The Duality of Space: The people’s archive for living, making and remembering Part 1 Project 2025 Ella Hannyngton Oxford Brookes University Oxford | UK What a fascinating place it is, so exotic, so eclectic, a place of such stories, such deep-rootedness and doggedness to survive; what a community Somers Town must be, such an alternative way of life, one might say, or, power in numbers, says another. Handouts, helpfulness and selflessness, such a bond for could-be strangers, such a manifesto of unity. Long live Somers Town!To the call of “Housing Is Not Enough / People Need Roots”, the project confronts gentrification and the need for new and existing communities to reshape themselves and metamorphose, blend and equalise. This is not a new story, but within the individualistic context we now live, there is a shift, and it is seismic.Drawing on the historical phenomenon that place is defined by its people, its acts and narratives, through stories and performances of the everyday and the extraordinary, the project presents a new model for social housing embedded in a public arts centre. It is within this old world, at the town’s contested edges, that a radical Barbican-esque housing infrastructure drops newcomers into Somers Town’s timeless performance. ‘The People’s Archive’ preserves the area’s identity by reasserting its legacy: making art a part of everyday life. Tutor(s)