FMP | #3

/ Decomposing statements

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/18/-sp-truth-about-gentrification-how-woodberry-down-became-woodberry-park

These are statements I have plucked from an article about the Woodberry Downs Redevelopment in North London but I felt that all of these have details that more-or-less apply to everyone in the same situation. These excerpts are from the perspective of current and previous residents about the process of the redevelopment and how they viewed it.

I have to say I wasn't that surprised at the comments made. They all seem to express some sort of anguish and resentment at what has happened to the place they live. There weren't any statements showing enthusiasm or hope towards what was to come.

It turns out that the housing association in charge of the Woodberry Downs redevelopment program used a very negative portrayal of the area to 'whip up support among tenants' essentially brain-washing them into believing this was something they needed. They all 'thought this regeneration was for them'. That statement really resonates with me because it sounds like they have been robbed. Their homes have been plucked from them and they are powerless against the major corporation running this project.

The one statement that had alarm bells ringing is the one about 'cheap boxes'

The fact that this is even a statement is worrying. It is especially concerning knowing that council housing is viewed as something sub-par and inferior to anything else that's considered 'residential'. My guess is that this comment was made by someone who has never had to experience life on an estate or in a council funded home and I personally find this statement very offensive. Estates have been my home for the best part of my life and they play a very vital role in housing a large portion of people in this country. They have done wonders at offering affordable homes for those who need it most and have been pioneers in community led projects across the nation. Go into any estate and there's a chance you'll find a youth center or a YMCA there to help out with the youth and anyone in need of help.

Reading this made me really think that council housing has a really negative image in the eyes of those that don't live there, yet places such as the Barbican and Trellick tower are viewed as luxury and have been very sought after dwellings for a very long time. But why? I think class-disparity, elitism and social inequality have a huge part to play in those sorts of views. People in better conditions will generally think they believe they are better than those in worse off situations, they have more expensive homes, better cars, higher paying jobs, eat more expensive, organic groceries and most probably believe that an estate such as Aylesbury Estate or Woodberry Downs are incomparable to their luxury, 4-bedroom homes because they simply resemble 'cheap boxes'. The irony is that these places are probably better built, with regards to materials, than their beautifully expensive homes, but i'll just sit here and drink my tea.

/ Developtment

In response to the statement that "council housing is synonymous with cheap boxes" I proceeded to create a collection of boxes. 

I made them out of some balsa wood as I felt that the material has a cheap quality to it. Firstly it is pretty cheap as wood goes but its also very soft and prone to breaking. I felt that was a great way of enforcing the idea of 'cheap'

I broke a small plank into pieces by hand and then reconfigured the pieced to make some boxes that vary in shape and size. Once together they became very tough and solid which was already pretty interesting. I used super glue to fix each of the panels. I made sure they were all different so that I had a bit of a range to play with. I felt they were very reflective of the term 'cheap' as they aren't perfect, some of them are very chipped, some of the panels aren't sized correctly, they're all irregular in their own way. With one of them one whole side is comprised of smaller broken pieces all stuck down to give it a more 'broken' aesthetic.

Compiling all of the boxes in different configurations was a great way of trying to interpret a building. Some of them look very interesting in the way that they are all sitting on each other in strange formations. In doing this I really just wanted to get the impression of a building by using the 'cheap boxes' as silhouettes. They all worked really well at doing this and they also offered me some interesting shapes to play with based off of the quote "council housing is synonymous with cheap boxes'. I am happy with the outcome of these little experiments as I feel they successfully visualise that statement as they are essentially cheap little boxes in a formation that can suggest some sort of building. It's a start.