Fang Lee-05

Program

Diploma 1, 2017

Name

Fang Lee

Introduction

Croydon is a town that yearns to become a city. However, its requests to the Queen for city status have been rejected four times, most recently in 2012. Croydon’s dream of becoming a mini-Manhattan has also faded in recent years, as corporations leave the town for better places. The abandoned towers leave Croydon in a conflicted position – on one hand they are emblems of the town’s identity, on the other hand they are symbols of a failed past. Instead of total erasure, which I argue would negate a large part of Croydon’s identity, I propose an alternative take on the notion of tower within Croydon. Rather than individualized corporate objects, ‘City of Universities’ invites various higher education institutions to set up campuses within a single tower. The enclave of towers will work in a simultaneously collective and competitive arena. The enclave will be based not on corporate money, but on the exalted ideals of education. At the same time, spaces are provided for interaction and collaboration – extending from sunken gardens to an urban bridge to smaller links that stretch between towers. In doing so, a city within a city is introduced in an act of violent optimism, which imbues Croydon with activity, density, and even purpose.

Links

http://pr2017.aaschool.ac.uk/Fang-Lee