Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

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Mapping with Character

DE DIC AT ION This research is dedicated to Jess, and Simon who empowered me to explore Gloucester Road, and to Zach, Anja and Jackson who all exemplified play.

Helen Beresford

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C O N T E N T S 0.1 INSPIRATION 0.2 LITERARY CONTEXT 0.3 HYPOTHESIS 0.4 AIM 0.5 OBJECTIVES 0.6 LIMITATIONS 0.7 IMPLICATIONS 0.8 DEFINITIONS 0.9 RESEARCH PROCESS

1.0 PHASE 1: EXPLORING

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2.0 PHASE 2: MAPPING

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2.11 Mapping Observations

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1.1 Introduction 1.2 Methodology 1.3 The Lisbon expedition 1.4 Observations 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Methodology 2.3 Mapping Lisbon 2.4 Lisbon Map 01 2.5 Lisbon Map 02 2.6 Mapping Chilaw 2.7 Chilaw Map 01 2.8 Chilaw Map 02 2.9 Mapping Nottingham 2.10 Mapping Bristol

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8 10 12 13 13 13 13 13 14 17 17 18 21 25 25 26 27 29 30 30 33 35 37

Mapping with Character

3.0 PHASE 3: MAP MAKING 41 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Methodology: 3.3 Flaneur’s notes 3.4 The Materials: the base 3.6 The Elements: Zones 3.5 The Elements: Houses 3.6 The Elements: Road names 3.7 The Elements: Parks 3.8 The Elements: Artwork 3.9 The Elements: The Arches 3.10 The Elements: The Bus routes 3.11 The Elements: Fruit shops 3.12 The Elements: Frame & Supports 3.13 The Elements: A Note 3.14 Transgressions: Rear 3.15 Transgressions: Front

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3.16 Observations

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4.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 References 5.2 Figures 5.3 Exhibition Text 5.3 Ethics Checklist

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Fig. 1. Detail from research , Photograph by author

6 // Introduction

The city is a patchwork quilt of traces of human existence.

(Leach, 2002)

Helen Beresford

Introduction // 7

0.1 INSPIRATION

The city is a patchwork quilt of traces of human existence. To analyse the traces is to analyse the lives of those who left those traces.

(Leach, 2002) To understand the genius loci of a place does not mean to copy old models. It means to determine the identity of the place and to interpret it in ever new ways (Norberg-Schulz, 1991) Artists Grayson Perry and David Alesworth have both produced maps woven into tapestry. Perry’s map of the UK, inspired by Afghan War Rugs, distorts the layout of the country to reflect population density on a background of tower blocks. Buzz words included describe the national discourse of the time (Perry, 2017).

Alesworth embroiders an antique tribal rug with the map of Lahore before its colonisation (Alesworth, 2012). Each of these exemplifies the theory of a city as a patchwork – a tapestry that reveals more than the built environment by the materials, methods and distortions used to express the place.

This research will explore the idea of the city as a patchwork quilt.

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Mapping with Character

Fig. 2 (opposite) Alesworth, D., 2012. The Cantt. Runner, 1893.

Fig. 3 (below) Perry, G., 2017.

Red Carpet.

Helen Beresford

Introduction // 9

0.2 LITERARY CONTEXT The introduction of geographic information systems (GIS) into the field of cartography has dramatically changed the way we view the world through which we navigate. Google maps has become so embedded that the average navigator no longer need to check the OS map before a hike, or the A-Z before a road-trip. For a quick search and a large fee, services like Digimaps provide designers with digital map of their chosen area with ease. The production of a ‘site plan’ process has become a formality, an expression of graphic design skills.

But this isn’t mapping, this is tracing.

The objectivity of maps is a fallacy. It is never neutral, passive or without consequence (Corner, 1999) and the map was never and will never be a vision of reality (Woods, 1992).

The efficiency of a map relies upon its selectiveness and abstraction.

The 1:1 map has been the focus of multiple thought experiments and its absurdity has been highlighted, so we scale our maps down. They are framed, orientated, and stripped of every part of information that is not vital to the narrative this map has been designed to support. The use of maps for power and propaganda has been well documented. Brian Harley has provided plenty of insight into its repercussions and the Situationists developed the study of

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Psychogeography in resistance. For the city map designer, Kevin Lynch suggests five key elements of a map (mental or physical): path, edges, nodes, districts and landmarks (Lynch, 1960), but this abstraction could leave an ill-informed reader to assume this city had no inhabitants, and would be unaware of the vitality, sense or atmosphere of the place. The tangible is abstracted, and the intangible is usually ignored.

The production of a map is a process of encountering, abstracting and translating. We can’t map a place with which we are not familiar, and in encountering the city we read and interpret it. The shop fronts, styles of architecture, density and demographic of the population, the sounds, the smells each provide information that we can decipher.

Psycho-geographers use the term flâneur for the reader of a city (Frisby, 2002), the person who walk with no set route, allowing the city to guide them. Mapping includes this dérive, and then the process of abstraction, and finally the translation. Maps, just as any other form of communication, are a collection of signs and symbols (Wood, 1993) developed over centuries, and that are still developing.

As human understanding of the world and semiotics evolve, so too will the process of mapping.

Mapping with Character

The output of this process is, however, static. ‘Maps are moments in the process of decision making’ (Woods, 1992), and this is both a great strength and an opportunity. The moment captured in each map is an important and somewhat honest marker of the time (and author and purpose) when the map was produced. The historic development cartography mirrors the development of the human understanding of the known world.

This frozen moment in time is also a deception, not revealing the whole truth of the place. Claude Monet painted the façade of Rouen Cathedral over thirty times in an attempt to capture it, and each painting differs.

If a static monument can change, how much more can an inhabited city.

If the city represents the traces of human existence, maps of the city should do the same. Mapping is the typical method of recording and representing the world we inhabit and thus becomes the springboard of design processes. James Corner proposes that “Mapping is perhaps the most formative and creative act of any design process, first disclosing and then staging the conditions for the emergence of new realities”. Each architectural or planning design process will begin at least in part with a 2D map, but very little consideration is given to the process of mapping when we design.

Each area, its inhabitants, and the

Helen Beresford

project that emerges will be different, so they should deserve a unique mapping to reveal the unconscious.

The genius loci, translated ‘the spirit of the place’, involves these intangible aspects of a metropolis that can only be known through experiencing the place. Once experienced, the genius loci is imprinted upon the viewer. ‘To understand the genius loci of a place does not mean to copy old models.

It means to determine the identity of the place and to interpret it in ever new ways (Norberg-Schulz, 1991).

Questions of representation are bound up with issues of social power (Pinder, 1996). The use of maps as a tool for oppression has been well documented but the concerns associated are restricted to the use of the maps, not their production. If indeed we have been oppressed by the cartographers, then the answer is not to create another authoritative representation to which we must submit, but instead encourage engagement and diversity.

‘Multiple names and multiple maps’ (Nash, 1992). It is only in this way that a more democratic style will naturally emerge.

The research will explore the expression of the genius loci through map-making.

Introduction // 11

0.3

HYPOTHESIS

Can the genius loci that is imprinted on a user be revealed through map-making?

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Mapping with Character

0.4

AIM

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OBJECTIVES

The aim of this research is to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

The following objectives will be achieved through the design research process.

• To explore the concept of the city as a patchwork quilt • To explore the impression the genius loci on a flaneur • To identify elements of a city that make the genius loci • To express the genius loci through map-making • To produce a map that embodies the genius loci of a selected city.

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LIMITATIONS

The limitations of this study are it’s subjectivity and its reliance on my own technical skill. The maps are personal to myself, based on my own experiences, impressions of and interactions with each of the cities. They are subjective representations. The second limitation is that of my own skill. Some of the beautiful maps I explored have been created by artists or cartographers, and I am not trained as either.

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IMPLICATIONS

This study has few ethical implications because it is a subjective study based on representations of my own perception.

Photographs containing the faces of others will have these aspects redacted. Any content from others will be referenced.

The full ethical checklist is attached within the appendices.

Helen Beresford

0.8

DEFINITIONS

MAP A functional medium representing a place for social discourse (employing semiotics to communicate what words alone cannot) (Denis Wood, 1993) MAPPING Recording the tangible and intangible identity of a place, both mentally and externally (input).

MAP MAKING The technique of revealing new data about an area – and output expressing individual existence through universal medium (output).

TRACING The technique of reproducing known data of an area (Corner, 1999) GENIUS LOCI Literally translated ‘sense of place’, it is the intangible and tangible qualities that combine to produce a unique identity of a location as coined by Christian Norberg-Schulz

PSYCHO-GEOGRAPHY The playful exploration of urban environments for “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals” (Debord, 1955).

FLÂNEUR An urban explorer, drifting through a city observing modern urban life, coined by Charles Baudelaire

Introduction // 13

0.9 RESEARCH PROCESS The research will be conducted through design. The nature of genius loci calls for the subjective and playful exploration with places, and so the materials and methods should also be playful. The results shall then be analysed, and observations noted.

This process necessitates phases, each self-contained but building upon the lessons of those before.

There are three phases to this research: The first involves the execution of a psychogeographic method of exploration.

The second involves multiple tests of the mapping process for numerous cities as a way of revealing the imprint of a genius loci on the author.

These outputs will be final.

The third is a final and more thorough expression of a place through the production of a larger and more detailed patchwork map.

This output will be ongoing.

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Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

Research Process // 15

Fig. 4. Debord and Asger Jorn Memories (1959)

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Mapping with Character

1.0 PHASE 1: EXPLORING 1.1 Introduction

1.2 Methodology

The first phase of the research is to embrace the role of the flaneur, the urban explorer. Taking inspirations from the situationists, I undertook a walk through an unfamiliar area of Bristol, following a map of a familiar area of Lisbon.

2. Follow this map through a city other than that which it represents.

The example used here is a map of Lisbon followed through the streets of Bristol. It is up to the researcher to decipherer the map and apply its attributes to the environment through which they walk.

“The city is a discourse and this discourse is truly a language: the city speaks to its inhabitants, we speak our city, the city where we are, simply by living in it, by wandering through it, by looking at it.”

Roland Barthes

Aim

The aim of this research is to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

Objectives:

The following objectives will be achieved through the design research process.

• To explore the concept of the city as a patchwork quilt • To explore the impression the genius loci on a flaneur • To identify elements of a city that make the genius loci • To express the genius loci through map-making • To produce a map that embodies the genius loci of a selected city

Helen Beresford

1. Obtain a map of a city and plan a route through. This may be between two known places or places chosen at random, but this should be noted.

3. Record the tangible and intangible aspects of the walk by photographs, notes, recordings, drawings, or any other means appropriate.

4. Produce a ‘map’ combining the record of the route with the map followed, expressing both tangible and intangible elements however the researcher deems most effective.

5. Review the true route against route followed and note any observations.

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1.3 The Lisbon expedition

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Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

Phase 1 // 19

Fig. 5. Route walked following map of Lisbon Fig 6. (below) Actual walk undertaken through Bristol

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Mapping with Character

1.4 Observations

• The implementation of this method facilitated an exciting and freeing exploration. Considering this British suburb as an exotic metropolis sparked our imagination and we found significant landmarks, photo opportunities and even historical monuments that we would perhaps have not looked for had we just walked through without our eyes peeled.

• The method forced us to relax, allowing for ambiguity and error in a map that we would otherwise not accept inaccuracy from. The truth is a that a Google map will not be exact, and this process encouraged us to forgive all it’s errors. Once that was accepted, it could be used much more efficiently. We had to read the place and translate it into the map, the opposite of how we usually navigate.

• The walk was a total of 1.89 km (1.18 mi) but followed a 2.41 km (1.50 mi) path. The map provided an ambiguous scale, so we were able to continue walking until the place of interest (marked on the map with a castle) was found.

• A review of the maps later revealed that although we followed a map due east, we walked a southern route. This was not clear as we walked, as reading the location of the sun is not a typical habit of ours.

Helen Beresford

Phase 1 // 21

Fig. 7-10. Photographs from phase 1 walk, by author

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Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

Phase 1 // 23

Fig. 11. Photograph of tiles in Sao Sebastiao station, taken by author

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Mapping with Character

2.0 PHASE 2: MAPPING 2.1 Introduction

To understand the genius loci of a place does not mean to copy old models. It means to determine the identity of the place and to interpret it in ever new ways (NorbergSchulz, 1991) To better understand the intellectual and physical process that goes into producing each map, and practice this process, I produced a number of maps.

I chose four cities, Lisbon (Portugal), Chilaw (Sri Lanka), Nottingham (UK) and Bristol (UK) as I had visited each within months of undertaking the research.

Aim

The aim of this research is to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

Objectives:

The following objectives will be achieved through the design research process.

• To explore the concept of the city as a patchwork quilt • To explore the impression the genius loci on a flaneur • To identify elements of a city that make the genius loci • To express the genius loci through map-making • To produce a map that embodies the genius loci of a selected city

Helen Beresford

2.2 Methodology

Encounter the city. A place cannot be mapped if it is not known. The exploration of the city should be as natural as possible, a derive. This allows the producer to be influenced by the city itself, not a previously edited version with an agenda.

1. Decide scope of map. The area of each city that will be mapped depends upon the purpose of the map, and this should be discerned.

It may be unnecessary to map the whole city.

2. Identify defining elements of city.

Each city has its own history, cultures and societies that make up its features. These should be identified and noted down. This will include both tangible and intangible aspects. The genus loci should be identified and noted.4.

Collect materials relevant. The maps should be produced with authentic elements. If authentic elements cannot be sourced, alternatives should be considered with care.

3. Collate information to produce a map. The elements should be represented and layered as the researcher sees fit.

4. Analyse the results and note observations. What was learned about the city from the production of the map, and what was could not be tangibly represented. Why did these things happen.

Phase 2 // 25

Fig. 12. Google satellite image of Lisbon

2.3 Mapping Lisbon

The first city is Lisbon, the inspiration for this research. I visited once, for three days, in 2018 as part of a conservation research trip. A particular mural in São Sebastião underground station (page 24) was the catalyst for the concept so the first iterations of mapping was on a base of tiles. Although the tiles here are meant to represent a tree, it can be easily read as a map, translating the lines and shapes to routes, green parks, outlined buildings, blue ponds and red‌ circuses? The ambiguity allows for imaginative readings.

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Mapping with Character

2.4 Lisbon Map 01

This little map quickly taught me about the materials I was using.

Acrylic paint does not adhere to glazed tiles, the coloured tiles confuse the overall image, and uhu should not be used as a replacement for grout.

The context was also too large, for a map that contains more information, a smaller area should be selected.

The street layout in the old town is noticeably different from that in the new town.

The acrylic did not adhere to the glazed tiles.

25 de Abril Bridge

Helen Beresford

The coastline defines Lisbon, bringing its tourists and trade.

Phase 2 // 27

Fig. 13-16. Photographs of Lisbon taken by author

Gulbenkian park. We spent a wonderful day there relaxing, painting and doing crosswords.

The use of a darker green ink to write a description of our time there was deliberate, creating an indistinguishable pattern from further away, requiring the viewer to lean in .

The map is made of cork and ink on white tiles. The cork identifies the positions of dense building blocks. Cork is one of Portugal’s main exports, and accounts for almost 70% of the world’s cork.

It is also said to be the reason for their colonial success.

In some areas the ink has rubbed away. This produces an interesting effect and, were the whole map created in this way, a new map may appear.

Pins represent subway stations, the underground being our main method of transportation. The thread between shows the routes of each line.

Vinho tinto punctuated each day whilst in Lisbon. Here, the typically unwanted red wine stain has been embraced and links the city in the style of the psychogeographers.

Places of note, such as the location for the 2018 UWE open exhibition, is marked on the map.

Less interesting is the mark, than the fact that returning to this place would reveal the question of whether or not the abandoned buildings have been restored

Portugal is famous for its tiles.

The empty space allowed room for these patterns to be expressed.

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Mapping with Character

2.5 Lisbon Map 02

Fig. 17-20. Detail from Lisbon Map 02, Photograph by author

The white tiles made this a much more effective and readable map. The scope of the map is only 1 mile , from the Gulbenkian gardens to the MarquĂŞs de Pombal roundabout , which was the area in which we were staying. This allowed for more detail to be added. The materiality here helped to express more of the features without words or symbols. I particularly like the use of red wine.

Helen Beresford

Phase 2 // 29

Fig. 21. Google satellite image of Chilaw

2.6 Mapping Chilaw

I visited Chilaw in 2018 for 3 days during an exchange programme with the Colombo City School of Architecture.

A lot of the information I gained from the city was from wondering around surveying the city. I was not a flaneur in Chilaw, but an academic (and a tourist), and so struggled to define its genius loci.

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2.7 Chilaw Map 01

The first map I produced for Chilaw involved layers of acetate so that they could be read as a set (and in any order).

It became clear that this was not a suitable choice, and although aesthetically it produced a nice map, the materiality was revealing something about the place that was not true.

Mapping with Character

Fig. 22-25. Detail from Chilaw Map 01, Photograph by author

The agricultural industry that supports the city is shown by inked patterns of produce: pearls, fish, coconuts and shrimp.

The poorer communities, the fishers on the peninsula, are identified by 50 rupee notes. 100 rupee notes across the bridge identify the wealthier areas.

Layers of acetate allow plastic transparency, which is far from the nature of the place.

Helen Beresford

Acrylic paint used to represent the colour and texture of the geography.

The geography defines the city in both its distribution and it’s use.

The transport routes were draw as lines, more in keeping with cartographic standards, thicker for more important an

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Fig. 26-30. Photographs of Chilaw taken by author

Nails have been used to represent fishing boats. As well as a few in the sea, there are many throughout the straight between the peninsula and the mainland. The fish market, just south of the river is the meeting place for many of them each morning.

Thick string ties together the burlap bag (sea), and the vegetable sacks (land). Along the coast are thick rocks that provide a thick barrier.

Pins denote busy junctions. The method of sticks and pins is inspired

by Polynesian reed maps.

Beneath the mesh on the main land is 100 rupee notes. This is an indication of the wealth of the area contrasted with those in the fishing village. There is also a lot of illegal money in Chilaw, reports of crime are high.

The only bridge connecting the peninsula to the mainland stands proud.

The base is made up of a burlap bag, and the geography indicated by mesh vegetable sacks. It is the fishing, agriculture and pisciculture that support and shape the city.

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The train station has been marked on with metal bolts and nails. The infrastructure was introduced by the British, but is still in use today.

Mapping with Character

2.8 Chilaw Map 02

Fig. 30-33. Detail from Chilaw Map 02 Photograph by author

The second map of Chilaw represents some of the elements of the city with more expressive materials, however all of these materials were obtained in the UK, and I fear that the time and physical difference between myself and the site has resulted in some stereotyped liberties being taken. The map with its Polynesian influence, paints a picture of a very primitive society, and the complexity and development has not been well represented.

Fig. 34. Detail from Nottingham Map Photograph by author

Helen Beresford

Phase 2 // 33

Fig. 35-38. Details from Nottingham Map Photograph by author

The city’s industrial history is particularly clear in the East of the city, where old factories are abandoned, or turned into student accommodation.

The tram route has been marked on with tram tickets, the stops as entrances into the city. NTU is the institution to which I owe a huge gratitude.

A year in Nottingham doesn’t pass without the goose-fair, a marker on every Notts dweller’s calender

Despite the beauty of Wollaton Park, and the fact that it is one of very few large green areas in Nottingham, I remember it most for the festivals,

Overheard in Notts Baby represents my integration into the ‘locals’ language.

LeftLion Magazine became the map by which I navigated the city, following the ‘what’s on’ pages as my guide.

Bodega, my favourite local bar. The location for memorable gigs, Christmas parties, leaving do’s, catchups, frank conversations and the venue at the centre of my map.

The lace base is exposed in the Lace Market area.

Not only is the Nottingham Contemporary the art gallery I visited most, but it is the here that I voted in the 2016 EU referendum.

My balcony overlooked the canal, and the geese that flew down it each morning.

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Mapping with Character

Fig. 39. Google satellite image of Nottingham

2.9 Mapping Nottingham

Nottingham is a city I am very familiar with, having gone to university there and lived there for two years as a post graduate.

This map was produced to reflect my life in Nottingham from 2015-2017. During a recent visit to Nottingham I collected all the materials for the map from the places in the city that were most important to me.

I chose a base of green lace, as Nottingham has a strong history in the lace industry which cant be ignored as you walk through the Lace Market area, past the old factories or the Contemporary Art Gallery. The Art galleries, with it’s green concrete façade panels imprinted with lace detailing, was the first building I would walk pace as I enter the city centre. A blue lace indicates the canal to the south of the centre, along which we would walk, run, and live (my apartment balcony overhung the canal).

The base of the map is the front page of Helen Beresford

Leftlion, a local free magazine we would regularly sit and trawl through to learn about the city, its people and the events being put on. Tickets from the tram marked out its route. The roads were made up on the ‘what on’ pages, as this was often the map by which we explored the city. Along the canal is a menu of craft beers, as any peak of sun would lead us to the Canal House where we would taste some of their 250 beers.

A drawback of this map is its flatness. The elements were all paper, paper-mached together to create a collage of layers. No city is flat, the layers running through it are infinite, each of the 289,000 people that live there could produce a totally different one. However, I like the complexity of it, although you can’t interact with it, you can explore it and discover more as your eyes investigate, just as I did.

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Fig. 40-44. Photographs of Bristol Photograph by author

The road is marked by the text, as it feels like social discourse is the motivation for exploration here.

The base of the map is built upon photos taken at gigs, as the music scene in Bristol is known for its showing of independent and up and coming artists.

Up and down the road you can see signs for local, independent, unique, small brands.

One thing I noticed when I moved to Bristol was the number of people on the streets who were pan handling or under the influence. The homeless and substance abuse issues in Bristol are not hidden, they are visible for all to see on Gloucester Road.

Gloucester Road can provide many services, so there’s rarely a demand for me to venture away, except to walk on the downs with friends.

36 // Phase 2

A small representation of the live music venues have been labelled, as the key locations.

This map was produced in 2019, but is more of a representation of my experience from 2017-19.

Mapping with Character

Fig. 45. Google satellite image of Bristol

2.10 Mapping Bristol

The final map of this phase is a map of Gloucester Road in Bristol. I began a Bristol map in the same vein as the Nottingham map, with a collection of the local magazines and publications. However, unlike Nottingham, I didn’t explore Bristol guided by the ‘what’s on’ page but by but by repeated trips up and down the road.

Often the visit was just passing, but when there was time I would walk down and see each and every shop. It became obvious that this medium was not sufficient for the representation of the road.

Helen Beresford

Phase 2 // 37

Fig. 45. The Bearpit - Bristol

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Mapping with Character

2.11 Mapping Observations

• The maps that contained the most detailed and true genius loci are the ones made of a smaller, more defined area. The abstract ones are useful only as part of a process, less so as a stand alone item.

• A flat 2D map with a single medium (paper/card) lacks much of the additional information that can be read when using a variety of materials. The cork and red wine used in the Lisbon Map 02 may not be physically accurate, but an understanding of what gives the city its identity can be expressed.

• The maps are not comparable. The benefit of standardisation is that the differences between each can be easily noticed.

• A map maker can provide real depth and complexity when the map is of a place with which they are familiar. Great familiarity does, however, result in a very subjective map that only presents a view from one perspective. The Nottingham map can be used as a guide to my own life, and the places I frequented, and may in fact reveal more about myself than the city, but it was made by a 20-somthing single professional. As a 30-something married, mother, or a 40-something manager in another profession, I’m sure the map would appear very different.

• These works risk crossing the threshold from mapping the city, to mapping myself.

Helen Beresford

Phase 2 // 39

Fig. 46. Detail of phase 3 map

40 // Phase 3

Mapping with Character

3.0 PHASE 3: MAP MAKING 3.1 Introduction

The city is a patchwork quilt of traces of human existence. To analyse the traces is to analyse the lives of those who left those traces. (Leach, 2002) The third and final phase of the research is the production of a patchwork quilt as an expression of the genius loci, as it impressed upon the researcher. I have chosen a 1 mile stretch of Gloucester Road in Bristol as it is rich in human activity and a place I am familiar with..

Aim

The aim of this research is to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

3.2 Methodology:

1. Encounter the route. Through repeated walks the genius loci can be imprinted deeper.

2. Record the journeys.

Both physically with photographs and as a mental map of impressions and judgements.

3. Consider the most iconic elements and sourced materials that represent this from the location.

4. Collate information and layer to produce a map. The elements should be represented and layered as the researcher sees fit.

5. Note observations about the process of making the map. Mapmaking is a process and it may be ongoing, impressions added with each new encounter.

Objectives:

The following objectives will be achieved through the design research process.

• To explore the concept of the city as a patchwork quilt • To explore the impression the genius loci on a flaneur • To identify elements of a city that make the genius loci • To express the genius loci through map-making • To produce a map that embodies the genius loci of a selected city

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 41

3.3 Flaneur’s notes

The first step was to simply enjoy and engage with the road. The flaneur sees whatever picture the environment provides. The genius loci cannot be dragged out but is experienced by interaction.

Gloucester road is busy, full of traffic and people. Its edges are marked with the same theme all the way a long; small and independent, friendly and inclusive, sustainable and diverse. .

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Fig. 47-58 - Photos of Gloucester Road

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 43

3.4 The Materials: the base

The base of the tapestry is a curtain I found in a charity shop. There are many charity shops on Gloucester road. I even heard a woman saying she’d come from Newport to come and visit all the charity shops on Gloucester Road.

The process involved my re-introduction to sewing, and the sewing machine. I pinned and hand sewed the fabric for Gloucester Road, so when I moved to the machine I was elated with the speed, so much so that there are a number of places where my excitement is visible in error.

The process of cutting each piece, pinning it, trimming it, re-pinning, sewing, unpicking and re-sewing meant I was intimately connected to each piece.

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The curtain provides a large and thick canvas on which to begin the patchwork.

Gloucester road made of a thick strip that loosely curves as the road does in my mental picture of the place, and gets smaller the further north as that’s the genius loci comes across to me, probably because the width of the pavement widens, and roof heights lowers.

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 45

3.5 The Elements: Houses

The road is thick with commerce, however the surrounding areas are dense housing for as far as I have ever ventured. I wanted these to be expressed in a vast and quick way, as there may well be many differences but they are just context that frame the road.

3.6 The Elements: Zones Each zone was cut out of sections, usually along their most dominant road. Whether or not these zones are correct is irrelevant.. Each route leads towards another area of the city, the names of which have been sprayed on with the city’s favourite ink: spray paint.

3.6 The Elements: Road names Lettered beads provided the font for the road names. They were in-keeping with the theme of the textiles and made to look like bracelets. Only the memorable roads names have been added, and these usually coinside with the name of the nearest bus stop.

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Mapping with Character

3.7 The Elements: Parks

The parks have been identified where the base material is left exposed, revealing the leaves and natural patterns. A stencil of a dog has been sprayed onto the area, as these are where I take my dog walking. St Andrews Park is the only one given a name, as it’s the only one I know the name of.

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 47

3.8 The Elements: Artwork The artwork that decorates the buildings along Gloucester Road is so iconic that its representation took more consideration, but inspiration was provided by a shop in stokes croft: Print your own t-shirts in 24 hours.

Photos of the artwork was included by transfer paper ironed on, 48 // Phase 3

3.9 The Elements: The Arches

The arches are a core landmark along Gloucester Road. In my mind they mark the halfway point between the bearpit and home.

I have added a view of through the arches as the houses beyond are framed in such a way that they become iconic.

Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 49

3.10 The Elements: The Bus routes Each memorable bus route was added to the map, marked with a bead.

These beads could then be connected with threads that represent the 70, 71, 72, 73, 75 and 76 bus routes. It felt important not to clarify which route each string represents, as a way of highlighting the doubling up of buses along this stretch of road.

3.11 The Elements: Fruit shops Each fruit and vegetable shop has been shown by a strawberry shaped stamp, coloured with acrylic ink.

There are many of these stalls along the road.

50 // Phase 3

Mapping with Character

3.12 The Elements: frame & supports

To frame the untidiness of the tapestry it was important to provide a high quality, high finish frame from which to display the work. The plywood frame and brushed bronze rails should provide a smooth finish.

3.13 The Elements: a note

I added a note in the location of my home, to thank Jess Higgins for her support. It felt necessary, when making such a personal map, to thank the woman who provided me with a home, and a sewing machine, and in doing so facilitated my exploration and expression.

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 51

3.14 Transgressions: Rear

The marks left by my low sewing skill level produce patterns on the rear of the map.

These have been left deliberately to reveal that story. The location of the lower pole was also changed towards the end, leaving a palimpsest of this through the centreline.

3.15 Transgressions: Front

The transgressions on the front of the tapestry reflect reveal the learning curve I underwent as I produced the first tapestry.

If I were to continue making them, the seams would be neater, perhaps even hidden. I also learned the lesson of less is more when spray painting, and not to favour ‘fabric paint’ when acrylic is an option.

52 // Phase 3

Mapping with Character

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 53

E X H I BI T ION 09 54 // Phase 3

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19 Mapping with Character

3.16 Observations

• The production of a tapestry is was technically not what I had expected at the beginning.

• My own technical ability, as well as access to higher technical process greatly limited the quality and quantity of layers of information that could be added.

• The time spent ‘setting the scene’ of the map required significantly more decisions than I first expected.

I was also surprised to see how many errors there were. Cotham Brow is an example of a road I ran east-west, but in fact runs almost north south. My orientation, and awareness of subtle bends in the road is not as accurate as I would have first thought.

• This map is an on-going piece of work. Whilst completing the research I experienced different aspects of the road and I expect that my view will change over the summer or when I return to full time employment.

• The physical nature of the tapestry necessitates the addition of other physical aspects, leaving the intangible still a troublesome aspect to express.

Helen Beresford

Phase 3 // 55

56 // Conclusion

Mapping with Character

4.0 CONCLUSION

The aim of this research was to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author through a number of objectives, and I believe that it has been only partially successful. The concept of the city as a patchwork quilt has been explored, and the impression the genius loci on a flaneur has been imprinted, however there is far too much that gives a place its identity than can be replicated physically.

It also became clear that, in making a subjective map of a place, the map can reveal more about the maker than the city itself. All cities can be abstracted to display a narrative, and the mapmaker must chose a narrative, else the narrative will become the maker themselves.

I have developed a great appreciation for cartographers and textile artists alike, and would like to continue research into this topic further.

The genius loci is a wonderful aspect to try and capture, and I hope that architects can practice weaving it into their own designs.

Helen Beresford

Conclusion // 57

5.1 References Alesworth, D., 2012. The Cantt. Runner, 1893. [Online] Available at: http://davidalesworth.com/portfolio/175250084/ [Accessed 19 04 2019].

Carroll, L., 1982. Complete Illustrated Works. :Bounty Books .

Cohen, A., 2018. Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” Ignored Society’s Expectations of Women. [Online] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-tracey-emins-my-bed-ignored-societys-expectations-women [Accessed 19 04 2019].

Corner, J., 1999. The Agency of Mapping: Speculation Critique and Intervention. In: D. Cosgrove, ed.

Mappings. London: Reakition Books, pp. 231-252.

Corner, J., 1999. The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention. In: D. Crosgrove, ed.

Mappings. London: Reaktion Books, pp. 231-252.

Debord, G., 1955. Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography. Les Lèvres Nues, Issue 6.

Debord, G., 1957. Report on the Construction of Situations and on the International Situationist Tendency’s Conditions of Organization and Action.

[Online] Available at: www.bopsecrets.org/SI/report.htm [Accessed 14 04 2019].

Emin, T., 1998. My Bed. [Art] (Tate).

Fathy, H., 1973. Architecture for the Poor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Frisby, D., 2002. The Metropolis as text: Otto Wagner and Vienna’s ‘Second Renaissance’. In: N. Leach, ed. Heiroglyphics of Space. London: Routledge, pp.

15-30.

Leach, N., 2002. The Hieroglyphics of Space. :Routledge.

Lynch, K., 1960. The Image of the City. :MIT Press.

Nash, C., 1992. Remapping and renaming: new cartographies of gender, landscape and identity in Ire-

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land. Feminist Review, Volume 44, pp. 39-57.

Norberg-Schulz, C., 1991. Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. :Rizzoli.

Pallasmaa, J., 2007. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Perry, G., 2017. Red Carpet. [Online] Available at: http://paragonpress.co.uk/works/ red-carpet/ [Accessed 19 04 2019].

Pinder, D., 1996. Subverting cartography: the situationists and maps of the city. Environment and Planning, Volume 28, pp. 405-427.

Ssu-Pen, C. & Hung-hsien, L., n.d. Kuang Yü T’u [Guangbei tu; Guang yutu] or The Mongol Atlas. : Tschumi, B., 1998. Architecture and Transgression.

In: K. M. Hays, ed. Oppositions. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 335-364.

Warren, Mosley & Altay, 2011. Rogue Game. [Art].

Wigglesworth, S., 1998. Table Manners. Architectural Design , pp. 31-35.

Wood, D., 1993. The fine line between mapping and map-making. Cartographica, 30(4), pp. 50-60.

Woods, D., 1992. The Power of Maps. New York: The Guilford Press.

5.2 Figures All figures authors own image and shown with detail with the exception of: Fig. 2 - Perry, G., 2017. Red Carpet. [Online] Available at: http://paragonpress.co.uk/works/ red-carpet/ [Accessed 19 04 2019] Fig. 2 Alesworth, D., 2012. The Cantt. Runner, 1893. [Online] Available at: http://davidalesworth.com/portfolio/175250084/ [Accessed 19 04 2019].

Mapping with Character

5.3 Exhibition Text

MAPPING WITH CHARACTER Helen Beresford The aim of this research is to produce a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

The city is a patchwork quilt of traces of human existence.

To analyse the traces is to analyse the lives of those who left those traces.

(Leach,

2002)

This research aims to explore the concept of the city as a patchwork quilt by producing a subjective map of an area as a way of understanding the place, and the genius loci, as it is imprinted upon the author.

To understand the genius loci of a place does not mean to copy old models. It means to determine the identity of the place and to interpret it in ever new ways (Norberg-Schulz, 1991) Artists Grayson Perry and David Alesworth have both produced maps woven into tapestry.

Perry’s map of the UK, inspired by Afghan War Rugs, distorts the layout of the country to reflect population density on a background of tower blocks. Buzz words included describe the national discourse of the time (Perry, 2017). Alesworth embroiders an antique tribal rug with the map of Lahore before its colonisation (Alesworth, 2012). Each of these exemplifies the theory of a city as a patchwork – a tapestry that reveals more than the built environment by the materials, methods and distortions used to express the place.

If the city represents the traces of human existence, maps of the city should do the same.

Mapping is the typical method of recording and representing the world we inhabit and thus becomes the springboard of design processes. James Corner proposes that “Mapping is perhaps the most formative and creative act of any design process, first disclosing and then staging the conditions for the emergence of new realities”. Each architectural or planning design process will begin at least in part with a 2D map, but very little consideration is given to the process of mapping when we design. Each area, its inhabitants, and the project that emerges will be different, so they should deserve a unique mapping to reveal the unconscious. `

Helen Beresford

Appendix // 59

60 // Appendix

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