The MIT Centre for Advanced Urbanism has hosted a symposium on the Infrastructural Monument. Christopher Lee took part in the event as an invited speaker, presenteing the work of Serie and discussing the role the infrastructural artifact has within the idea of the city. You can find out more about the event and read an overview of the proceedings here. Video of the symposium will be posted soon.

Christopher Lee has been appointed Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Design at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. He is currently leading the school's Project on China research program. He also teaches the design studio Common Frameworks: Rethinking the Developmental City as well as the seminar class The Fourth Typology: Dominant Type and the Idea of the City.

Construction is proceeding rapidly on Aarvli Resort in Goa. Foundations are being prepared, the ground has been dug out, and the first support piles have been set. The building is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

See more images of Aarvli Resort here.

The Common Frameworks Design Studio at the Graduate School of Design, led by Chris Lee and supported by AECOM China, had its final review on Tuesday. The projects addressed the problem of the megaplot, a primary apparatus in the Urbanisation of Chinese cities and a cause of the dissolution of the idea of the city as a common space par excellence. Xiamen, the site of the projects, was studied in terms of its geopolitical situation as a frontier city, a place of juxtaposing dominant types, its archipelago condition and the typicality of its use of the megaplot.

The studio proposed seven common frameworks for the city of Xiamen. The common framework can be defined as the deep structure of the city that embodies the space of coexistence. This accommodative framework promotes inclusivity through exacerbating difference. It is a position that insists that a certain degree of control, through architecture, is necessary to cultivate meaningful difference - a recognition that the city is first and foremost a space of plurality. The common frameworks here achieved this through their ability to frame, absorb, sequence, mark, enclose, layer, limit, separate, compress and imprint.

You can view a concluding booklet of the studio with an introductory text and project summaries. More information about the studio will appear shortly.

Christopher Lee will present Serie's work and his article "Common Artifacts" which was recently published in the issue of Architectural Design that accompanies this event. The symposium is curated by Juhani Pallasmaa and Paul Breslin and will focus on issues surrounding the construction of identity and place within contemporary practice. Also participating are Wang Shu, Bijoy Jain and Josep Luis Mateo among others.

The event is on November 29th at the V&A Museum. For more information please see the programme of the symposium. To book tickets visit the V&A's listing of the event.

Christopher Lee was conferred the Doctorate degree in Architecture and Urbanism by the Berlage Institute and TU Delft on 26 October 2012. His doctoral thesis, titled 'The Fourth Typology: Dominant Type and the Idea of the City' proposes a renewed understanding of type and its relation to the idea of the city. This revalidation of the theory of type and its instrumentality for architectural production in today's globalised cities, rest on the potential of type as a heuristic device to locate a commonality in which architecture could invest itself with sociality. For more information visit The City as a Project website and read a summary of the thesis.

The studio is part of a three year sponsored research programme on Chinese cities, the first being Xiamen. Entitled "Common Frameworks", the studio attempts to rethink the developmental city by questioning it's dominant type; the megaplot. You can read the Gazette's article and find out more about the studio.

Serie is a Finalist for the Building Design Architect of the Year Awards 2012 in the International Breakthrough Architect category. Launched in 2004, the Architect of the Year Awards reward the UK practices responsible for the best overall body of work in 12 different sectors. Organised by BD, the AYAs are distinguished from other architectural awards by virtue of honouring overall achievement within a particular sector. This provides a truly meaningful premise on which to compare the work of different architects. The International Breakthrough Architect Award is given in recognition of the British practice that has shown the most courage and imagination in opening up work in an international market.

The public utilities and infrastructure for the Zahorske Sady project in Slovakia are now complete. Landscaping has now commenced including the planting of the plot hedges. Serie Architects designed the masterplan and a suite of villas for the scheme.

The pavilion had a minor role in Friday's opening ceremony, but with the games underway the pavilion is officially open. More images will be posted soon but until then you can watch an interview with Chris Lee about the pavilion. Enjoy the games!

Chris Lee presented and moderated seminar sessions for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Seminar on 'Emerging Models of Planning Practices' held in Singapore. More information here.

Serie Architects have been featured in the Real Estate and Decor section of the New Straits Times in Singapore with an article by Yvonne Yoong. Read the article online here.

Serie Architects wins open competition for the Singapore Subordinate Court Complex. The design was done in collaboration with local Singaporean firm Multiply Architects, and features an innovative two tower strategy. The two towers are linked by a series of foot bridges that enable the controlled circulation necessary for the courtroom process. See more of the project here

AJ Publishes Serie's BMW pavilion for London 2012. Click here to see the article

New images of the BMW showcase pavilion have been released. Visit the project's page to see them.

Christopher Lee's Option Studio has thier final review at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. The studio focused on the design of a communal housing project for 1,500 inhabitants in the city of Beijing. Find out more about the course