Experiential Environment of London: Surrey Quays
At Goldsmiths, 7 classmates and I created an experiential intervention at Surrey Quays in London based on rigorous research on the area’s history and daily happenings. We studied the space and conducted interviews of the scarce passersby, and determined that this beautiful suburban bubble was void of any true city life. Our intervention aimed at bringing the best and worst of London back to it.
We filled one side with a chaotic collection of ribbons, string, balloons, rubber ducky’s, and anything else that promoted the excitement of living in a city as culturally diverse as London. The other was littered with trash and faux, yet hyper-realistic, CC TV’s, homelessness, restrictive signs, barricades, and garbage to show the darker side of urban jungles. The end result was an exaggerated juxtaposition, but it was exciting for that day to see our created environment instantly influencing locals walking through - for better or for worse.
We chose a bridge along the Surrey canal to separate our areas of celebration and desolation. We were originally enamored by the bridge’s reflection of the canal, and made a model with both found materials and pristine miniatures to capture the underlying tension of this picture perfect space lacking true city personality.
We reached a clear conclusion at the end of our research that the locals were deeply connected to the water - almost tied to forcing it be perfectly picturesque.
