A new international symposium, held on 25th & 26th September 2025, celebrates the 30th anniversary of the research group East-West Studies in Architecture and Landscape at Sheffield. The symposium will have a thematic focus on the future of East-West at the planetary scale, inviting the widest possible perspectives and diverse methodological discussions.
The symposium programme also includes a book launch of a collaborative effort about the case study methodology on peoples and places, as well as the ceremonial opening of the first retrospective exhibition on Peter Blundell Jones's intellectual journey and legacy.
Book your place via Eventbrite
This event is organised by Dr Xiang Ren from the School of Architecture and Landscape. The programme can be found below.
Thursday 25 September 2025
@Research Commons, Western Bank Library, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN
10:00 – 10:30 Arrival and coffee
10:30 – 10:35 Welcome
10:35 – 10:45 Introduction from Xiang Ren and Jan Woudstra
“Re-situating the East”
10:45 – 11:15 “From Model to Method”, Prof. Deljana Iossifova (University of Manchester School of Environment, Education and Development)
11:15 – 11:45 “Architectures of the Public Citizen”, Prof. Adam Sharr (University of Newcastle School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape)
11:45 – 12:15 “Everything is in Everything: Border Pedagogy and Postdisciplinarity in the Architectures”, Prof. Tim Waterman (University College London)
12:30 Lunch (light buffet)
“Re-imagining the East”
14:00 – 14:30 “Climate Places”, Prof. Jeremy Till (University of the Arts London)
14:30 – 15:00 “East of West of West of East – a liquid tale of re-orient-ation”, Dr. Doreen Bernath (Architectural Association School of Architecture)
15:00 – 15:30 “Architecture and the Global Art City: The Case of Tokyo”, Dr. Christian Morgner (University of Sheffield Management School)
15:30 Coffee and tea break
16:00 – 17:00 Discussion (Iossifova, Sharr, Waterman, Till, Bernath and Morgner, moderator: Prof. Jan Woudstra)
17:00 – 18:30 Exhibition launch:
Peter Blundell Jones: Architecture, Landscape and the City
@ the exhibition hall of the Western Bank Library
Introduction by Dr. Xiang Ren and Prof. Jan Woudstra with University Library collaborators.
Friday 26 September 2025
@The Arts Tower, 13F 1318/19, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN
Tea and coffee from 8:45
“Re-connecting the East”
9:30 – 10:00 “War and Architecture: a sociocultural study of buildings in geo-military contexts”, Prof. Jianfei Zhu (University of Newcastle School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape)
10:00 – 10:30 “From East to West: Japanese Architecture in UK Cinema Culture”, Prof. Jennifer Coates (University of Sheffield School of Languages, Arts and Societies - East Asian Studies)
10:30 – 11:00 tea and coffee
“Re-interpreting the East”
11:00 – 11:30 “Some Key Issues in the Historiography of Modern Korean Architecture”, Prof. Hyon-Sob Kim (Korea University)
11:30 – 12:00 “After East-West: a trans-territorial praxis in a planetary age”, A/Prof. Guang Yu Ren (University College London)
12:00 – 12:30 Panel discussion (Zhu, Coates, Kim and Ren, moderator Xiang Ren)
12:30 Lunch (light buffet)
14:00 Book launch:
Case Studies in Architecture and Landscape: Expanding the Legacy of Peter Blundell Jones
Introduction by Honorary Professor Jan Woudstra and Dr Xiang Ren, with talks by contributors including but not limited to Dr Alan Lewis (University of Manchester), Dr Eamonn Canniffe (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Gracious Muzamhindo (PBJ Travel Grant 2024 winner).
16:00 End of Programme