Conversations
The main ideas and thoughts in our practice activities are developed through conversation and discourse.
This format develops through a continuous exchange of information, ideas, thoughts and opinions between the partners, associates and close colleagues.
It is an important process which allows us to stand back and view from a distance, as well as being able to focus in on a subject at close range.
These thoughts and considerations cover a wide range of topics about architectural practice, the design process, urban planning, and other wider professional and social issues.
Innovation through interdisciplinary activity
If we type the words innovative architecture into google search, we are presented with an array of elaborate forms and shapes which represent a catalogue of recent architectural feats. Whilst these appear to be extraordinary and dynamic examples of architecture, we must ask the
question – Are they correctly described as innovative?
Project imagination
The first major British-Russian architectural workshops since the 1920s. The Smithsons, Theo Crosby, Will Alsop, Ian Ritchie, Mark Fisher, and many more arrived in a snowy Moscow to run workshops alongside 500 professors and students at Moscow Architectural Institute. The Russian architectural press headlined – Project Imagination - the Invasion from London, whilst the Architects Journal wrote - After six decades of thinking big – what next for Russia?
The Bicultural Practice
During the course of the Practice Research program at RMIT University we investigated the workings of biculturalism in the specific context of our practice. We imagine the practice as a microcosm of biculturalism where two individuals (Tanya Kalinina and James McAdam) from two countries (Britain and Russia) have learned and adapted to each other’s cultures to practice architecture for many years as one entity.
Practice Research at RMIT
In 2011 the practice partners were invited to take part in the Practice Research Program at RMIT University. This involved three and a half years of reflective and innovative study under the direct supervision of Professor Leon van Schaik, and included the participation in Practice Research Symposia in Ghent and Barcelona.
