Thursday, 21 February 2019 at 6:00 pm – Thursday, 21 February 2019 at 7:30 pm
Vincent Walsh - Metabolic Urbanism
Master of Landscape Architecture Open Lectures 2018-19
Date: Thursday 21st February 2019
Time: 18.00-19.30
Location: Chatham Building, Lecture Theatre 312
Tickets: Free - Available on Eventbrite
Vincent’s background includes architecture, urbanism, agricultural technologies and ecological life support systems. His doctoral research was chosen as one of the 100 Big Ideas that will change the future by the Research Council UK, and he was awarded the Nick Reeves Award for Arts, Water and the Environment. Vincent investigates the integration of biological and technological urban infrastructures to support urban circularity and adaptability, to transform linear systems of consumption and waste to a sustainable and regenerative circular model, creating opportunities for economic gains. His research method is a transdisciplinary, whole-system approach, focused on the emergence of new biological infrastructure, innovation and cultures.
Vincent is the UK Partnership Executive for the Biopolus Group, an international organisation providing technology for integrated urban circularity, and a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation CE100 elite club, representing the most influential organisations in the development of Circular Economy. Biopolus created the BioMakery, an urban metabolic hub, to integrate circular urban infrastructure and technology with open innovation, helping cities transition from their current linear system of consumption and waste, to a sustainable and regenerative circular model.
This talk will cover Vincent’s varied background and interests which led him to his phD and his current role, and will emphasise the importance of a systems-based, holistic approach to the design and planning of the built environment. His work, and that of the Biopolus Group, integrates architecture, engineering and ecological process in ways which have huge potential implications for our landscapes and cities in an era of radical rethinking of the way we live in response to climate change.
The MLA Open Lecture series is delivered by invited guest speakers, mainly from outside MMU whose work is closely connected to the overarching focus of the Master of Landscape Architecture Atelier projects for the year. In this case, they are entitled 'Reinventing Rurality' and involve a series of speakers whose research or publications look at the challenges and opportunities faced by rural landscapes and communities today from a range of different perspectives. These lectures are also part of a longer term ambition to develop a research project around the theme of the Hyper-Rural. This will sit mainly within the Architecture Research Centre but also involve researchers from a wide range of disciplines including potentially Geography, Ecology, Fine Arts and Humanities. The project will work with external partners in the UK and internationally to explore potential rural futures and the landscapes which these may give rise to. A current MSARC bid has been submitted and further bids are planned to the AHRC and NWCDTP over the coming year. The lecture series is led by Eddy Fox, Programme Leader for Landscape Architecture within the MSA and supported by Ian Fisher. Jo Phillips is the principal research assistant for the Hyoer Rural research project.