Guy, Simon | United Kingdom

Guy, Simon | United Kingdom

Fellow at IAS-STS: 2003/2004

 

Simon Guy is Professor of Urban Development, Director of the Centre for Urban Technology in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, and Dean of Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle. His research interests revolve around the social production and consumption of technology and the material environment. His research approach has involved the development of an innovative sociological approach to urban development, in particular aimed at critically understanding the technical strategies and socio-economic processes framing environmental change. In October 2003 Simon Guy was Guest Lecturerer at IAS-STS.  

 

Project at IAS-STS: Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture

This project will examine the relationships between diverse technical design strategies and competing conceptions of ecological place-making. It discusses the conceptual challenges involved in defining what we mean by calling a building 'green', and outline a social constructivist perspective on the development of sustainable architecture. The presentation will identify alternative logic's of ecological design which have their roots in competing interpretations of the environmental problem, and explores the ways in which each logic pre-figures technological strategies and alternative visions of sustainable places. Finally, I will highlights the implications of the contested nature of ecological design for architectural education, practice and research.