Bartlett professor exhibits at Royal Scottish Academy show

24 November 2009

Links:

ucl.ac.uk/research/personal/?upi=CJLIM41" target="_self">Professor CJ Lim

A professor from the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture has been invited to show his work at the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy's annual exhibition.

Professor of Architecture and Cultural Design CJ Lim - UCL Pro-Provost for Canada, Mexico and the USA - joins some of the world's leading architects such as Zaha Hadid and Lord Norman Foster at the show, which runs until 20 December.

The exhibition showcases around 350 works and includes painting, sculpture, filmmaking, photography, printmaking, architecture and installation.

Professor Lim's contribution features his design of a new campus for the Southern Science and Technology University in Shenzhen, China.

The design comprises of three interacting systems that incorporated the existing landscape and buildings: the 'periodic table' sets out the urban scale and plots of the campus and the new town; the 'amoebae' (environmental trellises) support the ecological dynamics of the site, including the recycling of existing buildings; and the 'lifelines' provide circulation and connections within and beyond the campus.

He said: "The vision of the design was predominantly expressed by the urban-scaled environmental trellises, covered by photovoltaic petals and lush flowering plants creating a series of floral cloud-gardens. One can identify the individual colleges through colour and scent. This is where natural science meets technology."

Professor Lim has also been shortlisted for the annual Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition, which is based in Toyko, Japan. This is the second year running the judges acknowledged his work - he was awarded the second prize in this international award in 2008.

His shortlisted design is inspired by Guiseppe Tornatore's award-winning film Cinema Paradiso.

In the film, Alfredo, a projectionist, painstakingly mentors a young boy, Salvatore, to pursue his dream through spending many hours watching and discussing movies.

Professor Lim's design - Casa Alfredo - is a house for a projectionist built in the public courtyard of a housing estate that has LCD screens instead of walls, on to which movies are projected in the evening for other residents.

Casa Alfredo becomes more than just a dwelling - it is also a way of regenerating the physical and social fabric of a broken society.

For more information about Professor Lim or the Royal Scottish Academy's annual exhibition follow the links above.

Images: top right, detail from Professor Lim's design for the STU Campus; bottom left, panel of designs for Casa Alfredo

UCL context

The Bartlett, made up of the Schools of Architecture, Construction and Project Management, Graduate Studies, Planning and the Development Planning Unit, offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the built environment. The school is at the forefront of the debate on the future of cities and uses London as a unique laboratory for studying the architectural, constructional and urban situations that affect the built environment.

Bartlett professor exhibits at Royal Scottish Academy show

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