Parliament Buildings II: The architecture of power, accountability and democracy in Europe

Free and open to all, the conference runs over two sets of two (short) days; the first session is taking place on 12-13 November 2020, and the second on 18-19 February, 2021.

““Parliament buildings and their spatial structures are the symbols and instruments of political life. They shape and reflect political practices, processes and culture, both within and without.  

We are proud to bring you a brilliant line up of architects and parliamentarians, art historians, architecture scholars, historians, geographers, anthropologists and political scientists. They will share their unique insights into specific parliament buildings across Europe, to jointly explore:

• How do buildings and space structure the work done in parliaments, how do they shape political decision making and informal communication?
• How can they be used to embody imaginations of democracy and the body politic?
• What can they tell us about the agency of, say, women or parliamentary staff in parliament? 
• How is their role changing in times of constant broadcasting, social media and a global pandemic? 

Organisers:

• Professor Sophia Psarra (The Bartlett)
• Dr Claudia Sternberg (UCL European Institute)
• Dr Uta Staigger (UCL European Institute)
• Mariana Pestana (architect and curator)

Click here for the 12-13 November 2020 schedule

Schedule

Thursday 18 February 2021

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

• Robin Eagles, History of Parliament
• Kathryn Rix, History of Parliament
• Murray Tremellen and Kirsty Wright, University of York
• Moderator: Alexandra Meakin, University of Manchester

10:00: Discussion

10:15: Coffee break

10:30: Session: Front Stage and Back Stage Politics

• Kerstin Sailer, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
• François Dufaux, Université Laval
• Moderator: Sophia Psarra, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

11:00: Discussion

11:15: Coffee break

11:45: Session: History and Contemporary Politics 

• Sam Griffiths, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
• Tommaso Zerbi, University of Edinburgh
• Moderator: Uta Staiger, European Institute, UCL

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

• Tormod Otter Johansen, University of Gothenburg
• Amalia Kotsaki, Technical University of Crete
• Samuel Singler, University of Oxford, Sofia Singler, University of Cambridge
• Moderator: Claudia Sternberg, European Institute, UCL

10:15: Discussion

10:30: Coffee break

10:45: Session: The Spatial Production of Assemblies and Representation

• Harald Trapp, UAC Skopje
• Naomi Gibson and Sophia Psarra, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
• Gordana Fontana-Giusti, University of Kent
• Moderator: Marc Geddes, University of Edinburgh

11:30: Discussion

11:45: Coffee break

12:00: Session: Exhibiting Democracies - Religious and Colonial Assemblies

• Ahmadreza Hakiminejad, Coventry University
• Andrew Borg and Michael Zerafa, University of Malta
• Robin Skinner, Victoria University of Wellington
• Moderator: Claudia Sternberg, European Institute, UCL

12:45: Discussion

13:00 - 14:00: Lunch break

14:00 - 15:00: Presentations and Architects Panel

• Paul Monaghan AHMM
• David Nelson Foster and Partners
• Benedetta Tagliabue, principal at Miralles Tagliabue EMBT
• Ivan Harbour, Rogers, Stirk Harbour + Partners
• Moderator: Jeremy Melvin, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

Image: The Parliament Building Footprints and Chambers of the 27 European Union Member States and the United Kingdom. Source: XML (2016) Parliament, XML: Amsterdam.

The project is supported by UCL’s Grand Challenges of Cultural Understanding, and co-funded by our Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence grant from the European Commission.