What is the best way of accommodating social, cultural and demographic change in Britain today? What strategies for new urban growth are appropriate, and how can older towns and cities facilitate new patterns of living and working? If new neighborhoods and homes must be built, what should they be like, and how should they harmonize with the fabric and culture of older existing towns, especially if these are World Heritage sites like the city of Bath in England? Are current, ‘modern’ policies toward the making of new built environments or the extension of towns appropriate, or do other, more traditional approaches recommend themselves?
Prof. Richard Economakis and his graduate students at the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture have been engaging members of local government, and cultural and professional organizations in the historic city of Bath, on precisely these questions, and are proposing practical answers. In the summer of 2009, students working with Prof. Economakis and Prof. Samantha Salden produced an award-winning counter-proposal for the development of the Western Riverside area adjacent to the historic center of Bath. The project was presented to the city of Bath in a public forum attended by the Mayor of Bath and members of local government. This year, with the assistance of the Nanovic Institute, the city of Bath is coming to Notre Dame. Local officials, professionals, and a distinguished British historian will be present, on campus, to consider Notre Dame’s proposals.
The Nanovic Institute would like to invite all students and faculty to this extraordinary engagement. If you are interested in the following topics, don’t miss this opportunity to observe a debate that is at the cutting edge of European cultural dynamics.
- Cultural and demographic change
- Modernism vs. traditional architecture and urbanism
- Georgian Bath / Jane Austen legacy
- British History and Culture
- Political Science
- Social Justice
- Notre Dame
Download the schedule (PDF)
Morning Discussion
8:30am : Introduction, Prof. Richard Economakis
9:00am – 10:00am: Student development proposals, 1st year architecture graduates (Path C)
10:00am – 11:30am: Review of student work
11:30am – 1:00pm: Lunch Recess
Afternoon Presentations
1:00pm : David Watkin, Architectural Historian, Cambridge
1:20pm: Caroline Kay, Director, Building of Bath Museum
1:40pm: Stephen Green, Future Heritage Group, Bath
2:00pm: Coffee Break
2:10pm: Jim Warren, Bath Heritage Watchdog
2:30pm: Timothy Richards, Designer, Bath
3:10pm: Break
3:30pm – 4:45pm: Question & Answer Session (interdisciplinary), led by Notre Dame faculty and students
Evening Panel Discussion
5: 15pm – 6:30pm: UK participants and Notre Dame faculty
Sponsored by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame