DS 3.1

Future City? …in search of architectures of transformation and delight// Limehouse. An area transformed from a small medieval village to bustling port by international trade, abandoned after the collapse of the British Empire and subsequently resuscitated by international capital as part of the Docklands Regeneration Project. In direct opposition to the ongoing neoliberal regeneration of the area, we believe that we need to build communities that are proactive, sustainable and resilient. In semester 1 we asked our students to propose a ‘pop-up’ Parliament for a specific, underserved part of the community to come together for conversation and action. In semester 2 and under the broad theme of ‘social condenser’ we asked the students to propose large scale interventions which would be catalysts for change within Limehouse. Some of these proposals deal with practical issues such as access to food, energy and housing while others address issues surrounding education, industry and the emotional wellbeing of citizens using the microcosm of Limehouse to investigate ways in which the wider city may be saved. As a collective we are interested in processes that inform how we think about architecture, both as a physical entity and as cultural construct. This was explored through analysis of specific practitioners the form and politics of event and the radical technologies that promise to transform and liberate both our built forms and everyday lives.