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City Terroir: Spa Terminus, Bermondsey

Part 1 Project 2015
Kinga Augustyn
London Metropolitan University | UK
In a time when architecture increasingly focuses on object buildings, the generative idea of this project is the public space between buildings. The proposal transforms a neglected semi-industrial forecourt, originally London's first railway terminus, recovering a forgotten public city void.

The design teases out the area’s latent civic-ness mindful not to erase the unique spatial and melancholic qualities of the place today, currently occupied by a community of food producers located beneath majestic brick viaduct arches.

Modest architectural interventions reconnect this moment with its surroundings doing just enough to hold the space whilst supporting everyday life: Fences are removed; existing ground surfaces / viaduct facades made good or upgraded; missing trees replanted; and new structures introduced at a range of scales.

A tower marks the site. The pub is re-orientated. A diminutive corner piece - an enigmatic electricity substation - provides a setting for bicycles. Positioned awkwardly between the existing avenue of trees and curving viaduct, a special urban armature provides a sheltered setting for a celebratory food market connecting people in physical space. An enfilade of good rooms above culminates in a generously
proportioned community space that communicates with the passing trains and the horizon of the city beyond.


Tutor(s)
Alex Bank
Sam Casswell
2015
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