THE YEAR IS 2025. LONDON’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IS MORE POLARISED AND DISTORTED THAN EVER. SPACES OF DISSENT ARE SHRINKING INTO THE SHADOWS - BUT ARE NOT DEFEATED. ABOVE A PAWNBROKER AT NUMBER 88 FLEET

by Rowan St John

The year is 2025. London’s political landscape is more polarised and distorted than ever. Spaces of dissent are shrinking into the shadows - but are not defeated. Above a pawnbroker at number 88 Fleet Street, the founders of the MayDay Rooms are deliberating their future. Around them, boxes of pamphlets, posters and rolls of film preserve the last traces of radical social movements and experimental cultures. They move to Southwark, to a new archive, and like-minded people follow.

A space is needed to house these artists and dissenters, providing them with low-cost accommodation and workspace as part of a collaborative intentional community that feeds off the waste of the city and is as self-sufficient as possible. Rather than fixed and immobile, this building is designed to grow and adapt over time, permitting decay and renewal within the predetermined limits of its mountainous superstructure.