Maria Pantas
Ethnography and the Architecture of Situations
Tuesday October 25th 2016 15:00
Room B
Lecture within the framework of the course South: Space and non hegemonic paradigms of knowledge
Tutor: Iris Lykourioti
Biography
Maria Pantas is a PhD Candidate, currently funded by Canterbury School of Architecture, University for the Creative Arts (UCA) to undertake her research degree titled ‘Approaches to climate change adaptation through community-driven construction projects in the Global South’. She undertook her primary research in rural Ghana building a primary school cantine as part of a local community driven organization. She is the online editor for The Architects’ Project (TAP), an autonomous initiative involved in the education and practice of architecture operating from Accra & Kumasi in Ghana with a global agenda. She is also a Board Member for the Environmental Foundation for Development (EFD) a non-profit organization in Tanzania, involved in consultation on rural development, housing and sanitation.
In 2011 Maria joined Reset Development, a London-based charity, on a two-year research based project titled the ‘Affordable Low-Carbon and Cyclone resilient Housing in South West Bangladesh.’Her focus was on developing a greater understanding on best approaches to training and education for sustainable, disaster resilient construction in the rural South West of Bangladesh.
Maria became an associate of Women’s Design Service (WDS) in 2010 and got involved in community-led design projects in Islington and Vauxhall as well as a WDS Lottery-funded project aimed at improving public toilet provision. The emphasis of her work was on: ensuring that the built environment needs of women and their families were heard, using participatory planning consultations, in order to influence planning in the borough; integrating the existing urban fabric as well as existing social housing estates into the new development plans; the creation of new play and green spaces and the potential of the spaces between buildings in the south of the borough of Islington.
She undertook her RIBA Part II in Architecture at London South Bank University with the research-based thesis, entitled ‘Seven City Farms in London’, which dealt with sustainability and community based adaptation in London.