Bartlett Think-Tank

Thomas-Bernard is a PhD candidate in Architectural History and Theory at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. His research interests lie in design theory, urban design, and public space, and are supported by an expanded understanding of what architectural theory and practice are that overlaps with many other fields including the visual arts, social anthropology, ethnography, philosophy, and literature. Thomas-Bernard’s PhD thesis, supervised by Jan Birksted and Iain Borden, draws on an extensive case study of the Barking Town Square in London, England, to investigate how a theory of design through assemblage describes an ethical position to the question of designing for others in a complex and heterogeneous public realm. In this case, the notion of assemblage is developed through the dialogism of Mikhaïl Bakhtin to suggest both the open dialectic relationships between physical elements as well as the dialogic relationships between people.

Before moving to London, Thomas-Bernard studied architecture and mathematics at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he worked closely with Philip Beesley. Professionally, he has collaborated with, among others, Coll Leclerc Arquitectos (Barcelona), Arquitectonica (Madrid), and MSDL (Montréal) with whom he recently was lead designer for the public realm project of the Grand Foyer Culturel de la Place des Arts. Thomas-Bernard has also served as a committee member for the Berkeley Prize Competition since 2001. He grew up travelling back and forth between Québec City and Montréal.