This year Unit 4 will continue to examine the public realm and the organisation of conglomerate buildings that initiate a relationship between the public and the private.
We will study and intervene in Elephant & Castle, once know as ‘the Piccadilly of South London’. The geographical centre of London, Elephant & Castle is currently undergoing major regeneration including the demolition of the existing shopping centre, one of the first indoor malls of the UK. The unit is going to investigate this typology of the ‘city centre within a single building’. The centre with its open air market, tube, bus and rail linkhas developed beyond merely catering for the shopper and intertwins social and commercial activities and networks.
The unit will re-examine the ‘pink elephant’ and its surrounding area based on its 1958 masterplan as well as the newproposed masterplan; taking into account the demolition of the nearby Heygate and Aylesbury estates and other regeneration proposals. Through cross and re-programming, students are asked to propose a new Public Urban Building, reaching out and connecting toexisting public spaces, urban practices, social and communal interaction that already exist on site or will come into existance soon. Here, the complex interface between building, the public space and more ephemeral uses and events will have to be carefully articulated and materialised. Impacts of the demolition of the estates and the relocation of tenants will form part of the discussion. The unit will continue its research into spatial and material organizations which will form the bases for technical studies.
A unit trip to Darmstadt, Germany will enable further investigation into the phenomenon of ‘city within one building’ and, a collaboration with the University of Darmstadt will encourage exchange.
To see what we did last year, click here - archive
Mark Boehmer, Paul Loh, Marianne Mueller
