Surgery on Southampton Row

Simon Felix Glemser (Year: 4)

The urban plan for Kingsway and Aldwych completely altered the street landscape between 1901 and 1905. Carving out a direct path from the river towards central London, including a the Kingsway tram tunnel, This new highway disturbs the pedestrian nature of the surrounding area. I propose to re-pedestrianize Southampton Row through surgery of the surface of the City. Through excavation and uncovering of existing hidden infrastructure and exposing formerly hidden service infrastructure. A new landscape will exist, where the vertical layering of the City becomes ambiguous, service pipes become visible and accessible and existing historical infrastructure can be re-engineered and made public. A Working environment for maintenance workers will collide with pedestrians and office workers or locals in the Park whilst archaeologists will be working directly beneath. Creating a post-infrastructural landscape that would have the capacity to slowly reshape over time.