P.S......Who We Are

Project & Space is now one of the most influential and community development focused in the London. The design focus of projects and spaces are ideas that evoke, involve, interpret and inspire the urban surrounds with a strong emphasis on the arts. The most significant focus being socially responsible design programs and sustainability, carried out through a detailed understanding of site and community surrounds. Simplicity, innovation and pragmatism is integral to all briefs.

Project & Space are currently working on a project for new company headquarters based in Eden Grove. The Eden Grove site will also house a new Holloway art gallery aimed at supporting local artists in residence commissioned by the Islington council. Past projects include the award winning Finsbury Park Green Project and refurbishment for Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children in Camden.

Eden Grove Project News

We are currently working on 'The Eden Grove Project' which is partially commissioned by the Islington council. This is an exciting brief will house our new practice studio as well a community arts focused art gallery. The site will occupy the south-west courtyard, archway and 1st floor of the Eden Grove Building. The art gallery will aim to house a local 'artist in residence' as well as their body of work. The gallery will also be used as an education space for local schools which will be able attend workshops with the current artist in residence.


P.S....We Like

The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station that was built in 1890 was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London. Originally it operated using steam and later it was converted to use electricity. It was used to power machinery, including lifts (elevators), across London. The Tower Subway was used to transfer the power, and steam, to districts south of the river. After its closure as a pumping station in 1977, the building was converted and reopened as an arts centre (the Wapping Project) and restaurant (Wapping Food).



P.S sees this space as a great precedent for our new Eden Grove home. Exhibitions are held in the basement and the main ground floor hall houses the restaurant. Some of the original equipment is still in place. The building is grade two “star” listed so each design decision of change to the original building was carefully considered and minimal. The building has three construction stages demolition, refurbishment and new building works. We admired the way that the building retained its original character despite it having undergone serious renovation work.

Influence

Influence
The Wapping Project

P.S……The Eden Grove Site

P.S soon to be home in North London is an interesting location with much opportunity for growth. Eden Grove is a quiet inner-city residential street located in the London Borough of Islington. The site is very well connected to local transport including many bus routes, Holloway Road, Caledonian Road, Drayton Park and Highbury and Islington. London Metropolitan University North Campus also brings a significant cultural centre with thousands of students from diverse backgrounds.

In recent years the new emirates stadium has brought a change and development to the local area. However we feel there needs to be a bigger cultural investment this potentially dynamic area!!

Eden Groove 1:1250

Eden Groove 1:1250

Eden Groove and Neighbourhood Arsenal 1:1250

Eden Groove and Neighbourhood Arsenal 1:1250





P.S.....A Little History

Upper Street is the main shopping street of the Islington borough of inner north London. It runs roughly north from Islington High Street to Highbury Corner. The hilltop village of Islington originally consisted of two streets in addition to the High Street: Upper Street and Lower Street, which both date back to at least the 12th century. Lower Street has since been renamed Essex Road. St. Mary's Church, Islington was built in 1754 and dominates the Islington skyline. It is still in use today, and is a major venue for performances of traditional religious music. The Little Angel Theatre is a children's puppet theatre in a former Temperance hall, behind the church. Directly opposite St. Mary's Church is The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by the late Dan Crawford, it was the first pub theatre in the UK. The fields around Upper Street, with their close proximity to the growing city of London, were a major farming area. Islington was the home of the Royal Agricultural Hall, and a number of pubs and shops existed along the street to serve farmers and visitors to the hall. In the 18th century Upper Street began to be redeveloped from an agricultural to a residential area.


Holloway Road is one of north London's most important shopping streets, containing major retail stores as well as numerous smaller shops. Holloway Road is the site of the main campus of the London Metropolitan University, probably best known for its striking deconstructive Orion Building, designed by Daniel Libeskind, which dominates the central stretch of Holloway Road, and of the headquarters of the National Union of Students and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Most of the shops are clustered in the Nag's Head area, near the junction with Seven Sisters Road. The earliest record giving the name of the road as The Holloway dates from 1307. The main stretch of Holloway Road runs through the site of the villages of Tollington and Stroud. The exact time of their founding is not known, but the earliest record of them dates from 1000. The names ceased to be used by the late 17th century, but are still preserved in the local place names "Tollington Park" and "Stroud Green"; since that time, the area has been known as Holloway. In recent years, Holloway Road has become a major focal point for the sale of smuggled tobacco, with large numbers of illegal tobacco dealers congregating in the area. The northern point of Holloway Road is the complex interchange at Archway, where the A1 leaves the historic route of the Great North Road.


Caledonian Road is not a naturalistic road. It is surreal, it improvises, it has, to quote the fine artist Richard Wentworth who lives there and has made a life-long project inspired by the road, a "making do and getting by" quality. It can be extremely violent, but also very welcoming. Because it lacks any chain stores, it has its own unique character, it own pragmatism. Its residents refer to it affectionately as "the Cally". And even if its days of apple sellers, barrow boys, the extraordinary market and the drovers driving their cattle up and down its length, the cinemas, the laundry in the Cally pool, the Sunday dinners being roasted at the bakers, and all the stories from the Pentonville Prison, have all gone, and with it an old-fashioned sense of community, the current community there is still energetic: vibrant, struggling and jostling. The counterpoint to the anarchy of the Cally is the Regent's Canal which intersects it - itself once a vibrant community of navvie's housing, inns and stables but now a serene swathe, cutting through the urban landscape with a calm beauty.

Photographic Site Survey

Photographic Site Survey

P.S...Eden Grove by Day

P.S...Eden Grove by Day

P.S....Eden Grove by Night

P.S....Eden Grove by Night

P.S….What We Want to Create

The part of this scheme for our new home is an adjoining art gallery space open to the public. In further researching other local privately owned North-East London Art Galleries we noticed a predictable ‘type’. We would like to break the mould of that type and really surprise people with our untraditional and anti-all white art space! We want to open up art and inspire local residence to enjoy it too and even participate! We want to make art accessible to all. The P.S gallery will connect Holloway to the increasingly popular circuit of art galleries on this side of London.


P.S.....Building Conrol is important because

When considering the Eden Grove Brief many aspects of Building Control need to be taken into consideration. Particular attention needs to be paid to these chapters, addressing these issues:

Chapter B, fire safety. A firewall between P.S and the rest of the Eden Grove building belonging to the University.

Chapter C, site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture. The major consideration being asbestos.

Chapter E, resistance to the passage of sound. Careful attention is important as this is a residential street and the gallery will be open to the public. The protection of sound to the other parts of the building also needs to be considered.

Chapter F, means of ventilation. This is particularly important in relation to the basement level which will be used as part of the art and workshop spaces.

Chapter K, protection from falling, collision and impact. Stairs and ramps will need to be considered as well as protection from falling.

Chapter L, conservation of fuelling and power. Overall a sustainable approach will mean particular attention to these building regulations for example the ratio of windows and doors, insulation and lighting.

Chapter M, access. Attention to disabled access for such items as steps and ramps, door widths and accessible toilets.

CDM

For Eden Groove project is too small to notify Health and Safety office. However the design layout has to consider public safety as a priority.

Planning Permission

Eden Groove project is a series of changes to the main building. In many cases, a change of use of a building requires planning permission; we need to look at the ‘class’ as defined in the Town and Country Planning so we know if we need planning permission. The building as it is now is in class D1 and we want to change it as gallery that is class B1. We require a planning permission to enclose the space under the archway with a new shop, to build a new staircase and an entrance to the gallery. We need a sign for the gallery, there are number of signs that require permission before they can be erected. For most of the changes we need to apply for planning permission.

P.S...Vision for Outdoor Art Space

P.S...Vision for Outdoor Art Space

P.S....Vision for Interior Spaces

P.S....Vision for Interior Spaces

P.S….Marnie’s Obsession

My obsession is staircases! Staircases can be design in so many varied ways and at the same time have a very neccessary function. I like the idea of having fun with such a functional object; they can present amazing opportunities for sculptural design and natural lighting. I would like to make the staircase from the art gallery to P.S office a key design element in the scheme.



Even though our P&S practice is located on the Eden Groove road, we would like to show around the local and neighbourhood area. We are very close to Holloway road tube station. At the same time Arsenal football stadium is within the short distinct. Caledonian road and High bury area are also not very far from our practice firm.

Collage for suspended object

Collage for suspended object

collage

collage
Inspired from various artist and their work that is focused on video and sound we want to build on first floor a demonstration of video and sound of the present work.

P.S….Exhibition & Influence

P.S….Exhibition & Influence

P.S....Exhibition Review

This week P.S visited the Cold War Modern exhibition at the V & A, it was great! The exhibition space is created in order to make you feel what was happening during that time. From Charles and Ray Eames’s plywood leg-splint to Picasso’s painted plates and the glass-curtained Lever House skyscraper in New York. This was such a diverse exhibition, with so many different art forms displayed in such interesting ways. The design objects had such historical coherence. Typewriters, chairs and lamps, kitchen clocks (with timers), films, paintings and posters, architectural models of pavilions and radio towers, photographs, caricatures, crockery and sputniks have been organised into four rooms with distinctive themes and chronological order — from post-war reconstruction to political ideologies, space and the future. A great exhibition, unlike any I’ve seen before.

Floor Plan- M.S

Floor Plan- M.S

Cold War Modern - interests.....M.S

Cold War Modern - interests.....M.S
sketches

The floor plan of Cold War Museum

The floor plan of Cold War Museum

Topological sculptural experient/ Topological plastik- Peter Hofmeister

The object is made from plastic and its design based on the elementary design principles through the study of form, geometry and construction. I am really interested in Topological drawing so when I saw the sculpture it caught my eye. Not only that but also the way they fit together as an object and spatial relationship.

Object at Cold War Museum (Topological sculpture)

Object at Cold War Museum (Topological sculpture)

Walter Pichler, Portable Living Room ( TV Helmet) 1967

I choose this design element because I like the concept of the object. When a space has a reasonable price which might not be affordable for certain people, it is a very brilliant idea having such an object. The size of the object is around 3 ft and the width is not more than 1ft.

Design Element from Cold War Museum ( TV Helmet)

Design Element from Cold War Museum ( TV Helmet)

Cold War Museum Exhibition

The object that I chose is called Cybernetic tower, Chronos 8 by Nicolas Schoffer. It is a sculpture which is mounted on the square block and made out of steel, some mechanism devices, a several pieces of mirrors connected with small motors to perform the whirling of the mirrors which creates some kind of lighting such as a spot light. A motor is installed on top of that cube in order to perform the motion for the main structure of the sculpture. The use of geometric forms can be seen in that artistic creation.

So in actuality, the three dimensional figure treat the space with spectacular light shows which come from the rotating mirrors. However, the artefact is not in symmetrical order. Consequently, while the main structure is twisting in one direction, the spinning mirrors are rotating in another path. Overall, it is an interesting piece of work which employs rotation devices; sound machines onto continually changing patterns of light and shadow are projected.

Cold War Exhibition Floor Plan

Cold War Exhibition Floor Plan

cold war exhibition

cold war exhibition

The similar sculpture of the Chronos 8

The similar sculpture of the Chronos 8

Design Greats. M.S

Design Greats. M.S
Maison Carré - Alvar Aalto

Maison Carré

The house was built for Louis Carré, a well-known art-dealer. The brief called for a family house with hanging space for paintings, while avoiding the appearance of an art gallery. The architect was also required to design the internal details throughout, including furnishings, lamps, fabrics etc., and to plan and design the garden surrounding the house. The house stands at the top of a hill, and has extensive views all around. Internally, it was necessary to vary ceiling heights in order to provide both window and skylight illumination of areas of wall space. Each of the main rooms leads directly on to its own patio.


Australian Design Great

ST. ANDREWS BEACH HOUSE, Victoria, Australia by Sean Godsell. As an fellow Australian, Sean Godsell is one my favourite architects, his approach to Australian house design completely considers the environment and landscape of its surrounds. Described as a cantilevered “telescope” wrapped in a cellular skin, the house is typical of Godsell’s preoccupations. In the context of global warming, he sees this as a prime frontier for architecture, a way in which buildings can be weaned off reliance on “live” energy and become modifiers of climate at the place of impact. He envisages skins that incorporate moisture collection, UV filtering, fire protection – skins that can sweat and breathe


Mechanical Design Great

Volkswagen Beetle - Ferdinand Porsche -1947

First conceived by Adolf Hitler, the VW Bug was supposed to be the "people's car." The manifestation of Hitler's dreams only came into being after the war ended. Hitler's vision eventually became the best-selling car ever, with more than 20 million sold. Its famous advertising campaign of the 1970s ("think small"), representing the first time a product poked fun at itself.

Its peculiar styling, underpowered motor, rough ride, and high noise levels compared to modern vehicles might have made it a market failure. In its day, though, it was more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars, and ultimately the longest-running and most-produced automobile of a single design. Right through to the end of the century, the Volkswagen Beetle has stayed with us as a great car that exemplifies the principals of good design.

Design Great

Design Great

Design Great..

Design Great..




FAT Architecture

FAT is a high profile architectural practice. It is founded by the leading architects who are Sean Griffiths, Sam Jacob and Charles Holland. The Blue House project is mentioned as a new edition of Pevsner's Buildings of England. Their designs are not only inspirational but also fun, created and futuristic.

FAT's projects

FAT's projects

P.S....Precedents for the Area

P.S....Precedents for the Area

Paradise Park

DSDHA were appointed by a diverse client group including SureStart, Islington Green Space, Islington Play Association and the Paradise Park Group to design a new building as part of the regeneration of a rundown urban park.

Working closely with local residents, an active community building has been created which is both iconic and welcoming. The building provides a creche, training facility, nursery and cafe. The key feature, an innovative vertical hydroponic garden covers the front elevation of the building, creating a new landscape that inspires and educates. This project is very closely located to P.S new home, we would like to use this as a precedent to involve the local community and create a space that inspires.

Sir John Soane's Museum

Sir John Soane's Museum is located near Holburn Underground station in central London. The Museum is a house that has been converted into a pseudo museum. It is a tiny space with a large amount of collection. On the other hand, it is a living museum with a beautiful collection of architectural delights and a wonderful collection of paintings with a special display.

The re-defining of our Practice and The Eden Grove Project


Through the process of composing a brief we have had to consider our practice ethos and our approach towards the duty of care. We want to be a bold yet a community minded company, working on a range from small scale exhibitions to medium housing projects, including various arts, leisure and community schemes. We want to always bring new value to every projects local area through a careful process of community consultation, feedback and bold new ideas.

Project & Space which based in Eden Groove is a gallery which is accessible and free for all public to access. With the exception of monthly travelling exhibitions featuring well known artists and designers. A major aspect is to display and educate an artists work and life through the 'artist in residence' scheme, the work-live space will need special consideration in the design, both as a functioning liveable space and publicly open space. There will be a small shop for merchandising, as well as the entrance to the 1st floor practice studio. The space will need to give a strong first impression about who we are. Security and operation will also have to be carefully considered in this space. The courtyard needs to be another carefully considered space. It needs to be highly flexible and changeable, providing a variety of uses including community art workshops, functions and summer exhibitions.