90–91 Unitary Urbanism II – Carsten Vellguth
Control
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Using Situationist tools to focus on Somers Town, King’s Cross and Euston, the project identified systems of information, rules, timetables, and signs that can be altered to directly affect the urban fabric and the social and economic reality of this area of London. Different systems were manipulated to create constructs for each of the areas. Census data was used for Somers Town, signs of transient communities were used for King’s Cross, and a sound survey was used for Euston Road. ‘Hobo Signs’, the sign language of the homeless, was adopted and adapted to set up a construct of signs that formed an information space and database in King’s Cross. The construct consisted of a space of different-sized letters, A for advice, H for housing, J for jobs, M for mail and T for travel, which were positioned in relation to the interior of the station, and to the scale of the surrounding area. The transient population’s 89travel interpretation of housing, jobs, mail and varies greatly from that of the permanent community. The construct set up a city space for a city user. Like the other constructs, it was a structure that people could react to and work with – the eventual outcome was not specified.