Antonie van Vliet

Architectural Design Crossovers

The psycho-geographic zone of London’s edge

Encounter with the Edge: Confronting and Escaping the City of London

The ambiguous edge of the city has turned into an area of negligence, as it is not considered anyone’s responsibility. At London’s ends, you find what can no longer be pushed further outwards. However, simultaneously, this is where Londoners take advantage of the left-overs and realise what is unachievable elsewhere. This results into an edge-condition where we no longer recognise the city, yet it is the only place that confronts us with what the city really is. The architecture of the edge explores an alternative approach to the undirected piecemeal development that is taking place by objectifying the conflict with London’s ambiguous edges. By introducing a new building type, seemingly disjointed functions are brought together in an ‘accidental hub’. The temporal framework presents itself as an approachable urban space, revealing the true use of this zone to the local passer-by, beyond its initial intentions.