MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE (MArch) STUDIO 4 : EMERGENT STUDIO 2008-2017 In this, the last year of existence of the Emergent Studio, it is perhaps the moment to ruminate upon the last nine years, and reflect upon our collective achievements. The Studio has its genesis in 2008, the nomenclature drawing upon the writings of Fritjof Capra, who suggested that ‘Emergent’ organisations were outward looking, dynamic, creative and able to respond to changing circumstances. We embarked upon a journey predicated upon some core values.
L-R Juhani Pallasmaa, Roger Tyrrell, Richard Leplastrier Morocco 2012
The Studio has its intellectual platform within the realm of phenomenology. We have consistently worked in locations and contexts that are not ‘our own’. We have striven to adopt a humane tectonic approach to architectural endeavour, and have consistently sought to provide a transformative learning environment for students. In those nine years we have travelled to and worked within diverse contexts: Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Morocco and more latterly Bosnia and Slovenia. We have sought out places that somehow expose to students the primal conditions of architecture. We have collaborated with Universities in Denmark, Morocco, Australia, Finland, Bosnia and Slovenia providing enriched learning experiences for students. The Studio has been populated with inspiring collaborators: Dr. Richard Bunt, Professor Geoffrey Broadbent, Sir Colin Stansfield-Smith, Dr. Adrian Carter, Dr. Lars Botin, Michael Larring, Andrew Malbon, Paul Cashin, Line Nørskov Eriksen, Wendy Perring, Ricky Evans, Simon Astridge, and Richard Leplastrier. We thank you all sincerely. The Studio has been led by stimulating teachers: Nicola Crowson, Greg Bailey and Darren Bray, consistently challenged orthodoxies and pre-conceptions. Again: deepest thanks. In 2012 we organised our first International Symposium and Workshop in Morocco, led by Jan Utzon, Juhani Pallasmaa and Richard Leplastrier and in 2015 our second Symposium and Workshop event in Sydney and Tasmania, led by Richard Leplastrier, Lena Tranberg, and Juhani Pallasmaa. However, the measure of a Studio is not in where we went, who contributed, who taught and what we did. The measure is in the trajectory of our students, some of whom now collaborate with the Studio, some of whom have their own Practices, or are team members of renowned Practices in such diverse locations as the UK, Denmark, Norway, Kuwait, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, and the USA. We thank all our students past and present. You taught us so much. In the spirit of Emergence although the Emergent Studio is no more, it will again emerge in another form and another place. Roger Tyrrell
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