Show 2015: School of Architecture Imagines Future Possibilities for Space
The work by students from the School of Architecture on display at Show 2015 imagines future possibilities for the way we interact with, understand and inhabit space. From both the Architecture and Interior Design programmes, the students have created bold visions of the way spaces will be created and how they will shape our behaviour, thinking and ways of living.
Throughout the Dyson Building, the Show features students' final independent projects, celebrating their diversity and a range of approaches, from those which focus on the particular and the practical, to more theoretical and speculative projects.
Addressing the potential problems of future urban planning, Tom Glover has created an algorithm to produce collective housing clusters. This system allows for future inhabitants of these settlements to co-design their living environment by specifying preferences such as light levels, views, elevation or accessibility. The final outcome is based entirely on these parameters rather than aesthetic preferences.
Some projects propose solutions for broader political problems, such as Jong Min Park who posed the question: ‘Can architecture be neutral in a conflict zone?’ His project considers a disputed maritime demarcation line between North and South Korea. This line is witness to daily military practices, which have a negative impact on the environment and exacerbate the conflict. Jong has proposed the creation of islands from ceramic pots made in the area, to be used by local fisherman, and also to act as artificial reefs. These fragile islands, damaged by the actions of the belligerents and the elements, would act as a visual reminder of the vulnerability of the region and a quiet protest against the weapon drills. Â
Other students have made politically motivated work on a more local scale. Holly Lang has imagined what the impact would be if the UK parliament became a ‘property investment travelling circus’ rather than inhabiting its current Westminster home, and Andrew Belfield has considered the role an architect might play as an activist, defending common space in London. Also in response to the local decisions that are made about urban planning, Alice Theodorou has produced a 10,000-year masterplan for the Mount Pleasant site in Farringdon. This project promotes long term thinking, placing the human form at the centre of all her speculative designs as a reminder of our fleeting inhabitancy of these spaces.
Looking outside of the urban environment Eleanor Hill
has focused on farm management. Displayed on the third floor are her proposals for a new approach to arable land
use, which include the reintroduction of flax, the raw material used to make linen. Alongside having a practical function, when in bloom the distinctive blue of this plant would enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, an equally important outcome.
In contrast to some of the more speculative projects, Clementine Blakemore has realised a practical live project. Blakemore designed and built a music pavilion for St John’s, a state primary school in the Buckinghamshire village of Lacey Green. The project was an experiment in communal architecture, with input from parents, children and a team of international design students, who helped to install the structure of the building during the Easter holidays.Â
The other component of the School of Architecture, is the
Interior Design Programme. On the first floor of the Dyson Building, the display of students work demonstrates how their practices address the shaping of space, rather than the surface decoration of it.
One student, Ruta Dumciute has re-imagined the Economist building as a Post-gender Salon. This is done in an act of resistance to the current status quo of spaces designed for and by the white middle-class male. This transformation includes an art gallery, as well as a series of residency spaces for different kinds of artists to stay in. The design of the space both reflects the users' needs and challenges behavioural norms and thought patterns. This is reflected through a provocative choice of materials – such a flesh-pink, soft rubber handrail for the staircases and lipstick used to augment the concrete floor.
Also focusing on the positive impact design can have on behaviour and mental well-being, Rosann Ling has created designs to improve the recovery of stroke patients on returning home from hospital. Her designs take into account both the physical and mental needs of patient, creating accessible areas for therapeutic activities such as gardening and cooking.
In some cases the exploration of space has moved entirely away from architecture, to consider the very small, intimate space between the human and their clothing. The Urban Nomad Home Kit, created by Barbara Peynot, is a series of wearable objects that can be transformed to create a portable interior. These include a coat that becomes a spatial enclosure, and a scarf which can be inflated as a mattress or rolled up to form a stool.
Ab Rogers, Head of Interior Design, explained how the students continually consider their work in relation to the human: ‘Experience and narrative are key components, as are function and poetry. This is interior design that will change the way we work, rest and play: the beginning of a radical new movement.’
For more information about student work and opening times, see Show 2015