Research Catalogue

research expositions

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  Engaging with site-specific design through experiential learning and case-based learning (2021) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  The exposition presents findings and outputs from a trans-disciplinary research project involving students and tutors of level 5 BA Architecture and Theatre design courses of NTU. The process of reading, understanding and interpreting the inner character and performative attributes of architecture, and in-depth exploration and expression of spatial practice, are essential aspects for any design intervention on existing buildings for site-specific performance, but they are not enough used for architectural design. The originality of the action research lies in its trans-disciplinary approach and methodology derived from theatre and performance design, aimed at helping Architecture students to engage with the character of architectural spaces as a propaedeutic step of their design. The final goal was not just the resolution of a specific didactic need, but also the realisation of a resource for educators and practitioners, so to fill a gap in the literature of site-specific design methodology. The academic literature regarding site-specific performance, in fact, is more oriented in depicting its historical background, describing past and current practice, than summoning up its methodologies and applications. For this research Moneta designed and planned a series of multidisciplinary learning activities (perception lab, mapping, dramaturgy of the place) using a constructivist approach, within a collaborative design project with level 5 BA Architecture and Theatre design students, involving the exploration of an historical building in Worksop (UK). The research utilised a combination of Active Learning approach, based on Kolb's Experiential Learning and Case-based learning (CBL); a final questionnaire measured the impact of the research: 87.4% of students agreed that this new methodology helped them to design for site-specific places. Moneta summoned the research in a resource for colleagues in the form of a Poster that explained its methodology, identifying nodal points and learning activities to improve design for site-specific in BA level design courses. The research was peer-reviewed as part of PGCAP final assessment, and the Poster was exhibited at TILT showcase 2019.
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• Investigating new forms of content creation, storytelling and audience engagement to reveal the Genius Loci of heritage sites (The Workhouse, Southwell) (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  Heritage Project at The Workhouse, Southwell, is a 5-year long collaboration partly funded by National Trust with Nottingham Trent University; it was enabled by National Trust’s Research Strategy aimed at ‘fulfilling the role of heritage in the modern world, realising experiences that move, teach and inspire’. The project was focused on The Workhouse, Southwell to reveal its Genius Loci (distinct character), to unearth its forgotten, denied and unexpressed stories; and to unveil them through Scenarchitecture, Moneta’s performative methodology that utilises architecture and performance to provoke visitors to think differently about history, identity and today’s world. Scenarchitecture blends Imagination with Memory using a given architectural site; it works with the complex overlay of historical and contemporary fragments embedded in the host building, and it combines them with the stories, memories and meanings of the people that lived there. The aim of this process is to unveil feelings, to reveal invisible links between places and people, using perception and sensibility. Moneta’s project was developed through research-led teaching: since 2015, a number of Theatre Design students had been involved as active researcher for content creation; they had been paired with Workhouse’s volunteers to engage with the building and its archive material; together, they devised different 'stories' inspired by The Workhouse’s archive; in the first two years of development the project inspired students’ installations; from 2017, after gaining interest from National Trust, the ‘stories’ evolved into a collective, costumed promenade performance open to public around The Workhouse, with the volunteers as storytellers and Moneta as project manager and director. The project is now a regular and popular feature of The Workhouse’s Public Programme inspired by a specific year’s theme. Outputs included photos and video, website and blog, newspaper article, exhibition; in 2019, a documentary captured the development of the project and final performance.
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  Gandhi King Ikeda - Peacebuilders Exhibition (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  This exhibition was designed by the author at Nottingham Trent University, Newton Building (2-5 May 2017) and Broadway Cinema Gallery (6-12 May 2017) in Nottingham, UK. Commissioned and funded by the UK branch of Soka Gakkai International, a worldwide network of lay Buddhists; it was inaugurated by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Mohammed Saghir, NTU Vice Chancellor Edward Peck and SGI-UK General Director Robert Harrap. The exhibition, originally conceptualised by Dr. Lawrence Carter, Dean of Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, USA, has not been just focused on the life and work of these three extraordinary men, but was especially aimed at realising a physical space to start a process of inner transformation as an individual, as an initial to act to change society and the environment. Moneta selected and designed for two locations as places for dialogues about peace: Nottingham Trent University, for its fundamental role in education as a key to improve social cohesion; the Broadway Gallery in the Lace Market, to promote an active role for peace in the heart of social and cultural life of Nottingham. Featuring photos and information about Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Daisaku Ikeda, viewers had the chance to engage with lofty ideals and principles within the grasp of their own daily existence, but also to explore the significance of true dialogue with an opportunity to listen, meet and share thoughts with others. Based on Ikeda’s philosophy of ‘inner disarmament’ and ‘human revolution’, a Conversation Cafe’ has been designed as an invitation to partake in ‘Dialogues’, for listening to self and others in a safe environment. The number and quality of these ‘Dialogues’ and their feedback demonstrated the importance of establishing a direct connection with each single person visiting the Exhibition to promote action for peace.
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  Scenarchitecture: exhibitions, live events and sited performances in Italy and UK, 2006-2021 (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  The Exposition illustrates the body of work of 15 years of research-led teaching and professional practice that produced 17 performances, 2 installations and 4 exhibitions in Italy and UK, during the period 2006-2021. They are documented with photos, video documentaries, social media, info about the research and design process to demonstrate impact, significance, and originality. All the output presented in this portfolio involved projects in partnership with universities, research centres, theatres, and cultural institutions. Performances had been developed through Scenarchitecture, a trans-disciplinary methodology developed by Moneta’s research, that blends Scenography with architecture and urban design. Scenarchitecture involves the process of reading, understanding, and interpreting the inner character and performative attributes of architecture and sites, as an in-depth exploration and expression of Spatial Practice and community engagement, essential aspects for any design intervention in a specific place. Scenarchitecture, in fact, can also help designers, stakeholders, and citizens to engage with the character of the place as a propaedeutic step for the co-creation of architectural and urban design that are respectful of places. Performances and related exhibitions, in the roles of designer, exhibitor and director, had been an important step for the author to disseminate Scenarchitecture methodology, and to assess it in different areas: in Research-led teaching at Nottingham Trent University (UK) and University of Rome La Sapienza (Italy); in Professional practice for theatre design and architectural design, as co-founder of cultural association Archabout; in Professional practice for live events in marketing and communication, as co-founder of ethical and un-conventional communication firm Smart Jokes.
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  Ghosts! Heritage design project and performance at Nottingham Castle Grounds (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  The aim of this research enquiry is to foster a collaboration with Nottingham Castle realising public activities to improve visitors’ engagement. Methods used to explore these enquiries involved Scenarchitecture, a trans-disciplinary methodology developed by Moneta, that uses the process of reading, understanding, and interpreting the Genius Loci as an in-depth exploration and expression of Spatial Practice and community engagement. Recent studies on phenomenology of Place (Relph, 1976; Alexander, 1977; Norberg-Schulz, 1980), and the role of Genius Loci in Placemaking (Brooks, 2001; Golan, 2012), are confirming the importance of considering a multidisciplinary approach to enhance heritage sites using perception and emotions. Heritage sites with their peculiar identity and character, provoke intense spatial experience in those who engage with them, having the quality of Place, i.e., the power to focus human experiences, and actions spatially. The enquiry was about researching and then revealing historical characters that had a role in the NC’s history, and to help audiences engage with them on a perceptual level through storytelling, site-specific performance and CosProps as the medium. The project involved six students of BA (Hons) Theatre Design at Nottingham Trent University as part of the Realised Design curriculum, that selected and designed a CosProp for each character. They devised the performances in collaboration with six students of The Television Workshop in Nottingham. The work was funded in kind by NC (supporting staff and use of spaces and facilities) and by NTU (£1000.00). The final outcome is a promenade performance across different stories and characters located in specific places of the NC Grounds; the audience followed the promenade in small groups to adhere to Covid19 regulations. A questionnaire after the performances evidenced that ‘the performance enhanced the experience of the Nottingham Castle grounds’ (73.3%). The dissemination of the work includes pages on NTU and NC website and a video published on YouTube.
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  Discovering the Altera Forma Urbis of Rome through a site-specific project and performance at Garbatella district, Rome (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  The aim of the research enquiry was to uncover old and recent past history of Rome through a urban scenography design project that produced an exhibition (output 1: Segni Percorsi) and a sited performance (output 2: Tramandala), in the Garbatella district of Rome. Specifically, the research-led project was initially inspired by the ‘invisible’ structural urban form of Rome, the ‘Altera Forma Urbis’ in the shape of a ‘Star’. The aim was to explore connections with its contemporary structure focusing on the Garbatella district, area of study of the research. The final output (exhibition and a performance) was based on the findings of both historical and experiential analysis of the territory of the Garbatella district. The process in fact, revealed stories and characters that became the content of the storytelling of a site-specific performance for Teatri di Vetro 3, a site-specific theatre festival based in the courtyards of Garbatella’s building lots. Methods used to explore these enquiries involved recent studies by Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Lugli and his son Pier Maria Lugli (2006) on the ‘Altera Forma Urbis’ of Rome; the use of location-based digital technologies (Geo-Blog) for mapping, and Scenarchitecture, a trans-disciplinary methodology developed by Moneta (2012) for reading and interpreting the Genius Loci. The project involved 12 students of Module of Scenography of MA Architecture course at University of Rome La Sapienza, that exhibited their works at Urban Centre of Municipality XI of Rome, and then devised and performed during Festival Teatri di Vetro 3. Output 1 was funded in kind by Roma Europa-Palladium Foundation and output 2 by the Municipality XI of Rome. Feedback collected during the exhibition and after the performance evidenced the engagement of the audience with the ancient and recent past of Garbatella. The dissemination of the work includes two published articles.
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  Discovering the Altera Forma Urbis of Rome through a site-specific project and performance at Garbatella district, Rome. 12-9-22 (2022) author(s): Andrea Moneta published in: Research Catalogue
  The research enquiry involved experimental research and case study using location-based digital technologies (Geo-Blog) and perception mapping as a further methodological development of Scenarchitecture, a trans-disciplinary methodology developed by Moneta (2012) for reading and interpreting the Genius Loci. It was based on recent work of Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Lugli and his son Pier Maria Lugli (2006) about the ‘Altera Forma Urbis’ of Rome, which investigates the hidden, ‘secret’ structural urban form of Rome in the shape of a ‘Star’. The research was aimed at uncovering old and recent past history of Garbatella district and XI Municipality, as the place in which exists a concentration of urban modifications of Rome, through its connections with Lugli’s studies. Using a hermeneutic phenomenology approach with a focus on making meaning of experiences as they are lived, the research revealed both physical and intangible connections between the Altera Forma Urbis of Rome and its contemporary urban structure within the area of study. Findings evidenced that extending the shape of the ‘Star’ from the original 1st mile radius of the Ancient Rome to 5-mile radius of contemporary city limits, there is a correspondence between the area of study’s main monuments and landmarks with the Star’s generating axes. Evidence of the originality of the findings were an exhibition (Segni Percorsi) commissioned and funded by ‘Urban Centre - Municipio Roma XI’, and a sited performance (Tramandala) commissioned and funded by Festival Teatri di Vetro 3, a renowned Festival of performing arts, and Fondazione Romaeuropa, one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in Europe. Feedback collected during the exhibition and after the performance evidenced the engagement of the audience with the themes and methods of the research. The dissemination of the work included the authored book Scenarchitettura (2012), article on journal Hortus (2009) and research report on Zenodo (2022).
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