Tuesday was another amazing session of City as Material!
We began the morning at Proboscis by watching Films of Charles and Ray Eams, Volume 4, the work of two American designers that combine the sensibility of the artist/architect with concern for everyday life, its functionality, and its beauty in simplicity. We then watched a much more experimental piece: Klipperty Klop by Andrew Kotting, a parody of land art that highlights mad, eccentric, British humor. The closing title pretty much said it all: “He was in one of those queer moods.” The two greatly contrasted each other, but were also complimentary in seeing how differently appreciation for the everyday can be expressed.
Bearing these in mind, we sat for a brainstorming session on how we are going to intervene into the everyday life of London for our project. The common point of interest that emerged was abandoned/lost space within the city. In the end, we divided initial research into two realms: above ground and under ground; our first step in the process is to discover spaces, such as underground tunnels and rivers, abandoned buildings, and hidden alleyways. Although the rest of the class seemed most intrigued by exploring above ground, I gravitated towards below. Comparing the underground structure of London to NYC has already captured my interest and is a topic I was planning to explore on my own; the fact that I can incorporate that investigation into my academics while here is amazing, and further proof that I am exactly where I should be doing exactly what I’m doing this semester.
It was time to mobilize, and Giles lead us on a new route from Farringdon Station north (a famous Italian enclave) through Holborn, Islington, and Finsbury with a stop for lunch at Exmouth Market — although I packed lunch, the others indulged in delicious ethnic cuisines that filled the street with an alluring aroma. We picnicked in a nearby park and reflected on the themes that emerged from our excursion: the varying topographies of the city and the functioning of reused and mixed-use city space. Hopefully the following photos will communicate the nature of this and why those themes were so relevant during the walk:
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Commissioners of Sewage
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Royal Mail Mount Pleasant Postal Sorting Office
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Ecmouth Market
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Exmouth Market
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Bone House and Graveyard
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Picnic Spot
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Pinic
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Three Corners Adventure Playground
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Three Corners Adventure Playground
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Clerks’ Well
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Clerks’ Well
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Clerks’ Well inscription
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Criminal Court
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St. Paul’s
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St. Paul’s
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Memorial
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Piccadilly Whip
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Piccadilly Whip
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Upon returning to Proboscis, we set up a blog for the course that we will be using to document our research and our experiences! We haven’t implemented a design for the page yet, but stay tuned for a fabulous piece of online documentation.
Giles also put together another post-session route for us. I embarked on the first portion, past St. Paul’s and over the Millennium Bridge, but left the group once I got a call from Annie Black. That’s right, my freshman year roommate and Texan counterpart is in London for the semester as well! She is studying at University College London in Bloomsbury, and I immediately headed there to help her settle in. We scouted out her campus and walked down Oxford St. to Primark to get towels and hangers (nice job being out, Argos), and obviously stopped for her first London pub experience (in true student style, she went with Strongbow, I with London Pride). We headed back to her flat and I made sure to tuck her in with some Gilmore Girls–the only thing that made me leaving okay. I’m so glad she’s here…welcome, girl!
Yup, there’s a method to our madness!
