housing schemes including a small eco-village in rural Lincolnshire and a new fine art and photographic facility for a local Sixth Form College.

Carlos Garaicoa - Cuban Artist
Carlos Garaicoa is one of Cuba’s leading contemporary artists. He explores the fabric of built environments through installations, photographs, drawings and film. He documents the actual, describes the melancholic memory of the lost and creates visionary possibilities for the future. In practice and in their inspiration the artworks reveal his awareness of the complex paradoxes that define humanity, particularly the contradictory impulses that fuel creation and destruction.
The artist’s first and main source of inspiration is Havana, his birthplace and home and his work has featured in the 2003 Havana Biennale, the 2004 Sao Paolo Biennale and in 2005 at the Venice Biennale, Moscow Biennale and ARCO, Madrid.

Thursday 23rd March: Water

Sponsor: Allen Tod Architecture

Chair: Maud Marshall - Bradford Centre regeneration
Maud Marshall is a town planner by profession with over 20 years experience in urban regeneration and housing. Before taking up the post of Chief Executive with Bradford Centre Regeneration, Maud was Director of Investment and Performance at Communities Scotland, the national regeneration agency. She previously held several senior posts both in corporate HQ and the field with Scottish Homes, the former housing NDPB. Her early career was focussed on leading two of Glasgow’s community-based housing associations.
As a former member of the Scottish Arts Council, Maud chaired the Lottery Committee responsible for approving funding for some of Scotland’s most outstanding arts buildings. She is past Chairperson of The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. Maud is a keen telemarker, and an ardent Francophile.

Peter Ullman - Tidal Electric
Peter Ullman is the named inventor on UK Patents and is responsible for all aspects of Tidal Electric's development. Peter’s professional background includes business activities in project development (commercial and residential real estate construction) and retail product development. He has designed and built dozens of mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic machines.
Peter notes that as the global climate becomes increasingly unruly, adaptation to change is increasingly urgent. Changes in our habitat are coming at us in many styles: gradually (melting of polar ice caps and glaciers), insidiously (Gulf Stream reconfiguration), catastrophically (violent hurricanes and other weather events).

Richard Bickers - Arup
Richard Bickers is a chartered Civil Engineer and Associate at Arup and has been leading studies to identify how the water elements proposed in the Bradford Centre Regeneration Masterplan can be implemented within the city centre.
Richard specialises in regeneration and works in multidisciplinary teams with architects, developers, planners, agents and other professionals to masterplan and subsequently implement such schemes. He is particularly interested in how this skills mix can develop innovative yet practical solutions for developments, which can achieve their objectives for environmental, social and financial sustainability.
Richard’s work at Arup has encompassed a wide range of projects including masterplanning large mixed use developments, business parks, designing transport interchanges, site infrastructure and landscaping schemes. He has worked with leading architects and public and private sector clients in the UK, Europe and further a field.

Shaun Russell - Alsop Architects
Alsop was appointed by Bradford Centre Regeneration to prepare a masterplan for Bradford City Centre. The Bradford Centre Regeneration Masterplan was completed at the end of 2003.
A compelling theme throughout Arup’s initial conversations was that Bradford is ‘hidden. Shaun believes that this could be applied for example to its location, to its topography, to its legacy of historic buildings, to its diverse communities but most literally to its buried watercourses.
Alsop was also appointed by Bradford Centre Regeneration to develop the Bowl Neighbourhood Development Framework. As the central Neighbourhood Development Framework - from which the three others radiate - the Bowl becomes Bradford’s showcase, the foyer to the new and old city: to generate participation and spectating, meeting and relaxing, the gathering place for Bradfordians to celebrate their new landscape.

Martin Biewenga - West 8
Martin Biewenga is a partner and senior designer at West 8. Honoured for his outstanding organisational qualities, he has led international design teams and worked on large-scale urban designs, often related to shores and water.
West 8’s goal is to incorporate awareness of ecology, infrastructure, weather conditions, building programs and people in a playful, optimistic manner stimulating the desire to conquer and take possession of a space.
Martin has held teaching positions at schools and universities such as the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Planning Rotterdam and Amsterdam the Netherlands, Oxford Brooks University and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. As a well respected speaker he has recently given lectured at the Tokyo University, the University of Mexico City and Oxford, UK.

BACK TO THE TOP