Me, Tom Kean and Michael Antrobus (winners), Antony Jayakody (2nd)
Runner up (3rd). The prize was awarded by Councillor Frances Moseley who described the project as having...
"...plenty of artistic flare and a complete disregard for feasibility!"
Fine by me!
KINGSTON GATEWAY PROJECT
Participants -
+ Kingston University
+ Kingston College
A charette run in conjunction with Kingston Councils K+20 Action Plan. Ran over three phases, proposals were selected at each phase to continue. Each phase was a week long.
K+20 here
PHASE ONE
Click images to view my submission.
Phase one was exhibited at the Landscape.is Studio. Everyone across the undergraduate landscape course exhibited. Proposals were selected by tutors to move onto the next phase.
PHASE TWO
Click images to view my submission.
The brief at this phase defined the site as Kingston College roundabout. A site that the K+20 plan designated a key gateway for Kingston.
Phase two was exhibited at Market House, central Kingston. This was an opportunity for the public to vote for proposals from Kingston University and Kingston College.
The exhibition.
Local press release here
PHASE THREE
Click image to view my submission.
Phase three was initially critiqued at Kingston University to allow us to verbally communicate our work to students and tutors but also to members of the council. Frances Moseley Design champion for Kingston, Colin Bloxham from Kingston Arts panel and Richard McFarland civil engineer. The work was moved to Kingston College for private exhibition. The results are as yet unknown...
The exhibition. Sods law that camera ran out of batteries, so grainy phone pictures.
London Open City @ Sommerset House
If I could design London I would...
+ Bike - extend cycle lanes, improve awareness and allow bikes on the train network at all times.
+ Demotorise - pedestrianise, share space
+ Plant - trees trees trees
+ Modernise - water, electrical, lighting infrastructure to reduce waste
+ Experiment & Innovate, with new schemes, cultures and design
+ Dare to do it!
A well put together exhibition, with loads of freebies, focusing on the future of London's built/unbuilt environment.
Sommerset House here
Design for London here
Brit Insurance Designs Of The Year @ Design Museum 
Muon Four-Way Limited Edition Loudspeakers - A KEF concept designed by Ross Lovegrove
"The first in an annual exploration of the most innovative, interesting and forward looking new work in design of all kinds. Selected from around the world, Brit Insurance Designs of the Year presents 100 projects nominated by a group of internationally respected design experts, curators, critics, practitioners and enthusiasts. These projects fall within seven categories: architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport. The exhibition gives an overview of the most significant achievements in design and architecture in the last year, whether they are projects by a practice, a team or an individual."
An interesting collection well worth a look in especially for those who enjoy interactive exhibitions.
Design Museum here
Jean Prouve @ Design Museum/Tate Modern
Design Museum here
Tate Modern here
Haque Design + Research @ London Met
Burble London from haque d+r on Vimeo.
"Usman Haque has created responsive environments, interactive installations, digital interface devices and mass-participation performances. His skills include the design of both physical spaces and the software and systems that bring them to life. He has been an invited researcher at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, Italy, artist-in-residence at the International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, Japan and has also worked in USA, UK and Malaysia. As well as directing the work of Haque Design + Research he was until 2005 a teacher in the Interactive Architecture Workshop at the Bartlett School of Architecture, London."
Usmans' presentation covered a snapshot of his work to date. He started by explaining what drives his work,
1 - Architecture - how we are programmed to explore and experience space.
2 - Interaction not reaction - how can participation affect a response.
3 - Design + Research - how these are so closely intertwined to be almost indistinguishable.
I thought his mapping of modern phenomena, mobile telephone reception for example, and how he applied the results to his proposals fascinating.
Haque Design here
London Metropolitan University here
Potters Field Park Kiosks
DSDHA Architects here
China Design Now 
Ji Ji, Hi Panda, toy figure, 2006
"China Design Now explores China’s dreams and hopes over the last two decades, from individual designers to the nation as a whole."
China Design Now here
Snowboarding @ La Plagne
La Plagne here
Biotecture Ltd green walling systems
Caxia Forum Madrid
Patrick Blanc has some great examples of his own system of green walling, what he calls 'vertical gardens'. Recent work includes a partnership with Herzog & de Meuron on the Caxia Forum Madrid, Spain. Found this project on plataformaarquitectura.cl a great resource for new architecture.
Biotecture here
Patrick Blanc here
Caxia Forum here and here
Plataforma Arquitectura here
Thames gateway model by Pipers.
Its the size of a tennis court, epic! Really had an urge to stomp across it in a Godzilla like fashion, just me oh well...
Pipers here
'The Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, who has died from cancer aged 62, inspired and developed a fundamental change in thinking about the relationship between people, places and traffic.'
I had never heard of Hans Monderman untill reading his obituary in the Guardian this weekend. His theories of shared space are excellent, simple and have a high regard for the intelligence of a spaces' users. Here in nanny state UK some projects are embracing his principles, Kensington high street London, however its only time untill the nannies begin to vandalise the landscapes with their incesant rambalings. We all know, what is good for nanny is good for us...
Guardian article here
Wikipedia article here
Waterfront London, Rediscovering the rivers and canals of the capital @ NLA
An investigation into current and proposed waterfront developments in the capital. Water has the potential to enhance any landscape. In London water has several key issues to consider: economic, increase property value and the potential for a transportation network; biodiversity, encourage aquatic flora and fauna to recolinize pollutant free water; cultural, trade on the water and around it is what made London what it is today.
Download the catalogue here.
Londons' lost rivers
Henk Hofstra's blue road in Drachten (Holland) @ Wooster Collective
I personally think that a future London should embrace its waterfronts and waterways. How about resurfacing the lost rivers of london? Or create a subterranean waternetwork for boating commuters/troglodites...
River Tyburn @ sub-urban
Three Mills Wall River @ derelictlondon
This is exactly the scenario I believe is crying out for attention. Can landscape architecture help? Obviously it a dump that needs to be cleared. But can the surrounding area be regenerated and populated to stop anarchistic behaviour, should supermarkets only allowed to be constructed a certain distance away from an open watersource, can it be treated as a framework for nature to take hold?
NLA here
International Lecture Series: FAT @ The Bartlett
"Theory is futile..." - Sean Griffiths
Islington Square
Describing the consultation process with residents, of Islington Square - Social Housing, New Islington, Manchester 2006, Sean showed an image of a homemade bar in the corner of some ones livingroom and described it as,
"A spatial expression of culture."
which I thought was a great comment.
FAT seem to enjoy a subversive angle to how they confront a project. Their facades, in my opinion their most exciting element, borrow pattern from a local vernacular and distort it to create a new but also instinctively recogniseable form.
FAT here
The Bartlet here
Anthony McCall @ Serpentine Gallery
Interactive light experience. Sheets of tangible white luminecence create enclosures with etherial beauty.
Could this be used in the landscape to create corridors or ghostly apparitions that populate space at night? Just like Sony did here. All those photoshop images of proposals filled with ghosts could actually become realaised!
Serpentine Gallery here
Anthony McCall here
