De Certeau, M The Practice of Everyday Life
“To be lifted to the summit of the World Trade Center is to be lifted out of the city’s grasp. One’s body is no longer clasped by the streets that turn and return it according to an anonymous law; nor is it possessed, whether as player or played, by the rumble of so many differences and by the nervousness of New York Traffic”.
“The 1370 foot high tower that serves as a prow for Manhattan continues to construct the fiction that creates readers, makes the complexity of the city readable, and immobilizes its opaque mobility in a transparent text”.
These two quotes talk about how the perspective and how one perceives the city changes from up above. I chose this topic because it's something that I realised when drawing in peckham. How I was experiencing two different viewpoints from up above and down below, and how you notice and experience different things.
“Their story begins on ground level, with footsteps. They are myriad, but do not compose a series, they cannot be counted because each unit had a qualitative character: a style of tactile apprehension a kinesthetic appropriation. Their intertwined paths give their shape to spaces. They weave places together. In that respect, pedestrian movements from one of these ‘real systems whose existence in fact makes up the city.’ They are not localized; it is rather they that spatialize”.
“Surveys of routes miss what was: the act itself of passing by. The operation of walking, wandering, or window shopping, that is, the activity of passers-by, is transformed into points that draw a totalizing and reversible line on the map”.
I found this idea that these quotes talk about interesting because it is also something I noticed while out drawing. The idea that pedestrians are a big part of the space and how it is shaped. Also the idea of how pedestrians and walking is something that is overlooked when thinking about a place/space/route, but they are a big part of the experience of that place.
Perec, G. Species of Spaces and Other Places
What I found interesting about this text is that the author spends all this time labeling and breaking down the function of places and their distinctions. But at the end Perec starts to talk about how overtime he will forget a place and that place won't be the same forever because it is constantly changing. So the author is writing about these labels and functions in an attempt at immortalizing places. Here are some examples:
“The door breaks space in two, splits it, prevents osmosis, imposes a partition. On one side, me and my place, the private, the domestice; on the other side, other people, the world, the public, politics. You can’t simply let yourself slide from one into the other. You have to have the password, have to cross the threshold, have to show your credentials, have to communicate, just as the prisoner communicates with the world outside.”
“Contrary to the buildings, which almost always belong to someone, the streets in principle belong to no one.”
“Concern yourself with what divides the town from what isn’t the town. Look at what happens when the town stops. For example one absolutely foolproof method for telling whether you’re in Paris or outside Paris consists of looking at the numbers of the buses. If they have three digits, your outside Paris.”
“Space melts like sand running through one’s fingers. Time bears it away and leaves me only shapeless shreds: To write: to try meticulously to retain something, to cause something to survive; to wrest a few precise scraps from the void as it grows, to leave somewhere a furrow, a trace, a mark or a few signs.”
Bibliography
A London Inheritance (2016) A Brief History of the London Southbank. Available at: https://alondoninheritance.com/london-history/a-brief-history-of-the-south-bank/
De Certeau, M (2011) The Practice of Everyday Life London, England: University of California Press, LTD
Dezeen (2019) Refurbished Undercroft Skatepark reopens Beneath London's Southbank center. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/08/undercroft-skatepark-southbank-centre-london-feilden-clegg-bradley-studios/
Culture Trip (2019) A Stroll Through London: Top 10 Southbank Destinations Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/a-stroll-through-london-top-ten-southbank-destinations/
Perec, G. (1997) Species of Spaces and Other Places. London: Penguin Books
Southbank London (2017) A History of London's South bank: From Penny Cafes to Giant Wheels. Available at: https://southbanklondon.com/history
Uche Okeke
Southbank History
“The South Bank of the River Thames was once a marshland, accessible only by ferrymen and their boats. As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the early 1800s, the area grew and developed with the construction of industrial wharves, tanneries, waterworks and leadworks”. https://www.embassygardens.com/location/the-story-of-londons-south-bank/
“Originally, the river frontage along this stretch of the Thames was mainly marsh land and at times of high tide, water would sweep inland. At some point, an earthen bank was constructed to prevent the Thames coming too far inland and by the Tudor period, a road had been constructed on the alignment of this original earthen bank, although according to Thomas Pennant, in 1560 there was not a single house standing between Lambeth Palace and Southwark. This road was shown on maps as Narrow Wall and today, Belvedere Road is roughly along the line of the old Narrow Wall and therefore also the original wall that formed the barrier to the Thames.”
“The legend behind the name Pedlar’s Acre is that a Pedlar from Swaffham in Suffolk had traveled to London with his dog in the hope of finding his fortune. Different versions of the legend either has the Pedlar’s dog digging up a pot of money either on the South Bank, or after returning home to Swaffham. The Pedlar then gave the strip of land along the river to the parish of Lambeth on condition that his portrait, along with his dog be preserved in painted glass in the parish church.What ever the truth of this story, there was a picture of the pedlar and his dog in one of the windows of Lambeth Church until 1884.”
https://alondoninheritance.com/london-history/a-brief-history-of-the-south-bank/
"Originally a power station for the Post Office, the Wharf was acquired in the 1920s by the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, makers of the OXO beef cube. In the 1930s, the company added the art deco tower to advertise their most famous product. Designed to circumvent strict laws about exterior advertising, the letters that spelt out ‘OXO’ were in fact glass windows. With the closure of the docks, industry faded and by the 1970s the wharf was derelict. When a developer proposed to demolish it to build a hotel and offices, the local community formed an action group and rallied in protest. The social enterprise Coin Street Community Builders was formed by local residents to regenerate the area. After their success at Gabriel’s Wharf they tackled the more ambitious refurbishment of Oxo Tower Wharf, giving it 78 co-operative flats, design-led shopping, galleries as well as restaurants, cafes and bars. In 1997 Oxo Tower Wharf won Building of the Year Award for Urban Regeneration. Behind the OXO Tower is Bargehouse, part of the same development but left as an untouched, raw, industrial space used for exhibitions and events".
"The new millennium saw the arrival of possibly South Bank’s most iconic attraction, The London Eye. The giant ferris wheel designed by Marks Barfield Architects was built of celebrate the new millennium and, like its cousin the Millennium Dome, was only supposed to be there temporarily – until 2005. However, it proved so popular with Londoners and tourists alike that it has remained on the riverfront ever since and will stay until at least 2025. Designed as a huge, latticed bicycle wheel structure The London Eye is cantilevered and uses enormous ‘A’ frame legs supported by giant foundations and is tied back by more cables anchored underneath Jubilee Gardens. Built in less than 16 months, the London Eye is an international structure, involving the teamwork of various European engineers, and British designers Marks Barfield Architects. The sections of this 2,100 tonne construction were transported down the Thames and raised a massive 135 metres high, and the Structure breaks many technology, design and size records. From inside the glass observation capsules, views of up to 25 miles over the city and beyond can be seen".
Southbank Culture
"Ironically, it was the Second World War, which had done so much damage to the area, that was responsible for much of its regeneration. Intending to create a ‘tonic’ for the war-scarred nation, the South Bank was chosen as the site for the Festival of Britain. The bombed-out riverside was cleared and built upon, becoming the site, in 1951, of a national celebration. The Royal Festival Hall remained as a permanent legacy, to be followed in subsequent decades by other arts venues, such as the Hayward Gallery and Royal National Theatre, adding a new chapter to the history of the South Bank".
"In the nineteenth century, the area of Lambeth urbanised and the entertainment world burgeoned. Taverns converted to music halls and fringe ‘Penny Gaffs’ were ubiquitous. Without artistic restrictions or censorship (unlike the north bank), the theatres of the Marsh were quite permissive and, before modern film and radio put the theatres out of business, many were closed down for being ‘disorderly houses’. One of London’s best and most popular theatres was also opened in this period. The Old Vic was established in 1818 and was known under a couple of different names such as the Royal Coburg Theatre and the Royal Victoria Theatre. The theatre was badly damaged in the Second World War but in 1951 it got Grade II listed status. Whilst under the management of Laurence Olivier it became the National Theatre until the NT moved to its current location on the riverside".
https://southbanklondon.com/history
Southbank centre:
"This world-renowned centre for the arts was erected in 1951 to observe the Festival of Britain and is a top location for anything arts-related. The site is home to several important venues holding varying events such as comedy stand-ups, variety shows, musical performances, intellectual and educational programs, and festivals. In addition to managing the Arts Council Collection and helping to curate artistic touring exhibitions across the country, the centre is important as it allows young talents as well as established professionals to display their abilities to a diverse audience".
"The Royal National Theatre is one of the leading theatres in the United Kingdom and took residence within its current location in 1976-1977. In its youth, the company situated itself within the Old Vic, before being relocated. A publicly funded organisation, the large plot is home to three auditoriums which display a variety of different productions from contemporary to classic. In addition to this, the theatre boasts regular exhibitions and music events, as well as organising educational workshops for visitors".
"The South Bank was an inspired location for the main Festival of Britain site, a decision which has resulted in the South Bank continuing to be an arts and entertainment centre to this day".
"The Festival of Britain was in many ways, a break point between the immediate post war period and the decades to follow. The Festival attempted to define the place of Great Britain within a new world order and looked at how British industry, science, design and architecture could shape that future for the better". https://alondoninheritance.com/london-history/a-brief-history-of-the-south-bank/
"Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has refurbished and extended the concrete Undercroft skatepark at the brutalist Southbank Centre in London, which is considered the home of British skateboarding. The space has been used by skateboarders since the 1970s".
Southbank Geography
"Originally, the river frontage along this stretch of the Thames was mainly marsh land and at times of high tide, water would sweep inland".
"College Street is on the edge of the current location of the Jubilee Gardens with the open space bounded by College Street, Cabbage Lane and Narrow Wall, called College Gardens part of which is also now the Jubilee Gardens. At the end of College Gardens is Kings Arms Stairs, one of the many stairs down to the river. The curve inland of Narrow Wall at this point was later straightened out, with the inland curve being retained and originally named Ragged Row and then Belvedere Crescent".
https://alondoninheritance.com/london-history/a-brief-history-of-the-south-bank/
"In the pre and early 1800s the South Bank of London was practically deserted. Cut off from the river by the great expanses of the River Thames, it was only accessible to ferrymen shuffling back and forth across the current.
The Anglo-Saxon origin of Lambeth: ‘Lambhythe’, implies that a muddy harbour or marsh had been present from the earliest days of London. As the city grew, the Marsh, a prime location but difficult to develop, remained largely untouched, a green oasis of agriculture and public gardens where urbanites could find refreshment in a rural surrounding".
Southbank Industry
"It was in the eighteenth century that industry also began to develop in the area: some needed the Marsh’s fresh water supply (for brewing or cloth bleaching); others exploited the cheap land and river access to move or store their bulk goods (limestone, scrap iron and wood). Improved access from the new Westminster and Blackfriars bridges, combined with the need for large amounts of industrial labour led to a population explosion in the once-quiet village as thousands flocked to the South Bank to work on the coal wharves, timber yards, potteries, dye works, lime kilns, blacking factories and printing houses. The growth of industry was one of the key components in Lambeth’s transformation from rural haven into a centre of industry, the other was the railway".
"Out of Waterloo Road’s sunken ‘bullring’ roundabout rises the giant glass drum of the BFI IMAX, which is the home to the biggest cinema screen in the UK, featuring a 20m by 26m screen and a sound system of over 12,000 watts. This imposing cinema was originally designed by Bryan Avery and completed in 1999".
https://southbanklondon.com/history
"Designed by Brunel, construction of the original Hungerford Bridge was completed by 1845 when the bridge was opened. It was not originally a railway bridge, the aim of the bridge was to bring more custom to the Hungerford Market on the north side of the river".
https://alondoninheritance.com/london-history/a-brief-history-of-the-south-bank/