Calgary
Cultures, Communities & Design

Connecting Planning, Landscape, Architecture & People
Event Date: June 28-30, 2022
Abstract Date: April 1, 2022
Introduction
A conference that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary.

Call

‘The Countryside’ – a polemically generic term Rem Koolhaas has recently used to reposition debates about our cities to those of rural areas. While posited as ‘new’, it is, in reality, a well established mode of thinking. Through notions such as the peri-urban for example, geographers, sociologists, architects, urban designers and regional economists have all debated the urban-rural relationship for several decades. Under this framework we are obliged to consider the city and its architecture on its own terms, but also address the ‘rural’ in its particular context and, importantly, explore the parallels and mutual influences at play.

According to this logic, the social, cultural, planning and design issues relevant in our cities find parallels outside the city fringe. The Right to the City echoes concerns about land rights. Gentrification resembles the pressures on arable lands through urban expansion. The sustainability of our buildings and neighbourhoods is connected to debates on the sustainability of rural areas.

Calgary, the host city of this conference, is a perfect example of all of this. It has heavy industry, a thriving business economy and a growing tourist sector. However, pockets of the city contend with poverty and gentrification. Others suffer disinvestment and require regeneration. Its architecture and public spaces are a combination of the ‘spectacular’ and the mundane.

As a city, Calgary also ‘pressures’ its surrounding lands. These include the Rockies, the Banff nature reserve, and the First Nations lands of the Blackfoot, the Stoney Nakoda and the Tsuutʼina. As such, it is both a site of opportunity and development in its own right, and the cause of environmental concerns and social pressures, beyond its conceptual and geographic borders.

While such debates are of concern today around the world, they were also highlighted 50 years ago when the host school of this conference was founded. Back then, Archigram and Buckminster Fuller argued that architecture, technology and the ‘earth’ were interconnected. Jane Jacobs connected the built environment with social concerns. Aldo van Eyke fought for communities and participatory practices and, in 1971, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) was founded in the United States.

As it celebrates its 50th Year anniversary in 2021-22, the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary argues that each of these issues remain as important today as they did half a century ago.

Image: iStock (Dan Pratt)

Disciplines

  • Urban Design
  • Architecture
  • Sustainability
  • Landscape
  • Engineering
  • Housing
  • Sociology
  • Governance
  • Art
  • Culture
  • History

Key Dates

Abstracts (Early)
01 July 2021
Feedback
20 July 2021
Abstract Submissions (Round 1)
01 December 2021
Feedback
30 December 2021
Conference Registration Opens
01 January 2022
Abstract Submissions (Round 2)
01 April 2022
Feedback
25 April 2022

Themes

Design + Planning
How are we working in our individual fields and across disciplinary and geographical boundaries
Society + Cultures
What voice do people and cultures have in design and planning practices and how do mechanisms for participation function.
Art + History
How does the history of a discipline or place influence design and planning today, and what role do creatives, critics and commentators play in the debate.
Infrastructure + Sustainability
How do the infrastructures we design and build impact people, habitation, sustainability and climate.
Teaching + Learning
How we address issues of design, culture and community in our teaching approaches, projects etc.

Formats

In-person (15-20 minutes)
Zoom (15-20 minutes)
Pre-recorded video (15-20 minutes)
Written Papers (3,000 words)

Publications

The publishers that AMPS works with include UCL Press, Routledge Taylor & Francis, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Vernon Press, Libri Publishing and Intellect Books.

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Conference outputs include the AMPS Proceedings Series, ISSN 2398-9467; Special Issue Publications of the academic journal Architecture_MPS ISSN 2020-9006; Books with the publishing houses listed above and short films available on the AMPS Academic YouTube Channel.

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Written papers are optional.  If submitted they should be 3,000 word length. Formatting instructions to follow after the conference. All papers are double-blind peer reviewed for the AMPS Conference Proceedings Series. Subject to review, selected authors will be invited to develop longer versions as articles in the academic journal Architecture_MPS or in specially produced conference books.

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Submissions & Registration:

Registration Delegate Fee: $385 USD  |  Audience Fee: $190 USD                                                                                                  Queries: admin@architecturemps.com

 

Note: This conference is being administered through our old site. Click the button below to visit the conference page and submit your abstract.