The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
About
Location London WC1 | ARB/RIBA courses BA (Hons) Architecture/AA Intermediate Examination (Intermediate Programme), MArch Architecture/AA Diploma and AA Final Examination (Diploma Programme) | Head of school Ingrid Schröder | Full-time tutors 19 | Part-time tutors 296 | Students 905 | Staff to student ratio 1:3 | Bursaries available Yes
Undergraduate
Isabel Tan
Course BA (Hons) Architecture/AA Intermediate Examination
Studio/unit brief Home Sweet Home (Intermediate 16)
Project title The Wedding Heist
Project description Framed as a court case, this project is a compilation of evidence highlighting the ambiguous boundaries between ownership and maintenance responsibilities of freeholders and leaseholders in the UK. Using Taylor Wimpey’s newest luxury estate, Postmark, as a case study, the case describes a fictional heist and unauthorised reuse of materials originally owned by Adriatic Land. The case is essentially the resolution of a marriage dispute between Postmark and Adriatic Land. The Wedding Heist operates as a deconstruction manual outlining the surreptitious removal of structures within the estate for reuse as building materials on the communal roof terrace.
Tutor citation Isabel’s project explores the relationship between leaseholders and freeholders. The project is a testament to the power of architecture in questioning and redefining roles and agency within the built environment. Eleanor Dodman, Selim Halulu
Postgraduate
Meng Ye
Course MArch Architecture/AA Diploma and AA Final Examination
Studio/unit brief Prometheus: The Creative Life (Diploma 1)
Project title Mountain and River
Project description This project introduces a new form of productive economy into the now disused Nanzhi Paper Mill in south-western China. The proposed mode of production focuses on food and plant-based building materials, aiming to construct a self-sufficient community while sustaining balanced growth over time. The project echoes a belief in the harmonious relationship between man and nature seen in much of classical Chinese philosophy. The move from the extractive and linear material flow of the original mill to one that is regenerative and cyclical aims to create a project that becomes a positive geological layer within the landscape.
Tutor citation We enjoyed Meng’s interpretation of the brief – taking Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a starting point. Meng’s observations of the ruinous paper mill as a living entity allowed a rethinking of the factory as a new type of productive site. Miraj Ahmed, Martin Jameson
