Architectural Diary 2010/11: 2010

After a quick discussion with a friend and tutor it seems the best option/route to take with the site, is setting up the pit for a daytime clubbing event in such a way that I have to change the site in as little way as possible.

This photo is take from one of the very first secretsundaze events and captures the atmosphere I want to create perfectly. As it happens the dimensions of the dance-floor of this space are almost exactly the same as the "pit" on the site.

A more enclosed atmosphere, but the intensity and intimacy of the experience is still captured.

An initial idea (above) involved a little bit of landscaping to clean up the obscenely dirty site. However on reflection it seems more appropriate to leave it as found (below). As you can see the main addition to this site is the hoarding around the edge. The secrecy, and illusiveness of these sorts of gatherings is part of their attraction. Walking down a road, hearing the bass, hearing people, but almost completely unawares of where it is coming from. To add, even if you do know where it is coming from, trying to find the entrance adds to the anticipation.

Transposing the Atmosphere

The site/ hole in which I wanted to transpose the clubbing atmosphere into is the site of a derelict building, as yet I do not know what it used to be but will find out. However I do know the hole/pit in the ground has appeared due to an archaeological dig on the site. the following photos hopefully capture the atmosphere and nature of the site.

Initially I looked at making the atmosphere very chilled out, clean and clinical. This resulted in me completely transforming the site into something very different. A place which detracted from its original state and really didnt work. The drawing below shows a series of steps leading to the ground level of the pit, I decided to go against this idea because as you can see in the drawings, the sharp edges and clinical lines of the steps completely destroys the derelict, uniqueness of the topography- all characteristics which attracted me to the site in the first place.

The above proposal completely changes the atmosphere of the site into one which feels more like an amphitheater. Could work for a beach party- but fundamentally wrong for what I am looking for.

This proposal is still keeping the structure of the pit, but again, I feel I have changed the site too much.

Daytime Clubbing & New Site

Time is of the essence. Have to find a new site and event to work in it. An idea I had previously though of as potentially working in one of the sites was daytime clubbing. A relatively new phenomenon which mainly occurs during the summer months in London, daytime clubbing has appeared all over the capitol with events such as secretsundaze taking place during the daytime for party goers and people who just like listening to good music on a sunday afternoon, in the sun. Originating in friends basements and equally dingy places, the intimate, chilled atmospheres of these events could be transposed into one of the more derelict of the sites.

With a wave of clubbers and socialites looking for new, interesting music events to experience in the capitol, the hole in site 4 would be the perfect venue to acheive such an atmosphere. Below are some drawings done by two of my colleagues Chris Taylor and Claire Dale- Lace which show the current situation of the site.

Druid Ceremony

The following drawings are quick ideas of how a druid ceremony might work in the city surrounded by buildings, how would they congregate, how would they meet, what form would the gathering place take, how would this look? I started with the circular form of the circle which pagans form when gathering, and placed this volume in the centre of a building block. It is very crude and really doesnt fit with the structure of the urban fabric whatsoever. The drawing below show an initial proposal in the site of the future walkie talkie building. I chose this site as it had the largest and near flattest area to create a space for a druid gathering- topography was most appropriate.

However, after discussing the appropriate space for an event, gathering such as this the space it seems is more often dictated by the druids themselves, not by the space they are stood in. The hermetic nature of the shape and gathering they create really leaves no room for creating a space for them. As one can see at the gathering taking place at Tower hill below, the gathering seems to be able to form in any situation, and without doing sufficient research so far I have no idea exactly how these ceremonies work, or whether creating a space for this specific event would work.

After discussions about the possibilities of setting up a space for a druid ceremony, I have decided to change my event and site. I can see myself spending far too much time researching a druid gathering, to create a space which works. This is time I do not have, as such I have decided to move onto a gathering type which may be easier to describe.