Alona Martinez Perez

Geddes institute lecture: A Hackerspace for Myth Making

amperez_1866-200.jpgAlona Martinez Perez is a Spanish Architect and Urban designer. Originally from Bilbao, she qualified as an Architect at Sheffield University, and received her Masters of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Urbanism at Edinburgh College of Art.  She also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and Practice from the University of Ulster, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.

She was appointed regional Convener of the Urban Design Group for the Scottish Region in 2007-2010. During her tenure the group grew considerably and as a result the publication of the journal Urban Design was dedicated to Urbanism in Scotland for the first time. (http://www.udg.org.uk/publications/urban-design-journal-issue/urban-design-114-%E2%80%93-spring-2010)

She is currently a Lecturer in Planning, specialising in Place making and Urbanism, at the University of Ulster. She has lectured on architecture and urban design in the UK, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Finland, and is a visiting tutor at ETSAB (Barcelona), University of Edinburgh and Dundee.

She co-curated and organised a large exhibition and associated conference on the history and current story of Belfast’s regeneration at Urbanpromo 2010 in Venice during the 2010 Venice Biennale. The work of the Belfast@Venice team was awarded the prestigious Urbanistica Prize for 2011 in the category of "Balance of Interests" by the Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica in Italy and this has been commended by the Mayor of Belfast, and one of the Irish Ministers. The exhibition was then opened in Naples, and in PLACE in Belfast. A Special Issue of the International prestigious journal Urbanistica published by INU (Italian Urban Institute|) on Belfast was published in 2012.  ( http://www.planum.net/journals-books/issues/n148).

In 2010 she interviewed British architect Lord Richard Rogers for the Italian journal Domus. (http://www.planum.net/journals-books/issues/n148). She is currently doing her PhD on the subject of periphery in architecture.

Previously she was research director for the Geddes Institute for Urban Research (University of Dundee) where she directed one of the Geddes Institute's major initiatives, the Task Force on Cities & their Regions and was a Design Tutor in the University of  Dundee School of Architecture.

She has also been in private architectural practice for number of years in Scotland and the north of England. She has published extensively for specialised journals and books, including Domus, Urbanistica, and has collaborated with the National Research Council (CNR) in Italy, where she wrote two chapters with Ariadna Perich Capdeferro in the book Città dal mare. L'arte di navigare e l'arte di costruire le città by Massimo Clemente and the CNR. (http://www.amazon.it/Citt%C3%A0-mare-Larte-navigare-costruire/dp/8863422915)

Publications

As Author

2012      Martinez-Perez, A, (2012) Belfast urbanism and architecture, a view from the outside Urbanistica, Rivista trimestrale dell'Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica INU, ISSN 1723-0993

2012      Martinez-Perez, A, Perich Capdeferro A (2012) Bilbao – the river as a catalyst for waterfront regeneration of the post-industrial city In: Clemente M. (ed.) "Città dal mare. L'arte di navigare e l'arte di costruire la città", Vol. 2 Collana Città e Architettura, IRAT-CNR Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, IT (in press). Peer-review

2012      Perich Capdeferro A, Martinez-Perez, A, (2012) In-between land and water: one analysis of the Barcelona waterfront In: Clemente M. (ed.) "Città dal mare. L'arte di navigare e l'arte di costruire la città", Vol. 2 Collana Città e Architettura, IRAT-CNR Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, IT (in press). Peer-review

2011      Martinez-Perez, A, (2011) The London Olympic Park, EWB/ Eco Web Town, No. 1, on line Magazine of Sustainable Design, Edizione SCUT, Università Chieti-Pescara ISSN: 2039-2656 [on line]. Available at (http://www.ecowebtown.eu/n_1/en/pdf/alona_en.pdf) [Accessed 22 November 2011] Peer-review

2011      Martinez-Perez, A, Perich Capdeferro A (2011) Bilbao – the river as a catalyst for waterfront regeneration of the post-industrial city In: Clemente M. (ed.) "Città dal mare. L'arte di navigare e l'arte di costruire la città", Vol. 2 Collana Città e Architettura, IRAT-CNR Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, IT (in press). Peer-review

2011      Perich Capdeferro A, Martinez-Perez, A, (2011) In-between land and water: one analysis of the Barcelona waterfront In: Clemente M. (ed.) "Città dal mare. L'arte di navigare e l'arte di costruire la città", Vol. 2 Collana Città e Architettura, IRAT-CNR Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, IT (in press). Peer-review

2010      Martinez-Perez, A, (2010) Interview to Lord Richard-Rogers-The Social formula of the Rogers Office: A Design Community, Domus, 942, pp 112-16

2010      Martinez-Perez, A, (2010) New Urbanism and its applied method to urban design practice to American and British Cities In: Urban Design Research Method and Application Proceeding of the International Conference held at Birmingham City University 3-4 December 2009, Birmingham: Birmingham City University, pp. 139-48 Peer-review

2010      Martinez-Perez, A, (2010).Urbanism in Scotland. Urban Design Quarterly, 114, p. 12. ISSN 1750 712X.

2009      Martinez Perez, A. and Holm, L (2009) 'Geddes Institute Task Force on their cities and their Regions Number 1’ Dundee: University of Dundee ISBN 978-0-9562949.

2009      Martinez-Perez, A, (2009).Article ‘Sustainable Urbanism’ for journal Urban Design Journal Spring 2009 Issue 110.
ISSN 1750 712X.

2007      Martinez-Perez, A. 2007 ‘A Young Urban Designers Perspective from Scotland via Bilbao’ Urban Design Quarterly 105, p. 9.
ISSN 1750 712X.

Publications (as editor)

2010      Martinez-Perez, A, (2010).Urbanism in Scotland. Urban Design Quarterly, 114, p. 12.  Editor of a special issue of Urban Design dedicated to Scotland. This number explores how they define and are working to improve Scottish place-making, through policies and architectural and urban projects.

2009      Martinez Perez, A. and Holm, L (2009) 'Geddes Institute Task Force on their cities and their Regions Number 1’ Dundee: University of Dundee ISBN 978-0-9562949 [Accessed 22 November 2011].

Conference Papers

Keynote speaker

2011      Martinez-Perez, A (2011), Le politiche per la qualita archittetonica nel recupero urbano (The politics of architectural quality in urban recovery), Covegno “Il ruolo mediterraneo delle Province della Campania nel quadro del riordino federalista” con un focus su Belfast como un caso di best practice, University of Naples Federico II LUPT (Territorial Town Planning Laboratory) & Unione Regionale Provincie Campagne, Naples, May 2011. 

2010      Martinez-Perez, A (2010) Belfast from an outsider’s perspective, Belfast@Venice Urban Promo 2010 Conference of the  INU Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica (National Urban Institute of Italy) Cini Foundation, Venice, October 2010.

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) Continental development models (Barcelona / Bilbao / Madrid), The National Conference on Urban Design of the Urban Design Group, Peterhouse College, Cambridge, September 2009

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) 'International Best Practice- A tour around some of the cities of Europe that are noted for fabulous waterfronts- How they achieved it: the engineering, the design, the funding and the political leadership' ICE (Institute of Civil Engineers) Scotland Municipal Group Conference 'Water and Regeneration Perth Scotland, June 2009.

Presentations (abstracts accepted)

2011      Martinez-Perez, A, Esposito de Vita,G, Trillo , C, (2011) Conflicting Neighbourhoods and Urban Pattern: ‘Architecture of Dialogue’ for the Belfast Interfaces, Urban Conflicts Conference Queens University Belfast , Belfast, May 2011

2011      Esposito de Vita, G , Martinez-Perez, A, Trillo, C, (2011) Managing urban conflict through urban design: Insights from the Northern Ireland for Italy  XIV Conferenza Nazionali Societa Italian degli Urbanisti, (XIV National Conference of the Italian Society of Urbanists),Torino, April 2011. 

2010      Esposito de Vita, G, Trillo, C, and Martinez-Perez, A (2010)Conflicting neighbourhoods and urban pattern: does architecture help in building conflict-resolution strategies in contested spaces?, AESOP –Inhabiting the future after Copenhagen (Naples),University Federico II Naples,  December 2010

2010      Martinez-Perez, A, Esposito de Vita, G and Trillo, C (2010) Urban Design Research: Belfast Peace lines. British Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale, October 2010 (invited by British Council, and Liza Fiori MUF Architects). (http://stewardsatvillafrankenstein.blogspot.com/2010/11/mapping-workshop_05.html)

2010      Martinez-Perez, A (2010) Haussmannien Paris from the Urban Block to the Situationists Critique, 24th AESOP Annual Conference, Helsinki, July 2010.

2010      Parsa, A, Martinez-Perez, A  and Berry, J (2010) Causes And Determinants Of Land And Property Cycles: The Bubble Phenomenon And Its Consequences In Spain – Lessons From Japan, 17th Annual Conference of the European Real Estate Society, Milan, June 2010.

2010      Martinez-Perez, A (2010) Space in Rome in the film Belly of an Architect by Peter Greenaway, School of Museum Studies Narrative Spaces International Conference, University of Leicester, Leicester, April 2010.

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) New Urbanism and its applied method in urban design practice to American and British Cities, Urban Design Research: Method and Application International Conference, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, December 2009.

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) Belfast: New networks aimed at overcoming conflict and creating the new shared cities, Networks Architecture and City Space Symposium, Edinburgh University, November 2009.

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) 'Paris a journey from Haussmann's definition of the city to the 1960's'
Urban Design Group Scotland Lecture Series, Edinburgh, Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS), April 2009

2009      Martinez-Perez, A (2009) 'Paris from Haussmann to 1968' City Think Tank Lectures Series, presented at the Geddes Institute, University of Dundee Architecture, March 2009

2008      Martinez-Perez, A (2008) ‘Liverpool and beyond’. Presented in Edinburgh as part of the monthly series of talks on urban issues for the Urban Design Group and ScotlandSTREET.

2008      Martinez-Perez, A (2008) ‘A comparison between narrative and architectural space in Hopscotch’s Paris, a book by Julio Cortazar’. ‘Architexture’ Conference, University of Strathclyde Department of Architecture,Glasgow, April 2008.

2007      Martinez-Perez, A (2007) Study Tour: ‘Edinburgh’s New Town, architecture and urban spaces’. Urban Design Group Annual Conference on Master planning, Edinburgh, September 2007.

2007      Martinez-Perez, A (2007) ‘The Bilbao Effect in Urban Design, design typologies in one city’. ‘Density Inside Out Conference’, Edinburgh University, June 2007.

Exhibitions & Competitions

2011      Exhibition: Co-organiser/curator Belfast@Naples Exhibition, Venue Complesso Monumentale Santa Maria la Nova-Sala Consiliare di la provincia di Napoli(Monumental Complex of Santa Maria la Nova- Council Chamber of the Provence of Naples), Naples. (Exhibition opened by the British Consul in Naples, Mr.Michael Burgoyne) 

Research funding for the project received from Unione Regional Provinzia di Campagna (Regional Government of the Campania Region) and University Federico II, LUPT Naples.

2010      (2010) Exhibition: co-organiser/curator Belfast@Venice, Venue Fondazione Giorgio Cini, San Giorgio Island, Italy, 7th Edition of Urban Promo,Venice. (27th- 30th October). (Review by Ciaran Mackel and Tara Florence in Perspectives Journal of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects-November/December 2010, and in the Italian National Press 24 Hore, Il Sole, Edilizia e Territorio).

Research funding for the project received from Belfast City Council, PLACE (Centre for Architecture NI), Department for Social Development, (DSD),British Council,  INU Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica (National Institute of Urbanism), ARD Ciaran Mackel Architects, University of Ulster.

2007      Europan 9 Competition for Skyedge in Sheffield. with architect Mr. Robert Lumme