Lecture | Michelle Howard and Nasrine Seraji

Beirut House of Arts and Culture

The Practice of Research

The question of what constitutes research in a school of architecture is particularly important today and intrinsically linked with the current metamorphosis of the profession itself. After a constant narrowing of the definition of the profession since the 70s a counter-explosion has taken place which has not only widened its scope again but shifted and questioned its very foundations.

In this lecture series members of the Faculty of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna will present the research they are currently performing, their methods and outlook on the practice of research.

The first lecture in this series which took place on the 15th of March by Prof. Angelika Schnell entitled “Forgetting Architecture”, explored aspects of the Theory of the Architect Aldo Rossi. This lecture represents a high quality example of the practice of research in its most recognizable guise

The second lecture in this series is entitled

Practice based Research
Research based Practice

And will be given jointly by Prof Nasrine Seraji and Prof. Michelle Howard.

Both professors are also practicing architects in domains which encompass that of the traditional practice of architecture and its metamorphosis.

The lecture will begin with a presentation of their respective competition entries for the new House of Arts and Culture (the Lebanese-Omani Centre) in Beirut and ideas which have been part of their architectural investigations. From that common starting point their lectures will diverge to describe through other research projects their particular convictions, concerns and areas of interest.