Talk

Is there such a thing as "boring" architecture?

Panel discussion

Wednesday 24 April 2024 6.30 - 8pm

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre | Burlington Gardens & digital livestream

£15 / £9 in person or £8 / £5 online

Friends of the RA book first

Join now

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme

Are there too many boring buildings? Join Thomas Heatherwick RA, Farshid Moussavi OBE RA and Austin Williams for a panel discussion that considers the role of judgement in architecture.

Are we in the midst of a “blandemic” of boring architecture, or is there joy to be found in our new urban public spaces? Our panel will consider the role of “boring” architecture in our cities, exploring what it means to describe architecture in this way and whether subjective terms such as this one are useful in current architectural debate. They will ask whether we need more “exciting” buildings and consider if we can afford to think of architecture in this way, at a time of housing crisis and climate crisis.

Join us for what promises to be an engaging and inspiring evening, discussing ways we can bring joy back to our streets.

Speakers:

Thomas Heatherwick RA is a world-renowned designer, whose varied work is characterised by its inventiveness and humanity. In 2013, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the design industry and elected as a Royal Academician. Heatherwick Studio is a global team of over 200 makers, designers and architects dedicated to making the physical world more joyful and engaging. Some of their work includes the 2012 Olympic Cauldron, Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross and Little Island in New York.

Farshid Moussavi OBE RA is an internationally acclaimed architect and Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her approach is characterised by an openness to change and a commitment to the intellectual and cultural life of architecture. She lectures regularly at arts institutions and schools of architecture worldwide. Her recent book Architecture & Micropolitics demonstrates the interaction of architecture and society through four key designs by her award-winning architectural practice, Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA).

Chair:

Austin Williams is the director of the Future Cities Project, course leader in the post-graduate diploma programme in Architecture and Professional Practice at Kingston School of Art in London, and Honorary Research Fellow at XJTLU University, Suzhou, China. He is the author of several books, including China’s Urban Revolution and Enemies of Progress, and was the convenor of the Critical Subjects: Architecture & Design School, held in February 2024. He also chairs the Bookshop Barnies and hosts the Professional Practice Podcasts.

£15 / £9 in person or £8 / £5 online

Friends of the RA book first

Join now

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme