human cities
Human Cities is represented by La Cambre Architecture, Pro Materia, The Lighthouse, Politecnico di Milano and UPIRS-Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia.
ISACF-La Cambre
Since it was founded in 1928, the Institut supérieur d’architecture « ISACF-La Cambre » has been a college of architecture developing its interest for town planning and architecture within an interdisciplinary approach with a specific focus on urban design. These last years, La Cambre has worked on several research programmes focussing on the interactions between the city and its “uses”. The Institute has worked on several projects about participation, sustainable development and on an international project based on the development of sustainable urban areas. As far as urban design is concerned, several research areas focus on the impact of urban forms, activities and “urban objects” on the social attractiveness of urban places. Through this research activities and the “Human Cities: sustainable environmental design” colloquium which took place in May 2007, La Cambre came in contact with Pro Materia and finally built up a European partnership. Thanks to its multidisciplinary team, La Cambre manages the scientific, administrative and financial coordination of the “Human Cities” project.
Pro Materia
Created in 1999 by Lise Coirier, Pro Materia Association is a Creative Design Consultancy Agency located in Brussels, which is active in the promotion of contemporary design in Belgium and at an international level. For more than four years, she has launched and promoted various targeted projects on the city’s urban design as well, as on its sustainable development. A first initiative was taken within the European Design Network in 2004 in Liège with the colloquium Designing Public Spaces and Mobility. It was followed in Verona by a European workshop dedicated to the urban lighting and environmental design in 2005. Other projects have been developed in the course of the three past years such as the Parckdesign international competition with the prototyping of urban design furniture for parks in Brussels in 2007. It was followed by the creation of the Human Cities label and two-days international conference at Flagey, Brussels in May 2007, around the topic of Sustainable Urban Design. Since two years, Pro Materia has been actively involved into the ‘europeanization’ of its project opening it to foreign partners and design initiatives. In 2008, Human Cities was part of the International Design Biennial of Saint-Etienne with 6 new urban furniture prototypes designed by talented professionals and manufactured by Tôlerie Forézienne. It has also been nominated by the Index Awards in Denmark in the Community section. Therefore, the Human Cities project created with La Cambre Architecture and its belonging partners and co-financed by the European Commission – DG Culture is really appearing as a great opening of the project to a real European landscape.
UPIRS-Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia
The Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia was established in 1955, as a research and consultancy agency. Its activities include research and expert development work in the fields of urban and regional planning and related disciplines. Accordingly, the main objectives the institute is concerned with are advancement of theoretical research in planning and design; development and evaluation of planning methods and techniques; development and application of planning information systems; development of new activities related to institution building support; education and training of planning students and professionals; implementation of applied research in design projects, publishing, information exchange and documentation of planning literature; and transfer of knowledge through consultation activities. It is very active in different national and international networks and programmes, from Interreg to FP and Culture. Within the broad framework of urban planning and design in relation to Human Cities project the following specific fields are of key interests: research approaches to public space use, methodology of shaping urban form, urban renewal and landscape design, etc.
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse – Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, was initiated as part of Glasgow’s celebrations when the city was given the Title of UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999. It was opened in July 1999, by HM Queen Elizabeth, and is the conversion of Scottish Architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh's derelict 1895 Glasgow Herald newspaper office into Scotland's first, dedicated, national centre for architecture and design. The team of the Lighthouse believes passionately in the power of architecture and design to improve people's lives; championing and promoting Scotland’s architecture and design nationally and internationally while profiling them from across the country and the world, bringing world-class thinking and projects to the UK. Its work is targeted at three main audiences – The Design Professions, those Commissioning Architecture and Design Projects and the Citizens of Scotland. In particular, its exhibition and education programmes aim to deepen understanding of architecture and design by stimulating interest and encouraging debate. It also aspires to nurture and support the professional development of architects and designers in Scotland and beyond so it helps to create a culture of learning and professionalism that encourages excellence and critical thinking, practice and productivity. Sust. is a Scottish Government funded programme based at the Lighthouse that aims to raise awareness of the important role of sustainable design in the built environment. Through this initiative, launched in collaboration with the Architecture and Place Division at the Scottish Government in 2002, the Lighthouse develops ideas, approaches and objectives relating to the importance of and delivery of sustainable places. The Sust. team works closely with the Lighthouse’s Education team on delivery of projects for a wider community. To truly engage the public and profession and to leave meaningful and memorable traces The Lighthouse creates and delivers exhibitions, festivals, lectures, talks, debates, events, seminars, conferences, networking events, building and city tours, awards, publications and product development in association with other networks and initiatives. The Lighthouse awards and celebrates the success of local and international architects through its exhibition programme and through targeted CPD and other events and awards. It also provokes and challenges the industry to continually improve. The result, is a tangible improvement in the quality of ideas, design, expectation and an increase in profile nationally and internationally.
Politecnico di Milano
The Politecnico di Milano is a science and technology university producing engineers, architects and industrial designers through a variety of innovative specialising courses, with great attention being devoted to all sides of education. Its Design Faculty, connected with the INDACO Department (Industrial Design, Art, Communication and Fashion), aims at promoting the sharing of experiences in design initiatives and projects with private and public organisations, including cultural operators, in Italy, Europe and at an international level. In the framework of a specific research carried out on social innovation dynamics, the theme of the “creative places”, public/semi-public spaces which stimulate urban creativity and public participation converges with the themes and objectives of the Human Cities project. These topics have been developed by François Jegou at the “Human Cities” conference in Brussels, in May 2007.
