This news item is from the Bartlett School of Architecture.
The Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture (SCOSA) Lifetime Contribution Award has been given to Professor Stephen Gage in recognition of the esteem in which he is held and his achievements in architectural education across a career spanning the best part of six decades. He taught at Bournemouth College of Art, The Architectural Association, Portsmouth University and The University of East London before joining the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL in 1991.
Stephen served as Technical Coordinator and then Director of Technology (1993–2009) and Director of Design (1999–2009). He also founded Architecture MArch Unit 14; this became the Bartlett Interactive Architecture Workshop (BIAW) in 1993. Unit 14 was a major influence upon the use of interactive technology and performative approaches in architecture. As an emeritus professor he was instrumental in creating six groundbreaking new and modified design programmes for the Bartlett.
A pioneering advocate for research-through-making, Stephen embedded a studio culture in which students work as independent researchers, engaging with cybernetic thinking, sensing and 1:1 scale prototyping as architectural tools. His scholarly writing, including ‘The Wonder of Trivial Machines’ (2006) and ‘Constructing the User’ (2009), has given enduring conceptual frameworks for educators and students across the sector. He has served as external examiner at multiple UK and international schools and contributed extensively to RIBA validation panels.
Stephen’s influence endures through the wide reach of his former students, many of whom now lead units, research groups and schools of architecture internationally, and through BIAW-seeded practices that have become significant forces in design and technology.
The SCOSA Awards are intended to recognise ‘Innovation in Architectural Education’ annually and ‘Lifetime Contributions in Architectural Education’ biannually. They are awarded by the Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture (SCOSA), an organisation to which every UK Recognised School of Architecture is a member.
The judging committee were unanimous in their decision. The nomination for Stephen clearly conveyed a compelling legacy of a contribution to architectural pedagogy along with real impact on the education and future careers of his students.
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