Beyondtheredline:areuniversi2esre-imaginingci2esandurbanlifethroughtheircapitalinvestmentprogrammes?

AAG,SanFrancisco,March30th2016Architectureofcapital1:atmospheresandprac>cesDrClareMelhuishUCLUrbanLaboratory,London

DialogueCampusNäckrosenUniversityofGothenburg,Sweden,2013

‘TheUniversity’sbroadrangeofac>vi>esarecharacterisedbyastrongsenseofcivicresponsibility,proximitytocitylifeandopennesstothesurroundingsociety.TheUniversityisfirmlyrootedbothlocallyandregionally,atthesame>measresearch,educa>onandcoopera>onarecharacterisedbyextensiveglobalengagement…Peoplefromdifferentplacesandwithdifferentbackgroundswillmeetandworktogether,yieldingoutcomesthatwillexceedthemeresumsoftheparts…[itwillbe]Aplacefortheunexpected…,accep2ngandwelcoming…easytoaccessandaplacethatpeopledonotwanttoleave…integratedintothecitystructure’

UCLWilkinsBuildingLondon(1827)WilliamWilkinsinPartnershipwithJ.P.Gandy-Deering‘half-brothertotheNa>onalGallery’(ReginaldTurnor)

•  universi>esaslandownersandclientsinformal

historiesofarchitecture•  universi>esasactorsinarchitecturalrealisa>onof

hegemonicpowerstructures:na>onalistagendas

postcolonialurbanprac2ce•  formal/informalarchitecturalproduc>on

•  postcolonialprac>cedisrup>ngmodels‘thatparadeunderauniversalistguiseandeitherexcludeorrepressdifferentspa5ali5esofo7endisadvantagedethnici5es,communi5esorpeople’(NalbantogluandWong1997)

‘laboratoriesoftheurbanmangrove’(Letchimy)

universi2esasagentsofpostcolonialurbanismandarchitecturalprac2ce

na>onaliden>ty

globaliden>ty+urban/metropolitaniden>ty

cosmopolitanistvision

universi>esre-visioningthemselvesinrela>ontoci>esandneighbourhoods–‘beyondtheredline’

‘thebusinessschoolsthataroseinpres>giousuniveri>essuchasStanfordandHarvard,generouslyfundedbycorpora>onsandfounda>ons,becamecentresofneoliberalorthodoxyfromtheverymomenttheyopened.…by1990orsomosteconomicsdepartmentsinthemajorresearchuniversi>esaswellasthebusinessschoolsweredominatedbyneoliberalmodesofthought.…TheUSresearchuniversi>eswereandaretraininggroundsformanyforeignerswhotakewhattheylearnbacktotheircountriesoforiginaswellasintointerna>onalins>tu>onssuchastheIMF,theWorldBank,andtheUN’. (Harvey2005)

•  universi>esasplanninganimateurs(Benneworthetal2010)

•  shiefromurban/civictoneighbourhood

scaleandfocus•  alterna>vehybridprac>cesofformaland

informalarchitecturalproduc>onwhichdisruptthestatusquo

universi2esascentresofcri2calurbantheoryandprac2ce:laboratoriesoftheurbanmangrove?‘Today’scosmopolitanism,however,extendsmoredeeplyintothesocialbody.Thepluralizedcultureoftheuniversityresemblesthecomplexlifeofcontemporaryimmigrantneighborhoods,whereresidentsliveinlocalurbanneighborhoodsanddiasporicnetworks…Thechallengeforusascontemporarymetropolitans(andcosmopolitans)istolocateourselves–bothin>meandinrela>ontotheplacesoflocalknowledge–insuchaglobalperspec>ve’(Bender2002/7:162-163)

•  ins>tu>onalre-structuring•  modellingofnewhybridkindsofurban

andpublicspace•  fromcomparabilityandhomogeniza>on

ofspace,togroundedrela>onaltypologiesofuniversity-ledurbandevelopment,mediatedbyarchitectsandcommuni>es

éliteuniversalknowledgeproduc>on-utopianandexclusionaryspa>alprojectsTheAcademicalVillage,UniversityofVirginiaThomasJefferson1825

‘incomparablythemostambi>ousandmonumentalarchitecturalproject…conceivedinthiscentury’NewYorkTimes1895

non-campuscampus;livinglaboratory;urbanextension;communiversity;collaboratory…

‘Bothexpressthebasicparadigmofmodernitywhichemphasisesthatalterna>vefuturesareindeedpossible.Buttheinsurgentandthemodernistarecompe>ngexpressions,whichIwilldis>nguishasethnographicandutopian,respec>vely’(Holston1996)

‘theconceptofthepossible’

ethnographically-conceptualisedspa2alisa2onofcosmopolitanismandcosmopolitanci2zenship•  re-framingno>onsofci>zenshipasa

‘cosmopolitanproject’(Binnieetal2006)–‘theworldasbothasingleplaceandonecomprisedofmul>pledifferences’(ibid)–throughspa>aldevelopmentitself

•  challengingthemodelofpostcolonialci>zenshipembodiedineliteurbanenclaves

•  visionstatementsandmasterplanningbriefsasthematerialinterfacebetweentheuniversityandthepostcolonialcitythroughurbandesign

•  urbandesignprac>cecreatesthespaceinwhichissuesofcentrality,diversityandinclusionareplayedoutinrhetoric,designproposalsandmaterialform

1.  newimageryandlanguages

2.  widerangeofpartnershipsandconsulta>on,withinandbeyonduniversity

3.  integratedcommunityfacili>es,resourcesandconnected,accessiblepublicspace

4. masterplansv.roll-outs

5.  interimusesofdevelopmentsites

UniversityofCambridge,North-WestCambridgeproject,UK‘avibrant,urbanextensiontotheCitythatpredominatesasaUniversityquarterbutisalsoamixedacademicandresiden2alcommunity…connectedinternallyandwiththewidercitybygreenspacesandpedestrianandcycleroutes…Itwillbeanexemplarofwhatcanbeachievedthroughcontemporarytechnology,architecture,andurbanplanning’(CambridgeUniversityReporter2010:3)

‘That’showwe’vebeendevelopingthis,lookingforspa>alstructuresaroundthebuildingswhichencouragepeopletointeract’(architect2014)

UNIFESPEastZonecampus,SaoPauloBrazil‘Thefaçadeisasymbolicrepresenta>onofuniversity-societydialogue..Thereistremendouspoten>alforthecampustotakepartinitssurroundings,tointeractthroughresearch,reflec>onandac>ons,makingaposi>vecontribu>ontothedevelopmentoftheregionandlinkingacademicresearchwithvariouspublicpolicies.Itsloca>on…allowsitsac>onsandlocalresearchtoalsohaveanexemplaryanduniversalcharacterinjoiningtheglobaldebateaboutlargeci>es,theirproblemsandsolu>ons’

UniversityofNewcastle,UrbanSciencesbuilding,ScienceCentral,UK‘amodelofintegra>on–integra2onatseverallevels,betweenacademics,researchers,businesspeople,andmembersofthepublic’ ‘Thesocial

dynamicsonthatsitewillbeinteres5ng…’ScienceCentralEngagementManager

UniversityofPennsylvania,WestPhiladelphiaIni2a2ves,PhiladelphiaUSA‘TodayPenncelebratesitsongoingtransforma>onintoaworld-classurbanresearchuniversitythatisnourishedbytheneighborhoodithelpedtodevelopandrevitalise’(Rodin2007:182-3)

ColumbiaUniversity,Manhaoanvillecampus,NewYorkUSA‘Anurbancampusisn’tdefinedbygatesandwalls,butbyweavingtheuniversityintothefabricofcitylife’(Manhaoanvillewebsite)‘tocreateaspacewheretheIvyLeagueandWestHarlemcommuni>escansharetheirday-to-dayac2vi2esandtherebyengageinadialoguethatwillfurtherhumanunderstanding’(Huffman2008)‘Thenewcampuswillbeaplaceofresearchandknowledgeproduc>onintegratedwiththecity,inclosecontactwithitssocialreality,streetcultureandenergy…’(RenzoPianoBuildingWorkshop)

universi5esare:2.enteringintoawiderangeofpartnerships•  cityauthori>es,businesses,thirdsector

organisa>ons,andcommunitygroups•  consulta>onatmanydifferentlevels,external,

long-termengagementandnego>a>onwithplanningauthori>esandcommuni>es

•  architectsappointedonbasisofabilitytoengagewithstakeholdersanddeveloppar>cipatoryworkingmethods

3.incorpora2ngcommunityfacili2esandresourcesintospa>aldevelopmentprojects•  publicaccessto(public-facing)university

buildings;healthcentres,schools(UPenn),(jointly-managed)communitycentres(egCambridge),open,accessibleandconnectedpublicspaces

•  wideningpar>cipa>on,life-longlearning

•  communitybenefitsagreements

4.ques2oningtheuseofrigidmasterplanconcepts•  the‘roll-out’acknowledgesthe

importanceofevolvingformover>me,responsiveandadap>vetochangingneeds

•  avoidsover-promising,inlightofchangingneedsandcondi>ons

5.promo2nginterimusesofdevelopmentsites•  encouragetemporaryandinformalusesto

promotefuturemodelsofcommunityoccupa>onandownership

•  communitygardens,temporarystructures,

fes>vals,publicart,events,markets,informa>oncentres

communityinvestmentover2me,andfromtheearlieststages•  frameuniversitycontribu>onstopostcolonial

cosmopolitanurbanspaceandci>zenshipthroughthelensofcommunityneeds

•  promoteahybridapproachtodevelopment,andaflexiblearchitecturalandplanningmodel,allowingtheformalandinformaltoco-existandevolveover>me,makingspacefordiverseiden>>es

www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanlab/research/university-regenera>on

clare.melhuish@ucl.ac.uk