Dr Sam Clark

(he/him)

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Research interests

• Practice-led Design Research
• Design Ethnography
• People-Centred Design / Empathic Design
• Architecture for Ageing / Health & Wellbeing
• Housing Design / Dwelling Differently
• Design of Residential / Care Institutions

Past research

I completed my PhD by Creative Practice, 'Architectural Reflections on Housing Older People: Nine Stories of Retirement-Living', at Newcastle University in 2018. My thesis presented and interpreted the stories of nine actors involved in the design, construction, management and inhabitation of third-age housing in the UK. Here I integrated original storytelling with architectural survey, analysis and design techniques; bringing together the social science practice of participant observation with architectural post-occupancy evaluation. The research foregrounded 'designerly' modes of inquiry, resulting in design-relevant feedback for those involved in the production of retirement-living environments. Aspects of this research were practice-led, with work packages commissioned by a UK property developer specialising in retirement-living apartments.

Previous research areas include design pedagogy, particularly student transitions into architectural education and design practice; architect roles within disaster relief and reconstruction sectors, including international humanitarian aid and UK flooding, and architect capacities to design for communities generally. I am also interested in waterscapes, including UK inland waterways and the opportunities they offer for water-based dwelling.

Teaching

Teaching profile

I have been teaching at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) since 2008, when I started as an external tutor/practitioner contributing to second-year design teaching. I became a full-time staff member in 2009, working as a professional tutor, supporting first and second year design teaching. Since then I have contributed to a wide range of teaching activities at every level of the BSc and MArch architecture programmes – listed below. In 2012 I became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and was nominated for the 2014 HEA National Teaching Fellowship Scheme. I was promoted to senior lecturer in 2018 for excellence in teaching, in the areas of design and design methods, with a specialism in housing for older people.

Teaching roles while at WSA

• PGR Director (Acting), 2019-20
• MArch Year 2 Deputy Chair, since 2021
• MArch Year 2 Unit Leader (Dwelling Differently), since 2020
• MArch Year 2 Unit Leader (Expanded Practice), 2017-18
• MArch Dissertation Supervisor, since 2011
• BSc Year 3 Elective Leader (Fieldwork), 2018-20
• BSc Year 2 Module Leader (Architectural Design), 2012-13; 2019-20
• BSc Year 2 Studio Tutor (Architectural Design), 2008-09; 2012-16; 2019-20
• BSc Year 2 Chair (Acting), 2012-13
• BSc Year 1&2 Vertical Studio Co-ordinator, 2011-13
• BSc Year 1 Module Leader (Design Principles & Methods), 2011-18
• BSc Year 1 Module Leader (Architectural Design), 2010-14; 2018-19; 2020-21
• BSc Year 1 Studio Tutor (Architectural Design), 2009-14; 2018-19; 2020-21
• BSc Year 1 Deputy Chair, 2018-19
• BSc Year 1 Chair, 2010-14
• Personal Tutor, since 2010

Dwelling Differently

I currently lead MArch design unit, Dwelling Differently , which focuses on the design of places where people live or reside – both buildings known as dwellings and public spaces in which we dwell – be it by choice, chance or otherwise. In the UK there exists a long-standing housing crisis that is often framed as a crisis of volume – a chronic undersupply of affordable housing particularly – but critical problems equally exist in design/build quality and therefore the lived experiences of residents. Recent changes to the UK planning system, including the relaxation of Permitted Development Rights, appear to short-cut residential development, and seemingly lessen the need for professional design input and opportunity for statutory control on quality. Therefore, Dwelling Differently, in its inaugural year (2020/21), explored the role of architecture in helping to improve the experiences of those that are homebound; that is to say, those unable to leave their home. We began the year by reflecting upon recent lived experiences of dwelling(s) in a pandemic – both individual and collective memories of time spent confined at home. We wish to take advantage of an emerging narrative around the importance of good-quality dwellings and, through the students' design thesis projects, help society imagine environments that better reflect our evolving relationship with home.

• Brooks, Eleanor (2021): Urban corners : presenting a new way to occupy the corners of Canton, Cardiff.
• Carlton, Howard (2021): The future of declining department stores: can creative re-use offer a solution to new housing trends?
• Davies, Alex (2021): How can post-war residential tower blocks become sustainable beacons of biophilic design? Exploring the concept of a vertical co-farm and biophilia as a design standard in the 21st century.
• Jenkins, Rebecca (2021): Flexible living: how can flexible design accommodate a new standard for the housing market and dwelling experience?
• Mider, Asia Joanna (2021): Podium paradise: how to accommodate a large rooftop neighbourhood in an urban environment while maintaining connectivity and human scale.
• Morgan, Alex (2021): Together we build: a prototype for affordable self-build co-housing within an unaffordable post-pandemic housing market.
• Nur Binti Abdul Nasir, Iman (2021): Redefining Cathays: creating a harmonious, liveable neighbourhood through 'gotong-royong' by designing a home for the transient Malay community in Cardiff.
• Price, Hannah (2021): Reconnecting communities: hillside housing designed to promote incidental social interactions in Treforest.
• Williams, Faye (2021): Happy homes: the impact on residential housing when wellbeing is used as a driving force for design.

Biography

Extended Profile

I am a Reader (Associate Professor) at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, and ARB-registered Architect with a passion for people-centred design and working between the boundaries of academia and industry. My regular activities include university teaching and management; external examining and governance; practice-led research and consultancy. I trained at Cambridge University (RIBA Part I), Cardiff University (Part II) and Kingston University (Part III); I undertook doctoral studies at Newcastle University (PhD by Creative Practice).

My industry experience includes appointments at five London-based architectural offices, involving a variety of professional projects, ranging from private homes and social housing schemes through to school refurbishments and other commercial work. Plus recent consultancy involving private clients on domestic alterations, conversions and extensions, as well as whole-house remodelling projects.

My current research centres on housing and specialist residential institutions, engaging the wider fields of gerontology, healthcare, planning, and architecture. My past research explored design pedagogy, particularly transitions into architectural education; architect roles within disaster relief and reconstruction, specifically humanitarian aid; inland waterways and opportunities for water-based dwelling.

Academic positions

• Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University, since 2018
• Lecturer, Cardiff University, 2010-18
• Professional tutor (full time), Cardiff University, 2009-10
• Design tutor (part time), Newcastle University, 2014-16
• Design tutor (part time), Cardiff University, 2008-09
• Design tutor (part time), Kingston University London, 2007-08
• Guest lecturer / design reviewer to UK schools of architecture, since 2007

Supervisions

Supervised areas

I am interested in supervising PhD candiates in the areas of:

• Practice-led Design Research
• Design Ethnography
• People-Centred Design / Empathic Design
• Architecture for Ageing / Health & Wellbeing
• Housing Design / Dwelling Differently
• Design of Residential / Care Institutions

I am currently supervising the following post-graduate researchers:

• Annie Bellamy (Primary supervisor): Designing dying well: towards a new approach to the design of palliative care environments for the terminally ill. 
• Menatalla Kasem (Primary supervisor): Interactive Architecture for People with Learning Disabilities: Utilising Co-Design to Move toward Equitable Public Buildings
• Sarah O'Dwyer (Secondary supervisor): Establishing the commonality between aesthetic and sustainable architecture to deliver design excellence in form and performance. 
• Abdulrahman Abdulla Aljhadali (Secondary supervisor): The value of architects in the era of artificial intelligence.
• Liz Ponting (External supervisor; Cardiff Metropolitan): How can we improve the architectural design of residential care facilities in the UK to make them more suitable for Autistic people over 50?

Current supervision

Menatalla Kasem

Graduate Tutor

Ruba Kendassa

Research student

Aysenur Kilic

Research student

Yijun Chen

Graduate Tutor

Sarah O'Dwyer

MSc Lecturer