Ways of Looking Festival, Bradford with Donovan Wylie, Daniel Meadows & Invisible Flock

Its always a pleasure when my somewhat obsessive phd interests happen to coincide with my girlfriend's more regular ideas of how she'd like us to spend the weekend together. Last weekend Bradford was the setting for this fortuitous coming together of interests at the UKs newest photography / arts festival 'Ways of Looking'.

The festival had an ambition of attracting internationally renowned artists while retaining a clearly sense of locality, and of the exhibits that we saw for one day in the city, it seems to have achieved this. But we began by making our way from Forster Square via the 'hole in the ground' - the disaster that was to be the half-excavated Westfield Shopping Centre, which now dominates a huge part of the city centre to the north west. At least they have now taken down most of the signs promising 'urban energy' and other nonsense (ridiculed in Owen Hatherley's new ruins of Britain). A particulalrly half-hearted attempt at an 'urban garden' occupies the section that isn't a huge hole, but at the moment (and even in the bright autumn sunshine) this 'temporary' intervention only serves to depress the spirits further. We also later found out that this was in fact one of the sites of the festival - but the photographs stuck onto blue hoardings hardly shouted out 'outdoor gallery space'.

At the one of central sites for the festival, the national media museum, we were distracted by the hugely popular exhibition of retro computer games in the foyer before making our up to the Donovan Wylie exhibition. Having been awarded the 'Bradford Fellowship' he had meticulously documented the everyday and mechanical nature of sites of conflict, in Northern Island and Afghanistan. The landscapes photos, almost all of military outposts, are packed with incidental detail and were fascinating to stare at, with the scale and lack of people making the photos appear more like intricate scale models of battlefield gun emplacements and radar posts.

Next up, the Gallery 2 at the NMM had a retrospective of the early work of Daniel Meadows. As a newcomer to his work documenting British life (particularly in the 1970s and 80s), I was enthralled by human portraits of people on one Manchester street, the colourful moments captured at the Butlins holiday camps and documentary videos of the 'Omnibus' tour around Britain, undertaken in his early 20s. For me, this (apparently well known) piece of work got to the heart of the 'Ways of Seeing'; both in the political spirit of this free portrait service, and the subsequent documentation of the moments captured - then reunited with their owners 30 or so years later, which often left a sad trace about the passing of time and snatched memories.

Leaving the NMM and heading via a fry-up in the sunshine, we got to the relatively newly opened 'Impressions Gallery'. This forms the 'cultural bit' of a slightly uninspiring arcing commerical development that forms one edge to the 'regenerated' Centenary Square (ie its going to have some new granite paving, funky shaped seats and a new lighting scheme). The urban realm has yet to be finished, but the given some of the other occupants of the new units (budget drinking establishments) the future 'success' of this public space is still in doubt. Our arrival at Impressions coincided with one of the festival talks - on curating photography - but unfortunately (not being particularly interested in this subject) the lack of a dedicated event space here meant that it put the rest of the Red Saunders exhibition out of bounds - not too good for a Saturday afternoon!

This wasn't too big a deal, because the aspect of the festival that first drew me in was the four interactive 'adventure games' created by Invisible Flock, which also began from the base in Impressions. These games, each designed around mobile phones and semi-scripted treasure-hunt style routes across the city centre are another good local precedent for the work I hope to be implementing next year. Unfortunately this event also began with a let down. As the artist's assistant at the gallery explained - the augmented reality / QR technology for our preferred route only worked on Android phones and even then was prone to be 'buggy'. Sure enough, 5 minutes outside of the gallery and the first tile (hidden on the exterior of the crumbling Odeon cinema opposite) failed to scan. Undeterred, we opted to try out a different route that relied on far simpler SMS technology and 'physical clues' scattered across the museums and public spaces of Bradford. Structured around John Ruskin, early Daguerreotype photography, and a riddle about the sea this became a hugely enjoyable 2 hours, and even though it took us back into places we had already visited (the bloody Urban Garden) it demonstrated many of the pervasive / immersive elements that make this art form 'work' so well in the context of urban exploration and forcing you to stop and think about your surroundings. The 'showstopper' moment and perhaps the most memorable aspect was the culmination of the riddle back in Centenary Square, where for a fleeting moment (and if they solve the clue), players get to 'control' the big TV screen normally reserved for rolling BBC sport. Great fun, but while it was perhaps meant as nod to the idea of being able to become an 'author' of your environment, a look around at the rest of the public realm in the city centre (especially the big hole) is a stark reminder that the citizen has very little say outside of the rules of the game.

A quick skirt around the nearby popup gallery (complete with slightly condescending red sign declaring its 'PopUp' status - in case the people of Bradford haven't yet heard of the concept) and we headed home.

"This House Believes Schools of Architecture Should Be Dissolved"Project Context / SUAS Debate

Its hard to know exactly what Project Context stand for, if indeed they do have (or need) an overarching political motivation. Their manifesto is deliberately fuzzy or fluid, and their recent impressive efforts in reviewing graduate output are self-titled as both a 'research project' but also a 'mirror'. It is this second aspect that might be most interesting. By making a much bigger noise about what talented graduates of architecture end up doing (or not doing) post-part 2, hopefully some of those responsible at the top of architectural education (heads of school, course leaders and those in admissions) might begin to think more about why so many students feel unequipped for current practice, and why so many are unemployed.

Fluidity is a theme that cropped up again and again in the Project Context & SUAS-organised debate "This House Believes Schools of Architecture Should Be Dissolved". It was interesting that this debate was held at Sheffield, a school that has a reputation for challenging traditional models of architectural practice, though in reality is still part of a red-brick institution, and is still very much bound to conform to the requirements of the RIBA and ARB.

In the event, both sides on the debate began to meld into one, as it became quite apparent that the proposition team very well knew the value of the school of architecture and its graduates (especially in the sheffield mould); lateral thinking, spatially & socially aware, polymaths that developed a huge range of design skills and critical thinking over the 5 or so years they spent in architecture school. In terms of reshaping this model, the consensus was built around the idea that (especially given the construction crash) the route through architectural education needed to be more flexible and much less tunneled towards to become an employed 'architect'. Instead we should be offering different routes (and valuing those routes) to become writers, entrepreneurs, developers, planners, councilors etc. In order to achieve this clearly more work also needs to be done at the top (perhaps wholesale changes at the RIBA) to communicate the value of architectural skills and pull down the artificial barriers that are suffocating the profession. As put forward in the debate by the proposition panel: 'if we are so good at designing buildings, why are only 2% * of new constructions designed by architects?'

Alastair Parvin (Sheffield alumni now working for 00:/) robustly critiqued of the social disconnection in student projects, along with providing the evening with some typically memorable soundbites: 'we don't need active dissolution - if things carry on the way they are Schools of Architecture will dissolve themselves'.

Several other people picked up on the potential contradiction illustrated by this point, which to me became one of the most telling aspects of the evening. If there is a genuine feeling amongst graduates (such as those within Project Context) that the current pedagogy in schools of architecture and the relevance of the skills we acquire for todays market needs questioning - why is the celebration of the 'best' of the graduates (as demonstrated in the Project Context exhibition) still represented by a gallery of beautiful but abstracted representations, or to quote Alastair again; 'Trout farms on Mars'?

(*the source for this stat wasnt given)

A Machine to See With - Blast Theory

However nice it is to visit a city with a partner, friends or family, there is something undeniably joyful about spending time wandering alone - there are no compromises on what to eat, no discussions on whether do shops or museums, and no agreement needed on which direction to drift. There can be few things more pleasurable than doing all this amongst the excitement of an unseasonably warm late summer day in Brighton.

This was the situation I found myself in recently while visiting to take part in Blast Theory's 'A Machine to See With', which had been redesigned for the Digital Festival in their home town, following a critically acclaimed run at Edinburgh. So while in a way it was a shame to drag myself away from the market stalls & people-watching in the Lanes, I had high expectations for the experience - it cam off the back of taking part in the excellent 'Ulrike & Eamon Compliant' in Sheffield, and I was trying to see as much of their work as possible with a view to a possible future collaboration.

With all their expertise in this form of performance, it was no surprise that Blast Theory are very skilled in arranging the setup, instructions and meeting point. Phone messages - a week before and morning of my allotted time - gave clear instructions as to the meeting place and that I was to come alone with my phone and cash. As the moment approaches (and then passes) and I am stationed nervously underneath a railway bridge, I begin to think that there has been a mistake - perhaps Im in the wrong place? But then the phone buzzes, and Im engrossed in the details; Im not to answer my phone to anyone except the automated voice. Im responsible for my actions if I get arrested. I am going to be robbing a bank.

Much like the experience of other 'single-player' interactive walkabout performances (surely a new term needs coining), Blast Theory immediately exploit the participant's state of excitement and anticipation to make the everyday come to life. Simple instructions for the precise route to take mix banal details into a more poetic urban narrative - and suddenly, walking down a street or back alley becomes a gripping experience. The walking element form roughly half of the overall performance, with the rest made up of carefully timed interactions as it becomes apparent that this isn't a solo mission after all, but I am undertaking the heist as part of a team. The first hint of this is when directed into a pub toilet cubicle - "lock the door behind you" and answer a series of questions on my personality (here it does feel a bit like being on the phone to a customer service desk), which later transpires to affect what role I will play in the robbery. Meanwhile I must hide all of the cash I'm carrying "somewhere on my person". The experience of being enclosed heightens the stress - blurring the tension built by the fiction with other questions wondering if the pub are in on it - are people queuing to use the toilet?

Back out in the bright sunlight Im behind schedule - I must hurry to the meeting point at the NCP car park with cash rattling around in my trainers, and the phone is beginning to feel hot on my face. A place in the city that is associated with another everyday activity - parking for the shops - takes on an altogether different filmic association (a deliberate choice Im sure). We have all seen enough Hollywood heist or spy films to fill in the gaps of the vague plot of AM2SW (for the whole hour I have imagery from the Bourne series and Un Flic running through my head), and in part of my brain the rooftop of the car park becomes a set - or maybe - just for a moment- even a 'real' meetup point prior to a 'real' heist. Either way, the Silver BMW I am supposed to get into already has 2 of my 'partners' inside, so instead I am instructed move off the bank itself.

Once more, the timing is calculated and very carefully explained - so that as the voice counts down from 10 you must be inside the bank ready to reach the counter.

This type immersion takes a very different from other media - it could be argued that depth of experience is all of your own making with the audio narrative simply as a tool to prompt the imagination. Depending on the will of the participant, at any point the fiction can be questioned and stopped by taking the phone away.

But its too late - I am walking into the bank heading towards zero when I hear THE HEIST HAS FAILED GET OUT OF THERE.

After the adrenalin of escaping a 'near-miss' the finale takes place nearby, outside another location that stirs the emotional imagination of cinema and youth - the arcades. Here the participant is faced with a choice; the heist went wrong but there is still a chance to make a difference, to somehow have an effect on the city. "It is not a personality test" but an opportunity to make a connection. I am instructed to take out all of the cash and give it to a stranger. This is something that on one hand sounds like a theatrical sleight of hand - while it is unrelated to the plot - it is an instruction that gets you thinking hard enough not to immediately question this. Can I do it? What will they say? Will they think I'm actually a 'real' criminal? After an hour or so invested really trying to feel the experience, the deliberate car crash of real and fiction is disorientating, not to mention the personal questions it raises in my (frugal) head about giving away £20. In Sheffield, a previous Blast Theory outing called for a similar choice (albeit without the financial sting), and agreeing to enter the story resulted in a final interrogation scene, so part of me wondered whether if I could do it, I would somehow carry on the adventure.

In the end, I don't and its over. And anyway its nearly time to get my train back to normal life. But for such a simple final question, it makes me think for a long time about myself, the nature of immersive theatre, and how suddenly I don't want to be in the city alone any more.

City Futures Conference, Sheffield Hallam University

Subtitled 'New Perspectives on Placemaking', this one day conference at the other Sheffield university looked like a timely opportunity to open a specifically local conversation about urbanism wide range of practioners, arts and environmental organisations. The two Universities don't often have much to do with one another (I was the only delegate from TUOS), particularly the two architecture departments which are often characterised as being at opposite ends of the spectrum. While SSoA prides itselfs on its independent critical approach and social/political awareness, while Hallam's architecture course sits within the department for the built environment and arguably has a greater focus on the commercial and technical aspects of the profession.

My own interest in the subject of 'city futures' is at least threefold; the RECITE research project is very much interested in how people define 'places' and how this knowledge might aid designers, as an architect and design professional I am interested in the other side - how best practice current and planning policy are being using in urban design, and from a personal political level I have a keen interest in the direction the city is headed after the mini boom and subsequent failures of Sevenstone and Housing Market Renewal.

The conference - essentially made up of 5 keynotes and a series of afternoon workshops - kicked of with Kevin Murray of the Academy of Urbanism, an independent British think-tank for urban regeneration that seek the development of progressive, sustainable, economically viable and attractive cities. Though they promote that they are a-political, there was a clear belief that better cities are achieved in the Scandinavian model; top-down, with progressive government and long-term, creative strategies - in partnership with designers, planners and businesses. A telling moment of this engaging run-through of principles of urbanism was in the discussion of the AoU award for outstanding city. This annual prize was intended to alternate between a British and European example - but they had already run out of British cities. Even the most recent British example - Glasgow - felt a bit thin now that the New Labour millennium money has run dry (and they are building yet another motorway through it). As a result the presentation borrowed heavily from the lessons learnt in Freiburg - which essentially seemed to be that at least 30 years of clear strategic committed policy and investment were required. Unlikely to be happening here any time soon!

Next up the new Head of Planning for SCC, David Caulfield. His talk - about how important 'quality of place' (which roughly seemed to be equated with plenty of tended grass and granite paving) was for the economic competitiveness of the city. To crudely summarise what was a fairly crude argument - if we give lawyers and financiers a nice place to eat their sandwiches and go for after-work drinks they will be more likely to move their HQ here rather than say, an M1 business park or Leeds. This same economic argument was then able to be reused to explain why we need more car parking, why we need to 'regenerate' the markets and various other controversial decisions. However, thanks to the broad range of Sheffield voices in attendance, David had a much more difficult Q&A than he might have expected, especially in relation to the politics of keeping the station bridge public and the increased difficulty of access that have resulted from the much lauded revamp of the train station.

With many of the workshops appearing to follow on from the morning's theme, I opted to take part in the one that sounded most different - based on some of the entries to the Forgotten Spaces exhibition. Unfortunately the structure was not well thought through - and two short presentations (akin to 'provocations') from the speakers left the rest of the group unsure how to participate. However, the essential thrust seemed to be that cities are not all about the commercial and main public spaces, but the other lifeblood of urban areas is the terrain vague and in-between bits; spaces that people might colonise, daydream about, or simply pass by on their way to work. This is a conversation that has been going on at SSoA since Jermey Till's Softspace in 2005 (and probably for many years before that)!

Fortunately a much more resonant tone (though pre-judged as 'alternative' by the chair and Head of department) was struck by Owen Hatherley, who took us on a romp through the failures in planning and design of the 20th century, some the most notable of which were identified in Sheffield (the student flats by Park Square - a slum in waiting). Though Owen seemed unafraid to heavily criticise the politics of regeneration in the UK, it was interesting that his critique of Urban Splash's Parkhill was not nearly so strident as in his Guardian article a few days later.

The day finished with a very brief but fascinating sales pitch from Martyn Ware (formerly of the Human League & Heaven 17) and his new venture in 3d sound interventions. Though he couldn't say exactly why, he was sure that these installations 'somehow change the way you look at the city' (I have paraphrased). After a day severely lacking in the subtle nuances of what 'place' is and the uncertainty and delight of cities - this was good note to end on for my own research interests.