Welcome event for new students at the University of Bath - come see us in the Chancellor’s Building, CB 2.6 to find out how you can get involved!

After hearing from a number of StuCAN groups all working towards climate action through the ACAN network at universities across the UK, DA were one of two guest speakers invited to offer a broader perspective of how decolonising often goes hand in hand with sustainability goals.

Our talk focused on Intersectional Environmentalism: we discussed the issues of western styles being perpetuated in construction globally; how ‘visions of modernity’ can be damaging; and assessed the value of vernacular methods for modern modes of sustainable living.

To learn more about ACAN’s work, please follow the link below!

https://www.architectscan.org/

In collaboration with the Widening Access and Participation team at the University of Bath, DA were invited to deliver a day-long workshop to a group of 16-17 year olds interested in studying Architecture and Civil Engineering.

In order to assist them with their 7-week project, our workshop encouraged the students to explore alternative, sustainable methods of construction with a focus on low-carbon materials and vernacular examples.

Decolonise Architecture participated in a panel discussion amongst other speakers during Equality Week at Bath Spa University, demonstrating the work we had done with the University of Bath towards making the department and curriculum more diverse and inclusive. Discussions included how non-architecture faculties could learn from our action points and interpret them into methods for decolonising their own departments.

Beginning with a presentation about the work Decolonise Architecture had done at the University of Bath towards decolonising the department and Architecture curriculum, this event with GSA POC was run as an open forum.

Students and speakers were encouraged to exchange thoughts and ideas in smaller break-out rooms before returning to the larger group to feedback. This offered the opportunity for in-depth conversation between those from different universities, as well as different parts of the globe, to share experiences.

Following feedback from the first student forum we held in July 2020, the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath made efforts to make Design Studio projects have a greater social focus from earlier on in the degree. This year, the brief for the 1st Year individual project was to design an education or exhibition space on the former site of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, addressing the location’s historical links to the slave trade.

Decolonise Architecture were invited to join the final review to provide comments and feedback; all students presented unique and considered approaches to a complex brief which was a pleasure to witness and be a part of.

The second Forum at the University of Bath was a session for students across degree programmes to reconvene on the changes that had been implemented at Bath since the first Forum. DA were able to update the student body on the direction of work that had been done; and were able to adapt student opinions and feedback into better streamlining the group strategy.

DA hosted an unprecedented online Forum at the University of Bath that kickstarted the group’s aims. Students from across degrees presented opinions on how they believed the course could become more actively anti-racist. Forum members were then taken into smaller discussion groups to work out a solution-driven model to interventional change. The proceedings from the Forum are highlighted in a Report available on our website. These conclusions then formed our Action Points, a system on which DA operates today.