The Living Canvas initiative aims to explore the novel artistic possibilities of using the actor's body and clothes as a projection surface in the context of a stage performance. A new projection system will enable a dynamic or even improvised performance by detecting the posture and silhouette of the performer and projecting imagery precisely to the selected parts of body. This will enable the performer to 'wear virtual costumes' that adapt to the body, or even receive a different face. The dynamic nature of the system will give full control to the actor who can freely move around on the stage, with the projection always 'following' the actor. The Living Canvas is a collaborative project between the Digital Design Studio and Theatre Cryptic.\n\nThe subject of this grant application is a first feasibility study to establish an understanding of the capabilities and limits of the current high-speed machine vision technology relevant to the Living Canvas initiative. It aims to build a small prototype environment to develop and test the critical elements of the machine vision system to detect the position, silhouette and posture of the performer, and to project digital imagery onto the performer. \n\nThe environment allows to measure the speed at which the silhouette can be acquired, and the time delay introduced until the projection can be adapted to the new posture of the performer. This acquisition delay limits the speed at which the performer can move on stage, and is therefore a critical factor that may influence the artistic freedom. The proposed test will also lead to a good understanding of the achievable projection quality depending on the fabric and make of the performer's costume.\n\nThe feasibility study will provide the basic technical understanding necessary to move the initiative into the second stage: the exploration of the new medium in a live performance project, where artistic requirements drive the further development of the Living Canvas technology.

The issue of museum artefacts being decontextualised has been recognised however collection display approaches still often result in ethnographic artefacts being stripped of their socially constructed forms of meaning and significance. This includes, for example, communicating the importance of these objects, who used them and where they fit within the wider cultural landscape of practice, belief and ritual. This research will explore methods for, and impact of, using immersive technologies and storytelling to reanimate and recontextualise these objects, communicating their intangible aspects and creating affective experiences which translate cultural knowledge and promote cultural engagement and understanding for future audiences.

Glasgow is widely recognised, alongside London, as the major hub of artistic creativity and practice over the past two decades, with roots stretching beyond this period over the past thirty to forty years. Glasgow remains the largest centre of creative enterprise, activity and practice outside London, and a major influence on the development of contemporary art of the last quarter century. It has been the source of a renaissance whose impact has been felt in the UK and worldwide. But what happened to make a particular group of artists and talent coalesce over this period? And how can insight from Glasgow's recent history help ensure that the city remains a creative centre with the right conditions for creativity and artistic practice?\n\nThe project draws on evidence sources from four main strands of enquiry. These include the archives of Glasgow's two main contemporary arts venues of the period, the Third Eye Centre and the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) that superseded it. These are combined with insights from the Cordelia and George Oliver archive - a personal archive of an important art critic, commentator and collector from the period in question - that shed another unique, albeit personal perspective. The next strand of evidence comes from recordings made by curators at the time of various events and shows at the main Glasgow venues. Lastly, we draw on the insights of the artists themselves, through a unique arrangement of artist interviewing artists, led by our co-investigator on the project. While there have been other attempts to write a history of this period, none have had the privileged access to this range of evidence as our proposed research group.\n\nPart of the unique strength of our proposal is in the make up of our project team. Our principal investigator, Francis McKee, splits his time between being a Senior Researcher at Glasgow School of Art and his role as Director of CCA in Glasgow. As such, his motivations for the project combine his academic inquisitiveness, with his understanding of the practical and strategic need for this type of project in order to support on-going work and development of the CCA as an organisation as well as the artists that come through its doors.\n\nOur co-investigator, Ross Sinclair, again combines two main activities within his professional career. While, like Francis, holding a part-time Senior Research post at Glasgow School of Art, Ross also maintains a portion of his working week to concentrate on his professional practice as one of Scotland's leading contemporary artists. Ross is intimately linked to the subject matter of this proposal and uniquely placed to lead on the 'Artist to Artists' strand that involves re-visiting artists in their work-spaces and drawing on memories to illuminate the role of Glasgow in their work and development.\n\nAssisting Francis and Ross, we propose to draw on the skills of Susannah Waters, an experienced archivist, who has responsibility for the Cordelia and George Oliver archive, and Glasgow School of Art's institutional archive collections, which may also provide useful additional insight. Carrie Skinner, who would be working as a Research Assistant, also brings existing knowledge of the Third Eye and CCA archives, having undertaken some initial investigation of these on behalf of CCA.\n\nAs the sources that we propose investigating are largely un-tapped, we are unsure about what they will uncover. However, we are confident that as a result of this project, we will be in a position to make significant progress towards further understanding of what was, in the mid-90s termed 'The Glasgow Miracle'. We expect that our investigations will open further lines of enquiry, relating to sub-groups of artists, influence into Europe and beyond, as well as comparative exploration of the development of other cities and how what has happened within the the Glasgow contemporary art scene can be both continued and perhaps replicated elsewhere.

To develop innovative tools for applying Building Information Modelling and Building Performance Evaluation for application within the build to rent market.

A typical Roman Catholic parish church built in Britain in the mid-1970s looked radically different from any church buildings which had been built twenty years earlier. The two decades between 1955 and 1975 witnessed substantial changes within the Roman Catholic Church in the fields of theology and liturgy, with decisive effects on church architecture. It was also a period of transition in architecture more generally, from traditional and historical styles to modern design, a shift which profoundly affected the appearances of church buildings, even those by architecture firms which continued to operate throughout the period. This was also a period of massive urban transformations, as housing estates and New Towns were built to accommodate people moved out of city centres and into new communities. To follow these population movements the Roman Catholic Church undertook a vast building campaign of new churches, often seen as hubs of community and expressions of identity. \n\nThis project aims to examine all these factors by looking in detail at a selection of the many churches of the period. Of the hundreds built, few were published in any significant way at the time, and even fewer have been published since, so there is a current lack of available knowledge of this body of architecture. Many churches are architecturally innovative and historically interesting, but in danger of being demolished or altered as ideas about church architecture and the liturgy change again. This project will therefore raise awareness of this rich architectural and religious heritage, while analysing and interpreting the buildings according to their historical context.\n\nThe research involves surveys of selected case study buildings, predominantly in the centres and suburbs of major cities in England, Scotland and Wales. Historical investigation using periodicals and archives will aim to discover more about the architectural, institutional and social frameworks within which churches were produced. A research assistant will create survey drawings of some of the most significant buildings for publication, and collect other illustrative material. The principal investigator will write a book which deals with the subject thematically, drawing on a wide range of buildings, but studying the smaller number of selected case studies in greater depth. The book will be well illustrated to ensure that it can be used as a source of information by people in different academic and non-academic areas. Some of the images will also be included in a professionally-designed exhibition intended to take the research to the various communities in architecture and the Church who share an interest in this history. Articles in non-academic journals, including architecture and church magazines, will also be written to disseminate the research as widely as possible.