Bartlett Research Conversations: Adarsh Lanka and Fawzeyah Alsabah

A hybrid Teams link is available – please contact Emmy Thittanond, g.thittanond@ucl.ac.uk, to request access to the link by midday, Tuesday 26 Novemberr 2024.

Revolutionising Architectural Production: Technical Education, Cement and the Rise of Private Enterprise (Bombay Presidency, 1853-1939)

Speaker: Adarsh Lanka
UCL Supervisor: Dr Tania Sengupta and Professor Peg Rawes

Abstract

How might one apply the principles of historical materialism to the built environment? Adarsh Lanka's project traces the development of social relations in the building sector in Bombay Presidency between 1853 and 1939, identifying two crucial moments: first, the establishment of Institutes for technical and vocational education in the 1850s, key in producing the human infrastructure needed to realise the physical infrastructures of empire by introducing new classes of professionals. The second was the commencement of the domestic production of cement in 1913; though the colonial state played only a regulatory role in this development, it became the key material of built-environment production. The presentation will touch on the methodology and research questions of the overarching project, and the tentative findings of research conducted on the first ‘moment’. This includes: how building was informed by colonial political economy; segmentation of labour in the building sector (caste, class, profession); and its development.

Her West End: Exploring London’s West End Department Stores through the Voices of Arabian Gulf Women, 1960-onward

Speaker: Fawzeyah Alsabah
Supervisors: Professor Barbara Penner and Professor Jane Rendell

Abstract

The study of the West End department store has produced a rich body of literature in architecture, fiction, and gender and social studies. These works evidently overlooked the lived experiences of Arabian Gulf women despite being photographed or mentioned in newspaper articles for decades. This thesis aims to address this significant gap in existing research by highlighting the lack of scholarly interest in centring t(he)i(r) voices.

By situating Gulf women within the context of the West End, this thesis explores how department stores function both as spaces of concealment and as sites of spatial liberation. It argues that these settings offer unique insights into the complex interplay between hypervisibility and invisibility, enabling a deeper understanding of how Gulf women constantly navigate while, at other times, resisting social constraints within public urban realms.

About The Bartlett Research Conversations

The Bartlett School of Architecture’s Research Conversations seminars comprise work-in-progress and upgrade presentations by students undertaking the Architectural Design MPhil/PhD and Architectural and Urban History and Theory MPhil/PhD. All current UCL staff and students are welcome to attend.

Held regularly throughout the academic year, the seminars are attended by the Programme Directors, Professor Sophia Psarra, Dr Tania Sengupta and Dr Nina Vollenbröker; PhD Coordinators, Dr Stamatis Zografos and Dr Stelios Giamarelos; and other PhD supervisors.

Image: Foundation stone on the College of Engineering Pune, started in 1856 – the first such college in the Bombay Presidency. Image Credit: Original Picture by Suchakra, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.