Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

Design Propositions: A curated c ollection UNIT 10

HISTORY AND THEORY

A SELECTION OF PROGRAMME PROPOSALS FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

BRIEF

NEW NORMS

INTERPRET

BA INTERIOR DESIGN

Edited by Fiona Fuller

In collaboration with Mengxi Ma & Szabolcs Farkas-Pall

OUTCOME

RESPOND

CONTENTS FOREWORD

O R IC RO M AC M

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ACCOMODATION

Panoptic

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COMMUNITY

Cube Community The Open Assembly

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HOSPITALITY

Two Granary

WELL-BEING

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We Sense

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The Museum

NEW INSITUTIONS

University of Exchange

SECURITY

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OFF-GRID

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Airplane - Mode

Traces

FOREWORD

by Grace Adam History & Theory Co-ordinator: BA Interior Design

This is a curated selection of Programme Proposals from final year students.

During their third year, students interpret a brief to create a year-long programme for themselves, in response to current design and societal concerns, and a designated site. This year the cohort interrogated Kings Cross in central London. This once post-industrial and residential neighbourhood is at the centre of many changes.

Debate, research and investigations into themes such as new institutions, hacking, well-being, hospitality, tech-free environments, health and community have elicited thoughtful, original pieces of writing.

These Programme Proposals both led and reflected studio investigations, explorations and design solutions.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

A flow of ideas and concepts, empirical findings and material investigations, has meant that each student has been able to position themselves as an engaged, informed confident practitioner.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

ACCOMODATION

Elizabeth Teye PANOPTIC

Elizabeth Teye Panoptic

How can interior designers create secure and safe spaces designed for living for students and professionals that is inclusive and affordable?

LinkedIn Profile

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Abstract Utilitarian architecture can be seen as the ‘form follows function” rule. This is not a new concept in architecture as it has been around since the 20th century. The idea that the shape of an object or a building should not be based solely on its aesthetics but rather, its function and purpose.

The panopticon, an architectural concept developed by the drawings of Jeremy Bentham. It is known as an architectural concept design for many buildings today.

This includes but is not limited to institutional buildings, most commonly associated with hospitals, prisons and schools. I configure surveillance theories chronological or thematic chapters. Throughout my research I have been discussing the work of Jeremy Bentham and will be adopting the utilitarian design strategy. I think including the strategies of the panopticon and surveillance will better illustrate my manifesto for design.

Site My initial design proposal was to create an environment where students, groundskeepers and lectures could coexist. A space proposed to evoke safety, protection and crime prevention. The existing building, I chose is the Regeneration Building- House of Illustration. The building has been creatively restored and exists alongside Central Saint Martins. Designed by Lewis Cubitt as part of his work on the Goods Yard complex. The building was originally conceived as the nerve centre of the original King’s Cross Goods Yard. It underwent extensive bomb destruction during the WWII and had to be rebuilt.

It was later refurbished in the 1980s by the London Regeneration Consortium. Due to the events of the war this has informed my method to preserve the building and take the route of an installation to hold on to a profound part of the building’s history. Even though the building is currently being used as an Art fund building

and an exhibition space, I think that King’s cross has a rich industrial heritage. The regeneration building is from an industrial era and the surrounding buildings are being refurbished. The King’s cross area is finding creative solutions to transform buildings that were designed for a very different purpose. The design of a living complex should respond to the context of the wider street.

Programme Summary My ultimate goal is to improve the physical design from a crime prevention and resident empowerment and control viewpoint. There are principles that I want to follow and will be referring to Newman’s work for my design principles. Newman asserts that “the criminal is isolated because his turf is removed” when each space in an area is owned and cared for by a responsible party. If an intruder notices the sense of community, he feels more reluctant to commit a crime. The principles that I’ll adopt and elaborate from Newman’s works are territoriality and natural surveillance.

Under the umbrella of social housing, there is student accommodation. Student housing/ accommodation varies depending on which country and which city you reside in.

In Ghana, Accra students from the ages 18 are required to enrol into a university programme. They will then live on campus with their fellow classmates and teachers. This is known as boarding school. They have the freedom to go home for summer breaks and Christmas breaks or any special holidays. Both student accommodation and staff accommodation were within the same campus.

I interviewed an alumnus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. I asked questions regarding safety and discipline while he was attending the university in Ghana. He recalled being more aware that he had better access to his lectures/mentors. He

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talked about how the crime rates during the time he went to school were significantly low. However, this may have been due to thefact that the campus structure and programme was a city within a city.

The campus entailed a security quarters for security guards, this meant there was a sense of protection. He mentioned the campus was intended to have all the amenities you would need when you have relocated from a small village to a big town.

As defined in Oscar Newman’s work Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space the defensible space theory can be explained as “ a residential environment whose physical characteristics - building layout and site plan – function to allow occupants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security” (Newman, 1976). Newman’s work argued that good design would be the tool that could aid residents to feel a sense of proprietorship and accountability for the environments around them. This would encourage them to defend their space and the more space that is under the control and reinforcement of the residents the less likely it is for crime to operate. In order for the defensible theory to work properly it depends hugely on the willingness and the ability of the inhabitants in control. These notions were embraced by the UK police’s initiative ‘Secured by Design’ which came into effect in 1998.

In my studio practice I’ve been researching and looking into the purpose of a panoptic building design. It seems my personal experience has driven me to have a desire to design something for students that will allow them to feel safe without the fear of their privacy being compromised.

On Friday 2nd December 2016 a young man was stabbed outside my university halls in North Acton, London. The halls of residence hold 530 UAL undergraduates who study in various UAL subsidiaries. The entire building was placed under lockdown for a few days and we had security guards protecting the building for 2 days. After the incident most students organically felt unsafe and were considering going back home.

Eight years after this incident another death was made into a high-profile sign of the calamitous condition of American towns. Only this time the architecture was the one to blame. When Pruitt Igoe, the optimistic public housing project turned icon of death of modern architecture was destroyed in 1972. A few months after the demolition the Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space was said to be the answer to part of St Louis’s public housing problem.

For amidst a climate of compressing supplies, new policing technologies and theories of human belligerence, housing authorities adopted Newman’s concepts. The urban public decided to pick up Newman’s book but the discipline of architecture, fatigued decided to ignore the social mission of delivering decent housing.

This had been part of the manifesto for the modern movement, entailing all the works from Le Corbusier,

security. Once an intruder has jumped over the fence if the building itself lacks rigorous surveillance systems then it is still an open area for crime. Hostile design or defensive architecture is the approach I have decided to undergo for the Regeneration building.

Surveillance Throughout my project I’ve been exploring surveillance and the negative connotations behind the act. I am pro surveillance only when it is in the best interest for the greater good. Surveillance is acceptable only when it is being used for protection. Protection on the premises

Territoriality Territoriality is about the sense of proprietorship and control of someone’s living space. These are intentional attempts to delimit an area. This is possible when residents can relate and identify with a space. Association with private spaces e.g. your balcony will birth an

Peter Smithson and Catherine Bauer.

of people’s homes and institutions. For example, an apartment complex using surveillance as a way monitoring the behaviours of residents to have evidence stored for future mishaps.

The experience I had at the UAL Costume store residence

The extent of visual contact that the residents have with space should determine the extent to which they can intervene. The degree where to people in a general sense are being detectable, influence their demeanour.

This is known as passive surveillance by the residents as opposed to active surveillance which typically is taken on by authorities such as police and security guards. For this concept to work it is important that the architecture of the building is designed well. I think that well designed buildings aim to make the connection between the purpose of the building and the emotional response people have to it. The purpose of design is better and simplify people’s lives so a well-designed building will in return make people safer. The implications are that

job in the early hours of the morning, she worked at a bar. On March 13th, 1964 she made her way home. She

throughout. In some areas of London spikes have been installed to deter people from sleeping rough. I

related to the incident of the murder of Kitty Genovese.

The story is about a woman who comes home from her

was attacked, the crime took place adjacent to the large building where she subsisted. It was said that the young

woman’s screaming brought witnesses who lived in that building to their windows. The whole occurrence lasted for around 30 minutes, where Ms Kitty was able to evade her aggressor only to be caught again and killed. It was reported that there were 38 witnesses and for the extent of the attack no one was able to notify the police until the victim was brutally murdered.

Visibility In conjunction to the principle above , surveillance could be improved or made feasible through good visibility.

Dark space which do not allow enough light to pass through and twisting alley will create uncertainty and could upsurge the fear of crime whilst minimising the degree of control by the occupants. Michael Pyatok, an architect who encourages safety and community participation. Pyatok tries to avoid using double loaded corridors to increase visibility. He also believes that stairways should be designed to avoid hidden spaces

and should enable residents to congregate and socialise.

incentive for a stronger sense of ownership and therefore control. These places will be clearly defined, and boundaries should be prominent. Another classification that needs to be considered is private-public space including play areas and walkways. There will be a lesser sense of ownership and control over these areas.

The main street is a place that will remain solely public.

The experiment will be to allocate spaces according to residents needs and clearly mark them to improve ownership and control. There is secondary territoriality which means an area that you do not own but belong to you for short periods at a time. For example, apartments or renting a store until the lease is up. Territoriality also ties in with hierarchies. E.g. headteachers often enter freely into the classrooms or offices of his employees being the teachers. However, in order to see the dean of an institution you may have to address a receptionist first before you have access to the dean’s space.

windows, doors, entrances, exits and openings etc become vital to ensure passive surveillance can operate

Aesthetics The image that is conveyed by a building, a private space

disagree with this method and believe there is a bigger homelessness issue that needs resolving. I know that

parks and public spaces that are not maintained will invite littering, however places that are well kept by the

having too much security could introduce the exclusion of certain groups of people for example, young people and the homeless. Another reason I have implemented the use of pipes is that instead of using permeable fences to deter people from accessing the building freely the pipes act as a shield to the entire building. If I were to install fences, I think it serves the opposite function of

or a public area will influence the demeanour of people and criminals. Dilapidated buildings will invite people,

community and council are more likely to have less crime rates and better cleanliness levels.

Target Hardening Target hardening is simply known as hardening when made clear by the context, is a phrase used by the police, those working in security and in the military in reference

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Side Elevation

to the strengthening of the security of a building/ institution in order to protect it in the event of attack or to reduce the risk of theft. The intended outcome is ultimately to deter offenders from burgling an individual property. This is proven to be a reputable strategy within the situational crime and prevention literature (Clarke, 1997, Cornish and Clarke 2003).

Design strategies and Concepts Strategy My initial ideas were to have a heavily monitored system and almost panoptic style of inhibiting the residential space. However, as a designer some strategies often need to be revised to ensure the we are abiding by ethical codes and manifestos. Even though I believe in the power and efficiency of the panoptic gaze, the area of the existing site does not need this level of surveillance.

After studying my site, I have concluded the route of natural surveillance and underground surveillance would be feasible for this project. As advised by Jeremy Bentham, surveillance was always central in prisons and even though his works inform architectural practices today I have undertaken the works of Oscar Newman and applied them to my work.

In terms of design I think it is necessary to have certain socializing spaces in the building. Intimate interactions for students and groundskeepers. This is one way to exercise the idea of natural surveillance. I want to create a student accommodation/ social housing allowing where both grounds keepers and students will reside. I chose this building because of how close in proximity it is to the CSM building. This building will be given as priority to CSM students, then secondary to other UAL students.

To help minimise the risk of violence and muggings I concluded it will benefit the students if their place of residence was close to their place of education and it will minimise the travelling time between the journey to and from the institution to their homes.

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The same security measures and precautions will apply for groundskeepers. In conjunction to my case study about Kitty Genovese I think it is important to have security 24 hours, this means workers will constantly need to take rest and swap shifts. Security jobs usually run late, and I believe for the safety of the workers they need to

have secure accommodation on the job. By implementing these avenues of surveillance (Natural surveillance and heavy surveillance Fig4.) I believe this will drastically enable people to feel secure in their living spaces.

I think that because architecture is central to how surveillance and security are expressed in society, we need to investigate how we build spaces for different types of terrorism and how these spaces interact with new perceptions of risky individuals moving through those areas.

There have been determinations to completely ban groups of people that are nominated as high risk for example the ( US Muslim ban of 2016), however institutions around the world recognise that banning a whole demographic based on things we cannot change like race, appearance, religion gender and class is not only impractical and costly but also ethical wrong. For this reason, it is fundamental for buildings and security systems to shift to allow the movement of people across borders both national and architectural. I now perceive architecture to be a surveillance mechanism, mainly when airports, government buildings and educational institutions are being designed with potential terrorist attacks in mind. Although in the UK the last school massacre took place at Dunblane primary school on 13th March 1996, this was recorded as the deadliest mass shooting in Britain. Shootings are not prominent in the UK however when designing, it is essential to design for the future and forecast possibilities for a 10-20 year time frame.

The materials I want to use to implement this were initially concrete and grand window openings. however, I’ve taking a different approach. The use of concrete induces security and brute architecture. I want to design walls still using concrete whilst introducing industrial pipes. This could create an industrial and futuristic aesthetic. Whilst using material that have a purpose through the building.

The usage of pipes migrates from the details of the existing building. The façade of the regeneration building has slight pipe details. I wanted to use the materials that already exist by exaggerating it to produce something whimsical. Some precedents I was observing are the works of Pierre Cardin, Bubble House 1981 and Underground Interiors 1972.

The bubble house concept is about futurism and space age architecture. The structure of the house was created organically. The framework was covered with mesh, concrete and fiberglass orchestrated by Antti Lovag.

floor holds the Architectural Association’s teaching space and a 3D printing shop.

Vernacular architecture is architecture characterised by the use of local materials and knowledge, usually without the supervision of professional architects. I think that this concept coincides with my manifesto and beliefs about the function of the building being the dominant factor in design and aesthetics considerations though present to some small degree , being quite minimal. (Brunskill, 2006). The architects stated that the multi storey building uses ubiquitous HVAC metal ducts as a type of architectural vernacular.

For my design proposal I’ve concluded that I will be implementing the use of pipes on the existing building throughout my design concept and strategy. I have

merged the structure of the pipe frames for the interior and exterior. I have produced this to allow the pedestrians and students to have a place to congregate and offering seating for people to rest on. The piping will continue into the interiors of the building. One of the precedents I have been referring to in my design process is The Centre Pompidou. It is a complex building located in the Beaubourg are on the 4th arrondissement. From visiting this centre, you immediately notice the building for its distinctive coloured tubing and the exterior escalators.

To emphasis my belief for the ‘form follows function rule’ I used the purpose of pipes that are colour coded in resemblance to the Pompidou building. There is reason behind the concept of colour that is used in the Pompidou complex. Each colour has a purpose for the tubes for example the blue pipes hold the water supply.

The Chinese studio People’s Architecture Office used metal air conditioning pipes to create large Chinese characters on the façade of the Tubular Baitasi visitor

For an amplified layer of security, I propose to add security screening as you enter the interiors of the building/ in the reception area (Fig 9.). In today’s technology systems most accommodations have key/ key cards that allow you access into the building and some areas are locked of for everyone apart from authorised personnel. The added security measures are to ensure that everyone who has access to the building is free of weapons and is authorized to enter. The façade I created is my interpretation of the aspects that the existing façade

and installations that display regeneration strategies for Beijing’s Baitasi- a cultural and chronological preservation

As a designer the term living will be redefined as more

centre during the Beijing Design Week in 2015. The building is a visitor's centre founded to host functions

zone and hutong area within the Chinese capital. The material they used was metal piping which is often used

for installing ventilation, heating and air conditioning. The pipes were used to communicate a message in Chinese letters on the façade which spells out WHITE PAGODA TEMPLE. The periscope like segments also offers views of the People’s Commune building, which is a 1950s investigational housing complex, using glass it offers glimpses into the second floor of the visitors centre. That

already has. I combined the use of existing pipes and the efficiency of exaggerating that feature on the exterior.

than a bed and learning as more than a desk. I think that the housing rhetoric not only marginalizes the

educational focus of residences in favour of construction imperatives, it also implies that housing units have a neutral impact on intellectual and social development.

While some universities make the decision to remain commuter institutions, if they were open to explore how they could successfully set up residences , their continues page 18

Entrance and Security Door

Welcome Hub Visualisation

obligation extends to providing the most intellectually and socially enriched environment possible. My beliefs are that living, and learning are inextricably linked. This is a concept that was articulated almost 50 years ago. Living is to be defined as more than a bed and learning as more than a desk; they are part of a total process, a wholeness of student experience on the campus ... housing designed and administered for formal or informal teaching purposes is not a philosophical ideal that is ‘nice if we can afford it.’ It is a requirement produced by changing times and conditions. For those who say they cannot afford educationally oriented housing, the fact of the matter is that they cannot afford not to have it on the future residential campus. (Riker 1965 cited in Palmer et al. 2008: 90).

Transition

The term transition refers to the adjustment made by the students entering university for the first time. This entails moving to new environments within the system between countries, boarders, institutions, language barriers, disciplines and year levels. I think that postgraduates , honours, transfer, exchange and older students are all among the transition cohorts however usually attention to their transition needs are negligible.

Student accommodation systems often deny this demographic. Favouring only the first-year students, which then leads to a first year only residence.

I will explore how we can prioritize this group and design a space that is inclusive and affordable for all. As I student I’ve realised the most favoured demographic is usually the first year and final year students. This is because the transitional period can be difficult for the students, and many will be miles away from home. For the last year students, they require an environment that is intellectually stimulating in order to finish the work required for their degree.

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Place Attachment It has been concluded that place attachment positively affects the well-being of residents. This concepts often investigated in the field of environmental psychology (Harris, 1995). In conjunction place attachment has been referenced to predicting of pro-environmental manners.

(Halpenny, 2010). When one inhibits a space, they become emotionally attached to the place. Most people

spend a good amount of time in their homes. I forecast that my design will allow residents to emotionally connect

to a place that will positively affect their well-being because the home is about safety, security and assurance.

My concepts and ideologies about the well-being of students and workers in the 21st century are seeming to be more relatable and appropriate now. With the progression of new age surveillance I believe we will be able to hold everyone accountable for their actions.

References Brunskill, R. (2006). Houses and Cottages of Britain: Origins and Development of Traditional Buildings.

Vernacular Buildings Series. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. Halpenny, E. (2010). Pro-environmental behaviours and park visitors. The effect of place attachment. .

Harris, W. B. (1995). Relocation and privacy regulation: A cross-cultural analysis .

Newman, O. (1976). Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space. National Insitute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (United States).

Interior Details

Design development of pipework communicating the interior details of the space.

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COMMUNITY Mengxi Ma CUBE COMMUNITY

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

Fiona Fuller THE OPEN ASSEMBLY

Mengxi Ma CUBE COMMUNITY Future Community Vision

A new vision located in Central Saint Martins design school that proposes a new institution for cultural exchange amoung the younger generation.

@mmx1991

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DESIGN APPROACH & OUTCOMES Project Introduction Nowadays, there are many people who withdraw from society and seek extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. They generally begin to feel tired under the pressure of social and family. They sometimes could be oppressed by survival and may be engulfed in the long-standing stress and negative emotions surrounding them. It might be difficult for them to find their sense of belonging in society and their personal identity.

The most critical reason is the lack of communication, especially for these young people in the college. In this essay, I am going to investigate the reasons why young people lack social belonging, explore how new forms of community can gather people to redirect their selfidentity, maximize the exchange of students with culture, and reduce the feeling of oppression in both physically and psychologically.

For my planning of the future community, I hope to use communication as a foothold to find new ways of cooperation between students with society, colleges, and enterprises, to pursue a spatial model that promotes the equal exchange of new generation, thereby expanding the possibility of new community development in the future. The community I conceived is an over 1400 square meters open space located inside the central main hall of the CSM campus. Although the community itself is located on the campus, it is open to everyone who comes here, like artists, designers, engineers, businessmen.

Accordingly, this place would be a public square for individuals and cities dedicated to sharing resources and spreading culture. In this community, every student is playing a completely different role from them in traditional university education, forming a dialogue in specific surroundings, such as interacting with students

from different majors subjects, or various companies, or dissimilar live projects, etc. Aa a result of these dialogues, the community might be regarded as a small social system that could redefine the student's identity. Upon going through the "academic" campus of the entire CSM, students can enter this large practice-oriented community.

At the same time, I will try to accomplish the following goals in the term of historical development and architectural theories: 1. Applying Corbusier’s architectural three key elements : Body (define spatial functions) / Surface (define material) / Plan (define spatial and people density) 2. Approaching Josef Muiler’s concept : Cube Guide System in both plan and space / create a uniform social behavior pattern in space 3. Establishing a new vision of future community, the cube community as an extension of the traditional education system makes up for its deficiencies. (What the possibility will be when theoretical education in college combined with the practical education in cube community) Finally, through this new institution model at King's Cross, I try to re-connect student's communication with society, business, industry, and brand in a new hypotaxis to let young people as a culture producer in the community, which would be viewed as a modern development prototype for the future communitycampus, it is open to everyone who comes here, like artists, designers, engineers, businessmen.

BACKGROUND RESEARCH Impact of over-expansion city and community Cities have undergone tremendous changes over the past few decades. The form of community has also transformed from the original residential function to the place for cultural exchanges and social connections.

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Cube Frame

The platforms intersect each other, allowing natural light to refract and penetrate into each floor. The split-level design will finally create opportunities for young people that provides activities in the community to experience the external natural environment. The use of wood weakens the sense of fatigue in a fast-paced modern concrete city’.

Knowledge Cube Student as Explorer in knowledge Cube to get inspiration from the interdisciplinary exhibition.

10:00AM

Architect Toyo Ito attempt to denote that thinking about the community itself is the same as thinking the hypothesis of family, culture, life, and the proposition of the future humanity form. A case in point is that England's population doubled between 1800 and 1850, a large number of peasants turned into workers at the same time, causing many cities to expand rapidly.

As a result, London city that had only the population carrying capacity of the eighteenth century had to face the housing pressure brought by new residents. What is more serious is that the rich moved from the city center to the newly established suburbs, and many of the poor's houses were demolished and converted to commercial use, such as train stations, granary and workshop. Many residents can not afford a new home on the street and have to go to other crowded residential areas, making their existence worse and more expensive. From then onwards, slums with disease and crime had emerged in London. Charles Booth's research shows that more than two-thirds of Londoners were living in poverty at the time of 1898. These city residents were beginning to move and become homeless because their identities could no longer settle down. It could be seen that residents at that

time really needed to find their personal space in society.

However, where was their place?

With the rise of technology, citizens have found their new private place on the internet in the 21st century. (Kevin Kelly, The Technium, 2010) They start to dramatically flaunt their life in this virtual space, and quickly adapted to this new virtual community, which seemed to be revenge on the previous period of lack of identity in the city.

Culture’ could be an obvious example to prove this fact. In Japanese, Hikikomori means ‘pulling inward or being confined’. These people who are willing to be surrounded by the virtual world are called Hikkimori.

This phenomenon may symbolize a new trend in the 21st century - social alienation. The younger generation is often over-obsessed with their virtual space with more camouflage and lack the opportunity of face-to-face communication.

In these series of contradictory phenomenons, community and city need to be developed carefully in the balance of public and private rather than expand arbitrary without purpose. Where is the fine line between public and private at this time of rapid social and technology development?

SITE SURVEY Young People at King’s Cross There are over 150 years history at King's Cross area from farming fields and Georgian spas, to Victorian factories and housing, to the transport hub. Today's King's Cross is of importance place combining business, housing, transportation, tourism and education. The biggest granary at King’s Cross was mainly used to store grain, while now it was transformed into a well-known CSM college with various major subjects. As for everyone

has also resulted in many problems for college students.

Found through my questionnaire, over 90% of students spend a considerable amount of time on fundamental theories courses. They are unable to practice themselves in a real environment, as the content of these university courses is usually in pure academic surroundings rather than in the social industry. As a result, some students (43%) I interviewed have to choose gap year to go to the company for internships and gain more work experience and skills. Meanwhile, there is also a survey published

by D&A Medical Journal illustrates that young people usually have more pressure when it comes to living in the fast-paced areas and the public need to pay attention to the mental health experiences of college students, seeing that they normally are much more stressed than older people who have been in society for a long time.

For instance, mounting expectations, an evolving sense of self-identity, and the typical shock of leaving home for a new place and culture make college students more vulnerable to mental health risks. (D&A Medical Journal, 2018)

Nowadays, it is critical to think about young people's identity, belonging and normalize the college experience and the stressor involved. The public could have to admit

that, at present, college students are facing two conflicting trends at the same time. On the one hand, the pressure on society becomes severe, individuals sometimes do not have enough sense of belonging, as same as these people in the expanding London of the 19th century; On the other hand, the person is over-inflated by 'digital items' and lack face-to-face communication, just like the social alienation phenomenon caused by today's internet.

What is the meaning of community at this moment? Is it a private sanctuary or a temporary home? This issue needs to be carefully considered by the public.

DESIGN PROPOSITION Reshape the community for the young generation In this part, I will explain my design logic of this community by taking three key elements that Corbusier emphasized as the architecture designing points, which are volume, surface, and plane.

who comes here, the CSM would like a busy community standing at King's Cross area. By contrast, behind the

Firstly, Volume denotes the body of architecture. The internal space of the building needs to be considered as

Corbusier talked before, can live in the community freely?

for users. An example in this aspect is CSM entrance part where is the original position of the granary. There

hustle and bustle denotation of this community, what is the real state of people looks like? Is every individual, as

For this reason, I randomly interviewed the people at the King’s Cross, including both students (50 people) and workers (50 people), about their source of stress and why they feel oppression. The statistic of my questionnaire depicts the fact that college students (86%) are generally more stressed than middle-aged people (58%).

Furthermore, the traditional academic education system

the perspective of the inner observer, and an unbalanced sense of volume usually creates a feeling of depression

are no floors and partition walls in this entrance space with a height of 26 meters and a width of more than 70 meters. The excessive emptiness space always creates an invisible oppression sense for every student who comes to college. Student height and the volume of interior architectural space have formed a sharp contrast - echoes in the open space and can not create a comfortable

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

that the instinct for all human activities is to find a place to stay and live. When various citizens can not have a suitable community, society will be in chaos. In other words, a public space where can bring safety, stability, balance to people, and a community that can bring a sense of spiritual belonging to each individual are particularly essential.

Despite the fact that the emergence of the internet has drawn the distance between people and accelerated the pace of socialization and life, it did not take long for the shortcomings of the internet to manifest. Forbes editor Alice G. Walton published an article in 2017 stating that spending too much time on social media will displace face-to-face interaction, and make people feel excluded.

Exposure to such highly idealized representations of peers’ lives may elicit feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier and more successful lives, which may increase perceived social isolation. Finally, those who are disguised themselves on the internet may prefer to imprison themselves in the virtual space - a big screen might make them a happy day. (Forbes Study: Socially Isolation, 2017 ) The lack of face-to-face communication eventually stands in the way of the pace for young people exploring the real society. ‘Hikkimori

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Community seems to carry everything of modern people's activities and could be the basic form of human living to identify potential social issues, technology trends, and future industry possibilities, such as population growth, smart home, new energy, internet of things, blockchain and so on (‘Kenchiku’ De Nihon Wo Kaeru, 2016) The role of community has been regarded as an inspiring topic and raised public concern, people from their respective disciplines are trying to participate in discussions of community at present. American anthropologist William S.Sax may liken community to a place connected to individuals and groups where they feel they belong. He explains why the public use this phrase 'settle down' to describe the relationship between a person and home. Because the home can make the individual feel safe and settle people's identified down.

Corbusier once said in his book ‘Vers Une Architecture’

Where is the ‘place’ for inner communication?

communication environment for students on campus.

As a comparison, the overcrowded and small size of rooms would also create stress for students. The library, as the most popular place in the college and with a large number of people, needs to have sufficient sunlight and provide a comfortable social distance. According to ‘Hall's Proxemic Zones’ , 4 meters can be viewed as the best social distance when it comes to the boundary between private and public space. However, it is worth noting that, in this library, the distance between people is less than two meters here, which could not guarantee the privacy of personal space. In addition, the low floor height of the inner space itself and the lack of natural light would not relieve students’ stress. This phenomenon at CSM proves that a balanced architectural volume is essential.

For my design, I am going to re-divide the whole empty

space at the entrance through cube framework with 4 meters by 4 meters. The entire community is composed of cube framework that connects functional areas and different groups of people. Thus, the cube size will define a healthy sense of volume, which reduces the students’ pressure caused by original space. I hope that these cubes need to establish contact with all university personnel and provide them with a sense of identity.

BA (hons) Interior Design

The intelligent application of wood is also the foundation of "Japanese-style" architecture. Prostho Museum Research Center was designed by Kengo Kuma, which the wooden strips are spliced together to form a three-dimensional model. It’s characteristic is that the grid structure is not only the skeleton supporting the building, but also can be used as the exhibition stand.

The wooden slats of the building extend outwards and also are mutually constrained. Simple materials and

will receive the visual impact of the ‘body’ standing in the surroundings. If these bodies are combined with an ordered floor plan system, they will convey a clear rhythm, rather than a mess. The Swiss graphic designer, Josef Muiler, also explained in his book ‘Guide System’ that cube and datum lines are a means to avoid shape willfulness. These grids determine the size of the space and are an integral part of space creation. The threedimensional space uses grid systems to express various plans and three-dimensional elements, such as furniture, lighting, walls, decoration, users, exhibits. Followed by this concept, students will play 4 different kinds of role in these modular spaces, which are explorer, partner, producer, and sharer. The modular space shows as more functional possibilities and flexibilities through different combinations.

uniform shapes will not give people visual pressure as other modern cement construction. In Kengo’ work, wood could be a criticism of concrete, which might be the protagonist material in the industrialized society of the 21st century. Once the concrete is cast and fixed, it would become a heavy, depressed, and immovable hard block in space. The lightness and gentleness brought by wooden structures for the audience can never be

The modular space simplifies the installation process and construction difficulty, as same as the Crystal Palace. The completion of the London Crystal Palace was a turning point in the history of architectural development in 1851.

Crystal Palace is the first building in the construction that was assembled using a prefabricated ‘triangle-unit’ structure, seeing that it is based on a ‘guide system’ of building and uses structural elements of uniform size to

Architects Sou Fujimoto used to design a Children's playground called House NA in 2011. In the space of only 89 square meters, the combination of different cubes makes up different functional spaces. Comfortable interaction distance and space size would re-drawn into

In order to reproduce the value of wood and eliminate the sense of aggression given rise by Granary, the entire cube structure is composed of 2350 root woods with a cross-sectional area of 40 square centimeters, which supports the cube community, and serves as a bridge connecting the Granary and CSM buildings. The open space formed by a giant wooden structure uses sunlight to keep the interior space wrapped in bright, reducing the presence of lighting fixtures as much as possible, leaving only the pure light in the space to let the community surrounded by natural light. Accordingly, cube framework neutralizes the original sense of confinement in the granary building to make a strong contrast with the surrounding cold concrete wall, which uses the design method of introducing natural light and wind into the interior to redesign the original concept of the ‘atrium’ in the CSM campus. The platforms intersect

DESIGN HYPOTHESES A Complementary Community Complementarity of Academic and Practice.

The existence of Cube community is not to challenge the original academic system, but an extension of university education to consider the role of the students as cultural producers in society. It crosses the traditional major

places are not hermetically isolated but are connected to one another in its unique relativity. The second point is

opportunities for young people that provides activities in the community to experience the external natural

To be more specific, this space can be used as both a separate room and a collection of rooms. Moreover, rooms would define the way students behave and create an environment for a series of activities that can be carried out at different scales. For example, explore, conversation, practice and share experiences, which will supply an active place rather than a single educational function. 'Cube structure' provides functionality while being flexible - Space is like a jigsaw puzzle that can be pieced together freely. The learning atmosphere it created should be inspiring for all collectives when the campus has the characteristics of affecting curiosity and promoting interaction. (People Place, 1998, p.165)

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dignified. Actually, with a variety of materials represented by petrochemical products that have appeared in contemporary society, the most primitive material - wood, is gradually being forgotten by people. (China House Vision, 2019, p70) In Oriental culture, Japanese people especially favor wood as their architectural material, such as tea rooms, tatami and temples.

the distance between children and adults. Sou Fujimoto states that the intriguing point of a tree is that these

the surface. People usually touch the ‘architectural body’ through the surface.

The material on the surface is particularly indispensable.

Industrial-aged granary with red bricks and excessive use of concrete mixed by symmetrical structure would bring a tangible seriousness for people to make space look more like a church or another stately place, rather than a cozy learning space. The use of these modern and artificial building materials typically makes this campus more

replaced by cement.

each other, allowing natural light to refract and penetrate into each floor. The split-level design will finally create

environment. The use of wood weakens the sense of fatigue in a fast-paced modern ‘concrete city’.

Thirdly, the body and the surface are determined by plane, in other words, the plane is their generator.

Without a plane, there is no grand conception and expressiveness inconsistency, which means space may become deformed and chaotic. In detail, when an observer looks at a certain place on the street, he

achieve different spatial patterns through assembly. For this reason, the orderly layout is a feeling that can be perceived by people, so the plan carries a sense of order for audiences. Through the overlapping and combination of square structures, the cube community is naturally formed. Units of the same size are used to shape spaces with different functional requirements for youth, such as explore, design, making and sharing. Consequently, it could be better to establish a set of order rules for architecture, a design language in the space, and a grid system of the plan.

subjects in university and uses collaborative models of pedagogy fostered an innovative structure of art

education in a series of public events. From academic to business, from theory to practice, from college to

company, CSM and Cube Community complement each other to improve the existing art education.

Complementarity of Positive and negative space.

Under the pressure environment of modern universities, students need a place where they can communicate across disciplines. The traditional college layout stereotypes people’s behavior and confines people’s activities in an enclosed space of a rigid outline. On the

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Axonometric View

Conversation Cube Student as Partner in Conversation Cube to communicate with people in other sectors of society.

11.30AM

contrary, a lively and diverse work environment, which is flexible, spontaneous, extendible and resilient enough to accommodate the changing needs of study behavior, can provide shared workspaces or reshape interpersonal relations and social networking in such a scenario.

Complementarity of Individual and Groups.

Cube Community will meet the possibility of the young generation to create a balance between closed and open spaces, the fusion of individuals and groups, equal opportunities for creative input and output. Admittedly, some places need private spaces to provide security and belonging. However, if everyone is trapped in the 21st century’s digital world, the opportunities for faceto- face communication will decrease, ideas could never be exchanged, and eventually lost himself in society or would be engulfed in the sense of oppression. (House Vision, 2013, p48)

Complementarity of Young and Old Generation.

The process from resource sharing to cultural exchange requires everyone to participate in it, which means not just students, everyone should become a cultural producer. In this method, perhaps in the future, communities and neighborhoods might integrate more diverse values and become more colorful.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

FUTURE POSSIBILITY New Norm of Community ‘Genius Loci’ is the earliest idea of Rome, which can be explained as the spirit of place in English. According to the belief of the ancient Romans, each individual typically has its soul. It is this understanding that life gives the place spirit, and place will determine life's unique character. Kevin Kelly also deems in his book ‘Out of Control ’ that living in groups is an inherent property of human beings. Therefore, the community would no longer be a simple residential commodity when it comes to modern people's living surroundings in the trend of urbanization. The community can be depicted as both the intersection of various industries which combined user, technology, products, or other functional requirements, and the cultural foundation that creates the desire for human living, such as education, entertainment, cultural exchange, and interest groups. (House Vision, 2013, p.189)

Of great importance, in my opinion, is that communities should gather ideas and provide cultural identity

and belonging. The cultural diffusion is happening in the process, and the form of community particularly gives this process a possibility. The ebb and flow of homogeneity and heterogeneity between individuals and groups will run through the development of the entire city. On no account should public overlook the fact that the negative impacts have occurred in the process

of city expansion, upon reviewing the history of urban development, for instance, the enclosure movement in the 15th century, slums phenomenon in the 19th century, and the overexposing of the internet in the 21st century.

Human communities’ development needs to be in a new norm with the re-examine on the past. This new norm of community may be not only the positive denotation of city’s vision, but also the most unambiguous connotation of the ‘Genius Loci’.

References Kengo.K (2019). Architecture of Defeat Abingdon: Routledge IkkoT (2009). Awakening Design Guilin: Guangxi Normal University

Kwnya, H. (2013). House Vision: Toko Exhibition. China: CITIC Press Corporation Kevin, K. (2010). What technology wants. New York, US : Viking.

Kevin, K. (1994). Out of control : the new biology of machines. London, UK: Fourth Estate Tom.M (2011). Combinatory Urbanism: The Complex Behavior of Collective California : Stray Dog Cafe Le Corbusier (1965) Vers une architecture Paris : Editions Vincent Freal Tadao, A. (2006). Ando's City Wander. Sagae, JP: Anime Plus Kwnya, H. (2016). China House Vision: 2025. Beijing, China: Life Bookstore Publishing Fukasawa, N. (2007) Naoto Fukasawa. London, UK: Phaidon Josef, M Grid (1981) Systems in Graphic Design.

Switzerland: Niggli

Deyan, S (2001) . The Language of Things. Cambridge: Kettles Yard publications Alice,R (2013) . Hello World: Where Design Meets Life London, England: Hamish Hamilton

Christian,N,Z (1980) Towards A Phenomenology Of Architecture. New York, US: Rizzoli Itout,T (2016). "Kenchiku" De Nippon Wo Kaeru. Japan: Shueisha

Giedion, S. Sigfried (1967) Space, time and architecture: the growth of a new tradition. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Social Media May Make You Feel Socially Isolated: Study [online] Available from: https:/www.forbes.com/sites/ alicegwalton/2017/03/06/social-media-and-socialisolation-go- hand-in-hand-but-which-comes-first/ (Accessed:16 June 2020) Judith Flanders: Poverty Mapping [online] Available from: https:/www.britishlibrary.cn/en/articles/ slums/ (Accessed:16 June 2020) Perkbox. The 2018 UK Workplace Stress Survey [online] Available from: https://www.perkbox.com/uk/resources/ library/interactive-the-2018-uk-workplace-stress- survey (Accessed: 17 Oct 2019)

IRIS Human Capital Management: Sacade. The 2018 Stress Report [online] Available from: https://cascadehr. co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Cascade-StressReport-2019.pdf (Accessed: 28 Sep 2019) BBC Furure (2018) Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns [online] Available from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-socialmedia-bad-for-you-the evidence-and- the-unknowns (Accessed: 17 Dec 2019)

Practice Cube

Student as Producer in Practice Cube to work with other industry designer, engineer, artist and businessman.

3:00 PM

Fiona Fuller T H E O P E N A S S E M B LY Changing the Conversation of Public Space

A community project that proposes a new typology of an interior public space centred around citizen ownership, communication and collaboration.

@fionafuller.design LinkedIn Profile

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BA (hons) Interior Design

View full graduate showcase here

The Open Assembly is a proposal which challenges the current typology of public space and reinterprets the relationship between citizens and the city within an interior environment. It generates a new concept of urban farming within an existing structure that enforces a 'system of support' focused towards the more vulnerable in society. This system is the foundation of the proposal as the act of food production supplies education, an exchange of knowledge and skills and offers the community a joint purpose within a shared space. The design process was spearheaded by the blurring of activity boundaries which inspired the form of the design itself and highlighted the connection of the outside with the inside. The programme, structure and materiality define the proposal and introduce a new identity to the site.

the current ‘over-designed’ nature of the regeneration scheme seen today. Then through research, investigation and analysis of case studies and design theories I will explain how I achieved the design of an effective space shared by many.

Within this programme proposal I will argue how community co-created architecture is needed and to

The constantly evolving nature of cities is a physical representation of us, civilisation, and our values and priorities to our living environment (Butcher, A, 2015).

However, when cities are planned through a top down system, social and cultural values are often disregarded, spatial exclusions appear and community identities reshaped (Tonkiss, F, 2005). As seen in past developments in London, developers tend to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ agenda. By this I refer to the flimsy promotion of an ‘inclusive’ scheme to all, but in reality this only applies to those who can afford it and puts invisible barriers up for those who can’t. The regeneration scheme of Elephant and Castle in south London is a hugely publicised example of a private/council planning of a scheme that is the epitome of ‘social cleansing’ (35percent.org, 2019).

The site was home to a large trading community who had their roots in the market dating back 40 years. Also present in the area was a large number of social housing residents and a growing Latin American community with established businesses in the hospitality scene. The new plan only sees a fraction of the traders returning with the others being relocated away from the community they thrive within. The most detrimental effect of the new regeneration is the eviction of the settled residential communities to make way for “homes for rich people”

discuss how the concept of The Open Assembly within the newly redeveloped site of Kings Cross (KX), London is essential for community development as it challenges

with the rest going to overseas investors. This scenario of community disregard echoes with the new scheme of KX that places a social hierarchy on the landscape.

A key argument of this proposal rejects the common capitalist regeneration of neighbourhoods that whilst generating huge amounts of revenue for developers has also often caused fragmentation of communities by rejecting the views and needs of citizens when designing new environments. This poses the important question of how can an alternative public space encourage collective citizen ownership within the city they live in? Also, if a re-imagined public space that engages citizens and connects them with their community can be justified as a necessary feature of future projects?

influence social and political movements, the design process should include a diverse cross section of the local community users. Firstly from site mapping, I will

(Monks, K 2018). Nearby, the Haygate Estate saw the demolition of 1214 flats in 2014 with only 82 of 2704 replacement homes being allocated at social rent level,

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Grown Up and Filtered Down Development section illustrating the vertical narrative of the building. The produce cultivation on the roofs filters down to the rest of the interior, building user relationships and communication.

“The courgettes are ready to harvest for The Culture Kitchen”

“Great, thanks Paul!”

EAST ELEVATION

Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

“The special today is a courgette and feta muffin”

“I wonder what the ladies in The Culture Kitchen have made for lunch today?”

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“I’ve got the muffins ready for the Seed & Bean Shop”

“I think coriander will work well in this courgette dish for the lunch club”

Community Ownership The growing rooftops give the communities a responsibility within the city, which in turn exposes them to an environment they maybe wouldn't have had access to before. The space becomes an inclusive learning environment and a tool for education.

“So what made you decide to join Project X? “ “I wanted to learn new skills that weren’t available to me before.

I think I now want to go to university and study urban ecology”

on the business, retail and hospitality sectors to draw in visitors, commuters and tourists.

The clinically perfect design achieved by Argent is evident in the users it attracts, the international businesses with offices on site, the designated pseudopublic spaces, and to keep it all in a spotless condition, The Kings Cross Red Caps (security guards) who patrol on the lookout for ‘undesirables’. It’s a clean and safe environment, but there is a lack of the vibrant citizen architecture that is only achieved through the joining of community values to produce co-created spaces.

Through further site research, the dedicated spaces that have been designed for public use are revealed as very specific in their proposed uses and under strict agendas that if the wrong activity is present, for example skateboarding, then security are required to ask the participants to leave the site. Peter Block describes how citizens need to decide to be the ‘consumer’ or the ‘client’

org.uk). The temporary nature of the garden was understood from the start, as the land it was located on, was destined to start its next chapter as a residential block in 2019. ‘Architecture in action’ as described in The Social (Re)Production of Architecture is “an architecture that is in and amongst the actions of living, of activism, of social practice” where the ‘architecture’ doesn’t include an architect (Petrescu, P, Trogal, K). This emphasis that the ‘architecture’ is established through the politics of the place, collectively allows and promotes new ways of working and questioning the rules of current urban practices. The Skip Garden was a collection of actions negotiated and practiced by the local community and charity, Global Generation, that shone a light on an autonomous space within a capitalist hold. This case study along with The Story Garden, located behind The British Library are two of the projects that inspired my

In the second part of my research report, I focused my attention on how London’s infrastructure inhibits its

The solution to the mentioned problems of the site is to create a new programme of re-imagined shared spaces that invites citizens on to the site as a community driven project, this allows the user freedom of expression within the infrastructure of an established landscape. For this

upon discovering that a petition for a bridge over the railway tracks to connect the Maiden Lane Estate into the site, was rejected. This clearly shows Argent putting up boundaries and dictating who they want as the KX clientele.

inhabitants ‘right to the city’ as Henri Lefebvre explains in The Production of Space, 1991. This idea was first proposed in 1968 as a call to action, to reclaim the city as a co-created space, detaching it from the increasing impact that capitalism had over social interactions and the rise of spatial inequalities. Observations of Lefebvre's writings can be included in my argument that the act of including diverse community values is expressed by space that is made and remade through experiences.

That it is not purely just visual or abstract but it concerns the lives of people (Lefebvre, H, 1974). However, with the demands of contemporary conditions, as Petrescu and Kogel argue, a more radical approach to Lefebvre’s ‘right to participate’ is the ‘right to architecture’. This concerns having “real material rights” to developments where spaces are both imagined and led by citizens, for citizens creating the typology of ‘citizen architecture’ (Petrescu, D and Trogal, K, 2017).

as the hierarchy of urban planning constantly places the citizen at the bottom, allowing them to “believe that their

This, along with site research led me to the conclusion, that specifically to KX meaningful spaces made through

as the ‘client’ (Block, P, 2010) the ‘architect’ (Petrescu, D and Trogal, K, 2017) the ‘co-developer’ (Van Heeswijk, J,

Barnsbury Estate without a space they feel welcomed to participate in. Seen within the site - the temporality of The

own needs can be satisfied by the actions of others” (2008). The conversation needs to change to the citizen

2016) and the ‘activist’, this only occurs when the building blocks of ‘community engagement and collective change’ are put into action (Block, P). By providing a space that encourages for stronger connections to be curated, citizens are empowered to feel ownership and start shaping their environment through actions (Lefebvre, H, 1968).

community collaboration were nonexistent, leaving the bordering communities such as Somers Town and

Skip Garden that once stood in the northern quarter of the site, on ‘meanwhile space’, was a fleeting nod in the right direction of introducing and cementing the social connection found within a co-created space. Described as ‘a garden of a thousand hands’ the garden was an ecological classroom on an urban building site that welcomed the bordering communities (globalgeneration.

concept of providing an ecological shared community space.

proposal, I am defining a community as a collective of actively invested citizens that form a network of social and economic relationships through a skills exchange initiative. The narrative will explore ‘the citizen as the activist, the architect, the teacher, the student…’, to communicate how a design intervention might be seen to encourage the citizens to take ownership and responsibility within the medium of an interior public space. The proposal incorporates research into established community projects, urban farming designs, architecture and interior case studies.

The full concept is for an urban community farm that celebrates the binding force of a shared goal of achieving an ecological environment. The focus is on supporting vulnerable citizens within the communities whether the homeless, adults or children from disadvantaged backgrounds, citizens who are lonely or have challenges with mental health. Ultimately the space is a shared commodity that welcomes all. Growing food and celebrating social connections ignites the conversation

for change. The environment becomes reactive when the tools provided enable citizens to listen and exchange ideas through encouragement and engagement. The ambition is to equip this space to facilitate different

functions and activities within both fixed and flexible spaces. The design communicates permeability and connectivity where isolated spaces do not exist behind walls, but are interconnected both horizontally and vertically with visual sight-lines on varying heights. The interior is an exploration of a transitional language of space, event and movement (Tschumi, B, 1996).

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

trains to the roads, the land was left mostly derelict with a few buildings used for freight storage. Consequently, an underground culture scene of art and music emerged with the inhabitants expressing their ownership for a forgotten piece of industrial London.

In 2007 the developers, Argent, started the process of putting this prized real estate into use. Today the site operates as a destination location that focuses primarily

The KX site holds a complex array of issues. As seen with Elephant and Castle, the KX redevelopment is very much focused on affluent consumer groups. From a report by anthropologist Nitasha Kapoor a key issue found is the lack of community placemaking and involvement with the local bordering communities (2019). As urban researcher Dr Cara Courage explains, “placemaking is an approach which puts the community at the centre and forefront of where they live” (2017). When developing the KX site, Argent’s dismissal of this approach has left a cavity of social engagement where local groups that don’t fit in to the manicured Argent bubble, feel like “outsiders” and are “deliberately isolated” (Kapoor, N).

Clear divides between the site and the neglected local neighbourhoods are visible from the inward facing design of the development, and are made even clearer

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KX is a hybrid space with an existing infrastructure of controlled boundary lines. The site is nestled between the train tracks of two national and international underground and rail stations with Regents Canal running through the middle from the north-west to the east. The Coal Office within Granary Square (built by Lewis Cubitt in 1851) holds the desirable attributes for the location of The Open Assembly. As a solo standing building made up of 5 connecting volumes and on the edge of Regents Canal, it is in a prominent geographical position as a tool to highlight the strong presence of community within the capitalist environment. The area holds great historical significance dating back to AD 61 with various events shaping the essence of the site to this day. Much of the site’s current architecture was inherited from its use as a coal, grain and potato depot that traded from the 1850s-1980s. As goods transportation moved from the

The Market Hall Final visualisation of The Market Hall. The open space is designed to allow a flexible use of activities to to be present. From growing and maintenance of the produce to market days and monthly events, the space evolves to the needs to the developing community.

The layered experience is composed of many varied components that look to encourage the citizen that they have “the power to change the conversation” (Block, P).

By communicating with users of KX and evaluating the projects and community groups within a 1 mile radius I was able to establish the needs of the local inhabitants.

With 30+ registered groups and projects operating, examples such as The Story Garden, The Skip Garden and Calthorpe Community Gardens, all engage with nature and offer a variation of programmes that interact around the central theme of growing and sharing. This in turn supports the other programmes such as a social kitchen for particular groups, environmental learning, arts club and children’s nature play. This provided me with the foundations of creating a space that had a main element of food production for the users to tend to as

something they collectively ‘own’ within the constraints of the inner site. The social benefits of working towards a combined outcome, a harvest of produce, as a network of teams reinforces the aim of welcoming the bordering communities back into the KX site.

In the studio I studied Nest We Grow by Kengo Kuma & Associates, an example of a structure thats intention

is to bring community and food production together.

The timber construction, inspired by the verticality of Japanese larch forests, invites the notion of ‘a sense of community’. The concept communicates as a place of meeting, gathering, growing, cooking and eating together as a group. How the design is sectioned out from top to bottom shows the awareness of how the actions dictate the form. There is a connection from the preservation of the fish being hung up to dry to the preparation area at the bottom, the visible sight lines across the whole structure allows the circular sequence of life to be present.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

Using this as a relevant case study, I created a 1:75 scale model to understand the composition of the structure and how it translates into a space within the central feeling of openness. The vertical relationship of the levels that became present revealed the importance of keeping walls and partitions to a minimum, allowing visible sight lines through the space. This idea of separating the spaces within one context led me to explore the

Modernist utopian approach to ‘streets in the sky’ or ‘pedways’ that offered a pedestrian friendly approach to being guided around the city. The Bauhaus feature that was later adapted by architects such as Le Corbusier,

articulates the management of separate contrasting rhythms, isolated within one space. The intention enabled an unrestricted circulation of users, which is how I progressed to the design of ‘The Street’. Based on the concept of pedestrian walkways linking buildings together, and relevant to my proposal, activities together, I studied the connecting transitions presented in a 1:75

scaled model. I represented the farming activity spaces as clear resin forms and the bridging programme of the kitchen/ market place as pink resin. The programme of the kitchen/ market acts as an invisible bridge connecting the produce cultivation into the interior programme. The walkways, the wood, then fit in and around creating a fluid layout of the space. After further development into digital modelling the walkways started to highlight an integral ‘blurring’ of activity boundaries within the interior which allowed the progression of activity placement to be achieved within the plan. Various sections of the floor plates were removed on multiple levels to allow for this ‘blurring’ to occur, creating a dynamic rhythm throughout.

The nature of The Coal Office building offers varying roof heights which are perfect for reconfiguring for greenhouse structures and growing spaces. From sun

studies conducted the roofs have direct sun from mid March until late September. The decision to use the roofs led to the building manifesting into a vertical narrative. Inspired by The Skip Garden, for The Open Assembly a Nurture and Grow community group takes ownership of the cultivation of the produce allowing the programme of the roof gardens to fuel the actions within the rest of the building. Made up of vulnerable

and disadvantaged citizens along with support from The Old Peoples Project, Nurture and Grow provides a space for education within an ecological classroom. On level one The Culture Kitchen Club uses the produce grown to create recipes together and provide meals for community visitors. There is also The Market Hall, a flexible space within the sun filled atrium where the produce is sold to the wider community, but also transitions into a growing, learning and entertainment venue. The ground floor of the building is an open flexible gathering space that is connected to the Seed and Bean Shop; a retail and coffee shop. The whole building expresses an innate connection to life itself; with spatial adaptability being shown from the living rooftops through to the human interactions and connections taking place below. The diversity of the communities cultural and social values shines throughout.

The experiences within each vertical area define the spatial zoning of the fluid layout as multiple users can share the same ‘moment’ but from different viewpoints.

It is the urban interior that brings a quality to a city, and as Jan Gehl describes “if activity between buildings is missing, the lower end of the contact scale also disappears” (Gehl, J 1897). With this idea of contact between buildings I started to investigate how I could progress my design and integrate the relationship of an outside public space with an interior through vertical means. This then creates moments of new observations and exchanges throughout the space. I came across the work of Architecten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu at the Sint-Jozef Building in Belgium. The inserting of glass greenhouse structures within the ambiguous inside/ outside building of Sint-Jozef creates a new experimental public space. These transparent volumes of the greenhouses are used as new rooms of the building distributed through its three floors. Taking this element of transparent volumes into my own design I investigated the scale and nature of taking the skeletal structure and creating an invisible room within the space. I challenged how the structure with its familiar appearance of an outside component could be suited to the interior.

By removing the glass, the structure introduces a new perceived space when within, it then becomes somewhere between a closed room and an open public space installation. The feeling of being embraced within it is significant and highlights the importance of the sharing table positioned at the centre. The Kitchen Table (opposite page) becomes the connecting place of the project, for groups to engage, for conversations to occur or meals to be eaten.

With the variety of community groups using the building, the interior colour palette needs to reflect this diversity.

The three floor levels have different interactions with the greenhouse installation. At the bottom with the sharing table, the coloured steel of the structure highlights the scale as it draws the eye up through the space. Going up one level, the middle floor has an outside relationship with the structure. The raised walkway traverses the edges of the steel frame and allows the user a visual connection with the inside. As the user reaches the top level, a completely unique experience is revealed. The apex of

colours defines the project and proved to be the right direction for The Open Assembly to take. The objective of

growing around the structure. However it is interpreted, the relationship between the floor and the structure is

After research into the community space of the House of Culture in Movement (HCM) the use of block secondary

The Open Assembly is being present and engaged and users need to feel the buzz of energy and creativity when they enter the space so a contrasting colour scheme with the interjection of muted variations suggests a strong physical presence. This boldness of colour choice strengthens the communities sense of the buildings permanence. The materiality reflects the buildings industrial heritage with visible construction elements such as the steel supports being showcased.

the structure almost appears to be piercing through the internal third floor plate or alternatively, the floor plate is

harmonious. A connecting walkway crosses through the frame and allows the user to become part of the whole

space, but is involved in a different programme of the space. Instead the user participates in seed nurturing found on that floor and the scale of the whole structure decreases and becomes more intimate in contrast to the bottom.

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The Kitchen Table Final Visualisation. The space is shared by many users across multiple floors which promotes a sense of inclusivity and togetherness.

Welcome Hub Final visualisation. The fixtures and layout of the interior allows the community to take ownership of the way they use and interpret the space. With moveable furniture the space can be adapted for the use of multiple groups.

When considering the circulation within the building the stairwell became an important component telling the vertical and permeable narrative of the building.

I started by experimenting with the positioning of the staircase in the building, knowing that I wanted it to not just be a transitional element but something that offered variations to user interaction. Activist Jane Jacobs description that “the ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place and in any one place is always replete with new improvisations” (1961) led me to develop drawings and models to explore a feature of ‘new improvisations’. I researched the concept of ‘living stairs’ by ClinkNoord Hostel in Amsterdam, this multiple level composition was constructed as a means to connect two floors that were in use as common areas.

The intervention of the ‘living stairs’ means there is no artificial split between the floors, but a vertical flow of social interaction combining the programme in an atrium feature, both visually and logistically (spacencounters. eu). With influences from the ClinkNoord Hostel and a public furniture piece by Sebastian Marbacher, I took the elements of mixing the use of levels and extended seat platforms and incorporated the flow of social interactions into The Open Assembly. The multi-programmed design allows users to experience the stairs as a transitional journey with added features of mezzanines and steps which act as seats and platforms open for user improvisation and interpretation.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

Urbanist William H Whyte highlights that offering people a choice of where and how to sit, makes a good public space (1980). Within the flexible areas of The Open Assembly it is important to allow users to take ownership of their environment and not be restricted to permanent fixtures. Taking direct influence from The Decorators creation of The Institute of Imagination (iOi) at The Old Fire Station, Lambeth (Jan 2017) they designed “a family of abstract furniture pieces that allowed for interpretation of use” (the-decorators.net). This concept supports the multiplicity of creating large scale activities that could fragment into small intimate situations. Taking this theme of ‘interpretation of use’ and experimenting with furniture pieces that can adapt to alternative formations within one space developed into a series of pieces, with each

the Market Hall, the vegetable boxes are mobile and have fold out panels that double up as table tops. A key thought process behind the versatile pieces is the writings of Cedric Price (cited by Herdt, T, 2017) and how ‘lifespan considerations’ were crucial to his design strategies. For this proposal to work as a community building the typologies of the space and fixtures have to be adaptable and able to react to developing community requirements.

In conclusion, by focusing on the vertical narrative of the building and including a variation of viewpoints that maximises visibility internally, the interior and exterior evokes a sense of togetherness and inclusivity which is key for the progression of community public spaces. The Open Assembly is a fitting speculative case study of what co-created citizen architecture can embody to showcase the benefits of placemaking in city development. Future refinements to the overall scheme could be explored to further integrate the roof tops with the interior to communicate a greater relationship between the cultivation of produce with the activities that occur from it. Nevertheless, the re-imagined design of this interior public space welcomes the bordering communities back onto the site and explores an alternative environment

which encourages collective ownership. For a time when all citizens should have equal spatial rights to public spaces, the design allows community connections to flourish and this only occurs through bottom-up planning.

For the future, there is a necessity for projects like this, as fragmenting communities will only create further spatial inequalities. The Open Assembly is purely the physical building blocks for a greater narrative. The strength of the space is the conversations it can ignite that allows citizens to understand their surroundings and what role they have in it.

Then cities can start to be designed with people, and not just for people (Lim, J and Rahman, M 2016).

the-decorators.net/Imagination-Lab Global Generation, available at: https://www. globalgeneration.org.uk/about-the-skip-garden, [accessed: 2/3/20] Gehl, J, Life Between Buildings, Using public Spaces, 1897, Island Press p 17 Herdt, T, The Life and the Architecture of Change: The work and Radical Vision of Cedric Price, 2017, Park Books, p 83 Jacobs, J, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961, Random House, New York, available at: https:// www.buurtwijs.nl/sites/default/files/buurtwijs/bestanden/ jane_jacobs_the_death_and_life_of_great_american.pdf p 50 Kapoor, N, Placetest: King's Cross Central, 2019, available at: https://www.thedeveloper.live/film/film/placetestkings-cross-central. [accessed: 24/2/20] Lefebvre, H, The Production of Space, 1974, translated

by Donald Nicholson-Smith 1991, available at http:// faculty.washington.edu/mpurcell/jua_rtc.pdf [accessed: 24/2/20] Lefebvre, H, Everyday Life in the Modern World, 1971, translated by Sacha Rabinovitich, Continium London Monks, K, Elephant & Castle shopping centre is facing redevelopment. But what of its Latin American residents?

2018, available at: https://www.citymetric.com/business/ elephant-castle-shopping-centre-facing-re-developmentwhat-its-latin-american-residents [accessed: 21/5/20] Lim, J and Rahman, M ,P!D, Participate in Design, P!D Publication, 2016 Petrescu, D and Trogal K, The Social (Re)Production of Architecture: Politics, Values and Actions in Contemporary Practice- Edited by Doina Petrescu and Kim Trogal, 2017, Routledge, p 4, p 11

References Block, P, Community: The Structure of Belonging, 2008

Tonkiss, F, Space, the City and Social Theory, 2005, Polity Press , p 81

piece taking on a modernist approach with simple and functional forms that would suit a heavy use environment.

Block, P, Community: Structure of Belonging, 2010, available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=CwahGcEiAr0 [accessed: 28/1/20]

Tschumi, B, Architecture and Disjunction, 1996, The MIT Press, p 6, p 150,

and expressive feel, especially when positioned amongst the growing plants.

Butcher, A, Re-imagining urban space, TEDxJacksonville, 2015, available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dsh4YzSxSH0. [accessed: 4/2/20]

Made of plywood laminated with coloured recycled plastic, these hardwearing materials give the space a raw

The ideology of the building is to promote inclusivity which is expressed in the design of the plant boxes and the furniture throughout. On the roofs the growing boxes are raised for wheelchair accessibility and made of weather-resistant powder-coated steel in a variety of colours harmonious with the interior furnishings. Within

Courage, C, 2017, Dr Cara Courage, Placemaking and Community, 2017, TEDxIndianapolis, available at: www. youtube.com/watch?v=Sfk1ZW9NRDY Decorators, The, Institute of Imagination (iOi) The Old Fire Station, Lambeth January 2017, available at: www.

Space Encounters, Hostel for ClinkNoord, date unknown, available at: http://space-encounters.eu/work/ clinknoord-amsterdam/ [accessed: 28/5/20] Van Heeswijk, J, Jeanne van Heeswijk on community development by co-production, 2016, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3UeF9MvrYo Whyte, William H, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980, Conservation Foundation, p 36

Solar Greenhouse Final visualisation. By utilising the roof tops as growing spaces the building helps the local economy by providing fresh, healthy produce to the communities in and around Kings Cross. The ownership the user groups take over the maintenance of the plants grows the strength of the community as a whole.

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

HOSPITALITY

Mitchell Thomas Smith TWO GRANARY

Mitchell ThomasSmith Two Granary

Can spaces be used to determine our behaviour and reinvigorate our desire for face to face communication?

@mitchellsmithdesignstudio LinkedIn Profile

and the sharing of a meal. The concept will question the way in which food, interiors, and socialising intertwine and how they encourage users to build deeper, physical, and emotional connections between them.

BA (hons) Interior Design

Through this proposal I will reference the term ‘choreographed experience.’ The restaurant, much like a dance, composes a series of steps and experiences that are planned and controlled in order to shift the user’s mood and affect the way in which they are interacting with one another.

Social interaction is the process whereby the overt movements, covert deliberations, and basic physiology of an individual influence those of another and visa versa.

(Tuner, J 1988) I want to address the notion of social interaction and how a space can choreograph and inform its users movements and in turn, how they then interact with one another. In the short film Vocal Barriers by Thomas Chimiak the film maker introduced the idea that “we manage to new routes being forged through social separation”, this concept fascinated me with how easily it has become to forge emotional relationships digitally, leaving us void of physical connection and without it how truly connected are we? Now, more than ever there is a need for new democratic public spaces that focus

My focus is on Kings Cross, a mixed-use development in the centre of London, which includes one of the busiest stations in the United Kingdom. Railway stations are synonymous with connecting people and therefore it seemed an ideal site for my proposal. I have chosen Regeneration House which is nestled against the bustling travel hub, I intend on re-appropriating the building; giving it a new function by employing a series of insertions which combine two design languages and that build a relationship between the current site and its new use. I will create a space that reinvigorates people’s desire for human connection using food as a tool to bring those users together and using the interior to steer and negotiate their social relationships. It is my view that technology has impeded human beings’ possibility of connecting on a deeper level by hindering the time they spend physically together. As designers, we should effectively make this link between the user and space, I am interested in the idea of interaction and connection in

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Humans are social animals. This simple statement belies the complexity of human interaction, with which we are all innately familiar. Humans do not simply live in proximity of one another, they link themselves to one another.

They tie. They bond. They bind. It has been postulated that this attachment behaviour is a hallmark of any social species and a key to their survival. (Lyn H. Lofland 2014) I aim to explore this idea further to create a space that tackles this lack of physical interaction as a result of the rise in social media communication, the space endeavours to encourage its users to engage with each other face-to-face. There are quantifiable advantages to heavily eschewing text- focused online media in favour of real-time alternatives like a meeting or telephone conversation (The Drum, 2019). I want to examine the idea of dining experiences forging this connection.

This project proposal charts the development of my conceptual design strategy for new dining experience that aims to reconnect its users through interior design

Kings Cross was once a rural area known as Battle Bridge but with the introduction of the railway system it underwent a change. The area has been repeatedly re-

on our need for physical connection in order to better understand one another and lead to a positive change.

relation to design and the idea that a space can influence how a user behaves within it.

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Neutral Zone Grey tones are used in the neutral zones to create a sense of calm before the users progress to their respective dining experiences.

Third Floor Bar Area The prudent combination of materials create unity within the space yet variations in texture and tone create interest. the soft linen fabric choices off set the hard surfaces and strong lines created by the natural stones.

By the 1970’s the once thriving Victorian commercial hub had deteriorated into dilapidated warehouses and contaminated land rife with crime and prostitution but, London's King's Cross is now being reimagined for the 21st century. The proposal for the new site will see new life breathed into the 67-acre site, with 50 new buildings,

I used what I learned from Bodemdrang to assess the dining experience offered for my project and it raised the question on how I would be able to successfully encourage my users to interact as Bernhardt and Thorwald were able to do. In the studio I developed the set menu concept, informed by Bodemdrang. I began

20 new streets, some 2000 new homes and over 26 acres of new public space. (Cortese, D 2019) Regeneration House sits in the dense urban quarter of Granary Square. The purpose-built building was originally designed by Lewis Cubitt to serve as the principal offices for the Goods Yard complex when King’s Cross was being developed as the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway. Architecturally the building is designed to echo the neo-classical style of Kings Cross station, a style produced initially in the 18th Century, although the building shows a sense of restraint with each elevation essentially symmetrical. Informed by the symmetry of the building I conducted a series of analysis and mappings of both the building and its surrounding environment. Through this I found vast amount of linear lines and curves in repetition throughout the site.

This mapping explores how these lines work with one another and explores the sense of movement these lines create. Symmetry and repetition will be employed throughout my design process and will be used to inform my decisions in order to make the design thematically consistent, meaning there will be a sense of unity between the building, surrounding environment and the new design.

by looking at the research carried out by The University of Chicago called “A recipe for friendship: Similar food consumption promotes trust and co-operation,” that would suggest when people share food, they are more likely to co-operate better and trust the other person more. This research enabled me to develop a menu further by combing two concepts: ingredients than influence a person’s mood, and food that is shared so both users experience the same sensation and build a connection with one another subliminally.

The menu orchestrates and choreographs the users experience by encouraging them to share the same meal. Research shows that after just a single food sharing event, the levels of circulating oxytocin are higher and promote social bonding and higher levels of cooperation. (Verdolin, J. 2020) The act of consuming food is an intimate one, it is about bringing something into your body and when you share a meal with someone it suggests you are both willing to bring the same thing into your bodies, therefore people will feel closer to one another.

artists that focus on socially engaged practice. This type of work can include any artform which involves people and communities in debate, collaboration, or social interaction. (Tate, 2020) I will investigate the effects of the installations have on its participants and use this to influence my project, linking their dining experience to how I explore creating spaces for my users within my project.

I explored the installation ‘The Dining Project’ by Lee Mingwei, a Taiwanese artist who creates participatory installations that are often open-ended scenarios for everyday interaction. The recordings of the performances were shown firstly at the Whitney Museum of American Art and has continued to be exhibited throughout the world. The re-exhibiting of this work emphasises the continuous desire to highlight the need for face-to-

face communication. In this piece of work Lee selects individuals to visit the museum after closing to share a private repast with the artist. He prepares the guests favourite meal, engages in conversation and records it, the recording is then played back the following day in the museum. “The conversation occurs in the context of the presentation and eating of food, wherein the host and guest enter into a shared communion, performatively enacting hospitality through dialogue and commensality” (M. Antionette, C. Turner p170). Many of Lee’s guests were bewildered with how easy it was to divulge intimate details of themselves to the artist which leads me to believe that the coming together and sharing of food not only encourages people to interact with one another but allows them to become more intimate, this artwork highlights the way face to face conversation is integral in connecting people, an idea that I will take with me as I progress through my design process.

The new dining concept will offer set menu’s that focus

I investigated the effects of food on people’s mood and overall happiness. The desire we have for and pleasure we get from food is deeply seated in our primitive reptilian brain. It is perhaps only second to sex

Spatially, the minimal design and materiality has a bearing on the quality of conversation, the artist says “I really could not imagine myself eating on an office table.

The conversation would be so different.” The spatial setting and dining ritual engages the senses for the user and emphasises the importance of the present moment.

The spatial setting is integral when choreographing the physical space. My main objectives is to encourage my

Mediamatic, that explores the notion of redefining the dining experience through their Neo-Futurist dinner

brain.” (Verdolin, J, 2020) For example, for an intimate experience, like a date I engendered a menu that focuses

consequently how they will act in a space. Therefore, like Mingwei’s installation, it requires strong focus on

on generating a specific experience for each diner. I concentrated on the work of an art centre in Amsterdam,

programme. The events are used to examine the relationships people have with food and the desire to

connect with it and each other. Simply put the events are “where the world of food, art and science are brought together. During these gastronomical experiences, you will be engulfed in a multi-sensory dinner scene.” (NeoFuturist Dinners, 2020) The event “Bodemdrang” by artist Suzanne Bernhardt and chef Thorwald Voss focuses on

as the most pleasurable activity we partake in. In fact, it stimulates many of the same pleasure centres in our

on foods that are known as aphrodisiacs and that boost one’s libido such as ginger, cayenne pepper and ginseng.

I will explore how this concept further to understand how it can be used in conjunction with the design of the space to encourage social interaction through the development stage of my design strategy.

I wanted to examine how the spatial setting aids in this connection between the users, so I explored works by

user to stop, linger and socialize and the combination of all environmental elements affect how people feel and

materiality comfortability in my design.

The restaurant aims to govern the users dining experience by choreographing the way they move within the space, how they sit, their line of sight and their proximity to other diners. In order to encourage communication between single users I needed to create a sense of intimacy and therefore needed to eliminate the perception that other diners are in the user’s personal

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

the desire to discover new ways of connecting to food, each other, and the environment. With no cutlery at the table the artist was able to choreograph how the diners interact with one another, using exceptionally long ceramic spoons handmade by Suzanne, people were able to feed their opponents and neighbours but feeding themselves became more of a chore. Throughout the dinner neighbours slowly loosen each other’s guards, and through this communal dining, everyone finds a common ground.

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branded since the 1820s, when the cinder heaps of Battle bridge were given the more marketable name of King's Cross, replete with a royal statue which so 'grievously offended the eye of taste' it was pulled down after less than a decade. (Whitehead, A 2018) The area was once known for its country clubs and spas and was not until the completion of Regent’s Canal, that bisects the development, did it begin its current focal point as a major railway interchange both nationally and internationally.

Social Booths The repetitive nature of the arch and the shape used for the booths echo the railway arches in the neighbouring area at Coal’s Drop Yard.

space. I explored the notion of proxemics which is a subcategory of nonverbal communication that studies humans use of space and the amount of space that people set between themselves and others. My design focuses on two of the four zones, intimate (0-50cm) and personal (50-100cm) and how with the organization and dimensions of my tables exploit their spatial relationships and provide a natural and seamless interaction between my users. I furthered this research by understanding sightlines, which is line between the user’s eye and a distant point and removing each diner from one another’s sight lines using boundaries will aid in creating an intimate experience for the diners.

My research into proxemics led me to examine the dimensions of my dining tables and how they can be used to affect how the users interact with each other.

For example, the dimensions for the intimate tables, designed to be used for couples or dates, are smaller than an average dining table (700 x 700mm) to challenge each other’s intimate space and choreograph how they interact physically while sharing mutual utensils and food. People in intimate distance to one another share a unique level of comfort. When placed within this zone there is a higher probability that the two users will touch, which is another form of nonverbal communication, haptic communication, which is the way in which people interact through the sense of touch, and the amount of which the touching increases. This increases the level of intimacy between the users. The table even allows the users bodies to cross over underneath the tables as they are set to the ceiling allowing for more space underneath to accommodate this.

BA (hons) Interior Design

eliminates any feeling of being in a vast open space. The organisation of tables in lineal lines in conjunction with

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To raise the intimacy levels for the users I investigated boundaries and screens. These boundaries will become thresholds, controlling the level of intimacy, they will encourage the users to directly face each other, eliminating others from their line of sight as person can perceive all specific details about an individual only when they are directly in front of the retina (providing it is not too far away). The screens also define each individual table creating micro-moments, they create intimate experiences that gives the feeling of encloser and

I explored the idea of booth and banquette seating as people feel more private in booths where the field of vision is far narrower. Through my research I found that

the screens allow for these semi-private moments. The linear lines echo those found on site through my research

phase. In the studio I began to test these variants in tables and how the screens will interact with them. I did so by 3D printing 1:20 scale maquettes which enabled me to understand the relationship between the tables and the screens and their effects on the user’s sightlines.

“Booth seating, because it limits visual stimulation and distractions, provides a feeling of intimacy, and leads to slower turnover of tables, works well for restaurants that want to attract business diners, or romantic couples.”

(Regina S. Baraban, Joseph F. Durocher p. 62) Informed by this information I endeavoured to include various formations of booths and began by testing these variations using 3D printing scale maquettes of each design. (Figure 5) These booth concepts also informed the spatial planning for the space; unscreened tables were able to be utilised either side of these screened booth enabling them to remain private but also allowed for further table options. The repetitive nature of the arch used for these booths, and the shape itself echo the railway arches in the neighbouring area at Coal’s Drop Yard. They provide repetition whilst offering further zoning, allowing for a singular entrance to each booth.

My space and material choices reference modernist architecture as it has high focus on functionality, honest materials and is void of ornamentation. The use of modernist materials also references the industrial history of Kings Cross. When considering my materials choices, I explored a series of modernist projects, one I focused on was ‘Tiverton House’ by Takero Shimazaki Architects.

Concrete, wood, and stone are expertly married in conjunction with natural light creating a sanctuary from the modern world, a concept I am aiming to achieve. I aim to create a threshold between Kings Cross and my space, much like Tiverton House does for its occupants.

The design influenced my choices for lighting in the space as it used intelligent techniques to allow light to flood through the various spaces within the home. For example, the arched windows and sky light draw light down the staircase onto the lower floor and the glass

My interrogation into the site at Kings Cross informed my material palette as I aimed to build a further connect between the surrounding environment and my space.

My proposal has a strong focus on materiality as it is a key element in the experience of the space and can transform the way the user feels within it. I analysed the site and I was able to echo the industrial surroundings of

itself and the first level and a glass intervention was introduced on the third floor, opening the space and allowing light to flood through. I concluded to use

King’s Cross through the use of robust and unpretentious materials such as metals for the screening, concrete, various stone, and oak wood. These choices imitate the materials found on site, but the interventions are freestanding to ensure the new works are clearly legible from the existing building. The gold detailing of the booths create a beautiful juxtaposition between themselves and concrete barriers. These materials are present throughout the space creating a holistic design approach derived from the site. The space is designed to allow the user to spend long periods time within it and they are more likely to do so if they are calm and relaxed, therefore the material palette should not be overly stimulating. There needed to be a balanced amount of honest and unpretentious materials that aided in creating a lax, minimal space.

void over the kitchen illuminates the entire space. I used these concepts within my proposal, opening voids in the floor on the second level allowing light to pass between the

these techniques to allow more light through the space after vigorous research into lighting informed by the techniques I found in Tiverton House.

Lighting is sensorial element that can affect how users behave. It is arguably one of the most important elements in the design of a restaurant as it can possibly obviate the effectiveness of each of the other design elements.

Lighting has the ability to control how intimate a space feels and its energy, for example subdued lighting encourages slow, leisurely dining – a concept I will explore when considering my lighting design. I began buy investigating which lighting concepts encourage conversation make users comfortable.

A key belief that is included in my personal design manifesto is that “materials should be used where they

When in investigating lighting on site I began to analyse the natural light readily available that will inform the positioning of all artificial lighting. I was influenced by the

the materials are the most tangible element, yet evoke the most intangible emotions and feelings when used

lighting techniques I found that the reason that a library is well lit, and a restaurant has dim lighting is precisely

are most appropriate, and without their innate qualities being concealed in any way.” When designing a space,

correctly. They hold equal share with aesthetics and functionality when designing a space. I chose to use

concrete and stone as my main materials, in conjunction with the metals used for the screens, as they are highly versatile and robust so were able to be used for flooring, structure, counter tops, and furniture as they all have enduring tactile quality. The prudent combination of materials create unity within the space yet variations in texture and tone create interest.

work of Serge Najjar and his ability to capture contrast between shadow and light. Exploring the various in

because bright light encourages good listening and comfortable reading, whereas dim lighting creates an

atmosphere that encourages intimate conversation.

(Steinberg, S. “An Introduction to Communication Studies” 2007) As my space encourages the user to communicate and listen to one another, there needed to be a variety of lighting environments within it to encourage different levels of communication. For example, the third floor is filled with social tables, for groups of 2-8+. Therefore, it

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Social Tables with Curved Screen Influenced by the curves found on site at Kings Cross Central the proposed screens are employed to create micro-moments for the users whilst creating visual interest.

Curved Social Tables The linear timber ceiling and dim lighting on the second floor creates atmosphere and encourages slow dining and intimate conversation, the curves of the social tables echo the public seating found at Kings Cross Station.

is flooded with a symphony of light with the proposed glass intervention replacing the original ceiling. This new amount of natural light encourages good listening between the users. Alternatively, the second level has an oak battened ceiling that has been set lower, the light is controlled and dimmer, therefore encourages more intimate conversation.

The longevity of the users stay will be influenced by their comfort levels. To raise these, I focused on two key elements, the design of the seating options and the colours scheme. To differentiate the zones within the space I used two main colours, grey and pink. Grey represents neutrality, it is solid and stable, it creates a sense of calm and is not overly stimulating so seemed the most appropriate colour for the scheme and various tones and textures in the materials create interest.

The colour will be used in the waiting and bar areas, otherwise known as the neutral zones, to create a sense of calm for the users before progressing on to the pinnacle moment, the dining experience. It is in these zones blush pink is introduced, this simple change in colour creates thresholds, differentiating between the zones of the space. Pink is a delicate colour, it is the universal colour of loving one self and others, it represents friendship and affection and therefore seemed a natural choice for the scheme and these two colour choices work holistically to create a sense of calm and comfort for the user and the soft linen fabric choices off set the hard surfaces and strong lines created with the use of natural stones.

The dining chair has high arm rests that are set at the same height of the table, this encourages the user to lean into the table and closer to their partner and in the circumstance of date further challenges the user’s intimate zones.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

As technology continues to evolve there is a strong argument that face to face is the best way to communicate. An interior can form an entirely new way of social interaction purely by informing how the users interacts within it and therefore, as designers we are responsible for creating spaces that encourage social interaction and communication. After rigorous research into the topic synthesized design development that

was influenced by site, user, and precedent analysis I believe the space I have created does just that. Screens,

boundaries, zoning, materials work in harmony with one another to achieve a scheme that is calming, and the

introduction of the shared menu concept encourages the users to connect and communicate with the people they

are dining with. I believe the development of my program and exploration of social spaces has expanded my research interests in the field of architecture and interior design and I will be able to explore these throughout my career.

References Books Antoinette, M. and Turner, C., 2014. Contemporary Asian Art And Exhibitions. Canberra: ANU, p 170.

Press.Regina S. Baraban, Joseph F. Durocher (2010) “Successful Restaurant Design” Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, p. 62 Steinberg, S. (2007) “An Introduction to Communication Studies” Juta, pg 105 2007 Websites The Drum. (n.d.). The lost art of face-to-face communication. [online] Available at: https://www. thedrum.com/industryinsights/2019/03/07/the-lost-artface-face-communication [Accessed 1st April. 2020].

Mediamatic. 2020. Neo Futurist Dinners. [online] Available at: <https://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/368688/neofuturist-dinners> [Accessed 7th May 2020].

Tate. 2020. Socially Engaged Practice – Art Term | Tate. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artterms/s/socially-engaged-practice> [Accessed 1st April 2020].

Psychology Today. 2020. The Upside of Eating Together. [online] Available at: <https://www.psychologytoday. com/gb/blog/wild-connections/201911/the-upsideeating- together> [Accessed 3rd April 2020] www.theb1m.com. (n.d.). London’s King’s Cross Reborn. [online] Available at: https://www.theb1m.com/video/ londons-kings-cross-reborn [Accessed 7th May 2020]

Intimate Dining Tables User vista of the intimate dining tables. These tables utilise metal screening to create micro-moments for the users.

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NEW INSTITUTIONS Iyifca-Rosalia Anita Saieva THE MUSEUM

Szabolcs Farkas-Pall

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UNIVERSITY OF EXCHANGE

Iyifca-Rosalia Anita Saieva THE MUSEUM Alternate Realities, Storytelling and Time

@i_saievadesign View full graduate showcase here

Introduction The line between reality and fiction is becoming increasingly blurred in the digital age. Reality is defined as “the state of things as they are rather than as they are imagined to be” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2020). However, if we are bound by our own perception of things, can there really only be one reality? Within my research report I undertook an in-depth analysis into the concept of alternate realities being created as a result of technology.

What I uncovered was the primordial relationship humans have with storytelling. As mankind increased his cognitive capacities so he gained a plethora of imagined realities.

Today, with tools such as virtual reality and social media the presence of these contested realties is increasingly expanding and obscuring the boundaries between the subjective and objective.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

Understanding Time as a scientific and philosophical

examined concept is crucial to be able to translate the metaphysical space alternate realities created within this Programme Proposal. The linear timespan within The Museum is constantly manipulated via physical and perceptive intervention. Physical representations of time such as The Möbius strip and The Double Helix exist as crucial design schemes to ground these concepts within the material world. This project aims to build an inclusive institution that values and elevates the crafters experience as well as the viewers experience, whilst harnessing a multiverse of realities that function on those users and viewers perceptions.

Alternate Realities The initial question which drove my research was “Is technology killing or enhancing our imaginations and creating alternate realities?” This led me to explore themes related to the depths of human imagination, escapist behaviours, perceptions of reality and the

possibilities of new realities being created with the influence of technology.

As preliminary research, I explored the conversations and behaviours of subjects around the ancient passive medium; a fire pit. I looked at how escapist traits engulf the most monotonous of tasks such as eating; escapist subcultures like Kayfabe in WWE wrestling which see an entire group of people accepting an engineered reality as their true reality. I also held an online survey with questions centring around social media and gaming. The feedback revealed a conflicting ideology of reality, with the majority accepting an altered reality experienced within social media and gaming.

Gaming industry’s virtual reality experiments have proven the possibility to generate perceptual illusions of oneself.

The technical research project, Event Lab conducted an experiment with 36 Caucasian subjects playing WestAfrican hand drum whilst being immersed in VR with virtual hands substituting their own; ‘only those with the CD [Casual Dark-Skinned] representation showed significant increases in their movement patterns for drumming’ (Kilteni, Bergstrom and Slater, 2013, p.1).

As a response to these findings and using a trope of Grand Theft Auto video game, I created a wearable object that forces a perspective in which the user see’s themselves in the third person in real time. The purpose was to question our perceptions of reality and create a hyper real version of reality. Would seeing ourselves in the third person make us a character in an imagined adventure? Elements of this wearable object have been adopted within the design scheme of The Museum with the key question still intact.

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The Glade The main entrance of the building works as a threshold between the reality outside the building and inside. The glade is a long vast hallway covered by a glass ceiling with an uninterrupted vista of The Helix Ascent.

The Happening, The Cusp and The Archive Pods The building is split into standalone zones which together form an intertwined continual journey: The Happening, The Cusp and The Archive pods. Each space represents a moment in time unique to the viewer and portion of a process. The Happening is the zone for creation. The Cusp is the zone for exhibiting the works created in The Happening. The Archive pods store the exhibition virtually and using Augmented Reality technology future viewers can experience themselves in the exhibition post exhibition.

The Victoria and Albert museum houses a collection of ancient artwork and artefacts from ‘other’ nations and civilisations]. However, there is ongoing debate on who should own these works, many looted or bought unfairly during Britain’s imperial century. V&A Director Tristram Hunt believes “Europe’s museums serve a nuanced purpose and shouldn’t automatically bow to calls to return artworks plundered by 19th-century colonisers” whilst University of London student Alice Procter dismisses “the whole concept of the Museum… [as] a colonialist, imperialist fantasy, born from the fallacy that somehow the whole world can be neatly catalogued, contained in a single building, mapped out for easy digestion” (Hunt, 2018)

By creating a hierarchy of, the purpose of a museum over the ownership of these treasured relics the V&A have illustrated their true intentions to commodify these relics and keep an essence of superiority within the status quo. The colonization of these ‘museum’ artefacts demonstrates how integral they have become for the institution’s identity and story. Every aspect of the building follows a clear singular narrative: the facade, the grand lobby, the materiality of the décor; a stagnant moment in time seen through the eyes of a 19th century aristocrat Briton. The V&A is reliant on this narrative of elitism to trade and profit on the past. If a museum is said to preserve and interpret evidence of humankind and environment, the evidence should not only be inclusive as should the interpretation. When considering the meticulous detail in each crevice of the V&A to conserve its identity and position in history this leads us

to question the room for contemporary intervention. The temporary exhibition spaces are carefully curated within preassigned rooms away from the epicentre of the V&A. Has the institutions symbol and reputation intimidated contemporary intervention or reinforced this singular world view?

The #FutureMuseum project is an online platform which allows users to add their voice to the discussion on the future of museums. In ‘Future museums as key actors in public policy’ anthropologist Goabaone Montsho says “In the future museums will largely be concerned with the pursuit of socio-cultural developmental programs

recognition. Instead of stagnant exhibitions which serve to prop up an image, the building becomes submissive to the works.

Time “To appreciate time is to feel the fabric of reality.” Kuhn (2015) Time feels objectively real: credit systems are based

on borrowing from the future while therapy uses the past to understand the present. Time seems to have a consecutive order however time is also a complex and a controversial topic with several different scientific and philosophical theories. The way in which time is experienced is unique and individualistic, conversely it is a shared experience: the older you are the faster time passes. “Time is happening in the mind’s eye. It is related to the number of mental images the brain encounters and organizes and the state of our brains as we age.”

Livni (2019).

Victorian façade of Kings Cross Station. Tracey Emins piece ‘I Want My Time With You’ 2018 Is pared back against a traditional clockmaker dial clock. “It’s really a great subliminal message sent out to the rest of Europe, I want my time with you.” Kennedy (2018). A commentary on Brexit lit with pink LEDs a show of modernity in a station continually used as a traditional back drop in films such as Wonder Woman, (Patty Jenkins, 2017) The Coal Office also known as Fish and Coal Buildings in which The Museum will function is indicative of this trade on the past. Built in the 1850’s Coal Drops was Victorian London’s coal supplier. Surviving two world wars and a devasting fire in 1983 The Coal office façade has been retained as a reminder of Britain’s industrial era. The building is now home to Tom Dixon Studios and features the main design studio, a retail unit and a restaurant

collaboration with acclaimed Chef Assaf Granit. On why he chose The Coal Office as a location Dixon says “For us it was imperative not just to find a new office or shop.

It was vital to find a new home. London isn’t just another city. It is where it all started.” (The Coal Office, 2020). As a designer he learns more from the process of making. This inclusivity and examination of the process is an element I will be using within my design. By assigning a space solely for the process of the works highlights the weight and importance within the building’s ideology.

Considering Kings Cross’s relationship with the past, I will be using the passage of time, past present and future to illustrate colliding and collapsing realties. I chose this theme as rather than to profit on the passage of time through a nostalgic lens, which is an irresponsible and unethical exploitation of human emotion. I believe it’s important to observe time as an extension of humanity.

Both time and reality are intangible immaterial concepts that serve as foundations for human existence. Time controls the order of humanity whilst reality controls the narrative. Both are directly influenced by human perception which is why I have chosen time to illustrate alternate realities within the design scheme. Within my project I will be using the connectedness and

Concept My proposal is for a building in which the interiors are constantly [re]generating the new and storing memories.

This new institution is a proposal for a new way of creating, experiencing and storing human intuitivism and skill.

The main principles which form the basis of The Museum are:

Site

unfiltered memory, creating a cultural capital for all.

2. Undertones and hints of Alternate realities, moments of

interconnectedness of the theory of relativity2, tenseless theory3 and relationist theories of time4.

Although in the midst of a large-scale regeneration, Kings Cross harbours important traces of time within

its architecture and city planning. Much like the V&A, Kings Cross uses the past as a commodity. There is a heavy emphasis of conservation and the old juxtaposed against the new throughout the journey from Kings Cross St Pancras Station to Coal drops yard. In Kings Cross station John McAlsan and Partners’ Wave-form structure frames what would have been the exterior of the existing

1. An inclusion of the crafter, the process and the building as a preservation of human existence to leave an

sharing stories and physical and conceptual manifestation of time to create a capricious experience.

3.An unconventional approach with a hierarchy of temporary over permanent to dismantle the singular narrative of a museum.

The building is split into standalone zones which together form an intertwined continual journey: The Happening, The Cusp, The Archive pods, The Glade and The Helix

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

society’s relationship with storytelling; museums.

“Museum, [an] institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting the primary tangible evidence of humankind and environment” (Lewis, 1999,). Humans have an innate desire to collect and interpret objects1.

and confronting the policy issues which plague their communities” (Montsho, 2020). Unlike the institution we have just explored, Montsho theorises spaces that help us understand our past to articulate our present and glean a better future. Stripping the nostalgia from a collection and replacing it with the current human condition may alter the activity of a museum, but also what is considered a valued cultural memetic.

My building The Museum, aims to challenge the current perception of a museum. No longer a house of hoarded collections, instead the institution creates the collections.

The building itself will have an influence on the work created and exhibited and as the works are constantly regenerating as will the building and what it represents.

No longer just a commodity and inclusive of the making process. The function is reliant on external intervention so as not to create a totalitarian system of cultural

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The Singular Narrative of a Museum Translating these ideas into the architectural spaces around us drew my attention to an institution that plays a key role in society’s relationship with storytelling; museums.

Section Image shows activities happening simultaneously whilst continual objects; The Mรถbius Strip and The Helix Ascent connect the spaces.

Ascent. Each space represents a moment in time unique to the viewer and portion of a process. The Happening is the zone for creation. The Cusp is the zone for exhibiting the works created in The Happening. The Archive pods store the exhibition virtually and using Augmented Reality technology future viewers can experience themselves in the exhibition post exhibition. The glade is the main entrance hall which also functions as a communal storytelling zone. The helix ascent is the continual pathway weaving through the building. Connecting the spaces on a metaphysical plane are inaccessible Collateral spaces, inaccessibles liminal liminal spaces which draw the theories of time into fruition.

Activities of The Happening The Happening, the representation of the present, is

a place dedicated for the creation of the craft. Craft within in this piece of writing adopts Rosanne Cash’s philosophy “Craft is the dovetailing of discipline and imagination, dedication and inspiration” (Hopkins, 2020) The Happening allows for many different forms of discipline including, form related to the body or digital data to grow. The environment surrounding a space can influence any creative outcome. So, designation of

studio space should give any outcome a unique identity tethered to the building and tethering the building to the outcome. Unlike institutions explored in this proposal The Museum recognizes the crafter and process by including both within its identity.

Located on the ground floor, the entrance to The Happening is separate from the main entrance on the west wing of the building. The space is designed as an empty shell allowing for different forms of intervention depending on the user. The vast open space mirrors the first and second floors to allow for a seamless curation and transition.

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Activities of The Cusp The Cusp is the exhibition space, the interpretive space, a present based on moments of the past. Within this space only works created in The Happening will be shown here with no permanent exhibitions, only temporary resulting

experience.

theory of time and Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Activities of The Archive Pod The Archive pods are the ever present past, reflecting not only the tenseless theory of time but also Kings Cross’s use of past as its identity. Each exhibition in the building will be recorded in a media format and stored within The Archive pods Using virtual reality technology, the viewer will be able to see themselves within this recording as if they were physically in the space. This concept of leaving a virtual memory was influenced by the VR project “Where Thoughts Go”5. As technology advances as does potential for virtual preservation, using this concept viewers in 2100 should be able to experience an unfiltered exhibition in 2020 thus creating another timeline and reality. This preservation creates a cultural capital accessible to all.

The collateral space within The Happening links to The Cusp. Throughout The Happening there are viewports which show a meter from the ground up into The Cusp.

I made a deliberate decision to show a cramped one metre view port using a theme from Boon Jong Ho’s film Parasite (2019). Throughout the film he uses vertical lines and spaces to show the divide between the classes within the two families. Specifically, the poor family live in a semi basement apartment with a window at ground level.

Symbolically this showed a family not quite submerged and almost in reach of a better life. Within my design these moments looking up instil a vision of the future and what is to come for the crafter. This pertains to tenseless theory of time as, looking into the future is as real as the crafter being present in The Happening.

Creating a confined individualistic experience, the Archive Pods are 2500mm high and 1500mm wide, harbouring a single stool and user headset. Split into two halves one half of the pod is made from sanded carbon fibre and the other a one-way mirror with the mirror on the exterior.

The inaccessible liminal space within The Cusp connects The Cusp to The Happening, using a theory of time travel based on Einsteins theory of relativity. If space and time are connected time travel would mean you would jump to another point in space. The only way for you to go back in time is if you were to go back along the timeline you came, which would mean for an outside observer you

The User Experiences There are two distinct experiences within this space; the crafter and the viewer. Without the individual the interiors adopt a relationist theory of time which relies on the measure of change. Without the perception of both the users and viewers the spaces stand alone as does time within the space.

To understand the differing perceptions between the Crafter and the viewer we have to appreciate the different motivations. Crafter A enters the building with an intent to create. The Happening is their present, the Cusp is their future and the Archive Tunnel is their collective past; a past not personal. Once Crafter A moves to the Happening the Archive tunnel becomes their future.

Whilst Crafter A is creating in the Happening Crafter B is exhibiting in the Cusp. To Crafter B the Happening is their past whilst simultaneously being Crafter A’s present.

in a hierarchy of temporary over permanent. Split over two levels and a mezzanine level the space loops over

The viewer however enters the building with an intent to experience, query and interpret. Once the viewer passing

uses a controlled single pathway with moments and openings along the way for exhibition work allowing for a

collective past and the future. However, the viewer may then join the cycle of the crafter creating a further thread

itself which allows for a fluid movement and pacing within the space. I took this concept from 180 The Strand which

fully immersed viewer.

Similar to The Happening the spatial conditions allow for multiple interventions with a five-metre ceiling height on the second floor to allow for a lighting rig. The curation of the space is dictated by the crafter which allows for a diverse plethora of voices and unconventional viewer

through The Glade their experience starts in the Cusp as their present, the Archive Pods simultaneously their

in the timeline.

Collateral Spaces The Collateral Spaces are inaccessible liminal spaces which connect the spaces on a metaphysical plane using three elements, vignettes, reflection and recording.

Conceptually driving these spaces are the tenseless

would look like your motioning backward whilst they are continuing on as normal. Using this idea, large screens along the walls within The Cusp will show the process of creation of the works being shown in reverse. This not only gives a glimpse back in time but also includes the process as a part of the exhibition, to highlight the significance of the passage of time rather than the focus solely on the end product.

The inaccessible liminal space within the Archive Pod is the collage of viewpoints created by the components of the pod]. Influenced by the wearable object the Archive pod uses a convex mirror placed in front of the viewer to create the collaging. The one-way mirror behind the viewer allows the viewer to see out onto The Cusp. So, whilst sitting in the pod the user sees themselves virtually using the VR headset however directly in front, they see themselves sitting in a pod with The Cusp (their now past) as a backdrop. Activated by The Tenseless Theory of time this shows the different realties and body within the space being able to exist simultaneously.

The Möbius Strip

The Möbius Strip runs through the building weaving through each as a physical representation of a continual

time loop as well as the main lighting scheme for the building. The design is influenced by MC Eschers depiction of the Möbius strip. The Möbius strip is a mathematic one-sided object. To create a Möbius strip you take a strip of paper give it an odd number of half twists and then tape the ends together. If you draw a line from the centre, you’ll see that the line runs on both sides

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The Cusp The Cusp is the exhibition space, the interpretive space, a present based on moments of the past. Within this space only works created in The Happening will be shown here with no permanent exhibitions, only temporary resulting in a hierarchy of temporary over permanent.

The Happening The Happening, the representation of the present, is a place dedicated for the creation of the craft. The Happening allows for many different forms of discipline including, form related to the body or digital data to grow.

of the loop. The Möbius strip as a mathematical object falls into the tenseless theory of time category, showing the continual loop between time and reality The Museum harbours.

Constructed using flexible led lighting sheets The Möbius Strip has an airy quality as it weaves through the floors in the building. The lightweight material is minimally destructive to the building and is propped up with fastenings at the contact points throughout the building.

The lighting scheme can be manipulated and bespoke to each exhibition. Without intervention The Möbius emits a soft white light during the day and a warm yellow light in the evening / night.

A thread found through Kings Cross as explored in my findings is the old against the new, specifically John

Mcalsans installation in Kings Cross station. Using this theme, The Möbius strip juts through the interior framing the exterior whilst simultaneously illuminating the buildingThe Helix Ascent Similar to The Möbius strip The Helix ascent is another physical manifestation of a continual object illustrating time]. Using the form of The Double Helix DNA strand The Helix Ascent serves as the skeleton of the building.

More than just a staircase it extends as the floors of the building looping upward and then back through itself on the descent. The stairwell portion piece together as a scissor stair. The original roof of the portion of building has been removed and extended to cover the portion above The Helix Ascent. The exterior walls around the Helix ascent have been replace with glass panels. This allows the skeleton of the building to be seen within The Glade and the outer environment.

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The Helix Ascent is made of Ductal ®, an ultra-high performing concrete used in Zaha Hadids floating staircase. This gives staircase an airy, floating aesthetic, one of transcendence and other wordily similar to The Möbius Strip. The absence of colour mirrors that of a skeleton, mirroring the rawness of the materials throughout the building. Mirroring the Collateral space within The Happening the structure intentionally restricts the user’s body from onlookers. With Viewports of the lower half and bottom half of the user.

The Glade The main entrance of the building works as a threshold between the reality outside the building and inside. I surveyed the entrance hall of different museums and

buildings of cultural importance in London and all had a vast space with at least double ceiling height. This not only gives a sense of grandeur but also illustrated that this is not a domestic setting. Within my building I have taken a direct influence from Tate Moderns turbine hall. The turbine hall functions both as a social playful space but also a space for largescale exhibitions. It also

shows the architectural features which make the building distinguishable and shows a vision into its past as Bankside Power Station.

The glade is a long vast hallway covered by a glass ceiling with an uninterrupted vista of The Helix Ascent.

Rubber flooring with seats recessed in the ground allows for a multifunctional space for sitting, sharing and playing much like The Tate Moderns Turbine hall. During my research phase I conducted field research surveying the conversations of 7 subjects sat around a fire in comparison to a dinner table. The conversations around the fire overwhelmingly centred around storytelling whilst the dinner table current events and political views. By inserting a glass ceiling, the space pulls in nature within the interiors mirroring the effects of fire within human interactions. The glass ceiling also serves as a shaft of

light guiding the user to the main building. The glass ceiling is made of a heat reflecting glass with ventilation ducts throughout to stop a greenhouse effect. Along the skirting will be led light panels as seen in the mobius strip as a continuation of the lighting scheme.

Materiality of the Building As the space is multifunctional and ephemeral, I

purposely chose to keep the materiality as simple and paired back as possible to allow for an uninterrupted intervention by the crafter.

Within their project From then on Design studio FormaFantasma “visualises the ephemeral and enduring qualities of time through the use of timeless materials: marble, brass and fabric.” (Formafantasma, 2014).

I adopted this ideology within my design by using exposed brick throughout the building highlighting the age of the building and continually bringing the exterior into the interior. This also forms a commentary of the ever existence of the past within the present that forms a large part of Kings Cross’s identity. Although the mobius strip forms the main lighting scheme of the building barrisol lighting panels are used with The Happening and The Glade with lighting pattern of the mobius Strip; soft white light during the day and warm light in the evenings.

Conclusion Alternate realties, storytelling and time; all human

part of Kings Cross’s identity. This leads to the question: why is the past such a profitable commodity? Nostalgia is an indulgent emotion and to linger is not healthy nor responsible. The Museum captures an exhibition and places the user within that moment in time for unromanticised impression. Creating a platform for a plethora of voices dismantles the singular narrative of a museum and embraces the temporary.

The Museum is an institution that encompasses past, present and future. To experience the contracting, stretching and manipulating of time elicits a deeper understanding of the human mind. Elevating the crafter and highlighting the process creates a new appreciation for the human capacity. Physical manifestations of theories of time give an endless quality to the space and unbreakable connection to the immaterial world.

“Is technology killing or enhancing our imaginations and creating alternate realties?”. The Museum does not seek to answer or tackle this question, rather become a manifestation of the human condition that led to this question.

References Benovsky, J. (2010) 'The Relationist and Substantivalist

Theories Of Time: Foes or Foes?', European Journal of Philosophy, Issue information, Page 1.

Cambridge Dictionary (2020) Reality. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ reality (Accessed: 04 January 2020).

Formafantasma (2014) From Then On. Available at: https://www.formafantasma.com/from-thenon(Accessed: 28th June 2020).

Lewis, G. (1999) Museum Cultural Institution. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/museum-culturalinstitution/The-precursors-of-museums (Accessed: 06 May 2020).

Hunt, T. (2018) Should museums return their colonial artefacts?. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ culture/2019/jun/29/should-museums-return-theircolonial-artefacts (Accessed: 06 May 2020).

constructed concepts intertwined and tethered to each other. Driven by man’s cognitive abilities, communication

Kennedy, M. (2018) Tracey Emin sends a message of love to the rest of Europe via St Pancras. Available at: https://

Principles of these alternate realties govern aspects of reality. Whilst storytelling is an innate human quality led by the need to bond it also has some more questionable connotations. Institutions such as the V&A use the innate human need to romanticise a history shrouded in brutalities whilst simultaneously profiting from that history. Using the past as a trade also forms an integral

pancras (Accessed: 09 May 2020).

and sharing stories connected together to create an immaterial reality as important as the material reality.

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/10/ tracey-emin-sends-a-message-of-love-to-europe-via-st-

Kilteni, K., Bergstrom, I., & Slater, M. (2013). ‘Drumming in immersive virtual reality: the body shapes the way we play’. IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics, 19(4), 597–605. references continues page 128

The Helix Dining Ascent Tables Intimate UserHelix The vistaAscent of theserves intimate as the dining skeleton tables. of the These building. tables utilisethan More metal just screening a staircase toitcreate extends micro-moments as the floors offor thethe users. looping upward and then back through itself building on the descent. The stairwell portion piece together as a scissor stair.

Szabolcs Farkas-Pall University of exchange An Active Re-negotiation: The Creative Youth and Corporate Culture “If you change what it means you change what it is.” - Tony Fry

@szabolcs.farkaspall LinkedIn Profile View full graduate showcase here

Abstract The programme proposal focuses on the concept of active re-negotiation and revaluation of educational environments in public spaces. It will showcase how an appropriate spatial infrastructure can facilitate an educational process, allowing students to creatively control the dynamics and maximise their performance.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

The first part of this proposal maps different educational models based on social interaction, creative value and intellectual ownership. Based on this research I started to develop the design process to provide a possible solution to break through the current corporate infrastructure of Granary square; King’s Cross and restructure the public landscape.The proposal argues the idea of designing new working environments to facilitate co-creation within a trans-disciplinary learning space, emphasising the role of the creative youth currently in the educational system.

The second part of this proposal will focus on the design of an educational institution which provides platforms for exchanges between the groups of creative youth and the public. The proposed new architecture will become a framework for a trans-disciplinary learning environment to challenge the current corporate way of teaching and the use of technology what can act as a barrier of sharing knowledge and hands on experiences.

In a review by Senior Fellow in Social Innovation Waddock (2008) she describes corporate infrastructure as something that is part of who we are, it allows one to be acknowledged and be part of a community but it can also act as a barrier of self expression and ownership within public spaces. To change the perspective from Waddock’s point of view, we have to be part of this corporate infrastructure where knowledge and power is shared between stakeholders. According to Murninghan(2011) this method of sharing provides a collaborative process of co-creation that produces new insights, information and knowledge. It is a shared environment where parties recognise that you learn what works by learning what doesn’t, through a continued process of trial and error.

It is a learning environment where collaborative partners recognise no one has all the answers and the decision is a mutual accountability, where communities, companies and other stakeholders recognise their responsibility toward each other.

Corporate Infrastructure in Public Spaces Through my research I developed an understanding of the characteristics found in corporate educational

Creative Educational Institution (CEI) Creative Educational Institution (CEI) refers to (according to Rancière, 1991) a space that does justice to everyone's ability to see, to produce and to think; zones that allow the tacit exchange of knowledge, emancipation and empowerment of different creatives’ within the corporate infrastructure. The vision of the programme is to transform the existing building and its surrounding network into a home of a creative educational institution where the youth is actively engaging to breakthrough the

institutions. How excessive security measures that are there to ‘protect’ somebody would make you think if you are in an educational institution or a prison ?

acquired or new. It embodies the idea of cultural capital.

It defines educational institutions and their role in the corporate infrastructure. It is a process where youth

infrastructures in order to find ways to initiate change. I realised that the corporate infrastructure forms borders and boundaries in and around creative educational

corporate infrastructure of the site. According to Reay’s in Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion(2010) creative educational institutions are a place of knowledge sharing,

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Platform of Exchanges The Kitchen Table Line drawing illustrating the sharing of environments Visualisation through the use of materials.

Site Mapping Third Floor Bar Area Searching forcombination activity noiseofaround site.create unity within The prudent materials the space yet variations in texture and tone create interest. the soft linen fabric choices off set the hard surfaces and strong lines created by the natural stones.

CONSTRUCTION SITE

KX PRIVATE HOUSING AREA

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS

ARGENT REGENERATION

C ANAL

1.

1. St. Pancreas station

BRIDGE TO GRANARY SQUARE

MAIN ROAD

preparation of the programme I investigated the site and the buildings around Granary Square. Although the idea of ‘spatial freedom’ is apparent in the ways the creative youth can engage with it, the site is empty with no characteristics. In order to have a better understanding, I studied the history of the site from the historic rave paradise era to present day. I focused on how the creative youth negotiates ownership for themselves and tries to infiltrate the corporate infrastructure.

Looking at the site and the building from an interior design perspectiveI I realised it was not an inviting public space or community. Although crowds are present and passing by there is no community sense to this public space. I saw a potential because of the creative youth being there, to establish an event space and an educational hub.

According to Skelton (1965) “The public street has always been the ability to invest one’s living space within beneath - occupy define and decorate.” At the time of the rave era the creative youth had the chance to do so by forming a space with ephemeral quality, a fluid composition, lack of organisation but a very fixed routine.

They transformed and implanted a new meaning for the site, one that was used for a different purpose, followed by a fixed routine of ephemeral activities such as raving.

With this they negotiated ownership and meaning for themselves through the use of sonic environments they performed on site.

Going forward, in 2020 the site is a privately owned public space purposefully designed for traveling through rather than for socialising within. Based on my mappings on activities performed by the creative youth, by-passers and workers, I concluded that the site itself is unused after 8pm and I noted that other forms of regulations act as invisible curfews of the site. This would suggest that it is harder to negotiate ownership on site.

The interior of CSM is certainly an edited version of an art institution. Its apparent layout and clean surfaces, blank white walls and overall atmosphere resembles a five story corporate office building. It transpired that knowledge sharing happens in-between walls. Having locks on different department rooms and studios raises the

question on artistic autonomy mentioned in the work of De Kunst(2014). From an open discussion with one of my university tutors I became aware that creative universities, including CSM, are neglecting social interactions and ways to negotiate meaning of objects or environments in ways of teaching and learning. Despite students should be building a true connection with each other and with the material of our surrounding environment they are not integrated as much.The creative youth is codependent on one tool, technology, rather being exposed to many.

Social interactions that come from giving meanings to ideas and objects is lost because of the way technology is applied to the learning experience. Through the use of computers the learning experience becomes static.

In conclusion, the site research showed that there is a potential in developing a creative educational institution, that would work with the input of the students and teachers, the users building the facility, which in turn empowers internal structure of the university and improves engagement of creative youth.

Design Concept In order to define the values of the creative youth inside and outside of a CEI, an alternative creative institution is proposed where the youth can learn and achieve their best potential in a trans-disciplinary working environment.

c.1851 to the early 1860s and was part of Lewis Cubitt’s design for the Goods Yard complex (Argent St George, LCR and Exel, 2004). The building itself sits right on what looks like an ‘island of youth’, CSM being right across. Its main access is a bridge that connects this ‘island of youth’ with the surrounding. In this context island of youth refers to the current demographic of Kings Cross who takes up more than 50%(62.3%) according to Camden Council(2015) report. They are the main age-group who engages with the site. It is a location where they can spend money. Coal Drops Yard being in short distance.

University of Exchange (UE), the proposed institution will facilitate a learning mechanism that challenges the status quo of a CEI on social engagement, redefining it through design, cooperation and learning involving the students(creators) and allowing access to the

public(pioneers). I researched the literature to develop a better understanding of alternative creative educational institutions from the perspective of social engagement, knowledge sharing, process, ownership and ways they tell us about art education.

Copenhagen Free University (CFU) according to the Free U Resistance Committee (2011) was an attempt to

reinvigorate the emancipatory aspect of research and learning. As a collective, they intended to bring the idea of the university back to life. They opened up a discussion about who and what defines knowledge in the corporate infrastructure and the relationship between knowledge and life and that all forms of human activity carries a level of knowledge. To do so, they declared their own home, where they lived, as a university, a public institution.

Within that shared space the nature of the process was sharing and mutual empowerment, not focusing on a final product, but rather on the process of communication and redistribution of facts and feelings. It was a multi-layered way of teaching, learning and skill sharing that lead to the breakdown of the meaning of university and knowledge exchange. Learning about CFU made me aware that a creative educational institution needs to be open ended, always exploring, reactive environment where the process is a collaboration, more important than the end product.

Meanwhile the institution will become an agora of new ideas, activities and will alter the corporate infrastructure

The concept of living inside the university will manifest in the event scheme of UE by creating an activity

My proposed design scheme to accommodate the agora of new ideas is by opening up the interior of the building

accommodate the activities. I will develop these ideas further in my studio practice via the introduction of spatial

of the site.

where floors would become platforms of sharing and exchanging, to form a new vision of its surrounding.

The concept was to design an institution that makes the creative youth and its activities visible.

The institution will be part of the Coal Offices located South-west of Granary, between Wharf Road and Regent’s Canal towpath. The offices were built in phases from

programme that correlates with the King’s Cross 24 hour accessibility. Part of the institution will be designed to

lighting and lighting structures.

To better understand and interpret ways how creative youth could share knowledge the proposal looks at an educational practice that puts the body at the centre as a source of knowledge. Black Mountain College(BCM) is an alternative experimental art college. According to The Art

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

Site Granary Square, King’s Cross according to Furseth’s article can be described as a reformed typology for a newly developed corporate infrastructure. In the

I looked at Central Saint Martins (CSM) and investigated how CSM lets the creative youth negotiate ownership and knowledge between themselves and the outside/public.

I identified, through a a series of images, that the building is regulated more than how we might imagine an art institution. Its experimentation and creation is mostly hidden and owned by the institution not its creators. This lead to an investigation through a set of photographic mappings of the current ways students express themselves to create noise of actions.

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culture is formed and shared. It is a situation where students bring their own experiences to impact the values and morals of the corporate infrastructure. This resulted in questioning if current environments don’t allow for the youth to express their creativity outside of their institutions walls, how can they engrave their own meaning and beliefs on/within public space? According to Pultz(2015) in her journal of youth studies it is mainly the creative youth who is left little space or responsibility outside an institutions border, to go beyond the institution, to engage with their learning and practice and share it in an educational, social or cultural context.

Adaptable Teaching Mechanism inside UE

History BCM was founded on the principles of a community-centred education with the mission to create ‘complete’ people. It was formed to experience education in a communal setting, where traditional hierarchies between faculty and students were subverted. It was meant to inspire the individual student with a sense of his or her relations to others and the environment. This would become a concept where with the use of materials the atmosphere could be experienced, what imitates a semi-casual learning environment. I will explore and test rough materials such as concrete and cast iron as to create a semi-casual learning environment.

BCM’s ethos acknowledged the student who takes ownership of the dynamics of the institution and the learning mechanism. It promoted a mechanism with the emphasis on the hand made process within a visual

and sonic environment. It was a place where Merce Cunningham, choreographer who was part of the college tried to build a direct relation between product and creator evoking the conscious mind through movement, to propose a platform where everyone is a participant.

In studio I would develop this through massing chore spatial activities around movement and spatial relation to one another. These activities such as performance, theatre play will be a learning mechanism where the body what I refer to as a tool/ extension is part of the learning and sharing. This learning mechanism will work to produce your own becoming, a social environment where the users gets to learn, anticipate and adopt new ways to think.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

UE is designed as an institution that disappears to give way to event, audio-visual, physical presentation of works that can be seen by the public not as a perfect form, but rather in its whole process of making. It will allow the creative youth to be responsible for its dynamics of the institution to provide platforms in which we are open to collaboration within; and input from outside of its physical and metaphorical borders.

Another aspect that would be shared is 59Rivoli’s view on the use of the whole building as an expression of the artist. The walls and floors are covered in art and the front walls of the building are constantly evolving with character, covered in different artistic expression such as banners and balloons. In studio I will develop the idea of the facade, with the introduction of an artist canvas a surface to exchange artistic expression and information.

In the view of 59 Rivoli’s public and artist relationship I expanded my research looking at current networks that can tell more about ways to sustain a relationship with the outside world within a corporate infrastructure.

Christiania according to Smith(2020) started as a protest for the lack of affordable housing in 1971 in Denmark. It is a self governing society where each end every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. It is the collective who controls the land in the heart of Copenhagen. It is a self-sustained network where sharing becomes necessity. The concept of sharing as necessity in UE would be through sharing of material and workshops. Workshops where construction, wood and other materials are shared between pioneer/ creator and provided by Camden Recycling Centre.

Another aspect of Christiania village I would consider applying in UE is the relationship between themselves and the public. At Christiania the public is their main source of income; meanwhile it is also the public who is thought of another way of living, another way of coexisting within a society. It is a place where the public, who pays to be part of the experience, learns that by sharing materials, knowledge or set of tools they are breaking down the boundaries of the corporate infrastructure. In studio, I developed activity diagrams to investigate how the publics role in the experience could be choreographed within the different activities and how materials and tools would be shared between themselves.

59Rivoli- Artist Squat Studios according to Whatman in his Culture Trip article(2017) is a place for artists to create, live and expose; to prove the validity of a cultural

During my concept development I started to explore in what ways the creative youth and their expressions can be made visible from outside. I examined temporary structures in particular the use of scaffolding to convey

collaborative environment where some spaces are very clearly defined as who it belongs to. In other spaces it is

where the temporary structure makes the experience of the performance and the people inside visible.

alternative. It is an art studio that makes the artist visible at work and to interact with them and their spaces. It is a

not immediately clear who has created what. It is an art studio that reflects constant change. Within my institution,

the blurring of environments between spaces would take on the idea of a fluid layout, enabling the creative youth to talk to each other, to spark ideas off one another, and to work in the most flexible way imaginable. This would prompt the introduction of a vertical narrative in which the creative youth fully exposes its way of working, process and knowledge exchange.

the message of being in constant movement. Newcastle stage at Horst Arts& Music Festival is an example

Through model making I tested how scaffolding could eventually be part of the building’s existing structure.

By makingmodels I have been able to introduce a sustainable technique transforming scaffolding into furniture pieces. Consequently the scaffolding/furniture becomes a tool for expression, communication and movement.

SELFWARE.surface (2003) is a 1:1 intervention, a

framework experiment that covers the building and it is continuously developed and used for performances by the participants. Inside of UE the scaffolding will form furniture pieces, adaptable and tailored through use and function. Across UE the structure becomes an expression of contemporary architecture, in constant movement and adaptation. It forms a window for communication, an interface between the artwork and outside audience to view.

Design Realisation After I improved my expertise in finding solutions to re-negotiate and revaluate learning environments and processes for the creative youth, I developed a design methodology to facilitate these activities to perform spatially and visually.

The programmes layout, activities and spatial zones were influenced by the Fun Palace designed by Cedric Price. The Fun Palace according to Stanley(2005) was a “university of the streets”. I applied its method of spatial planning that provides educational opportunities inside a socially interactive machine to the layout of UE. This would form a vertical narrative where the building is divided into three main floors-in accordance with the structure of the process in which the creator and its creation is made visible.

Ground floor is where the making happens, accommodating the student bar, wood and metal workshops and the material storage linked with the outside crane. It is an environment designed to share knowledge and tools but also socialise. It allows the pioneers to enter into the ‘back stage’ of the institution revealing how work is crafted. Dekmantel, the main floor, is where the work is tested and performed. It consists of the main stage where performance, theatre play, lectures, social entertainment happens. The loft, third floor is housing the exhibition spaces as well as student labs where the creative youth can have their own studios.

The institutions spatial adaptability is essential in order to aid the above activities and dynamics where the users defines what, where and when will happen.

UE’s structure has the same principles as the Fun Palace, to show constant movement; a structure that suggests

constant progress. This resulted UE’s structure to be split into two: permanent and non-permanent.

The permanent structure is based on proximity. It forms

a cooperative learning environment and over-crossing of platforms. By the introduction of a framework for navigation that cuts through all the floors the building becomes alive. It is an environment in which the student is part of different activities. For designing the nonpermanent structure I looked at Lochal Library, designed

by Civic Architects in the Netherlands and ways they used

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Space ‘in-between’ Use of scaffolding to blurt the boundaries between inside and outside

Agora of Activities Welcome Hub 24 hour timline of UE showing the night and day activities Visualisation

to accommodate different activities such as lectures and performances.

UE being an event and performance space equipped with all the framework to function well, I looked at clubs and ways I could recreate the atmosphere of being in one. I observed Berghain club in Berlin, Germany and its use of concrete and metal for the interior. Through the use of concrete and different metals such cast iron the building would emerge as a robust surface that can uphold the creative youth's expressions.

The UE having to accommodate social events that will happen at night I looked at lighting and lighting structures which could make youth and my programme activities visible at night. I looked at club lighting, in particular beam lights. In studio I further developed

the idea to make the creative youth visible at night. I designed a lighting structure that covers the building in a tartan grid from the outside. It is a lighting structure that responds to movement. By making the outside lighting structure respond to movement of people it can create a profound connection between inside performances and Granary Square.

Conclusion University of Exchange takes on the concept that the creative youth and its actions can initiate change in the corporate infrastructure.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

It is a proposed experiment where the creative youth renegotiates ownership of a privately owned public space within an alternative creative educational institution. It is an experiment to break through the boundaries of an existing corporate infrastructure by introducing a sustainable structure to the site. As a designer I proposed to infiltrate the corporate infrastructure of Granary Square by making the creative youth and their process of work visible at all times. Through the implication of a temporary structure I proposed permanent platforms for social engagement and interaction. Looking at it from todays perspective; social and cultural exchange of views and ownership within goes beyond the corporate infrastructure. Developing my programme made me

realise that there will always be a bigger network to break down, one that is made up of social injustice, for example.

To do so we need to act as a society where the institution becomes part of us in a constant process of negotiation, sharing of values and knowledge.

References De Kunst, S (2014) ‘ In between meeting, digging and eating: six years of hosting the Festival Belluard Bollwerk International.’, Journal of Visual Art Practice Vol. 13, Iss. 3 doi:10.1080/14702029.2014.970394 International Heritage Conservation and Management (2004). King's Cross CentralHeritage Baseline StudyPart 1Historic Buildings Available at :https://padlet-uploads. storage.googleapis.com/411850813/2becbdf9e2236 5d371311e1a7ad6622d/COAL_AND_FISH_OFFICES_ Historic.pdf(Accessed: 14 January 2020).

Free U Resistance Committee (2011) All power to the free universities of the future. Available at:https://www. artandeducation.net/announcements/109996/all-powerto-the-free-universities-of-the-future

Furseth, J. (No Date)Raves and resistance: the hidden history of Kings Cross. Availabel At:https://www.huckmag. com/shorthand_story/raves-and-rebellion-the-hiddenhistory-of-kings-cross/ (Accessed: 10 February 2020).

Murninghan, M.’Improving Impact: Collaborative MultiParty, Multi-Sector Engagement (2011).’New England Journal of Public Policy. 2018, Vol. 30 Issue ISSN:10749016X

Pultz, S.(2015) ‘Unemployed by choice: young creative people and the balancing of responsibilities through strategic self-management’, Journal of Youth Studies, doi: 10.1080/13676261.2014.992318 Rancière, J. (1991). The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Smit, T(2020) ‘Freetown Christiania: an economic 'nowtopia' at the heart of a European capital city’.

Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/ oureconomy/freetown-christiania-economic-nowtopiaheart-european-capital-city/ (Accessed: 14 January 2020).

Skelton,T.(1998) Cool places : geographies of youth cultures. Edited by T.Skelton and G.Valentine. London : Routledge, 1998.

Stanley, M.(2005) ‘The Fun Palace: Cedric Price’s experiment in architecture and technology’ To be

published in Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research. Available at: https://www.bcchang.com/

transfer/articles/2/18346584.pdf(Accessed: 13 January 2020).

The Art History (no date) Black Mountain College .

Available at: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/ black-mountain-college/

Whatman, P.(2017)’59 Rivoli: The Art Squat Of Paris’ Culture Trip. Available at :https://theculturetrip.com/ europe/france/paris/articles/59-rivoli-the-art-squat-ofparis/(Accessed: 10 January 2020).

Reay D.(2010)’Education and cultural capital: the implications of changing trends in education policies’Issue 2: Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion Doi: 10.1080/0954896042000267161 Waddock, S(2008) ‘The development of corporate responsibility/corporate citizenship’ Organization Management Journal DOI:10.1057/omj.2008.5

Experience Floor Illustration showing creators and pioneers working together for the annual show.

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

OFF-GRID

Isabela Alves AIRPLANE - MODE

I sabela Alves Airplane-mode

A new residential design typology that looks at the absence of technology that creates electromagnetic privacy leading to tranquility, reduced radiation risk and more opportunities for face to face interactions.

@i.alves_design

I believe that it is important to have the choice to disconnect from technology especially when you are at home. Technology has given us the benefit of always being connected to those far away but also isolates us from connecting to humans occupying the same space as us. I am interested in tackling this problem by including privacy from technology in the architecture and design of interior spaces. As a designer I want to create a residential space which has restrictions to technology signals and radiation in some areas to provide a space of purity without any harmful radiation. This will allow the occupants to live a healthier, more balanced life and enable them to communicate with other individuals without any distractions from technology.

The Site The site for this project is the Coal and Fish Offices with 18,000 sq ft in total, located on the Regent’s Canal in King’s Cross. In the Victorian era King’s Cross was predominantly industrial consisting of contaminated brownfield land. Before the industrial revolution it was a place in which people went to relax as many spas and inns were located in King’s Cross. In 1851 the Coal offices were built as part of Lewis Cubitt’s design for the Goods Yard. They were originally designed as offices; the buildings are called Coal and Fish offices as they were initially used by people employed to monitor the flow of coal through the yards. It is now used by a British designer Tom Dixton as an office, retail store, showroom and café.

BA (hons) Interior Design

and health/socialising. I have created a new residential design typology called ‘Airplane mode’. In this design an absence of technology creates electromagnetic privacy that leads to tranquillity, reduced radiation risk, and opportunities for face to face interactions.

Due to recent development of technology, my generation can access screens anywhere and anytime whether at home, at the office or in public spaces. We sit in front of screens for work and we sit in front of screens to connect to friend and family (social media) and for entertainment (TV, computer games), which leads to excessive usage and screen exposure. This can cause work life to take over personal life reducing social interactions. This has a detrimental effect to a person’s health and well-being over time as you are always exposed to the radiation from

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View full graduate showcase here

Introduction Technology has taken over our lives and will play an ever-increasing role in the future but we have any electromagnetic privacy? Will there be a way to switch technology off or into ‘airplane mode’?

The aim of my programme proposal is to create a space that provides a balance between work/technology

wireless devices and you end up not with too little face to face human interaction. My programme proposal will tackle this issue.

The developments around the area are offices, universities, student accommodations and residences, most of which use the latest high-speed wireless technology, exposing locals to harmful radiation.

Knowing this, I decided to create a space that merges the local hyper connectivity with a technology-free safe zone to enhance users’ work-life balance.

The target users for this project are young working

professionals 25-35-year-old, who are either selfemployed or can work remotely and want to live rich lives full of connectivity. The users require advanced

technology for work but also value human interaction and demand ‘electromagnetic privacy’ and healthy lifestyle away from radiation in their personal residential space. continues page 91

Final Room Final Visualisation

The Void Final visualisation

merge.

Co-living Space The Co-living space is inspired by the Faraday cage, which was created by British scientist Michael Faraday in 1836. The Faraday cage is an enclosure designed to protect what is inside of the cage from electric fields, the conducting materials used create a shield for the interior, the electromagnetic charge stays on the exterior of the cage, while cancelling out radiation within the cage’s interior. (‘How does Faraday cage work’ by Interesting Engineering, accessed 04.05.2020).

Designers have tried to incorporate the Faraday cage in residential design work, for example the exhibition ON/ OFF by Collective Sibling’s created a Faraday cage to block out mobile reception and Wi-fi signals. (Dezeen, accessed 11.05.20 ‘ON/OFF installation’). I believe this project was successful as it removed users from digital connectivity, allowing them to interact in a ‘cold spot’ away from technology. This exhibition was minimalistic using simple materials such as metal mesh to block out the signal and circle-perforated sheeting to create a grid effect, to symbolise being off the grid as you would when being disconnected from technology.

In my studio practice I have created a residential space including electromagnetic privacy similar to the RAM house. The RAM house has given me inspiration for the structure and materials that I use in my project. I weave RSF absorber foam, metal mesh and steel plates into the co-living walls of the building to create a safe space. I also like the idea of modules for storing furniture which I apply in the areas of activity to reduce clutter.

The co-living part of my building uses conducting materials inside the outer walls surrounding the building

which will not be visible to the naked eye. The co-living part of the building is where users will sleep, eat and socialise. The ground floor consists of an open plan kitchen and eating area designed for users to sit together in small intimate groups to eat and chat. The kitchen space can be used for cooking lessons to encourage a sense of community in the building.

The first floor is the common leisure area where recreational activities take place. In most house blueprints the communal areas are built around a TV and sofa, but the common area in this building is designed around recreational hobbies to keep occupants active and encourage them to either relax or socialise. There are themed areas for gardening, a book club, a board games room and mini yoga studio as well as a small indoor garden with a large tree.

and balance, this element can be included in the space with the use of rocks and crystals. Water symbolises wisdom and relaxation, this can be achieved in a space with the use of mirrors and reflective surfaces. Fire symbolises energy and passion, this can be added to a space with the use of red colour scheme and candles.

Metal symbolises logic and intelligence, and you can add this element with the addition of metal frames or sculptures. (Invaluable gallery ‘Feng shui’, accessed 12.05.20). The concept of Feng shui in terms of design is harmonizing yourself with your surroundings, the idea of tranquillity and balance in a space.

In my studio practice I integrated Feng Shui in the design of my building by incorporating the following elements.

Earth -the walls and floors are designed with two types of concrete (polished concrete and matte concrete) to add

the element of earth into the space, symbolising balance.

I have also added green marble to the bathrooms for the same purpose.

Wood - I have applied this element by adding an indoor garden on the second floor including a tree, grass and plants. There is a vertical garden wall in the void. Plants can be found in the design of the frame behind the bar located on ground floor and the private rooms on the second and third floor. On the second floor of the coliving area the entire structure holding up the private bedrooms is made of wooden beams. This gives the space the feeling of balance, stability and nature.

Metal - I want the co-working area to symbolize intelligence so I have designed the void wall with thick metal strips.

Water - glass is a reflective surface and can be found in all areas of my space including the private offices, private rooms and the front wall of the co-living space which will make users feel relaxed and feel as if they are outdoors.

RAM house by Space Caviar is in my opinion the most

The second floor is the only private enclosed space in the building, with self-contained private living pods containing a bedroom and shower for residents to sleep, refresh and rest in. The design of each room contains concrete on the floor and a white and green colour pallet for the walls and furniture as well as plants. The front of the living space is made out of glass with a white frame providing a view to the activity space below and the outdoors. The walkway can be accessed behind the

residential setting, while applying creative structures and designs. The RAM house is a prototype domestic

For the design of the co-living area I am using the concept of ‘Feng Shui’. Feng shui is an ancient Chinese

private rooms include calming sounds of nature to give the feeling of the outdoors. The building is designed with

blueprints to create a safer space from technology. The materials used to block out radiation include RS absorber foam, metal mesh and steel plates. The RAM house gives a temporary experience of being protected from radiation to experience the purifying effect this has on the human mind and body. The RAM house uses miniliving to effectively use the small size of the space and

used in the context of a home and include the elements wood, earth, metal, water and fire each with its unique purpose.

successful response to the Faraday cage as they have incorporated the concept of the Faraday cage in a

house that was created to block out electromagnetic signals. The idea of the RAM house is redefining house

private rooms.

philosophy that seeks to find balance and harmony between elements. The tools used in Feng Shui can be

Wood symbolises growth, this element can be incorporated in the design of interiors with the use of plants and wooden furniture. Earth symbolises stability

The interior of the living side is natural and relaxing, with thick polished concrete floors and walls, wooden beams and plants. There is a glass opening in the front wall of the building to allow appealing views and natural light

inside the space, users can enjoy the natural light while doing the activities and relaxing in the indoor garden. All

sliding doors to create additional space, the window and door frames will be black to contrast the subtle colour of the concrete.

Co-Working In an article by Infrastructure Intelligence ‘how workplace design can make a difference’ Nicola Gillen discusses how the design of a space can effect productivity and well-being. “National Grid has found that redesign of

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

Programme Proposal My program proposal includes three elements – the first building is a co-working space full of technology, hyper fast Wi-Fi and communication devices, the second building is a residential co-living space, which is completely void of electronic devices, signals or external connections in order to provide a physical ‘airplane mode’ space away from all technology where humans can find inner peace, interact with one another face to face and experience connectivity in its purest natural form. Between the two buildings is a void designed as a transition space where the two extremes meet and

the architectural signal blocking capabilities become structural components of the house itself. The interior of the space includes modular cabinets to store appliances and furniture, the modules work as an electromagnetic shield.

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be based on the sequence of daily activities that willencourage productivity and variety in the work space while also protecting them from radiation and making them interact better with one another.

Elevation Illustration Section communicating the three main environments of Airplane-Mode.

its headquarters office space has improved productivity 8% and saved up to £10M in operating costs”. Research shows that regular breaks for exercise, nature and variety in the workplace can help boost productivity and concentration, which is why I have built these elements into my design. The co-working building is specifically designed as for work. The interior will be open plan and modern. The private offices are designed as pods in the shape of a hexagon, these are located on the second floor, the interior is made with wood and glass for the walls and with plant pots for decoration. The first floor is open plan with arches made from the hexagon pods from the floor above. The interior is designed to provide workers with variety as the space can change depending on the requirements – hot desks as well as standing desks can be moved around to create flexible and adaptive work solutions. The first floor can be used for group

discussions and collaborative informal meetings. Large monitors, TVs and touch screens along with high end computers and teleconferencing equipment enable users to connect to and work with others worldwide. Users of the dedicated pods can control whether the glass walls of their offices are see-through or not depending their mood.

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BA (hons) Interior Design

The ground floor of the co-working side has an exercising area as well as a large multi-functional space used as a cinema / conference room / digital gallery. The exercise area is close to the void for easy access and is split into four parts– boxing, rope skipping, trampoline and yoga.

Users are encouraged to take regular breaks and exercise to increase productivity and well-being in the workspace.

The exercises are chosen specifically to increase blood circulation and concentration. Also on the ground floor is a large multi-functional space where the walls can display a 360 degrees surround image via ceiling mounted projectors so that the room can be used interactively in meetings, as a cinema or as a digital art gallery for entertainment. The interior of the cinema/digital gallery room is going to be dark, with a bold black colour on the ceiling and dim lights, there will be gigantic bean bags scattered around the space for the cinema room but these can be stored away for the other adaptations of the space.

decided to utilise a void as a buffer zone between the two parts. The void is one of the main design features of the building, where nature and technology meet and fight each other. This clash is visible in the merging of the two background walls. I use metal with drastic modern shapes inspired by Moroni Arquitectos in the design of the coworking side of the wall and Frei Otto inspired nature and natural patterns for the design of the co-living side of the wall.

Frei Otto’s book ‘Occupying and Connecting’ reveals that ‘human spontaneous networks of urbanity follow a similar pattern to ones formed in nature through the structure of leaves, insect colonies and soap bubbles’. The author’s drawings show similarities between the patterns in nature and human urbanity, which in my interpretation also shows connections of both nature and humans. I am

In March 2018 the National Toxicology Program published a study confirming a clear link between mobile phone usage and heart tissue cancer and it also found that there was some evidence of the link between mobile phone usage and brain cancer as well as adrenal glands cancer.

Apple has also issued a safety warning in every I-phone manual advising that you should keep your phone 15mm away from the body or you may be exposed to radiation

Moroni Arquitectos designed the façade of ‘Universidad Siglo 21’ a university campus located in Argentina. The

This research proves that being exposed to this level of radiation can pose serious health risks, we are constantly surrounded by technology both at work and at home.

This research has influenced the co-living side of my building and created the idea of providing a ‘safe spot’ away from technology.

inspired by Otto’s work but wanted to take his concept to the next level by adding nature itself into my urban space. On the co-living side of the background wall, I have added a real vertical garden wall to represent the natural and pure side of the building.

design of the façade includes irregular angular opening puncture through the concrete. The exterior of the tower is made of concrete with openings through the walls allowing viewpoints into the building and introducing natural light into the space. The interior is mostly made of metal and glass with some concrete giving a transparent bright effect. The large proportion and vertical structure of the façade and angular openings have given the building its unique look. I am interested in the technique of the punctured openings and think the idea of viewpoints through the exterior wall in this form is very successful.

I have used this as an inspiration for the design of the coworking wall but have adapted it for my space. For the co-living side, I used thick strips of metal to create a wall with openings of circular and rectangular shapes within the design to as viewpoints into the working area from the void.

The entire co-working / technology side of my building

Research on Technology

are switched off. This is done to break user habits of excessively being exposed to technology, radiation and

devices ‘pose a real risk’ to human health. Yakymenko suggests that low-intensity radiofrequency radiation (RFR)

is open to users between 9am and 5pm, outside of these hours all wireless connections, tvs and monitors

force them to switch off and find entertainment and relaxation in the co-living side of the building and to interact with others.

The Void The two parts of my building (co-living and co-working) stand in stark contrast to one another which is why I

can cause cancer a lot faster as the ionizing radiation has enough energy to remove the electron from an atom damaging the DNA inside the cell. Scientist Igor Yakymenko explains that RFR causes oxidative stress to the body, a reaction which releases free radicalsmolecules that can cause cellular damage more than usual which can lead to cancer. (Information from The Daily Mail article ‘Mobile phones ARE linked to cancer’).

that exceeds the federal safety limit.

Research on Addiction In 2019 the Kings College London created a master research project that concluded that 23% of individuals had behaviour that was consistent with addiction. (cite research) anxiety, shaking and mood swings. I am 21 years of age and did a small survey on my friends to see what is their daily average in hours, it showed that 50% of them spend more than 6 hours a day on their mobile phone.

Dopamine is believed to be a chemical that motivates a person to do something repeatedly (Reference psychology today, accessed 17 April 2020), Phone use causes the release of dopamine in the brain, making users feel aroused, motivated, and happy. Researchers from University College London, found that the average time it takes to create a new habit is around 2 months, and to break a habit is the same amount of time to have it.

In 2015 scientist Igor Yakymenko revealed new metaanalysis data confirming that our wireless technology

This research influence my project to create the two sides of the building and a buffer zone in between to symbolise

emitted from mobile phones damages our DNA and causes cancer.

make sure the habit of balance is established when using technology.

Mobile phones and wireless devices emit low radio frequency radiation which in the long term can cause DNA damage and drastically increase the risk of cancer.

Products with higher radio frequency such as x-rays

balance, from this I also decided that the minimum time period users will live in this building will be one year to

Research on Connectivity In a book by Liberman (2013) explains the importance of human connections and social connections to a person’s well-being. He discusses how lack of human interaction

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Bathroom Final visualisation

and connection is a necessary basic need for our wellbeing and towards development and growth. ‘Love and belonging might seem like a convenience we can live without, but our biology is built to thirst for connection because it is linked to our most basic survival needs’.

Humans have a need to connect with other humans.

Advertising leads us to believe that technology, internet, computers and mobile phones only make our lives easier,by allowing access to information, connecting us and facilitating communication with others far away from us, which is partly true. However, scientific and government research clearly shows that there is a negative side to long term proximity and exposure to technology. I therefore believe that my generation’s key to better health and happiness is to keep a balance between technological connectedness and complete

Henshaw, S. (2019). Smartphone Addiction Statistics: All You Need To Know About Overuse of Cell... [online] TigerMobiles.com. Available at: https://www. tigermobiles.com/faq/smartphone-addiction-statistics/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2019].

Hertsgaard, M. and Dowie, M. (2018). The inconvenient truth about cancer and mobile phones. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian. com/technology/2018/jul/14/mobile-phones-cancerinconvenient-truths [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

This part of the research influenced the concept of my project, at the start I wanted to create a space to

Hodgekiss, A. (2015). Mobile phones ARE linked to cancer, scientist claims. [online] Mail Online. Available

Conclusion Technology is both good and bad for us. It helps us connect to others worldwide and increases our productivity at work but electronic devices also distract us, emit harmful radiation, which is proven to increase the risk of cancer and prevent us from connecting with others in our immediate vicinity. As the use of technology increases the need for electromagnetic privacy becomes vital – a way to switch off has to be included in the design of architecture and spaces.

I believe my programme proposal offers a solution to the technology dilemma. My building’s co-working space BA (hons) Interior Design

References Charlotte Hilton Andersen (2015). Why Scientists Think Wireless Technology Can Cause Cancer. [online] Shape.

Available at: https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mindand-body/why-scientists-think-wireless-technology-cancause-cancer [Accessed 2 Nov. 2019].

technological dis-connectedness to enable us to connect to the world and humans close to us more deeply and fully. We would benefit from taking regular breaks from technology in order to live healthier lives mentally and physically.

just switch off and detach from technology. However, I realised that we will never completely detach from technology as it has many benefits. I therefore decides on creating a concept of balance instead where technology could be switched into ‘Airplane mode’.

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to technology. Our future will see further increases in technology and therefore spaces like my building offer a solution to keep our lives in a healthy balance.

allows users to take advantage of all the benefits that technology has to offer, while the co-living space with its built in ‘Airplane mode’ allows total disconnection from technology and radiation, forcing users to relax,

rebalance and interact with each other. The outcome of my design project is that users’ overall health and

happiness are maximised, leaving them feeling fulfilled due to better productivity at work, reduced health risks in their private lives and learning how to balance technology and human face to face interaction. The activity areas, designs, materials, shapes and colours further encourage a healthy work life balance. I believe my ‘Airplane mode’ project successfully raises awareness of our addiction

at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3181406/ Mobile-phones-linked-cancer-scientist-claims-Longterm-use-causes-disease-headaches-skin-irritation.html [Accessed 1 Jan. 2020].

MacDonald, F. (2016). A Bar Owner in The UK Has Built a Faraday Cage to Stop Customers Using Their Phones. [online] ScienceAlert. Available at: https://www. sciencealert.com/a-talented-bar-owner-in-the-uk-hasbuilt-a-faraday-cage-to-stop-customers-using-theirphones [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

Manaugh, G. (2015). Signal-Blocking Architecture and the Faraday Home. [online] BLDGBLOG. Available at: http://www.bldgblog.com/2015/04/signal-blockingarchitecture-and-the-faraday-home/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2019].

SAVIC, S. (2018). Architecture: Between Weather and

Electromagnetic Radiation - part 2 • Digicult | Digital Art, Design and Culture. [online] Digicult | Digital Art,

Design and Culture. Available at: http://digicult.it/news/ architettura-tra-condizioni-atmosferiche-e-radiazionielettromagnetiche-parte-2/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

Yakymenko, I. (2015). Oxidative mechanisms of biological activity of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation.

Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, [online] 35(2), pp.186–202. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2015.1043557 [Accessed 2 Jan. 2020].

Dean, Signe. “Here’s How Long It Really Takes to Break a Habit, According to Science.” ScienceAlert, 9 June 2018, www.sciencealert.com/how-long-it-takes-to-break-ahabit-according-to-science. [Accessed 3 Feb. 2020] “Experimenta 21 Tower / MORINI Arquitectos.” ArchDaily, 22 Feb. 2017, www.archdaily.com/805840/experimenta21-tower-morini-arquitectos. Accessed 15 June 2020.

Griffiths, Alyn. “Angular Openings Puncture Concrete Facades of Lucio Morini’s University Tower.” Dezeen, 12 Feb. 2017, www.dezeen.com/2017/02/12/lucio-moriniconcrete-experimenta-21-tower-workshops-universitycordoba-argentina/. [Accessed 16 June 2020] “Keepitsurreal.” Keepitsurreal, keepitsur-real.tumblr.com/ post/14982371831/occupying-and-connecting-frei-otto2009-p51. Accessed 4 May 2020. Frei Otto.

Lieberman, Matthew D. Social : Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect. 2013. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, p. 42.

Markham Heid. “There’s Worrying New Research About Kids’ Screen Time and Their Mental Health.” TIME, 29 Oct. 2018, time.com/5437607/smartphones-teens-mentalhealth/. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.

McFadden, Christopher. “How Does a Faraday Cage Work.” Interestingengineering.Com, 6 Jan. 2019, interestingengineering.com/how-does-a-faraday-cagework. [Accessed 11 May 2020] Quan, Grace. “Sibling’s ON/OFF Installation Creates a Disconnected ‘Cold Spot.’” Dezeen, 11 Nov. 2013, www. dezeen.com/2013/11/11/siblings-wifi-blocking-onoffinstallation-creates-a-disconnected-cold-spot/. [Accessed 11 May 2020] Rosso, Cami. “DeepMind on the Brain’s Dopamine System and AI.” Psychology Today, 19 Feb. 2020, www. psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-future-brain/202002/ deepmind-the-brain-s-dopamine-system-and-ai.

[Accessed 17 Apr. 2020] Twenge, Jean M., and W. Keith Campbell. “Associations

between Screen Time and Lower Psychological WellBeing among Children and Adolescents: Evidence from

a Population-Based Study.” Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 12, Dec. 2018, pp. 271–283, www.sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S2211335518301827, 10.1016/ j.pmedr.2018.10.003.

“What Is Feng Shui? | An Interior Decorating Guide.”

Invaluable, 11 Sept. 2017, www.invaluable.com/blog/ what-is-feng-shui/. [Accessed 10 May 2020]

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SECURITY

Dina Sharer TRACES

Dina Sharer TRACES

How does data, liminal spaces and rebellion manifest in architectural design?

Traces is an exhibition housed within the Wellcome Collection set to provide an interactive totally immersive experience in the History of Pandemics

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View full graduate showcase here

Abstract Traces is an exhibition housed within the Wellcome Collection set to provide an interactive, totally immersive experience on the history of pandemics. What seems to be at first glance an interactive and informative exhibition, is no more than a façade to the continuous data mining and DNA collection transpiring behind the walls of the exhibition; camouflaging ethical hackers working towards finding a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

This piece of writing questions how exhibition design, architecture and technology can facilitate and disguise an undercover rebellion.

The Liminal “Liminality is the conceptual, ephemeral relationships between people and spatial environments” – Jonathan Hill(Looking for Liminality in Architectural Space, 2001). First emerging in anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep’s writings in Les Rites de Passage, Van Gennep explores liminality in context of rituals in small societies where; “liminal or threshold realm is a space between the world of status that the person is leaving and the world of status into which the person is being inducted” (Gennep, 1909). The concept of liminality was brought into architectural light by Aldo Van Eyck, of Team 10, in 1962 (Van Eyck, n.d.). His theory of the inbetween addressed the urgency for architecture to break down spatial divisions such as the idea of ‘inside-outside’ (Van Eyck, 1962). Many disciplines of architecture, urban design and art have previously created work to physically contextualise the ambiguity and indeterminacy of the threshold state known as ‘The Liminal’. An example is Serra’s use of shifting form and width in his high walled paths creates the sense of never-ending passages connoting to liminality. Chimera, portrays a conceptual liminality in the abstract of her art, not understood in physical boundaries, rather issues of time and space which are liminal in and of themselves.

In the context of this writing, the liminal refers to a transitional space; a space that is primarily used to transfer from one space to another; an in-between thirdspace. The design in this project will take on a liminal quality in order to enhance the secrecy of the rebel community.

The Rebellion “Moral guidelines allow us to attach social meaning to the behaviour of ourselves and others. The more distinctive these group morals are, the more suitable they are to communicate who people are and what they stand for” (The Oxford Handbook of the Human Essence, 2020).

Since the beginning of recorded time homo sapiens have grouped according to moral guidelines and mutual value systems; early examples can be seen in religious groups such as Hinduism dating back more than 4,000 years, and recent examples like The Luddites who formed in 1811. Contemporary society is bursting with different communities drawn together and sometimes in conflict, partaking in passive or active revolution; such as the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rebel groups are no different and are built on one or more core values that resist or oppose an authority group with conflicting ideas and principles.

Examples can be seen with ‘The White Rose’ an active opposition to the Nazi regime in the Third Reich of 1942, as well as ‘The Resistance’ a group of white middleaged women currently opposing Trump’s presidency.

In this project the design will aim to create a safe space for a rebellion group to meet, in addition to house their exhibition activities. Within this piece of writing the rebellion group refers to ‘Ethical Hackers’ who are defined as those who hack for the greater good.

The Site Founded by Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (1853-1936),

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The Wellcome Neutral Zone Collection GreyWellcome The tones are Collection used in theisneutral part ofzones the Wellcome to createTrust a sense of calm before founded in 2007 the and users is aprogress museum to and their library respective on Euston diningdisplaying Road experiences. medical artefacts and authentic artworks.

The wellcome collection is my chosen site due to the easily accessible location and many tube stations in the vicinity, the wellcome collection already housing exhibitions, allowing my exhibition to fit in and the vast numbers of visitors each day allows the Traces workers to go to and fro without arousing suspicion.

In 2007 architects WilkinsonEyre transformed the Wellcome Collection creating new galleries and spaces to meet the overwhelming demand of visitors at the Collection. A new staircase allows for better circulation between floors, refurbished research libraries, new galleries and a destination restaurant were also part of the recent redevelopment.

incorporated augmented reality and haptics.

in Portland stone, is striking in a traditional neo-classical style, “A strictly pure classical type of Greek or Ionic order of architecture” (Symons, John). Internally, the marble sheathed Halls and Staircases, small paned bronze doors and the stylised rounded capitals adrift the columns, confer a contemporary aroma, juxtaposed against the formal neo-classical of the exterior.

Due to the available exhibition space at the Wellcome Collection, the site provides the perfect disguise needed to imbed a hacking community to battle the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020.

Proposal Summary This proposal will follow the design of 3 exhibition galleries, connected by transitional pedestrian walkways within the Wellcome Collection. As a veneer, Traces provides an interactive immersive exhibition on historical pandemics dating back as early as the 13th century. On

arrival, viewers will receive headsets instructing the route to follow, as well as electrodermal wrist bands that collect data on their interaction with the exhibition via sweat and heartbeat. Gallery 1 focuses on what a virus is with

large inflatable virus prototypes and interactive exhibits to entice visitors of all ages into the space. Gallery 3

targets the contemporary pandemic of Covid-19 and precautions to take, as well as covid-19 artwork and UK inhabitant videos. During the exhibits in Gallery 2 however, viewers will be asked to sample drinks, smell scents and forge physical contact with objects pertaining to certain art works in order to instigate an immersive sensory experience. Behind the walls of the exhibition

Concept In order to create a relationship between the exhibition and its audience, Traces must be an interactive, immersive experience where the visitors can physically participate with different objects on display, enabling a direct sampling of data and DNA collection. In the 21st century exhibitions engage our senses and abstract concepts in order to compete with the overly accessible digital entertainment constantly at our fingertips. Examples can be seen in Mona Lisa: Behind the Glass held at the Louvre in 2019 which featured a virtual reality tour and Dali Lives showed at the Dali Museum, Florida in 2019 which

The Art of Scent 1889-2012 by Diller Scofidio and Renfo (2012) commissioned by the Museum of Art and Design in New York, traces the development of new technologies, unprecedented materials and process leading to fragrance design evolving from a parochial craft to a global discipline. Visitors enter a seemingly empty white gallery interspersed by a series of 12 sculpted alcoves and are encouraged to lean into the wall triggering the release of a scented spray. A clear division is shown between the front and backstage in the curation of the art of scent and is a concept of interest within Traces. Traces will operate on the principle of the ‘invisible versus visible’ much like 17th century theatre design; two parallel worlds working side by side, one apparent and the other hidden. It is important for Traces to obscure the true purpose of the exhibition from the Government and public, collecting visitors’ data unknowingly in order to find a cure for the people. The idea of a front and backstage within my exhibition is a concept I will take

further in my studio practice via the use of model making.

Tate Sensorium by Flying Object (2015) is an immersive display featuring four paintings from the Tate collection,

enhancing the experience of visual art by the inclusion of sound, taste, smell and touch, to cultivate a reality for visitors that is active rather than passive. For example; Francis Bacon’s Figure in a Landscape is brought to life in the taste of edible charcoal, and Smokey lapsang souchong tea. John Latham’s Full Stop is probed through audio and ultrahapitic devices using ultrasound to create

touch sensations with air. Not all visitors were charmed by this novel experience; a number felt “manipulated” by the sensory additions to their viewing, however, majority of guests reflected the exhibition as being engaging and awesome; Sophie Yaniw from The Courtauld institute of art commented “Where a visitor to a gallery may pass a work without taking a second look, the Sensorium provided a reason to engage; something to think about” (Tate Sensorium Review - The Courtauld Institute of Art, 2016).

Following the immersive design of Tate Sensorium, Traces will follow the idea of incorporating the five senses when viewing historical pandemic artwork to maximise the opportunity of DNA collection and distract the visitors in the gallery whilst their DNA is admitted to the backstage of the exhibition for testing. The concept of engaging the 5 senses in relation to artwork is a new and innovative way of viewing exhibitions and will create excitement for Traces and attract more viewers which ultimately leads to further DNA and data collection. Visitors will be asked to wear electrodermal wristbands activated by the innervating signals from the brain that monitor the electrical changes on the wearers skin via sweat. Data gathered from the wristbands can audit the visitor’s

interaction with the artwork, but most importantly provide adequate DNA sampling and testing behind the walls.

In 1947 architects William Holford and Sir Charles Holden released plans for The Parallel Pedestrian Universe, which segregated pedestrians from traffic, for the benefit of both due to the high rate of road accidents.

The original idea was to connect the whole city, so people could walk above the traffic and air – a utopian dream, shaped by the dangers of motorisation and the modernist’s love affair with the car. “It’s an enclave, an island of vertical movement in a sea of normal streetbased pedestrianism” (Hebbert, 2013). However, the floating arteries of London’s Pedways did not take off as expected; “In as far as people carry mental maps to get around, those maps are based on streets. The minute you displace that map by taking people up on to walkways, their mental map function breaks down and they get lost.”

(Hebbert, 2013). In 1984, a speech by HRH The Prince of Wales, at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, suggested the architects created more wreckage than the Germans; ‘You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe, when it knocked down our

buildings it didn’t replace it with anything more offensive then rubble, we did that’. The number one problem; the walkways remained desolate.

It comes as a wonder to find a Corten steel bridge arching above the dual carriageway along London Wall.

Make Architect’s project headquarters for JP Morgan dates back to 2009, where it was central that the root and relics of the 1950’s pedways should be celebrated and

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high-tech machines remove the touched objects for DNA and Genome testing. Hackers secretly extract DNA in order to find patterns in the virus and a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Upon leaving the exhibition, Liminal Parasite presents each visitor with one last gift; a link holding their individual response to the exhibition.

Once partnered with the participants mobile device, the link hacks into their database to constantly tracks their location within the United Kingdom, monitors medical issues and payment transfers allowing the hackers to keep a constant watch on the participants in hope to gain valuable information.

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the Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust founded in 2007 and is a museum and library on Euston Road displaying medical artefacts and authentic artworks exploring; “Ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art”. (Artfund, 2008). Wellcome assembled a large collection of books, paintings and objects on the theme of world-wide medicine, anthropology and ethnography. Wellcome’s complete wealth of information and collected artefacts are available to the public within the Wellcome Collection exhibition rooms, libraries and archives. The Wellcome building, stands as the “Last major achievement of Wellcome’s life” (Symons, John). Built by architect Septimus Warwick (1881-1953) within 12 months of March 1931, the building replicates that of those in Washington D.C where Wellcome was then spending a considerable amount of his time. Externally, the Wellcome building,

embellished; “The new pedways are more playful and dramatic than the rational originals. They curve and wind” (Moore, 2019). London’s new pedways do not prevail in confinement but are part of a wider concept of a multilayered open space; the opportunity to dwell rather than merely pass through.

Tying together the idea of workspaces within bridges is a vital concept within Traces, as the exhibition looks to manifest a rebellion within the liminal. The New School in New York designed by SOM architects houses a concrete staircase connecting a string of social spaces interspersed throughout the building to provide work areas for staff and students. Traces looks to re-creates walkways within the Wellcome Collection allowing for transitional spaces in between galleries hosting open workspaces where hackers are able to work close to the exhibition. It is important for the data hacking to be executed in an open space in order for the hackers to track the visitors walking through the exhibition, constantly collecting further useful data such as fitness levels and apparent shortness of breath of the visitors which would indicate potential Covid-19. The idea of a rebellion within the liminal is a concept I will continue to experiment with in my studio practise.

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Design Realisation Upon entry to Traces Gallery 1 visitors are asked to don headsets which dictate a set route, enabling order and ensuring no visitor misses any element of the experience.

As a visitor, Gallery 1 introduces and explains what a virus is, how viruses look under microscopic enhancement and how viruses are passed from one to another. The first gallery is curated to entice both the young and the old since the hackers need a wide variation of ages to conduct a fair experiment and thus is highly interactive.

Backstage, Gallery 1 targets identity, activation point; the ‘micro virus’. When visitors peer into the microscope to glimpse the minute virus cell, backstage, high tech facial recognition software and eye retina scanning is in process to detect the name of the visitor behind the lens. The microscopes transmit data to servers behind the walls of Gallery 1 and run through algorithms in order to identify the visitor. Once identified the visitor receives their own personalised ticket and is instructed to move through the exhibition.

Traces will display three paintings in Gallery 2 pertaining to three different historical pandemics.. In chronological order visitors will first view the Bubonic Plague (1346-

1353), otherwise known as the ‘Black Death’ which killed an approximate of 200 million people. The rich tones of Triumph of Death heavily characterise commotion and pandemonium at the foreground of the painting; viewers will hear the outcry and screams of the living, horses hooves and background discord through their headsets whilst being asked to smell the ‘smoke’ of the fire from

a container against the wall. An inhalation of the strong smoke will cause the viewers to sneeze thus allowing a vast amount of DNA to be collected from the container backstage and shipped for testing.

Visitors are then directed to the Spanish Flu (1918-1920) which took close to 20 million civilians. The Spanish Flu

by R.W Harrison depicts the departure of a young girl from life into deaths hands; visitors will hear the muffled wails and sobs of the mother, and mumbled prayers of a brother. Visitors will be asked to place their hands into the wall to feel the cold rush of ‘death’ as he takes his newest companion via the use of haptic control. Backstage, machines will be swabbing DNA from visitor’s hands to further their research on Covid-19.

Visitors will move on to the final image, the Influenza

Pandemic (1957-1958) which wiped out over 2 million people. The wood engraving displays nurses attending patients in Paris during the pandemic. Visitors will hear the murmur of nurses and doctors, rustle of bedsheets and papers and weak coughs of the patients through their headset. Visitors will be asked to sample the ‘medicine’ given to patients of influenza in order to create an immersive experience. The cups will then be

placed back on the wall and rotated backstage ready to be swabbed and sent off for DNA testing. It is vital Traces offers a fully immersive experience with the use of three of the five senses at every interval in order to allow sufficient DNA to be taken from the viewers and used to find a Covid-19 cure.

material palette showcases pale almost white tones which symbolise purity within the Arabic culture, however in the Chinese culture, a similar colour palette would signify grief and death, a colour worn at funerals. In order to create a sterile yet warm atmosphere within Traces, I will be using a contrasting combination of materials for the exhibitions and the pedestrian walkways. Galleries 1, 2 and 3 of Traces will feature white walls and concrete floors, both lending to medical atmospheres appropriate for the curation of the exhibition, however the materiality of the objects within the galleries are bright and playful to break up the harsh white interiors, examples can be seen with the viruses in gallery 1 which manifest in bright pink, blue and green latex. In contrast to the clean galleries, the connecting pedways are made of industrial corten steel and warm oak wood to allow a juxtaposition between the two elements of the Traces exhibition. The focus of using full orange hues within the pedways of Traces is to deliver a warmer atmosphere than that of the exhibitions and allow visitors to socialise and relax in the provided space allowing hackers to discreetly observe their patients.

Traces must appear honest and clear cut to the visitors in order to abolish any speculation of a second agenda running through the exhibition, this can be done via

The third and final gallery in Traces features the current pandemic of Covid-19. Gallery 3 aims demonstrate how technology has influenced and shaped the way contemporary society approaches pandemics. Where in previous pandemics, societies ceased to work and had no contact with others, during Covid-19 the use of ‘teams’, ‘zoom’ and ‘facetime’ has allowed people to have contact with family, friends and even continue working from home. Where in previous medical calamities cities did not know facts and figures about neighbouring settlements, during Covid-19 news is updated every 4-8 hours offering the luxury of world facts whilst on the couch. Gallery 3

the correct use of lighting. Exhibition lighting sets the tone and ambience and is a significant part of exhibition curation. Within the Wellcome collection different exhibition rooms are lit differently to evoke differing emotions and behaviours. For example, the permanent Medicine Man gallery is a dark wood panelled room, dramatically lit with direct yellow spotlights over the showcased cabinets in order to interest the viewer in the works within and guide them from one case to the next.

The lighting in the Medicine Man hides much of the room in its shadows, automatically elicits emotions of focus, formality and solemnness and is redolent to that of Tudor interiors. The exhibition Being Human at the Wellcome Collection, in contrast, houses bright white lighting with no obvious light direction from above, the exhibition allows natural sunlight to filter in through the secondfloor windows stimulating a sense of calm, relaxation and openness. Traces will not admit sunlight into the exhibition space since windows are obscured to hide

art created by children and adults and the constant play of British corona virus viral videos.

atmosphere within its galleries, similar to hospital interiors which are brightly lit to ascertain an aura of clinical

exhibits the positive infrastructure of Covid-19, images of NHS key workers on the ‘front line’ saving lives, Covid- 19

As a medically based exhibition, Traces must operate

like a hospital without the frosty ambiance of a hospital; reflect an atmosphere of hygiene, cleanliness and sterilization without being overly clinical and cold.

Within hospital design materiality and colour are used to reduce patient and staff stress and anxiety as well symbolise purity, which has alternating connotations in different cultures. In Qatar, the Naufar Wellness Centre’s

the backstage of the exhibition, however it is important for Traces to achieve a clinical, light and transparent

cleanliness and hygiene. Rachel Whiteread’s exhibition in 2017 showcased a number of her previous works in

a brightly lit exhibition space in the Tate Britain. At first glance the bright and open exhibition does not appear to have a particular lighting plan, however the lighting curation synced with the artwork’s placement allows for a meandering path leading through the exhibition and an obvious attention to the artwork’s detail. Traces establishes a meticulous route within its exhibition space

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Circulation Diagram Neutral Zone Greyimage This tones depicts are usedthe in the circulation neutral and zones movement to create of a sense both of calm and visitors before hackers the users and the progress differing to their routes respective they take dining the within experiences. exhibition.

4 7

3

5

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VISITOR CIRCULATION HACKER CIRCULATION

1 WELLCOME ENTRANCE 2 TRACES GALLERY 2 3 TRACES PEDWAY 4 TRACES GALLERY 2 5 TRACES GALLERY 3 6 DUCT GROUND FLOOR 7 DUCT FIRST FLOOR

Traces has Fallen

via the use of headphones, applying whiteread’s bright and exposed lighting will engage visitors, allow them to admire small details within the exhibition design and obtain a transparent and open ambience.

Conclusion The concept of digital hacking dates back to the 1960’s when computers were mainframes bestowed in temperature-controlled glass areas; concluding hacking a recent exploitation. Hacking by definition is unethical; ‘The gaining of unauthorised access to data in a system or computer’ (Hornblower, Spawforth and Eidinow, 2012), therefore the terminology ‘ethical hacking’ is oxymoronic.

Defined earlier in my writing as ‘hacking for the greater good’ ethical hacking is a utilitarianism theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes; a constitute of consequentialism. Traces pushes the ethical boundaries of exhibition design in the covid-19 pandemic of 2020 and questions the utilitarianism theory.

Does Traces align itself with ethical design? There is no definitive answer and decisions are based on personal opinion, however, when concerning oneself with a global pandemic such as the current plight, ethical and moral boundaries are blurred, and borders are obscured.

Choices no longer regard justice for the individual, rather one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number and based on this reasoning Traces sits on the edge of ethical design.

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Do we know where ethical hacking will take us in the future? The answer is unattainable, but that does not mean one cannot theorise on the future from the happenings of the past. Constant leaps in technology synced with government acquisition of personal data has demanded ethical hacking; examples can be seen with Edward Snowden, an American whistle-blower who copied and leaked highly classified information from the NSA in 2013 when his job called for him to go against his ethical beliefs. The more personal data is collected and abused by governments, the more ethical hacking will rise. With data technologies on the ascent, one can only project the increase of hacking for both ethical and immoral intension, the digital world as we know it will not be a safe and secure network, rather an abundance of algorithms targeted to assemble the maximum total of personalised data from devices. Ethical hacking may bypass the moral questions and choices previously challenged under new auspices of a means to an end.

Traces aims to take the DNA and data from its visitors in

return for a cure to Covid-19. Adopting the utilitarianism theory one can reason; the end justifies the means.

“Every contact leaves a trace.” - Locard’s Exchange Principle.

References Google Books. 2020. The Oxford Handbook Of The Human Essence. [online] Available at: <https://books. google.co.uk/books?id=hXI8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT214&l pg=PT214&dq=do+humans+group+accordi ng+to+m utual+values&source=bl&ots=85Y2Pm422E&sig=ACfU 3U31qbumVTM7bWG9wHiY6vSqZ82gog&hl=en &sa= X&ved=2ahUKEwi3lOYkMfoAhXDh1wKHfNfC3kQ6AEw AHoECAwQKQ#v=onepage&q=do%20humans%20gr oup%20according%20to%20mutual%20values&f=false> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

Looking for Liminality in Architectural Space 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/326675016_Looking_for_Liminality_in_ Architectural_Space> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

Turner, v., 1969. Liminality And Communitas. [online] Faculty.trinity.edu. Available at: <http://faculty.trinity.edu/ mbrown/whatisreligion/PDF%20readings/TurnerVictor%20Liminality%20and%20Communitas.pdf> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

Van eyck, a., n.d. TEAM 10. [online] Team10online.org.

Available at: <http://www.team10online.org/team10/ eyck/> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

GENNEP, A., 1909. Les Rites De Passage. Étude Systématique Des Rites. Paris. van eyck, a., 1962. The Child, The City And The Artist.

Hebbert, M., 2013. The Pedway: Elevating London. [video] Available at: <https://vimeo.com/80787092> [Accessed 2 April 2020].

Wainwright, O., 2018. Walkways In The Sky: The Return Of London's Forgotten 'Pedways'. [online] the Guardian.

Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/ oct/02/walkways-in-the-sky-the-return-of-londonsforgotten-pedways> [Accessed 2 April 2020]. fund.org. 2008. Museum-Of-The-Year-2008. [online] Available at: <https://www.artfund.org/supportingmuseums/museum-of-the-year/2008/longlist.php> [Accessed 13 April 2020].

Symons, John. “Sir Henry Wellcome and THE WELLCOME BUILDING.” The Thirties Society Journal, no. 6, 1987, pp. 8–15., www.jstor.org/stable/41859260. Accessed 13 2020.

Locard, E. The analysis of dust traces (1930).

The Courtauld Institute of Art. 2016. Tate Sensorium Review - The Courtauld Institute Of Art. [online] Available at: <https://courtauld.ac.uk/research/research-forum/ research-groups-and-projects/what-sense-is-there-in- art/

tate-sensorium-review> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Moore, R., 2019. London Wall Place Review – A High Walk Back To The Future. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/ jul/01/london-wall-place-review-make-architects-highwalk-back-to-the-future-elevated-walkway> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Princeofwales.gov.uk. 2018. A Speech By HRH The Prince Of Wales At The 150Th Anniversary Of The Royal Institute Of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening At Hampton Court Palace | Prince Of Wales. [online] Available at: <https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/ speech-hrh-prince-wales-150th-anniversary-royalinstitute-british- architects-riba-royal-gala> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

The Kitchen Table Visualisation

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WELL-BEING

Nikita Terry WE SENSE

Nikita Terry We sense

Encouraging Well-being Through Sensory Design

We Sense is an opportunity to look at office design from a human perspective by designing a sensory experience which prioritises wellbeing rather than output.

@spatially_chilled LinkedIn Profile View full graduate showcase here

i. Introduction Interior design is often underestimated, regarded mainly as a functional activity or its aesthetic appeal. However, the qualities of a space go beyond aesthetics and basic shelter, they become mental and physical journeys, ones which communicate with the users mind and body at every moment.

BA (hons) Interior Design

“The suppression of the other sensory realms has led to the impoverishment of our environment” Eyes of the Skin, Juhani Pallasmaa. Through architecture and design vision has become the prioritized sense in the built environment today, the large organizations we inhabit daily have become impersonal and undifferentiated.

This has created a weakened sense of materiality amongst the architecture and design we experience and therefore suppressed our other senses, creating a void

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This program proposal both informs and reflects my studio investigations throughout the year by looking into the affects a space can have on a persons emotional wellbeing. An ongoing design concern of mine is the prioritization of vision over comfort and health within architecture and design, I see an opportunity to create a space designed around how the user wants to feel in that particular environment, in order to tackle this I am looking into the benefits of designing for the senses which breaks the boundaries between building and body and allows for communication through the sensory realm. I believe Bruce Mau backs this up clearly by stating that we “should design for all the senses, start with a blind fold”.

perceptual system, reinforcing a sense of detachment and alienation”Eyes of the Skin, Juhani Pallasmaa. An important reminder of the human being’s anatomy and

between ourselves and what we are truly experiencing.

“This separation and reduction fragments the innate complexity, comprehensiveness and plasticity of the

the need to engage its sensory realms in order to allow it to experience and feel the best it can.

I have chosen a co-working space as my building activity, due to the variety of factors. Co-working spaces allow for a wide variety of different users, and I believe this will give me greater scope to create a variety of different spaces to cater to these changing needs. The site of Kings Cross also influenced this decision, with its largest sector being office space and office workers. A co-working space will allow me to design a variety of different production spaces, each with specific spatial characteristics catered to the needs of the worker.

Throughout this project I want to bring awareness back to the importance of re-sensualizing design and focusing on the relationship between the body and space. This will be achieved through a strengthened sense of Materiality, Light and Colour throughout my building in order to prioritize the emotional wellbeing of my user. ii. Site The Fish and Coal offices hold a prominent location in the heart of Kings Cross. It sits on a curved site alongside Regents Canal and was built in several phases between 1851 and 1860. Massed in five blocks of varying heights and lengths, the buildings hold a strong presence and variety of different spatial qualities. The interconnected buildings are an example of robust, Victorian industrial architecture, the arches which flow throughout all the buildings express architecturally the cellular division of the buildings historical function and the outside shows simple but elegant, dark stock brick elevations.

The buildings South elevation sits canal side, providing

users with extensive views looking south across the canal towards the railway termini with central London beyond.

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Production Spaces

This image represents one of the four production spaces, The Flexible Space. Each of the production spaces feature a subtle variation of colour, materiality and light. These elements combined create a distinct sensory experience within each space, allowing the user to enjoy a certain atmosphere catered around their personality and desired working conditions.

Entrance A We Sense has two separate entrances. The design of these entrances relies on making the user feel their most comfortable. Creating two different entrances allowed me to create two completely separate initial experiences for the users.

We Sense, is a co-working building which comprises of several interactive spaces, including four different productivity environments for the four different types

of workers that people can be categorized into. The production spaces are simply named Flexible, Interactive, Structured and Power. Each of the spaces feature a subtle variation of lighting, materiality and colour, this combination will create a distinct sensory experience for each worker.

According to Suzanne M. Johnson Vickberg, PHD, there

are four types of workers and we usually fall into one of the four character types. It is important to understand the differences between each type, learning their strengths and setbacks will allow me to design each production space according to their characteristics to create an environment that comforts them.

Due to advancements in technology and the prioritization of vision through design and architecture today, human beings are striving more than ever for a moment of presence and the chance to reduce stress and anxiety that comes with virtual living. Through this project I hope to explore the decisions we can make around the environments that are necessary for our survival and flourishing, such as working, and to enhance meaning into the lives of the users through enriched experiences.

v. The Office “We spend a lot of time at work and it really affects people’s general happiness, and also life outcomes.”

Andrew Naber, industrial-organizational psychologist.

According to Naber, we spend more time at work than we do in bed, where we work and how we work is affecting our mental health whether we choose to or not. In the UK today 13% of sick days can be attributed to mental health and with the likelihood of women experiencing it being at nearly 20% compared to men which Is slightly lower at 12.7%.

A constant balance between work and play, productivity

and comfort. Through the centuries humankind has experienced many forms of the office, from ancient Rome creating official working spaces within the home to the first dedicated space for working established in 18th century. However, since it began, the office has been more than merely a place of work, the buildings holding the workers become an urban microcosm with the hope of making the worker feel comfortable within the environment.

Offices today come to symbolize a way of life, cultures and beliefs, but of all things the office should be an environment that sustains and enriches the individual through sensory experiences and perception. In the UK we spend most of the sunlit day within these buildings, so we must understand how the body senses, perceives and inhabits the space in order to understand how we can benefit from it. From Frank Taylor designing the earliest modern office focusing on rigid and regimented layouts, to Frank Lloyd wright, who pioneered the “Landscape” design in 1993, focused on brighter lights, spatial atmospheres and the use of cork for absorbing sound acoustics.

iv. A Space for Being A Space for being was an installation at Salone del

Office workers have little control over their work environments, therefore the initial design of the interior is crucial in order to facilitate productivity, a sense of

experience was informed by Neuroaesthetics, an interdisciplinary field of study that strives to understand

organized, this organization makes moulds which create different relationships, people’s behavior and how they

Mobile, led by Google and Johns Hopkins University and has inspired the concept for my design. The exhibition

how the brain responds to aesthetic experiences. It consisted of three rooms, the Vital, the Essential and the

Transformative. Each room was designed with varying materials, lighting and art in order to create completely different atmospheres, the users were then able to move around these rooms and encounter a different experience in each one. The idea that design and science is being looked at as partnership to create a specific experience for the user was very interesting to me. It allowed me

privacy, ownership and comfort. Through my practice there will be an importance put on the way the offices are

interact with each other are different in different spaces

vi. Movement Entrances How a user moves through a space becomes important when trying to understand why they feel a certain way.

Movement through space is not solely getting from A to B, but rather how our head turn, the number of steps taken to get somewhere, how our arms reach out or perhaps

simply what we encounter along the way.

To investigate this topic further, I have taken guidance from the book Architecture as a ritual by Peter Blundell Jones. Within this piece of writing Blundell looks at the importance of the journey for the user before they even step foot through the entrance door. He explains the example of the entrances at a theatre “whether you enter a theatre by the box-office or the stage door confirms your role as spectator or actor”. Dividing the users spatially, automatically classifies them within a certain type, in my case a certain type of worker.

Taking into account Blundells perspective on guiding the user through different types of entrances I decided to look at ways I could create two different experiences when entering my building. As put by Blundell “it is clear

that entrances stand for the whole building beyond, often addressed to specific groups of people and involving particular rules of use.”

My four users can be divided into two types of people, introverts and extroverts, the entrances are designed to provide them with a comfortable initial experience when entering the building. For Entrance A (opposite page) the

decision to move the entrance door to the east side of the building gives the user privacy and security. Amongst the three buildings this one is designed with the lowest ceiling height, which in turn makes the space darker.

Materials used are warm and comforting, such as oak and tactile surfaces.

Entrance B is location to the right (west), where the entrance door sits proudly looking over Granary Square, an open pedestriazed space. Entering here provides confidence within those who thrive off social moments.

Once the user steps foot inside this entrance they are greeted by a void which carry’s their views up to the top floors of the building. An initial threshold guides them straight into the communal area where there is the most activity, it is open plan and sun lit, the design of this entrance should boost morale and provide comfort for those who seek conversation from others to boost morale.

Inside the Building

From reading Blundells work on the importance put on the users journey throughout the building I have decided to explore this topic further and look at different ways a user moves within the building in order to get to their

destination, and how what they encounter along the way impacts them mentally and physically.

To bring this idea into proximity with my project I looked into the work of Luis Barragan, a Mexican architect whose philosophy was to create spaces that evoke serenity and intimacy. The aspect of his work I am interested in is his

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

iii. Concept This project sets to address the sensory imbalance in our lives brought on by the flatness of a technologically driven world by saturating its users in the colour, materiality and light. Elements that our mind and bodies need to live a balanced lifestyle.

to look at design from the perspective of wellness and creating accessible interiors which are good for your health.

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continuous growth of new businesses and activities, eventually leading to the urban microcosm we see today.

Within the wide spectrum of different sectors in Kings Cross, office space remains the largest, and also shows that the new built environment has only blurred the lines between work and play.

Communal Living The Ground Floor and Central Stair-case are the only areas within We Sense of a neutral palette, however tactility and materiality are still very prominent. This decision was implemented in order to allow these areas to become breathing spaces for the user before entering one of the more colourful production spaces.

way of creating corridors designed to calm the user by incorporating perforations. These openings allow for light and shadow to seep through and create a moment of calm for the user. In the case of Casa Gilardi, Barragan has designed a 10m long corridor which the user has to walk through in order to get to the courtyard. The walls are painted in a bright and uplifting yellow, and he has controlled the light entering the space by adding large rectangular openings, which create movement of light and shadow throughout the day. The whole process becomes a healing journey for anyone experiencing it, Barragan is a deeply religious person, this corridor is an example of his use of creating spiritual moments amongst the building.

The image on the opposite page shows a perspective view of one the corridors within the building. I have

taken into account the way in which Barragan focuses the users view ahead by creating a framed view at the end of a long corridor. The perforations Barragan uses have also influenced this design, but instead of using large openings I have explored using pine batons and bringing them closer together in order to give this user more privacy.

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The idea that thresholds can become a ritual within the architecture and design of my building combines my research of healing and a journey. Thresholds within my space are of enhanced importance, mainly due to the fact that they carry the user through to their final destination, but along the way have the task of relaxing or calming the mind. I wanted to give an example of a typical English Parish church. From the street, the user encounters the following sequence of spaces: street, lychgate, path, porch, vestibule, tower, narthex, nave, chancel, choir. Finally arriving at the destination, the Altar.

It is the multiplication of thresholds which steadily raises the theatricality and distance necessary for spirituality to be perceptual. Thresholds in this respect become more than transitional spaces, they become moment of contemplation and awareness. A building is rarely coercive, it does not force a person to do something, instead is suggests and encourages a course of action, and by implementing these courses of action into my building I can have more control over their journeys and what they will experience when walking through. i. Spatial Characteristics

Through my research on sensory design and its potential healing benefits, I have decided to classify the spatial characteristics within the building into three main types: Colour, Light, and Materiality Colour “This unusual experience encapsulates your senses and alters how you perceive the space you are in” an extract taken from my Research Report when describing my

experience of Olafur Elliasons exhibition in Tate Modern.

This example shows the power a colour can have on the user, by filling the space with the colour yellow Elliason has given the user a chance to look at a space they have seen before but from a different perspective, the simplicity of altering the hue and saturation of spaces we inhabit every day can be the answer to bringing the user back into the present moment. The hues of yellow and orange are symbolic for easing the body, relaxing of seriousness and balancing of space.

The inspiration of this concept led me to create my Sensory Hood. A wearable object which allows the user to see the world through the tones of blue. The colour was chosen due to its qualities to relax tension, and recharging the energy of the body, the hood is a chance provide the user with a moment of serenity and peace.

the positioning of the bench on the shadowed side, a suggestion that the purpose of this space is an invitation for visitors to sit and relax and to experience the beauty in how light shines through the multitude of openings.

These perforations provide a moment of rest, enhanced light and views to other areas of a building.

“The impression of a color and the message it conveys is of utmost importance in creating the psychological mood or ambiance that supports the function of a space.” Theo Gimbel, Healing Through Colour. Gimbel writes of the physical and phycological uses of light and colour. Specifically, he explains the effect each colour has within a space and on a user’s phycology. This idea that a specific colour could encourage different emotions

Materiality Today, technological culture has standardized and flattened the built environment, making it predictable.

Buildings have lost their depth and mystery and no longer encourage the action of touch. Ashley Montagues medical evidence explains that “[The skin] is the oldest and most sensitive of organs, our first medium of communication and our most efficient protector, Mother

To explore the idea of colour as a healing element within a space I began experimenting with Terrazzo, which allows for a combination of different colour variations.

The models below were created by changing the colour of the Jesmonite and chips with different inks to get the required result. Image below shows this implementation of colour within the building itself.

Flint House by Skene Catling de la Peña is a home designed entice the user to touch it and creates meaningful moments through touch. The main materials used include terrazzo and flint, a material rarely used in architecture however it was chosen for its rawness and roughness.

allowed me to look further into implementing a colour for each production space, with the intention of addressing an in-balance in our lives, by saturating their users in the colours needed to achieve positive mindset.

Light and Shadow Natural Light is the number one attribue workers want in their office environment, according to Jeanne C. Meister from The Harvard Business Review. There are strong links between the benefits of natural light exposure and our overall productivity. Particularly in the workplace, natural light has been linked to improved focus, efficiency, and less illness with reduced absenteeism. Creating sun lit spaces, quiet shaded corners or shifting shadows, as the designer it is possible to alter the direction of light, increase of decrease its volume, or differ it through openings.

Luis Barragan showcases the importance of openings amongst most of his work. An example of this is his use of a framed lattice which he uses within Capilla de las Capuchinas. This architectural element is placed in multiple location to create a dappled shadow effect where there would normally be a darker space. We notice

The location of Coal Office means there is little or no direct sunlight depending on the time of year, therefore it is important to organize the space around achieving as much light as possible. I will be implementing the use of perforations throughout the building to encourage the flow of light throughout as well as creating these moments of pause which we see in the example of Las Capuchinas. In this case they act as viewing spaces as well as a way of allowing the light to pass through.

of the senses”. It integrates our experience with our surroundings and our own selves. The implementation of haptic architecture has the ability to promote intimacy and slow the user down, it unites and engages.

This example shows clear decision making from the architects to put forward the sense of touch before vision.

Catling de la Peña notices the importance of skin to touch the walls and the architecture to give the user a chance to be present there and then. The irregularities that come with these uneven textures can arouse bodily, muscular and haptic experiences.

The implementation of tactile materials throughout my

building are very important, Flint house is an example of how these materials can be exaggerated and placed in different locations to encourage touch. With this idea in mind I began testing ways I could recreate this sense of

texture and unevenness in my concept models. By using plaster of paris I was able to create my own mold and add or subtract elements to help exaggerate an uneven surface. Throughout my building I want textures to invite the user to touch and feel, these actions are what create an atmosphere of intimacy and warmth. If designed correctly, the action of touching parts of the space can

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Perforations A perspective view of one the corridors within the building showing the continuation of perforated batons along the length of one of the transitional spaces. These perforations are designed to allow for control of light as well as control of the views within the space. The constant shift in shadows throughout the day creates an ever changing experience for the user, this will hopefully encourage presence and awareness when using this part of the building.

Section Cut - North Elevation By slicing through the building we are able to notice the relationship between the three main elements. The Stairswhich connect all the spaces, The void- provides a sense of community as well as views throughout, and thirdly the production spaces, where each element is designed around user needs and prioritising their well-being.

invoke a sense of security, comfort and trust. ii. Conclusion Composition of concept models This project invited me to think critically about the seemingly inevitable role technology plays in shaping our lives and to envision the kind of spaces we desire to inhabit in the future. We Sense is an opportunity to look at the design of our public spaces from a human perspective in order to understand the constant sensory communication between body and space and a chance to see the benefits of a building that prioritizes user comfort over ostentation. of a building that prioritizes user comfort over ostentation.

I was able to realise my concept of a healing environment through the use of Materiality, light and colour. Taking these three main concepts into my studio practice gave me an opportunity to test different variations and outcomes. Although they are three individual sensory experiences, to achieve a successful outcome these three elements benefit each other and work together to create the whole user experience.

By combining these three elements in the studio I

was able to understand how they work together, for example the way shadow and light would respond to certain textures and uneven surfaces and how this creates different types of atmospheres. The research carried out on colour and its phycological effects was necessary, through this knowledge I was able to create physical models of varying colours to achieve a better understanding of how these might affect not only the space but the person using it. It also became a reminder to work with the colours which are scientifically proven to heal in certain ways, rather than focusing on the colours which were more suited for the overall aesthetics of the building.

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My case studies involved a range of architects, artists and office environments. This variety taught me to understand the space as more than a work environment and more of healing environment. This allowed me to look at the idea of an office from a different perspective, it is more than a space to produce work, it is an experience which can be influenced through sensory design. Olafur Eliasons work

important the spaces are which we live in, they become life-support systems which can bring us together, slow us down and encourage people to live in the present moment. Technology has brought us ample benefits, but we must remember the need to engage physically with an environment in order to truly experience the present moment.

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Parth Garg. 2020. How multi-sensory design can help you create memorable experiences. [ONLINE] Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/multi-sensory-design-can-help-youcreate-memorable-designs-95dfc0f58da5. [Accessed 05 January 2020].

Parth Garg. 2020. How multi-sensory design can help you create memorable experiences. [ONLINE] Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/multi-sensory-design-can-help-youcreate-memorable-designs-95dfc0f58da5. [Accessed 08 December 2019].

concretized this for me in the way he can transform public spaces into multi-sensory spaces.

Sensory Well-Being for Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities: Creating (and Testing) a Sensory Well-Being

creating physical models in the studio alongside research and knowledge has allowed me to look into specific elements within a space, big or small, that will evoke a certain feeling and the alteration of these elements will alter the emotional well-being of the user.

(and Testing) a Sensory Well-Being Hub | HKS Architects.

[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.hksinc.com/howwe- think/research/sensory-well-being-for-adolescentswith-developmental-disabilities-creating-and-testing-asensory-well-being-hub/. [Accessed 05 January 2020].

The relationship between body and space has always been a priority within my work, however the process of

Today more than ever, we have come to realise how

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Sectional Perpective This view shows a snapshot of two of the production spaces and their relationship with the stairs and the hallway below. It explains my concept of a healing environment through the use of Materiality, Light and Colour.

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Banfi, L. (2015) 'Essays of Significance and Critical Reflections', A-Theory or B- Theory of Time? An Aristotelian Answer. Apr 1st , pp. 1.

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Design Propositions: A Curated Collection

Design Propositions: A curated collection

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BA (HONS) INTERIOR DESIGN 2020 CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ARTS

Course Leader Tomris Tangaz

Students Aminah Al-Khorsan

Mengxi Ma

History & Theory Lecturer Grace Adam

Asthina Badcock

Tom Milne

Isabel Barbosa De Azevedo Alves

Amelia Caroline Moran

Emilia Caule

Eleanor Rhodes

Illa Donwahi

Iyifca-Rosalia Anita Saieva

Chelsea Evans

Valentina Saldarriaga Franco

Tessa Faddy

Dina Sharer

Szabolcs Farkas-Pall

Mitchell Thomas Smith

Fiona Fuller

Helen Swinton

Rushil Gaba

Nikita Terry

Areeya Irene Jamieson

Elizabeth Teye

Chloe Kennedy

Nivani Thilakarajah

Katrina Kuchane

Henna Valli

Year Leader Rachel Stella Jenkins Associate Lecturer Mohamad Hafeda Digital Design Lecturer Nick Grace

Š 2020 BA Interior Design, CCW