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Architecture: The Future of Housing

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Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation. Bob and Roberta Smith RA founded the Art Party in 2013, a non-political organisation established to defend creativity and arts education. In this talk, the artist discusses the human experience of “making you mark” and “having your mark reproduced”. He believes in the importance of “things being graphic” and is willing to fight for art’s survival in the world today.

Bob and Roberta Smith RA on printmaking and art education

As prices soar and cities become ever more prone to densification, the major political parties all agree on the need to build more homes, but where? Garden cities? Loosen the green belt? How can we plan for new housing in a way that’s able to withstand vested interests whilst remaining democratically accountable? This is an issue concerning the whole nation, with “passions involved” on both a local and personal level. With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing.

Photo: Terrace houses © A.P.S. (UK) / Alamy

The Future Of Housing: City, County, Suburb?

There is no single recipe for good housing – and the very definition of "good" is hotly debated. But the upsides of good housing, however we define it, are indisputable. In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future.

Photo: Byker Wall, Newcastle upon Tyne © Islandstock / Alamy

The Future of Housing: The Upsides of Good Housing

Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis, which despite being recognised by politicians from all sides shows no sign of abating. In this event, a panel of speakers explores the costs of the current housing crisis, assessing their nature and implications – whether social, economic, psychological or environmental.

Photo: Elephant and Castle, London © Guy Corbishley / Alamy

The Future Of Housing: Counting the Costs of the Housing Crisis

As a subject of political debate, the future of housing refuses to be sidelined. Due to spiralling prices, a significant amount of our young population look forward to a lifetime of renting, while the wealthy buy property for financial investment, rather than actual living. Leaving theory behind, this talk is firmly on the side of reality and touches on recent events involving activist demonstrations, occupations and police evictions. How might our country find new models of ownership that better reflect the changing realities of how people live today? Our panel, which includes two journalists, a policy expert, an artist and a professor, introduces this polarising topic.

Photo: Houses for sale © John Sturrock / Alamy

The Future of Housing: New Realities of Ownership

Dutch practice MVRDV – of which Maas is the “M” – has an international reputation for its consistently innovative and visually striking architecture. In this talk, founder Winy Maas discusses the practice’s work, focusing on their numerous housing projects, which include the recently completed Markthal in Rotterdam. He also teaches at a number of universities across the world and is director of the Why Factory, a research institute for the future city which he founded in 2008.

Maas challenges us to “escape from some of the hermeticism” that our national housing crisis is facing. His attack comes on three fronts: from architecture, to urbanism, to research. A lively and witty speaker, Maas shares entertaining personal stories as he tackles the very serious problem of the future of housing.

Photo: Winy Maas © Boudewijn Bollmann

The Future of Housing: Winy Maas addresses the key isses

Kentridge’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the world and appeared in this year’s Summer Exhibition at the RA, where the Small Weston Room was dedicated to a display of his ink drawings and prints of indigenous South African trees.

In this podcast, the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow talks to the recently elected Honorary Royal Academician about his diverse artistic practice, which encompasses films, drawings, theatre and opera productions.

William Kentridge Hon RA in conversation with Tim Marlow

One year on from a major season on the ‘Future of Housing’ in the UK, we look again at this ever more urgent question.

In the lead up to last year’s General Election, the RA organised the Future of Housing season, which looked with a critical eye at the various possible futures for housing in the UK. One year on, we survey the changed political landscape, and a housing crisis that, if anything, has only intensified. As the Housing Bill, which notably extends the right to buy to housing association tenants as well as putting a new focus on starter homes, passes through Parliament, our panel consider the challenges and possibilities that have emerged both independently and as a result.

Speakers:

Jack Self – writer and co-curator British Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
Paul Karakusevic – Partner, Karakusevic Carson Architects
Claire Bennie – architect and development consultant; former Development Director, Peabody
Richard Blyth – Head of Policy, Royal Town Planning Institute
Jane Dudman – Editor, Housing and Public Leaders Networks, The Guardian (chair)

Photo: Houses, Robert Harding World Imagery / Alamy Stock Photo

The Future of Housing: A return

At the 2017 Women in Architecture Awards, Rachel Whiteread became the third woman to be awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize, which recognises those working in the wider industry who have made a significant contribution to architecture and the built environment.

In this lecture, recorded at the awards lunch at Claridge’s on Friday 3 March, Whiteread looks back at 30 years of sculpture and considers the relationship between her work and the world of architecture.

Rachel Whiteread: on sculpture

Ian Christie discusses the place of film as an art form after the revolution in Russia and the relationship between Soviet filmmakers and other artists of the time.

The status of film as an art form rose considerably after the revolution, with Lenin claiming that “of all the arts, for us the cinema is the most important”. However, cinema’s success created bitter divisions among artists seeking support from the generally conservative regime, and encouraged disdain among some of the leading avant-garde artists of the time.

Christie is Anniversary Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck, University of London and advisor on film in the RA's exhibition 'Revolution: Russia 1917-1932'.

Film and the Soviet avant garde

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The Future of Housing: A return

Royal Academy of Arts