We're back again to our favourite annual AIA UK event, this year's Student Design Charrette. And for the second year in a row, at KPF's offices in Covent Garden.
Our team this year comprised a mixed group from the University of Bath and London Metropolitan University.
The brief this year was, "Empowering the Next Generation of Participatory Design," to design an installation which would engage the community in co-creating spaces that reflected their needs.
Our site was the area of Strand Aldwych surrounding the Grade I listed Church of St Mary Le Strand. It has been so long since the last time we were in this area - didn't realise it was recently made pedestrianised. We can remember the days riding a bus through here, feeling pity for that poorly positioned church, essentially on a traffic island, lost in the throes of the smog around it. One can still see the soot stains on the stonework facing what was previously a thoroughfare road. Now without the continuous thrum of vehicles passing by, the site had a regular east-west flow of people. But this movement from one end to the other was a fairly nondescript point A to B. Some seating areas and tables encouraged people taking their lunch outside in nice weather, but otherwise there wasn't much reason to hang around.
Being in the midst of London's West End, passing by the numerous theatres along the way, our group was particularly taken by all the awnings jumping out at us, with their bright signage advertising the productions behind their doors. And so we wondered how we could make this area of Strand Aldwych more of a theatrical space for people - not merely to watch as spectators, but to actually partake. We wanted to give reason for people to linger in the space and make it a pleasure to use. But at the same time, we didn't want to block the view of the church; it had already spent enough its life in an undignified setting.
Our proposal was a 'garden' made of glass panels. Inspired by some sliding bollards on the site (which selectively let in a few vehicles,) we anchored these glass panels into sliding tracks below the ground so they could be moved from side to side. The moveability of the glass panels allowed for different setups such as forming the panels into cozier spaces like 'rooms', or evenly spaced like checkerboards, or more whimsical like mazes (and not to mention neatly lining them up at the side for when they need to be out of the way). The view of the church would be endlessly reframed with the changeable reflections and refractions, all the while creating a space which would encourage a slower and more non-linear experience of the site. We called this proposal, "Reflections on the Strand."
Well done to all the students and mentors and a big thank you to AIA UK and all the organizers for a superbly coordinated event! More information can be found in this great summary article by organiser Paolo Mendoza from the AIA UK here.
Comments