RIAS Conference Aberdeen 2004

RIAS Convention 2005: Glasgow Review of RIAS Conference by Adrian Welch After the AGM and Gordon Murray's thoughtful introduction Lewis Macdonald praised Aberdeen, for quite a while (beware politicians, they like the sound of their own voice) and said of the Scottish Parliament, "ambitious design will always cause controversy and debate". The day's chairman, the rather demure and not-so-vigourous Jonathan Woolf waved us into the first speaker, the energetic Professor Richard Weston. Professor Richard Weston: Jørn Utzon Ok, so I'd heard Richard's talk before (somewhere in Scotland recently - and not at the RIAS, though that too was similar, reviewed on the Jorn Utzon page) but this was inspiring stuff, Jørn Utzon and his works, principally the Opera House. Jørn Utzon has built the 'ultimate blockbuster building" that every city wants. The Sydney Opera House is the "most-recognised structure on earth". Ot is vety popular but somehow 'written out' of architectural histories. Frampton 'sneaked' it in later. Many writers - especially Latin ones - dismissed it. "Utzon is completely unprecious" about his drawings. Weston showed a picture of a sketch Utzon had done on a car windscreen, now lost of course...... Benedetta Tagliabue: EMBT Again I'd heard this talk at the Hub, still, some variations along the way: Our way of working is more intuitive, 'not verbally totally expressed, in a way this is a trick'. Benedetta Tagliabue starts by describing a recent exhibition in their Barcelona offices. You get a real feel for 'organicism' and warmth of wood throughout. She then showed images of the office - 8m high apparently: the office space apparently comes through into drawings in a subtle way. Then she showed their house, describing their fascination with the former layers, like camping, one of many. Strong teaching, strong learning from the house in their early years of practice. They used the methodology for the Utrecht project - 'house of the city'. Old and new mingling, reminiscent of Scarpa. On the Scottish Parliament she described it as being the 'ending of a fantastic city' on the other side of 'strong topography'. These two influences 'should have been able to invent' the topography of the Parliament. She outlined the landscape connection through to the old city, the Royal Mile. gm+ad architects review: Most Inspiring: Heneghan Peng Most Entertaining: Peter Cook Most Self-important: Alex de Rijke Most Boring: Tony Fretton Best in show: Richard Weston on Utzon PR for RIAS Aberdeen Convention: MAJOR ARCHITECTURE CONFERENCE HITS ABERDEEN One of the highlights in the European architecture calendar takes place 7 May in Aberdeen. Inside:Outside is this title of this year's convention of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. National and international architects will address an audience of around 500 at the Music Hall. The speakers include Professors Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, designers of the incredible, eye-popping Kunsthaus Graz museum for art and electronics in Austria; London-based architects Tony Fretton and Alex de Rijke; and Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT architects, Barcelona, designers with RMJM, of the new Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh. Also featured are Dublin-based architects Róisín Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng, winners of the international competition to design the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. Running alongside the RIAS Conference will be a series of sketch design competitions for architects, architecture students and schoolchildren. Supported by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen City Centre Partnership through the City Growth Fund the competitions aim to encourage public debate and positive change and will focus on key sites in and around Aberdeen City Centre. For more info re the RIAS Conference contact John Pelan at the RIAS Events Department on 0131 229 7545 Architecture "Stars" to speak at RIAS Convention in Aberdeen The glittering line-up of stars speaking at this year's annual RIAS Convention in Aberdeen include Professors Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, co-designers of the incredible Kunsthaus Graz museum for art and electronics in Austria; architects Tony Fretton, Lars Gemzøe, Richard Weston, Jonathan Woolf and Alex de Rijke; and Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT, designers with RMJM, of the new Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh. Also featured are Dublin-based architects Róisín Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng, winners of the international competition to design the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. At this year's inside:outside convention, speakers have been invited to talk about their current work and its driving generators - whether inside or not. The common thread also engages the vital art of urban design. Running alongside the event will be a series of sketch design competitions for architects, architecture students and schoolchildren. Sponsored by Aberdeen City Council the competitions aim to encourage public debate and positive change and will focus on key sites in and around Aberdeen City Centre. The RIAS Convention is one of the largest annual gathering of architects and other design professionals in Europe. For more info contact the RIAS on 0131 229 7545 Modern Architects Iconic Buildings RIAS Convention 2003 RIAS Stirling Convention MAKING CONNECTIONS 8 - 9 May Keir Bloomer (Chair) - Chief Executive, Clackmannanshire Council RIAS Convention - ARTISTS + ARTISANS Aberdeen Architecture