Venue reveal - SANDBAR MANCHESTER

The GET OVER IT! Symposium can now reveal its new home – Sandbar, Manchester will be hosting the event on the 12^th May.

Widely known as a watering hole for academics and a successful events space, Sandbar, Grosvenor Street, will host the main event, which will consist of a dynamic, program of events for the day (more information on that to follow…) 

Discussions and decisions...

Confirmed Speaker - MUF ARCHITECTS

We are thrilled to announce another or our guest speakers for the GET OVER IT! symposium on May the 12th...MUF architects!

MUF began in 1996 in London as a practise focusing not only on architecture but also art, urban space and temporary interventions aiming to create “spaces that have an equivalence of experience for all who navigate them both physically and conceptually”. The practice have won a variety of prestigious awards such as 2008 European Prize for Public Space (the first UK winner) for a new 'town square' in Barking,and have recently been working on the site around the London 2012 Olympics looking at ‘alternative legacies’ for the area. MUF also hosted the British Pavillion at the 2010 Venice Biennale, and the partners are now also visting professors at Yale University. 

“The practice philosophy is driven by an ambition to realize the potential pleasures that exist at the intersection between the lived and the built. The creative process is underpinned by a capacity to establish effective client relationships that reveal and value the desires and experience of varied constituencies.

Access is understood not as a concession but as the gorgeous norm; creating spaces that have an equivalence of experience for all who navigate them both physically and conceptually, muf deliver quality and strategical durable projects that inspire a sense of ownership through occupation.”

http://www.muf.co.uk/

Confirmed Speaker - ELIZABETH VARLEY

GET OVER IT! is pleased to announce Elizabeth Varley of Techhub London as a confirmed speaker for the symposium.

Elizabeth Varley is a CEO of Techhub, a space for tech start-up companies based in London near Silicon Roundabout, Shoreditch.

“Elizabeth is a communicator and entrepreneur with a background in editorial, content and events. In 2001 she set up Online Content UK as an organisation for online content professionals running an industry-focused community and regular events. OCUK quickly became a commercial editorial and content agency working with clients as diverse as Amazon, PricewaterhouseCoopers and AKQA.

In addition to TechHub, Elizabeth recently worked with small business advice site Smarta.com on marketing and engagement, and is working with germination to produce the SHINE unconference for social entrepreneurs in May 2010.” www.techhub.com

Elizabeth is also heading this years Twestival in London, a Twitter Festival that uses “social media for social good”. Twitter communities use social media to organize an events day to fundraise for various charities.

 “Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but work from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact. Over 200 international cities from Buenos Aires to Bangalore, Seattle to Seoul and Hong Kong to Honolulu have participated in Twestival.” www.twestival.com

So what is Techhub?

“TechHub is the physical hub for the technology start-up community. It's launching first in London in the Shoreditch/Old St area and will consist of desk spaces, co-working space, meeting rooms and an event space… While it will be a place for tech entrepreneurs to touch down, work, plug their laptops in and use the fast wifi, what really differentiates it is the mostly product-oriented tech community.”

Elizabeth Varley will be speaking on the 12^th May at the GET OVER IT! symposium, Manchester.

Waste not, want not

Help the Aged: innovative adaptive reuse in architecture

'Waste not, want not' is an expression that has become increasingly pertinent in recent years as economic conditions have forced many of us to tighten our belts and make the most of what we have, rather than constantly replacing old with new. This attitude of thrift extends to architecture in the form of adaptive reuse – the conversion of an old building into something better suited to contemporary requirements. Here, we examine some recently completed, ongoing and future projects that show how imagination and intelligent design can deliver striking transformative effects. Derelict or abandoned buildings often have a great deal to offer in terms of location and character and should be viewed as opportunities rather than eyesores."


http://www.architonic.com/ntsht/help-the-aged-innovative-adaptive-reuse-in-architecture/7000565

The Cineroleum - London

What a fantastic use of a derelict petrol station - a true creative opportunity created by the recession!

"This summer a derelict petrol station on Clerkenwell Road will be transformed into a hand-built cinema celebrating the extravagance and ceremony of the picture palace.

Primarily constructed using donated and found materials; The Cineroleum will be an improvisation of the decadent interiors that greeted audiences during cinema's golden age. Popcorn, paper tickets, elaborate signage and flip-down seats will collectively recreate the familiar excitement of cinema-going.

Enclosed by an ornate curtain strung from the forecourt roof, The Cineroleum will host screenings from sundown four nights a week. With a programme of off-beat classics that celebrate the social experience of watching the big screen, stars from Buster Keaton to Barbarella will flicker, dance and shoot their way over The Cineroleum screen. Just as the drive-ins of 1950's America brought cinema out from its enclosures and into suburbia, The Cineroleum will be a street-side cinema that is truly exposed to the city.

The project has been conceived and built by a collective of young artists, designers and architects committed to the creative re-use of urban spaces. With 4,000 petrol stations currently lying derelict in the UK, this pilot project demonstrates the potential for their transformation as exciting and unusual spaces for public use."

http://www.cineroleum.co.uk/info/

Make It Work: Creativity in the Great Recession

Exhibition and Panel Discussion at the University of Windsor, Canada in February 2011.

"While the idea of creative economies has become commonplace in large cultural centres, there has been less consideration of the possibilities and challenges of working in economically distressed cities that are at a distance from cultural capitals and the art market.

Research into the trend of shrinking cities in recent years has drawn attention to the question of how to consider cities that are losing population and basic infrastructure. Possible answers to the problems raised by shrinking cities have not been coming from economists or politicians, but from artists, designers and architects."

http://www.brokencitylab.org/events/make-it-work-exhibition-panel-discussion/

The Big Regeneration Debate

The first of the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Art School Conversations series, The Big Regeneration Debate, took place last Wednesday at the All Saints building on Oxford Road. Hosted by the prestigious Manchester School of Art, the event invited a variety of speakers to discuss the reasons, effects and examples of  successful regeneration within the city of Manchester.

The panel of speakers consisted of: Sir Richard Leese, head of the Manchester City Council; Ian Simpson, architect of the Beetham Tower and the Urbis; Tom Jeffries, head of the Manchester School of Architecture; Fiona Gasper, executive director of the Royal Exchange theatre and Owen Hatherly, author of A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain, all chaired by Dave Haslam, legendary Hacienda DJ and author.

Around 180 people from a range of backgrounds, disciplines and outlooks attended and the discussion were encouraged to include perspectives from the audience after the panellists had spoken. The event sparked many questions about the city as an entity and encouraged further thoughts about the practical and real effects of regeneration.

Hot topics were the regeneration of Hulme in the 1990’s, the process and longevity of architecture, the property boom in Manchester, Birley Fields Campus and the relationship between the social housing and luxury apartments within the city.

Overall, a very successful evening with a very interesting discussion about the future of the city of Manchester.