A monument for the moment
What is an architecture that explores the paradox of a troping monument? We perceive memory (and the city) as stable; and yet they are fleeting and ephemeral. Monuments are in a way "dead" - they celebrate the past - what then is a moment of the present and future? We want an architecture that subverts the notion of monumentality by celebrating the moment (the "now") through an emerging, breathing and responsive always-soon-to-be monument.
An architecture for the river
What is the relationship between the river and the city of London? Besides the obvious economic and water source significance, rivers also bisect the urban fabric in a cultural sense - which makes bridges particularly significant. There is a nice tension between the barge as a vehicle of trade (along the river) vs the barge as a bridge (crossing the river).
The city: her laneways and eyes, extended
Like the introverted cameras that blend into the lifestyles of Londoners, our proposal will appear obvious at first but later be immune to the senses. It will always be the uncelebrated soon-to-be monument that points to the obscure lane ways of London.
In other words, it celebrates the mediocre, the obscure and the dirty places along the site. It too, is a lonely solitary piece of architecture as it has to disengage itself from its dock in order to function.
Closed-circuit cameras are located to shed light on the crevices of the city, but they also work with the laneways of London as a mirror of each other. Both are rhizomatic - non-hierarchical - covert - secretive and fascinating - we wait expectantly for something to "happen". Is there an architecture in these conditions?
What is an architecture that explores the paradox of a troping monument? We perceive memory (and the city) as stable; and yet they are fleeting and ephemeral. Monuments are in a way "dead" - they celebrate the past - what then is a moment of the present and future? We want an architecture that subverts the notion of monumentality by celebrating the moment (the "now") through an emerging, breathing and responsive always-soon-to-be monument.
An architecture for the river
What is the relationship between the river and the city of London? Besides the obvious economic and water source significance, rivers also bisect the urban fabric in a cultural sense - which makes bridges particularly significant. There is a nice tension between the barge as a vehicle of trade (along the river) vs the barge as a bridge (crossing the river).
The city: her laneways and eyes, extended
Like the introverted cameras that blend into the lifestyles of Londoners, our proposal will appear obvious at first but later be immune to the senses. It will always be the uncelebrated soon-to-be monument that points to the obscure lane ways of London.
In other words, it celebrates the mediocre, the obscure and the dirty places along the site. It too, is a lonely solitary piece of architecture as it has to disengage itself from its dock in order to function.
Closed-circuit cameras are located to shed light on the crevices of the city, but they also work with the laneways of London as a mirror of each other. Both are rhizomatic - non-hierarchical - covert - secretive and fascinating - we wait expectantly for something to "happen". Is there an architecture in these conditions?
Brought to you by 531 Collaborative and Andrew Simpson.