Talk

Learning from the late Renée Gailhoustet

The City is a Room

Wednesday 5 June 2024 6.30 - 8pm

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre | Burlington Gardens or digital livestream

£15 / £9 in person or £8 / £5 online

Friends of the RA book first

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Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme

Renée Gailhoustet transformed the outskirts of Paris with radical new housing. Join Nichola Barrington-Leach, of NVBL Architects, to explore what we can learn from Gailhoustet’s buildings at a time of housing crisis.

Following a six-week residency in Paris, Nichola Barrington-Leach will present her in-depth research into Renée Gailhoustet’s life and buildings. In this lecture, she will share new drawings, photography, models and insights into Gailhoustet’s innovative approach to architecture. Expect an exploration of scale, detail, materials, and geometry, all in the pursuit of optimistic and generous housing.

Following her lecture, Barrington-Leach will be joined by architects and thinkers to discuss what we can learn from Gailhoustet’s work today. How can these transformative buildings in Paris inform solutions to the UK’s housing crisis? And how can intelligent, principled design make cities better for people?

During the talk, there will be time for questions and contributions from the audience.

Speakers:

Nichola Barrington-Leach is the founder and director of NVBL, an architecture and design office based in London. Her studio focuses on collaborative, environmentally conscious design, rooted in thorough research of context and a deep understanding of materials. NVBL has designed and delivered a diverse range of projects, from cultural installations to residential refurbishments to handcrafted objects, all with a commitment to sustainability and low-carbon principles.

Nichola founded the International Architecture Collaboration (IAC) in 2020. She is a Unit Master at the Architectural Association and Kingston School of Arts and mentors at the Royal College of Art. She was the RA Renée Gailhoustet Resident in 2023.

Gilles Delalex is a principal of the French architecture firm Muoto, based in Paris. He founded Muoto with Yves Moreau in 2003. The studio’s work often features minimal structures that can combine different activities, evolve in time, and merge economical and aesthetic issues. Since its establishment, the studio has realized various projects ranging from master plans, public buildings, housing, and installations. Muoto curated the French Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.

Gilles is full professor at the Paris-Malaquais School of Architecture, head of the department THP (Theory, History, Project), and co-director of the research lab LIAT focusing on infrastructures.

Alison Crawshaw founded her own studio in 2014 after ten years in practice in London and New York. She has extensive experience in the design and delivery of public space and urban strategy and a thorough understanding of arts practice and institutions. Previously, she worked at muf architecture/ art where she was project architect of Barking Town Square, winner of the European Prize for Urban Space.

Alison has tutored at a number of architecture schools including Cambridge University, the Architectural Association, the Royal College of Art, London and the Bauhaus in Dessau.

Elena Pascolo (Chair) is co-founder of Urban Projects Bureau, a leading creative agency specialising in architecture, urbanism, spatial strategy and design. Elena is an architect and urbanist, trained with extensive experience in practice in the UK, South Africa and South America.

Elena is currently a Unit Master at the AA Housing and Urbanism Masters programme.

Nichola Barrington-Leach’s residency was generously funded by the British Council and supported by the FRAC Centre Orleans in celebration of Renée Gailhoustet winning the 2022 RA Architecture Prize.

£15 / £9 in person or £8 / £5 online

Friends of the RA book first

Join now

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme