Democ-X Westway Part 2 Project 2020 Natasha Nicholson RIBA Studio | UK The sound of protest accompanied the construction of the Westway. In the 1960s the elevated concrete roadway cut through some of London’s poorest neighbourhoods, and divided communities. Fifty years later, the physical structure of the Westway has become woven into the identity of North Kensington but its presence continues to negatively impact the quality of life and health of the community.My thesis is that the Westway can be a site for change. Traffic-free, the central 1.8km of the concrete structure is reappropriated to create a new public space for London, inspired by research into democratic space at the archaeological site of Ancient Messene, Greece. It is an elevated linear space for people, above the hustle of the agora/ Portobello Market; taking a critical position on all-pervasive digital communication technology, the ‘Portobello Hub’ contains an analogue/ signal-blocked citizens’ assembly and communal ‘living room’, with gallery and archive; the ‘Oros’ open-air theatre at the eastern end looks westwards over the entire site and towards Grenfell Tower.Many feel our democracy is floundering. The digital present is a distracting and inequitable place: Covid-19 has highlighted entrenched inequalities in our society. The project seeks to provoke action to these contemporary urgencies. Natasha Nicholson Tutor(s) Ben Stringer