Thomas Moore

School of Architecture

PhD Research Student

Thomas Moore
Profile picture of Thomas Moore
tbmoore1@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Thomas Moore
School of Architecture
Arts Tower
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
Profile

I am a spatial designer and activist researcher with experience in leading participatory design projects, from domestic to urban scale, from conception to construction, through my practice with the UK’s first University backed Urban Room and project office, Live Works.

I have experience teaching several masters level modules, including Design Studio alongside Doina Petrescu and Alex Axinte for the MAUD studio 'Citizen and The Resilient City'.

Research interests

Project title: 
Liminal Spaces of Urban Civic Education: Between the University and The City 

Project outline:
The Civic University has emerged as a means to address the gap between the university and the city, However, I argue for a rethinking of this institutional impact approach, from the embedding of civic engagement within the university (Goddard et al, 2016), to a ‘liminal civic education’ which employs spatial practice to embed civic engagement in the city and its public space. This research will explore the many and varied ‘betwixt and between’ positions of the ‘civic university’ in relation to the city and consequent manifestation of novel forms of civic education. Working within the context of Sheffield, a UK city with a historical civic university, I explore through my own teaching and design practice with Sheffield University’s civically engaged urban room, Live Works, how spatial practice might catalyse and support everyday practices of knowledge production and knowledge exchange to envision the city and it’s institutions as a place of democratic ‘learning for an increasingly uncertain future’ (Stein, 2019).

The term Liminal describes a position, space or point in time between several entities which is characterised by its dissolution of traditional hierarchies and structures, becoming a moment of experimentation or play with existing identities. This study of a liminal civic education, first explores those existing liminal practices of civic education which challenge structure and identity and propose new ways of being. This before looking into interfaces which have begun to link such practices as new forms of urban education linked to urban policy making through the production of ‘urban knowledge commons’ (Levine, 2007, Hess ,2008) and the technologies of ‘smart cities’ (Calzada, 2018). Finally, I will explore possible thresholds between the university and the city which have sought to spatialize such practices and interfaces, allowing contribution to emerging debates on urban rooms and laboratories. 

Primary supervisor: 
Doina Petrescu

Co-supervisor: 
Carolyn Butterworth

Date started: 07/10/2019

Research group

Design, Engagement & Practice

Publications

Butterworth, C & Moore, T. (2017) ‘Mind the Gap: live pedagogy in an era of localism’, In Anderson, J (Eds.) Association Architectural Educators Conference
2017: Architecture Connects. Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from: https://aaeconference2017.wordpress.com/about-2/

Jary, D., Hodgson, D & Moore, T. (2017) ‘Reflections on Architectural Education’. In Anderson, J (Eds.) Association Architectural Educators Conference 2017: Architecture Connects. Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved from: https://aaeconference2017.wordpress.com/about-2/

Moreland, J,. & Moore,T. (2019). Experience Castlegate. Pop Up University. Sheffield Millenium Galleries. Friday 20th September.