Parliament Buildings International Conference
18 February 2021–19 February 2021, 9:00 am–3:00 pm

‘Parliament Buildings’ is a virtual conference and book exploring the architecture of power, accountability and democracy in Europe. This is the second online event of the conference, following the first event in November 2020.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Sophia Psarra
About
In the face of ongoing political change, confidence in democracy is threatened, calling upon us to rethink our institutions and the buildings in which they are accommodated. Parliament buildings are the symbols and instruments of political life. They shape political culture and the space where the government is held to account; their architecture, history and rituals say a lot about norms of governance and behaviour. With the wide adoption of television coverage and social media, these buildings project political culture outward, changing the scale and speed of communication between citizens and the parliament.
The conference brings together contributions from architecture as well as from political science and political theory, history, law, geography and associated disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. It is part of a wider research project, supported by UCL’s Grand Challenges of Cultural Understanding (GCCU), which will result in a publication and a short film.
Organisers:
- Professor Sophia Psarra (The Bartlett)
- Dr Claudia Sternberg (UCL European Institute)
- Dr Uta Staigger (UCL European Institute)
- Mariana Pestana (architect and curator)
Schedule
- Thursday 18 February
09:00: Introduction and Welcoming Address by Uta Staiger, Executive Director of UCL European Institute
09:15: Session: A Parliament Shaped by its Buildings: Innovation and Adaptation at Westminster c.1600-1870
Moderator: Alexandra Meakin, University of Manchester
- Robin Eagles, History of Parliament
- Kathryn Rix, History of Parliament
- Murray Tremellen and Kirsty Wright, University of York
10:00: Discussion
10:15: Coffee break
10:30: Session: Front Stage and Back Stage Politics
Moderator: Sophia Psarra, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
- Kerstin Sailer, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
- François Dufaux, Université Laval
11:00: Discussion
11:15: Coffee break
11:45: Session: History and Contemporary Politics
Moderator: Uta Staiger, European Institute, UCL
- Sam Griffiths, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
- Tommaso Zerbi, University of Edinburgh
12:15: Discussion
12:30 - 13:15: Lunch break
13:15 - 14:30: Presentation by Professor Jane Rendell
- Friday 19 February
09:30: Session: Political Transitions, Sovereignty and Scales of Representation
Moderator: Claudia Sternberg, European Institute, UCL
- Tormod Otter Johansen, University of Gothenburg
- Amalia Kotsaki, Technical University of Crete
- Samuel Singler, University of Oxford, Sofia Singler, University of Cambridge
10:15: Discussion
10:30: Coffee break
10:45: Session: The Spatial Production of Assemblies and Representation
Moderator: Marc Geddes, University of Edinburgh
- Harald Trapp, UAC Skopje
- Naomi Gibson and Sophia Psarra, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
- Gordana Fontana-Giusti, University of Kent
11:30: Discussion
11:45: Coffee break
12:00: Session: Exhibiting Democracies - Religious and Colonial Assemblies
Moderator: TBA
- Ahmadreza Hakiminejad, Coventry University
- Andrew Borg and Michael Zerafa, University of Malta
- Robin Skinner, Victoria University of Wellington
12:45: Discussion
13:00 - 14:00: Lunch break
14:00 - 15:00: Presentations and Architects Panel
Moderator: Jeremy Melvin, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
- Paul Monaghan AHMM
- David Nelson Foster and Partners
- Benedetta Tagliabue, principal at Miralles Tagliabue EMBT
- Ivan Harbour, Rogers, Stirk Harbour + Partners
More information
Image: The Parliament Building Footprints and Chambers of the 27 European Union Member States and the United Kingdom. Source: XML (2016) Parliament, XML: Amsterdam