150 BA Architecture | Design Studio (Three) Four THE UK GOVERNMENT has marked the edges of the Thames Estuary as ground for regeneration and fur ther urbanisation. Connecting the point of Westferry in East London to the Isle of Sheppey and the pier of Southend, this 70 kilometre stretch has also been described as the Thames Gateway. Once home to many hard and commercial industries, these lands are characterised by a lack of access to public transpor t, services and employment while, at the same time, the surrounding farm and wild salt marshlands host some of the country’s most fragile ecologies. With tidal flows continuously shifting this landscape, what is this a ‘Gateway’ to? This year Studio (3)4 explored these peri-urban and blurred edges of the River Thames. We challenged traditional notions of boundaries and explored analogue and digital landscape urbanism strategies to plot, adapt and reimagine these unknown fields. Project 1: Field Operations Setting out with a conceptual exploration, by deconstructing and recomposing the image of the Thames Gateway, the studio explored this landscape. From Gravesend out towards the Hoo Peninsula at the very edge of the Thames Estuary, the story of the river was mapped – its heritage and the unique landscape features that make up this ‘dark flat wilderness’. The first project resulted in a composite, physical or digital model that reframed specific fragments of the landscape, atmosphere, culture and personal interpretations of this distinct setting. Project 2: Gravesend Retracting from the fringes of the estuary back towards Gravesend, the studio explored the town’s role as a commuter hub while also being situated at the Gateway to this fluctuating landscape. Will these communities need to adapt their lives, their work or will they simply do nothing in the face of these shifts? The Studio welcomed projects with character, risk and a wonderful sense of speculation. Paolo Zaide & Tom Budd DS(3)4: Peripheral Landscapes: Reimagining the edges of the Thames Gateway Guest Critics: Laurence Blackwell-Thale (Knox Bhavan), Alex Borrell (Asif Khan Studio),Timothy Burgess (VOP Group Architects), Ash Fridd (Nothing is Not Nothing), Diony Kypraiou, David Mathewson,Thomas Parker (UCL/AA), Era Savvides, Ned Scott (Bell Philipps), Rebecca Sturgess (Allies and Morrison) Paolo Zaide is an architect, academic and curator, and Course Leader for BA Architecture at the University of Westminster. Tom Budd is an architect and visualiser based in London, whose work looks beyond the ‘photo real’ and strives to capture the feelings and atmospheric qualities a place could embody. Students: Syafiqah Abdul Aziz, Khushi Agarwal, Laurynas Arbaciauskas, Yusuf Arfaan, Wiame Azzouzi, Marina Bebana, Daniel Berende, Gregory Brookhouse, Erin Camagay, Louis Davis, Bodhi Hor ton, Milan Lad, Rakan Lootah, Hamza Mughul, Reece Murray, Leonardo Pelli, Stefana Straub, Katarzyna Wojciechowska ) Bodhi Horton: A New Decentraland Special Thanks: Asif Khan for the inspiring welcome to his studio and Studio 8 of the Landscape Architecture Course at The Bar tlett for a great day together in Dungeness and Margate.
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