London architecture is moving towards a fast-paced design process where buildings are constantly edited over years. A building can have several different lives in one generation with different uses and people.
Some buildings, however, have not yet joined the movement and are impeding the surrounding area to grow. The Shoreditch carpark has been left for decades without growth and years without use. With the government pushing for more sustainable travel, this leaves the existing carpark barren.
This project intends to make use of the carpark by understanding the existing nature and spreading those themes across the site. An inclusive space will be established, allowing all communities to grow together, making a new healthy heart in Shoreditch.
East London has shifted from handmade woodwork to technology. Whilst this project is not driven by nostalgia, providing a hub for local artists and professionals, students and creating an inclusive tourist attraction is. This project pro- poses we revert to the idea of crafting again and allow glassblowing to become an educational attraction.
This project avoids hiding the existing structure with new materials. I chose to express the juxtaposition between old and new, cold and warm, hard and soft. This is done by the clear distinction between concrete and timber.
The glassblowing studios and museum work by attaching new rooms, bridges, lifts, and stairs to create different hierarchies both vertically and horizontally. The building’s personality can be found in the most private of spaces and other spaces that welcome an audience. There are constant shifts in scale that allows for a playful wider visit and acknowledgement of the large-scale architecture or the more serious interrogation of a glass project where someone notices a small detail in the corner.
This proposal works with multiple materials and adopts different personas across the building.
