ENDERBY'S ROPERY

by Connie Latham

Name

Connie Latham

Email

connielatham93@gmail.com

Course

MArch Architecture

Inspired by the works of Rebecca Horn and Janet Echelmen, Enderby’s Harness involved an exploration of nautical knots and the craft of Macramé. Dating back to 6 AD, the craft has significant ties to Britain's maritime history. By experimenting with the Macramé process and the relation the knots could have to the individual, the final harness allowed one to inhabit, interact and play in a physically designed artefact, on the disused civic space known as Alcatel Jetty in Royal Greenwich. Enderby’s Ropery reintroduces the lost craft of ropemaking to the riverfront in East Greenwich, in protest of the large-scale residential developments proposed across the borough. The Ropery is a process driven building which spans 300m along the riverfront known as Enderby Wharf. The building’s versatility ranges from small scale private factory settings to a vast public promenade which interacts with the Thames tidal range engaging with Greenwich’s nautical history. The Ropewalk’s construction echo’s the Timber Hull construction of the Cutty Sark and remnants of British Ropery which have long been forgotten.