Fundamentals

2020 - Fundamentals: Climate

Is architecture as we know it incompatible with our future? Underpinned as it is by the principles of growth and progress, architecture risks becoming ever more obsolete. The built environment is a significant cause of the climate and ecological crises, implicated in the economic systems that produced them. But could it be the solution? From the promises of technofixes to that debatable word 'sustainability' the next series of Fundamentals, hosted by writer and broadcaster Tom Dyckhoff, discusses the most urgent issue facing the planet today.

Practice

Professor Peg Rawes, The Bartlett School of Architecture | Peter Clegg, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios | Professor Elizabeth Shove, Lancaster University | Zoë Svendsen, METIS | Andrew Simms, New Weather Institute

Building

Architects Climate Action Network | Aude-Line Dulière, Architect, Wheelwright Fellow | Michael Pawlyn, Exploration Architecture

City

Johanna Gibbons, J&L Gibbons | London Energy Transformation Initiative | Carlotta Conte, Dark Matter Labs | Tiffany Lam, New Economics Foundation | Duncan Law, Transition Town Brixton

2019 - Fundamentals: Beauty

Beauty is back. The government’s “Building Better, Building Beautiful” commission has been established to put beauty at the top of the agenda: it hopes to reduce opposition to development by making new housing more amenable to public taste. But whose idea of beauty are they talking about? Is there a general public consensus on what is beautiful? Are architects disengaged from popular taste? And can the planning system possibly hope to regulate beauty? The third and final Fundamentals debate series looked to tackle these questions in the form of three public debates chaired by the Guardian's architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright.

The Public

Liza Fior – Muf Architecture/Art | Deborah Garvie – Policy Manager, Shelter | Neil Pinder – Design and Technology teacher, Graveney School | Sir Roger Scruton – Chair, Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission | Andrew Whitaker – Planning Director, Home Builders Federation

The Architects

Lara Lesmes – Space Popular | Patrick Lynch – Lynch Architects | Kate Macintosh – Former architect for Southwark, Lambeth, East Sussex and Hampshire | Ben Pentreath – Ben Pentreath Architecture, Materplanning and Interiors | Diana Yu – Adam Architecture

The Planners

Nicholas Boys Smith – Create Streets | Alpa Depani – Architect and Public Practice associate, London Borough of Sutton | Deirdra Armsby, Director of Planning at City of Westminster | Grayson Perry – Artist | Amin Taha – Amin Taha Architects

2018 - Fundamentals: The Way We Work

From the rise of live projects and collaborative studios that engage with real development sites, to practice-based models of education that do away with the school all together, how can architectural education evolve to remain relevant? How can labour practices be reformed to avoid the architect's exploitation and extinction, or will an unregulated market ultimately correct itself? Is procurement too bureaucratic, risk-averse and a barrier to the best design? This Fundamentals symposium critically investigated architecture, education, and the building industry through the lens of ethical work practices.

Learn

Mel Dodd – Central Saint Martins | Robert Mull – University of Brighton | Deborah Saunt – London School of Architecture | Bob Sheil – The Bartlett, UCL

Work

Architectural Workers – campaign group | Lucy Carmichael – Director of Practice, RIBA | Harriet Harriss – Royal College of Art | Peter Morris – Allford Hall Monaghan Morris | Patrik Schumacher – Zaha Hadid Architects

Build

Claire Bennie – Municipal | Russell Curtis – RCKa / Project Compass | Kay Hughes – Khaa | Malcolm Reading – Malcolm Reading Consultants

Labour - Architecture and capital

Ana Carolina Tonetti and Ligia Nobre - Contra Condutas | Escola de Cidade Adam Kaasa - Royal College of Art Concrete Action | Chair - Alex Warnock Smith, Central Saint Martins

Labour - Architecture’s labour force

Kadambari Baxi and Laura Diamond Dixit - Who Builds Your Architecture? | Precarious Workers Brigade | Shumi Bose - Central Saint Martins | Chair: Brendan Cormier

Labour - Architects as workers

Peggy Deamer - Architecture Lobby, Yale | Reinier de Graaf - OMA | Jeremy Till - Head of Central Saint Martins | Chair: Mel Dodd - Programme Director, Spatial Practices

2017 - Fundamentals: Debating the forces shaping London

With the population set to reach 10 million in the next decade, the capital is facing pressure like never before. The housing market is unattainable for many, land values have spiralled, industrial space is limited, and public art and landscaping are doing little to change the face of the city. This series presented work related to these concerns and was chaired by the Guardian's architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright.

Housing

Barbara Brownlee, Westminster City Council | Kareem Dayes, RUSS Community Land Trust | Amena Matin, London Borough of Croydon | Reza Merchant, The Collective | Marc Vlessing, Pocket Living

Planning

Liane Hartley, Planning in the Pub | Kate Henderson, Town and Country Planning Association | Adele Maher, London Borough of Tower Hamlets | Euan Mills, Future Cities Catapult | Finn Williams, Greater London Authority

Industry

Mark Brearley, Cass Cities | Jessica Ferm, Bartlett School of Planning, UCL | David Saxby, Architecture 00 | Christian Spencer-Davies, Camley Street Neighbourhood Forum | Paloma Strelitz, Assemble

Public art

Alex Chinneck, artist | Mark Davy, Future City | Hadrian Garrard, Create | Anna Harding, Space Studios | Verity-Jane Keefe, artist

Landscape

Giles Charlton, Spacehub | Jo Gibbons, J & L Gibbons | Anna Minton, University of East London | Richard Reynolds, Guerilla Gardening | Stephen Richards, Gillespies

2016/17

2015/16

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

Jeanne van Heeswijk speaking at the Spatial Practices Lecture Series - Spring 2016
Catherine Ince speaking at the Spatial Practices Lecture Series, Spring 2016
Santiago Cirugeda speaking at the Spatial Practices Lecture Series - Spring 2016
Verity-Jane Keefe speaking at the Spatial Practices Lecture Series - Spring 2016