Event Summary: This is Temporary
Last week we hosted an event during London Design Festival to do with temporary architecture and installations, named after Cate St Hill’s book of the same name, This is Temporary. (You can read our interview with Cate here).
Temporary pop ups, festivals, workspaces, theatres, public art and interventions have flourished over recent years.
There is a long history, continuing today, of holistic temporary architecture and installations that deal with fundamental questions of how we might live, work and play in the future.
These structures, situations and events quickly appear and disappear, but what can we learn from them?
Our pecha kucha style event brought together leading architects, artists, designers, planners and pop up curators to provide inspiration and celebrate temporary works across London.
And we’ve tried to describe below some of the key themes that were raised last week…
1. Value
Our speakers presented a range of projects, from art and architectural installations to workspace, windows displays, public events and parks. The key takeaway was, for us, that these type of projects are not uncommon.
2. Learning
This was the key point all our speakers raised when describing the benefits of carrying out temporary works…
The opportunity to test ideas.
https://twitter.com/CMDNCollective/status/779030623830872064
You get the idea…
3. Relationship with the permanent?
Everyone agreed that a project’s impact beyond its physical lifetime was important, and that it shouldn’t be viewed as the outcome in itself…
https://twitter.com/CMDNCollective/status/779025676146008064
Kevin Haley from Aberrant Architecture said:
And described Ise Grand Shrine which is rebuilt every 20 years as part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature and the inpermannce of all things (and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next).
Interestingly, the physical structure is temporary but the activity is permanent…
Something that Finn Williams said we should concentrate on doing more of:
4. Trivialisation
There is no doubt that the effect of temporary works are overwhelmingly positive. But they can, and have, been abused recently (particularly by tired brands)…
https://twitter.com/CMDNCollective/status/779026663246073856
Megan Charnley from Projects Office read a quote from Dan Hancox’s Vice article aptly named Fuck Your Pop-Up Shops…
“The association people have with pop-up shops is it’s a bit edgy, it’s a bit street, it’s a new, funky business that’s trying to start up — so it’s created this quirkiness, this sense of novelty among consumers which is obviously very exciting, and that creates a sense of urgency to buy if you think it’s not going to be there for very long. And anything that generates excitement amongst consumers in this climate, in the recession, makes them put their hands in their pockets, is exactly what retailers want.”
And our favourite part:
‘Edgy, street, funky, quirky — that’s a full house in arsehole bingo’
Hard to disagree with that.
5. Catalysts for good
Despite temporary works and pop ups (more lately) in particular, being (ab)used by large(r) companies for purely profit making exercises nearly all of the project’s that were presented success was derived another way. We liked Carl Turner description of his work as:
…Which means focusing on creating social and economic benefits.
6. The Future
And we’re signing off with this we-can’t-quite-work-whether-it-is-a-tongue-in-cheek tweet, or not, from Project’s Office….
–
You can download all of the speaker’s slides here:
- Finn Williams, Greater London Authority
- Kevin Haley, Aberrant Architecture
- Meneesha Kellay, RIBA
- Xavier Llarch Font/Carolina Caicedo, The Decorators
- Megan Charnley, Projects Office
- Eddie Blake, Sam Jacob Studio
- Carl Turner, Carl Turner Architects
–
This event was kindly supported by the Mayor of London’s High Street Fund and Camden Town Unlimited.
