Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
George Epolito
Course Director
George is the Course Director for Postgraduate Architecture: MArch (Part 2), MA Architecture Futures, MA Urban Design, and Architect Degree Apprenticeship Level 7. He runs the displace non-place design studio and lectures in History and Theory.
George brings a plethora of international academic experiences that have spanned over a quarter of a century at numerous universities in both American and British systems. His international experiences in architecture and urban design include serving twice as Visiting Professor at Universidad de Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and for two years as the Academic Director for Clemson University's Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genoa, Italy.
He has partaken in and/or led international workshops at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK; Unverisità degli Studi di Salerno and the Università degli Studi di Genova in Italy; Izmir Ekonomi Universitesi in Turkey; and Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University in the US.
He has spoken internationally on his research in cities such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Porto, Portugal; Genoa and Rome, Italy; San Antonio, Texas, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; as well as Nottingham, Manchester, and Lincoln, UK.
Current Teaching
- Critical Urban Context
- Critical Context A & B/Research Methods
- Postgraduate Design Studios
- Advanced Urban Design Project
Research Interests
George's research interests explore the intersection of politics with cultural production and the resulting innovative, hybridised aesthetics created by people displaced into the margins. Initial focus was on the plight of marginalised cultures, their situation within the realm of the everyday and their potential for informing new urban design strategies. Cultures studied were: African-American, Puerto Rican & Italian immigrant – both in Rió de la Plata Basin of Latin America & Deep South of US. More recent research included the Italian influence in their former colonies in North & East Africa.
Future research intends to revisit Buenos Aires, looking at new displaced cultures in urban margins of its villas miserias (shantytowns).
Three overlapping subthemes have emerged: Displacement of Cultural Capital, Otherness, & Coexistence.
Ask Me About
- Design
News & Blog Posts
MA Urban Design Student Work
