More or Less Bricks

Part 2 Project

2016

University of Westminster, London

RIBA presidents medal - commendation

“I am trying to be unfamiliar with what I am doing” - John Cage

‘More or less, bricks’  investigates how to design environments using aleortoric methods, inspired by the musical theories of the composer John Cage. This forces the divestment of prejudices, tastes, rationalisations and preconceptions in order to enter the world of the ‘unknown’. Through the use of the I Ching, new design methodologies have emerged by seemingly irrational processes, where decisions are largely based on the toss of 3 coins. A catalogue of chance driven experiments are then generated from the 64 hexagrams, providing an unusual library of architectural components.

The project is set in Peckham Rye Lane on an awkward, derelict site between two railway lines. Similarly to the ad hoc nature of the stalls and shops on the high street, the brief is for a combined Market Hall and Church. The building has been designed to emphasise tactility, acoustics and materiality, focusing on the ways we actually experience architecture. The representational technique reflects this approach. Conventional drawings, such as the plan and section, are overshadowed with prototypes, details and 1:1 explorations.