Thursday, 8 October 2009
a new london topography
A quick collage I did to suggest a future London topography: Buckingham Palace finds itself under the resurfaced Tyburn river (currently buried), which also makes Westminster and Big Ben into an island (as it was, until the 18th century); London Pool has become a massive tidal marsh and most of the suburbs have been turned to tilled fields. Only the very core of the old city remains with its 2 million inhabitants, each one perturbed by the primordial dreams that visit them in their restless sleep...
More on the present struggle with a new architectural zeitgeist early next week: below another rapid image demonstrating 'human geology' – an amazing map from 1863 of the geology of England and Wales (London zoom) (legend).
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Awesome project, keep us informed on how it goes. The London Renaissance you referred to earlier, are you considering this a sort've worldwide phenomenon, where pilgrims come from China or India to study the sublime and paint Billy Turner knock-offs? What would be the impetus for something like this to happen?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting take on it - unfortunately I had all the steam knocked from my sails when my tutors pointed out that it sounded like all I was doing was proposing a neo-post-modernism.
ReplyDeletePhh.
The work I am doing directly at the AA is over at Inter 7 to keep Millennium People 100% Millennium Pure.
If the world population declines, as I fervently hope it will over time (lest Malthus be proved right), then this will become an issue facing the sprawling cities... How will they shrink? Will it be a sea of abandoned and rotting buildings (like half the Soviet Union is now) or will it be something more akin to your collage. I wonder if we'll be around to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like watching any of those disaster films – the heros are driving along and suddenly an asteroid rips across the sky and you're all like 'wow. that's awesome, I wish I could see that, but not be there.' and then you suck on your coke and pop some corn and realise that's exactly what is happening. I guess I like dreaming about the architectural equivalent of this double-think desire to indulge in destruction. *Nods at Ballard*
ReplyDelete