[Organiser of Stirling's Red Buildings Conference for the Twentieth Century Society]

The aim of the conference is to review the three 'Red Buildings' with experts who have studied their history and their performance, and to discuss their future. Work is due to take place on the Leicester and Oxford buildings in the relatively near future, and technical knowledge can be shared in a context of understanding the design intention. Also to celebrate Stirling and Gowan's careers from a broader perspective and to assert the value of looking after these special buildings as assets for the future. The speakers in the afternoon session are people who knew the two architects well, and in some cases worked for them. [From University of Leicester]

Twentieth Century Society Spring lecture series: second lives for Twentieth Century masterpieces

The Twentieth Century Society’s Spring lecture series (six in total) looks at the restoration and refurbishment of key C20 buildings in Britain and the US. Buildings covered: BBC Broadcasting House in London (G Val Meyer 1930-32, MacCormac Jamieson Prichard 2000-09). Speaker: Mark Hines (Mark Hines Architects), was the project architect and is the author of The Story of Broadcasting House: Home of the BBC. 5 February 2009. Crown Hall, Chicago (Mies van der Rohe 1952), the Art and Architecture Building, Yale University, New Haven (Paul Rudolf 1961-63) and the former Wills head office in Bristol (SOM with YRM 1970-75). Speaker: Patrick Bellew (Atelier 10 Engineers), 12 February 2009. Center for British Art, Yale University, New Haven (Louis Kahn 1969-77). Speaker: Peter Inskip (Inskip and Jenkins Architects), 17 February 2009. Brunswick Centre London (Patrick Hodgkinson 1967-72; Levitt Bernstein with Patrick Hodgkinson 2006). Speaker: Stuart Tappin (Stand Consulting Engineers Ltd), 26 February 2009. De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea (Mendelsohn and Chermayeff 1934-5, John McAslan and Partners 2000-05). Speaker: Mark Cannata (HOK Architects), 5 March 2009. Finsbury Health Centre London (Lubetkin & Tecton 1938, first phase of conservation work Avanti Architects 1995.). Speaker: John Allan of Avanti Architects, 12 March 2009.

Training teachers for further and technical education 1950-1982: staff perceptions of changing demands and policies

This paper aims to create a picture of aspects of the working lives of some trainers of technical and further education teachers in a specialist teacher training college in Bolton, Lancashire, from the 1950s to the 1980's. There is little reference to technical teacher training in the literature on teacher training in the second half of the twentieth century. With this gap in mind, this paper sets out to record some memories and impressions of staff involved during these years. Using data from a series of semi-structured interviews, the discussion centres upon their perceptions of their work: of their students, the working environment, the curriculum and their relationships with the technical colleges for whom they were training teachers. The paper has three sections. It begins with a brief discussion of the issues arising from the choice of research methods. The second section contextualises the study and traces the history of Bolton Technical Teachers' Training College from its establishment through to its merger with the Institute of Technology in 1982. This is followed by the presentation and discussion of the interview data.