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Dear All,

Please find below a call for papers for 'Sensory
Urbanism', a 2-day conference at the University of
Strathclyde in January 2008.

Kindest regards,

Ray Lucas

Dr Raymond Lucas

AHRC/EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Multimodal Representations of Urban Space
University of Strathclyde
Department of Architecture
Room G28
Architecture Building
131 Rottenrow
Glasgow
G4 0NG

0044 (0)141 548 3997



SENSORY URBANISM

An Interdisciplinary Two Day Conference
Departments of Architecture & Building Science / DMEM
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Tuesday 8th - Wednesday 9th January 2008
Conference Fee: £45 (full), £30 (speaker), £25
(student with proof of status)

CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite scholars and practitioners to submit papers
for the following two-day conference: SENSORY
URBANISM, organised by the Multimodal Representation
of Urban Space research group, a Design for the 21st
Century initiative supported by the AHRC and EPSRC.
Submitted papers will be reviewed by a committee
comprising the research group and advisory board.
We are currently looking into possible channels for
publication via a journal special issue, or will
publish proceedings independently.
Representing space is not only a long-standing
challenge to the arts but is also a major task in the
planning process for buildings, cities, and many other
products. This particularly applies to the "Urban
Renaissance" of our days with its emphasis on public
places. Space – more than the surrounding objects or
buildings – seems to demand to be represented not only
visually, as it is not only determined by the visible
surrounding objects, but also by sound and smell which
are literally "in the air", and by an integrated
multimodal body experience which is related to the
space itself. Nevertheless, spaces, especially urban
spaces in planning processes, are today usually only
represented in a visual manner.
The major hypothesis of our project is that much
better results for convenient and appealing urban
spaces could be achieved if all sensory factors were
acknowledged and controlled during the design process.
There is no doubt about the multimodal quality of
urban space – it always appeals to all senses. For
example the most beautifully designed public square is
destroyed if a noisy and odorous motorway is nearby,
and not much would be left of the special atmosphere
of the Piazza della Fontana di Trevi in Rome if the
sound and coolness deriving from the running water was
missing. All these factors are usually poorly
represented (if considered at all) during the design
process, but such an appropriate representation could
help create better public spaces.
How might such an appropriate representation of the
multimodal qualities of urban space be achieved during
the design process? Depending on this general question
several sub-questions emerge: How can space be
represented in general? What means of representing
space have already been developed? What kind of design
control could be achieved if the multimodal qualities
of spaces were also included into the design process?
What kind of creativity might be evoked by using
methods of multimodal space representation? What
affordable and practical technologies might be used in
common design processes for spaces?

Papers are encouraged from a range of disciplines
including:
Anthropology
Architectural Design
Architectural History & Theory
Environmental Psychology
Fine Art
Geography
Philosophy
Product Design
Sound Design
Urban Design 

Papers should address one or more of the following
themes:
REPRESENTATION

Representation of Urban Spaces
Representation of the Senses
Representation of Experience

DESIGN AND PROCESS

Designing for / with Alternative Sensory Experiences
Multimodality and Presence
Inscriptive Practices, Notation and Drawing

SENSES OF PLACE

Cultural Experience of Place
Sensory Experience of Place
Narratives of Place


Abstracts should be no more than 300 words, and
accompanied by a brief biography of the author(s).
Abstracts should be sent by e-mail to Raymond Lucas no
later than Friday 16th November 2007.
For further information, please contact:

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Dr Raymond Lucas
Room G28
Architecture Building
131 Rottenrow
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow
G4 0NG
tel: 0141 548 3997