Fitzrovia Chalkboard

Fitzrovia Chalkboard is a temporary installation that creates a single point of display for collective messages in the local community – a structure that is a massive writing surface for all to contribute. It is inspired by how local, independent businesses rely on the traditional chalkboard as a means to advertise and mark their place on the street, in a time when technology offers many alternatives. Fitzrovia Chalkboard is designed using such recent advances and the public are invited inside the structure to view its innovative construction.

Inspired by Ramboll’s recent Trada Pavillion, the structure comprises of 47 birch plywood panels joined together by steel hinges. It is designed using methods developed by Ramboll Computational Design to produce exact cutting patterns for digital fabrication.  All panels are numbered sequentially and this
approach ensures that all panels fit together to create the form in a quick assembly process.

Fitzrovia Chalkboard was conceived for the Great Titchfield Street Festival as part of London Festival of Architecture 2013. One of a number of events planned for the month long festival, the inaugural street projects will promote positive change in the area, transforming Great Titchfield Street – from Mortimer Street up to Langham and Foley Street – into a pedestrianised haven for the day.

Oculus

Oculus is a temporary public space created for London Festival of Architecture at South Crescent, Store Street (WC1) from 4th to 12th July 2012.

I was part of the Ramboll team that planned, designed, created, and installed the suspended lens part of the installation.  Roz Barr Architects designed the surface and seating formed by some 7000 sandbags.  We enjoyed kind support from a number of collaborators including NLA and The Building Centre.  Full credits can be found here.

The suspended lens is a structure that holds a pool of water in the air to create distorted views of the surroundings.  It acts as a direct mirror of the sandbag amphitheatre below at ground.

Photos are courtesy of me and Ramboll.

The Realist's Wallet

It is a wonder the amount of excess we allow in our wallets.  Of course, those store cards and receipts are very rarely called upon.  We know this but do not take action.  We accept the bulge and piously carry it everywhere.

The Realist's Wallet has space only for a cash card, an Oyster card (for travel), and some notes.  We will find that we are not hindered by this small act of frugality.

The wallet is made of a few pieces of leather that are hand stitched with bright thread.  Detailing is simple and robust.  It is just bigger than a card and does not open up.  Notes are slid and hidden into the central compartment.

Supermarket Dumps

I have a sideline project called Supermarket Dumps which can be found here.  Please contribute.

Sentimental Junk @ Tent London

So we have just spent the last few days in the basement of the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.  It was great to show people our work and we got some good feedback.  And now it is gone as quickly as it appeared.

There were a couple of late additions to the piece.  These were a mini dustpan and brush made out of walnut and leather to sweep up the dust after sawing.  These go towards completing the ritual of adding a new item of sentimental junk.

Sentimental Junk

 

Sentimental junk has no monetary or practical value yet we are all collectors.  The way we deal with it is modest considering its strong personal value.  We muddle along with our ad hoc approaches.

This project is about finding a befitting physical and emotional sense of place for sentimental junk.

The outcome is a thick walnut timber shelf for sentimental junk.  Most sentimental junk is paper - these are held vertically, closely alongside each other, held in slots sawn into the top of the shelf.  Every slot is the result of a bespoke action, as and when required to suit the arrival of a new item.  Non-paper items sit alongside their paper counterparts.  A saw to perform the ritual of sawing is slung from the shelf.

Sawing the slots into the walnut shelf is a commitment for posterity and so elevates the status of the sentimental junk.  It is nostalgic of marking trees and recording our height on door frames when we were young.

These objects are worthy of pride of place in the home.  They are displayed as a visible reminder of who we are, in the same way that we display books, with the added difference that only we know what their significance is.  In this way, sentimental junk is released from its hiding and celebrated.

Teleconfessional

Teleconfessional consists of a couple of back-to-back phone booths with minor additions. A wooden stool with cushion adds comfort.  A dark curtain adds anonymity.  A light bulb indicates the phone booth is in use.  The number of the adjacent phone is given.

The public are invited to enter the booths and to converse with a stranger.  Having a listening ear helps them deal with their guilt and concerns.  By not being able to see the stranger but knowing that they are close and have willingly offered themselves, this facilitates a meaningful dialogue.  The two people are equal and no redemption is given.

Teleconfessional is an opportunity to pause and think.  We do not need to broadcast that which should be kept private.  Ironically, with an ever increasing multitude of ways to communicate, there seems to be absence of opportunities to “talk”.  By talking anonymously to a stranger about our guilt and concerns, we can hopefully feel a bit better about ourselves.

Teleconfessional is a response to Joe Moran’s article in The Guardian on 9^th June 2010 entitled: “The age of Big Brother demands we reveal our true selves.  Better we don’t.”