[URBANTH-L]CFP: URBAN ARTEFACTS : TYPES, PRACTICES, CIRCULATIONS

[Angela Jancius]

From: g.b.prato at kent.ac.uk

URBAN ARTEFACTS : TYPES, PRACTICES, CIRCULATIONS
Interdisciplinary Seminar – University of Neuchâtel – Switzerland

THEME :

Globalization extends to the circulation not only of goods and persons, but
also of seemingly irremovable spatial artefacts and building types.
Chinatowns and mosques spread in Western cities, and skyscrapers,
parliaments and office towers are erected in Asia. The seminar assembles
scholars from various disciplines to discuss the worldwide circulation of
urban artefacts and the related problems of local adaptation. The different
panels address how in different societies buildings such as skyscrapers,
mosques or parliaments are imported and adapted to the local context or how
they are designated and marketed as exotic. The presenters discuss how
architects, planners and real estate developers deal with circulating
artefacts and they look at local controversies surrounding specific
buildings.

PROGRAMME:

Thursday, 14th of June 2007 :

1.00 pm - 1.30 pm : Introduction
Michael Guggenheim (University of Zürich, CH) & Ola Söderström (University
of Neuchâtel, CH)

1.30 pm - 3.45 pm : Selling Built Form with Texts and Images

Chair: Janine Dahinden (University of Neuchâtel, CH)
Ute Lehrer (York University, CA): 
The Urban Artefact as a Prototype for Lifestyle Changes: Sales Offices,
Billboards and Advertisement Strategies for Condominium Towers in Toronto
Monika Grubauer (Technical University Vienna, AT): 
The High-Rise Office Tower as a Global “Type”: Exploring the Architectural
World of Getty Images
Jennifer Leeman & Gabriela Modan (George Mason University & The Ohio State
University, US): 
The Spatial Commodification of Language in Washington DC’s Chinatown

4.15 pm - 5.45 pm : The Location of Modernism

Chair: Laurent Stalder (ETH Zürich, CH)
Paul Anderson (University of Edinburgh, GB): 
The Manifestation of a Building Event: Organising the Translation of
Architecture and the Case of the Singapore Highrise
Habib Sayah (EPFL, CH): 
The Origin of Adaptation in Modern Architecture: an Example from Lebanon

6.15pm - 7.15 pm : Invited lecture
Anthony King (State University of New York, Binghampton, US): 
Notes Towards a (Historical) Sociology of Building Types (or Spatial
Artifacts)

7.15 pm - 8 pm : Aperitif sponsored by STS-CH, followed by a Conference
Dinner at 8.30 pm 

Friday, 15th of June 2007 :

9 am - 11.15 am : Recreating Space and Memory

Chair: Ellen Hertz (University of Neuchâtel, CH)
Ralf G. Brand (University of Manchester, GB): 
The Make-Up of Malaysia
Petra Kuppinger (Monmouth College, US):
Negotiating Muslim Spaces and Spatialities in Stuttgart, Germany
Mary Hancock (University of California, Santa Barbara, US): 
The Future of “Living History” in a South Indian Suburb

11.30 am - 12.30 pm : Invited lecture
Lynda Schneekloth (University of Buffalo, US): 
Water and the Imagination of Public Infrastructure

2.00 pm - 2.30 pm : 
Presentation of the European Research Networking Programme “Socio-Technical
Studies of Architecture and Urbanism”
Simon Guy (University of Manchester, GB)

2.30 pm - 4 pm : The Mountains and the City

Chair: Sylvain Malfroy (University of Neuchâtel, CH)
Tim Edensor (Manchester Metropolitan University, GB): 
Cities and Stone
Bernard Debarbieux (University of Geneva, CH): 
Urban Artificial Mountains and the Staging of Civilisation

4.30 pm - 6pm : Engagement and Orientation in the City

Chair: Stephanie Hering (University of Basel, CH)
Luca Pattaroni & Vincent Kaufmann (EPFL, CH): 
Toward a Pragmatic Approach of Territory
Claudio Coletta (University of Trento, IT):
Where the Streets Have No Names: Toponymy Practices and the Performing of a
Territory

6 pm - 6.30 pm : Concluding remarks 
Ola Söderström & Michael Guggenheim


INFORMATION & CONTACT :

The seminar is organised by Ola Söderström and Michael Guggenheim. It is
held at the Institute of Geography, University of Neuchâtel, Espace
Louis-Agassiz 1, 2000 Neuchâtel. The Institute of Geography is part of the
Maison d’Analyse des Processus Sociaux (MAPS), which aims at studying the
circulation of knowledge, people and capital.

For further information

http://www.unine.ch/maps 
http://www.unine.ch/geographie