Time to time, the Building Conservation Course arranges special evening lectures at the Architectural Association. Lectures, given by well-known experts and practitioners, under general the title of "Current Conservation Issues and Conundrums." These are open to current students, Alumini and to the public.

The Next evening lecture will be on ... "Pastiche, Imitation, Revival ..."

"why are revivals condemned as 'pastiche' today, but not in the 18th century?" by Professor David Watkin. Thursday 11th May 2006 6.30pm

David Watkin questions why the revival or development by a current architect of a traditional style should be condemned as 'pastiche', yet be accepted by the same critics in the work of Renaissance architects such as Brunelleschi, Alberti or Bramante.

David Watkin, Professor of the History of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, is one of the leading architectural historians and thinkers of our time. He is the author of many books including Thomas Hope and the neo-Classical Idea (1968), The Life and Work of CR Cockerell (1974), Sir John Soane, Enlightenment Thought and the Royal Academy Lectures (1996), The Architect King: George III and the Culture of the Enlightenment (2004). His new book Radical Classicism: the Architecture of Quinlan Terry will be published in 2006.

For information and a "postcard" of this event, email at buildings@aaschool.ac.uk

Previous Lectures

The first Lecture was given in May 2004 by Julian Harrap whose subject was on the “Conservation in Practice”. The Lecture discussed designing a conservation philosophy and a framework of ideas for three case studies: the Neues Museum Berlin, the Sir John Soane’s Museum, London and the redevelopment of the Twentieth Century Windtunnels at Farnborough. Professional accreditation schemes and current building conservation courses will be questioned.

Entitled “The Conservation of Spaces for Music”, Derek Sugden came to give the second lecture in November 2004. Mr Sugden, Structural Engineer and Acoustician, was a founder Partner and Principal of both ARUP Associates and Acoustics. He has been involved in the creation and conservation of many concert halls and opera houses in the UK and Europe over many years, including the Snape Concert Hall, the Theatre Royal Glasgow, auditoria at various Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, and the Buxton and Glyndebourne Opera Houses. His lecture discussed these and other such buildings, from Palladio’s 1583 Teatro Olimpico and Wren’s 1664 Sheldonian Theatre to the Bridgewater (Manchester) and Albert Halls, the Royal Festival Hall and various Baroque churches, and their use as spaces for musical performances.

In March 2005, the third in the series was given by John Allan whose lecture was on “The Conservation of Modern Architecture - Dilemmas and Propositions”. Mr Allan is the Director of Avanti Architects and talked about some of his experiences in working on Modern Movement conservation projects, which have ranged from the Penguin Pool to the Barbican.

Note this is a non-profit series of lectures and a small fee is ask for to cover expenses. Snacks and nibbles are normally served before the lecture.