Category: Teaching & Training

Action Research Design Research Research Teaching & Training

Repairative Architectures – Platform

Repairative Architectures is a platform I have launched that develops repair as an architectural and urban practice. Repair here is not the restoration of a damaged building or system but an ongoing process, at once spatial, social, ecological, and political, through which environments, infrastructures, and relationships are continually maintained and renegotiated. That shift places care, labour, memory, adaptation, and everyday knowledge at the centre of how architecture is thought about, taught, and practised.

At its heart is a question about how architecture, urban design, and spatial research might work more carefully with existing conditions and with the people who already sustain them. How can designers support local knowledge, informal systems, and networks of care without displacing, simplifying, or extracting from them? In response, the platform approaches design as a collaborative and situated process, shaped through listening, observation, participation, testing, reflection, and return, and it recognises residents, workers, and local practitioners as knowledge holders rather than consultees.

The work moves across the University of Cape Town’s School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, UCL, 1to1 – Agency of Engagement, and my own research practice, bringing student work, academic research, design experimentation, and long-term community partnerships into conversation. Its methods are relational and iterative (walking, mapping and counter-mapping, oral history, object-based inquiry, prototyping, and exhibition), with consent and reciprocity built into every stage.

The platform is made visible through a set of connected initiatives:

  • Coastal Architectures of False Bay: Relational Inquiries into Repair, a UCT postgraduate teaching and research project using False Bay to explore repair as a coastal, ecological, and social practice through fieldwork and situated partnership.
  • Repair For, undergraduate work at the Bartlett, UCL, asking what repair is for, who defines it, and whose labour sustains it.
  • A Southern Urbanist Maintenance Corner, a collective digital resource hosted with UCL Urban Lab, where Southern urbanist practitioners can re-supply, reflect, and repair their own practice.
  • The Cost of Repair (forthcoming), my own research strand.
  • Constellations of Southern Spatial Practice (forthcoming), a research strand with 1to1.

Across these strands, the platform approaches the South not as a fixed geography but as a relational position from which to think about inequality, care, informality, infrastructure, and climate, with knowledge moving in more than one direction between contexts.

Repairative Architectures is developed with collaborators Traci Kwaai, Lindsay Blair Howe, Maxwell Mutanda, Zachary Fluker, and Harshal Gulabchandre, and supported by the UCT Research Support Hub, The Commons, 1to1, CUSP, and Shark Spotters. Read more about the platform’s background and aims.

Facilitation & Engagement Research Teaching & Training

Southern African PhD Training Support

This project emerges from the understanding that cities across the African continent and its diasporas are not sites of lack waiting to be understood. They are sites of ongoing labour: repair, maintenance, improvisation, and care. Yet much of this labour remains unrecognised within dominant architectural and urban research discourse.

What does it mean, then, to write from these practices—not as case studies or marginal examples, but as foundational forms of knowledge?

This question sits at the heart of a broader, evolving platform: the Southern Urban Practice Maintenance Corner. The platform grew out of a 2022–23 Reading/Doing Group convened by UCL Urban Lab and partners. It is a living repository of reading lists, action-research reflections, and shared tools, designed to bridge theory and practice and to nurture critical, place-based, non-extractive urban knowledge. From it, this project unfolds as both method and infrastructure, connecting dispersed knowledge centres through collaborative, reparative engagements that resist the fragmentation so often produced by academic and institutional boundaries.

The IJURR-funded Co-Writing Southern Architectural Repair & Maintenance initiative took shape within this context. It is led by Dr. Jhono Bennett (UCT), Professor Guy Trangoš (UJ), and Associate Professor Philippa Tumubweinee (UCT). Across a series of online, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and hybrid sessions, it brought predoctoral and doctoral researchers into a shared process of writing, reflection, and co-production. It used practice-based tools such as storytelling, mapping, co-design, and collective writing, and it offered support with proposals, publication, and funding. These tools foregrounded the knowledge embedded in everyday acts of repair and maintenance.

In doing so, the project sought to equip an emerging generation of Southern urban and architectural scholars. It also began to reframe how urban knowledge is authored, circulated, and valued. This post traces that unfolding. It treats the workshops not as isolated events but as part of a broader effort to build a sustained, Southern-led infrastructure for thinking, writing, and practising urbanism otherwise.

The full programme, speaker biographies, and shared reading lists are available here: Southern Urbanisms Programme

How the Programme Unfolded

The programme opened with an online welcome in September 2025. Participants built profiles on a shared Miro board and drew connections between their research interests. They also began mapping what Southern urbanism meant to each of them.

In Johannesburg (23–24 October 2025), hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture, the focus was on moving from field inquiry to research framing. An opening panel on the trials of starting a PhD set a candid tone. It was followed by sessions on the types of doctoral knowledge produced in Southern Africa, proposal-writing sprints, grounded storytelling as a bridge between fieldwork and theory, and mentorship circles with senior researchers.

In Cape Town (4–5 December 2025), at UCT’s School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, attention turned to methodology. Dialogues on situated positioning opened questions about how doctoral researchers articulate their epistemic commitments. Participants then mapped their methods and practised reflexivity. They workshopped methodology chapters in speed clinics and co-wrote short methodological propositions for Southern urban doctoral research. Throughout, a guiding question returned: how might we adapt, interrupt, or reimagine methods shaped by Global North paradigms?

A hybrid session in January 2026 then extended the exchange transnationally, connecting the cohort with wider networks and contributing to a shared digital archive.

Co-Writing as Collective Practice

The workshops were conceived not as discrete events but as an ongoing, design-led process of working together. Grounded in spatial and visual methods, they created environments where thinking could happen collectively across physical and digital platforms, so that ideas could be drawn, mapped, shared, and reworked in real time.

The gatherings brought together doctoral researchers, recent graduates, established scholars, and practice-based researchers from across Southern Africa. They were joined by voices from Egypt and Colombia engaging through the Southern Urban Practice platform. What emerged was a space of encounter rather than a conventional academic setting. Different experiences, positions, and forms of knowledge could meet there without being flattened into a single framework.

Visual tools were central. Mapping, diagramming, storytelling, and other spatial practices were more than representational techniques. They were ways of making ideas visible, relational, and open to exchange. Through them, participants worked across difference. They connected their research to lived realities and to one another, and built a shared language that moved between disciplines and contexts.

Co-writing thus became more than a technique. It became a way of building relationships through knowledge. The emphasis was less on individual outputs and more on reshaping the conditions from which those outputs could emerge, with collaboration, iteration, and shared authorship at the centre of the work.

A Cohort, a Network, a Platform

At the centre of this process is a carefully assembled cohort drawn from across the continent and its diasporas. Their work spans different stages of doctoral research, different institutional contexts, and different relationships to practice. What binds them is not disciplinary alignment but a shared commitment to questions of repair, spatial justice, and Southern urbanism.

Around this cohort, a wider network continues to form. The Maintenance Corner also hosts a parallel initiative, Writing Southern Urbanism(s), funded by the British Academy. It is led by Professor Catalina Ortiz (UCL Urban Lab) with Professors Nancy Odendaal (UCT) and Renato Emerson dos Santos (UFRJ), and it supports early-career researchers in Africa and Latin America through workshops in Rio de Janeiro (November 2025) and Cape Town (June 2026). The two projects serve different career stages, but together they form a pathway from doctoral research to scholarly publication. They share workshop materials, reading lists, and peer support.

Through shared documents, open calls, and evolving digital platforms, the work remains accessible and porous. Others can engage with, respond to, and build on it as it develops. The project is not contained within its participants. It is part of a broader effort to build a transnational community of practice.

Writing Against Extraction: Repair as a Way of Knowing

To speak of repair here is not to speak of fixing what is broken.

It is to speak of reweaving: reconnecting fragmented urban knowledges, re-engaging spatial actors long excluded from formal recognition, and building forms of knowledge that sustain rather than extract.

Maintenance, in this sense, is not secondary labour. It is an ongoing practice of attention, a way of staying with the city, and a refusal to abandon what is already in place.

Across Southern urban contexts, these practices are not exceptional, particularly in communities navigating systemic inequality and environmental precarity. They are everyday. They are how cities continue to function. Yet they are rarely written into the centre of architectural knowledge.

This project insists that they must be.

The conditions in which the work takes place make it more urgent. As the climate crisis intensifies, the uneven geographies of its impact are impossible to ignore. Africa contributes only a fraction of global emissions yet faces some of the most severe consequences: flooding, drought, food insecurity, and displacement. Still, dominant frameworks of sustainability continue to be shaped elsewhere, often imposed rather than co-developed.

Within this context, the extraction of knowledge mirrors the extraction of resources. Southern urban practices, particularly those held by grassroots practitioners, are frequently documented, circulated, and theorised without acknowledgement or return. They are rendered visible but not valued.

This project takes a different position. Sustainability, resilience, and urban futures cannot be designed from above. They must emerge from the existing practices of repair and maintenance that have long sustained urban life under conditions of neglect. To write from these practices is to engage in a form of epistemic resistance.

Toward a Collective Voice: Staying with the Work

The two strands now move toward a shared final convening: the Shaping Southern Urbanism(s) Symposium, a hybrid event later this year. Participants from both initiatives will share their writing with a broader audience through panels, public presentations, and a digital platform. There will also be a funders’ roundtable, an editorial workshop, and a collaborative writing sprint. Bringing the doctoral and postdoctoral trajectories together creates space for exchange across different stages of academic and practice-based work.

This is not simply an endpoint. It is a point of articulation, an opportunity to make visible something that has been forming across workshops, conversations, and shared encounters: a collective voice. That voice is not a singular or unified position but a set of relations, a way of thinking, writing, and working that remains open, contested, and in motion.

What has emerged across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the hybrid engagements is more than a body of research. It is a commitment to co-production, repair, and maintenance, not only as subjects of inquiry but as the methods through which knowledge itself is produced. This has meant holding space for uncertainty, letting ideas develop through iteration, and recognising that knowledge is always shaped through encounter across disciplines, geographies, and lived experience.

The project does not offer a finished framework. It foregrounds an ongoing practice, one that understands the city, like knowledge, as continuously made and remade and as needing attention, negotiation, and care.

To write from the South, then, is not to arrive at clarity once and for all. It is to remain in relation to place, to others, and to the conditions that shape both, and to keep building from within those relations, collectively.

With Thanks

This work has been shaped by a remarkable group of participants whose engagements, questions, and practices have grounded and carried the project forward: Buhle Mathole, Dagnachew Amberbir Ketema, Leigh Maurtin, Lelentle Ramphele, Mathewos W. Gebreyesus, Megan Ho-Tong, Mohau Moidi, Ngillan Faal, Nikheel Joshi, Paul Devonish, Phadi, Priscilla Namwanje, Sailas Hussein Matamanda, Selalelo Ramohlale, Sisipho Nqadala, Siyabulela Keith Ntuntwana, Tapiwa Maruza, Thabisani Nzimande, and Zakiyyah H.

It has been equally shaped by the generosity of speakers and contributors who opened critical spaces for dialogue, reflection, and exchange: Dr. Omar Abolnaga, Tom Chapman, Dr. Heather Dodd, Dr. Katie Ewing, Dr. Sandra Felix, Dr. Alicia Fortuin, Dr. Amina Kaskar, Daanyaal Loofer, Leigh Maurtin, Dr. Nobukhosi Ngwenya, Professor Emmanuel Nkambule, Professor Nancy Odendaal, Professor Catalina Ortiz, Dr. Christine Price, Dr. Anna Selmeczi, Dr. Brigitta Stone-Johnson, and Dr. Afua Wilcox.

This collective effort was made possible through the support and collaboration of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Foundation (IJURRF), the British Academy, the African Centre for Cities, the University of Cape Town, the University of Johannesburg Graduate School of Architecture, UCL Urban Lab, and 1to1 – Agency of Engagement through the Asivikalane Campaign. A wider network of partners and practitioners committed to more just and reparative urban futures also made it possible.

Together, these contributions do not resolve the questions the project raises. They extend them. In doing so, they point toward a practice of Southern urbanism that is not fixed but continually unfolding, held together by the care of those who keep showing up to do the work.

Research Teaching & Training

UCL Situated Fieldwork Workshop Series

The Situated Field Work Methods workshop series was designed to provide training and support to students towards conducting critically aware field research work. It was first iterated within the MAHUE Master’s programme at the Bartlett School of Architecture.

The workshops focused on utilizing critically positional, ethical, and innovative situated methods for research, catering to two distinct groups of students: those actively engaged in field work seeking to enhance their skills, and those interested in diverse research methods applicable across disciplines. Students honed their ability to position themselves in the research process with a keen awareness of their impact on others and the environment.

The workshops fostered a collaborative and multidisciplinary environment, encouraging collective learning and diverse perspectives. Graduates emerged as adept researchers equipped with specialized skills and ethical responsibility, ready to address real-world challenges with confidence and integrity.

The workshop series covered the challenges and opportunities in conducting research activities in the field. It helped students develop creative and positionally critical approaches to research by identifying necessary skills, knowledge sets, and contextual gaps. Students co-developed methods and techniques specific to their chosen project within the built environment disciplines.


The workshop series had a strong focus on developing self-awareness and understanding of others within the research process. Students learned how to navigate and engage with the research context through the Field Work Approach, and they were encouraged to unleash their creativity in designing innovative research methods through Creative Method Development. Collaboration with others in research production was a key aspect emphasized during the Collective Learning/Making sessions.

The overarching goal of the workshop series was to familiarize students with the complexities of ethically critical field work while empowering them to craft their unique approaches to research. The workshops emphasized the importance of producing ethically responsible, rigorous, and relevant research outcomes.

To achieve these objectives, the workshop series encompassed various learning activities, including seminars, group discussions, and co-developed tutorials. Throughout the workshops, students diligently worked on their Field Work Research Toolkit, which was tested on site and managed through group tutorials. The technical complexity of the toolkit was tailored to cater to the students’ comfort levels, ranging from handwritten questionnaires to sophisticated mobile applications.


Throughout the workshop series, students achieved a diverse range of learning outcomes. They developed a deep understanding of the complexities involved in field research work and recognized the significance of positionally critical research methods. Exploring various principles, theories, and concepts related to field research, they honed their skills and created personalized approaches to conducting research. Proficient in planning, preparing, and collecting information using contemporary methods like interviews, observation, documentation, and data collection, they prioritized safety for themselves and their research subjects.

The aim of their process was the creation of the comprehensive Field Work Research Toolkit, a collective effort refined through tutorials with the tutor, tailor-made to suit each student. Formative assessments provided valuable feedback during group tutorials, while the summative assessment centered on producing the toolkit in the students’ preferred format, providing crucial support for their major modules.

Action Research Research Teaching & Training

Southern Urbanist Practice Reading/Doing Group & Maintenance Corner

Myself and Lubaina Mirza co-convened a reading/doing group with the aim of fostering a peer-support community for urbanist practitioners. Our goal was to collectively explore and develop a shared understanding of Southern Urbanist Practices with those that were interested in similar topics. We invited collaborators who were interested in contributing to a practice-oriented research collective and co-developing ideas through a combination of reading groups, workshops, and action-research exercises. This was done through UCL Urban Lab’s Post Grad Urbanist Doctoral Network.

From this space, Lubaina Mirza, Catalina Ortiz and I developed a digital ‘Maintenance Corner’. This platform aims to provide an interactive space where scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts of Southern Urbanism can come together to explore, exchange, and advance their understanding of this transformative approach. With a strong focus on the practical aspects of Southern Urbanism, we strive to bridge the gap between theoretical discourse and real-world implementation.

Through this platform, we aspire to create an inclusive ecosystem where researchers, practitioners, and educators can connect and find inspiration, resources, and support to further their work in Southern Urbanism. Together, we hope to transcend borders and make a positive impact on urban practices worldwide.

https://southernurbanpractice.wordpress.com/

Reading/Doing Group Reflection

The concept of ‘Southern’ or ‘South’ was examined in the context of urban studies, focusing on the need for a more contextually attuned approach when working with cities outside the ‘Global North.’ The group aimed to challenge dominant urban theoretical insights based on relatively wealthy cities and explored alternative theoretical and epistemological resources for various urban situations worldwide.

The reading/doing group aimed to explore the operationalization of Southern Urbanism and the practical implications of working locationally from people and place, while countering peripheral positions to ‘a north.’ It encouraged reflections on the significance of Southern Urbanist Practices across different disciplines, geographies, and professional contexts.

Participants were invited to critically engage with questions about the relevance of academic debates on terminologies like ‘Global South’ or ‘Southern Cities’ to their individual and collective research or practice interests. The group served as a flexible space to address the challenges and aspirations of scholars and practitioners working between the north and south, seeking to explore tools and artefacts to further understand Southern Urbanist Practices.

Session 1: 11:00 – 13:00

11:00 – 11:10 Welcome & Introduction

11:10 – 11:30 Reflection Presentation from Reading/Doing (Lu and Jhono)

11:30 – 12:30 Panel 1 Presentation & Discussion: Southern Values in Context: 

  • Ola Uduku
  • Gautman Bhan
  • Beatrice De Carli

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break

Session 2: 13:30 – 15:30

13:30 – 14:30 Panel 2  Presentation & Discussion: Southern Values in Action 

  • Gabriella Carolini
  • Catalina Ortiz
  • Tanzil Shafique

14:30 – 15:00 Open Discussion

15:00 – 15:15 Closing Remarks/Reflection from Lead

15:30 Close

The final event sought to bring together a group of Southern Scholars to reflect with the Reading/Doing Group. This was held with the Bartlett Development Planning Unit’s BUDD programme. The broad findings are outlined below:

What Brought Everyone Together

  • Interested in exploring Southern Urban Design.
  • Wanted to connect with like-minded individuals.
  • Valued the connection between theory and practice.
  • Sought to understand South African cities in relation to broader theories.
  • They were interested in interdisciplinary connections with urban theories and practices.
  • Recognized the hierarchy and binary between rural and urban in Southern urban practices.
  • Eager to engage in discussions, readings, and connect with other PhD students exploring Southern Theory beyond the “north.”
  • Interested in understanding cities through social aspects and comparing different urban contexts.
  • Questioned and challenged the notions of the “north” and “south.”
  • Engaged with topics related to cities, social issues, and the global South.
  • Sought collective exploration of these questions through connection with others.

Emergent Values/Aspirations

  • (de/re)centering 
  • Diverse, heterodox, pluriversal, variegated, polyphonic 
  • Equal/just/inclusive 
  • Insurgent/emergent/indeterminate 
  • Uncertainties, un-knowledges, mistrust of authority 
  • Counter-hegemonic relationality – “sets of moving peripheries” 
  • Ethical standpoint, Situated positionality  
  • Decolonial, non-proprietary, non-extractive, 
  • “epistemic disobedience” 
  • “epistemic force fields” 

Emergent learning strategies discovered through SUP:  

  1. Working locationally – embedding/immersing, tuning into ‘here and now’, describing and accepting it as it is 
  2. Identifying ‘propositions’ 
  3.  Auto-ethnography feeding into case study reflections on the why and how of practice,  
  4. A-positivist analyses – speculative, creative, affective, generative and inviting emergence rather than rational and controlled
  5. Using common values (rather than research/project objectives) as guides or epistemological criteria for decision-making in situations of uncertainty 
  6. Attempting solidarities, creating self-organising structures for these 
  7. Collective rather than individual knowledge production/evaluation. E.g. peer reflection/review, co-production, PAR, collaborative transcribing and analysis of what matters… 

Emergent Core Ideas

These findings provide insights into the challenges, perspectives, and approaches discussed in various actions and discussions on Southern Urbanism and knowledge production in the gSouthern locations. They emphasise the need for critical engagement, decolonization, and a plurality of perspectives to better understand and address the complexities of Southern cities.

False North/South Divide: 

The dichotomy between the North and the South was problematized, and there was an acknowledged need to move beyond these labels and understand the cities from new perspectives. The focus is on creating pluralistic readings of cities and challenging the dominant theories derived from Western cities. The aim is to build theory from multiple perspectives and locations, acknowledging the intra-south nuances and diversities.

Theory and Practice: The discussion highlights the need to rethink the way theory is produced and the larger conceptual trajectories. Practice is localised and intertwined with theory, and there is a recognition that practitioners should be involved in knowledge interpretation. The importance of self-reflection, questioning positionality, and understanding values within theories and actions is emphasised.

Methods and Approaches: 

The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding the context and trying to make sense of conditions in Southern cities. The focus is on making the invisible visible and reflecting on the details of makeshift lives and institution building from these knowledge systems. Multiple levels of analysis are necessary, including how students and experts make sense and how institutions make sense. Comparisons to other contexts and expanding the field were described as crucial.

Knowledge Production: 

The politics of knowledge production outside of ‘northern contexts are critical. It is important to challenge the dominant narratives and perspectives, and there is a need for a decolonial point of view. The limitations of post-colonial theory are recognized, and the focus is on understanding the underlying forces that shape societies and Southern Urbanism. Translating concepts and creating a global archive are seen as essential steps in this.

Audience and Engagement: 

There was a call to listen and ask who is absent in knowledge production. It is necessary to question the assumptions and norms in disciplines and engage with practitioners and vulnerable communities/grroups. The intention of the message and the consequences of practice should be considered. Humanising practice, recognizing individual experiences, and understanding the consequences of messaging are emphasised.

Professionalised Problematics: 

There was an acknowledgement of the lack of engagement on the differences on how  issues such as class versus race were understood in ‘southern systems’ compared to perspectives from the Northern contexts. Professionals (in practice) often fail to acknowledge the traceability of concepts visually and systemically, and there is a need for a lens to nuance and reflect on room experience. The displaceability and displacement of concepts, as well as the hybridization of practice, are also problematics that professions/scholars struggle to address.

Decolonization and Hybridity: 

The decolonization of knowledge was recognised as a key concern, while working within eurocentric structures. There was a call to circulate knowledge with sensitivity to place and historical differences and to decolonize urban aesthetics. The hybridization of ideas, avoiding binaries, and creating space for new ideas are seen as essential for moving forward.

Southern Urbanism as a Concept: 

There is no consensus on epistemologies, questions, and methods in Southern Urbanism. This is not necessarily an issue, but an opportunity to accept places on their own terms and use ideas, concepts and practices that are based on place. 

Specific learning strategies discovered through SUP:  

  1. Working locationally – embedding/immersing, tuning into ‘here and now’, describing and accepting it as it is 
  2. Identifying ‘propositions’ 
  3.  Auto-ethnography feeding into case study reflections on the why and how of practice,  
  4. A-positivist analyses – speculative, creative, affective, generative and inviting emergence rather than rational and controlled (e.g. our fieldtrips or games like 2 truths and a lie) 
  5. Using common values (rather than research/project objectives) as guides or epistemological criteria for decision-making in situations of uncertainty 
  6. Attempting solidarities, creating self-organising structures for these 
  7. Collective rather than individual knowledge production/evaluation. E.g. peer reflection/review, co-production, PAR, collaborative transcribing and analysis of what matters…
Learning Teaching & Training

WIP+ Doctoral Support Initiative: Season 2 – Navigations

WIP+ (Work in Progress Plus) was a student-led initiative established by PhD students at the Bartlett School of Architecture. It aimed to connect and support doctoral cohorts within the program and served as a platform for sharing knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Season 2: Navigations built on the success of Season 1: Pilot and included new initiatives such as WIPWeek, an orientation week for new students, and the continued use of working group structures like Writing Collab, PhD Knowledge Share, and WIP Works Share. These sessions provided opportunities for peer support, writing practice, and sharing doctoral-related skills and experiences.

The initiative’s growth and development were made possible through the volunteer efforts of previous PhD students who had been actively involved since 2019. During Season 2, the aim was to expand its reach by involving BSA staff and establishing connections with other schools of architecture in London to foster collaborative learning.

The monthly poster featured confirmed speakers, topics, and dates for each session, facilitating easy access to information about upcoming events.

This year included an additional series of events with the AA, RCA and Cambridge Doctoral Programmes: X-Doc Social. These activities were developed to support Architectural doctoral students across London.

WIP+ has now been closed after 2 years of support (and the need for the co-convenors to finish their degrees), and will be hosted as an asynchronous digital resource: B-Doc Support Platform (currently under development).

WIP+ acknowledged and credited the contributions of former volunteers and convenors, as well as the 2022 Season 2 Committee, including those involved in graphic design: WIP+ 2022 Season 2 Committee: Jhono Bennett, Zahira El Nazer, Anna Wild, Elizabeth Selby, Thomas Holberton, Danielle Ovalle Costal, Jonathan Tyrell, Thomas Parker, Katerina Zacharopoulou  Ecem Egrin (Graphic Design).

Design Research Research Teaching & Training

UG Unit 2: Bartlett BSc Architecture

During this teaching year at the Bartlett School of Architecture, I began teaching with Zachary Fluker of Ao-Ft in our co-developed: Unit 2: Systems of Exchange. Our focus revolved around the urban challenges faced by cities like London, with a particular emphasis on affordable living, housing, and shared facilities in the city’s boroughs. As a unit, we strongly believe that self-build practices offer significant potential in addressing these concerns, and our goal was to tap into this potential and explore the socio-technical dimensions of these systems through the teaching framework.

(Image: Aryan Kaul)

Unit Support: Simon Beames, Dr. Beatrice De Carli, Alberto Fernandez Gonzalez, Tamara Khan, Jakub Klaska, Tony Le, Rowan Mackay, James Palmer, Thomas Parker, Liz Tatarintseva, Synnove Fredericks, Yağiz Söylev, Eric Crevels, Jonathan Tyrell, Egmontas Geras, Sarah Harding, Margarita Garfias Royo , Elly Selby, Isaac Simpson, Liz Tatarintseva, Unit 21, Unit 09

Research Summary from Unit Group Work

Our unit’s longer-term objective is to unlock the potential of human-centered, community-based systems through genuine exchanges of “hand-made data” and contextually valuable resources. To begin this, we directed our efforts towards supporting existing community self-build projects in East London, particularly in the Borough of Tower Hamlets this year. We aimed to engage with the challenges and opportunities in urban exchange systems across physical and virtual realms.

Throughout the year, our students critically questioned the concept of DIY culture and evaluated the empowering potential of self-build practices, allowing individuals to actively shape the cities they inhabit. All sites chosen for our projects were existing identified Self-Build sites by the Tower Hamlet’s Local Council, part of the Greater London authority’s Self-Build schemes.

Our students explored self-build architectures in these contexts and developed their own documentation and design techniques in response. We aimed to create responsible processes that strike a balance between individual and mass production, virtual and physical realms, and considerations of both small and large scales.

P1 – Me:Object┃Me:Space┃Me:Us
P2 – Systems of Exchange: Self-Built Learning
Bartlett Summer Show 2023 Exhibition
Research Teaching & Training

Researching Architecture as Urban Method (RAUM)


After facing multiple obstacles such as the Covid pandemic and the ramifications of Brexit, I am happy to share the long-awaited Researching Architecture as Urban Method (RAUM) project website is finally live. This collaborative endeavor aimed to delve into the realm of spatial design education within the context of global urban development challenges.

https://raummobilityexchange.wordpress.com/

The RAUM project brought together institutions from India, South Africa, and the UK, engaging in a teaching mobility program. The primary objective was to foster the exchange of pedagogical models, methodologies, and tools, enabling the education of future spatial practitioners on critical issues like climate change and social inequality, which have a profound impact on cities worldwide.

With its launch, the website now serves as a collective output that meticulously documents the diverse range of activities and methodologies explored across different geographical settings. It provides an invaluable archive showcasing the extensive efforts made throughout the project. The website’s content offers detailed insights into the various activities undertaken, allowing visitors to delve into the wealth of knowledge and experiences gained.

The dedicated team behind the project consists of esteemed individuals who contributed their expertise, passion, and dedication to its success. We express our gratitude to:

  • Tatjana Schneider
  • Florian Kossak
  • Beatrice De Carli
  • Gauri Bharat
  • Jigna Desai
  • Jhono Bennett
  • Pingping Dou
  • Angus Donald Campbell
  • Rutul Joshi
  • Tuliza Sindi
  • Terence Fenn
  • Andong Lu

In addition to the project team, we extend our appreciation to the project supporters who played a vital role in making RAUM possible:

  • Carolyne Butterworth (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Jabu Absolum Makhabu (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
  • John Paul Walker (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Goran Vodicka (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Lu Feng (Nanjing University, China)
  • Krzysztof Nawratek (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Mark Parsons (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Niki Sole (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Nishat Awan (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Simeon Shtebunaev (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
  • Suzette Van Der Walt (1to1 – Agency of Engagement)
  • Tariq Toffa (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)

As I reflect on the journey, we are amazed by the collaborative efforts and the exchange of ideas within this extensive network. The RAUM project has laid the foundation for transformative discussions and innovative approaches to urban development challenges. We eagerly anticipate the future trajectory of these ideas and the potential impact they may have on shaping sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities.

Research Teaching & Training

ETH – UnMasking Space: Southern Urbanisms

On March 30th, I had the pleasure of hosting a group of Swiss and ‘southern’ architecture students discuss and unpack ideas of urban design through a ‘southern’ lens. I was invited to speak by ETH’s Unmasking Space team (https://unmasking.space/) who have put together an amazing syllabus that is engaging with critical questions within architecture and design.

The seminar was designed to create a shared space of reflection and discussion between participants from around the world and engage with ideas of positionality, situatedness and start a discussion around ideas ‘southern’ and its relationship to urban design. I shared some initial findings from doctoral research, and we co-produced a series of mind maps through a rich discussion.

We had a diverse group of students attend who shared their perspectives on the subject matter, which made for an engaging and enlightening discussion. The course material provided included some insightful reads such as ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’ by Donna Haraway “Notes on a Southern Urban Practice” from Gautam Bhan and “City of Walls.” by Teresia Caldeira.

During the seminar, we covered various topics, including inclusive design approaches, spatial justice, critical positionality, and urban planning in cities. I hope that the seminar attendees gained as much insight and nuance as I did from the discussions, and I was grateful to have had the opportunity to share some of my knowledge and research journey.

The discussions are continuing in our reading/doing group on Southern Urbanist Practice. (https://join.slack.com/t/southernurban-pwo3284/shared_invite/zt-1s67ebtuu-FlZ3~kSl6_ZZSjaoCTpDug)

Action Research Facilitation & Engagement Research Teaching & Training

ACC: Southern Urbanism Master’s Studio 2022

I was fortunate to have received an invitation to be a guest Studio Lead at the African Center for Cities in 2022, where I had the opportunity to teach one of their City Research Studios as part of the Masters in Southern Urbanism programme at the University of Cape Town.

The City Research Studios are an integral component of the programme, providing students with an immersive and practical learning experience that enables them to develop real-world solutions to urban challenges. As the instructor of the City Research Studio, I was responsible for guiding and supporting the students in their research and design project, as well as facilitating group discussions and critiques of their work. It was an exciting and fulfilling experience to work with the talented and motivated students, and to be part of a community of scholars and practitioners who are dedicated to advancing our understanding of the complex urban issues facing cities in the global South.

The MPhil in Southern Urbanism program aims to address the unique environmental, economic, and social challenges posed by the unprecedented increase in urban population growth in Asia and Africa. The program challenges traditional assumptions of Urban Studies dominated by Global North theories and encourages critical engagement and plural perspectives with a Global South viewpoint. The full-time 18-month program offers a combination of guided learning, experimentation, and independent thesis research, leading to a minor dissertation based on individual fieldwork. The program curriculum includes coursework and a City Research Studio, interdisciplinary urban modules, and urban-focused electives. The program is taught in English and supervised by expert faculty in the University of Cape Town’s Humanities, Engineering and Built Environment, or Science faculties.

I worked closely with Professor Anna Selmeczi, Dr. Nobhukhosi Ngwenya alongside Professor Edgar Pieterse who oversee the course and conceptually arrange the program. The literature for this course focused on homelessness in Cape Town, South Africa. Core readings include The Inkathalo Conversations Phase One Comprehensive Report, The Cost of Homelessness in Cape Town, and Exploring the Lived Experiences of Homelessness in a Cape Town Suburb. Additional resources cover various aspects of homelessness in Cape Town, including policies, statistics, and the impact on individuals. Other readings examine homelessness in South Africa and other regions around the world. The literature provides insights into the causes and consequences of homelessness, as well as potential approaches to address the issues involved.

2022 Studio Group:

Rebekka Ammann
Moreblessing Chipangura
McDonald Galimoto
Leta Honegger
Eric Hubbard
Lateefah Joseph-Rajab
Mukundwa Makabane
Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi
Shakira Qwabe
Anna Zweifel

As the studio lead for CRS 3, my role was to guide the participants in their exploration of systems mapping as a tool to address complex urban problems, with a focus on homelessness in Cape Town. Throughout the studio sessions, we engaged with key stakeholders, visited sites, and had discussions with experts to better understand the issue at hand.

In session one, we welcomed participants and clarified expectations for the studio. We learned about the state of homelessness in South African cities from expert James Clacherty and Brian Adams from the Economic Development Partnership. We also received an introduction to systems mapping and created individual maps of homelessness in Cape Town.

In session two, we had site visits to various locations related to homelessness, coordinated by Nobukhosi Ngwenya and Brian Adams. We also discussed our individual systems maps from the previous session and identified a process to produce a group map.

In session three, we continued our exploration of systems mapping with an introduction to the tool and group-based application of its steps, facilitated by myself

In session four, we discussed the six conditions of systems change and had a panel discussion with various stakeholders about the challenges associated with homelessness and potential solutions. We also revisited and refined our group systems map.

In session five, we focused on the implementation of solutions based on our systems map, and each group produced an implementation task list for a specific sector and a series of visual summaries of the systems thinking tools.

The City Research Studio on Homelessness provided us with a valuable opportunity to explore the complexities of addressing the issue of homelessness in our communities. Homelessness is a wicked problem that requires a systems-level approach to understand and address the many factors that contribute to it. Through this course, we learned about the various societal challenges involved in tackling homelessness, including the lack of affordable housing, mental health and addiction issues, poverty, and social stigma.

One of our key takeaways from this course was the importance of using systems thinking to address wicked problems like homelessness. By understanding the interconnectedness of various factors, we can better design solutions that address root causes rather than just symptoms. The use of visual tools, such as mind maps and system maps, was also beneficial in visualizing the complexity of the issue and identifying potential leverage points for change.

Another valuable aspect of the City Research Studio was the focus on design thinking methods and the inclusion of diverse groups in the process. Design thinking allowed us to approach the issue of homelessness from a human-centered perspective and to develop solutions that address the needs of those experiencing homelessness. The inclusion of diverse groups, including those with lived experience of homelessness, provided important insights and perspectives that would have been missed otherwise.

The course also highlighted the many complications and challenges of tackling wicked problems like homelessness. The issue is deeply entrenched and complex, and there are no easy solutions. The political and economic realities of our society also pose challenges, as addressing homelessness requires significant resources and political will.

Research Socio-Technical Teaching & Training

Jus’t Spatial Design Digital Resource Platform

Developed during the first lock-down in 2020, this initiative was conceived as a means of translating the ‘back-of-house’ research and training work that was being done through 1to1 – Agency of Engagement and my doctoral research. We named this initiative Jus’t Spatial Design ZA and worked to make it accessible to as many people who could use it in their work.

JDS_ZA Project Details

The platform was developed from an early digital resource that I developed while teaching at the University of Johannesburg and was seen as a way to support practitioners (research, design and socio-technical) in their work towards Spatial Justice in South African cities. Each of these terms are carefully unpacked and include quick links, academic references and a local/global comparison for each part:

The website offers a series of Practice Framings that aims to assist those working across this sector a way to describe their work through local and global terms.

Socio-Technical Spatial Design
Just Neighborhood Making
Just Spatial Design

The platform has been further enhanced with the support of Adheema Davis to include a Contribution Section that is busy collecting a multitude of different voices on this topic, with a regular publication schedule. Contributors are invited to submit a short writing, visual or other media idea in exchange for editing, development support and a cohort of similar writers that we have been facilitating.

Contributions Page

Cohort 1 Profile Page

Writing Club Cohort 1 – Co Production Miro Board

These are shared and connected across the various social media platforms that the initiative manages.

JSD_ZA @Twitter
JSD_ZA @ Instagram
JDS_ZA @ LinkedIn

The platform also houses a growing set of resources that I add as my own doctoral work covers these fields. This is imagined to grow and adapted in the future to be more thorough and relevant.

Additional Resources Page

Jus’t Spatial Design ZA is still largely in development, but is seen as a collaborative project. If you are interested in join or get involved in way – please contact the team!

Action Research Facilitation & Engagement Research Socio-Technical Teaching & Training

BUDD DPU Practice Engagement: Sheffield Otherwise

As part of my work with the DPU’s BUDD Programme, I assisted in the digital structuring and communication of their yearly Overseas Practice Engagement. Due to the limitations of the pandemic, this year it was held in Sheffield, England with Resolve Collective, Gut Level and SADACCA with the support of Urban Ark at Sheffield Hallam University.

Project Website Summary

The project was developed and executed by Dr. Catalina Ortiz, Dr. Natalia Villamizar, Dr. Giorgio Talocci and Laia Fernandez Garcia from the DPU, with myself and Nihal Hafez in support.

Project Thematics Areas (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)

The short and cussed participative engagement was broken into 4 thematic lenses that had students working closely with the project partners to engage with a series of action research questions and co-design exercises in supporting the work of those involved.

Project Background (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)
Projects Aims (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)
Project Focus (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)

The week was supplmented by a series of public events that brought together a host of different local actors, practitioners and people from across Sheffield.

Public Events (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)

The week was packed with engagements, and had the students staying and working on site each day and each evening.

Project Background (developed by BUDD Tutors & shared from project website)

The workshops was carefully documented in both a Daily Blog, as well as a live Instagram account, allowing the project partners involved to share and connect through the week’s activities.

With a final project report that shared and covers all of the student research and design proposal work which was shared and made available to all involved in the project, and publicly accessible here.

Action Research Facilitation & Engagement Research Teaching & Training

WIP+ Bartlett School of Architecture PhD Support Programme

In response to effects the Covid 19 Lockdowns has on the doctoral culture here at UCL, I have played a part in leading an initiative, alongside Zahira El Nazer and a Committee of students, that aimed to bring the PhD Cohort together in support of peer learning and training here at the Bartlett School of Architecture.

This initiative was started a few years ago by previous PhD students (acknowledged below) with the amazing graphic design by our fellow PhD candidate Ecem Egrin.

Graphic Work: Ecem Egrin

“WIP+ (Work in Progress Plus) is a student-led initiative set up by PhD students at The Bartlett School of Architecture to connect and support the doctoral cohort across all streams of the programme.

WIP+ is intended to be a supplementary student-led support space to The Bartlett PhD Programme that works alongside existing training resources. The initiative is seen as a means to foster a platform for new and current PhD scholars to connect and share their knowledge, skills, and experience. The WIP+ has been developed through the volunteer efforts of previous PhD students who have launched and maintained this initiative since 2019. 

Graphic Work: Ecem Egrin

WIP+ is currently structured through seasons that will see different student groups convening and overseeing curated sets of themes, topics or focuses. The Season 1 program has been developed from a survey undertaken in 2021 and will act as a pilot for WIP+ initiative. The 2022 programme has been supported by funding from both The Bartlett School of Architecture PhD Programme and The Bartlett Faculty Doctoral Initiative Fund Award. 

All events are recorded and available on the Teams Group along with all documented resources and links. Join the Teams Group to be involved. There have already been several sessions this year to catch up on the teams site. The remaining sessions are detailed below. 

https://www.instagram.com/bsa_wipplus

WIP+ 2022 Season 1 Committee: Jhono Bennett, Zahira El Nazer, Kirti Durelle, Sepehr Zhand and Tumpa Fellows.

WIP+ Speakers: Kerry-Jo Reilly, Ana Wild, Zahira El Nazer, Sepehr Zhand, Stelios Giamarelos, Nathaniel Telemaque, Alberto Fernández González, Thomas Parker, Danielle Hewitt, Sol Perez Martinez, Saptarshi Sanyal, Ram Shergill, Omar Abolnaga, Petra Seitz, Noami Gibson, Jhono Bennett, Keri Culhane, Olivier Bellfamme, Steph Fell, Zoe Quick, Dr Dasha Moschonas and Dr. Beatrice De Carli

WIP+ Volunteers and Support Team: Ecem Egrin (Graphic Design), Thomas Parker, Jonathan Tyrell, Danielle Ovalle Costal, Danielle Hewitt, Thomas Dyckhoff, Kirti Durelle, Tumpa Fellows, Mine Sak Acur, Melih Kamaoğlu

Former WIP+ Leaders & Founders: Danielle Hewitt, Aisling O’Carrol, Sol Perez Martinez and Claire Tunnacliffe