Jazmin Charalambous

Explore Lab

Phase 1: Skeleton. February 3rd, 2029

An incidental meeting of parts

The rise of a neo-liberal global economy prioritizes architecture as management. In Wembley Park, a large-scale redevelopment masterplan adjacent to a landmark stadium has produced a series of identikit zones that obliterate traces of the old, condition behaviour and eliminate potential crossovers between people. It pigeonholes citizens into the role of either passive spectator or consumer: a ‘deadly theatre’.

The proposed Urban Carpet explores ways of injecting theatrical principles into the ground surface in order to unlock the latent potential of a lifeless public square. The carpet is produced as a series of five slow acts that challenge and subvert the developer’s precise managerial scheme. Contrarily, intentional materials meet incidentally, celebrating the multi-textured fabric of London. The scheme demands that people look, participate, and become aware of the ground under their feet. It does this by creating a place that proves heterogeneity and apparently ad hoc development to be conditions that are universally necessary.

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