Studio Int 03: Factories+

Studio brief

How can factories become a positive force for the planet rather than a negative? Our studio will look into how different forms of industry can reintroduce factories back into the centre of London for the benefit of both people and the natural world. 

Factories used to be in London making everything we needed and wanted. They were previously ingrained in the fabric of cities and often communities. People would live next to where they worked and as such experienced the advantages and disadvantages this would bring. The smells, fumes and noises that these factories produced were both a negative for health reasons and a positive for the diversity of experiences. Now factories are on the outskirts of London or even further afield. This disconnection means we don’t experience life as much, we don’t live with our own consequences and are less attuned to the environmental and health risks industry brings.

What if we bring heavy industry back into the city using new thinking, techniques and technology? Consider the senses overload of noise, toxic smells, activity and visual impact it would currently bring with it. How can factories be turned on their heads and become positives for the both the people who work in them and the wider environment? Can we once again live side-by-side with heavy industry but in the twenty-first century, and how can we and the natural world feel the benefits rather than reel from its effects? Across three different sites and typologies, the Shard, 20 Dalston Lane and Brixton Rec, we will investigate how future factories can fit into our existing cityscape and be objects of awe that bring new functions, new experiences, new aesthetics and new hope. 

Year 2

Year 3