INSTITUTE OF THE GRAND UNION PLASTIC MERCHANTS
by Mina Gohary
S1:The Enquirer’s Printing Hub. The Hub answers to the Edgware Road Health Report, highlighting the decline of the Road in recent years. The Hub adopts a social enterprise scheme to create ‘The Edgware Road Enquirer’, a hyperlocal newspaper created to help connect residents and traders with the outside world. The homeless community of Edgware Road are invited to skill-building workshops, as well as contributing to the Hub through paper making. The Hub, local stands, and the Enquirer’s Festival work together to celebrate and promote the area. S2:Institute of the Grand Union Plastic Merchants. Our post-pandemic future sees plastic pollution at an all-time high, due to PPE, a dependence on plastic products and over-packaging. To combat this and revitalise trade along the Grand Union Canal, plastic waste building products are manufactured. With the Baltic Wharf being a historic site for building merchants, Travis Perkins take action in 2055 by re-branding as the Institute of the Grand Union Plastic Merchants. The Institute serves as a test-bed for it’s makers. Visitors are offered curated views whereby adaptive reuse and plastic are celebrated together. The community are invited to learn about Paddington’s history, and contribute to the Institute through plastic donations.
