Dr Laura Novo De Azevedo
BA Architecture Urbanism, MA Urban Regional Planning, PhD Urban Design, PCTHE
Principal Lecturer Student Experience, Senior Lecturer in Planning and Urban Design, Subject Coordinator BA in Urban Design, Planning and Development, BA in City and Regional Planning and MPlan
School of the Built Environment
Role
Laura has a background in architecture, planning and urban design and has been a member of staff at Brookes since 2002 where she divides her time between coordinating three undergraduate courses in urban design and planning, teaching in urban design and working as a Principal Lecturer to positively impact the student experience.
Before working in the UK, Laura worked in Brazil teaching and consulting in architecture and urbanism. With over 10 years of practice she has mostly been involved in urban design projects developed through community participation in southern Brazil. She is an expert in the relationship between information technology and urban design issues, with a particular interest in developing strategies for integrating multimeida into the process of urban design. Her main research interests focus on environmental perception, behaviour and design, cultural heritage and urban conservation and design coding. She is particularly interested in researching with children and young people to achieve more inclusive urban environments.
Teaching and supervision
Courses
Modules taught
- Urban Lab 2: Architecture and open space design
- Cities in historic contexts
- Research Project
- Urban Design Masterplan to Public Realm
Supervision
I actively supervise PhD students in Urban design and welcome new applications.
Research
Research interest focuses on understanding people's perceptions and behaviour for the design and management of the built environment with particular interest in children and young people; processes and techniques for developing participatory urban design; urban design codes for integrating high quality contemporary architecture and urban design in conservation areas and cross-cultural urban design.
She is particularly interested in researching the topics above in the context of developing countries. Laura is interested in researching how to incorporate contemporary technology and daily experiences of the built environment into the teaching and learning of urban design. Laura is also interested in pedagogic research related to the use of electronic media and the role of co-curricular activities in enhancing the student experience.
Current research projects include:
- Brookes Enterprise & Employability Timeline (BEE): impact on staff engagement and students' perception of their preparedness for the world of work.
Further information:
Groups
Publications
Professional information
Conferences
- Lim, R., Azevedo, L. N. & Cooper, J. Embracing the conceptual shift on new ways of experiencing the city and learning urban design: pedagogical methods and digital technologies, AESOP Conference, Lisbon, July 2017.
- Azevedo, L, N., Rocha, E. (2016a) BrookesBUDS: impacting student learning and the development of international professional skills with real-life urban design experience in Brazil. World Planning Schools Congress 2016. 3 rd -8 th June. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Azevedo, L, N. (2016b) The experience of the city as transformative knowledge: an evaluation of the use of a mobile approach for enhancing learning and teaching in urban design. World Planning Schools Congress 2016. 3 rd -8 th June. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Azevedo, L. N.; Kurul, E.; Lim, R.; Sames, Wragg, E. (2016) Developing the ‘model office’ as an approach to interdisciplinary practice-based learning. Oxford Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference. June 2016. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
- Azevedo, L, N. (2015) The Power of Experiential and Cross Cultural Learning for a more Responsive Practice in Urban Design. Public Lecture Series 2015-16. School of Planning and Geography at Cardiff University. 1 st December 2015. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
- Azevedo, L, N. (2015). Experiencing Professional Practice in Academia: a proposal for a student-lecturer partnership in the School of the Built Environment. Minerva Series. 15 th December 2015. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
- Azevedo, L. N. et al. (2015) BrookesBUDS Public Exhibition. 5 th -10 th September 2015. Inquiry Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
- Azevedo, L. N. et al. (2015). Cross-cultural Urban Design: a comparison between Oxford, UK and Pelotas, Brazil. Internationalisation of the Curriculum. April 2015. Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
- Azevedo, L. N., de, Kiddle, R., Reeve, A. & Cooper, J. (2012, Unpublished) Sustainable housing design: understanding consumers’ preferences and market provision. A scoping research using a Q-methodology on the relationship between environmentally sustainable housing design, market expectations and consumers’ preferences in the contemporary UK context.