Kristina Clackson Bonnington

Kristina is a Lecturer in Architecture and Design History & Theory, teaching on the BA (Hons) Interior Design course at Regent’s University. She is Module Leader of the Level Six Dissertation Module and works with third-year students on the development of independent research projects, in conjunction with developing their final design projects.

Central to Kristina's cross-disciplinary practice is the examination of socio-spatial control as expressed through Architectural Design and the Built Environment. Recent projects have focused on the evolving gendering of public space and how access to public life has changed, with particular emphasis on the spaces and roles that were closed and that have since opened up. Other research projects investigate equalities and exclusion within the field of Architecture itself, and how this may be tackled to create a more diverse and inclusive profession that is more reflective of society and better equipped to build a more equal world.

Background 

Kristina studied Architecture and Spatial Arts at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL and Central Saint Martins, UAL. She was awarded the John Lyon Scholarship at UCL and went on to be awarded the Provost’s Public Engagement Award. In 2016, Kristina was appointed as UCL's first cross-faculty Artist-Researcher in Residence to create and co-direct House of Doors; an immersive, participatory work developed for UK Parliament. House of Doors was selected by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art and the Lord Speaker's Advisory Panel on Works of Art to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. With exceptional permission granted by the three Keyholders of Parliament, House of Doors was installed in the heart of Parliament - Westminster Hall - and a series of associated, participatory events ran alongside this.

In conjunction with this, Kristina worked with UCL's EGA Institute for Women's Health to develop and co-lead the project Female Firsts; a year-long, intensive research project that explored and celebrated 12 pioneering women from across all eleven UCL faculties. Focusing on 12 sites of public life, linked to each woman featured, Female Firsts explores the roles and spaces these first women occupied, the barriers they faced, and how public space and life continues to be renegotiated today. The project culminated in an exhibition of 12 new works, which was opened by President and Provost of UCL, Michael Arthur.

In addition to her research and studio practice, Kristina has twice been awarded the coveted Fiskars Residency Award in Finland and is a regular guest lecturer at University College London, Central Saint Martins UAL, and University for the Creative Arts. 

Kristina has been invited to address Parliamentary Committees and Lords Select Committees, and has been an invited guest speaker at The Association of Finnish Sculptors, Helsinki and KVINFO, Copenhagen - Denmark's Knowledge Centre for Gender and Equality.

Kristina sits on advisory panels at UK Parliament and is an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London.

• Condensed MA: Art & Design Pedagogy in Higher Education, The Institute of Education, UCL, 2007–2008
• PGCert Art & Design Education, The Institute of Education, UCL, 2007–2008
• BA (Hons) Architecture & Spatial Arts, The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL and Central Saint Martins UAL, 2001 – 2004
• Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, Central Saint Martins UAL, 2000–2001

• Honorary Research Fellow, University College London, awarded 2019
• Project Award, Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, UK Parliament, awarded 2018
• Project Award, Lord Speaker's Advisory Panel on Works of Art, UK Parliament,  awarded 2018
• Provost's Award, University College London, awarded 2017

• Fiskars Residency Award, ONOMA, Finland, awarded 2015 & 2017