Dispossession

I have always been interested in the societal significance of social housing design in the UK. The spatial, social and environmental needs of the inhabitants are completely overlooked but also the simple fact that these places and spaces are for human beings worthy of nice and thought-out spaces. Don't even get me started on accessibility, safety and maintenance. With a focus on the theme of dispossession, I looked at how these buildings that were originally 'intended' to be for the community and working people have become subject to gentrification, demolition and/or negligence - ultimately leaving local residents feeling dispossessed. Playing with the past, I created mock brochures, posters and promotion videos for these 'newly built' flats. At the time of construction these buildings seemed to provide a glimmer of hope and sense of community for people in disadvantaged situations. They were marketed as exciting and contemporary pieces of design that ultimately ended up being completely neglected by the government and councils, causing them to become run down and eventually disregarded 'eyesores' within society. Families and London citizens were later persuaded with 'shiny' offers of opportunity to buy their own homes on the outskirts of London; ghostifying the structures to reinforce councils messages of buildings being 'too far gone'. This then justified selling rights to land to developers for huge monetary benefit, for developers to go on and create unaffordable and exclusively bland new-builds.