SEMESTER 1: 'BLACKMARKET BREWERY' . SEMESTER 2: 'THE ACT OF DIS(CONNECTION)'

by Andrei Bigan

Semester 1: ‘Blackmarket Brewery’ consists of two main elements - a laundrette and a microbrewery. These seemingly unrelated functions work together in a circular economy system, inspired by the mutualistic relationship between two aquatic organisms. At the same time, the project aims to mitigate the consequences of an unfortunate post-Brexit scenario in which the free circulation of goods between the UK and the EU will cease by reintroducing bartering as a way of conducting trade. Semester 2: Inspired by George Orwell's '1984', 'The Act of (Dis)connection' speculates on the social and political consequences of new surveillance technologies based on big data and artificial intelligence on the fundamental human right to privacy. The building, nested inside Amazon's Fulfillment Centre, acts as a human ‘Recycling Centre’, allowing its users to change their identity through a series of non-invasive physical interventions and behaviour training courses.