Crafted Narratives: Matter and Space

A Sort of Homecoming – Slane Castle, County Meath

Background: One of the key political and social agendas at the beginning of the twenty-first century in the UK is the notion of ‘austerity’. Since the banking crisis in 2008, and the plans set by the coalition government, the majority of UK residents have been forced to struggle to make ends meet. Yet, one of the positive aspects to come out of this has been the shift in focus to look at ‘what we have’ rather than ‘what we don’t have’. Austerity Britain is looking from ‘within’, making the most of home-grown products to ensure our survival. With this in mind, Intermediate 2 will investigate in and around the British Isles in search of Crafted Narratives.

Let England Shake – recorded at Eype Church, Dorset

Site: Our site for the year will be King’s Cross in London, currently one of the largest development sites in the city, which is significantly altering an area once known for prostitution, drug-related crimes and nightclubs. We will be learning from contemporary ‘craftfocused’ practices such as O’Donnell + Tuomey, Edmund de Waal, Susan Collis and Rachel Whiteread, as well as dipping into the past to indulge in the Arts and Crafts and the British modernists.

OK Computer – recorded at St Catherine’s Court, Bath

Making Architecture: As in previous years, we will look at materials and processes. This year our method will be archaeological, collecting and analysing material fragments from the site, and tracing their political, social, economic and environmental implications. Our interventions will grow out of these archaeological findings. They will be subtle and intricate, tactile and processbased. And they will accommodate human activities that respond positively to the challenges imposed on us by the sober conditions of the world today.

Unit Staff

Takero Shimazaki is a director of a leading UK practice, Toh Shimazaki Architecture in London. He also runs t-sa forum workshops, which are associated with the practice. He has taught and lectured internationally. The practice combines critical thinking with projects that are built and realised since 1996. www.t-sa.co.uk

Ana Araujo practises as a designer, an educator and a researcher. She works at the crossover between spatial and textile design, having published and exhibited internationally (Germany, Holland, Brazil, UK, Japan, Australia). Ana is currently working on a publication and exhibition about Lina Bo Bardi's work, as part of a larger project of dissemination of twentieth-century Latin American craft and design worldwide.