The Royal Institution by Samuel Rackham |
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Whether fantastical or pragmatic, the most interesting projects at this year’s Bartlett summer show had distinctly radical visions for society. Here are some highlights Scattered domesticity by Petr Esposito Esposito’s first project is a temporary kitchen that encourages the shared use of public space by the homeless and homed. Through such a “network of micro-architectures”, he hopes to start a discussion about social architecture in the urban sphere. Watch a video of the temporary kitchen being made Pooh Town by Nick Elias Elias’s surreal drawings introduces AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh to 1920s industrial Slough. By placing figures of the fictional bear with a notoriously positive outlook all around the town, he hopes to challenge socio-political exclusion through an “architecture of happiness” and a nostalgic make-believe pilgrimage around the city. Resurrecting the Rouge by Richard Winter Winter’s project tries to regenerate the ailing economy of Detroit by reclaiming its automotive heritage. He reinvented the Ford River Rouge car factory as a place for cars to be recycled and reborn, creating associated public space to boost the relationship between leisure and industry. Obama’s Ark by Frank Fan Obama’s Ark is a disaster relief centre set in Cape Disappointment, Washington State. Fan proposed the construction of an artificial moon to reclaim the confidence that Americans last had in their government during the 1969 moon landing, as a response to the country’s October 2013 public shut down. Andermatt Rezoned by Sandra Youkhana Responding to the theme “Ground Control”, Youkhana emphasises the relationship that Switzerland has with its harsh landscape, through a new typology that challenges the Alpine vernacular: the flatness of a commune amid the mountains. Dashboard confectionary by Rose Shaw Las Vegas has the highest rate of road accidents caused by drink driving in the US. As a solution, Shaw proposed a drive-through service station alongside the motorway ramp leaving the city, which comprises a series of architectural interventions intended to sober up drivers before they leave Las Vegas. The Royal Institution by Samuel Rackham Rackham designed a new home for the Royal Institution on the Southbank of the Thames to reconnect the arts and sciences. Such an institute would represent and give equal importance to both domains, and it would celebrate the theatrical aspect of science to raise its profile in the public consciousness. |
Words Debika Ray |
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